414
Contoponiturt.
GEORGE WHITEPIELD AND HIS OPEN
' AIR MEETINGS.
BY EDWARD PAYSON HAMMOND
No. II
It would require a small volume to
give anything like a connected account
of the career of Rev. George Whitefield
as an open air preacher. In our last
we only had time to glance at his first
efforts in two or three localities. It
may prove interesting to those who
have turned their attention to this
important subject of open air preaching
to the masses, still farther tofollow this
valiant champion of the `Cross in his
bold attacks upon the kingdom of Satan.
In August, 1739, soon after` White
field's successful attempts at open air
preaching in England, hd sailed on his
second voyage for America, and in nine
weeks landed at Ahiladelphia,. He was
immediately *inyited to preach in the
churches, to which all denominatiOns
flocked, as in England. d3ut the crowds
were so great that he was obliged to
speak from the gallery. of the court
house in Market street, to an audience
estimated at !It! six ;thousand and
wards." The clergymen and , church
wardens invited him to their houses.
In the memoirs of Mrs. Hannah
° Hodge, published in 1809, , the writer
says : "The effects produced in Phila
.delpnia at this time by. Mr.. Wbitefield
were truly astonishing. Members of
almost all religious denominations, and
many who had no connection with any
denomination, were brought to inquire,
with the utmost earnestness, what they
should do to be saved. Such was the
anxiety of the multitude for spiritual
instruction that there was public wor
ship regularly twice a day for a year."
Surely this was no spasmodic movement.
In speaking of his preaching in Phila
delphia, Dr. Franklin say's :
" He had a loud and. clear voice, and
articulated his words so perfectly that
he might be heard and understood to, a
great distance; especially as his audi
tors' observed the most profound silence.
He preached one evening front the top
of the court-house steps, which are in
the middle of Market street, and on , the
west side of Second street, whieh'brosses
it at right angles. Both streets were
filled with his hearers to a considerable
distance. I computed that he might
well be heard by more than thirty thou=
sand people. .. .
(f The multitudes of all sects and de
nominations that attended his. sermons
were enormous; and it was a matter of
speculation with me to observe the in
fluence of his oratory on his hearers,
and how much they admired and respect=
ed him, notwithstanding - his common
abuse of them, by assuring them that
they were, naturally, half beasts and
half devils. It was wonderful, to see
the change soon made in the manners
of our inhabitants. FrOm being thought
• less and indifferent about, religion, it
seemed as if all the world was growing
religious; so that one .could not walk
through the town in an evening with
out hearing psalms sung in different
families in every street."
A constant attendant on his ministry
at this time says, " His hearers were
never weary; every eye was fixed on
his expressive countenance; every ear
was charmed with his melodious'voice ;
every heart captivated with the beauty
and propriety of his address. His ser
mons In open air lasted about ,one and
a,..half hours."
Watson, in his "Annals of Philadel
phia," speaking of Whitefield's first visit
to that city, tells us that he preached to
a crowd of fifteen thousand persons on
Society hill, and adds, "About the same
time he so far succeeded to repress the
usual public amusements, that the danc
ing-school was discontinued, and the
ball and concert rooms were shut up, as
inconsistent with the requisitions of the
gospel. No less than fourteen sermons
were preached on Society hill in the
copen air in one week, during the session
of the Presbyterian Church; and the
gazette of the day, in noticing , the fact,
says, ' The change to religion here is
altogether surprising, through the infl.u
ence of White old ; no books sell - but
religious, and such is the general. con
versation.'"
Dr. Belcher in his Life cif Whitefickl
says, " At Chester, fiticen miles .from'
Philadelphia, he preached to about
seven thoupapd people. At White Clay
Creek, he preached to ,eight thousand
people,, -three thousand of whom; it is
said:, were on horseback."
An, old gentleman assured Watson,
the annalist, that on one occasion the
words, "And he taught thee; saying,"
as pronounced by. Whitefield on Society
hill, were hesid at Gloucester point, a
distatice by Water of two miles.
In reference to his - first,:visit to Phila
delphia, Whitefield thus Writes.: -"
have scarcely preached among them,
but I have seen a stirring among the
dry bones. Go where I will, I find peo
ple with great gladness receive me into
their houses. Sometimes I think I am
speaking to stocks and stones; but be
fore I have done, the power of the Lord
comes over Them, and I find Ihave been
ploughing up some fallow ground, in a
place where these, has been a great fam
ine of the word of God. But as God's
word increases, so will the rage and op
position of the devil. Scoffers seem to
tie at a stand what to say. They mut
ter in coffee-houses, give a curse, drink
a barrel of punch, and then cry out
against me for not preaching more mo
rality. God has enlarged. my heart to,
pray. Tears trickle down my fac.e, and
I am in great agony; but the Lord is
pleased to set his seal to what he ena
bles me to deliver. Amid cries and
groans in the congregation, God gives
me much freedom of speech. Many
people and many ministers weep. My
own soul is much carried out. I preach
ed to a vast assembly of sinners • nearly
twelve thousand were collected; and I
had not spoken long, below I perceived
numbers melting; as I proceeded, the
power increased, and thousands cried
oat ; never before did I see so glorious a
sight. Oh, what strong crying and
tears were poured forth after the dear
Lord Jesus! Some fainted; and when
they had gotten a little strength, they
would hear andlaint again. Never was
my soul filled with greater power. Oh,
what thoughts and, words did, : God= put
into my heart. As great, if not greater
commotion was in the heartS of the peo
ple. Look where I would, most were
drowned in tears." . •
After a, short stay, in the city of
Brotherly Love, Whitefield was invited
by Mr. Mob,la . .to New . York. The
Church Establishment inn — that City was
under the control of a commissary ap;
pointed liy*theiThsliP OlLoadon. At an
interview Whitefield had a few days
after his arrival; he says : was re
ceived by Mr. V. (the commissary) full
of tiliger and.resentnient'; , and 'he del
nied me the use of the pulpits in New
York." This step .sent him into .11e
fields, and he prqaehed at once to two
thousand who c6llected to hear him.
His friends made application for thek
use of the Town.. Hall ? but this was re
fused; so he Ptt;ached from a winilow,
whilst, the people stood listening in the
street below.
Of this visit to New York,.and of;his
first serrailin, a writer for c‘prinse , s
Christian 'History" says :
" I fear curiosity Was the Motive that
led me and many others into that as:-
sembly When I came there,l saw' a
great number of people, consisting of
Christians of all denominations, some
%TOWS, and a few, I believe, of noreligion
at all. When Sir. Whitefield came to
the place designated, which was a little
eminence on th'e'Side of a hill, he stood
still and beckoned with his hand, and
disposed the multitude.upon the descent,
before, and on -each side of him. He
then prayed most excellently, in the same
manner, I suppose, that the first minis
tors of, the Christian church prdyed.
The assembly soon.appeared to he„dil
vided into - two companies, the one of
which were collected round the minister,
and Were very serious add attentive;
the last had placed , themselves in the
skirts of the assembly, and spent most
of their time in giggling; scoffing; talk.
ing, and laughing. Towards the last
prayer the. whole assembly, appeared.
more united, and all became hushed and
still; a solemn aw,e and reverence ap
peared 'in the facesnf moat, A • mighty
energy ',attending the word. •L. heArd
and felt something astonishing and Bur
prisingghut I confess.' was .not at that
time fully „rid of my -scruples. I went
to heitr him in ate - evening, at the rres
byterian church., ;where he ei•pounded to
above two thousand people within and
without doors. I never in my life saw
so attentive' an Audience. "All he said
was demonstration, life and„ po w er.
The peopre's eyes and ears hung on his
lips. r They greedily devoured every
word. I came home astonished. Every
scruple vanished; I never saw nor heard
the like ' • and 'I said within myself;
'Surely God is with this man, of a
truth.'
When Mr. Whitefield returned to
Philadelphia, notwithstanding the great
blessing which ) attended his -previous
visit, he was forbidden to preach in'the
city. One of the first persons he met
in the street was the official commissary,
who soon informed Arhitefield that be
could_ no longer permit ,the use of the
Philadelphia pulpit.. - -
"`Thanks be to God !" he 'eXclaimed,
" the fields are open." Be went 4ac
_
cordingly and preached on the Society
hill six thousimd `hearers, and in the
evening also, t 'when - npwards of eight
thousind were collected. Oil , the -fol
lowing Sunday egain, at the same place,
he had a'congregation, he says, Of about
ten thousandin the morning, and about
fifteen thousand in the evening.
Thus we see that while' some in
authority strove to drive him from the
city, "the common people heard him
gladly," and multitudes no doubt in
heaven will rejoice that this servant of
God was led to preach in the open air.
I am well aware that those familiar
with Whitefield's remarkable career will
find nothing new in theSe sketches.
But there was such. a constant outpour
ing of the Holy Spirit in connection
with his labors wherever he "lifted up"
the Lord Jesus, that one would almost
as soon tire of reading the "Acts of the
Apostles" as of the labors of Whitefield.
Some time since I chanced to meet with
a volume of " Whitefield's journal,"
published a hundred years . Eigo. I often
found the tears trickling. ,dowil my
cheeks as Iread and re-read its precious
contents. Dr. Griffin used to thank
God for the " luxury of a broken heart."
Accounts of such melting, pentecostal
scenes as those in Which , Whitefield
-lived, if prayerfully:read, can but have
a tendency to soften our hearts and to
make us long for such mighty outpour
ings of the Holy Spirit in these days of
worldliness.
No man despises praise, who has - not
ost all claim to it.
PHILADELPHIA., ,'
THE THREE EXILI2-JOHN, CICERO,
NAPOLION.
It might have been expected that, at
such an age (95), in sit,h solitude, among
the bold cliffs and lorply peaks, wittithe
solemn roar of the nit breaking against
the barrier of rock A and the terrible
storms mocking his idesolation, John
would have yielded tO the shock of ex
ile and sorrow, and lk•oken his gentle
heart in lamentation and despair ! ' The
great Cicero, who bad ruled theßoman
Foruin for zears, whose\ eloquence
changed even the purpose of Cmar,
and to wh m the Senate ga the name
of his country" ecanse he
saved c, Ro e from a terrible nspira y
—in the ;
i vrt,
ime of life, stren honed yr
memoriesglory and the etnicions ess
of duiy, c soled by mul.titades he
honored hii and loved his fame and
even when .t e Grecian cities era ated
_one another in bestowing on him. ivill 7 ,
ties and honors, spent his brief exile
in bitter lamentations. , Like a beileaved
lover he cast a longing and li 'eriig
thought toward Italy, and beh ed, as
Plutarch tells us, " with a littl ess Of
f
spirit altogether incorhistent . WI his
reputation, and with the oppo unities
he hld - enjoyed_, of cultivation from let-,
tern and philosophy."
./,
'There was another 6.1.1,1 e on another
lone ocean-rock—thern i a 6fdestiny;who,
after the glory` of Mar o and Auster:
liter of Sena and . Eak uhl; after the.
conquest of Egypt and aly, of Germa
ny and. Spain ;
j aiter had dictated.,
el l
terms to European cou s, and Ailed:the
World with the terror o his name, was
borne by the ship of a °stile nation, on
whose generosity he h d cast-himself;
to tlia - jack of St. Hel a, w:here, by a
k ,
i ;,
succession of petty a,nn nces, his life ,
was', embittered and sh 9 e ed. 4e,l%ad
protested in vain agains t is cruel Cles-:
tiny, and when it ,presse , a him. as a
,
realityhe had not the'p losophy 'nor
the fortitude to bear it. e broke, often
,
into passionate complain !at the indig
nity; felt most keenly hi's degradation;
his absence - frocti .1 - c*l lii e anti Ilia son;
rg.
frb the light, of Vrance• iidifrom all
"\ l,
human sympathy.. .A.ltho gh fiftyyea,ts
had . not yet been nupber d in his life,
he sank beneath the weig t of his mis
fortunes, and died, possib a.
, believer,
--
but .with " France""th armYr", and
"JoSephine"--on his lips, asif his spirit
grieved for the glory of the ast, though
. 1
it caught no light from the 'atm.°.
:-liiitliere is John the belo*ed ^ dititeiPle,
severed in his old age from! his wonted,
associations, from friends andicenes of
labor: from -t.h A Illon•. 1 e--322K1--renclered
holy by his prayers
•; from the, young
men Who bore him •fror place to
place and watched over hita as
over an endeared fathei, sent to a
solitary isle, bare and bl ak, and 42,wave
washed and shaken by s rms, with no
companion who could ree 11 the past to
his heart, and review Niith him the
events in which their cocoon interests
were blended and their ,energies i
,em
ployed, and,yet with all, e disadvan
tages of age, in`' whichonl
becomes a
child again, and needs a h don which
* AC lean, a heart to Offer, it tencier and
patient sympathies—that gOod old man,
that banished man, - withput a 'Tome,
without wife or child, without the fel
.
lowship of old friends, on thedran
rock, in the lonely cave r fed, .wek.rw
not by what - miracle, shelgred we know
not by what human poweil: guarded at
.
night in his lonely rest, e know not
by what other' hind than hat of God,
that banished old Christian tands there
trihis• sblitude, - his white 1 cks r caressed
by the wind, his eyes 1 oking into
heaven, and his ears open t the cedes . -
tial voiees, a sublimer Man han Cicer?
or Napoleon! The loye which so long
-filled his heart, the lessons be learned
when walking by the side And leaning
onthe breast of teens, the n'earness. of
his soul to God and heaven, the pos
-session of a - life Which the edit Roman
orator and Corsican conqueror, did not
know, lifted him from dependance on
man and earth! In the absence , • f
places to which he had been accustoms
of the beings who once ministered t
his, - , comfort, and or the scenes which'
had hallowed his earlier days, his piety
.._
~,...
changed the bleak rock into a Paradise,
its eaves Were God's temples, and the
waves that beat around, it sang anthems
to him soft and sweet' as the mother's
songs ,that lulled his, infant heart to
repose. .
The Lord's day dawned over that
With a' divine light; and 'as he
looked' off on the sparkling sea dotted
- with historic islands, and bordered by
the glorious Grecian land,"he thought
of the land of the blessed; his so j ul•went
up to the ascended :Ohriit; 'lie 'Wag in
the spirit of devotion and praise, happy
without any of the wealth, or pleasure,
or splendor, or luxuries, or comforts for
which we labor, and struggle, and sin.
In that devout and holy poStare, the
solitary exile heard behind him a great
voice of a trumpet saying,'‘ ,I am Alpha
and Omega, the first and thelaStp and
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1864.
By Tar. E. ;lAA'S, D. D
turning to ascertain the meaning of the
voice, he had' a vision of his Lord; not
as when he leaned on him at the supper,
but in glory and grandeur, clothed with
majesty; his head and his hairs were
white as wool, and his eyes as a flame
of fire ; his feet like unto fine brass as
if they burned * in a furnace; and his
voice like the Bound of many waters,
and he had in his right hand seven stars,
and out of his mouth went a sharp two
edged sword, and his countenance was
as the sun. Shineth in his strength.
Well' might he, at such a sight fall down
As dead I. little did he anticipate such
a, revelation of his Lord, nor would he
have known him but for'tbe words
" Fear not, I am he that liveth and was
dead?'
RELIGIOUS OONDITION AND. PROS 7
' .PEOP OF NEXIOO.
Tee. years -ago, the 'order of Jesuits
was restored in Mexico and the natives
for i time seemed disposed to hug.those
more galling chains which other parts of
Centlit and - South America were
posed to throw off. But at' a later
'period, her people arose in their might,
broke the .power of the church, which
had beenotronger than the 'state, eon;
_fitiOated the church 'property, expelled
the bishops and, proclaimed religious
liberty. This. work, if commenced be.
'Lire, was consummated.by Juarez, after
Congress hail eieirated him to:the presi
(fancy in 1861.
"Two acts of his afforded'an ostensible
reason for the invasion of Mexico. One
was the suspension of payMent of_ all
claims against the 'State for two years.
The other was a refusal to pay a claim
of fifteen millions
.(15,000,000) which'
Jecker, a Swift banker, brotight against
the Mexican government_: While Mira
mus was in possessionof the city of
Mexico, claiming to be president, he
:borrowed seven hundred'and fifty thou
sand dollars of this banker,: then doing
business in. Mexico. 'Upon the basis 'of
this loan Jecker founded the . :above
claim, and . when Juarez refused pap
ment locker found means to intersect.
the French minister: in the matter.
Soon after,' . ierker *as, oiainied as ' a
French citizerc''and - that government
-tOok up his claims.
Such, as we have intimated, was the
'ostensible reason for 'the invasion' of
Mexico, but every one is well satisfied
that so far as relates to the French it
was something more. Their real.pur
pose was, from- the beginning, to found
a monarchy there which would be sub
servient to the, -interests 'of ' France.
The nominal effort to elevate the Latin
bretoo- might -hawiren-- a,pi.Yeagre Thei
Empress, who was. highly
.offended at
Napoleon's treatment of the Pope.
Should that invasion eventually-cease,
leaving Juarez in power, Mexico would
present an inviting missionary field.
Many of the people are liberal in their
views, and among those who are the
most so is Juarez himself. One who"has
long resided in Mexico and is personally_
acquainted with him, says that he would
gladly welcome and "protect Protestant
missionaries; and'that he is disposed to
provide, at his own expense, in the city .
of Mexico, a place for Protestants to
worship. But Whatever may be' the
'results of thisinvasion, we see for, that;
distracted < country a dawn of hope.
Metrust it is.one of those glim.merings,
that portend the corning day. Indeed
there We' anuniber:of favorable indica
tions as to the moral improvement - cif
that , country.
As early as 1850 or 1851, the atten-.
tion of the Anierican and Foreign -
Christian Union was called to the im
portance of a mission for the Mexicans
in the valley of the Rio Grande, and a
converted Spanish Monk, who had
lahored for that society elsewhere,' was
sent to Brownsville, Texas, where a
large number of them lived. Remain
ing on this side of the line that divides
Ws from Mexico he enjoyed American
protection, though laboring almos_t_as
much for
.h.er people as - if, he had been
within her territory.
..He had a school
during the week and on the Sabbath,
when he also read the Scriptures among
the people and exhorted them in the
Spanish language.
Exchanging that field for another,
his labors there were assumed by a
noble self-denying . 'female, through
whose instrumentality the missionary
work of.the. Christian Union for Mexico
is mainly carried on. Brownsville has
quite a Mexican population, and _there
this lady opened a'school for girbi about
the year 1855 or 1856. Her object'was
to counteract the influence of a convent
located'there, and to promote evangeli
cal. religion while furnishing the means_
for a thorough education. And her
labors, like those of her predecessor,
were mainly for the Mexican part• of
the population. Her school was so
much better than that connected with
the convent, even in the estimation of
the. Papists, that several early withdtew
their daughters from the latter for the
purpose of sending them to the foriner,
'with - the till - understanding that the
teacher would give them as much
Biblical instruction as she pleased.
They risked all harm from that quarter
in order to avail themselves of the su
perior advantages of the school.
• While'engaged in teaching, the prin
cipal and her associates embraced every
opportunity.' to • distribute Bibles, and
tracts among the people, by whom they
and their books
, and tracts were kindly
received. Though this seminary soon
met with opposition, it has steadily
gained in the confidence of 'the people.
The American and Poreign Christian
Union early employed this ieacher to
instruct indigent Mexican girls, of good
promise, at the: expense'of the society.
Their ''object *as to qualify them for
usefulness in their various spheres of
life,'and in due time to send them into
various parts of the country to do good,
as they were able. A Sabbath school
,was; early started' alSo, - which was at
.
,tended by adults, as well as by children,
andthus an opening was made for the
• •
truth, very quietly , but effectually,_te
teach the hearts - of many Mexicans in a
way that •they were 'not disposed to
resist. Many of those of whom the pro
veyb say; "the priests have them soul
and body," Would attend these schools
though they could not be induced to
`attend a Protestant chiirch. At one
time : the tii4c,liei says the Mexican girls
which have •in my school have nearly
all come from. the convent. Again she
says;" Ifully believe that the truth is
penetrating the hearts of .many in
Mexico,: and will eventually develops
'itself in their salvation."
She specifies some interesting cases.
When Cortittas and his outlaws at
tempted to deltroy Brownsville, in 1860,
our teacher` passed over to Mexim for
.
better protection than the Stripes and
Stars Could for 'the time- give, but re
turned to her favorite post as the dan
ger passed away, and continued her
labois till near the outbreak of the pre
sent war: She had then educated two
hundred young lad'es in a thorough
Christian. manner. As they have re
turned to their homes or gone to other
parts of their native land, they .
have
taken their Biblesalong with them and
Much good is not onlydone already but
the way is preparing for greater good
to be done in time to come.
"Other instrumentalities" are co
:operating for the moral improvement of
that country, through which thousands
•
of Bibles and Other religious publica
tions have been, scattered, within the
last ten year, An "Evangelization
Society" has been "formed at Monterey,
IT English, Scotch _and American resi
dents for t diffusion" of the truth.
And even the Emperor "Napoleon has i
expressed the wish that religious free
doca be allowed there' as well as in
France." The fruit of these various
efforts for thd benefit ofMexico already
appears in such a Way as to give pro
mise, ere long, of- an abundant harvest
A Jesuit, who was receiving an annual
salary of $25,000, came into possession
of a Bible. He read it, saw the truth
and gives every evidence' of having
embraced it that can be asked.. He
_
-submitted to the loss of salary,property,
friends, influence and even to the inflic
tion of torture .for the truth's sake.
'This-' Man eays 'that he knows of one
hundred and, fifty priests whe desire to;
renounce popery -.and would db it but
fgr the fear of starvation. Some have
(kie it and axe wandering in disguise.
,-TThirty ,miles east of Monterey a
good work has been accomplished by
- the Mexioan Evangelization Society.
Fifteen persons 'hope they have come
to a miring knowledge of the truth."
They would gladly be formed. into a
church. • A Bi6ld Class_ is held two
evenings each week. "In another three
tion a settool of thirty scholars,is taught
by members of a Scotch family, where
,considerable inte)rest is manifested in
religious truth." , •
Thus f whether the French invasion
is permanent or transient, God has been
pleased;to give us a door of entrance to
the heart of the Mexican people. The
influence which is exerted upon them is
silent but effective, like showers of rain
that water the earth. The light im
parted is spreading and the -Mexicans
are opening their eyes to behold it and
to see the source whence their calami
ties flow. The number of enlightened
men in Mexico is increasing and, as
means are furnished, very much more
, can be done bothalong.her borderwand
within her bounds. As those who 'are
educated go to their homes at the end
of their coarse, or go as teachers into
any other part of the , country, well
trained in the principles'of our holy re
ligion as well as in • the
. rudiments: of
science, they take their Bibles with
them and = will become, we have reas,pn
•to think i , healthful centres of moral in
fluence whence trutli •will go out more'
or less upon the wide wastes' around
them and they will shine "as lights in
the world."
And to whom shoild liteiico look for
thattrao:fal aid arid instruction that she
very mach needs, if not to us ? For
reasons that will be readily understood,
we can aid her more easily and more
effectually than any other nation. A n d
we owe it to ourselves, we owe it to
to them to do for them what we can.
LETTER PROM INDIA.
Sympathy in our Struggle—The Great . Cyclone
—lOO,OOO Lives Destroyed,
" He shall blow upon them and they shall
wither, and the whirlwind shall take them
away as stubble." Isa. al : 24:
DEAR BB°. MEAxs :—We have been
looking from India upon the terrible
slaughter caused by your civil war with
mingled and varied feelings. Some of
us note the deep depravity and demo
niac rage of the South in provoking and
beginning such a bloody strife, and
thank God fOr the pure patriotism which
prompts the true-hearted men and wo
men of 'the North to lay such costly
offerings on the altar of liberty and hu
manity. Others, and the great majority
I fear lift up their hands in a kind of
holy horror at the fearful sacrifice of
life, taking no proper account of the
immense interests at stake, and blaming
the very men who thus freely pour out
their treasures and life-blood in the
holiest of human struggles.
In the meantime God is teaching us
that there are calamities more destruc
tive than war, and that wealth and
human lives are by no means the most
costly treasures in His estimation, for
He sweeps them away with the "besoni
of destruction," while the great princi•
plea of righteousness and truth remain
eternal.
You have heard of our India cyclones.
We have had them before—but none,
within the memory of the present gen
eration, so fearfuify destrucfive as the
One which smote Calcutta, the capital of
British India, on the sth inst. For
three weeks our papers have been bur
thened with the details 'of this fearful
calamity, aixi yet each 'mail brings new
tales of 'suffering. The port of Calcutta
was crowded with more than 200 ships
and steamers. More than one hundred
of these are reported to have been de
stroyed, and generally with all on board.
The force with which the cyclone struck
-the city may be inferred from the fact
that 410 houses strongly built of mason
work were destroyed, and 1604 'dam
aged; while of the smaller and weaker
houses 40,410 were destroyed and 4,578
damaged. More than 1000 persons per
ished by the'falling of houses alone.
Bat the most sweeping destruction
occurred between Calcutta and the sea.
Over much of this region the ocean
seems to have resumed temporary do
minion—huge waves 30 feet high, roll
ing over plantations, islands and vil
lages, and sweeping every thing in their
Course.
An eye-witness describing some lo
calities writes : " The Sunderbunds are
swept. bare of every living thing and
every habitation. The river and the
land were strewed with dead bodies of
men, Cattle, and even snakes. Diamond
Harbor, we found entirely destroyed,
and the river so fall of dead bodies of
all kinds as to impede the progress of
the steamer." A police officer having
made his way, With immense difficulty,
fro& Diamond` Harbor to Calcutta, by
land, reports that he counted over 5000
corpses visible on; his route. A large
number of laborers on the island of
Saugor-5000 on one single estate—are
supposed to have perished. All at
tempts to estimate the loss cf life can
as yet only approximate the truth.
The first attempt made the estimate
10,000; bat this - quickly rose to 30,000;
and now the details at hand increase
this cstimate to 100,000 human beings
swept ijrto eternity almost instantly by
this terrific cyclone. Surely << The Lord
hath his way in the whirlwind and in
ihe storm;" and what reason have we
in our human weakness to bow sub
missively to His divine sovereignty,
still heeding the lesson to do with our
might what We would do for Christ and
the salvation of souls.
The terrible calamity is eliciting
warm sympathy for the surviving suf
ferers.A public meeting has been
i
Called n the Town Hall of Bombay to
devise means of relief, and already our
wealthy capitalists have subscribed
over two lacs of rupees. Immense for
tunes. have been made in Bombay dur
ing the progress of your civil war, and
it is well that some of this wealth be
disbursed to the needy suffering. '
Odr latest telegrams tell us of the
capture of Atlanta and the Mobile Forts,
for which we devoutly thank God and
take courage. Thanks to Sherman,
Grant and Farragut, our European
friends no longer taunt us with " The
North has produced no Generals." God
grant to our brave y Generals and soldiers
a rich reward.' for all tileir toil and
sufferings, in the best of all lands saved
to liberty and humanity: Our British
India forces are gathering to chastise
the Bootanese on our northeastern lion
,tier. The necessaries . of life are at fiim
.
me prmes, and we are seriously threat
ened with the failure of the crops and
still greater suffering.
Oar mission work goes on as usual,
our chapel is in a forward state, though
some eight thousand rupees and three
months active labor are needful to com
plete it. In the service of the gospel,
Yours sincerely, B. G:WiteErt.
KOLAPOOR, INDIA, Oct . 25, 1864.
•
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„P. S. Your paper of Sept, let cam°
Oct. 16th, one week in advance of all
direct American news.