reling for your own way, no more frowns upon slight offences, in a word, none of those various troubles, which, both when we are children, and when we are grown up, we make, in order to torment ourselves. Whenever you feel unhappy, ask yourself what is the cause, and who is to blame!

Egede's first object was, to learn the language: but this was not easily done; he had to write his own grammar, and make his own dictionary; and no way of setting about it, but pointing to things, and asking the natives the names of them, and then endeavouring to arrange the words he had thus obtained. In this manner you must necessarily imagine, he passed a long time, before he was able to obtain a knowledge of the language of the Greenlanders; and being eager to communicate religious instruction to them, he showed them pictures of some of the events in the Bible, such as our Saviour healing the sick, and raising the dead, and also of the general resurrection. These, however, had an unfortunate effect; for, as he could only explain the subjects to them very imperfectly, they imagined that he himself possessed the same wonderful power; they, therefore, brought their sick to him, to be cured.

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Though he endeavoured to explain to them, that God alone, could impart health, they persisted in attributing to him miraculous powers, and even entreated him, on one occasion, to bring the dead to life. He could not, therefore, hope to instruct them in the knowledge of the truth, until he was able to converse with them, without any difficulty.

A new trial now awaited him; they had not brought out any large store of provisions, as knowing that the inhabitants subsisted upon fish, they expected to have been able to do the same. But the fishing that year had failed, and the people who accompanied him, began to murmur at the scarcity of food, and to upbraid him with having brought them to that dismal place. Was this then, to be the end of all his hopes? Was the very same vessel which brought them out, to carry them all back again to their own country, with no other fruit of his anxieties, than a long and miserable voyage? He begged, he prayed them to remain-to stay only a little longer, and see if it was the will of God to send them food. They listened to his entreaties, and agreed to stay the "little longer;" and before it was expired, the welcome sail was seen at a distance on the sea,

and a vessel from Norway arrived, bringing them the food and necessaries they required.

Years passed away, and Egede continued indefatigable at his labours. To gain the necessary knowledge of their tongue, he went to live, for a time, in the hut of a Greenlander, in the midst of the filth with which it abounded, and the vermin with which it swarmed. The savages, who live in the countries near the North Pole, are generally dirty, and disgusting in their habits; and the Greenlanders are, or rather at that time were, particularly so. He afterwards received a family into his own house, for the same purpose. As soon as he had thus learnt to speak the language, he began to attempt to teach some of the young Greenlanders to read. They, however, had no desire to learn; eating, was the thing which they seemed best to have understood, and had the strongest passion for. Whole nights,

sometimes, were spent by them in gluttony; and if I were to tell you the delicacies upon which they feasted, I think you would be rather shocked. Books, paper, pens, are not, as little children say, "good to eat," and they turned a deaf ear to everything the missionary could say to them : indeed, they told him, he was an idle, useless

man, who passed his time in looking at books, and scratching with a feather, while the brave Greenlanders were hunting seals, and catching fish. In vain he endeavoured to talk to them concerning their souls. They knew of no other life than the present, and cared for no other. They were ignorant savages; but, are you sure you are not pursuing the same end; though perhaps, in a different manner? All they thought about was feasting and gluttony. Your thoughts are, perhaps, equally intent upon this world; and if so, you are as unwise as the Greenlanders. If a house was on fire, a lady, who could not leave an interesting book, she was reading in the drawing room, would be as much in danger of being burnt to death, as the servant who would not get up from his supper in the kitchen. It scarcely matters to us, how we lose our lives, or our souls, if we do indeed, lose them. The Greenlanders showed an equal aversion to hearing anything about religion; and not possessing the dissimulation of polite society, they did not leave Egede in doubt of their feelings upon this subject, either. They plainly told him they cared nothing at all about it. Perhaps you will say, why did he not go back to his own country?

No; he would not go home until he considered his duty there was done. He thought it was the will of God, that he should preach the Gospel to the Greenlanders, and, therefore, he persevered. "We walk by faith, not by sight;" our conduct should be governed, not by what we see and experience in this world, but what God has declared to us in His word. We see the world around us, wholly intent upon providing for their happiness here. Our Saviour has commanded us to take up our cross and follow him, and then we shall be happy here, and perfectly blest with him hereafter. We see daily, around us, all that is honoured, prized, and esteemed, in the sight of men. The bible tells us, it is vanity, and the only things worth our attention, are those which are esteemed in the sight of God. Egede walked by faith, not sight; he saw that the Greenlanders paid not the slightest attention to his instructions, and that year after year, it seemed as though he laboured in vain; but he knew that Christ had commanded that the gospel should be preached among the heathen, and therefore he persevered. If not one single idolater was converted to christianity, it would still be the duty of Christians, to "go into all the world," teaching all nations.