churches set apart a number of days, to be observed as a season of fasting; but more particularly from the circumstance, that the Pastor and Elders of the Brick Presbyterian Church invited the other churches of that denomination, in this city, to unite with them in observing last Tuesday as a day of fasting and prayer. The meeting was opened in the Brick Church at eleven o'clock a. M. and continued about six hours. Nearly, or quite all the Presbyterian ministers, and a very large assembly were present. The exercises, which were in the highest degree solemn and appropriate, consisted of singing, prayers, reading portions of Scripture, relations of the state of the churches, and short addresses.

Meetings of this kind, for the express purpose of humiliation, and prayer for the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit on our churches, and a general revival of pure and undefiled religion in our city, commend themselves to every Christian; and if engaged in with right feelings, ardent prayer, unwavering faith, and followed with the like exercises in our closets, and with zealous and persevering labour, there is no reason why the blessing of God may not be expected to follow. It will rejoice the hearts of Christians in other places, to learn that there is an increasing spirit of prayer among Christians in this city for DIVINE INFLUENCES; and that there is a more general seriousness and attention to religion in many of our congregations, and in several of them there are a considerable number of awakened souls, and some who have recently obtained a comfortable hope, and are rejoicing in the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ. At present we do not deem it expedient to give any particulars, but hope that what we have here mentioned, may have its intended effect; to induce what other Christians to follow the excellent example of those churches which have turned aside from the cares and business of the world to aim at promoting the glory of God in seeking the salvation of their own souls, and in using the means for the salvation of others.

REVIVAL OF RELIGION.

Extract of a letter from a Clergyman of the Methodist Church in Savannah, to the Editor of the Southern Intelligencer, dated Jan. 21, 1822.

"As relates to the revival in this city, I can with pleasure remark, that it has been such an one, as perhaps was never before witnessed in this unfortunate metropolis. Since the 2d of March last, we have added one hundred and eighty-three members to our church, many of whom are promising young men and women, from whom we have much reason to expect a permanent support to the cause of Christ in this place."

The American Society for promoting the Civilization and General Improvement of the Indian Tribes within the United States.— A society bearing the above designation has been recently formed at the city of Washington under auspices which promise much for the general improvement of our red brethren. The list of officers comprises the ex-presidents of the United States, the V. P. of do., the heads of departments, judges of the supreme court of the United States, the governors of the several states and territories, indian agents, the presidents and professors of the universities and colleges in the United States, and a number of distinguished clergymen and laymen not comprised in the above list.

Civilization of the Indians.-The Secretary of War has laid before Congress a Report of the expenditures made under the act to provide for the civilization of the Indian tribes: from which it appears, that from the 12th of February, 1820, to the 24th of December, 1821, both inclusive, the aggregate sum paid for the civilization of the Indian tribes, was $16,605 80. Of this sum, $13,989 80 have been applied through the different missionary establishments of the Moravians-the A. B. C. for Foreign Missions-the United Foreign Missionary Society -the Baptist Missionary Societies-and the Synod of S. Carolina and Georgia. For Indian youth at the Mission School in Cornwall, $14338; and the Baptist Mission School at Great Crossings, Ken. $400; and the sum of $778 has been paid for the Rev. Dr. Morse's visit of observation and inspection.

CIVIL RETROSPECT,

For February, 1822.

FOREIGN.

By arrivals from Europe, during this month, we are informed that Ireland and Spain are in a state of great disturbance.

Ireland. The disorders in Ireland exist chiefly in the southern part of that kingdom; but although partial in extent, they are very great in degree. Very frequent murders of a most ferocious character have occurred; in one instance, a house was set on fire and a numerous family and servants forced to perish in the conflagration. Indeed no apprehensions have existed which are at all adequate to the reality. In order, however, by seeming to do something, to attract the attention of the people to the good intentions of government, a change has been made in the persons filling the chief offices of government. We have never heard any complaint of the measures of the late incumbents, one of whom, Mr. Grant, the Secretary of State, has sustained a very high character for political and moral worth, and been a friend to liberal measures with the Catholics. The new Viceroy is the Marquis Wellesley, an Irishman by birth, an advocate of toleration to the Catholics, and celebrated for his abilities and conduct while Governor General of India. It will give us great satisfaction, to hear of the restoration of tranquillity in a country to which we owe many very estimable men, and for which we feel a very strong sympathy.

Spain.-Spain is in a state of almost absolute anarchy: the king is little regarded; the Cortes without authority; the ministry hated by the people; the military, in various parts of the country, assuming the control; and some cities and provinces reported to be in a state of actual revolt: all these things are evidences of a revolution in its passage and if there appeared any right side in this general controversy, our hopes of the success of that, might qualify our views of the evils : but we know of no reason why we should hope success to one side, rather than another.

France. In France, a change of ministry, against the wishes of the king, has lately been effected by the state of majorities in the House of Deputies elected by the people; and promises to lead to important results, both in the domestic and foreign policy of France. The ex-ministry were of the moderate party, one extreme being the ultra royalists, who were supposed to desire the restoration of affairs to the modes existing before the Revolution, and the other being the liberales, charged with desiring to favour the principles of the revolution and late government, if not to unsettle the present government. Of these parties, the ultra royalists are said to have most influence from their wealth, the liberales to be favoured by the populace and the discontented, and the moderate, to be in chief favour with the king. These last have for some time been losing ground in the Chamber of Deputies, and at length, by a union of the two extremes, the majority was found adverse to them, and their leaders consequently resigned the ministry. The motive of the union of the

ultras and liberales was, as we learn, a common opposition to the ministry, and a wish on the part of the liberales to tempt the ultras by the possession of power to manifest the extent of their principles and plans, hoping by this means to unite the country against them, and thus to secure the ascendency to themselves as the leaders of this opposition. The immediate occasion of the resignation of the ministry, was the voting an address to the king, intimating a dissatisfaction at his indifference to foreign politics, and evincing, as is generally supposed, a wish for his taking some part in favour of the Greeks in the conferences of the European cabinets. We do not, however, think there is any reason to expect that the tranquillity of that country will be immediately disturbed.

The experiment now progressing in France, of giving to a people circumstanced like the French, a representation and voice in the government, is one of great importance and deep interest. Previous to the revolution, the government of France was a despotism, exercised by a system of base intrigue, and limited almost solely by the utter impossibility of further exactions, or of longer endurance: its religion was the Roman Catholic, not disgraced it is true by an Inquisition, but yet manifesting, as in the massacre of St. Bartholomew's in ancient times, and the revocation of the edict of Nantz, and the consequent persecution and banishments of the Protestants, that spirit of persecution and bigotry (we speak as protestants to protestants) of which the history of that sect affords so many examples. At the period of the revolution, the despotism, from its want of resources and weakness, had become as contemptible as it was odious and the national religion, exposed to the wit, talents and learning of sneering sceptics and malicious infidels, and its ministers filled with a secular ambition, and love of pleasure, had become as feeble as the government. The morals of the country, in the mean time, had become almost wholly obliterated libertinism of the mort profligate kind had become common, and, by blows at domestic happiness, and the government of the family circle, had eradicated those principles of order so entirely dependent upon them, and so necessary to the support of all good government. The revolution then took place, with its factiqus dissentions, and its civil and foreign wars, gave a loose to every wicked passion, overspread the country with crimes, and covered it with sorrow and terror. From this, the step to a military despotism was short, and the government was placed in the hands of a man whose abilities established tranquillity, but whose ambition and love of war converted every thing to military purposes. The institutions for education, and the forms of religion, which he introduced and restored, the new order of nobility which he founded, and every other establishment under his government, tended to render every feeling and habit of the French warlike only; and no other principles seem to have had influence on the people, than a passion for military glory. How unfit such a preparation was for a government in any degree representative, in any degree depending on the good principles of the people at large, is sufficiently obvious, and was abundantly proved by the disturbances in the earlier period of the government of the restored king. By the aid of foreign troops, however, tranquillity was maintained, and the new government has now acquired some degree of stability. The continuance of peace has tended in some degree to wean the French from their military ardour, and to give them a taste for the arts of peace. The toleration of the protestant religion, the diffusion of general education, and the pacific course which the government of that country will probably pursue, will, we hope, give rise to the operation of better principles; and could we see the tenets of the protestant faith more generally prevalent, and hear of the influence of examples like those of Fenelon and Pascal, on the minds of the community, we should be sanguine in our hope of seeing that country assume a high rank among the nations of Christendom. And from the vivacity and intelligence of the French people, from the sad experience they have had of the ill effects of infidelity and superstition, as well as of anarchy and despotism, we hope that they may learn to place their religious institutions on the basis of a general diffusion of the Bible, as the only source of morality and piety, and to rest their civil establishments on the sure foundation of that religion, whose commands are to "fear God," and "honour the king," as well as to love our neighbour as ourselves, and on the general prevalence of education, and good principles in the people. Then shall France rise to an elevation second to none, become pleasing to the eye of God, and appear more glorious to the view of man, than when exulting in her most splendid victories.

DOMESTIC

We have no domestic news to communicate to our readers this month.

The Seaman's Magazine.

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. They cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.-Psalms.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN SEAMEN'S FRIEND SOCIETY AND BETHEL UNION.

(Continued from page 604.)

REV. Mr. Marks, Vicar of Great Missenden." My Lord, Ladies, and Gentlemen,—I should gladly have kept in the back-ground, but am urged forward. I am sure the Report which has been read has exceeded all my expectations. I had, indeed, heard a great deal of good intelligence which had been wafted over the hills among my humble cottagers, but the Report has exceeded all that I could have formed an idea of. Your Committee wish me to say a little about old times, and I trust your lordship will excuse the egotism that will appear in so doing. We have heard of great things done by this Society; such things as, when at sea, we could have formed no idea of. I went to sea a poor thoughtless, careless youth, ignorant of my privileges at home, my mercies at sea, and of God my Maker; I went through many dangers and difficulties, and was laid on a bed of sickness in a foreign hospital, when without God, and without Christ, and without hope in the world. I trust I know a little what it is now to have a hope beyond the grave, and have for some years past. When it pleased God to show me my need of a Redeemer, I was a commissioned officer, and in looking round among the crew of 640 men, I saw no form of religion, no attention to the Sabbath, no kind of divine worship, nor had there been for six years. I had much conversation on the subject with my captain, (now an admiral,) and proposed writing for some Bibles and Tracts; these were granted, and the men began to read them. By and by it was proposed, as we had no chaplain, that Marks should turn parson. I consented, and read or explained to them as well as I could. In a short time, a few poor men got together in a part of the ship called the wing; it was a retired part, and we had a screen round us, and in a short time about 30 or 40 men manifested a great change in life and conduct; one of whom had been proverbial for drunkenness and profanity of every description. He had a little superiority over many of his shipmates in point of education, which only served to make him more wicked; he was the diverting magpie or monkey of the ship, and had always something witty and wicked to say, and he was the ringleader in every kind of iniquity. Among various little plans for doing good to the sailors and moralizing the crew, we had collected a little library, and some of the books were carried up to the round-top as landsmen call it, and Richard (I decline mentioning his sirname) being there on a watch, he opened the chest and found a book, which was " Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion.” VOL. VIII.

80

Richard gave me the account of it himself. "I began to read, (said he,) and, though glad at first to find a book there, I soon began to dislike it; the more I read, the less I liked it; but I could not put it back. I got very uneasy, and was in hopes that when 12 o'clock came, and I went down, I should get better. Twelve o'clock at length came, and down went Richard: but what he had read in his book still followed him. He made a very scanty dinner, and (what he had never done before) left his grog behind him, and went to the top again to this book; and from that day to the time I left the ship, that young man was an exemplary character. It was soon noised abroad among the crew that Richard was become religious. The greater part would not believe it; some of them had heard of what they called Methodism before, but none of them believed that he was likely to become a Methodist. Some went and talked to him, and he told them the truth of the matter; others laughed at him, but he took no notice of it. Some took him some grog, which they knew would have been a great temptation to him, but he refused it; they swore if he did not drink it, they would throw it in his face: they knew the former spirit of the man, and that he would have knocked, the first man down that had attempted it; but now he took it patiently, and made no resistance. There was one circumstance connected with his conversion, which shows what the power of grace can do. There is, in the articles of war, a clause which enacts, That if any officer, seaman, or marine, shall be guilty of using profane oaths, he shall be punished. I had been, I believe, ten years at sea, and I had never seen a person punished for swearing; but one day this poor unhappy fellow had made use of such a torrent of execrations and dreadful oaths, that the captain, overhearing it, ordered him to be tied up, and he had a dozen lashes; and it was not above a month after this, that "Doddridge's Rise and Progress" did more for this poor fellow than his dozen lashes could do; they had made his back sore, they could do no more; but this led him to Christ for salvation, and changed the lion to a lamb. Could it ever have been thought in that day, that societies, for the express benefit of seamen would have been formed in this city, with noble admirals at their head, the Christians of all denominations supporting them? But you see what great things God hath done for us, and we have encouragement to hope that God will go on, and do yet greater things than these. When I left the navy, it was because I found my constitution broken down, and I felt unable to attend to duty as I wished to do; I therefore thought it my duty to move in a more retired sphere of life: but I left it with great regret, and it is the joy of my heart, and the happiness of my life, to come here to day and do or say any thing for poor Jack. There is a gentleman here, I will not tell you his name, who, when we had our meetings in the wing of his Majesty's ship Conqueror, was then a midshipman, and sometimes he would come and listen to what was going on, or take a peep at us, and then run away lest we should infect him; but since then he has been so infected, some how or another, that he is here to-day, and an active member of your committee. But I will not take up your time further than to propose the resolution."

Rev. J. Irons, after some introductory remarks, observed, "We have heard that one of the flags has been so often used that it is nearly worn out; but I am sure it will not be suffered to continue so, but another will be provided for this purpose; and I hope to hear that this is the