EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER OF MRS. therefore felt reluctant to take any DEAN, DATED BANGKOK, SEPTEMBER 4, 1840. Death of a Chinese Boy. As it was last Sabbath our painful duty to attend the funeral of one of our school-children, we thought it might be desirable to give some particulars of his conduct while under our care, and subsequently, during his illness. The scholar alluded to was a Heinam boy, named A Yok, who came to us on the 19th of last November in high health, robust and strong, being then about fourteen years of age, and having been in this country two years. He knew little about reading when he came, and we therefore gave him the first books used by children. Not being satisfied with this, he of his own accord read a tract entitled the "Two Friends." He made rapid progress and soon commenced reading the "Four Books," while he took his turn in reading the scriptures every morning at family worship. Though but slightly acquainted with our dialect, (Teo-chew,) his answers to questions proposed by us on the scriptures, or other subjects, proved that he understood what he read, and thought much about it. He was a boy of few words, and though he answered readily to questions relative to facts, he seldom or never gave us any clue to his own feelings. He was of a remarkably amiable disposition, and during his whole stay with us we never heard of his quarrelling with the other boys, or using bad language. He had a very retentive memory and could easily repeat a considerable portion of the native classics. We never had occasion to punish him, or scarcely to reprove him for a fault. At the time of the Chinese new year, when the school was closed for a few days and almost all the boys dispersed, he remained with us, continuing many of his usual employments, and pleasing us all by his cheerful hilarity. On the 4th of August he first complained of being unwell and wished to be excused from attending school in the morning, though he read as usual in the afternoon-the time allotted to christian reading. This he continued for two or three days. When I asked him why he did not come for medicine, he replied he did not wish to take any. He seemed from the first to have an impression he must die, and remedy. After his death some pills were found in his box which Mr. Dean supposed he had taken. On Sunday, the 9th of August, when I went to take my class as usual, I found him asleep, covered with a blanket and very feverish and sick. My fears were then first excited, and from that time he grew rapidly worse. At this time he would frequently be found in tears; and when spoken to he maintained a resolute silence or spoke but few words, as if scarcely understanding what was said to him. He continued attending worship morning and evening until the 22d. He frequently said to a cousin who called to see him on the 16th, “I shall soon die, I shall soon die!" At this time he was weeping bitterly and would say nothing else. The last week of his life he was, by the wishes of his friends, attended by Chinese and Siamese doctors, but without avail; his disorder continued to increase until the 30th, when he died. Two or three days previous to this event he appeared more willing to converse than on former occasions, and Mr. Dean asked him several questions, as whether he believed in Christ, whether he thought he should go to heaven. To the first he replied he did believe, but to all the others he maintained an unbroken silence. He died on the Sabbath, at the close of the services in the chapel. As he had no near relatives in Bangkok except the cousin above mentioned, who was absent when he died, he was buried (instead of being burnt, as most of the natives are here). He was followed to the grave by the school children and church members; and it was to all of us an affecting scene. Such was the life and death of this poor boy. We were left in painful uncertainty as to the state of his mind and preparedness for heaven, though we are permitted to indulge a faint hope that he did indeed love that Savior of whose name but a few months ago he had never heard. We are by this event strongly reminded of our responsibility to these poor children, and of the necessity of urging them now to come to the Savior. The effect upon the children of the school has not been such as we should expect in our own country. I observed one in tears as they were putting the corpse into the coffin, but the rest seemed to endeavor to repress their feelings and appear unmoved. During the prayer meeting Keok Cheng addressed the children in a manner at once simple quence of having forsaken his former and touching. EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER OF MR. DAV ENPORT, DATED BANGKOK, JULY 19, been in the service of the missionaries 1840. Tract distribution-Fear of Government. My last letter to the Board contained an account of my visit to Bangplasoi, Angheen, and Phrá Bát, where liberal distributions were made of the word of God. For the last several months our visits have been confined to Bangkok and its vicinity. I have taken pains, at these times, to supply large trading boats, which have come from distant and interior parts of the country; our books have been in most cases gladly received. In this way we hope to introduce a knowledge of the gospel where missionaries have never been, and where they may not go for many years to come. We hope, also, that in the retirement of a country life, away from the bustle and noise of a city, these people may give the greater attention to eternal things, especially if aided by the Holy Spirit. religion. In conversing with them, the natives often express such fears to me. Our present teacher, who has for the last six or seven years, told me the other day that no Siamese dared to embrace a religion not professed by the king. These are great hindrances to success in our labors, but not too mighty to be overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit. Aid us by your prayers, dear brethren, that this power may be exerted, and this influence may be felt in Siam. From another letter, dated Aug. 14, we make the following extracts. Signs of opposition-Encouragements. We had recently some tokens of a spirit of opposition at work in the minds of a few of the Siamese priesthood. A number of them applied at our house for religious books. After being supplied with them, they went a short distance from our premises and tore them to pieces. They were copies of the histories of "Joseph At half past six o'clock of each morn- and Moses," the preparation of which ing the Siamese, and those speaking constituted some of the last labors of Siamese, connected with our families our much lamented sister Jones. I and the printing department, are as- have been informed also, that recently sembled in the chapel, where religious the fragments of some torn books have exercises are conducted in that lan- been scattered along the road side. guage. On the Sabbath we have two Though such things are painful to us, exercises of this character, one of yet we must be prepared for them, and which is more protracted. A portion even worse. I regard the transaction of the word of God is read on each as an indication that the priests are beoccasion, accompanied with remarks. ginning to fear the influence which we In this way I have gone through Mat- are attempting to exert over the people thew, Mark, Acts, and other portions generally. When the time shall arrive of Scripture,-sometimes repeatedly. in which scores of Siamese shall have At this time we are using the Parables been converted to Christianity, I think of our Savior, one of which is read on it not improbable that the priesthood each occasion. Some of the hearers will be excited to strong opposition. pay good attention, but the fear of cou- These circumstances remind me of our sequences that might ensue upon ex- visit, a few months ago, to Phrá Bát, changing the national religion, and the so celebrated among the Siamese as religion of their fathers, for that of the spot where Gaudama left the imChrist, appears an almost insurmount-print of his foot in a rock, to be worable obstacle in their way. The Siamese man, who went with Mr. Jones, some years since, from Bangkok to Singapore and Malacca, and who pro- The government, however, continues fessed the Christian faith, and was very tolerant with regard to our operabaptized at the latter place, upon being tions. They throw no obstacles in our requested to return to Bangkok, de- way; and we rejoice in the fact that clined; and expressed his fears lest he hundreds and thousands anxiously apshould be apprehended, and that the ply for and read the books that we loss of his life would be the conse-print; and that thus a knowledge of *For a narrative of this excursion, and a des-"the only name given under heaven eripiton of Phra Bát, the "Footstep of Deity," whereby we must be saved," is diffused see page 285, last volume. shipped by his followers. Here one or two of the books we distributed were burnt before our faces. far and wide. Miscellany. WORSHIP OF THE DERVISHES. The scene described below occurred at Smyrna, and was witnessed by Rev. Mr. Riggs, of the A. B. C. F. M. The following account is contained in a letter from him, published in the June number of the Missionary Herald, and dated Dec. 9th, 1840. I have thought you might be interested with a short account of a performance of Turkish dervishes which Mr. Van Lennep and myself witnessed about a fortnight ago. It was the last Friday of ramazan, the Turkish month of fasting. You may be aware that during that month they have their principal religious services in the evening and night. We reached the Teke or chapel of the dervishes, about half past seven, and found them already at their prayers. One of them, with whom we were acquainted, requested us to remain without until the prayers were finished. Afterward we were shown to a small gallery in one side of the chapel, where we took our stand to witness the performance. The room was small, capable of containing perhaps eighty or a hundred persons. As a part of their prayers, the first chapter of the Koran (which is indeed a beautiful hymn of praise) was repeated many times by the leading sheikh, all the dervishes standing with their faces toward Mecca. After each repetition of it came several prostrations, with prayers rapidly repeated, which I did not understand. When the regular prayers were finished, the sheikh turned round and facing the rest, cried out, Bismillahi, rahhmani, rahhimi, "In the name of God, merciful and gracious," which they all repeated, chanting some twenty times. Then, in like manner, about eighty times La illah illa 'llah, There is no god but God." After this they began to chant slowly and with great appearance of devotion, the name of God, Allah, Allah, Allah, etc., repeating it about a hundred times, and then more rapidly about a hundred and ten times. During this time they became more and more excited, and soon some of them began to take off their turbans and long outer garments. At eight o'clock they began to dance. They formed a ring very compactly, by placing the arms of each individual one over the shoulder of his neighbor on one side, and the other under the waist of the person who came next him on the other side; and began to move slowly round the ring, chanting all the while. At first there were thirty-five in the ring, afterwards they formed two rings, twenty-five or twenty-six in the outer, and twelve or fourteen in the inner ring, some others having come in. The excitement continued to increase, and with it the rapidity of their movement round the ring. At a quarter past eight they commenced a howling or deep sobbing, indescribable to one who has not witnessed it. It was something as if you should pronounce the name of the letter a very deeply in the throat and rather hoarsely, then, drawing in the breath with a sob, pronounce the syllables ha-he, accenting the last, and pronouncing it on a higher key, still hoarsely and deeply in the throat. With every repetition the head and even the whole body was thrown violently backwards and forwards, or to the right and left. Some were much more violently agitated than others, throwing themselves farther backwards and forwards, and suffering their hair to swing disheveled over their faces and necks. The whole presented an appearance fully demoniacal. Soon two persons began to beat kettledrums, and two others tambourines, to keep time. Gradually the time of the step was accelerated until it became as rapid as possible, and it became a mere stamping on the floor, the ring scarcely, if at all, moving around. At a quarter before nine a person was introduced who sat down in the midst and began playing a rapid but unmusical and monotonous air upon a pipe, in its tone somewhat resembling a flageolet. Toward the close the motions of the ring assumed a freer character, the dervishes touching each other sometimes only at arms' length, and swinging farther to the right and left with each repetition of the word, phrase, or inarticulate sound, which they were repeating. One of the syllables most frequently repeated was hoo, that is, he in Arabic, signifying God. It was pronounced very deep in the throat, and with a convulsive effort of the lungs which you would hardly suppose, if you have never witnessed the scene, that a person not deranged could make. It was a perfect howl, and made me involuntarily shudder, though I was in a measure prepared for the scene. The same was true of the mode in which the same syllable was pronounced in immediate connection with the name of God, Allah-hoo, Allah-hoo, he is God, he is God. A little after nine o'clock the ring broke up, and the greater part of the dervishes, as well as of the spectators, went away, after having paid their devotions at the tomb of their patron in the side of the building. This individual established the teke, and supported the dervishes during his life, and now is reckoned a saint. But the scene to us most affecting of all remained. A little boy began to chant, and soon a ring was formed of boys from four years old or less to twelve or thirteen, who repeated the dance. There was one little fellow, I should think hardly three years old, I believe he was the son of a sheikh, who, during the whole evening, had been in the midst imitating the motions of the men, and now seemed to act as a kind of leader for the boys. The idea of these young immortals being trained up in such abominations is indeed awful. It was to me also a very affecting thought that there were men of respectable appearance present, such as military officers, etc., some of whom had doubtless a good deal of intelligence, who, though not dervishes themselves, stood by and looked on with the appearance of high approbation. "Oh! Lord, open their eyes that they may see.' GREAT ERUPTION OF THE VOLCANO OF KILAUEA, (SANDWICH ISLANDS). The subjoined notice of one of the most ter rific scenes in nature, is from the pen of Rev. Mr. Coan, dated Hilo, Sept. 25, 1849. up continued till the latter part of May, On the 30th of May the people of Puna observed the appearance of smoke and fire in the interior, a mountainous and desolate region of that district. Thinking that the fire might be the burning of some jungle, they took little notice of it until the next day, Sabbath, when the meetings in the different villages were thrown into confusion by sudden and grand exhibitions of fire, on a scale so large and fearful as to leave them no room to doubt the cause of the phenomenon. The fire augmented during the day and night; but it did not seem to flow off rapidly in any direction. All were in consternation, as it was expected that the molten flood would pour itself down from its height of four thousand feet to the coast, and no one knew to what point it would flow, or what devastation would attend its fiery course. On Monday, June 1st, the stream began to flow off in a northeasterly direction, and on the follow burning river reached the sea, having aver aged about half a mile an hour in its progress. The rapidity of the flow was very unequal, being modified by the inequalities of the surface, over which the stream passed. I cannot close my letter without saying a word respecting the late volcanic eruption in Puna, on this island. At the time this eruption took place we were all absent from Hilo to attend the general meeting at Oahu, a circumstance which I much regret, as it deprived us of a view of the most splendid and awful part of the scene. Some of the principal facts which have been collected from credible testimony, and from personal observation, I will now give you. For several years pasting Wednesday, June 3d, at evening, the the great crater of Kilauea has been rapidly filling up, by the rising of the superincumbent crust, and by the frequent gushing forth of the molten sea below. In this manner the great basin below the black ledge, which has been computed from three to five hundred feet deep, was long since filled up by the ejection and cooling of successive masses of the fiery fluid. These silent eruptions continued to occur at intervals, until the black ledge was repeatedly overflowed, each cooling, and forming a new layer from two feet thick and upwards, until the whole area of the crater was filled up, at least fifty feet above the original black ledge, and thus reducing the whole depth of the crater to less than nine hundred feet. This process of filling But I will return to the source of the eruption. This is in a forest, and in the bottom of an ancient wooded crater, about four hundred feet deep, and probably eight miles east from Kilauea. The region being uninhabited and covered with a thicket, it was some time before the place was discovered, and up to this time, though several foreigners have attempted it, no one, except myself, has reached the spot. From Kilauea to this place the lava flows in a subterranean gallery, probably at the depth The whole course of the stream from Kilauea to the sea is about forty miles. Its mouth is about twenty-five miles from Hilo station. The ground over which it flowed descends at the rate of one hundred feet to the mile. The crust is now cooled, and may be traversed with care, though scalding steam, pungent gases, and smoke are still emitted in many places. of a thousand feet, but its course can be the inequalities of the surface over which distinctly traced all the way, by the rend- it passed. During the flow, night was ing of the crust of the earth into innumera- converted into day on all eastern Hawaii. ble fissures, and by the emission of smoke, The light rose and spread like the morning steam, and gases. The eruption in this upon the mountains, and its glare was seen old crater is small, and from this place the on the opposite side of the island. It was stream disappears again for the distance of also distinctly visible for more than one a mile or two, when the lava again gushed hundred miles at sea; and at the distance up and spread over an area of about fifty of forty miles fine print could be read at acres. Again it passes under ground for midnight. The brilliancy of the light was two or three miles, when it re-appears in like a blazing firmament, and the scene is another old wooded crater, consuming the said to have been one of unrivalled subforest, and partly filling up the basin. Once limity. more it disappears, and flowing in a subterranean channel, cracks and breaks the earth, opening fissures from six inches to ten or twelve feet in width, and sometimes splitting the trunk of a tree so exactly that its legs stand astride at the fissure. After flowing under ground several miles, perhaps six or eight, it again broke out like an overwhelming flood, and sweeping forest, hamlet, plantation, and every thing before it, rolled down with resistless energy to the sea, where, leaping a precipice of forty or fifty feet, it poured itself in one vast cataract of fire into the deep below, with lond detonations, fearful hissings, and a thousand unearthly and indescribable sounds. Imagine to yourself a river of fused minerals, of the breadth and depth of Niagara, and of a deep gory red, falling, in one emblazoned sheet, one raging torrent, into the ocean! The scene, as described by eye witnesses, was terribly sublime. The atmosphere in all directions was filled with ashes, spray, gases, etc.; while the burning lava, as it fell into the water, was shivered into millions of minute particles, and, being thrown back into the air, fell in showers of sand on all the surrounding country. The coast was extended into the sea for a quarter of a mile, and a pretty sand-beach and a new cape were formed. In pursuing my way for nearly two days over this mighty smouldering mass, I was more and more impressed at every step with the wonderful scene. Hills had been melted down like wax; ravines and deep valleys had been filled; and majestic forests had disappeared like a feather in the flames. On the outer edges of the lava, where the stream was more shallow and the heat less vehement, and where of course the liquid mass cooled soonest, the trees were mowed down like grass before the scythe, and left charred, crisped, smouldering, and only half consumed. During the early part of the eruption, slight and repeated shocks of earthquake were felt, for several successive days, near the scene of action. These shocks were not noticed at Hilo. Through the directing hand of a kind Providence no lives were lost, and but little property was consumed during this amazing flood of fiery ruin. The stream passed over an almost uninhabited desert. During the progress of the eruption some of the people in Puna spent most of their time in prayer and religious meetings, some flew in consternation from the face of the all-devouring element, others wandered along its margin, marking with idle curiosity its daily progress, while another class still, coolly pursued their usual vocations, unawed by the burning fury as it rolled along within a mile of their doors. All these moving phenomena were regarded by them as the fall of a shower, or the run For three weeks this terrific river disgorged itself into the sea with little abatement. Multitudes of fishes were killed, and the waters of the ocean were heated for twenty miles along the coast. The breadth of the stream, where it fell into the sea, is about half a mile, but inland it varies from one to four or five miles in width, conforming itself, like a river, to the face of the country over which it flowed. Indeed, if you can imagine the Mississippi, converted into liquid fire, of the consistency of fused iron, and moving onward, sometimes rapidly, sometimes sluggishly; now widening into a sea, and anon rushing through a nar-ning of a brook; while to others they were row defile, winding its way through mighty forests and ancient solitudes, you will get some idea of the spectacle here exhibited. The depth of the stream will probably vary from ten to two hundred feet, according to as the tokens of a burning world, the departing heavens, and a coming Judge. I will just remark here, that while the stream was flowing, it might be approached within a few yards on the windward side, |