DAVID ABEEL.

PLEASING as may be the task of him whose duty it becomes to chronicle the acts of the Christian Missionary, a serious drawback is often felt in the paucity of materials from which to give a true record of the daily life of such an one, during the most active and useful portion of his existence.

The existing biography of Mr. Abeel, prepared by his nephew, is, in fact, but little more than a collation from his private diary and correspondence. As in the case of most missionaries who spend their lives in foreign lands, there are none to tell us of their labours and their daily warfare with trials and discouragements, or of the absolute result of their self-denying labours-these can only be seen by an Omniscitent God. A glance, however, at the character of such a man as Mr. Abeel, is not without its uses, even though we are unable to follow him through all his course of toil, and to witness those conflicts and victories over sin, which are ever incidental to the life of the faithful Missionary of the cross.

DAVID ABEEL was born in the city of New-Brunswick, in the State of New-Jersey, June 12th, 1804. His grandfather, James Abeel, was of Dutch descent, his family having originally came from Amsterdam, in Holland. He was himself a resident of the city of New-York, and was for some time a deputy quarter-master in the Continental Army. David Abeel, senior, father to the subject of our notice, was a brother of the Rev. John N. Abeel, (well known as a pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church,) and was himself an officer in the United States' navy, during a considerable portion of the Revolutionary War. His character was that of an upright, worthy and strictly moral man;-and so distinguished was he for his intrepid bravery during the war, that he was included among the few who received the special thanks of Congress for their zealous and patriotic devotion to the service of their country. He married Jane Hassert, of New-Brunswick, the mother of our subject, a woman of peculiar excellence of character, and deeply imbued with all the Christian graces.

The mind of young Abeel seems to have partaken, even in childhood, of the character of both parents, and hence we find his boyish traits to have been a fondness for field sports and manly exercises, a high sense of honour, great generosity, and strong attachment to his friends. His buoyancy of spirits and cheerfulness were also noticeable, and became of great service to him in after-life, in meeting the various trials and discouragements to which he was exposed.

As might naturally be expected from his early mental associations and general tastes, he early conceived a predilection for the profession of arms, and when fifteen years of age, he made application for admission to the Military Academy at West Point. Happily for the cause to which he has proved so bright an ornament, obstacles were interposed to his success in this attempt, and he was induced to withdraw his application, though bitterly disappointed by the necessities of the case.

Having been led to relinquish his favourite plan, Mr. Abeel commenced the study of medicine as a profession. Up to this period, we have no evidence that he had been the subject of any marked religious impressions, or that his mind was particularly directed to the great truths of salvation. After having pursued his medical studies for nearly a year, however, the appeals of the gospel found their way to his heart, and his soul became filled with all the horrors which proceed from the chidings of an awakened conscience. His agony became insupportable, and his convictions were so powerful that he at one time feared he had committed the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost. Long and sadly he groped in darkness, thick clouds surrounded him, and it was only by slow degrees that light broke in upon his troubled soul, and his doubts and perplexities receded under the clear radiance of gospel truths and pardoning grace.

Of the change which took place in the character of Mr. Abeel at the period of his conversion, his friends bear abundant testimony. Then it was that he commenced to live, and evinced his desire, by an unreserved consecration of himself, to put on the whole armour of God, and spend the remainder of his days in His service. From that moment the chief desire of his heart seems to have been to know the will of his Heavenly Father, and how he might best promote his cause. The path of duty seemed at length to reveal itself to him, and with conscientious promptness he entered upon it, and commenced the study of theology. In the autumn of 1823 he

entered the Theological Seminary at New-Brunswick, and pursued his studies with unremitting industry for the customary period of three years. While in the Seminary he laboured much for the spiritual welfare of the sick and poor in the neighbourhood, and especially at the alms-house, where he was wont to spend much of his leisure time, labouring by prayer and exhortation for the good of the inmates.

Of his religious progress while pursuing his studies we learn from his diary, his constant and unwavering devotion to the great purpose of his existence, and his longings after great holiness. The following resolution with his signature attached was made during this period, and subsequently found among his papers:

"Conscious of the importance of making an unreserved surrender of myself to Him, under the service of whose banner I have enlisted, I would solemnly determine [not in my own strength, but by the coöperation and restraining influence of the Spirit of God, in whom alone I trust,] on this 15th of September, 1825, henceforth to renounce every known sin, though it cost me the pain of plucking out an eye, or cutting off a hand, and of living, as far as possible, a life consistent with my high vocation. May the Lord grant me his strength, and the glory shall be given to him!"

On the 20th of April, 1826, Mr. Abeel was licensed to preach, and the entries made in his journal at this time show with what misgivings and self-distrust he entered upon the work of the ministry; and his fervent invocations of Divine aid in the arduous work, clearly indicate alike a sense of his own weakness and his strong confidence in the sustaining power of God.

About the 1st of June, of the same year, he was settled as the pastor of a church in the town of Athens, Greene county, N. Y., and for two years and a half he continued to labour here for the welfare of souls, with a zeal and energy commensurate with the weight of responsibility which he felt to be resting upon him. From the first of his settlement in Athens he was impelled onward in the discharge of his duties by a burning, resistless desire for an outpouring of God's spirit upon the people of his charge.

Of his faithfulness and untiring devotion to the work of his Master, much might be said, but a single remark, made by one in whose house he resided while at Athens, must serve to illustrate his manner of life: "I never knew him to sit with the family, or even to pass through the room in which they were engaged, without