As the proper fruits of this sort of conduct the diseases of rheumatisms, elephantiasis, leprosy, the foul disease, and the rotting off of noses, lips, and other members-all this is seen in abundance there. Also footless persons, handless persons, and persons otherwise defective; such are many of the devotees of Jagannath. Hear now also the names and characters of the gods of the Hindus: there are their golden gods, their silver gods, their brazen gods, their iron gods, their stone gods, their wooden gods, and their earthen gods; as well as their godly trees, their godly water and their godly fire. In the service of these dead gods, the people expend much wealth, afflict their bodies, make wearisome pilgrimages, and in various other modes of affliction destroy their own lives. The brahmans do not understand the vedas; the devotees have forsaken mercy; the wise have left the path of wisdom, and are become depraved by wicked practices. Giving up the practice of virtue the professors of religion at Puri, in the temple, and in their own houses, destroy the virtue of good-looking female pilgrims who resort to that shrine. This is the glory of the celebrated city of Purushuttam! How then do the people call this place heaven? Moreover at Puri the curse of the cholera morbus exists, and there you may sometimes see a succession of dead bodies of pilgrims lying, and the bones of dead játrís are scattered about, while the foul smell from the dirty habits of the people on the sands, scarcely permits you to eat and drink with comfort. How, reader, do the pandas designate this place as heaven? Hence we see that Purí is a vile place, and that the people also are vile, and depend upon it no person will get good by going there. But now I will give a description of heaven. In heaven on a throne of light and glory, sits the great and supreme God, your own shastras speak of the residence of the Supreme Being as light, and of that Being himself as the essence of light; hence, These skies above, the skies supreme appear, In this glorious world of light God dwells, and all round his throne holy angels and holy saints, continually worship crying, Blessing! blessing! blessing be to God! Then there is no more birth, no more death, no more sin, no more disease, no more pain; no more hunger or thirst, no more cold or heat; but there God's people shall, in the possession of immortality, enjoy their uttermost wish of happiness. Hence the scriptures say, God shall be in their midst, and shall be their God; he shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, nor any other pain. This heaven moreover is never fading. Brahmalok and Shibalok, and Debálok, and all the seven heavens of the shastras are fading, and are destined one day to be destroyed. They are within the reach of the effects of works. But the true heaven of the true God is unfading, and the waves of destruction will never reach to it. And now hear what is the enjoyment of that peace. There is the sight of God. There, there is eternal rest in a sense of God's favour and smile. There is the eternal love and friendship of God. There is the communion of all the holy and the good, and the accomplishment of every desire of the soul. Thus shall the servants of God swim in the ocean of pleasure. Hear! hear, O ye people! I bring you good news! The gate to this heaven, to this inheritance of eternal life is now thrown open, and whosoever will, may enter in without money and without price." This little tract goes on to explain who is the way to this heaven; and how it must be entered; and the people appeared to listen with interest, and to understand it readily. After reading and explaining some pages we came away, and that without further Hari bol! Rámi chandra had preached nearer to the temple than we were. 30th. This morning I rose early and proceeded to the town, but the people were streaming through the temple, and to and from the various bathing-places: so that they had neither time nor inclination to attend to me. There are numerous sacred bathing-places about the city of Purí, and some of them are really beautiful. They are held very sacred by the people, and are much praised in the Hindu books. A small poem called the Darí Brahma-gítá speaks of them in the following strains, after it has described and eulogized the temple and the sacred enclosure. Now listen further to my closing lay, While the surrouuding Khyetrá I survey; O might we once, on earth, a birth obtain ! To serve the Kaibalga, the favour gain! That we might bathe in those blest tirths and know, The lengthening merit which their rites bestow! How would we put all worldliness away, Think on Sri Hari, and his worship pay. Nor know a heaven beyond Gobinda's feet. Early in the afternoon, I proceeded to the town of Máttiyá-pura, a place in which for many years Mrs. Bampton conducted a native school. The people all remember it, and some of the school-boys, now grown into young men, came around me and formed part of my congregation. They cannot but be better hearers for what they learned in that school. I sat upon the túlsí mound, in the middle of the village and heard the native brethren address the people, and afterwards I spoke unto them myself. We distributed about 30 tracts and came away. The people heard tolerably well. A few interested persons were disposed to cavil. Máttíyá-pura is near the Indra-damman tank, about two miles from Puri, and close to the Gundicha temple to which Jagannath makes a yearly visit. This temple is ornamented with the most obscene images I ever saw; they are utterly beyond description. To-day the natra-uchob is celebrated. As I went out to-day I visited the tomb of Bampton. The late hurricane has blown it nearly over, and so violently was the sand driven by the wind, that it has cut away two inches of the solid masonry on the side exposed to the gale. The motto on Bampton's tomb is-" We preach Christ," and this motto well describes what was his practice. I have heard the people of Puri say of him in derision, He is always saying, Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ! July 1st. This morning I was joined at Puri by brethren Sutton, Stubbins, and Wilkinson, and two native preachers. We form therefore a strong party, four European and five native labourers. About four o'clock P. M. the three idols were walked out of the temple, and placed in their cars. Their appearance was the signal for a loud and long murmur of Mahá prabhu jay! through the large assembly. The gaily attired cars standing abreast of each other, lifting their heads high above the multitude; the waving of pankás and rich chauris about the idols; the gaily caparisoned elephant, bearing Europeans or rich natives, the people studding the outside and tops of the adjacent temples, and crowding in one mass about the cars; and above all a fine afternoon's sun pouring his moderated rays upon a multitude dressed out in their holiday attire; all this conspired to form a scene of no small interest and excitement. But that it exhibited the worship of a foul block of wood to the dishonour and robbery of the blessed God, that it exhibited thousands and tens of thousands of souls rushing deeper into guilt and so deeper into misery, were considerations which could not be avoided, and more than sufficient to quench any rising sensations of pleasure from viewing such a scene. We formed parties lower down in the street, where we preached, and argued, and conversed with the multitudes which crowded around us. The native brethren also took their turn in addressing the people. Ever and anon we ceased speaking and distributed tracts, but such was the violence of the crowd to obtain books, that we could do little good in distributing them. Give me a book, sir! Give me a book, sir! issued at once from a hundred tongues, and a hundred hands were raised to snatch it away ere it could be presented. After a long opportunity here, we proceeded somewhat nearer to the cars, and there brother Sutton and myself held an argument with a number of intelligent people, and gave away a few more books. Fairly worn out, and with sore throats from long and loud speaking, we retired from the scene of confusion and sin, and sought our quiet habitation on the sea shore solemnized by the rumblings of the eternal ocean. It now appears that the confident prophecy of the friends of the pilgrim tax, that in case the tax should be abolished, the rush of pilgrims would be so great, as to produce a famine and create a dreadful mortality, was altogether fallacious. The abolition of the tax was extensively known, and yet with all its novelty and interest the people have not moved; and instead of a large influx of pilgrims, there has not been so small a festival for at least 17 years to our own knowledge; and there is hardly a dead pilgrim to be seen. In the street where the people could be seen at one view, they could not be estimated at more than 50,000; some Europeans present estimated them at 30,000, and others at 40,000, but no one estimates them at more than 50,000; from this number must be deducted 15,000, or three-fourths of the inhabitants of the place which will leave as pilgrims 35,000, scarcely more than died of the cholera at and about Puri and Cuttack in the year 1825, and only about one-eighth of the number of pilgrims which visited the place that year. 2nd. About half-past 5 o'clock this morning I hastened to the Atháranálá bridge, where the people were pouring out of the town; the native preachers were already there, and our European brethren soon after joined us. Our principal business was to distribute tracts. We formed a number of parties here and there upon the road. We preached, argued, read the books, and explained their contents to the people as we were able, and then distributed tracts to the homeward-bound travellers. We have not seen more than two or three torn up. We continued our labours in this way till about half-past 8 o'clock, when leaving the native brethren to occupy till the afternoon we retired for breakfast. The native brethren relieved each other throughout the day. We gave some tracts to respectable females, not because they could read them, but because, as some of them said their sons or grandsons could ; some females were too bashful or fearful to receive them from us. Early in the afternoon we again sallied forth to the Athára-nálá, where we prosecuted our labours as described above. After expending our strength we retired into the large road to the vicinity of the cars. Here the Khurda rájá, his purkhas and guru invited us to a conversation. We talked a little with them and then presented Mahá rája with 8 or 10 copies of the tract called "The gate thrown open." Jagannath is decked out with more than usual splendour this year; his massy golden hands (said by some to be only polished brass) were beautifully polished, and held the sanka and chakra, bedecked with a long flounce of silk. The rájá invited us to call upon him at his residence. Retiring from the presence of the rájá, we proceeded lower down in the large road, and placing ourselves on the grass, collected a number of people around us who also sat down on the ground. Read over a few pages of a Tract and made some remarks upon it. We gave away a few more books and retired, the night having come on. 3rd. Set off early for the stand at the Athára-nálá, and remained distributing books, and disputing, and conversing among the retiring pil. grims, till about half-past 8 o'clock, when the number of passing pilgrims became fewer and the day grew hot. We next made a stand near one of the cars, and again met with the Khurdá rájá. We had a little skirmishing with him and his people. They appeared to think that our object was to destroy their religion, but vowed we never should accomplish our intentions. Here we again preached to the people, and distributed some tracts. How unutterably filthy is the exhibitions in front of the car before all the people, and to-day the task of exhibiting devolved upon a youth of about 19 years of age. About half-past 9 o'clock we retired till the afternoon. Early in the afternoon we departed to the town. The other brethren went direct to the Athára-nálá, while I went by way of the temple, having some little business to do there. This business dispatched, I proceeded towards the cars. The rain commenced to fall very heavy, and I betook myself to the verandah of a house opposite to the car of Jagannath. The people, to avoid the rain crowded into the verandah and into the adjacent houses. I commenced the distribution of tracts, and the crowd spite of the heavy rain, immediately collected around me. Here I gave away about 300 tracts, and said a little to the people about the contents of them. The owner of the house in which I had taken shelter became alarmed for the safety of his mud verandah, and desired me to depart. The people were clamorous for books. After I had got into my palanquin, they followed me some distance receiving books. Threefourths of the pilgrims are now gone, and I have to-day received heavy tidings respecting my family, and we have made up our minds to leave Puri to night. 4th. Left Puri in company with brother Sutton last night about 1 A. M. and after an uncomfortable journey of 17 hours, I arrived at Cuttack. We have distributed about 13,000 tracts and have proclaimed the word of God to many, which is able to make them wise unto salvation. The brethren from the south left Puri at the same time with ourselves. We left the native brethren to remain a day or two longer. One wretched pilgrim has thrown himself under the wheels of Jagannáth's car, and his brains were crushed out and he instantly died. C. LACEY. III.-History of Madagascar. By the Rev. William Ellis, Author of the Polynesian Researches. Events which have exerted a powerful influence on the present and eternal destinies of a large portion of the human race, are of deep interest to men of enlightened minds and correct sensibility. Such persons view the inhabitants of the savage and civilized nations of the earth as members of the same family, and keeping alive those sympathies which the Divine Being has implanted in their bosoms, feel for their species of every condition, colour and clime. The progress of mankind from barbarism, raised in the scale of being little above the beasts of the field, to civilization and a practical knowledge of the Christian faith, is highly gratifying to their benevolent feelings. But those awful vicissitudes which check the progress of literature and science, that hurl down the civil institutions of a land, and place in the room of Christianity, whose distinguishing feature is peace on earth and good-will towards men, a superstition that inkindles the worst passions of the soul-vicissitudes which accelerate the fall, and throw kingdoms back into the barbarism from which they originally emerged, or sweep them from the face of existence, and leave to posterity little more than the memory of their names; are to such philanthropic individuals exceedingly distressing. Some of these dreadful calamities have befallen the island of Madagascar. General education and the mechanic arts, and civilization and Christianity, which made considerable advances under the auspices of Radama, the late lamented monarch who had the welfare of his subjects at heart, have ceased to flourish since Ranavolona, the reigning sovereign ascended the throne. Tyranny and persecution, with all their concomitant evils and desolating woes, have overspread the land, and the soil has been soaked with the tears and blood of martyrs. Presented to the world at a period so eventful to Madagascar, and bearing almost on every page marked proofs of the eminent talents, and correct sentiments and feelings for which his other works are distinguished, it is to be hoped, that Mr. Ellis's two volumes will obtain a numerous and extensive circulation, and be the means of exciting the sympathies of the humane, and fervent intercessions of the pious on behalf of that unhappy and persecuted country. As he has taken the most comprehensive range from the earliest period in the authentic history of the island, and given to each department the notice its importance required, the work will be found to |