| Description | Recounts journey; visited Mr. and Mrs. Church; stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson of Porto Novo 25 Aug-2 Sep, on account of floods; 4 Sep visited Royal Danish mission centre at Tranquebar, mission library flourishes but sad lack of preaching; Negapatam "fine church, fine organ, fine air - but no commerce, no money, no chaplain, no religion"; met John Younker there, a scholar of Dr. John's; 9 Sep arrived at Tanjore and met Kolhoff; "Here also is a great lack of preaching the word. I am fearful that Mr. K. is not a good divine, that dreadful depravity of the heart - the rebellion of the will - total incapacity to recover ourselves, the absolute need of divine influence even to think a good thought, is not imprinted deeply in his sermons, nor was it in the sermons of Mr. Pohle" ..... it was all to Christians - not a word to sinners - all general - no one would find out "I am the man" - in general there was nothing contrary to the Gospel, but it was far from a full clear and comprehensive view of the plan of salvation [comment by Thompson in the margin: "the following account of the preaching of the old missionaries, and the state of the old mission is, I am persuaded, the most correct, and impartial that has ever been given. You may receive it confidently as the most faithful picture, and may form from it the truest and completest idea of Tanjore itself and Trichinopoly"]; "Every native Christian that I have seen except John at Tranquebar seems to me to know nothing even of the doctrine of regeneration except what is communicated by water"; K. is also grieved at the neglect of the Sabbath and the "uncommon reverence" shown to feast-days; the church at Tanjore is only open for divine service on feast days.
22 Sep arrived at Palamcotta [copy] |