In the performance of both public and private duty I enjoyed a wonderful portion of divine affiftance, with which I am still favoured. Nor has God fuffered my endeavours, though feeble and contaminated with much abominable felf-feeking, to be altogether fruitless. On the contrary, he has frequently accompanied them with his effectual operations in an extraordinary manner.

God has given me largely of the good things of this world, fo that I am enabled to assist others, and even in this way to contribute fomething to the enlargement of Chrift's kingdom; a bleffing which I hope ever to nu.nber among my greatest privileges and pleasures.

I have undergone painful diseases and many other afflictions, but God has ftrengthened, healed, and delivered me. Many a time he has faved me, and vouchfafed me aftonishing answers of prayer.

For fome time paft and at prefent, God teaches me in my prayers and meditations to dwell much on the subject of his great glory manifefted in the government of the world, and in the lot that he affigns both to nations and individuals, with a reference to the profperity of his church; but to admire principally the glorious display of himself in the work of redemption, and the harmony of all his attributes and perfections in the person and in the work of Christ, which the more I contemplate, the more I see to be both unfpeakable and past all comprehenfion. Now also, as at all other times, the Lord constrains me to learn, by forrowful experience, the dreadful and utter depravity of my nature, my vileness, my unworthiness. You would hardly; - perhaps you would not at all, believe what paffes within me, and what are the frequent imaginations of my heart. At this very moment I am the subject of a moft afflictive and miferable temptation, which fills me fometimes with anguish and threatens me with a terrible fall. But the Lord is faithful -- he will keep me and lead me, and bring me fafe into his glorious kingdom. Oh that I could pray more, and could be more watchful! Oh that I could live more for him, who lived entirely for me! Unite with me in prayer, and let us praise his name together. I am ever Your's,

P, O&. 1789.

86

CHRISTODULUS.

Extract of a Letter lately received.

My health has been on the decline fince I wrote laft. Í am daily troubled with a violent cough; added to which, I fuffer much in the night from the weak state of my nerves, and am greatly unfitted for converfation in the day time. Notwith standing which I am fo remarkably, I had almoft faid, miraculously, fupported, by the Lord our ftrength, that I continue to exercife my public miniftry. And, though I am often unable to speak a quarter of an hour in company, yet in public I am favoured with that assistance, and my powers are fo wonderfully frengthened and renewed,

2

renewed, that I can ftill preach for an hour or longer, though not without feeling myself much fatigued. Indeed, if I confulted human prudence, I fhould fcarcely venture into the pulpit; and I fometimes think myself rafh for attempting it, confidering my prefent great bodily weakness. But when I confider the immenfe power and love of that Lord, whofe I am, and whom I ferve, I cannot find myfelf at liberty to withdraw from the duties of my office; efpecially as I am fo frequently and abundantly affifted in it, by help obtained from him, and hitherto I am not ashamed. The grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift is fufficient for me, and his power is manifefted, and glorified, in my weakness. Do you join with me in celebrating his praife.

Ah! it well behoves me to think of him every moment; every moment to direct the warmest emotions and afpirations of my heart to him, to make every thing an occafion of exalting and praifing him, and ferioufly to enquire every hour, yea every minute of my life, what is acceptable in his fight, and how I may please him, and live to him alone. He is worthy, most worthy, yea only worthy of my most intense love, my abfolute devoted nefs, my most perfect obedience. Moft worthy that all I can do or poffefs, all my powers and faculties of body or mind, should, without referve or exception, be confecrated to him. But, alas! How faint are my perceptions of that reverence, love, admiration and obligation, which should always raise and inflame my heart towards him.

For fome time paft, partly owing to the weaknefs of my body, but chiefly to a dull and grovelling difpofition of mind, a great part of the day paffes, and I have done nothing. Sometimes I can neither think, nor speak, nor write. Yea many hours are wafted in trifling and abfurd reveries. Oh fhameful abufe and lofs of time never to be recalled! Yet in my morning and evening prayers, the Lord helps me, and I have that perception of his gracious prefence, which revives and ftrengthens my mind, and difpels every dark cloud.

Upon the whole, this is my chief defire, that for the uncertain remainder of my time, I may live wholly to the Lord, and for him that I may be more and more conformable to his will, and that from day to day, with a mind enlightened by his Holy Spirit, I may so behold his glory, as to be transformed into his image, and that he may live and work in me- that I may, without the leaft referve, commit myself to his direction, and with a fimple, patient faith, wait his pleasure, and with respect to all that is fu ture. Perhaps I shall write no more. Perhaps this may be the laft Jetter you will receive from me; and, perhaps, before it reaches you, I fhall have already left this world. Should you hear of my departure, do not mourn, but rather rejoice and praise God on my behalf; I am well perfuaded that Chrift is my Life, and therefore death will not be lofs, but gain to me.

VOL. XIX. July 1796.

Oh!

Oh! happy and glorious hour, when I fhall be delivered from all trouble and fin, from this body of death, from the wicked world, and from the fnares of Satan! When I fhall appear before my Saviour without fpot; and fhall fo behold his glory, and be filled with his prefence, as to be wholly and for ever engaged in adoration, admiration, gratitude and love! What should I fear? Jefus died and lives for me! For what fhould I grieve? Jefus is mine, and with him I have all things. Yet a little while, and every evil fhall ceafe; I fhall fee him as he is, and be with him for ever! Your's, CHRISTODULUS.

TUES

Extract of Captain BLIGH's Voyage.

[Continued from page 283. ]

UESDAY, May 5. Towards the evening the gale confiderably abated. Served a few broken pieces of bread-fruit for fupper, and performed prayers. The night turned out fair, and, having had tolerable reft, every one feemed confiderably better in the morning, and contentedly breakfasted on a few pieces of yams that were found in the boat. After breakfast we prepared a cheft for our bread, and got it fecured but unfortunately a great deal was damaged and rotten; this nevertheless we were glad to keep for ufe. For dinner, I ferved fome of the damaged bread, and a quarter of a pint of water.

May 6. About fix o'clock this afternoon I discovered two islands, at day-light in the morning I discovered a number of other iflands. Our fupper, breakfaft, and dinner, confifted of a quarter of a pint of cocoa-nut milk, and the meat, which did not exceed two ounces to each perfon: it was received very contentedly, but we fuffered great drought. I dared not to land, as we had no arms, and were less capable to defend ourselves than we were at Tofoa. Those islands I have been near are fruitful and hilly, fome very mountainous, and all of a good height. To our great joy we hooked a fifh, but we were miferably difappointed by its being loft in getting into the boat.

May 7. Variable weather and cloudy, wind north-easterly, and 'calms. I continued my course to the N W, between the islands, which, by the evening, appeared of confiderable extent, woody, and mountainous. I ferved to each person an ounce of the damaged bread, and a quarter of a pint of water, for fupper. It may readily be fuppofed, that our lodgings were very miferable and confined, and Í had only in my power to remedy the latter defect by putting ourselves at watch and watch; fo that one half always fat up while the other lay down on the boat's bottom, or upon a cheft, with nothing to cover us but the heavens. Our limbs were dreadfully cramped, for we could not ftretch them out, and the nights were fo cold, and we fo conftantly wet, that after a few hours fleep we could scarce move. At dawn of day we again discovered land from WSW to W NW, and another ifland N N W, the latter a high round lump of but little extent; and I could fee the fouthern land that I had paffed in the night. Being very wet and cold, I served a spoonful of rum and a moriel of bread

for

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for breakfast. As I advanced towards the land in the weft, it appeared in a variety of forms; fome extraordinary high rocks, and the country agreeably interfperfed with high and low land, covered in fome places with wood. We now obferved two large failing canoes coming Twiftly after us along shore, and, being apprehensive of their intentions, we rowed with some anxiety, being fenfible of our weak and defencélefs ftate.

May 8. All the afternoon the weather was very rainy, attended with thunder and lightning. Wind N NE. Only one of the canoes gained upon us, and by 3 o'clock in the afternoon was not more than two miles off, when fhe gave over chase. If I may judge from the fail of the veffels, they are the fame as at the Friendly Illands, and the nearness of their fituation leaves little room to doubt of their being the fame kind of people. Whether these canoes had any hostile intention against us is a matter of doubt; perhaps we might have benefited by an intercourse with them, but in our defenceless fituation it would have been risking too much to make the experiment. I imagine these to be the islands called Feejee, as their extent, direction, and distance from the Friendly Islands, anfwers to the description given of them by those Iflanders. Heavy rain came on at 4 o'clock, when every perfon did their utmost to catch fome water, and we increased our stock to 34 gal-lons, befides quenching our thirst for the first time fince we had been at fea; but an attendant confequence made us pass the night very miserably, for, being extremely wet, and no dry things to shift or cover us, we experienced cold and fhiverings fcarce to be conceived. Moft fortunately for us, the forenoon turned out fair, and we stripped and dried our cloaths. The allowance I iffued to-day, was an ounce and a half of pork, a tea-spoonful of rum, half a pint of cocoa-nut milk, and an ounce of bread. The rum, though so small in quantity, was of the greatest service. A fishing-line was generally towing, and we faw great numbers of fish, but could never catch one.

May 9. Fine weather, and light winds from the NE to E by S. This afternoon we cleaned out the boat, and it employed us till fi n-fet to get every thing dry and in order. Hitherto I had iffued the allow. ance by guess, but I now got a pair of scales, made with two cocoanut fhells; and, having accidentally fome piftol-balls in the boat, 25 * of which weighed one pound, or 16 ounces, I adopted one, as the proportion of weight that each perfon fhould receive of bread at the times I ferved it. I alfo amused all hands, with describing the fituation of New Guinea and New Holland, and gave them every information in my power, that in cafe any accident happened to me, those who furvived might have fome idea of what they were about, and be able to find their way to Timor, which at present they knew nothing of, more than. the name, and fome not that. At night I ferved a quarter of a pint of water, and half an ounce of bread, for fupper. In the morn ing, a quarter of a pint of cocoa-nut milk, and fome of the decayed bread, for breakfast ; and for dinner, I divided the meat of four cocoanuts, with the remainder of the rotten bread, which was only eatable by fuch diftreffed people.

May 10. The first part of this day fine weather; but after fun-fet it became fqually, with hard rain, thunder, and lightning, and a fresh gale: In the afternoon I got fitted a pair of shrouds for each maft, and contrived a canvass weather cloth round the boat, and raised the quarters about nine inches, by nailing on the feats of the stern sheets, which proved of great benefit to us. In the evening, the clouds began to gather, and we had a prodigious fall of rain, with severe thunder and lightning. By midnight we had caught about 20 gallons of water. Being miferably wet and cold, I ferved to each perfon a tea-spoonful of rum, to enable them to bear with their diftreffed fituation. The weather continued extremely bad, and the wind increased; we spent a very miferable night, without fleep, but fuch as could be got in the midst of rain. The day brought us no relief but its light. The fea was constantly breaking over us, which kept two perfons baling; and we had no choice how to steer, for we were obliged to keep before the waves to avoid filling the boat. The allowance which I now regularly served to each person was one 25th of a pound of bread, and a quarter of a pint of water, at fun-fet, eight in the morning, and at noon. To-day I gave about half an ounce of pork for dinner, which, though any moderate person would have confidered but a mouthful, was divided into three or four.

May 11. Strong gales from SSE to SE, and very fqually wea ther, with a high breaking sea, so that we were miferably wet, and fuffered great cold in the night. In the morning at day-break I served to every person a tea-fpoonful of rum, our limbs being fo cramped that we could fcarce feel the use of them. Our fituation was now extremely dangerous, the fea frequently running over our ftern, which kept us baling with all our ftrength. At noon the fun appeared, which gave us as much pleasure as in a winter's day in England. I iffued the 25th of a pound of bread, and a quarter of a pint of water, as yefterday.

May 12. Strong gales at S E, with much rain and dark difmal weather, moderating towards noon, and wind varying to the N E. Having again experienced a dreadful night, the day fhowed to me a poor miserable fet of beings full of wants, without any thing to relieve them. Some complained of a great pain in their bowels, and all of having but very little ufe of their limbs. What fleep we got was scarce refreshing, we being covered with fea and rain. Two perfons were obliged to be always baling the water out of the boat. I ferved a fspoonful of rum at day-dawn, and the ufual allowance of bread and water, for fupper, breakfast, and dinner. At noon it was almoft calm, no fun to be feen, and fome of us fhivering with cold.

May 13. Very fqually weather, wind foutherly. As I faw no profpect of getting our cloaths dried, I recommended it to every one to ftrip, and wring them through the falt water, by which means they received a warmth, that, while wet with rain, they could not have, and we were lefs liable to fuffer from colds or rheumatic complaints. In the afternoon we saw a kind of fruit on the water, which Mr. Nelfon knew to be the Barringtonia of Forfter, and, as I faw-the fame again in the morning, and fome men of war birds, I was led to believe we were not far from land. We continued conftantly fhipping feas, and baling, and were very wet and cold in the night; but I could not

afford