"Congratulating you, therefore, on the possession of a temper which, if
actually possessed, is of more value to you than all which this country or
this world can furnish, we proceed to offer the following directions and
remarks:--
"The vessel in which your passage is taken will, with the favor of
Providence, convey you to Calcutta, where you will probably have the
opportunity of conferring with some of those venerable men who led the way
in the missionary enterprises of the last forty years. They are known and
honored throughout the world; and honors will thicken and brighten around
their memory long after the mere politician, statesman, and warrior shall
have passed into oblivion.
"Without unnecessary loss of time, you will proceed to Bombay. Here a large
and most interesting field invites your labor--interesting, not so much
from any harvest which has been already gathered, nor because the precise
period of ingathering can now be foreseen by human vision, as from the
consideration that here the first mission of the Board was established;
that here a noble and successful effort was made by our missionaries in
pleading before governors the claims of the gospel; that here the first
messengers of our churches cheerfully labored, till most of them have
fallen asleep, their lives having been worn out by incessant exposure and
toil; and, finally, that here preparations have been made for future labor,
with a view to the wants of many millions, in whose language the message of
salvation is delivered and the Scriptures are printed and circulated, while
multitudes of children are trained up to read, reflect, and reason.
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