INTELLIGENCE. A HOTTENTOT'S TESTIMONY TO THE VALUE OF THE BIBLE. (From the Speech of Andries Stoffles, at Exeter Hall, 10 August, 1836.) "I will tell you what the Bible has done for us. There are three gentlemen in this country who are witnesses to what Africans wereDr. Philip, Mr. Read, and Mr. Campbell. I wish to tell you what the Bible has done for Africa. What would have become of the Hottentot nation, and every black man in South Africa, had you kept the word of God to yourselves? When you received the word of God you thought of other nations who had not that word. When the Bible came amongst us we were naked; we lived in caves and on the tops of the mountains ; we had no clothes, we painted our bodies with red paint. At first we were surprised to hear the truths of the Bible. The Bible charmed us out of the caves, and from the tops of the mountains. The Bible made us throw away all our old customs and practices, and we lived among civilized men. We are tame men now. Now we know there is a God; now we know we are accountable creatures before God. But what was our state before the Bible came? We knew none of these things. We knew nothing about heaven. We knew not who made heaven and earth. The Bible is the only light for every man that dwells on the face of the earth. I thank God, in the name of every Hottentot-of all the Hottentots in South Africa, that I have seen the face of Englishmen. I have been looking whether a Hottentot found his way to this meeting, but I have looked in vain: I am the only one. I have travelled with the Missionaries in taking the Bibles to the Bushmen, and other nations. When the word of God has been preached, the bushman has thrown away his bow and arrows. I have accompanied the Bible to the Caffre nation, and when the Bible spoke, the Caffre threw away his shield and all his vain customs. I went to Lattakoo, and they threw away all their evil works, they threw away their assagais, and became the children of God. The only way to reconcile man to man, is to instruct man in the truths of the Bible. I say again, the Bible is the light, and where the Bible comes, the minds of men are enlightened. Where the Bible is not, there is nothing but darkness; it is dangerous, in fact, to travel through such a nation. Where the Bible is not, man does not hesitate to kill his fellow; he never even repents afterwards of having committed murder." THE PRAYER OF THE CAPTIVES. Exodus ii, 23-25. WHERE gloriously the Nile's deep waters glide, And welcomed with sweet song and jocund mirth, A captive nation! ah! they well may sigh When freedom from their bands her flight hath taken, Well may the plain re-echo to the cry, "Hath God his chosen ones for aye forsaken? "Altho' our fathers rest in dreamless sleep, "Oh God! thy cov'nant to their children keep !" And years passed on, and yet that cry arose, And heaven hath heard that loud unceasing wail And read the oppressor's dark mysterious tale; On slaves in thraldom kept by British law, And ye, who yet the chain of slavery bind To Him who listens to the captive's prayer; And shall not God avenge that ceaseless cry? Oh! break the fetter, set the prisoner free, Nor forge the chains of your own destiny! ; E, M. I. THE PURITAN'S GRAVE. YE are gone!-and no more on the mountain's brown heather, No organ's deep notes in full harmony swelling, But the soft voice of rills, from the mountain's side swelling Ye have run the good race, ye have fought the good fight, They call'd ye fanatics, and vainly they strove, On heraldry's rolls though their name ne'er had been, From nobles and priests, and the great of the nation, Priests by the gift of a mightier hand. Softly the dews on the wild flowers weep, In no high sculptured domes, are their bodies enshrin'd, The flag that floats o'er ye shakes light in the wind, B. W. B. THE PILGRIM FATHERS OF NEW ENGLAND. "What sought they thus afar? Bright jewels of the mine? The wealth of seas, the spoils of war? They sought a faith's pure shrine. "Ay, call it holy ground, The soil where first they trod! They have left unstained what there they found, Freedom to worship God." THEY had left their childhood's home For the wide and stormy sea; For the star of truth was shaded, And the dark and dreadful doom There was one in that lone bark- Far from her home they buried her : On the border of a rock-bound isle, They reached that savage shore,* And their hearts within them sank with fear, But the beacon-lights of holy writ Amid the darkness shone, And their lips the accents of prayer sent forth And the wondering Indian heard, As he stood 'neath the star-lit skies, Edinburgh, Hemans. A. R. B. * New England. TO A FRIEND. WHEN Christian friends are called to part, For a short space below: They need not mourn; they still can meet And there sweet comfort know. What, though a thousand miles divide, His truth for ever firm shall stand, When at his throne of grace you bend, And though we never met before, And though we never may meet more, May God on high, his blessings.pour And guard you with his care. Penrith. E. P. THE " "ONE THING IS NEEDFUL." one thing needful "—is it needful NOW? |