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acquaintance with his servants, informed them that he had a sister in the island of St. Thomas, in the West Indies, who earnestly desired to be instructed in the principles of religion; but as she had neither time nor opportunity for it, she often besought the great God to send some person to show her the way of salvation. Anthony having soon after obtained liberty from his master to visit Herrnhuth, again declared, in the presence of many of the congregation, the desire of his countrymen, and especially of his sister, for Christian instruction; but he added, that the negroes, in consequence of their accumulated labours, could have no opportunity of religious improvement, unless their teacher was himself a slave to instruct them in the midst of their daily avocations. This representation, and what the Brethren who had been at Copenhagen related concerning the state of Greenland, made a deep impression on many of the congregation, and several of them declared their willingness to go and labour among the poor Heathen. Leonard Dober, in particular, and Tobias Leopold, one of his most intimate friends, felt so strong a desire to proceed to St. Thomas, that they offered not only to go to that island, but with a philanthropy which, perhaps, has scarcely a parallel in the annals of history, to sell themselves as slaves, in order to make known the Redeemer to the negroes, particularly to the poor woman who so ardently longed for Christian instruction, should they find no other way of accomplishing their purpose. Some of the Brethren expressed a similar desire to proceed to Greenland; and shortly after missions were undertaken to both of these countries.*

It is worthy of particular observation, that when the Moravians sent forth their first missionaries, the congregation consisted only of about six hundred poor despised exiles; yet this inconsiderable company made such noble and extensive exertions for the conversion of the Heathen, as reflects not only the highest honour on themselves, but inde* Crantz's History of Greenland, vol. i. p. 317.

lible disgrace on all the rest of the Christian world. In the short period of eight or nine years, they sent missionaries to Greenland, to St. Thomas, to St. Croix, to Surinam, to the Rio de Berbice, to the Indians of North America, to the Negroes of South Carolina, to Lapland, to Tartary, to Algiers, to Guinea, to the Cape of Good Hope, and to the island of Ceylon.* Of these important undertakings we shall now proceed to give some account, beginning with the mission to Greenland.

Crantz's History of the Brethren.-While the United Brethren were labouring with the energy and zeal of apostles in Heathen lands, and exhibiting the spirit of the gospel in all its native lustre and beauty, the Christian world was calumniating their character, misrepresenting their principles, and charging them with the foulest crimes. The writings of count-Zinzendorf, in particular, were ransacked, and often mutilated, misquoted, and falsely translated, in order to prove that the church of which he was a distinguished member, held errors the most wild and fanatic, and indulged in practices the most vile and abominable. The count, indeed, though not an ordinary character, was yet a man, and of course liable to err. He commonly delivered two or three discourses every day, either in public or to his family, which was generally large: His sermons were, in the strictest sense of the word, extempore, yet as they were often attended with striking effects on the hearers, they were commonly taken down as he delivered them; and such was the veneration in which he was held by his brethren, that in many instances they urged the publication of them. As he, however, was pressed with numerous other avocations, he did not spend that time in revising them which the nature of the case demanded. Some he never reviewed at all; and some were not only incorrectly but even falsely printed. In consequence of these circumstances, doctrines of which he never dreamed were deduced from his writings; and some of his transient private opinions were laid to the charge of the whole of the Brethren. Convinced of the impropriety of these proceedings, and finding positions in the writings which passed under his name which he neither professed nor believed, be published a declaration in the public papers, that he could not acknowledge any books which had been printed in his name, unless they were revised and corrected by himself in a new edition. He began this work in German; but died before it was finished.

It must also be acknowledged, that at one period, particularly from 1747 to 1753, many of the Moravians, in their public discourses, and in the hymns they published, employed expressions which were improper and indefensible The count himself laboured to correct both the views and language contained in chese pieces; and his endeavours were crowned with success, so that they are no longer in use among the Brethren.

It may not be improper further to remark, that the church of the Brethren do not acknowledge the writings of the count, or of any man, as the standard of their principles. They, indeed, consider the confession of Augsburg, as exhibiting a correct view of the doctrines of the Gospel; but they allow of no other rule for their faith and practice, except the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament.

Such is the candid statement of Mr. Latrobe in his preface to Spangenberg's Exposition of Christian Doctrine as taught in the Church of the United Brethren. From this work, indeed, it appears, that, with regard to the leading truths of the Gospel, the principles of the Moravians are in perfect unison with the sentiments of serious Chris tians of all denominations.

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SECTION I

GREENLAND.

IN January, 1733, Christian David, the man who was the occasion of the first emigrations from Moravia, together with Matthew and Christian Stach, set off from Herrnhuth in Upper Lusatia, on a mission to the inhospitable shores of Greenland. "There was no need," says one of them, "of much time or expense for our equipment. The congregation consisted chiefly of poor exiles, who had not much to give us, and we ourselves had nothing but the clothes on our backs. Being accustomed to make a shift with little, we did not trouble our heads how we should get to Greenland, or how we should live in that country. Some money having come from a friend at Venice, the day before our departure, we received part of it to pay the expense of our journey to Copenhagen; and as we considered ourselves as richly provided for, we would take nothing of any person on the road, believing that he who had sent a supply for our journey at the critical moment, would also take care for every thing that was necessary for carrying our purpose into execution as soon as we should want it. Neither could any one give us much information on the subject of our work, or many instructions how we should proceed; for the congregation as yet had no experience in the management of missions. It was, therefore, left to ourselves to act in all circumstances, as the Lord should lead us. In short, we neither knew nor imagined how it would be with us."*

Such were the circumstances in which these simple unlettered men set out on their journey. On their arrival at Copenhagen, they were received with much kindness by professor Ewald, a member of the college of missions, and by

• Crantz's Hist. of Greeg. vol. i. p. 322.

M. Reuss, his majesty's chaplain. Their design, however, of going to Greenland appeared to many extremely romantic and unseasonable, especially as the mission and colony already established in that country seemed now on the brink of ruin, and was even probably abandoned for ever.* Besides, how could they get thither, since there was no likelihood any ship would undertake such a voyage for the purpose of trade? Or if a vessel should be sent to bring back the few people who still remained behind, how was it possible for three solitary individuals to subsist in so cold and barren a country, without assistance or supplies from home? The probability was, they would either be murdered by the savages, or perish with hunger, or die of some contagious disorder, as most of the colonists had done three years before.†

Such was the unfavourable prospect before them; yet they were not disheartened by these difficulties or these reasonings. Full of simple confidence in God, they waited in humble expectation, that he who had called them to the undertaking, would enable them to carry it into execution. After sometime, they learned that the king had consented to send a ship once more to Greenland, and in consequence of the representations of Pless, the first lord of the bed-chamber, his majesty accepted of the offer of the Brethren in the most gracious ma ner; and after considering the subject further, he resolved to promote, with new vigour, the improvement of the country and the conversion of the inhabitants. He not only permitted the three Brethren to go thither as missionaries, but desired that others might follow them; and he was even so condescending as to write a letter with his own hand to Mr. Egede, recommending them to his attention and friendship. Several other distinguished persons, who were friendly to the object, countenanced them with their approbation, and afforded them pecuniary assistance. Pless, one day, asked them, How they proposed to

* See page 274.

Crantz's Hist. Green. vol. i. p. 323.

live in Greenland? " They intended," they replied, "to build a house, and to cultivate the land by the labour of their hands, that they might not be burdensome to any.' Το this he objected, that there was no wood in the country to build with. "Then," said they, "we will dig into the earth, and lodge there." Struck with their self-denial, he replied; "No: you shall not do that: Take wood with you and build a house: Accept of these fifty dollars for that purpose." By means of this and other contributions, the Brethren purchased various materials for building, as poles, planks, laths; instruments for masonry, digging stones, and carpenter's work; household furniture, as iron stoves, windows, tin and copper vessels, beds, clothes, books, paper; some implements of husbandry; several sorts of seeds and roots, nets, fowling-pieces, and other useful articles.*

In the beginning of April, the missionaries sailed from Copenhagen, and after an agreeable voyage of about six weeks, they landed safe in Greenland. Immediately on their arrival, they repaired to Mr. Egede, and delivered him their letters of recommendation. He gave them, as might be expected, a most cordial welcome, congratulated them on their undertaking, and promised them his best assistance in learning the language. Having fixed on a spot for a settlement near the colony of Good Hope, they there erected a house; but, at first, they found no small difficulty in finding themselves a maintenance in the country. They were able to procure little or nothing by hunting or fishing, for they had never been trained to these occupations; neither were they able to follow the method of the Greenlanders, for they were not able to manage a kajak. The first time they went in search of wood among the islands, they were overtaken by a storm; and though they reached home, after much difficulty, yet during the night, their boat and the wood they had collected were driven away by the wind. In a few

• Crantz's Hist. of Greenland, vol. i. p. 324.

The small boat of the Greenlanders.

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