Chapter V: Part 5

I build this doctrine, said he, in the first place, on the promises of Jesus Christ to his church, which are these: “whose sins soever ye remit, they are remitted, and whose soever sins ye retain they are retained; whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and again, I will be with you always even unto the end of the world.” In the second place, said he, from the consideration that the promises of Jesus to his church, must necessarily have been fulfilled, I maintain that the church has been guided by the Spirit in the manner I have stated, and in consequence thereof, she has held the same doctrine from the days of the Apostles until the present time.

I differ from you, I replied, regarding the meaning and application of the passages you have quoted from the Scriptures. But as you will have the church to explain them, and as the church does actually explain them as you have stated, we cannot therefore meet each other here, on open ground. Let us then pass on to the other fundamental principle which you hold, namely, the fulfilling of this promise in the way you have explained it. How then do you prove to me, that the church has never varied in her doctrines?—I prove, said he, the constancy and stability of the church by the uniform voice of ecclesiastical writers, from the days of the Apostles until now. No sooner did any pastor or bishop broach any new doctrine, than his own flock, and the whole body of Christians, every where raised the cry against him. Errors now and then arose, continued he, and errors too of great consequence, but in this manner they were publicly reprobated, and the individuals who had erred were thereby brought to repentance, or else expelled the church.—As I wished to drive this subject to its proper issue, and to fix upon the very point upon which we differed, and which point it was necessary to settle before we could proceed farther with any advantage, I put this question to him: Do you maintain that the writers upon ecclesiastical affairs, from the days of the Apostles downward, have all held the same opinions regarding the interpretation of Scripture? Not exactly so, said he, for there have been differences among them regarding the interpretation of several passages of Scripture; and he here instanced several opinions of St. Augustine, St. Cyprian, &c. But so far, continued he, as respects what are strictly and properly called the _doctrines_ of the church, I maintain that there is no difference among them, although in points of discipline they are not all agreed. You hold then, said I, do you, that so far as the _doctrines_ of the Roman Catholic church are concerned, the writers we speak of do not vary? I expected he would here give an answer at once in the affirmative, but he withdrew a little farther, and said that he would not affirm to the question I had put, as to _all_ that these writers had said; but so far only, as they had given their _testimony_ to the doctrines in question as existing among them, he wished to speak, and not as to their own opinions of these doctrines. He here stated some _opinions_ of the fathers, and said, that so far as they acted as _witnesses_ to what existed among them, and in the ages previous to their time, thus far and no further were their writings to be considered respecting the argument in hand. I here reminded him by the way, of what I had before urged, but which he did not concede, namely, that there were a great variety of opinions among the Catholics as well as among the Protestants. I stated, at the same time, that I did not urge this particularly as an objection to their system, but merely as a counterpart to his objection to the Protestants, arising from their differences. I then put the question: Do you maintain then, that so far as ecclesiastical writers have given testimony to the doctrines of the church, they do not vary, nor can vary?—Yes, said he, I do maintain that position.—I then replied, I am glad we have come at length to this one definite point, and I am glad, also, that you have excluded the opinions of the writers on these subjects, and that you rest solely on them as witnesses. I now see the point you maintain, and here we will come to issue. My answer, for the present, shall be short. This position which you maintain, is a position which I believe to be insupportable, and which, in consequence, I deny. Here, then, let the subject for the present rest; we have got a great length in seeing the very line which divides us, and we have now the matter free of mystery. It is reduced to a mere historical question. We shall, therefore, decide it as such on some future occasion, when I shall take in hand to prove that the church _has varied_.

We have now seen, said I, the very point in which we differ, let us also see where we agree. I believe, said I, that all mankind are sinners, and stand in need of a Saviour. I believe that God pitied our race, and sent his only begotten Son to seek and to save the lost. I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the true Mediator and Saviour of mankind, and that there is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. I do sincerely believe, I continued, in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and my Redeemer; and, I trust, also that I desire to know all his precepts and instructions, and to conform my thoughts, and words, and actions thereunto.—I then said to him, is not this exactly what you believe?—He said it was so. Well then, I replied, may not we look upon each other as fellow disciples, and may not we each expect, if we hold on, that the Lord will give unto us both that crown of righteousness which he hath promised to them that love him? He here seemed to hesitate, and did not give a direct reply. You see that I was here touching upon the point of there being no salvation out of _their_ church.—He said that what I had stated regarding my faith was well, but that there was something farther necessary, and upon saying so, he seemed to digress a little, or, at least, not to speak directly to the point in hand. My dear Sir, said I, pray let us settle this point. Have the goodness to speak your mind freely; speak out, what do I still want, what more must I believe, than what I have stated, in order to obtain eternal life. Did not the Lord Jesus himself concede eternal life to those who believed what I have told you in my belief? And did not the Apostles, according to the power invested in them, remit the sins of those who believed and acted in the manner I have stated? He then said something about the necessity of believing the church, in order to salvation.—Can I not look for salvation without this? said I.—Take care that you do not put obstacles in the way to heaven, which the God of our salvation has not put. Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, pray then, do not with stumbling blocks fill up this narrow way. Let the Lord Jesus and his Apostles guide us in this, and in all matters that concern the kingdom of God.

Upon arriving here we found our time was gone, and that we had been upwards of two hours in a very close conversation. As my friend could stop no longer, we broke up our conversation at this point, he still stating it as necessary to salvation, that I should believe the church. When we thus dropped our disputation, he arose, and as I accompanied him out, he threw his arms around me, and said, “We shall yet, I trust, be united together, and companions in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I have lengthened my account of this interview, perhaps unnecessarily, and it may be till I have tired you. By way of excuse, I would say that I felt real interest in the conversation, and my endeavour has been to make you participate with me, as I believe what interests and pleases one of us is not unpleasing, nor without interest, to the other. It often happens, however, that what interests us in a conversation or narrative loses its effect upon others by the imperfect way in which we repeat it. In the present instance, this is very likely the case, but I leave you to judge.

I have only to remark, before I conclude, that the point in dispute between us is now reduced to narrow limits; and it was my main endeavour to bring it to this bearing, nor was he averse to it. He is, as I said at the outset, a man of good talents, and reasons clearly. I do not promise to you that we shall be able to set the subject at rest in our next conference, notwithstanding all the accuracy and honesty of my good friend. You know there are many things which prevent such an anticipation. I shall, however, endeavour to prove to him, in the first place, that the church _at_ Rome, and other churches in the days of the Apostles, held the doctrines and followed the practices which are contained in the New Testament. With these doctrines I shall then compare the doctrines of the church of Rome in the present day; and if I can show a disparity between them, I think impartiality should give the judgment in my favour, even without entering upon ecclesiastical history; as I shall thus have proved that the church _has varied_, and hence that those passages he referred to, must be misinterpreted by Romish writers, and that they do not apply to their church, whose infallibility must, of course, fall to the ground, agreeably to the principles stated in the preceding conversation. Should, however, justice not speak out in my favour, I shall pass on to show, from ecclesiastical writers, that the doctrines of the Church of Rome differ in the present day from what they were in the first and second centuries, and even later. By this means I hope to arrive at the same conclusion, as in the way before mentioned, and thus to disprove my friend’s position of the church never having varied, by the very means by which he maintains it. This I conceive, is the only way of managing the controversy between the Catholic and the Protestant. Until you settle this point about the authority of the church, you can do nothing effectually. If you cite, for instance, a passage of Scripture to disprove any one of the doctrines of the Catholic church, you are met immediately with the interpretation which the church puts upon that passage, and there is an end of it. If you should allege that the passage plainly and evidently means something very different from each interpretation, then you are reminded that our judgement is weak and erring, and that the judgment of the church is infallible. So that to whatever hand you turn, you never can get out of this circle. It is therefore necessary to demolish this outwork entirely. What I have said of course applies chiefly to the mode of reasoning with those who are thorough-paced in their theological arguments; but with regard to others, you can attack them in any particular part, and carry your argument forward on the principles of common sense, and by the doctrines of Scripture taken in their plain and obvious meaning.

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_Lima, 1st June, 1824._

In the conclusion of my letter of the 1st of March, I noticed that this city had been taken possession of by the Spanish army. It is still in their possession, and there does not appear, at present, any immediate prospect of a change in this respect. You will not expect from me political news under present circumstances, and I pass on to note what little affairs have come under my observation during these two or three months past, respecting that kingdom which cannot be moved by the strifes of men, nor the clangour of war.

My letter to Mr. H. of 25th March would inform you of the protection which the Spanish General granted to our schools. In consequence of that encouragement, I resolved to remain her some time longer, in order to put our establishment upon as sure a footing as possible. Nothing material occurred in our school upon the arrival of the Spaniards, except the losing of some of our scholars. The cause of this was the dread their parents were in, lest their children should be seized on their way to and from the school by the recruiting parties, who not infrequently take some of the bigger boys as they find them in the street, in order to make drummers of them. Our number, in consequence of this, is less than it was about three months ago. In these times, when party spirit runs high, we endeavour in our school to maintain a strict neutrality in words and actions. We found some difficulty during the first days, after our change of rulers, to establish this neutrality among the children themselves. They would, from time to time, be forming themselves into sides, and calling each other respectively Patriots and Goths. We have in the school, children whose parents have taken opposite sides in this contest, and as might naturally be expected, the children on the one hand and on the other have imbibed the sentiments of their parents. We succeeded at length in putting an end to these strifes among the children, and we now all live in peace and unity. The government holds out to us no immediate encouragement, and on the other hand, it never in any shape interferes with our operations. On the whole, this school is going on very well. The children are making progress in their learning, and advancing in moral dignity; and some are lisping out, and some are reading with readiness, the gracious words which proceeded out of the mouth of our blessed Saviour, as they were taken down by the Holy Spirit. I may add, that we are not losing the estimation of our friends here, but on the contrary, if I mistake not, we are gaining more friends in both parties, and making advances in public confidence.

About three weeks ago I was on the eve of leaving this place, and had, as on a former occasion, every thing packed up with that intention. I had indeed resolved to sail for Guayaquil with the first ship, and was inquiring for a passage. My reasons for doing so were quite solid. My salary, as I suppose you know, is paid by the government. Under present circumstances, the payment of the troops is the first thing attended to, and to procure funds sufficient for this purpose, requires great exertions in the present exhausted state of this place. To obtain this supply, all the ordinary sources of revenue are laid hold of, and pretty heavy contributions also are laid on the inhabitants to make up deficiencies. This being the case, there was no prospect of my obtaining any supplies, more especially as persons in the immediate employ of the government, and who have salaries assigned them, could obtain nothing. To make certain, however, I made application, and found it impossible to obtain any thing, on account of the circumstances mentioned. As you know I have no supplies but what my own hands provide me with, it became an imperative duty to remove when my usual resources were dried up. These were my reasons for going, and I suppose you will consider them sufficient, especially if you take into consideration the high price of all kinds of provisions in this city. Sugar for instance, which grows and is manufactured within a few miles of the city, is now selling at twenty-pence and two shillings the pound.

Being ready for setting off, as above mentioned, and having given notice to the children to that effect, I waited only till the following day to send my luggage down to Callao, and to follow it immediately. Whilst I was thus prepared, my good friend the clergyman, whom I have frequently mentioned in my former letters, called upon me, and said that he believed I would not go away yet, notwithstanding all my preparations. I smiled at what he said, and replied, that my going appeared very certain and very near too, for I intended to send my luggage to Callao next morning.—Well, I do not think you will go away for all that, said he.—Upon my asking him what reasons he had for saying so, he stated, that he had been speaking with some of the parents of the children, and that they had expressed to him their concern at my going, and said they would very willingly contribute what they could, and would speak to some others who had children in the school, and that they hoped by that means something might be raised, which might, in a great measure, remove the reasons I had stated for my going. Whilst my friend and I were talking to this effect, a person came in who had a son at school, and repeated the same things. I replied, that I felt very much obliged by the confidence they reposed in me, and for their friendly interference for my continuance in this place. I noticed also that I had candidly stated my reasons for going away at this time, and that though they had kindly proposed a way of removing these difficulties, yet I felt a delicacy in calling on the parents of the children on my own behalf. They replied to this by saying that they would speak to some of their friends upon the subject, and that in fact they had spoken to some of those of most influence who were very cordial and anxious in the matter; and my friend the clergyman proposed to write notes to others of the parents, in his own name, to remove any delicacies I might have as to the application. Upon seeing so much interest taken in this matter, I recognized the hand of God in it, and agreed to their proposal. Their plan has been carried into effect, and this has the Lord opened, as it were, a window in heaven, and let down before me a sheet full of supplies. In this same manner, I may say, has the Lord provided for me during the years of my pilgrimage in this foreign land. He has set a table before me, he has anointed my head with oil, he has made my cup to run over. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and O may I dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

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_Lima, 15th July, 1824._

Your very acceptable favour of 6th January last, came safely into my hands on the 22d ultimo, and I have now the pleasure of writing you a few lines in reply. Your notice of the progress of Bible Societies in France is very interesting, and it is not less so what you mention regarding the circulation of the Holy Scriptures in Egypt, and in Jerusalem, the city of the great King. To whatever quarter we turn our eyes, we behold the word of God silently making its way into the hands of men of every nation and of every language, saying unto all, Fear God, and give glory to his name, for the day of his merciful visitation is come. The strains of the Bible Society remind us of the song of the heavenly messengers upon their announcing the Advent of our great Deliverer. The language of both is, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will towards men.”

It affords me much satisfaction to observe the interest which the Society takes on behalf of South America, and I hope the day is coming when we shall be more sensible of your favours to us, and when we shall join together in grateful acknowledgment of your godly benevolence. Have the goodness to convey my sincere thanks to the Committee, for the readiness with which they have acceded to my request respecting the translating and printing of a part of the Holy Scriptures into the ancient Peruvian tongue. I thought I should, by this time, have been able to give you a very favourable account of the progress of this work, but we are subject here to sad vicissitudes, for war rages in the land, and of late the sword has reached unto our very soul. How long we shall be visited with this scourge I cannot tell. The Judge of all the earth will do right, and it is our duty to submit to his holy will.

The translation of the whole of the New Testament into the Peruvian language was finished about two months ago. The Gospel by Luke has been very carefully revised and corrected by four individuals, one of whom is a Clergyman, another is a Theological Tutor in one of the colleges of this city, and the other two are of the medical profession. These four, along with the gentleman who made the translation, went over this gospel verse by verse, with great care. The present corrected version, therefore, is the joint work of _five_ persons, and I trust it may be relied on with some confidence. It has not yet been put to the press, for we have not had a printing press in Lima during these four months past. There are two indifferent ones in Callao, one of them in the castle and the other under its guns, but I have not yet been able to ascertain, since I received your letter, whether any thing can be done at these or not. In my next I shall inform you more particularly upon this subject, and if the printing shall be then begun, I shall forward you a copy of the first sheet.

In my letter to Mr. Ronneberg of 29th March last, I noticed the safe arrival of the Grecian in Callao, bringing the 2,500 Spanish New Testaments addressed to me, and the 1,592 addressed to Mr. Lynch. Of the six boxes which came to me, I have sent two to Guatemala by a favourable opportunity which offered. I have also sent one to Arequipa, and one to Truxillo, and two yet remain on hand. A few weeks ago I received from Captain Robson, of the Sesostris, two boxes of New Testaments, (Paris edition,) containing about 500 each. These he received, I believe, from the Merchants’ Bible Society, or from some other of the Societies in London.

In the letter already referred to, I noticed what had taken place with regard to 50 New Testaments, which I sent to Truxillo some time ago. I mentioned the impossibility of getting them conveyed to Truxillo under the circumstances then existing in that place, and that in consequence they were carried to Guayaquil. I have since received a very pleasing letter regarding their reception in that place, of which the following is an extract.

“It is with the utmost pleasure I sit down to write these few lines to you, to inform you of the hunger and thirst after the word of God in this part of the world. You may remember, that when I last left Lima you gave me a box containing Tracts and Testaments, for Dr. O’Donovan in Truxillo, but from the then existing state of the country it was out of my power to forward the above mentioned box to Truxillo, and as we were not allowed to enter that port, we were consequently obliged to proceed to Guayaquil. I wrote you from that place, saying, that I was bound for the coast of Mexico, but as affairs would not permit it, I made a trading voyage to Jipijapi, Monte Cristi, and the Bay of Caracas. But before leaving Guayaquil some one got knowledge of my having these Testaments, and the demand was so great, that it was almost out of my power to save any of them, although it was my intention to do so, for the other above mentioned parts; and as I had no likely opportunity of forwarding them to Mr. O’Donovan, I thought it best to circulate them, and not to let such a treasure lie hid in darkness; and I am convinced that it is in general considered as a treasure; for with pleasure have I seen, in passing through the streets of Guayaquil, not once or twice, but mostly every day, the shopkeepers, and the poor people who have stalls, read in the blessed Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If I had had ten times as many, I am persuaded I could have sold them all. On my arrival in this port, (Monte Cristi, latitude 3° south) I had no Testaments, but a few tracts, and some of the instructions of the Lancasterian system of teaching; I gave the latter to different school-masters, and likewise a few tracts along with them. A day or two after it was known that I had tracts on board, it was astonishing, but at the same time pleasing, to see both old and young coming after me in the street, and to where I lived, requesting me either to sell or give them one of each kind. There was one tract in particular, which, to my knowledge, was sent twenty leagues to a curate, an acquaintance of mine, and on my going to some of the inland towns, which I had occasion at times to do, there was always particular inquiry for Tracts and New Testaments. I had once, about four years ago, distributed a few Testaments in Monte Cristi, one or two of which I saw this time. Such is the thirst after the word of God, that the Governor and two or three more, requested me as a particular favour, that I would leave a New Testament I had for my own use, until I should return, and begged and even offered money, so that I would bring either the New Testament or the whole Bible on my return. The Governor, after reading the rules of the Lancasterian plan of teaching, gave orders in my presence to some of the school-masters to conform to some of the rules as near as they could. He seems to be a young man very much inclined to forward any thing that tends to promote the education of youth. At this moment I am surrounded with children requesting tracts, but as my stock is small, I am very particular to whom I give them, making every one read a sentence or two before they get a tract.—It gives me infinite pleasure to be thus employed in distributing the word of God to those that hunger and thirst after righteousness; and after the fatigues of the day, I feel refreshed to be thus employed.”

The information contained in the above extract is very interesting, and I trust many other instances will be witnessed upon this continent, of a sincere desire to possess, and to read the Holy Scriptures. I shall take care to seize the first opportunity of sending a supply of New Testaments to Guayaquil and parts adjacent. It often occurs to me that it might prove very useful to make journeys through various parts of this country, in order to dispose of the Scriptures to the best advantage, and to the greatest extent possible. I felt much inclined to employ a person in whom I have confidence, in such journies, but did not like to do so at your expense without orders, and my own funds at present cannot afford it.—I have as yet received no answer to my letter to the Viceroy, and am quite uncertain as to the time I remain here. I had almost forgot to mention to you the safe arrival of the parcel containing the Brief View, in Spanish. Many copies of this have already been circulated, and they have produced a good effect.

I conclude, my dear Sir, by praying that an abundant measure of the Holy Spirit may be poured out upon yourself, and upon all your associates.

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_Lima, 1st September, 1824._

Many feelings, my dear friend, rush upon my mind on the present occasion. I shall, at once, give you to understand something of the number and the nature of these, by telling you,—that I have just now shut up my house, have taken leave of the children and of several warm friends, and go down immediately to Callao, to embark for Truxillo and Guayaquil; and from the latter place I intend to go to Bogotá; and thence onward from one place to another, until perhaps, and if the Lord will, I shall see you face to face. In consequence of these things, as you may easily suppose, I have my mind full of past, and of present, and of future objects. I think of my parting from you more than six years ago; I think of the wonderful way by which the Lord has preserved me, and led me, and blessed me in this foreign land; I think of the goodness of God in having allowed me to drop a seed here and a seed there in this continent, which appears a world of itself; I think of the affectionate parting I have this day had with many warm friends, and who are mostly priests, and of their sincere and earnest entreaties for my speedy return to them; and further, I think of the prospect of sowing the word of God on my journey,—of the pleasure, if such be the will of our Saviour, of seeing again all my dear brethren and friends in England,—of spending a few months with you in endeavours to forward the cause of our Redeemer in South America; and finally, I think of parting from you once more, and of returning again to this quarter of the world, to spend in it the remaining days of my life in seeking its welfare.

It is time to tell you the immediate cause of these projected movements. I say the _immediate_ cause, for I suppose you know that these are not new arrangements. The reason, then, of my setting off at the present time is, because I conceive it the most favourable time I am likely to have of reducing these arrangements to practice. You know how the war rages here, and how it defeats every attempt to forward the education of youth, and the promoting of general improvement. What I have said applies to Peru in general, but more particularly to this city, where the sword has truly reached to the heart. We are here, I may say, in a beseiged city, having the enemy on all sides. Guerilla parties surround the city by land, and have several times come in at night, and carried off people and property; and on the other hand the port of Callao is actually blockaded by the Peruvian squadron under Admiral Guise. The distress which prevails in this city, in consequence of every thing being thus at a stand, is _very great_, and it is augmented by heavy contributions. This, perhaps, in former times, was, without exception, the richest city in the world, but _now_, I may say with equal certainty, that it is the poorest. The luxury and dissipation which prevailed, in consequence of this abundance of wealth, may be easily imagined; and I have often thought upon that passage in the 18th chapter of the Revelation, and have seen it applied, I think, to our case, “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her.”

Until, therefore, some change take place here, nothing more can be done than has already been done. Our school goes on, and I may say, with as much prosperity as could be expected under the circumstances above mentioned. The number of scholars has decreased from 230 to about 200. There are two causes for this decrease; the one is, that the bigger boys are afraid to go out lest they should be taken up by the recruiting parties; and the other is, the real poverty which exists, and which prevents many parents from sending their children, as they are unable to procure them shoes and clothes to enable them to appear decently among others. Whilst these two causes exist, the number may diminish, perhaps, still more, but the school will continue to maintain itself, and to support its character, I expect, in the progress of those who attend. There are two masters in it, who are well instructed in the plan, and the whole is under the direction of my good friend, the clergyman, of whom I have often spoken to you. What I have said applies to the model or central school. There is also another school in the city on the same plan, with about eighty scholars, which, I hope, will also continue to go on well, though subject, of course, to the same disadvantages.

I have thought, then, that I was called upon to seize this time as the most suitable for visiting other parts of this Continent, and for the objects I have in England. My principal business upon my journey will be the circulation of the Scriptures in the different places I may visit, and I hope that something may be done in this way, so as to make my journey not unprofitable. Of my progress on my road, and in my objects, I shall endeavour to inform you from time to time. I shall only farther observe, in regard to my intentions, that my route, &c. will be a good deal determined by the circumstances which may occur in the way by which the Lord may lead me.

These movements have, I trust, been entered upon in the fear of God, and after mature deliberation, and fervent supplication to the Father of lights, who has promised to guide in judgment those who seek his face in sincerity.

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_Guayaquil, 5th October, 1824._

I arrived in this place a few days ago, and seize the earliest opportunity to state to you the cause of my being here. You already know that the single object which I have in view in South America, is the promoting of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are, of course, various ways of doing this, and I have thought it best to allow myself to be guided in the manner of doing it, by the various circumstances and occasions which the providence of God opens up to me from time to time. The two things to which I have more particularly given my attention all along are, the education of youth, and the circulation of the Holy Scriptures. In regard to the latter, with which you are more immediately connected, I have stated to the Society, at different times, my desire of forwarding their work in this quarter, in every way which lies in my power. I have also informed the Society, on various occasions, as to the progress of their work in this continent. It has afforded me much satisfaction to observe the interest taken by you all for supplying South America with the sacred volume, and to read the repeated assurances you have communicated to me of your desire to carry forward this object in the most extensive and effectual way possible. The confidence I reposed in the Society in regard to this country, induced me to commence the translation of the New Testament on your account into the Quichua, or ancient language of Peru, and the answer I received from you some time ago, has shown me that I was not mistaken in regard to your views.

The same confidence as to the views of the Society, and a hope of being able to do something in the way of circulating the word of God, in places not yet visited, or but very partially, by this messenger of peace, has induced me to come to this city at the present time. It is my intention to set out from this place in two or three days for Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. In my way I shall pass through Riobamba, Ambato, Tacunga, Quito, and Popayan, all of which are populous cities, and where I expect to sell a considerable number of copies of the Spanish New Testaments.

The present state of the war in Lima renders abortive every attempt to forward education there, and very little can be done in the circulation of the Scriptures by sale, on account of the very great pressure of the war, which has reduced the city to much distress. Under these circumstances, I thought the best time I could find for visiting the quarters above mentioned, and perhaps for visiting my native land, was the present. I set out then from Lima with this intention, and to perform the part of an agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society. I am not sure, but I may feel myself under the necessity of petitioning you for my _travelling expenses_. I never intended to charge you for any services I might be honoured in doing for your Society, if possible to avoid it; but the low state of my funds at present, on account of the war here, may urge me to do what otherwise I should not have done. I mention this at present, only in case it should be necessary. The prosperous turn the war has lately taken in Peru, encourages me to hope that what is due to me by the government of that country will be paid in due time, and in that case my little services shall cost you nothing.

I left Lima on the 5th ultimo, and at that time the supply of New Testaments, and of the four books of the Old Testament, printed with a small type, of which you wrote me, had not arrived. I had anxiously looked for their arrival for some weeks before my coming away, as by the date of your letter, I thought there was sufficient time for their reaching that place. I was very sorry in not having been furnished with this supply before entering upon my present journey, as I think the volumes printed with the small type would have been very acceptable, and the whole Bible also would have been equally so, as it has been often sought for. I have just one Bible with me to show as I go along, by way of specimen, in order to incite curiosity, and a desire to possess it, when it may be supplied to all those places. This copy I bought in Lima for this express purpose, and hope it will serve the end in view. I have brought about 800 New Testaments with me, and in this place I have found the supply you sent by the Grecian to Mr. Lynch, and which I thought had gone to Chile. I am glad at finding these here, as it enables me to send a quantity to Guatemala by an opportunity which offers from this place in a day or two. The rest I will dispose of otherwise. I mentioned to you some time ago, that I had sent two boxes to Guatemala of those which came to me by the Grecian. I have however learned, that the vessel in which they were sent had changed her destination, and that they have not yet arrived at that place. The accidental finding, in this place, the cases brought by the Grecian, enables me now to supply this deficiency, and also to send by the same person a supply to California. As to the boxes formerly sent, though they did not arrive at the destination intended, I entertain no doubt of their safety, and of their being profitably disposed of somewhere, and of which I expect to hear in due time.

I shall now state to you what has occurred in the part of my journey already performed. The first object I had in view, was to visit Truxillo, where I expected to find my good friends who take so much interest in the Peruvian translation of the New Testament, and who had laboured so diligently to accomplish it. I accordingly embarked on board a vessel bound for that place, and where I safely arrived in due time. I was sadly disappointed in not finding my friends there as I expected. Not one of them was to be found, nor could I ascertain with certainty where they were, but heard that one had been seen going to one place and another to another. The suddenness of their leaving Lima prevented us from making any arrangements about our translation, and we had not even time to bid each other adieu. The abruptness of our parting, rendered more severe my disappointment in not finding them in Truxillo, where I intended to make arrangements with them for carrying forward thin work during my absence. I had brought from Lima the manuscript of the whole New Testament in the Quichua language, together with the Gospel of Luke, thoroughly revised and prepared for the press. I mentioned to you in my last, that I would endeavour to carry your resolution into effect regarding the printing of 1,000 copies of this revised part. I mentioned also that all the printing presses had been removed from Lima, but that two were to be found in Callao, and that I would ascertain whether the work in question could be done there. Upon enquiry, I found it could not. In consequence of this, I wished to get the Gospel of Luke printed in Truxillo, and for that end carried the MS. to that place, that it might be carried through the press there. And in regard to the MS. of the other parts of the New Testament, I expected that our friends, in their exile, might go on revising and correcting it. All these plans, as you see, have been frustrated. I therefore carefully packed up the whole MS. and addressing it to one of our translators, gave it into the hands of an English gentleman going to Lima, to be delivered according to the address, when the expulsion of the Spaniards from Lima (which is soon expected) would enable our friends to return. I also wrote a few lines explaining my wish regarding the revising of the MS., and regarding the printing of the part already revised. The English gentleman of whom I have spoken, has kindly offered to advance all the money that may be necessary for carrying this into effect. From these arrangements I expect that the work will be set agoing again in the course of two, or at most three months from this date; for according to the _present_ aspect of the war, the Spaniards will not be able to continue longer in possession of Lima, although they may, and probably will, retain the fortresses of Callao till a later period.

Having touched upon this subject of the Spanish cause here, I cannot forbear mentioning to you the singular interposition of Providence on behalf of the cause of liberty in this quarter. On the 6th of August last the two armies came in sight of each other at a place called Junin, between Pasco and Tarma. The consequence was, that a battle took place between the cavalry of the two parties. There were 1,200 of the Spaniards and 800 of the Patriots. An eye witness says, “The concussion was tremendous, as they came up to each other at full gallop. In a quarter of an hour, upwards of 400 men lay dead upon the field, more than three-fourths of whom were Royalists. All this havoc and slaughter was caused by the lance and sword, principally by the former. Not a shot of any description, was fired.” In a short time victory begin visibly to declare for the Spaniards, and the General at the head of the patriot cavalry was made prisoner. At this critical moment, by some scarcely explained movement, the Spaniards got somehow into disorder, and began to give way. This was followed up by the Patriots, and in a very short time they obtained a complete victory. The whole of the Spanish army was, in consequence of this defeat, struck with a panic, and by forced marches endeavoured to get out of the way of the enemy as fast as possible. Bolivar immediately advanced, and the Spaniards continued to flee before him with all speed. On the 22d August, only 15 days after the battle, the advanced guard of the patriot army entered Guamanga. Five of the finest provinces of Peru thus fell into their hands in the short period of about a fortnight. The Spanish army has been sadly reduced and dispirited by their rapid retreat, and the army of Bolivar has increased in numbers and in strength. I consider this to be _a deadly blow_ to the Spanish cause in this quarter of the world, from which I think and hope they will never recover. With this cause will terminate, I trust, the reign of oppression and violence, of ignorance and fanaticism in Peru, and by which it has been borne down for these three hundred years. So perish all tyranny and ignorance from the earth!

I should perhaps beg your pardon for having drawn your attention so long to the concerns of war and of politics, as you are men of peace and of no party, and your only occupation is speaking peace to them who are far off and to them that are nigh. Still, however, you will remember that the book whose circulation we are engaged in, detains our attention in many places with the account of wars and revolutions. But you will say that all these are related there merely from their being connected with the grand moral and religious revolution of the world through that great prophet who was to come. This is certainly a right view of the subject; and motives of a similar nature, I trust, and not party nor malicious principles, have induced me to detain you a moment upon the wars of this quarter of the world. I firmly believe that the deliverance of this country from bondage and oppression, and the mental emancipation of its inhabitants, depend upon the success of this revolution. The Spaniards, as is well known, have greatly impeded, not to say prohibited, the progress of knowledge and of true religion in America. It is not easy therefore, nor is it proper, to remain indifferent as to the issue of this struggle.

I now return to our work of peace, and to Truxillo. I wrote the Society some time ago, of having found a useful and zealous co-labourer in that city, and that I had forwarded to him from Lima a supply of New Testaments. At the first he met with some difficulties, owing to the ecclesiastical authorities of the place. These were at length overcome, and he was allowed to commence the sale of the Scriptures publicly. When he had obtained leave to do so, he printed an advertisement, and posted it up in the public places of the town, intimating the sale. The consequence was, that he had sold when I was there about 100 copies. He had also written to his friends the Vicars in the provincial towns, but he had not then, from the shortness of the time, received the answers to his letters. When these arrive, he expects several orders for New Testaments to be sent to the various towns in the department of Truxillo, which contains a population of upwards of 300,000. In addition to this mode of circulating the Scriptures, my friend informed me that he was about to put in practice a method of lending the New Testaments in the different houses which he is in the habit of visiting, and in others which he intends to visit for that purpose. Our friend’s medical duties give him a facility for carrying this into practice. He intends to lend the New Testament for a day, or for two or three days, as circumstances may direct, and to call again for it himself at the given time. Upon calling for it, he says he will ask them if they wish to purchase it, and if so, he will sell it at a price corresponding to the circumstances of the individual; and if they do not wish it, he will take it with him and lend it to some other, to whom in turn he will put the same question, and thus sell it or take it with him, as circumstances require. You will easily see that this way of doing will cost him a good deal of labour and care, but he seems to count nothing of these, if in this manner he may be the means of circulating the word of God, and of drawing the attention of the people around him, to its all-important contents. As he makes all his rounds on horseback, he will, I hope, be enabled fully to verify his benevolent purpose. He showed me a pair of saddle-bags, which he told me he had got made for the very purpose of always carrying about with him a supply of New Testaments. He gave me one hundred dollars to account of sales, which was rather more than what he had received.

The next thing I have to notice in Truxillo, is, I conceive, of some importance, and will prove, I trust, the means of greatly extending the operations and diffusing the blessings of the British and Foreign Bible Society. What I refer to is, the finding of an additional agent who takes a lively interest in the diffusion of the Scriptures, and in every other means by which his countrymen may be benefited. The individual in question is a clergyman, and a man of rank in that order. He is Vicar-general to the army, and possesses a considerable influence. His residence, at present, is at Moche, a little village about four or five miles from Truxillo, and of which place he is rector. This, however, is only a temporary residence, during the occupation of his home by the Spaniards, and from which, in consequence, he was obliged to flee. The place of his nativity and of his permanent residence is in the province and near the city of Arequipa, towards the southern extremity of Peru. It is this circumstance in particular, that will render his services valuable, as we have already an active agent in Truxillo. He intends to return to his native province as soon as the course of the war will permit. Arequipa is in the centre of a populous country, and he will have an extensive field of operation. Another circumstance renders the acquisition of this gentleman very valuable, and that is his thorough knowledge of the Indian or Peruvian language, which is very extensively spoken in that quarter. To this I add another feature in his character of yet more importance, which is, his compassion for the oppressed and degraded state of the indigenous population of Peru, and the lively interest he takes in ameliorating their condition, by his representations to the government upon the subject, and by his personal labours. No individual I have yet met with in these countries, has offered himself so decidedly and so heartily to promote the cause of your Society, as this gentleman; and from all the circumstances I have mentioned, you will see that his good will and his services must be considered a great acquisition.

I considered the time spent in visiting Truxillo abundantly recompensed in meeting with this fellow-labourer, and I found, in this circumstance, some relief from the disappointment I had met with in not finding there the friends I had expected. My falling in too with that individual was perfectly accidental, for I had no knowledge of such a one being in that place. But then again we must remember, that “all chance is but direction which we cannot see.” Blessed be God who leadeth us by ways _we_ know not, but which _he_ knows, and which will lead us to the glorifying of his name, when that is our object. I must not omit to give you the name and address of our fellow-labourer. It is “Dr. Don Manuel Fernandez de Córdova, Vicario General del Ejército del Peru, y Cura de Salamanca del Obispado de Arequipa.” I have given you this address in Spanish to enable you to write direct to our friend, should you feel so inclined.