that time having succeeded in persuading the men in power that the spread of Christianity would be injurious to the interests of the Colony. It was not until 1792, that the Dutch government granted the long-solicited permission, and three missionaries once more took possession of Gnadenthal, where they found one of Schmidt's converts still living, and having in her possession the New Testament which he had put into her hands. The place was then a perfect wilderness;' it is now a flourishing settlement, inhabited by thirteen hundred Hottentots.

The beneficial effects of this establishment soon attracted the favourable notice of the British government, and at its express suggestion, and with its cordial assistance, another settlement in a different direction, and nearer the Cape, was made in 1808, at Groenekloof. More recently, a further wish had been expressed by the Colonial administration, that a third settlement, under the same superintendence, should be undertaken further in the interior, and every practicable assistance was tendered towards its establishment. Under these circumstances, and at the pressing request of the missionaries themselves, it was determined by the Directors of the Moravian missions, to depute a person to make observations on the spot, to take a minute survey of all the particulars connected with their African establishments, and to communicate with the Cape Government respecting its wishes and intentions, in reference to the proposed extension of the missionary stations. For this purpose Mr. Latrobe was selected, and we do not hesitate to say, that a more judicious choice could not have been made. His high character, his amiable disposition, and his various accomplishments, fitted him in all points for the fair and adequate representative of the respectable and benevolent Society with which he is connected. The progress and the results of his mission, are very agreeably, and with great simplicity, described in the volume before us; and if we may have occasion to besi'tate' a little friendly reproof, we request the respected writer to take it in good part, inasmuch as we shall presently shew that we but follow his own leading. In fact, the only portions of his work to which we feel any objection, are those where he has permitted himself to take possession of the seat of judgement, to indulge in language of undue and unimpressive severity, and to trespass upon subjects evidently requiring a more extended range and a more vigorous exercise of thought than he has yet found leisure or inclination to bestow on them. We allude more particularly to those parts of Mr. Latrobe's book, where he leaves, very unnecessarily, his proper track, to deliver his opinions on matters connected with criticism and politics. We the more regret this piece of indiscretion, since it has a tendency to excite an unpleasant feeling in the minds of those who may

entertain different sentiments; especially as the tone and manner which Mr. L has felt himself justified in adopting, have very much the air of intimating the hopeless stupidity of all who may venture to differ from him. On his criticisms we shall make no comment, but on the other point we must bestow a few

sentences.

Mr. L.'s politics, then, are very loyal, which it is right they should be; and they are also highly ministerial, which may be right also; but when they lead him into the violent extreme of anti-Bonaparteism, in which, had he been somewhat more moderate, we should sincerely join, we feel tempted to ask, if he really thinks that the conquerors and successors of Napoleon have been actuated by a much purer and more liberal spirit than their prisoner was? And, in particular, we would press it closely upon Mr. Latrobe, as a man of piety, whether he is of opinion, that the cause of Protestantism, of Godliness, of civil and religious liberty, has gained any thing by the fading of the violet, and by the sickly blossoming of the lily?-by the restoration of the legitimates of France, and Spain, and Rome, by the reestablishment of the Inquisition, by the renewal of the Order of Jesus, and by the Papal Bull and the Austrian interdict against the dispersion of the Bible? So determined is the love of monarchy and legitimacy in Mr. L. that he is not satisfied with pronouncing upon present events, but amuses himself with travelling back into past ages, and gravely lamenting that Milton was such an incorrigible republican,' at the same time charitably apologizing for the bard's awful delinquency, by remarking that he lived in bad times.' We certainly are not prepared to justify every thing that Milton did; still less can we approve of many things which he wrote and said; but we are yet to learn that his republicanism was a crime; and we would request Mr. Latrobe to consider whether the bad times' in which the secretary of Cromwell lived, may not have prevented us of the present day from falling upon worse.

Much of Mr. Latrobe's book relates to places and circumstances with which our readers have been before made acquainted, and we shall, in consequence, pass over nearly all that relates merely to Cape Town and its immediate vicinity. In fact, we find but little new ground travelled over, or, at least, though the same precise track may not have been taken, the general character of the country has been sufficiently ascertained. But, notwithstanding this, Mr. L. communicates much good description of the local scenery, with a fair proportion of illustrative anecdote and observation, and above all he testifies a never-failing anxiety for the present comfort and the eternal interests of his fellow men. On landing at the Cape, Mr. Latrobe met with a very cordial reception from the friends of the mission,

and his introduction to the Governor, Lord Charles Somerset, was peculiarly gratifying. On this occasion, and at all subsequént interviews, his Lordship expressed his disposition to afford every possible facility and assistance to the missionaries, and these assurances were seconded by the friendly conduct and cooperation of the officers of government. Mr. Latrobe landed on the 24th of December, 1815, and on the 29th set out for Groenekloof, by the usual conveyance, a waggon drawn by When at about an hour's drive from the settlement,' he perceived at some distance a group of individuals, and on a nearer approach found it to be a number of Hottentots, men, women and children, who had come thus far to welcome their new visitant, and united in a song of praise to the gracious Being who had sent to them also the tidings of salvation."

oxen.

To describe our feelings on this occasion is not in the power of words. The various subjects for reflection, which rushed upon my mind at once, on seeing this company, lately a scattered race of wretched, ignorant, and wicked heathen, but now brought together as a people of God, among whom His word dwells daily and richly, made me inwardly exclaim: "Where is the wisdom of the wise! where is the disputer of this world!" and the visionary theorist! Here is proof by facts, that "the Word of the Cross is the power of GOD unto salvation to all them that believe." Here is seen the effect produced by the preaching of the gospel of a crucified Saviour, unadorned and unaided by human eloquence! I was greatly affected, beyond the power of utterance, and we all stood in silent devotion, listening to the sweet voices, which formed the delightful chorus. We shook hands with all of them, old and young, while, in the most affectionate and humble manner, they expressed their joy at our arrival. The whole procession now moved forward, some of the Hottentot women in an open bullock-waggon, which they had brought with them; the rest, with the men, partly on horseback and partly on foot. The settlement is seen like a fruitful field in the midst of a desert, and the road to the missionaries' houses lies through a small poplar wood. About five P. M. we arrived at the dwelling-house, and met with a most cordial welcome from another party of .cttentots, who had assembled at the door, and expressed their gratitude, that God had again sent teachers to them, by sing. ing several verses, and by unaffected declarations of their joy.'

Groenekloof lies about thirty miles north of Table Bay, apparently in an advantageous situation, and rising in importance both as a civil settlement, and as a religious station. The number of inhabitants, at the close of 1815, amounted to 300, and judging from the descriptions, and the coloured engravings given by Mr. Latrobe, the state and appearance of the settlement afford ample proof of the beneficial change wrought in the habits and character of the indolent and uncleanly Hottentot. The Moravian missionaries seem remarkably attentive to the order,

the neatness, and even the external beauty of their establishments. We could almost fancy that in the final choice of a site, for the residence of a third mission, Mr. L. at least, was in some measure influenced by the picturesque and romantic attractions of the spot. In these feelings we are quite disposed to join, for it is by no means unimportant to call in these inferior' circumstances in aid of the great purpose of effecting an entire change in the mental habits of the South African. The Hot-" tentot, strange to say, appears to possess many of the elementary dispositions which facilitate the acquisition of refined and elegant tastes. The wives of the Moravian teachers have introduced ornamental works into the female schools; and the following little description of the manner in which the Groenekloof, Hottentots and Sister Schmitt's pupils celebrated Mr. Latrobe's birth-day, would make quite as good a figure in an African 'Morning Post,' as the chalked floors and muslin draperies of our own ball-rooms and saloons.

Soon after four in the morning, I heard the sweet sound of Hottentot voices, singing a hymn in the hall before my chamber door. It reminded me, that this day was my birth day, which had been mentioned to them by some of the missionaries. I was struck and affected by this mark of their regard, nor was their mode of expressing it confined to a morning-song. They had dressed out my chair, at the common table, with branches of oak and laurel, and Sister Schmitt's school-children, in order not to be behind in their kind offices, having begged their mistress to mark on a large white muslin handkerchief, some English words, expressive of their goodwill towards me, they managed to embroider them with a species of creeper called cat's-thorn, and fastened the muslin in front of a table, covered with a white cloth, and decorated with fes-* toons of cat's-thorn and field flowers. On the table stood five large bouquets, in glasses. The whole arrangement did credit to their taste, for Sister Schmitt had left it entirely to their own invention. This table I found placed in my room on returning from my morning's walk.'

Mr. Latrobe was led to form a high opinion of Hottentot eloquence, and his musical taste was much gratified by the harmonic powers of this smooth-throated nation;' he does not, however, say much of their personal attractions, though even their exterior would, no doubt, be greatly improved by settled habits, and by steady muscular exertion. After a short stay at Groenekloof, Mr. Latrobe returned to the Cape, where he staid no longer than was necessary to make the requisite arrangements with the governor, and his secretaries, and to prepare himself for the journey to Gnadenthal, which he reached Jan. 15, 1816. The approach to this place, through lanes enclosed by hedge rows,' is described as exceedingly interesting; and it was rendered much more so by the greetings of the Hottentots

who came in considerable numbers to meet their visiters. The whole scene appears to have produced the strongest impression upon the pious and benevolent spirit of Mr. Latrobe.

Little do I now wonder,' he observes, at the rapture, with which this place is spoken of by travellers, who, after traversing a dreary, uncultivated country, without a tree to screen then from the scorching rays of the sun, find themselves transported into a situation, by nature the most barren and wild, but now rendered fruitful and inviting, by the persevering diligence and energy of a few plain, pious, sensible, and judicious men, who came hither, not seeking their own profit, but that of the most despised of nations; and while they directed their own and their hearers' hearts to the dwellings of bliss and glory above, taught them those things, which have made even their earthly dwelling, comparatively, a kind of paradise, and changed filth and misery into comfort and peace.'

This interesting and important settlement lies nearly due east of the Cape, at a distance of nearly 120 miles, and its present situation is such as to suggest the most gratifying anticipations. It is not, however, necessary for us to be minute in our notices of a place so well known, neither would it be very easy to collect in one brief and connected view the very desultory observations of Mr. L.'s journal. He found the missionaries labouring with unabated zeal and with distinguished success; the natives improving under their tuition, both in agricultural and handicraft skill; in particular the cutlery and smithy' seem to have attracted his attention; fourteen Hottentots were employed, and their busy hammers, files, and polishing wheel,' made him 'fancy' himself living in a London street.' During his repeated visits, he had frequent occasion to witness the salutary influence exercised by the missionaries over their flock. Gentle as is their sway, it would seem to be almost unlimited; their voluntary subjects, aware of the superior knowledge of their disinterested teachers, uniformly appealed to them; but it must be added, that the brethren, on all proper occasions, are regulated by the opinions of the natives publicly asked and collected. We must find room for the following narrative:

After breakfast, Sister Bonatz brought a Christian Caffre woman into my room, who had expressed a particular wish to speak to me I desired her to sit down, which, after some hesitation, she did on a low stool, as is their custom, and Sister Bonatz being interpreter, said, that she came to beg that we would send teachers to her nation, who were in the dark, ignorant of God, and of that happiness in Jesus, which she, though so unworthy, experienced, and consequently given up as a prey to every kind of sin and evil. On this subject she delivered herself with a kind of ferYour and eloquence, which would have done credit to the most civilized orator. She spoke with great humility of the mercy shown