i f they would afford any objedt o f commerce j the naturalift eagerly
explored the peculiar fubjeft o f his refearches; and the affronomer
fought a ftation, from whence he might obferve the tranfit o f Venus
over the fun, and deduce '’froth mefice ufeful improvement in that
celeftial fcience. But whefiir as Mr. King obferves, thefe iflands
were found to produce little which would^elccite the cupidity/of ambition,
or anfwer the fpeculations o f the interefted, they were ready
to be abandoned to their primitive oblivion, unlefs occafiorially vifited
b y a ftraggling ihip j and after, proving the fuperior advantages o f
our iron tools, and led' to the total negledf o f their own, their fitua-'
tion would have become friffmoreideplarable than their original date.
The iron we bartered with them could not be replenifhed, nor repaired'
by them, and muff foon become ufelefs % they would have
loft the habit o f ufing and making their former tools o f bone and
ftone j whilft the ravages, o f the difeafes which Europeans had probably
'communicated, threatened to lweep them frbmfhe earth with
the befom o f deftrudrion. Reflexions on their unhappy fituation
had dropped from the pen o f the humane, and pity had often fwelled
the bof’om o f the compaffionate: a fqW felt for therm. notronly aA
men, but as Ghriftians, .arid wilhed fpme, mode; could be devifed/of
communicating to them the knowledge o f that ineftirimble: hook,,
compared with which all befide isipompous ignorance, and all the
tyeafureS o f the earth lighter on the balance than vmity itfelf. - The
qbjeifti had lain on ;many, a’hearty and prayerTiad; gone up on thdh?
behalf,- a feeble effort was difappointed by the unfaithfulnefs o f
thofe defigned for the work. -
■ Yet the idea was :not wholly abandoned,, though the profpedl o f
its accomplishment was almoft defpaired o f : a. few o f the faithful
minifters o f Chrift, affodated on another occafiori, j feemed, at
the fame time, to exprefs a faint wifh that fomething' could be:
done fo r the heathen.. On communicating their thoughts to others
o f their brethren, they found a cordial difpofition to co-operateand
the attempt at Sierra Leone, though inftituted with a particular view3
brought forth fome letters on millions', fuggeftirig their practicability,
and calling to the attempt.. This coincidence o f a r lfe g fp ir it o f
miffibnary p.urfuitsf, : thougbriinf ids ilbw&ft embryoform ƒ ! 'led? to con-
verfe oi^jthb; fubjedt^ and tdicpnftdfer how theywork might bebegum:
twp or, .three individuals offered .to. open a fubfcription for the pur-
pofe.j and. the adtivfminiftersitwho‘.diredted the Èvarigdical:Maga-t
zidenr^plvf dtoahazafd..apia|lvpiitifement. idfcthéir.ydefign ' -and t o m -
yit:e, thg^côfieurrenie.ofithfeiribrethren.,; „From thefe fmallhegipningy
; grofe thy-sgpgaf cincrealo; .'and the clo.ud,'at firft nojbigger, thama man’s
hands» diffiifed>j|fe|f .pv^nltbilf r land, andf.youred’idown its. copioua
J . o n , t h e ’illes o f .the fouthern ocean. Amiflionary
fe i f* y Î É j É i §onfe)|%^ceformed in England,'arid;zealoufty.feconded
fey qyr. brethren in North Britain.
qS fftuple ^ndjnobl e ; de l i v e r j^hlûriiL^njii.îthe?
V : greateft poflible pqrt-ipn o f mifery which-hefets them, and to confer.
P;, uppn-thejn the moft; abundant meafure o f felioifcy which our nature.
■ Mem çdnfcâdds' thisîcould'only b©
©JPedted by .the^gofpelqfyhe graeeipf God pr#j^edjmaPUS^hmonS,
as |a^ ^ jth e i| <^®|un^és or. ab ihtiesj^ghf .d|feri4 , ' iForJhis.end.
their,- meetings became,; frequent^ and their; plans maturedufqr exe-
ciitipn.
. After a Iqng ant}, ferions „çonfiderpïion of- the fnbj'edt,' they!doter-,
mined^tct.conamence with the iflands ;ofp tba’l&uthern ocean, casjthefe.r
for a long time paft, had. excited peculiar attention . | Their fituation
q| { mental .ignorance, and moral depravitydihÿmgly impreffed on ouri
nup^|; a^nywq, la y j ymler, !t%sndq8lpiip|b pall them fiîomi
darknafs. into marvçllous- light. The miferies3^d.difea:fcstwhichrtheir
intefcot^e w lA Europeans- had' Pççafiqned’, tpPiupbtaidtPnri
ripgjedt .of^repairing, i f poflible, thefe.\iniyries ; but ;^baye,,alkj«we
longéd to fend, t® them the everlafting gofpel, the firft ,and moft difirf
tinguiffxed o f bleffmgs which Jehovah has bellowed on the children
o f men.
jb 3