mentality for the advancement of His

cause.

When we read about the mission work of the Middle Ages we are struck by the prominence given to individuals. We do not remember to have met with a single instance of a Christian community, in consequence of a common influence pervading it, awakening to the duty and betaking themselves to the work of evangelization. So far as communities acted, they did so generally at the call of a single individual, who was inflamed with a desire for extending the Redeemer's kingdom, and who roused others to take part with him in the work. Through the early centuries of what is called the medieval period we see a succession of remarkable men, who tower far above their contemporaries, who are the soul of the enterprises they undertake, and who labour with an energy which strikes us as almost supernatural. These men occupied very different positions in society. Some of them were of noble birth, while others sprang from the lower classes. Some had great learning, while others were possessed of only ordinary intelligence. The quality common to them all was an unconquerable determination by Divine aid to spread the Gospel among those who were ignorant of it. Friends opposed and remonstratedscorn was poured on the undertaking; providential circumstances occurred, which seemed to counsel its abandonment; well-nigh insuperable obstacles presented themselves; after the undertaking was commenced, encouraging circumstances seemed to end in signal failure; and yet the heart was not crushed, hope survived, and the enterprise was prosecuted till crowned

with success. These distinguished persons took the lead, but they did not stand alone. They imbued others with their own spirit, and in the course of time they had a host of hearty coadjutors.

We may, in exemplification of these remarks, adduce the great Chrysostom. Amidst the multiplied labours and trials of his high office, as Patriarch of Constantinople, he took a warm interest in the evangelization of the barbarians. A church at Constantinople was set apart for the worship of the Goths, where the service was conducted in their own language by Gothic ministers, who had been trained under the superintendence of the Patriarch. We are told that on one occasion 'a great number of Goths were assembled in the magnificent Cathedral of Constantinople, where the Bible was read, and a sermon preached in their own language by one of their own nation, to the great astonishment of the Greeks, who were witnesses of the remarkable scene. At the close of the service, the Patriarch ascended the pulpit, and taking for his text Isaiah lxv. 25, "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock," preached a sermon of great eloquence, which has come down to us, in which he expatiates on the transforming influence of the Gospel, and calls on his hearers to sympathize with him, and help him in his missionary efforts. When banished from Constantinople on account of his Christian faithfulness, and subjected to the greatest hardships and indignity, his heart still glowed with missionary zeal. He exerted himself to the utmost on behalf of the heathen. He corres

ponded with Churches on their behalf. Large sums were entrusted to him, which he spent in redeeming captives and supporting missions. He personally engaged in the work of training men, and counselled them as to the fields which they should choose. So far as circumstances would permit, he sent letters to them full of advice, encouragement, and holy incentive. We may say that he was at once the professor, the secretary, the treasurer, and the committee of a missionary association, with a great number of the best people of his day as a constituency, who were warmly attached to him, were indignant at the treatment he had received, and heartily sympathized with him in his missionary zeal. We trace with difficulty the work he commenced, but we cannot doubt that it was continued by persons of kindred mind, and was blessed with a large measure of success.

Let us mention another dignitary, removed from Chrysostom by nearly two centuries. We are in the habit of saying that the Anglo-Saxons were converted by the instrumentality of the Roman Church. It is right for us to remember that the Roman Church would have undertaken no such mission but for one man. Gregory, more worthy of the title Great than most who have borne it, had his soul stirred within him, as he saw the fair-haired Anglo-Saxon boys exposed for sale, and longed to preach the Gospel in the land of their birth. He actually set forth, but the Roman people could not endure his absence, and he was obliged to return. He soon succeeded in gathering a band to proceed to the country, to which he would so gladly have gone in the service of his Saviour. Frightened

at the reports they heard of the wild Saxons, the band returned, but not to remain; for Gregory succeeded in infusing into Augustine and his companions something of his own courage; and, braced for their work, they made their way to heathen England. We find the Roman Church acting as a missionary society under the presi dency of Gregory. The missionaries were sent forth at the expense of the Church; others were speedily sent after them to reinforce them; directions were given as to the course they should pursue; letters full of wisdom, zeal, and love, several of which have been preserved for the edification of succeeding ages, were forwarded to them; after a period of labour they returned to their home, to be refreshed by the society of their brethren, and to obtain strength for a new campaign. We speedily find Christian institutions arising in England, moulded in accordance with the views prevalent in those days.

We have now to speak of a man who ranks still higher in the annals of missions than the two dignitaries we have mentioned. About the time that Chrysostom was thundering forth his faithful and eloquent denunciations against the sins of his time, from his patriarchal throne at Constantinople, a person of humble birth was being trained by God's Providence and grace in the north-western corner of Europe, for labours which proved successful and fruitful in an extraordinary degree. Unhappily the life of Patricius, commonly called St. Patrick, whose native name was Sakkath, is so enveloped in a cloud of legend, that we cannot see him as we would; but enough is certainly known regarding him to give him

a very high place among the spiritual benefactors of the race. The son of a deacon in a place near the modern Glasgow, he was, when a boy, seized by Irish pirates and taken away to Ireland. In his captivity he was subjected to the greatest hardships, exposed to the inclemency of the weather, as he herded his master's sheep on the mountains, with imperfect clothing, and coarse and scanty fare. In his solitude and sorrow he sought and found the Saviour. He succeeded in making his escape and returning to his native land; but again he was seized by Irish rovers, and again he was doomed to the life of a slave. He escaped a second time, but now when he might, he could not remain at home; for his soul was fired with the desire to make known the Gospel to the people at whose hands he had suffered, and with whose language and state he had become well acquainted. In spite of the remonstrances of friends he set out for France, to obtain, in the society of pious monks and ecclesiastics there, a higher degree of meetness for his great undertaking. The legend of his having gone to Rome, and of his having been appointed by the Church of Rome to Christianize Ireland, is certainly false; for independence of the Roman See was one of the most marked characteristics of the Churches planted by Patrick and his successors in Ireland, Scotland, England, and the European continent. Leaving France, accompanied by some persons of congenial views, he went to Ireland, and by the Divine blessing many of the chiefs and people were soon won to Christ. The converted chiefs gave land to Patrick and his companions, and doubtless

contributed in other ways to their support. He himself had passed through a training well fitted to prepare him for self-denying labour; and his companions were men with few wants and simple habits. The land given over to Patrick was cleared; suitable buildings were erected; a community was formed on monastic principles; schools were established; an example of industry and piety was presented to the surrounding heathen; kindly and holy influences were diffused around; and aggressive effort was put forth to dissipate the darkness, which still covered the greater part of the island. It does not appear that any aid was needed or received from Patrick's brethren in Scotland and France; but it is certain that, so far as circumstances permitted, friendly communication was maintained with them. Patrick himself, while he lived, was the soul of the mission. To him we can directly trace an amount of good which has rarely been equalled. From the Churches he formed, more than half a century after his death, Columba went to the west coast of Scotland, where he founded the far-famed monastery of Iona. Thence went forth the intrepid band, who laboured so courageously and successfully among the Picts and Scots. We find them turning southward and labouring among the heathen Saxons. Longing for a still wider sphere, they went over to the Continent and penetrated its darkest regions. For generations the missionary enterprise was prosecuted by these men and their successors; their brethren who remained behind sending help to them so far as it was needed, and so far as they could.

Undeterred by hardship and danger, they braved death itself in the service of their Lord, and of the souls of their perishing fellowmen. These Irish and Scottish missionaries came not infrequently into collision with. Saxon and other missionaries, who were bound up with the Roman See; but it is bare justice to them to say that they were ready as a class to regard all fellow labourers with brotherly love; yet they would not succumb to the pretensions of Rome, and the collision of which we read was the necessary result of the arrogance with which their independence was assailed.

We have observed the monastic organization of Patrick's mission. The missions of the Middle Ages generally were characterized by essentially similar arrangements. Between the Roman and Non-Roman missionaries there appears to have been a very considerable difference; the conventual establishments of the former assigning celibacy a high place, and binding themselves by rules which war with nature and society; while those of the latter enjoyed a large measure of freedom, brought the missionaries under no celibate vows, and required a celibate life solely on account of the peculiar work to which the missionaries were called. It would appear, indeed, that in the monastery of Iona, and in others formed on the same model, there were avowedly married missionaries, whose families lived at some adjoining place. Even among the Non-Roman missionaries it is too plain that ascetic notions gradually made their way and did much harm. Among the missionaries imbued with the Roman spirit, asceticism received

much encouragement; but its worst effects were prevented by the truly Christian spirit of the men, and by their earnest efforts to promote the good of others.

We are so much in the habit of associating monasticism with superstition, idleness, and misanthropy, that we are in danger of failing to do justice to the missionary institutions of the first half of the Middle Ages. These were formed and superintended by some of the best men the world has ever known. No idler was allowed. Useful work was vigorously prosecuted. The peace, comfort, and plenty of Christian industry were secured by the community, and exhibited for an example to the surrounding heathen. A moral power asserted itself amidst scenes of strife and violence. The young were taught. Suitable persons were trained for missionary work. The faithful had in these monasteries a channel through which their contributions could flow to the relief of the physically and spiritually destitute. Persons of similar views and pursuits had a congenial home. The missionaries went forth from these establishments, and returned to them to have their spirits refreshed and strengthened. Communication was maintained with the absent members, and help was rendered so far as it was needed. We cannot doubt that these were to a large extent the characteristics of the monasteries watched over by such men as Columbanus, Gall, Boniface, and Sturmi. The more, indeed, we know of these men, while we cannot but regret their errors, the higher does our admiration of them rise, and the deeper becomes our impression that the plans they adopted were in the main suited to the times on which

Monks, though prominent as missionaries in the Middle Ages, were not the only evangelists. Several, who had never been members of conventual establishments, impelled by individual impulse, went forth to publish the Gospel to the heathen, cheered and upheld by persons of kindred minds. These seemed to think nothing of plans and organizations. They had found the Saviour, and they could not but proclaim His worth to those who knew Him not.

The most trying opposition these missionaries had to encounter came from professed brethren. The chiefs who avowed themselves the followers of Jesus were seldom inclined to render personal submission to His will, and were vexed by the holy example and faithful remonstrances of their Christian teachers. No sooner did did Christianity come into public favour, than Churches were erected, a clergy were appointed, provision was made for their support, and many, impelled by a regard to honour and emolument, pressed into the clerical order. These men exercised a baneful influence on the community entrusted to their guidance.

ness, and love of the men who, within the districts placed under their spiritual jurisdiction, or in the regions immediately beyond, were toiling for the evangelization of the heathen. The clergy placed every possible obstruction in the way of the missionaries, and often forced them to look to the distant, little known, and therefore revered Pope of Rome, for the purpose of keeping in check and neutralizing the malignant opposition with which they were assailed. The more distinguished of these men felt themselves called by God himself to the work they had undertaken, and no authority on earth would keep them back; but like many good men in the Church of England in our own day, who wish to remain on good terms with their own Church, and are glad to have its sanction to their evangelistic efforts, but are determined to prosecute these efforts, whether they have it or not, these mediæval missionaries, from policy as well as principle, were desirous to have the countenance of the highest ecclesiastical authority, so far as it left them unfettered in their work. The distant authority was preferred to the near.

My first acquaintance with these hoary giants was formed in 1843, and my personal intercourse with them at that time lasted for about nine months -subsequently, viz., in 1850, a permanent residence commenced, mention of which will be made afterwards; at present I confine myself to first

These, having been overlaid by the events of more than twenty years, have been of course to some extent effaced and obscured. But a perusal of letters written at the time to friends at home has done much to restore their freshness. And very pleasant they are to recall; as all