PIETY OF GREENLAND CHILDREN.

121

learned with great eagerness, and sung continually in their houses, and at all their employments. There was often such an emotion in the meetings, that speaker and hearers wept together, when words did not suffice to express sufficiently the feelings of their hearts.

As another means of extending the knowledge of the Gospel, the Missionaries kept school constantly with the children and young people, of whom they had six. The tender minds of these children, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, received the impression of divine truth, and sometimes a blessing was communicated through them to their parents. The following is an instance of this: "A little girl talked almost every night to her mother about our Saviour, and his love to poor sinners, and to the children, and desired her to pray with her this made the mother ashamed at her own cold heart, and animated her to an earnest pursuit after the real experience of the saving truth. Nay, our Greenlanders once returned home from a visit to the natives, with an account that a child, who had once been with its parents to the colony, and had heard the Missionary and his Greenlanders relate the history of the birth and sufferings of Jesus, had since then spoken so prettily of our Saviour, and prayed to him, that all the heathen wondered at it; the child also begged its parents to carry it again to the believers, that it might hear more of the love of Jesus. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord, and out of the mouths of babes and sucklings has ordained praise !"

In

Many particular instances of the piety of Greenland youth and children, are recorded by Mr. Crantz. addition to those which have been already mentioned, we subjoin a few more, for the instruction and encouragement of our youthful readers.

On one occasion, the Missionary writes,-" Two small children excited an uncommon emotion in the whole house, especially among the new people and their uninstructed children, by their singing. A little girl once said, 'To be sure, our Saviour must be very amiable.' And a grown person asking, Why so?' she replied, I always have such a lovely feeling in my heart, when I hear his blood sung or spoken of."

In another place of the diary we find the following:

G

"We spoke also with the boys betwixt four and twelve years old, and found many amiable children among them, who have a tender love for the dear Lamb of God, and his wounds. One of six years old said, 'I will honestly confess that I sometimes behave ill. When such or such teaze me, I speak roughly to them; but if they still will not let me alone, I grow angry, and render them like for like. My heart is not well, but is hardened by it. But when I go to the Saviour, and pray him to soften my heart truly with his blood, I am well again.""

One of the oldest school-boys once wrote to his master the following letter: "As I feel in my heart that I am a poor sinner, I often pray thus: Dear Saviour, give me continually a deeper sense in my heart, that thou hast died for me on the cross. It is fastened in my mind, that blood and water flowed out of thy side. This I cannot possibly forget, while I am here upon earth. Oh! how happy and blessed are the communicants, who have often their particular meeting with our Saviour! This I write with tears."

Many children, who had forsaken father and mother, and followed Jesus, were the means of drawing their parents and relations after them. We subjoin two in

stances of this.

"There was one man, whose son had been awakened last year, and could not be prevailed upon to move again with him among the heathens, which so enraged the father, that he threatened to kill his son: this man came on a visit, and was entirely satisfied that his son had staid at New Herrnhuth, and was baptized; nay, he told one of the Greenlanders, that his son's words and behaviour had affected him very much, and that he would move thither himself, as soon as he could prevail on his wife to come with him."

A Greenlander, who dwelt for many years, at no great distance from the mission-house, had much intercourse with the Brethren, but could never resolve to forsake his land, where he was held in great repute; his daughter, however, was baptized, and came to reside at New Herrnhuth. Her father was much enraged, but, in reply to his angry expostulations, she modestly told him the reasons of her decision, and set forth to

EXTENDED AWAKENING AMONG CHILDREN. 123

him the happiness of the believers, concluding with these words: "So happy may you also be; but if you will not, I cannot stay and perish with you." This softened his heart, and he began to weep, went with her to the Missionary, and declared his intention now was not to take away his daughter from the baptized, but rather to go with her. He desired him only to engage her, with another or two, to help him to put his matters in order. This was done, and at length he himself came, with his two sons, and the rest of his household, and said, "Now I come to you also, and will not leave you again. I only wish that the rest of my children may soon be baptized, for they are young, and have a desire after our Saviour. As to myself, I am in a very indifferent state, and am not likely to come to much; but yet, at lying down and rising up, I call to mind what I have heard of our Saviour, and I am come hither on purpose to hear more." He came also frequently to inquire whether his grown son was not soon to be baptized. "I myself," said he, "dare not think of baptism, as I am very bad and old too, and incapable of learning much more; but yet I will live and die with you, for it is very reviving to me to hear of our Saviour." "What simplicity and integrity of mind!" concludes Mr. Crantz, 66 Might not this heathen put us in mind of our Saviour's words concerning the centurion at Capernaum: 'I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel!' Matt. viii. 10. And will not many from the east and west, and from the north, sit down in the kingdom of heaven? while to others, who have it in their power to boast, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets,' it will be said, 'I know you not, whence you are."" This man afterwards believed, with his

whole house.

Nor was the awakening among the young people in Greenland confined to a few, or to those who had enjoyed for a long time, the benefit of the Missionaries' instructions. The merchants who travelled among the savages, for the purpose of traffic, informed the Bre thren, that they found at considerable distances from New Herrnhuth, the children of heathen parents, who could repeat and sing several verses of the translated

hymns; and such was the love of these dear children for the people of God, that they wept at the departure of the merchants, because they could not accompany them to the Brethren.

Towards the close of this year five persons were admitted to be candidates for baptism, and on the second day of the Christmas holidays, they were visibly enrolled in the Christian church by that ordinance, the baptismal ceremony was performed by Matthew Stach, in presence of a numerous company of Greenlanders, who betrayed great emotion.

Not long before, Mr. Drachart, the Danish Missionary, had also baptized nine persons. Among these was an old man, who, when he heard that his two daughters were to be baptized, went to the Missionary, and asked if he might not be baptized too? "It is true," said he, “I can say but little, and very probably I shall never learn so much as my children, for thou canst see that my hairs are quite grey, and that I am a very old man; but I believe with all my heart in Jesus Christ, and that all thou sayest of him is true." So moving a petition could not be refused, though the aged supplicant could no longer retain the questions and answers in his memory. He was much affected while the ceremony was performed, and moistened the place where he was baptized, with his tears.

The preaching of the Gospel had such an amazing effect in the following year, (1743,) that it seemed as if a universal awakening of the Greenlanders about New Herrnhuth would ensue. It is true, there were many who could not yet resolve to forsake their wonted resorts for the hunting and fishing, and live with their teachers, in order to receive the instruction requisite to prepare them for baptism. By this means the first zeal of many cooled again, and some of them wandered away to the South or the North. But yet most of those that had once experienced the power of the Gospel, came again into the neighbourhood in the following years, and at length enrolled themselves among the congregation; and, as to the rest, the Brethren could indulge the hope, that many a poor sheep that had long wandered in the wilderness, finally found shelter in the invisible fold of the faithful Shepherd, whose power

A NATIVE ASSISTANT.

125

extends to the remotest places. And indeed the Brethren frequently learned, that several Greenlanders, who had heard the Gospel, entered the eternal world in a manner quite different from what is usual among the heathen. Several also prosecuted their inquiries after truth at the newly-erected colonies and Missions in Greenland, and were harboured there in the bosom of the Christian church: and the Brethren could sincerely rejoice in this also, for they sought not their own but the things which were Jesus Christ's, and they knew that the day was near at hand, when all distinctions of sect and party, originating as they do from remaining blindness in God's children, would vanish in the bright. ness of the Redeemer's presence.

Every visit from the Missionaries, was now hailed with joy by the natives. Mr. Drachart having heard that one of his flock had been drowned at Kangek, the Brethren carried him thither in their boat, and took with them some of their baptized people to bury the corpse, and to tell the brethren something of the death of Jesus, and the happy sleep of believers. They found Arbalik in the house already busily employed. He was speaking to an attentive company, of faith in Jesus Christ, from whom, though spiritually dead by nature, and without ability to help or save themselves, they might, by believing, obtain life and fulness of joy. Nor need they be perplexed, how, or for what, they should pray; that would afterwards flow spontaneously from the heart. "I, poor creature," he concluded, "have yet but little experience, but here are my teachers, they can tell you more." Accordingly, after singing a hymn, they addressed the company on the subject of the Redeemer's incarnation and death. The whole house was affected. "What strange event is this?" said they, "your present discourse affects us in a very different manner from what you were always telling us of God, and the two first parents. We continually said we believed it all, but we were tired of hearing it, and thought, What signifies this to us?' But now we find there is something interesting in it."

In this voyage the Missionaries were constrained to acknowledge the great loving kindness of their heavenly Guardian. Those who had once despised, derided, and