Southern Baptist Missionary Journal, April 1848

SOUTHERN BAPTIST MISSIONARY JOURNAL. YOL. II. APRIL, 1848. NO. 11. REVIEW. Memoir of William G. Crocker, laic Missionary in West Africa, among the Bassas, including a history of the Bassa Mission. By R. B. Medbery. Gould, Kendall Lincon, Boston. 300 pp. ' The truly benevolent heart cannot but be painfully affected, by the com¬ paratively feeble efforts which have been put forth for the diffusion of evan¬ gelic truth among the millions of Africa. Her tribes seem to have been, by common consent, the sport of misrule and oppression. From enlighten¬ ed nations, how many more have gone forth to pillage her towns and to prey upon her sons, than to offer her the bread of eternal life. If the zeal and hardihood of her reckless spoilers, had been evinced by the Christ¬ ian church to bless and save, long ere this the entire extent of her eastern and western coast would have been lined with flourishing towns and vil¬ lages, all under the controling influence of our holy religion. The regen¬ erating power of the gospel would have been felt in the happy experience of thousands, while civilization, with all its attendant blessings, would have followed in its train. Her wildernesses and solitary places, would have been glad ; her deserts rejoiced and blossomed as the rose. Instead of this, however, her ever blooming, ever fragrant bowers, have been but little visited by the foreigner, 11 but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” While the voice of melody, attuned by joyful hearts, might have resound¬ ed through her forests and along her plains, little else has been heard but bitter wailing, as through her own superstitions, and by the unholy cupidi¬ ty of her foreign foes, her children have been pursued, and trampled under foot. ' These reflections have been awakened by reading the Memoir of Crock¬ er, whose interest in all that relates to the welfare of Africa, stands out in striking contrast with the apathy of the Christian world. The authoress has performed a seasonable work in collecting and arranging the facts connected with his history. She has adopted a judicious plan, in framing the biogra¬ phy. It is made up principally of the letters and journal of the lamented missionary. These breathe so much of the spirit of the gospel, that it would be scarcely possible to rise from their perusal, without spiritual im¬ provement. Especially will the influence of these pages be happy in