Missionary Operations.

PORT OF LONDON.

CAPTAIN PRYNN'S REPORT.

What great cause for thankfulness and gratitude, that, amidst the ravages of death and disease, spreading wide on every side, I am still spared as a monument of mercy, and strengthened to see the close of another month. My labours through the past month have been great; more so than on former occasions. It has been a time for Christian exertion. The effects of cholera have been felt amongst our captains, mates, and sailors on the river Thames, and at the sailors' lodging-houses have been very severe and fatal. I have been called to close an address, leaving my brother sailors to carry on the meeting with prayer, whilst I have gone to administer some spiritual consolation to a dying captain, mate, or sailor, and, blessed be God, those efforts have not been in vain.

The awful and unexpected death of so many, mostly taken off in the prime of life, has had a tendency to awaken many out of a state of sinful indifference and stupor; thus the judgments of God having been manifested, have been the means of quickening many that were dead in trespasses and sins, so that there has been a spirit of hearing, and also of inquiry, on their part; and, through the mercy and grace of Christ, it is to be hoped, not a few have found peace and pardon.

The Bethel meetings have been very numerously attended. Many a poor sailor has been heard to pray that never engaged in so sacred a duty before. Many a captain has hoisted the Bethel flag that never hoisted it before; and, through the influence of the Holy Spirit, many are now seeking the way to heaven and happiness, who very lately were measuring their steps downward, to the abodes of darkness, death, and dread despair. Thus are we encouraged to go forward, because God is magnifying his name, and making it glorious in the sight of the people. Only let sailors be converted, and the world must know it, and its beneficial effects must be felt in the Christian as well as the commercial world.

My meeting on the 3rd of last month was a meeting of deep interest, when the cabin was so filled, that the kind captain went upon deck to give room for others; and there, after several had prayed in the cabin, he knelt down by the sky-light, and in most earnest, solemn prayer pleaded with God. All present were deeply impressed with his supplications, and God, even our God, was evidently present to bless us.

Similar meetings have been held on board several other vessels, and the stout-hearted sailor has been broken down, convinced of sin, led to cry for mercy, and in that state has been pointed to Christ, as the only Saviour of sinners, the only refuge from the wrath to come, the only shelter in the storm -the only hiding-place from impending danger. At the close of one of my meetings, a young man, who was a captain, asked, "Did you ever see me before this evening?" I said, "No." "You have heard of me, I suppose ?" I replied, "No, I have not." "That seems very strange;-never heard of me!-you seem to know my character perfectly; you have pretty well exposed me to-night, before some that were at the meeting-but I must pass

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it over now, I suppose, as you say you know nothing of me; but it is very strange that you should have made such statements as you have to-night, relative to my past conduct and present state-there is one thing you said, I shall not soon forget." I asked what was that? He said, "You urged every one to examine themselves, before God, in a prayerful spirit, whether they were the characters you had described. This brought me to think." "Well, my dear friend," I said, "I hope the Lord will reveal himself more fully to you; it is his word applied to your conscience, through the influence of the Holy Spirit accompanying the same, that you have heard to-night; faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Much more conversation took place-and, at parting, he took my promise to see him the next day, on board his vessel. This was attended to; he spoke of having but little rest during the night, and his mind was much distressed. After some little conversation, which he attempted to treat rather lightly, I said, "Let us have a few words in prayer;" and, whilst confessing our sin before God, he cried out aloud, “ Lord, thou knowest that I am a hardened sinner-pardon me." Being thus interrupted, I said, "Pray on, my brother; God will hear and answer." He continued for several minutes praying for pardon, and tears flowing from his eyes. I closed with a few sentences, that his prayer might be heard, and his petitions granted; but oh, what a difference was there in this man's feelings when he rose from his knees, and when I had met him the night before!-yes, even before he had knelt down that morning!

He attended two of my Bethel meetings after this. I had converse with him, and that of a pleasing, profitable nature. I hope the seeds of grace thus sown will bring forth much fruit to the glory of God. He sailed for the shores of America ;-may the Lord be very gracious unto him.

Praise God, in the midst of my labours, this month I have been divinely supported and strengthened in body and mind-the work of the Lord is progressing, and the prospects of better days are brightening upon our view.

SAILORS' CHURCH.-We trust the services of the sanctuary here held will be made a lasting blessing to very many that attend the same-in a very especial manner, amongst those men that plough the ocean, and brave the tempest in its terrific form. Here may they find a port of rest, and be led to recline on Christ, and find him to be their pilot; and, under his divine guidance and direction, may many a wanderer be safely brought into the haven of rest, where all the ship's company meet who sail with the Saviour below.

THE SAILORS' LODGING-HOUSES have been duly attended, and my brother Bailey and myself have been occupied together in this work, and have paid particular attention thereto. The sailors visited have been found, in too many instances, thoughtless and unconcerned about their present and everlasting peace and welfare; and oh, how difficult it is to get those men to think ! Well, the tract is put into their hand-religious conversation is entered into-they are told about Christ, pointed to Christ, urged to believe on Christ, and invited to come under the sound of the Gospel, to hear of Christ; and there are some who, from time to time, are found attending to these invitations, and, we trust, are made the happy recipients of the grace that bringeth salvation.

My visits to sick persons on shore and on board of vessels have been thirty-seven. In some cases, more especially of cholera, the scenes have been distressing reason dethroned, the powers of the body and mind quite prostrate, and the whole system so perfectly paralysed, as to be incapable of

serious thought, where grace has not reigned in the heart before. There have been three cases, however, of a hopeful nature.

I have held 9 Bethel meetings afloat; attendance, 204; meetings on shore, 11; total attendance at the Sailors' Church, 1,095; sailors, 570; vessels visited, 359; visits to sailors' lodging-houses, 157; Bibles sold, 10; Testaments, 7; tracts, 2,100; Captain Allen's Magazine, 43.

MR. H. V. BAILEY'S REPort.

Almost every day during the past month I have been fully employed, either in visiting vessels lying in the river and different docks, or conducting services and visiting seamens' lodging-houses, or seamens' families. Such is the nature of our work. Sometimes I have spent nine or ten hours a day in this work. Several of the services I have conducted on shipboard during the month have been of a deeply interesting character, which will be seen by my giving a few extracts from my journal.

Sept. 12th, visited thirty-four vessels, and held a service on board of the Richmond, of Stockton; our cabin and steerage were crowded; seven captains were present. A very gracious influence pervaded the service; several persons were affected to tears; at the close of the sermon seven seamen engaged in prayer.

13th, chief of the day spent in visiting; in the evening conducted service on board the Lambton, of Sunderland; captains and seamen present numbered twenty-six; the Lord was truly in our midst. At the close of the discourse eight engaged in prayer.

14th, visited the Lower Pool, and engaged the Emsworth for a service, at which Captain Goodchild preached; thirty-five captains and seamen were present; many earnest petitions ascended to the Throne from this meeting.

19th, visited fifty-three vessels, and held a service on board the Salvia, of Sunderland; after preaching, seven engaged in prayer; twenty-four seamen were present. In visiting the following day I was informed several received spiritual good at this service.

21st, visited several vessels lying in Mill Hole; in the evening held a service on board the Emerald, Captain Kelley; twenty-seven seamen were present, eight engaged in prayer. At the close of the service several stated they had not attended such a service before. The captain of this vessel told me, the following day, that at the service the mate of the vessel became so deeply affected under the word, that after I had left the vessel they resumed the prayer meeting, and continued it till midnight.

During the month I have preached on board several vessels where a religious service had not been conducted before; several other vessels have been offered.

In visiting the lodging-houses I have had to converse and pray with sick and dying seamen. One morning, after conversing and praying with a sailor who was fast recovering from a severe attack of cholera, I was informed another was lying bad at a house close by; I hastened away to see him. He had been attacked only a few hours before; but while I stood by his bed-side, he expired. The next house I visited I found another very ill, the same evening he also expired. I would record my gratitude to our heavenly Father for preserving my health in the midst of so much sickness and death.

During the month I have held 12 services afloat; these have been attended by 247 seamen, out of whom 64 engaged in prayer. I have held 10 services on shore, and attended one public meeting; paid 504 visits to vessels, and 191

to seamen's lodging-houses; distributed 2,460 tracts, and 25 old magazines. I have sold 48 English Bibles, 10 Testaments, 1 Swedish Testament, and 15 of the Society's Magazines.

REV. C. VON BULOW'S REPORT.

FOREIGN SEAMEN.

There have been a great many vessels this month, especially Norwegians, Germans, Danes, and Swedes, and I have been enabled to visit the different places in turn, and, as usual, to distribute tracts and copies of the Holy Scriptures. I have also appointed services for the men, and conversed with them, according to opportunity. On one occasion I was invited down into the cabin, where the captain told me he had two young men, who called themselves converted, and who thought themselves better than others; but that, with regard to themselves, they said that they were not responsible for any sin that they might commit. The mate said, "Aye, it is written, he that believed and is baptised shall be saved, but he that believed not shall be condemned.'"' I then endeavoured to set forth the great work of salvation through Jesus Christ, and the great privileges bestowed upon us through Him. The captain then asked me if Christ was the Son of God? Showing him how little we under stood ourselves, and of what we saw and heard around us, and how impossible it was that our poor darkened reason was able to understand; much more I said on this topic, appealing to the Holy Scriptures for all that I said. He then bought a New Testament, and said he would have a Bible for himself, and a New Testament for every hand on board. A few days afterwards, I visited the same ship, and it was agreed that there should be Divine service on board the following Sunday, which took place; the ship was all nicely trimmed, and twenty-six German seamen attended, who all were very atten tive, and got several Bibles and New Testaments. Ou giving them tracts, one brought me five or six tracts, and desired me to exchange them, which I also did; they were published by some Tract Society in Hamburgh, and one was on the impropriety of infant baptism. On one occasion I found a Norwegian captain and his wife, to whom I was enabled to set forth the truth. In the course of the month I got a German vessel to preach on board, but the captain had gone inland, and the crew only attended.

I found a Russian ship in the East India Docks, bound for the northwestern parts of America; there were, besides the crew, about forty soldiers on board. I gave them Russian tracts, and they immediately cominenced to read. I could not remember any other Russian word but "dobra ;" "it is good;" and dobra! dobra! resounded from all sides. I likewise furnished the crew, consisting of different nations, with tracts, Bibles, and New Testaments. The soldiers wanted Russian Bibles, which are not to be had. I gave the firstmate a parcel of Russian, Finnish, and Swedish tracts to distribute in the Colonies, which pleased him very much.

The different lodging-houses have been duly attended to, and I have distributed a good many, especially Italian and Greek tracts, and sold, for the first time, a Greek New Testament. The German emigrants have been but few, and of the very worst cast, and I should not like to repeat what I heard. On one occasion I found in one house only five Germans; but they told me that there were Norwegians in the next room. On entering I found several young men and women, who told me that they had been on a Norwegian vessel, destined to go to America; but the ship had been wrecked, all hands had been saved, and the crew were at the Seamen's Home. One of them,

who was present, went to invite his comrades, and at two o'clock twenty-two persons assembled in the Sailors' Church, to whom I read the 106th Psalm, and endeavoured to impress upon them the infinite grace and mercy of God. They were deeply impressed, and every one came to shake hands and thank me, deploring that so many of their company had been obliged to go to the Consul. I gave them all tracts, and some bought New Testaments.

Owing to circumstances often repeated, the want of some person, both to bring circulars on board, and also to collect and bring the men to the appointed places of worship, the attendances at the Sailors' Church and at Blackwall have been very limited-sometimes none have come at all.

I have received a letter from Norway, in which a young man, who went to his native place, gives me a most deplorable account of the state of things. I had given him a small parcel of tracts, of which he has distributed some, and given some to the king's sheriff, who would distribute them on his circuit, which he was then to commence.

On the hospital ship I have continued to visit the foreign seamen, exhorting and entreating them. One German had fallen from the rigging down into the ballast. Another had been struck by lightning when on sea; he seems deeply impressed, and once, when I was pressing the truth, he said, with many tears, "Twice I have indeed, now, had a warning; I hope it will be blessed," Several have died on board the cholera ship, and some have recovered, among which was a Swedish captain and two Norwegian sailors, who seemed much impressed; the captain bought a New Testament, and several others have bought or been given New Testaments.

The summary of the whole is as follows:-Made 374 visits on board and 18 in lodging-houses; held 2 services on board, and 8 by land, when 125 persons have attended; sold 24 Bibles and 106 New Testaments; 3,450 tracts have been distributed.

PROVINCIAL OPERATIONS.

CORNWALL.

MR. J. TROTTER'S REPORT.

By the good providence of God, I have the privilege of sending you another brief report of our operations amongst the sons of the deep, who are so numerous upon this interesting coast. I am happy to state, that I feel an increasing delight in my work, and have every reason to thank God for the past, and take courage for the future. I feel, indeed, my own impotency; but I think I understand, also, the language of St. Paul, "When I am weak, then am I strong." Sometimes, when I have gone down upon the quay, on a Sunday afternoon, to point the men who go down to the sea in ships to the Lamb of God-and when I have gazed upon the multitude that on such occasions gather around me, I have been ready, with Jonah, to flee from the presence of the Lord. Hitherto, however, the Lord hath helped me, and it is a mercy to know that the good work is prospering in my hands, that the cursing and blaspheming of some have been turned to praise, that the songs of the inebriate have been exchanged for the Songs of Zion, and that some of their wives and children have received spiritual good.