V.-HANS EGEDE.

1686-1758.

Attracted to Greenland-Proposes to go-Deterred-Alternatives -Trouble of mind-Appeals made against his proposal-His purposes shaken-New difficulties-Resigns his charge at Vogen - His interview with Frederick IV.- Increased difficulties Hope deferred-The heart sick-Tokens for good-Fresh disappointments-New friends-The king favorable-Subscriptions flow in-Ship bought-Egede embarks for Greenland-Perils by sea-Lands-First trials-Hopes-Disappointments-Disease ravages Greenland-Death of Mrs. Egede-Egede leaves Greenland-His new sphere-Results of his labors--The influence of one man-Conclusion.

APEN have done much for gold. They have Jil braved all climes, and encountered all perils.

They have dived into the depths of the

ocean, and climbed to the most inhospitable heights. They have snapped every human tie, and made their hands red with human blood. Now, when we behold the sacrifices thus made, the sufferings thus endured, and the perils thus encountered, one is prompted to conclude or to fear that the being who is swayed by motives so low must be incapable of being controlled by any lofty considerations at all.

And yet he is capable. He can be so transformed

by a heavenly power as to manifest a spirit more akin to the divine than the human; and the devoted man at whose fervid intrepidity we are next to glance, will exemplify at once the majesty and the tenderness of that love which has in it more of heaven than of earth.

HANS EGEDE, a lowly, yet a noble man, was born in the year 1686, and was educated for the Christian ministry. He was settled at Vogen, in the south of Norway, about the year 1707; and soon thereafter, or in 1708, had his attention turned to Greenland and its spiritual darkness. So early as the eleventh century, the Norwegians had sent a colony to that country, and for about three hundred years they continued in some vigor there; but from an early period of the fifteenth century the settlement had been lost sight of-if any survivors remained, they had relapsed into paganism. Egede, however, had heard or read of that colony,-his interest was awakened, and as he was one of the men who follow out, as far as they can, any inquiry which they may have raised, he forthwith began to gather information on the subject.

Bergen was the town where he was most likely to obtain the needed intelligence, owing to the

employment of many of its inhabitants in whalefishing. In that place, accordingly, Egede began to institute inquiries; and his interest was deepened by what he learned. What had at first been only a vague longing, now took a definite shape; for the fact that the Greenlanders were of the same nation, appeared to give them a strong claim on the Christian sympathies of other Norwegians and Danes.

The first impulse of Egede was to proceed to Greenland in person, there to tell men that a Saviour had come to earth from heaven, in order to rescue the perishing; but for some time he was perplexed and at a loss as to the path of duty. On the one hand, the dark-souled were perishing; on the other, Egede had occupation and tender ties at home. He had a family to support. His way was beset by dangers, and, concerned as he was, he could for the present proceed no farther. He waited for light, and watched lest he should be tempted to plunge himself and his family into ruin by any rash or unwarranted step. It was not precipitate ardor, then, but calm principle, and cautious consideration, that guided Hans Egede at the outset of his career. And here is a guiding idea lodged in the soul of a man who must either follow it out to its legitimate

results, or sink self-condemned beneath the burden. It is such an idea as cannot be commanded away from the mind. It is a leaven to ferment. It is a seed to grow. It is a power to propel; and how does it influence Egede?

His first resolution was to address the king of Denmark regarding the conversion of the neglected Greenlanders. Egede's mind was ill at ease amid the delay which was taking place. He could not dislodge the thought which had taken possession of him, but hoped that if he could enlist royalty in the cause, the object on which his heart was set, and for which he was now to live and to die, would be gained. Afraid, however, lest an appeal from one so humble might be overlooked or fail, Egede forwarded a memorial to Randulph, Bishop of Bergen, and Krog, Bishop of Drontheim, imploring them to second and enforce his address to the king. They favored his views, and he began to feel at rest, as if the work which had fired his soul were now in wiser and more powerful hands than his. He thought that he had left his cause with God, and tried to be at peace.

Still, the question must be solved, the battle must be waged, in that man's own mind; he could not

delegate his felt responsibility to another, not even to a king. Hitherto the thought had lain concealed in Egede's own bosom. He had not disclosed the secret even to his wife; but the letters which he sent to Bergen and Drontheim soon made his proposal public, and now began his trials-it is about to be made plain whether he is to live the mere creature of circumstances, or whether he is one of those God-sent men who make circumstances bend to their firm will. Some of his friends assailed him for his foolhardy proposal. His relatives appealed to him on the ground of the misery he would entail on those whom he was pledged to cherish. The love of notoriety, the desire of riches, and other charges, were advanced against him; and such remonstrances, enforced by the anguish of his wife, shook him for a time. At last, he consented to remain at home, engrossed with the pleasant employment of his charge at Vogen. It then appeared as if he had exhausted his duty to the Greenlanders; and for a time he seemed like one who had escaped from some great snare.

But that was not peace; it was only temptation yielded to. The thought of Greenland soon intruded again upon the calm whith Egede seemed to be