The Marathi schools are seven in number,-six for | males and one for females, containing about three hundred males, and between fifty and sixty girls. The same system of education, so long used in the mission, has been diligently pursued during the past year. All the books which are read are replete with religious and moral instruction. Into one of the schools a short outline of geography and astronomy has been introduced, and explained to the higher class, so as to be understood by them as far as they have gone, and to excite their curiosity. Nothing could prevent us from using Maráthí schools as the means of communicating all the useful, as well as religious, knowledge to the people, had we proper books in the language, and a superior class of native teachers. These defects will, I trust, year after year, be less felt.

One of the six male schools now mentioned has been opened since last year; it is situated within the Poonah jail. Most of those who attend it, about twenty in number, are adults. I was induced to commence the school, from observing that the prisoners were always very anxious to hear the Gospel when I had occasion to visit the jail; that those of them who could read were very desirous to obtain books; and that many of those who had never made the acquirement necessary to profit by them were willing to do so. Mr Bell, the judge, was kind enough to give me leave to open the school, and also, by visiting it for the purpose of examining those who attended, to instruct them as often as I chose. Several of those who commenced were soon able to read the Scriptures, and to answer most of the questions in the elementary catechism; and some of them, in consequence of what they heard, have expressed to me a desire for baptism. One man, in particular, who is possessed of considerable property, and who, though not a scholar, with many others regularly attended the school when I was there, which was the case generally once a-week, to receive religious instruction, has openly declared his reception of Christianity, and has put his wife and son under my instruction, by directing them to receive, and hear what I have to say, as often as I please to visit them, which they seem willingly to do. I have not complied with the wish of any of those individuals, as I think that, in their present state of captivity, they have much temptation to deceive, and perhaps to be deceived themselves, to make professions within the jail, which they would be afraid to make among their friends and acquaintances without. Although I think it right to give them every opportunity of instruction, I would require some very powerful evidences of piety to induce me to baptize any man whilst a prisoner. The number of people attending this school would be more numerous, were it not that most of them are kept engaged in various labours during the day, according to their sentence, and have but little time to spare. This is evidently what cannot be helped.

The girls' school is composed of two divisions, under different teachers. In the first division, are all those who are yet unable to read, and in the other, containing forty girls, those who read, write, and sew. They have also received some instruction in music, according to the native ideas on the subject, and lead this part of our Marathi worship on Sabbath. This school sustained a severe loss in the death of a lady at the station, who had for more than a year taken a particular charge of it, and who devoted, till her death, which occurred in August last, a considerable portion of her time to its improvement, and had it taught in her own compound. She had acquired a sufficient knowledge of the language to enable her fully to communicate instruction to the children herself; and, had it pleased God to have spared her, there is little doubt that she would have seen of the fruit of her labour amongst them. Several of the girls were much attached to her, and often seemed

deeply impressed. One of them, since her death, has asked baptism. This girl has a very correct knowledge of Christian doctrine; but some time must elapse before her request is granted, that we may have more satisfactory evidence that a real change of mind has been produced within her. Her father, who is a poor man, wishes her now to be married; but the girl, who is upwards of twelve years of age, is averse to it herself, chiefly, as she says, that she may have opportunity of attending to divine things in the school. A woman, a Maráthí widow, who also used to attend the school whilst under the care of the lady referred to, and who has learned to read and sew, also makes professions of love to the Saviour; I have employed her, on a small salary, to aid the teacher in the care of the girls. As ther is no lady just now at Poonah who could take a full and entire oversight of this school, though two have kindly agreed to visit it occasionally, I have removed it into my own compound, that so I may have it in my power more fully to attend to the improvement of the children. I can have no confidence in the usefulness of the teachers without the most unremitting superintend ence. This school was lately examined by a lady, Mrs Townsend, who is a Marathi scholar, and takes an inte rest in every good work. She expressed herself much pleased with the progress which the girls had made in their various studies, and to encourage them to make still farther advancement, gave such of them who could read, a present of a sadí, or dress. The lady referred to, as having laboured in this school, wishing to be still more useful among the native women, had resolved to take charge of an asylum for destitute girls and others who would put themselves entirely under her care, so as to be as much as possible removed from heathen influence, which, it was found, very often blasted, by its evil effect, the most promising blossoms. In order to commence operations in this department, a few huts had been erected, and promises of residence had been obtained from some girls and women, when, lo! she was called to leave the field of labour, and enter into the joy of her Lord. Such an institution, I am convinced, if under the care of a pious and zealous individual, would be of incalculable use.

Since March last, there has been connected with the mission an English school, which has had on the roll between seventy and eighty children, and the daily attendance has been between sixty and seventy. It is situated in the general bázár of the camp, where there is a large and increasing population, and where a knowledge of English is more in request than in any other locality not already occupied. Those in the city of Poonah, who have a wish to make themselves acquainted with our language and literature, have an opportunity of so doing by attending the government English school, superintended by my excellent friend D. A. Eisdale, Esq. As our school is but of recent establishment, and has had to labour under particular disadvantages, in reference to teachers, I have not yet had any public examination of it. The children have, however, made considerable progress in reading and writing, in arithmetic, in grammar, in geography, and in a knowledge of the doctrines of Christianity. Several gentlemen who have visited it, have expressed themselves highly pleased with what has been done during the short time the children have been under our care. I almost daily, when at home, give attendance for an hour or an hour and a-half myself in this school. The present teacher, Mr W. Taylor, though able to teach only the elementary parts of the language, is very diligent in improving himself, and has, under my care, commenced the study of mathematics. He is already sufficiently acquainted with the native languages to be able to explain to the boys the meaning of their lessons, and examine their exercises; but we endeavour to make English itself the mode of direct communication as soon as possible. In

rupees.

III. I would now notice the administration of the Sacraments. The Lord's Supper has been adininistered to the congregation at Poonah four times during the year, and the native church members who have been at the station on these occasions, have united with us in this refreshing ordinance. Three adults have been baptized, one a European soldier, who had not received the seal of the covenant in his youth, and who had lately come under religious impressions; another a Jew, born in India, who had resided some time in Calcutta, and there heard of the Saviour, and was, in a great measure, convinced of the truth of Christianity, but had not been particularly instructed in the faith of Jesus, was baptised in December last, after he had been about eight months under my instruction, and had expressed an anxious wish to be admitted into the Church. I am sorry to say, that on account of an affection of the lungs, he is now much distressed, and not likely to live long. I trust, however, that he is prepared for his great change. The third person is a woman, wife of one of the Church members. She was baptized on the last Sabbath of October. She has for nearly two years been a candidate for this ordinance, and seems a really humble and pious person. A child of one of the native members, and five children of European parents, have also been baptized since last report. These who have offered themselves for baptism, and who attend me for particular instruction at present, are six in number, two women and four men. They have all, I believe, long abandoned the service of idols, and there are, at least, two of the men, whom I may soon admit into the privileges of the Church.

IV. My time has been so fully occupied with the labours above mentioned, that I have found very little leisure to devote to the preparation of works for the press. I have, however, acted as a member of the translation committee of the Bombay Bible Society, and have, of course, criticised the various portions of the Word of God, which have been submitted to its consideration. In consequence of an appointment from this body, I have completed a translation of the first epistle to the Corinthians, which is now circulating in the committee, and have made some progress in the preparation of the second epistle. I have also acted on the examination committee of the Bombay Book and Tract Society.

I have now mentioned the most important occurrences in my mission for the past year, and although little fruit is apparent, and though it is still rather the day of

RECORDS OF CREATION.
No. II.

ARRANGEMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF ROCKS.

BY THE REV. JOHN ANDERSON,
Minister of Newburgh.

A STILL more striking manifestation of design in the arrangement and distribution of rocks, than that which was mentioned in my former article, remains to be stated. This arises from the inclined position which the several strata are made to occupy. The slightest attention to the composition and structure of the stratified rocks, will satisfy the most ordinary observer, that they have been formed in water, from materials held in solution, or mechanically suspended in a fluid, and that the particles which compose them have been brought together and arranged upon a nearly level foundation. Look into any quarry of freestone to which you may have access, and you will observe that the natural divisions of the rock are still as distinct and fresh as if it had been the work of yesterday, shewing even, by the fineness or coarseness of the stone, and the thin beds of interposed clay, when the waters had been in a placid, and when in a turbid state; nay, in some cases, the very ripple of the wave would seem to bave impressed itself upon the mass. Now these originally level and horizontai beds are all, less or more, inclined to the horizon, some of them but slightly elevated, others thrown into a vertical position, and many of them forced up to the summits of lofty mountains, a result which must have taken place since the formation and consolidation of these rocks, as it is evident that, in their loose and unagglu. tinated state, the materials which compose them could not have been kept together under such conditions. It is owing to this arrangement by which they have been shifted out of their original position, and slipped, as it were, over each other, like the tiles on an inverted roof, that the several strata have been made to emerge in succession from beneath each other, and all the varieties of the mineral treasures brought to the surface. Ilence the diversity of rocks by which our local districts are characterised. Hence, too, by the elevation of the strata, the beautiful variety of hill and valley, of streams, rivers, lakes, and majestic mountain scenery. Hence, also, a provision made for all our agricultural operations, without which the earth would have presented a monotonous plain, with little diversity of cli

mate, or variety of soil, and destitute of all that useful and complex machinery, arising from the fissures, inequalities, and disruption of the rocky strata, by which springs are brought to the surface, and the overflowings of the fertilizing and refreshing rains are carried away. "God putteth forth his hand upon the rock, be overturneth the mountains by the roots; he cutteth out rivers among the rocks, and his eye seeth every precious thing." And amidst such undeniable indications of order and regularity, of a nicely balanced adaptation of means to ends, he must be blind, indeed, who fails to recognise in them proofs of the most exalted attributes of the Creator.

Besides the stratified rocks, to which our remarks have been hitherto confined, there is another class of rocks which occupy an important place in the economy of nature, and to which we would briefly advert. These are the granites and whinstones, of which the highest mountain ranges are usually composed. There are many subordinate varieties belonging to both classes which are characterised by slight shades of texture and composition, and distinguished by different names. One thing is common to the whole members of each group, they are not disposed in layers, and exhibit no lines of stratification, but exist in shapeless irregular masses (except in the columnar basalt,) throughout the entire mountain chain. These rocks occupy no fix ed determinate place in the order of superposition, but seem to be intruded, in the most irregular manner, among the stratified rocks, separating one bed from another, filling up fissures and rents, and binding or interlacing, as it were, the various deposits through which they pass more closely and firmly together. They are often composed of the fragments of other rocks, agglutinated into a compound mass by a base of clay. Remarkable changes are also produced upon all the strata where they come in contact with granite and wlinstone, chalk being converted into crystalline limestone, limestone into chert,-clay and sandstone into a substance as hard and compact as flint, and coal is deprived of its bitumen or the quality which renders it so useful as a combustible body. From these, and other appearances, geologists have been led to the conclusion, that these rocks are of later origin than those which are stratified,-that they have been ejected amongst them in a state of fusion,-and, by the expansive force of internal heat, that they have burst through the stony crust of the earth, and elevated the strata which compose it. They are, if we may use the expression, the levers which the Almighty has employed in bringing up the lower deposits to the surface, in laying open the interior "chambers," and in producing all that infinite variety in our earthly habitation which ministers to the comfort and well-being of man. Much seeming confusion and disturbance everywhere mark the course of these rocks, similar, though upon a more extensive scale, to the disorders attendant upon the eruption of a modern volcano; but, throughout the whole, there reigns such a harmony of purpose, that the conclusion is irresistible, that such operations could only have taken place by divine permission, and are in accordance with the divine plan, controlling the most refractory agencies of nature, and causing them contribute to the general good. "The Lord stood and measured the earth, and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow."

There is much in all this to excite our admiration and love, imperfectly understood as the operations of God must ever continue to be by creatures, who, in their highest state of mental illumination, can "know only in part." No adequate cause of creation can be conceived by us, but the divine goodness, and while we never can expect fully to comprehend the wisdom which planned, and the majesty of power which carried into effect the purposes of that wisdom, still the very effort

to attain knowledge concerning them fulfils one great object for which man is made curious concerning the works of creation. His intellectual strength is augmented by the attempt, his soul elevated by loftier aspirations than the ordinary objects of human pursuit can gratify, and the mind gradually prepared to adopt those large and worthy views of God and nature, which religion and science equally demand. The Psalmist seems frequently to have warmed the flame of devotion by a survey of the various works of nature; their grandeur, magnificence, and beauty, no less than their variety, often transports him into a fervour that breaks out into raptures of gratitude, and songs of praise. The hundred and fourth Psalm is, among others, a remarkable instance of the taste, genius, and devotion of its author, where he runs over the great master-keys of this harmonious system, the Universe, and joins his voice with the whole chorus of nature, in celebrating the praises of its Author. After a survey of the wonders of the heavens, he descends to the lower regions of the earth, describing, with inimitable beauty and precision of language, its various productions, and the uses they serve to the support of man and beast. The foundation of the stedfast earth the expansion and course of the fluid waters-their descent from the hills —their meandering through the valleys-their emptying themselves into the ocean-the trees planted by the waters-the grass for the cattle, and the birds singing among the branches the high hills and rocky mountains the course and revolutions of the sun and moon -the succession of day and night-the earthquake and the volcano, are all recited as demonstrations of the divine goodness, as all subservient to purposes of beneficence, and as all necessary parts of that great system of the universe, whose Author and Governor is love. Thus, too, will every truly enlightened Christian be affected. In contemplating the many wonders of creation, the variety and beauty of external nature, he will always refer to that infinite wisdom through whose goodness he is permitted to enjoy knowledge; in becoming wiser he will study to become better; his increasing information will be made subservient to a more exalted faith in that blessed" Word" who framed all the worlds; and, in proportion as the veil becomes thinner through which he sees the causes of things, he will admire more the brightness of Him who “was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."

CHRISTIAN TREASURY.

On Knowledge of our Acceptance with God.-A close walk with God, is the best preparation for a triumphant death. And the knowledge of our acceptance with God is to be constantly urged as one of the greatest motives to lead a strict life, and to abstain from all appearance of evil, seeing the Holy Ghost, whose testimony alone can satisfy the conscience, will never dwell with the slothful or lukewarm, much less with presumptuous offenders. Remember no command in the New Testament is oftener repeated than “ Rejoice in the Lord." Nothing more becomes us than assurance, (in the full view of our unworthiness and corruptions, and the purity of our God,) grounded on the purchase paid for us on the promise and oath of God. Nothing more honours him, or commends his cause. Nothing more discourages and damps the hearts of men, than to hear those who are acknowledged to be walking circumspectly, and with a single eye, speak in terms of suspicion and fear.

This is the device of the enemy, to perplex and vex those who are faithful, by endless fears, and the spirit of bondage. "Ask, and ye shall have," &c. is enough to make us confident.-VENN.

The true nature of Man's goodness.-Good works are the effect, not the cause of God's love.-ROMAINE,