The Missionary Review of the World — October 1896

WILLIAM E. DODGE, ONE OF THE PROMOTERS OF MISSIONS

MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD.

VOL. XIX. No. lO.-Old &ritls.-OOTOBER.-VOL. IX. No. 1O.-New Series.

WILLIAM E. DODGE, ONE OF THE PROMOTERS OF MISSIONS. * BY THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.

When David fought with the Amalekites and recovered all that they had carned away after the burning of Ziklag,he made emphatic a memorable rule which manifestly has a typical bearing, as it is more than once referred to, both before and afterward:t ".As his part that goeth down to the battle, so his part that tarrieth by tlte stuff: they shall part alike."

This is known as " Hannington's.l~l;xt," from the prominence which the martyr bishop of Uganda gave to it in his missionary addresses and correspondence; and the principle it enunciates is really fundamental. Nothing is more necessary to an army, engaged in a campaign in an enemy's country, than to keep open the line of communication with the base of supplies. Somebody must stay by the stuff, while others go to the front, and see that ammunition and provision of all sorts are furnished in abundance, for the connection between the troops on the field and their supporters in the rear must be kept open, as manifestly one of the conditions of successful warfare-a condition as indispensable as to have soldiers to face the foe.

The merchant prince to whose career we now advert was a very conspicuous example of the friends and promoters of missions, showing how a man, without directly engaging in missionary work himself, is vitally related to the whole cause of missions, and inseparable alike from its successes and its rewards.

Mr. Dodge had a heredity which was consistent with his own career. The first of the American family of Dodge, traceable back to 1629, was a promoter of schools and churches, and bore also the name of William; and the family history, all the way through, shows mingled piety and patriotism, intelligent service of both Church and State, in war and peace.

• American !reformers. Edited by Carlos Martyn. Funk & WagnaJlB. Memorials of Willlam E. Dodge, by D. Stuart Dodge.

t Compare Numbers 81 : Zi; Joshua 22 : 8 ; Psalm 68 : 12. Punctuality, hospitality, love of books, love of man, fidelity to promise, conscientiousness, benevolence, large-minded and large-hearted service to humanity, have for centuries been family traits. Who shall dare to say that there is nothing in " blood" ?

William Earl Dodge was a native of Hartford, Conn., and born in 1805, so that at the time of his death, in 1883, he was nearly seventyeight years of age. It is always important to know what are the early influences which shape a man's future; for we are all of us molded largely by our environment, even tho it be principally by the heroic resistance which it compels to unfavorable and hindering influences. In Mr. Dodge's case the surroundings were helpful. He was brought up in an atmosphere which was at once full of the oxygen of business training and the perfume of Christian faith. He was marked by a mind that was alert and a body that was active; he craved knowledge, he yearned for occupation, and he loved animals, and so he was disposed to intelligence, industry, and affection.

At his queenly mother's knee he learned his first lessons of faith and prayer, and both alphabets, the literal and the spiritual. Her mental equipoise, her emotional tenderness, her Christian devotion, her sanctified common sense, left lasting impress on the plastic clay of his child-character. His father helped to form studious habits, to direct his courses of reading, and to inculcate ideas of unselfishness and service to humanity in the lad, whose future neither parent had forecast enough to predict; and his uncle by marriage, the remarkable man whose brain was thought by Professor Bush to be the only adequate explanation of the brilliant meteoric display of 1837-Dr. Samuel H. Cox-had somewhat to do in inspiring the boy's better nature, for he resided at Dr. Cox's home for a time while at school in Mendham, N. J.

Before William was fully thirteen he was summoned by his father to the great metropolis, henceforth to be so closely linked with his name and fame, and school life was exchanged abruptly for a clerkship in a drygoods house. He so commended himself to his employers that at the end of his first year's work he received a watch as a token of their regarda significant token, for William E. Dodge was always a man who was up to time. For a while financial straits, which drove the family to Connecticut, changed William's home and occupation; and at Bozrahville he was permitted for the first time to " start in business" for himself, stocking a showcase in his father's country store, and, tho not yet fifteen, buying and selling on his own account, and learning how to adapt himself to his customers. A year or two pass, and this same boy William has shown enough capacity and sagacity to be truRted to go to New York regularly as the purchasing agent of the business. Meanwhile the boy's Christian character and activity were finding in the humble New England village a congenial clime, for a revival turned the cotton-mill, of which his father also bad charge, int.o a place of prayer, and the business of the factory was conducted on Christian principles. The latent lessons of his earliest boyhood now changed into patent conduct and character, and one night, in 1821, he asked for prayers in his own behalf at the village prayer service, in which his sister Mary and a dozen others joined him in the new step of confession. From the time when, in 1822, he publicly united with God's people, not yet seventeen years old, he never for a day flagged in his devotion to Christ or his activities for the welfare and salvation of the race. What a privilege to have had an uninterrupted career of sixty years, in which to lay up treasures in heaven by faithful and prayerful service to God and man!

In the year 1825 William E. Dodge again came 1;0 New York, where, in 1827, he hung out his sign at 213 Pearl Street, beginning business in a small way, in partnership with a son of a former customer. One of his earliest acts in business was characteristically courteous and sagacious ; he invited two young Connecticut peddlers to avail themselves of the empty room in his store, as a depot of supplies and purchases, and he made of them, as he made of so many more by like treatment, attached friends and permanent patrons.

Enough has been written perhaps to hint the preparations Mr. Dodge had for his life of successful service, and we may now turn to the forms of service themselves whereby he became such an eminent promoter of missions in the supreme sense.

For example, he saw from the dawn of his manhood that the Sundayschool is the nursery of the Church, and one of the most efficient methods of evangelizing society. and he was for twoscore years personally and actively identified with it. In his day Sunday-schools had two sessions a Sabbath, and he was found at both; and while yet a mere lad he had brought in his own class from the street. After being for years a teacher, he was for thirty-five years a superintendent; and in this, as all other work, he was willing to lay fonndations, actually clothing boys who could not otherwise come to the school, and in one case having the boy change his clothes every Sunday at his own house to prevent a drunken father selling them at a drinkshop. More than this, he visited scholars at their homes, even when a superintendent, holding himself responsible for them all, and not leaving the work even to individual teachers. Of course the man that thus emphasized Sunday-schools was found in the front rank of every movement that looked toward their multiplication and greater efficiency. The American Sunday-School Union and New York Sunday-School Teachers' Association, etc., found in him a man, whose ti.me and strength, whose voice and purse, they might at all times count on and command.

He felt also that association is one of the most important factors in both forming and feeding virtuous and pious manhood. His heart especially yearned over young men, whose social and religious character he desired to mold in the matrix of Christian morality. Hence we find him one of the founders of the Mercantile Library of New York, and for years its truslee or treasurer-an institution inlended to prevent young men from being drawn into vicious associations and pleasures, by supplying to them a reading-room and helpful companionships; also among the founders of the New York Young Men's Bible Society, the members of which acted as lay missionaries, in colportage, and other benevolent visitation. The social links he thus formed for others proved a life-long blessing to himself, for life friendships were here initiated. In his life-war against drink we find him giving aid in forming juvenile societies, Bands of Hope, cold-water armies, and surrounding young and old alike with the safeguards of association. In fact, there is scarce a philanthropic or benevolent organization with which in some form he was not linked. The New York City Mission, the American Tract Society, the American Bible Society-of these he was director or manager, and never refused either money or time when needful, for he held that no man has a right to do by proxy what he can do in persen, and hence he never satisfied his conscience by purchasing a substitute.

Mr. Dodge owed to his marriage, more than to anyone other event of his eventful life, his power for God and good, for his wife proved both his counterpart and his cooperator in every noblest form of activity. Marriage makes or mars a man more than any other one fact of his history ; next, perl:!aps, to personal self-dedication to God, personal commitment of the man and woman to each other is the critical act and fact of a lifetime. Hence, the shame of careless, not to say unworthy, marriage bonds, and the imperalive need of not only care, but prayer, that one may trust to no guidance this side of Him, who alone reads character and knows the eternal fitness of parties to become " one flesh" and one spirit. To have a worldly, frivolous, vain, fashionable, extravagant, and unsympathetic wife is as near a wreckage as any human ship can ever encounter ; whereas many a man will never know in this world how much of capacity to do good and sagacity in doing good he owes to her whose kingdom comes not with observation, but who, like her Master, irradiates all his home life and heart life with her serene and holy light.

Mr. Dodge married for love, but with sound sense and Christian prudence. He sought and found the sterling virtues which grow more lustrous as the romantic attraction wears away. Melissa Phelps had from the age of twelve been a professing disciple of Christ, and had chosen to lose her life that she might find in service the harvest of a buried and sacrificed selfishness. What a blessing from God, when a young man with such character and aims enters into indissoluble partnership with a maiden who has already learned that it is more blessed to give than to receive, and who has found already that every Christian is to live by dying, keep by losing, gather by scattering! Henceforth the life of William E. Dodge is a twin life; nay, rather shall we not say that in the mathematics of such a marriagQ, one and one make-oNE ~ In 1828 this young man of twenty-three now starts on what is virtually a new career: he has another half to make him complete as a promoter of missions. Mr. Martyn well quotes Congreve : " Thy wife's a constellation of virtues . She's the moon; And thou art the man i' the moon I"

It would not comport with our present purpose to follow the roads whereby Mr. Dodge reached the goal of his large wealth, by the sagacious purchase of lumber districts, and. the development of the coal and iron mines of Pennsylvania, and the copper mines of Lake Superior, by his courageous and energetic pressing of railroad-building, which made all this vegetable and mineral wealth accessible j but it is quite essential to note in passing lhat he carefully read and studied all matters pertaining to his business schemes, and knew what he was doing j and it is as important to observe that, when the panic of 1837, for instance, like an earthquake, involved multitudes of adventurous traders in ruin, the house of which Mr. Dodge was a partner safely bore the shock. Their business integrity and economy and sagacity both held their customers and prevented careless burdens of debt which they could not carry in the crisis.

This biography is so fascinating that we are in danger of unduly elongating this sketch, giving too much prominence, perhaps, to the incidental features of a career which our object is mainly to present in its great outlines as furthering all missionary enterprise at home and abroad. Still, as we are contemplating a merchant prince, we must note the steps by which he mounted to his throne of influence in the commercial world.

A so-called accident, which was really a divine incident, and which both exhibited and developed William's calmness of judgment and readiness of resource, made Mr. Phelps and his son-in-law partners in the great metal importing house with which their joint names are even yet connected j and in 1833 Phelps, Dodge & Co. hung out their sign on Cliff Street. Mr. Phelps fitly succeeded those who had previously molded Mr. Dodge's early manhood, for in body and mind he was a large man, a Christian from his youth, with a model wife and family, a man of great business foresight and daring, yet of gracious temper and benevolent habits. In him young Dodge found a sage, with far-reaching vision and mature experience. with courage to inspire and calmness to restrain j and from the first this partnership was a prophecy of success, which events never disappointed. Here was a firm in which there were three persons, Phelps, Dodge, and Daniel James, another son·in-law j but there were three other partners not so often mentioned by name-" capital, capacity, and experience. ') But all this had availed nothing for true and Christian service to humanity, had there not been three other silent partners in that firm-conscience, benevolence; and consecration. This man, William E. Dodge, abode in his calling with God. His counting-house was sacred and not secular, a place for coworking with God, where he practised the presence of God. Legitimate business and not gambling, stewardship unto God and not practical atheism in money-making, habitual and systematic beneficence and not the monstrous selfishness of hoarding or indulgent spendingthese were the principles of that business house. And the results are apparent: First, in the Christian character impressed on trade j and, secondly, in the naturalness and perpetual courtesy with which appeals for help were considered, weiglled, and either dismissed as unworthy or cheerfully responded to, as a matter both of duty and privilege.

If we were asked to analyze Mr. Dodge'S character as a man of affairs, we should say that five things strike us most, namely: information, adaptation, organization, concentration, and administration. He kept himself in the current of affairs, thus not only familiar with them, but borne along by them. He sought to adjust himself to his place, work, and sphere, so as to be able readily and rapidly without friction to move about in his calling j he did everything by system, so that every duty had its time and pivot in life's machinery j and he trained himself for administering his trusts by cultivating and directing his native faculty for executive action, and concentrating his attention on his life work.

Few of us study to assimilate ourselves to others who are not on our level or in our line. Chalmers could sit on the box of a stage-coach and make the driver think for the time that he was supremely interested in horses, and so drew the driver to hear him preach the Gospel. Mr. Dodge's geniality and congeniality drew to him the driver on a coach, the stoker on a steamship, the bootblack on the corner, as naturally as the merchant on change, 01' the neighbor on the avenue. 'When he fell asleep, what man had a wider circle of loving friends?

He did not find in business, on the one hand, and benevolence, on the other, a division of his attention, for these two were not different life aims pulling in opposite directions, but, like a splendidly matched team of horses, pulling together, they drew to one and the same great goal. Business was the yoke-fellow of benevolence, and benevolence was the spur and stjmulus to business. While we are confident that llis main purpose was not set on wealth, he, no doubt, aimed to be rich j but money meant with him power to accomplish vast good, multiplication of himself by proxy, the presence of his gifts where he himself never went, and the survival of his influence indefinitely after his own death. Absolutely honest in all his dealings, and, believing with Chesterfield that" despatch is the soul of business," he united to integrity and punctuality the supreme grace of an intelligent personal generosity and philanthropy.

He was a punctilious Sabbath-keeper, and to some in these lax days would be thought extreme, but he was consistent and conscientious. He held to 1he need of a rest-day for man as man, and did not forget that even in a sinless Eden the day of rest was instituted. His religious life was all-pervasive, however, and not limited to Sabbath hours. Even in his speeches at the Union League Club there was a seriousness of tone and a reverent recognition of Divine sovereignty which was in strange con- trast with his surroundings, but eminently consistent with his uniform hab- its of life.

His personal activities were marvelous, in number, scope, variety, and versatility.

His pockets were " a tract repository"-a way of exercising influence that has no written history; and the whole man was at God's service. When President Grant undertook to conciliate the Red Indian by just dealing, Mr. Dodge became one of the commiRsioners, and he gave time, which was more valuable than money and could far less easily be given. But in settling this question it was time and thought that outweighed any amount of money: gold could not heal the open sore of our republic. In 1869 he personally went on a tour of inspection thirty days beyond the post-office frontiers, and laid the basis of friendly rela- tions with our Indian wards. For five years this merchant prince gave his help to this board, saving no one knows how many dollars and lives. Likewise, when Russian Christians felt the red right hand of persecution in the Baltic provinces, Mr. Dodge was one of the Evangelical Alliance· delegates who petitioned the Czar for their relief. Again, he acted with the Committee of Seventy to purge New York of the Tweed" ring," was chairman of the New York Branch of the Christian Commission, and a cooperator with the Sanitary Commission, etc.

To a very early period likewise we trace his identity with the cause of abolishing the traffic and use of strong drink. In the temperance reform he was a pioneer, daring to champion it when it cost something to antagonize universal customs and popular prejudices. He cousented to be sneered at as a fanatic, to be threatened by those who traded in human sobriety and grew rich on men's ruin, and ·to risk mercantile loss for the sake of the truth. When, in 1844, he visited Britain, on his arrival at Cork he called with his wife on Father Mathew, drove out with him to the Ursuline Convent, and, confident in his piety as well as philanthropy, urged him to visit America, which he did in 1849. Even amid the temptations of Washington, when as a Representative he exercised abounding hospitality, he banished all intoxicants from his banquet board, tho even total abstainers often yield to the universal custom of furnishing wines to the capital's distinguished guests.

We are prepared to find such a man promoting revivals, and himself, head and heart, engaged in them. Wheu Charles G. Finney came to New York, now nearly seventy years ago, Mr. Dodge was ready to further the work whereby all the city was moved; and to the day of his death any effort that was put forth to reach the unsaved, from the rising to the setting sun, could reckon on this man to be closely identified with it. From boyhood he had been deeply interested in a world's evangelization. His charity began at home, but did not stay there. No estimate of William E. Dodge can be complete which leaves out ?f view his double service by tongue and pen. As to the tongue, what was there of all the various forms of effort which looks to man's best good for which he had not a willing contribution of voice ~ Were municipal affairs corrupt? Hear him thunder out his remonstrance, and exhort fellow-merchants to guard the ballot-box and attend the primary meetings that determine for whom ballots are to be cast. Was a poor church in Baltimore in need of help ~ He delivers a lecture for its benefit. His voice was clear and his enunciation good, and his manner simple, sensible, and effective. His speeches in Congress are a model of patriotism and prudence, charity and courtesy, and the number and variety and utility of his various occasional speeches is surprising for a man who had never a college education and never made oratory a study. He had something to say and said it, with a single aim, to promote trnth and virtue and piety.

His pen was that of a ready writer j and as anyone can see by his signature, his writing had the supreme excellence of being readable. He formed an easy, legible, flowing hand, and he always used letter-writing as one of the foremost agencies in service to men. What volumes those letters, if they conld now be gathered, would present, and what varieties of topics they treated! What was there that was needed in the way of caution and counsel, of consolation and comfort that his pen did not convey! He valued an opportunity of putting a prop under a tempted young man more than a chance of securing a bargain in goods j and he never gave up the imperial scepter of the pen to the cold mechanism of stenographic clerks and typewriters. The sacredness of the confessional was not more inviolable than some of his correspondence. He reminded us of Charles H. Spurgeon, whose letters and postcards were seeds of the kingdom sown over the wide world. His pen exhibited its usefulness in many unobtrusive ways, as when, to the fly-leaf of " Wayland's Letters to the Ministry," which he distributed among expectant ministers of the Word, he attached a personal letter of counsel, at once paternal and fraternal, full of wisdom and graciousness.

When the awful trumpet of war sounded in 1861 Mr. Dodge was, with his partners, among the earliest and largest subscribers to the expenses of the struggle to preserve the republic, and whenever a new need arose a new subscription followed. He who gave a son to the army, and would have gone himself to the front had he been conscious of a call to that duty, kept up the open line of communication at heavy cost. When the great distress in the Lancashire cotton mills resulted from the blockade of the Southern ports, Mr. Dodge started the movement to forward Rupplies of money and food and clothing to the suffering operatives, himself acting as chairman of the Committee of Relief.

GOSPEL WORK IN PERSIA

GOSPEL WORK IN PERSIA.

BY REV. SAMUEL G. WILSON, TABRIZ, PERSIA.

In considering the condition of Gospel work in Persia, the state of religious Jiberty and the prospects concerning it come foremost to the mind. Would that there was a more favorable outlook for toleration! Islam is inherently intolerant, and the leaders of Islam in Persia-the mollahs-are gaining a higher position and increased power. The people are willingly submissive to them as interpreters of the law and religious guides. They are an educated and. wealthy class. Many of them have large landed property, are the recipients of government grauts and large legacies from the people. The settlement of estates and of civil suits is in their hands, aud fees and fines, together with the khums, or fifth of each inheritance, go to the mollahs. The real allegiance of the people is to their Mujtihids, and not to the Shah. Many events have shown this of late years. It was strikingly illustrated lately in the mourning for the death of the Chief Mujtihid of Tabriz and for Shah Nasr-i-Din. For the former the bazaars were closed three days, and services of mourning, continuing through several weeks, were held in many mosques and houses. Feasts were given in the mosques in his honor. Government officials, through fear of the people and the mollahs, joined in the mourning, and even the Armenians thought it discreet to close their schools and to send a sum of money to one of the mosques for a tozia or mourning service. A public crier went through the bazaars and proclaimed that the Armenians were holding service for the rest of the Mujtihid's soul. Whether in sincerity or dissimilation, the whole city joined in revering the dead Mujtihid. When the Shah was assassinated, no signs of mourning were visible, and no memorial services were held in Tabriz. Many Persians expressed their satisfaction. Rejoicings for the accession of the new Shah occupied the attention of all. The city was illuminated in an unprecedented manner. One official, who had invited some guests to celebrate the jubilee of Nasr-i-Din Shah, held the feast on the appointed day, telling his guests to rejoice instead on account of the accession of Muzaffir-i-Din. The Mujtihid was mourned for more than the Shah. It is likely that the power of the mollahs will increase during the present reign, as Muzaffir-i- Din is inclined to consult them and lean upon them for guidance.

Mollahs maintain their influence over the people by instructing them in the schools and mosques, and impressing them with the truth of the Shi~h faith. At Friday prayers, in the Fast of Ramazan and the mourning of Muharram the inculcation of religious doctrine is pursued, until the people are well informed regarding the precepts and traditions of Islam and are inspired with its intolerant spirit.

Gospel work among Mohammedans shows little change. The law of death to the apostate is at all times liable to be enforced. The martyrdom of Mirza Ibrahim, contrary to expectations, has had a depressing effect on the work among Mohammedans in Azerbijan. Inquirers have drawn back, shrinking from drinking the same cup. Some of them say that to forego wealth, position, and even life is a greater cross than they can take up. The workers, too, have felt the need of exercising greater caution than before. The baptism of a Persian woman in Ispahan, in 1894, was the occasion of riotous demonstrations. A/atva or decree was given by a Mujtihid to kill the missionary who was the means of her conversion. The woman was seized, but her life was spared, and she is coofined in the harem of the prince-governor, where she was lately seen by the ladies of the mission. It is a cause for thanksgiving that she has been permitted to live.

In view of the situation missionaries are in a quandary as to their duty. Some believe in aggressive work for Mohammedans in spite of government prohibitions, while others advocate continuing to give special attention to non-Mohammedan races until Providence opens up the door more effectually. The Church Mission at Ispahan seems lately to be working aggressively. Of its work Rev. W. St. Clair Tisdall writes in the Ohurch Missionary Intelligencer (June, 1896) : "Six persons have recently been baptized in J ulfa alone, after very careful and long-continued instruction, and these are working quietly among their friends and relatives. These converts estimate the number of secret believers in that neighborhood alone at many thousands. The same is more or less the case throughout the couutry. Belief in Christ as the one Savior of the world is spreading rapidly. Considerable numbers attend the Sunday services and Bible classes, held in connection with the various missions, and all over the country there are candidates for baptism. The writer of the present article has had some experience of religious work in India and other countries, but nowhere has he witnessed anything approaching the interest in the Gospel now shown in many parts of Persia." I do not think anyone would write of the population of Northwest Persia with the same degree of sanguineness, but everywhere there is freedom for discussion. The Persians are remarkably free in the use of their tongues on every subject (except their harems). They speak evil of dignitaries without let or hindrance. Tirades against the mollahs and sentiments disloyal to the Shah are uttered even in public without fear. In like manner religious discussion is indulged in with little restraint. There is opportunity for the presentation of the Gospel to indIvidual Mohammedans, and slight objection is raised until Rome one accepts the truth.

What the influence of the Babis will be toward solving the problem of religious liberty is not yet evident. Their position is complicated by their political aspirations, and by their former attempt (1852) to assassinate the Shah Nasr-i-Din. Rumor persistently connects them with his final taking off on May 1st, 1896. Altho their severe persecutions have been largely caused by political reasons, their steadfastness and martyr- doms have sprung from their religious beliefs. Notwithstanding the death, or, as they phrase it, ascension, of their Divine incarnation, Mirza Husain Ali, Baha'uUah (the light of God), on May 16th, 1892, in exile at Accho. they continue to hold together and in some places to increase. Information is most contradictory as to their character and numbcrs. I am assured that their inner circle practice a community of wives, and approve of assassination as a means of freeing themselves from enemies. Their numbers are often stated at from 500,000 to 1,000,000. If so, the New Dispensation is already firmly established, and can claim a tenth or twelfth of the Mohammedans of Persia. 'fhey are struggling for religious liberty, and the inflnence of so large a body must weaken the resisting power of Shiahism. Tho bent on achieving their own trinmph, they profess great friendship for Christians, and are earnest students of the Bible to find proofs for their own revelation. Their belief in the divinity of Jesus and of Baha is a strong doctrinal link with Christianity. Some of the best converts to Christianity have been from this new religion. One of these lately said to me: "There are many who are convinced that the best and only true religion is Protestantism. They admire the con- duct of the Protestants, and refer to it as an example in contrast with their own actions. "

The work of the Bible societies continues to be one of the best agencies for the diffusion of the truth in Persia. The sales of Scriptures are not as large as in many countries. The total number circulated during the past ten years is estimated at 60,000. The report of the British and Foreign Bible Society says: "What have these 60,000 copies done for Persia ~ Have they in any way helped to bring one sinner to Christ ~ Yes, not only one, but a very large number. 1. There are many of whom we have heard, and some whom we have met and know personally, who are real and true Christians. 2. There are hundreds of men who, while accepting the truth as it is in Jesus, and believmg in the doctrines of the Christian religion, are afraid openly to confess their faith. 3. There are thousands who have got a glimpse of the truth and become anxious in- quirers, and who are' not far from the kingdom of God.' 4. Thousands there are who at one time were bitter enemies of the Gospel, trying to hinder the work in every possible way, but whose hearts have been softo ened. People who knew nothing of the Bible or Christianity will be seen now discussing these topics in order to find out the truth." Another report of the same society says: "Some, and I think the majority, of the most interesting cases are the result of the study of the Word of God alone, without comment or word from any man. For instance, a sheikh of an Arab village paid us a visit at the beginning of 1889. He told me that about ten years before he had received an Arabic Bible. He studied it, and after a while, being the mollah of the village, he began to read it to his people. I asked him if he had read the whole of it, and he said, 'Praise God, I have !' By this means he had been brought to some knowledge of the Word of God and of the way of salvation. He asked me to visit him in his village, but not being able to do so, I S'ent two of the native brethren. They found that the sheikh had read the Bible to the people assembled in his house. 'rhey preached the Gospel to large gatherings of Moslem villagers. The sheikh seemed, like many others, to believe in Christ with the heart, but not to be ready to confess Him before men. "

The story of the conversion of the colporteur in charge of the Bible depot at Tabfiz illustrates the illuminating power of the printed page. Aga Mateos was a rich merchant and a devout Gregorian Armenian, much given to reading the Prayer-book and the Fathers, faithful in his attendance on the church services and the donor of a picture which still hangs in the church at Tabriz. He met with financial losses, and went to the Bible for consolation. He was surprised at its contents. One day he had the Bible open before him when a friend entered and said, "Put up that book and corne to walk with me. If you read the Bible you will become a Protestant." Aga Mateos replied, " There is no danger of that," and went on reading. He began with Genesis. Day by day he read. By the time he had reached Isaiah his eyes were opened. He saw how Christ was magnified above all, how the prophets and saints were sinners and unworthy to be mediators. When he reached the Gospels, so great was his eager interest, that he read each Gospel through in a single night. When he had finished the epistles he was a firmly convinced Protestant, and he has never since wavered. God thus magnifies His Word.

The agent of the American Bible Society for North Persia, the Rev. W. L. Whipple, after sixteen years in the superintendence of this work, has just withdrawn from it for the education of his children. He leaves a memorial behind him by the gift of his residence in Tabriz to the mission for a woman's hospital and dispensary.

Gospel work among the Oriental churches in Persia shows little change. Among the Armenians the past year has been one of increasing friendship and enlarged opportunity. The sympathy of America for the suffering Armenians in Turkey, and the devotion of the missionaries there to their relief have taken from the hearts of many the old roots of bitterness. There does not appear any quickening of spiritual aspirations and longings, such as we so much desire to see. Religious feelings are callous, and but a cold response is given to appeals to the conscience. The thoughts of the people are engrossed in the pursuit of gain, and in the discussion of the wrongs and prospects of their race in Turkey and Russia. Personal religion is rarely a matter of personal concern. The conviction prevails in the minds of the Armenians that they are safe through the rites of the Church, and the doctrines of regeneration and conversion are neither taught nor understood among them. Missionaries sometimes have a feeling of disappointment that so few are converted as the result of so much labor, and that Protestant churches are not built up more rapidly. There are, indeed, other results which are encouraging. The gradual progress of enlightenment, the popular approval of evangelical truth, the apologetic attitude of the mass of the Armenians with reference to their doctrines and ceremonies, the expressions of desire for the educa- tion and improvement of the clergy for the translation of the Church books into the modern tongue and for a reformed church show that the leaven of evangelical truth has wrought among them. Many cling to the Gregorian Church as the representative of their national life, and hope for reforms from within. Yet the patriotic laymen and priests tell us that not a rite or a doctrine must now be touched or changed in the old organi- zation Jest the national unity be disturbed, not until the aspirations of the race are attained. With hope of religious reformation so indefinitely deferred, we cannot do else than continue to invite and urge the members of the Gregorian Church to come out and enter into the light of evangeli- cal faith and worship.

The work most effective in the past, among the Armenians, has been education, especially in boarding-schools. During the year advance has been made in the occupation of some villages lying between Ramadan and Ispahan. A change of method has been inaugurated in the Salmas field, which for eleven years has had an organized station. The rising of water in the subsoil of Raftdewan occasioned the fall of some houses, and endangered others. This led to the consideration of the future of the station, as to whether houses should be rented or built in some other village of the plain or the station remove to some other center or disbanded. It was finally decided to withdraw the missionaries to Tabriz and Urumia, and to work the field with well. qualified native agents.

Among the Nestorians in Urumia evangelical truth has taken deep root, but it is also encountering many difficulties. Among this people is presented a curiolls spectacle of missions contending with each other. To the older missions-Catholic and American Presbyterian-have been added the mission of the Archbishop of Canterbury, a Lutheran, and several efforts intermittently supported from Sweden, Norway, and England. The latest scheme is one in cooperation with our Presbyterian mission. It is inaugurated by the Industrial Missions Aid Society, composed of a number of Christian capitalists of England, who will find capital for industries connected with evangelical missions. It proposes to " take the business management off the hands of the missionaries, leaving them free for spiritual work, and to provide work and the means of livelihood for converts whose coming out for Christ entails the loss of their means of living." First, they send back to Persia two young men (Nestorians) who ha'e learned trades. They are sending an outfit for a carpenter's shop, an engineer's shop, with portable engines and all tools and machinery requisite to train apprentices.

This society proposes also to place on Lake U rumia one or more steamers and develop the trade all around the lake. The plan also includes the erection of an electric railway around the lake and to different cities in its neighborhood. A Christian capitalist has intimated a desire to give the steamer. The industrial part of this scheme is feasible, but unfortunately the plan for steamers and railways will meet with insuperable difficulties. Industrial work is very profitable for the Nestorians. Many of their youth are now going to Russia and America for lack of profitable means of livelihood. Those who have been educated and have a spirit of progress have no outlet for their activity. It is better that they should become good artisans than educated and unemployed scholars. This new scheme will be in cooperation with the industrial school connected with the Urumia College. Mr. E. T. Allen, who has had cbarge of it, is now in Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, perfecting himself for this work.

The work among the evangelical churches in Urumia shows advance during the year, especially in self-support. The debt of the Presbyterian Board rendered a reduction of the appropriations necessary. Many of the congregations have responded to the call for larger gifts, and raised their contributions 50, and in some cases 100 per cent.

The Swedish Mission which was for a few years established at Tabriz with evangelists at Urumia, Ramadan, and other points has heen transferred to Chinese Turkestan. Their mission in Persia was begun primarily with the idea of preparing young men from Russia and the Caucasus to return to their own country as evangelists. This was found impracticable, and as it was not necessary for two evangelical missions to occupy the same territory, a friendly arrangement was made in accordance with the principles of missionary comity, wher.eby they withdraw their missionaries and our mission took over such of their native agents as they desired. Others accompanied them to their new field. Among the latter were a Nestorian and three or more Mohammedan converts. One of them has been stationed at Bokhara, and another at Samarcand, in Russian territory, while others have gone with the Swedish Mission into Chinese territory. One of these converted Mohammedans was from Turkey, and was at one timtJ a pupil in the Tabriz Memorial Training School. Re is pictured by Mr. Morrison (agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, who has made a tour to that province) as sitting in the Hindi Serai of Kashgar, on the edge of the great Kobi desert, a case of Scriptures behind him, in front of him a desk, and on it a manuscript of the Gospels, which he is translating into the language of the people. The Gospel of Matthew has already been finished. It is very interesting to note the beginning of the introdnction of Christianity again into China from its western border, and especially the going there of Nestorians and other Christians from Persia, as in olden times.

The region occupied by the Swedish Mission includes the fertile oases of Kashgar, Yarkand, and Kohtar. It lies across the Thian Shan Mountains from Russia, and tho subject to China is occupied chiefly by Tartar

THE STAR·WORSHIPERS OF MESOPOTAMIA

Mohammedans. The principles of religious liberty, which prevail in the Chinese Empire, will be a shield for their work. The language of the people is very similar to the Tartar or Turki used by us in Persia. Mr. Hogberg, formerly of Tabriz, is the pioneer of the mission. The plan of the mission is evangelistic, and in close contact with the natives. Indeed, two of the ladies of the mission have, I believe, married Asiatic converts. It will be interest.ing to see 1he development of this experiment. The British and Foreign Bible Society is also trying to open up a work for Bible distribution in those provinces. Thus the Trans-Siberian Railway is already being made a highway for the advance of Christ's kingdom.

By the autumn of 1897 it is expected that a branch of the Transcaucasian Hailway will be extended to Erivan, thus bringing Persia two days nearer to America.

THE STAR-WORSHIPERS OF MESOPOTAMIA.* BY REV. S. M. ZWEMER, F.R.G.S., BUSRAH, ARABIA.

In the towns along the lower Euphrates and Tigris, especially itt Amara, Sook es Shiookh, Busrah, and Mohammerah, there dwell an interesting people variously known as Sabeans, Nasoreans, or St. John Christians. They call themselves Mandaee (Mandalans), and altho only numbering four or five thousand, they yet have always been and remain entirely distinct from the Jews, Moslems, and Christians among whom they have dwelt for centuries. Their origin is lost in obscurity, altho it is traced 'ill! a measure 1hrough the maze of their religion to ancient Chaldea.

Certain it iF! 1hat at the time when Islam arose the Sabeans were a strong sect. The Koran recognizes them as distinct from idola1ers, and places them with Jews and Christians as "people of the book" (Surahs 22 : 17 j 2 : 59; 5 : 73) : "Verily, those who believe and those who are Jews, and the Sabeans and the Christians, whosoever believes in God and the last day, and does what is right, there is no fear for them nor shall they grieve." In the English Bible the name Sabeans is perplexing, and, altho applied to three different tribes or peoples, none of these are any way related to the present sect in Mesopotamia. Sabeans, according to Gesenius, should be T8a~ian8, from tsa.both, the host of heaven-i.e., the supposed objects of their worship. Noldeke and others say it comes from a root, 8ubba, to wash, baptize, and refers to the manner of their worship. Gibbon is perhaps correct when he states the origin of their other name thus: "A slight infusion of the Gospel had transformed the .. Bibljography: NOldeke's "Mandaische Grammatik," HaIle, 1875; Captain Prideaux's .. Sketch of a SaOOan Grammar," TraUB. Bib. Arch. Soc., vol. v. ; Ain.worth's "Enphrates Expedition," 2 vols., 1888; Encyciopredia Britannica, vol. xv., pp. 470; Dr. W. Brandt's" Mandaische Schriften," 1895; "A Prayer.Meeting of the Star-Worshipers" (London Standard, Oc- Wber 11lth, 1894) ; V. Cuinet'… La Turqnie d'Asle," 1894. last remnant of the Chaldean polytheists into the Christians of St. John at Bussora." And yet the present Sabeans, although giving peculiar honor to John the Baptist, can in no sense be called Christians. Nor are they related, except indirectly, to any of the Judreo-Christian h&resies of the early Church, such as, e.g., the Remero-baptists.

Isolated by creed, cult, and a language of their own, they love their isolation, and do not intermarry with strangers. Nearly all of them follow one of three trades: they raise the finest dairy produce of Mesopotamia; they build a peculiar kind of light canoes called Mashhoof; and for the rest are silversmiths. No traveler visits their villages without carrying away specimens of their beautiful inlaid work, black metal on silver and 46.NO ~< ~~~O gold; rings, thimbles, bracelets, ~~~..s.~ armlets, and ornaments of all kinds. A peaceful people are they; indus- ~~ ~t.!L D<J0 o,Jo trious, tho mostly poor, and living in harmony with their neighbors, they seldom afford trouble to their ~~~ -'10 d4.S-~ Turkish rulers. Both men and women have a remarkably fine phy- ""~~ J~~ <)(1J sique; tall, of dark complexion, good features, and with long black: . <.A-1e <.~~ ~O beards, some of them are typical patriarchs-even as we imagine <.~ ~cf.v4f. <vo Abraham appeared when he left their present country for Haran. On ordinary days their dress does not distinguish them from Moslems or Jews, but on feast days they wear only white. Their women go about unveiled, and have a more masculine A PASSAGlI FBOM THlI SACRlID BOOK OF THlI cast of features than Moslem women; MANDlEANB. they are also rather taller.

The two great things, however, that distinguish the Sabeans are their language and their religion. Naturally the bazaar-talk of all the river country is Arabic; aU Sabeans speak it, and a goodly proportion read and wrile it; but beside this they have a household language of their own, the langnage of their sacred books, which is called Mandaitic. So closely related to Syriac that it might be called a dialect, it yet has its own peculiar alphabet characters, resembling the older Palmyrene, and is not fully intelligible to the Syriac·speaking Christians from Mosul. Wright says it resembles most Nabathean and the langnage of the Babylonian Talmud. The oldest manuscripts in this dialect date from the sixteenth century, and are in European libraries. At present only the priests can read and write Mandaitic, but they refuse to teach those outside of their faith even the first lesson. The illustration given was copied for me by one of the priests at Busrah. A recently publilihed translation of th6ir sacred writings into German contains only one fourth of the" great book"

of the Mandreans. What is this great book 1 What does it teach? And what do these St. John Christians, falsely so called, really believe?

Altho meeting Sabeans for the past four years, and being their guest on frequent journeys up and down the rivers, I found no satisfactory answer to these questions from their own lips. They turn to the North Star whcn they pray, and "baptize" every Sunday-these were the sole articles of faith that one could learn. Books gave fragmentary and conflicting statements, all hinging around these two plain facts. According to one account they were gross idolaters j another classed them with Christians.

Light dawned from an unexpected quarter. An anonymous article ap- peared in the London Standard, entitled" A Prayer-Meeting of the Star- Worshipers." Whoever wrote it must be perfectly acquainted with their religious mysteries, or be one of themselves! -When I translated it to a company of Sabeans at Amara,. they were dumbfounded. Who had dared to expose all their secret ceremonies and beliefs to public "iew? Let me quote one paragraph only of this account, every minute particular of which the Sabeans assure me is true : " Toward midnight the Star-worshipers, men and women, come slowly down to the Miahkna by the river-side. Each enters the tiny wattled hnt by the southern wall, disrobes and bathes in the circular reservoir.

On emerging from the water each one robes him or herself in the rasta- that is, the ceremonial white garment, crosses to the open space in front of the door of the tabernacle, and seats himself upon the ground, saluting those present with the customary' Sood Havilakh' (' blessing be upon thee '), and receiving the usual reply, ' .Asaootah de hai havilakh'

(' blessing of the Living One be upon thee '). The sacred book, Sidra Rabba, is laid upon the altar folded back where the liturgy of the living is divided from the ritual of the dead. The high-priest takes one of the two live pigeons handed to him, extends his hands toward the Polar Star, upon which he fixes his eyes, and lets the bird fiy, calling aloud: 'Bahmo d'hai rabba mshabba zivo kadmayah Elaha. Edmen Nafshi Eprah' (' In the name of the Living One, blessed be the primitive light, the ancient light, the Divinity self-created '). [Then] the reading being in progress, they prepare the Peto Elayat or high mystery, as they term their communion. One kindles a charcoal-fire in the earthen- ware stove by the side of the altar, and the other grinds small some of the barley brought by the deacon. He then expresses some oil from the sesame seed, and mixing the barley meal and oil, prepares a mass of dough which he kneads and separates into small cakes the size of a two- shilling piece. These are quickly thrust into the oven and baked. The fourtn deacon now takes the pigeon left in the cage, cuts its throat quickly with a very sharp knife, taking care that no blood is lost. The little cakes are then brought to him by his colleagues, and still holding the dying pigeon, he strains its neck over them in such a way that four small drops fall on each to form a cross. Amid the continued reading of the liturgy the cakes are carried around to the worshipers by the priests, who themselves pop them directly into the mouths of the members with the words, , Marked be thou with the mark of the Living One.' The four deacons inside the Mishkna walk ronnd to the rear of the altar and dig a little hole in which the body of the dead pigeon is then buried."

What a mosaic of ceremonies ! No wonder that Professor Kessler calls Mandreism a most striking example of religious syncretism. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity engrafted on one old Chaldean trunk. Gnosticism, star-worship, baptisms, love-feast, sacrifice, and Ornithomancy in one confusion. And yet there is a method in it, and a system of dogma lies behind the mysteries of their cult. Sabeanism is a book-religion.

Among the large collection of their sacred writings the Sidra Rabba, or Great Book, holds the first place. It contains over five hundred large quarto pages of text, divided into two parts, a " right" and a " left.hand" testament. From this mass of diffuse and obRcure material one can dig out the elements of a system of cosmogony, and on this is based all their ritual and ceremony.

First of all things was Pera RaMa, the great abyss. With him " Shining Ether" and the" Spirit of Glory" (Mana RaMa) form a primal triad. From the last named, who is the king of light, emanates Yardena RaMa, the great Jordan. Mana RaMa called into being the first of the reons, Primal Life, Hayye kadema. He is really the chief god of the Sabeans, and everyone of their prayers begins by invoking him. From him proceed secondary emanations, Yushamim, "Jehovah of heaven," and Manda Hayye, " messenger of life" (the mediator of their system and whence their name). Yushamim was punished for attempting to raise himself above Primal Light, and now rules the world of inferior light. Manda still rests in the bosom of Primal Light, and had a series of incarnations, beginning with Abel (Hibil) and Seth, and ending with John the Baptist! Beside all these there is yet a third life, called 'Atika, the demiurge, who created the bodies of Adam and Eve, but could not make them stand upright.

The underworld has its score of rlliers-Zarfay, Za1·tanay, Hag, Mag, Gaf, Gafan, Anatan, and Kin, with hells and vestibules in plenteous confusion. Hibil descends here and obtains victories for Manda, and compels them to divulge the hidden name of darkness. From the fourth vestibule he carries away the female devil Ruha, daughter of Kin. This Ruha, Kessler affirms, is really an anti.Christian parody of the Holy Spirit. By her own son, Ur, Ruka becomes mother of the planets and signs of the zodiac. These are the source of all evil in the world, and control the sins of mankind. But the sky itself is an ocean of water, pure and clear, -the abode of Light. The central sun is the Polar Star, with jeweled crown standing before the door of Abathur. The Mandroans consider all the Old Testament saints. except Abel and Seth, false prophets. True religion was professed by the ancient Egyp- tians, who were their ancestors. Another false prophet was Yishu Mashiha (Jesus Christ), who was, in fact, an incarnation of the planet Mercury. John the Baptist, an incarnation of Hibil, appeared forty-two years before Christ, and by mistake baptized Him also. More than two hun- dred years after this time there came into the world sixty thousand saints from Pharaoh's host, and took the place of the Mandroans who had been extirpated. Their high-priest then had his residence at Damascus. The last false prophet was Mohammed, but he was kept from harming them, and during the reign of the Abbasides they had four hundred places of worship in Babylonia.

The Mandroan priesthood has three grades-Shkanda, or deacons, Farmida, or disciples, and a Ganzivra, or high-priest. The late Ganzivra of the Sabeans was Sheikh Yahya, at Soak es Shiookh j their present head is called Sheikh Sahn, and is now imprisoned at Busrah on charge of fomenting the late rebellion of the Arab tribes near Kurna.

The Sabeans observe six great feasts besides the weekly Sabbath (Sunday). One of the feasts celebrates the victory of Abel in the world of darkness, another the drowning of Pharaoh's army, but the chief feast is that of baptism. On it, called Pantsha, all Sabeans are baptized by sprinlcling three times a day for five days; and this is compulsory. The Sunday baptisms of immersion in running water are, however, largely voluntary, and therefore meritorious; these latter closely correspond to the Moslem ritual of purifications, and take place after touching a dead body, etc. The moral code of the Sabeans is that of the Old Testament in nearly every particular. Polygamy is allowed, but not often indulged in. They do not circumcise, and have no holy places or churches, except those built for a feast night at the river-side. They are friendly to Christians of all sectR, and love to give the impression that because they honor the Baptist they are more closely related to us than to the Jews or Moslems. Some time ago their small community at Nasariyeh asked for a school, but the project fell through. They occasionally purchase Arabic Scriptures from our colporteurs, and are most interested in Genesis and John's Gospel. But we have not yet met with anyone among them who seriously inquired the way of life through Jesus Christ. Some years ago their community at Busrah and Mohammerah was aided financially (by the queen, they say) through the kind offices of the British Consul, and ever since they have not ceased to think themselves worthy of a repetition of this high favor.

Their numbers have even during the past decade steadily decreased, and yet so closely do they cling to their ancient faith, that i1; seems the Mandalan system will only die when the last star-worshiper is carried to his grave in the palm orchards of the river country.

THE RUSSIAN STUNDIST!I

THE RUSSIAN STUNDISTS.-I.* THEIR ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND PERSECUTION.

BY PROFESSOR G. GODET-TRANSLATED BY MRS. D. L. PIERSON.

The era of religious persecution is not passed. Not only iu Armenia and China do Christians suffer for their beliefs, but under a government that calls itself Christian-in holy Russia, and in the holy atmosphere of the "Holy Synod" of the Russian Church. The world at large has but an imperfect knowledge of these persecutions. If they were known more widely and more in detail, we are persuaded that the public would be so stirred that the Russian Government could no longer ignore or permit what now goes on in that empire. It is evident that the Stundists are misrepresented to the Emperor to be a political and social organization dangerous to the State, and not, as they really are, an inoffensive religious sect. It is also evident that the most horrible deeds of persecution are carefully hidden from him, and that he has but a remote idea of the sufferings which some of his most faithful subjects have undergone. The petitions that the persecuted ones have tried to send to him, thanks to the Russian police, have never been allowed to reach their destination. It is useless to think of making any external attempt in their favor. What was gained by the interventions of the Evangelical Alliance in behalf of the Baltic provinces during the reigns of the two preceding emperors ~ Nothing-even worse than nothing-an aggravation of the evil!t Anything that looks like an interference from an outsider in the national affairs of Russia only irritates the government, and threatens to injure rather than aid the cause of the oppressed.

The Origin and Oharacter of Stundism.-The Stundists, about 250,000 in number, ara scattered throughout the south of Russia.! About 1868 the newspapers spoke for the first time of the Stundists, and of the activity of Pastor Charles Bonekemper, who was settled for a year at Rohrbach, near Odessa. It was he who gave the first decided impulse to the movement; but its beginning was still earlier. In 1823 John Bonekemper, of Wupperthal (the father of Charles Bonekemper), having been sent by the * This article is a translation of a little pamphlet by ProfeBBor G. Godet, of Neuchiltel, Switzer'

land. The French pamphlet is itself in part a compilation of facts from English and other public&'- tions. Among other books on the Stundists are "The Stundlsts ;" •• A Short History of the Stnndist.;"" A Highway of Souow," by Hesba Stretton; and "Nadya, a Tale of the Steppes," by Norris.

t Recently, however (by order of the Emperor no doubt), the Minister of the Interior was informed that he might discontinue the "exceptional methods taken for protecting the Orthodox Church" in the Baltic provinces. This means, probably, the end of persecutions for the Lutherans in these + provinces-but what of the Stundists ? They are found largely in the provinces of Bessarabla, Kherson, Kursk, Poltava, Kharkov, Taurida, Don Cossacks, Astrakhan, and in Caucasla. A line drawn from Warsaw through Orel to Astrakhan would nearly mark the northern limit of Stundism. church at Basle to the south of Russia, settled in 1824 at Rohrbach, as pastor of one of the German settlements there in the reign of Catherine II. In these colonies the residents preserved the custom of the" Stunden," or " hour" meetings for prayer and Bible study long practised in Wllrtem- berg. Bonekemper took part freely in these exercises, in which the Rus- sians, not understanding German, were unable to join. In 1858 a peasant named Onishenko, from the village of Osnowa, near the port of Nikolayev, began to attend these meetings, and was led to Christ. He immediately set about telling others, and formed similar little prayer-meetings in the neighboring villages. Thus was Stundism born, and it made rapid prog- ress, especially after the liberation of the serfs (1861). This emancipation caused the peasants to travel about in search of work, and thus those who had heard the Gospel spread it abroad from town to town. Freedom also inspired these peasants with a desire for an education. This was a powerful stimulus to a movement which was really but a return to the study of the Bible-the book which had been closed to the masses of the people. Itinerant preachers traveied through the villages gathering together groups of listeners eager for the truth. ·In 1864 appeared for the first time a pocket edition of the New Testament in Russian, and the new converts bought it with joy.

From its start the characteristic traits of the adherents of Stundism were absolute abstinence from intoxicants, assiduous study of the Scriptures, and the cultivation of a fraternal ChristIan spirit. They had no idea at first of withdrawing from the Orthodox Church. They even went to the priests asking counsel and light. The priests, too ignorant to give this, but not too blind to see that the movement as it gained strength and knowledge would be sure to attack the abuses and superstitions of the Church, quickly assumed a hostile attitude toward the new tendencies, and appealed to secular force to suppress the heresy. It was about 1870, when the Stundists numbered about 70,000, that the first oppressive measures were taken. As they increased the time came when this systematic implacable persecution no longer aimed at repressing them, but at exterminating them altogether.

Before recounting the leading phases of this persecution, it will not be out of the way to trace rapidly the principles of this movement, which many have thought held more to the letter than to the spirit of the Gospel. Few people have a really clear idea of the fundamental beliefs and organization of the Stundists. They are often represented to be a fanatical sect of ignorant iconoclasts, advocating a social reform which is but the embodiment of the principles of communism, and consequently a sect dangerous not only to the Church, whose errors and superstitions they attack, but also to the State which they seek to undermine. Therefore some say that Russia has a right to suppress them. It is in this light, no doubt, that the Emperor and many people both in Russia and elsewhere regard the matter. No idea is more foreign to the truth. We do not say that error has not crept ~nto their precepts, or that they have always had that wisdom and moderation becoming to Christians. But remember that a few years ago they were ignorant peasants, for the most part unable to read or write. Hunted by the police, they have not been able to enjoy the benefits of regular organized instruction. It is rather then a source of wonder that these simple people, living by themselves, should have kept so closely to the truth of the Gospels, and that great errors should not have gained footing among them. One is compelled to admire their faith and their heroism, and no less the healthy character of their moral and religious life, which forcibly recalls that of the early Christians.

" They live," writes Dalton, " very peaceably with each other. The religious sentiment, so strong in the Russian peasant, finds in the Word of God the guidance it seeks. They strengthen themselves' and direct their lives according to the teachings of the Scripture, often interpreting them in the strictest manner; for these noble men lack instructors, but they themselves are generally a striking proof that the Bible enlightens even the most ignorant, provided only that they search in earnest for Jesus in the GospeL"

One cannot find a Stundist who does not faithfully read the New Testament and consider it a revelation from God; this is the first article of his creed. Often he carries it with him to his work, and in his recreation hour, instead of passing the time in drinking as before, he devotes himself to reading. He holds that all who sincerely believe may understand without the aid of the Church or of priests.

The faith of the Stundists is, in a general way, that of all evangeIica1 Protestants, but they have no recognized confession of faith. Altho one in essentials, they differ somewhat in doctrine and practice-e.g., regarding the sacraments. The majority hold to adult baptism, and consider the Lord's Supper simply a memorial feast. A small number reject these ordinances altogether-a reaction from the materialistic religion of the Orthodox Church, which they condemn with one accord. The worship of " icons" or images of Christ, the Virgin, and the saints, which has so large a place in the religious life of the Russian people, is their especial horror, and herein lies one of the greatest reasons for the persecutions to which they are subjected. Perhaps their zeal sometimes has lacked discretion; if so, they have paid dearly for it. The Russian penal code inflicts from eight months'to three years'imprisonment for any word spoken against the " icons," and banishment to Siberia for the crime of destroying them. But the Stundists have acted according to their consciences, and who of us is ready to cast the first stone ~ Moreover, they detest the sacerdotal power which ignorant, avaricious, and often intemperate priests have abused so much. Universal priesthood is one of their dearest doctrines. Reconciled to God by the sacrifice on the cross, they have no longer need of any earthly mediator, and each father is priest in his own household. Nevertheless, however much despised, the orthodox priest never suffers the loss of his immense power, and when anyone refuses him the fees which it is his custom to charge, the retaliations are'terrible.

The Russian calendar has no less than a hundred and three holy uays, which frequently are times of debauch and disoruer; but the Stundists, steady workingmen, only observe a few of them. They have absolutely parted company with laziness and drunkenness, of which the Russian peasant is an habitual slave. Their villages and their homes have an appearance of neatness, order, and prosperity, which is in striking contrast with the orthodox villages and communities. Their farms and those of the German colonists are the best cultivated in Southern Ru~sia, and by their labor and industry many have reached comfortable circumstances and almost become rich. Their family life is pure, a strict moral discipline holding sway among them. Mothers and children no longer tremble at the brutal authority of the father of the family. The young are instructed as well as their circumstances permit, and in each home by the side of the New Testament may be found books and pamphlets which bear testimony to a higher degree of culture than is possessed by their neighbors. It is the Scriptures alone that the Stundists search for truth; there, too, they find rules for every-day life, and they faithfully put them into practice. Thus they strive to realize among themselves the fraternity which marked the primitive Church. They have been called communists and anarchists, but this is base calumny. * They are peaceable citizens, very loyal to their sovereign, whom they pray for with great fervor. t It is true that they seem to believe that the present social system is not in accordance with God's idQas; that the soil belongs to all, not to a few, and ought to be equally divided; that each should cultivate his land with intelligence, and be ready to embrace the ideas of modern progress, but that they should not regard the revenue as belonging solely to themselves, but as given in trust, for them to provide for the needs of their poorer neighbors. Interpreting certain precepts of the Bible literally, they especially condemn usury, which is a very common evil in Russia, and war. These principles are very different from those of anarchy or even of communism.

Lastly, the Stundists are quiet, honest, industrious people, who do not refuse to fulfil any of their duties as citizens. It is the opposition of the priests which has forced them to break away altogether from the Church, in which, until they had the "'.ord of God, they always found sufficient • People carelessly use the term StundistB for all those who have gone out from the established church, and thus they confouud the Stundists with other sects which exiBt in Russia, and attribute to them their extravagant and immoral practices.

t It is pretended that the Stnndist movement had a political origin. The Stnndists are represent- ed as rebels, lacking patriotism, and in sympathy with Germany. "There is positively no anti. Rnssian tendency," writes a well-informed Russian, "among the Stundists. They neither refuse to go Into the army nor to pay their taxes. It is just a slander of the clergy without foundation,"

All those who have the most intimate knowledge are of one accord on the subject of the loyalty ot the Stundists. satisfaction for their religious needs. They have thus been led into forming for themselves as much of an organization as the many legal shackles have permitted them to form.

Organization and Form of WOTship.-The highest office of this very elementary organization is that of elders or presbyters, who are chosen by the communities, and are, as far as possible, men of age and experience. Their principal duty is to lead the public services, and to preside at marriages and funerals. They need not have oratorical talent or decp theological learning, but they must be well versed in the Scriptures and be able to explain them. Each elder has supervision over one or two communities, often over a whole district. They visit the villages of their district where their brethren are scattered, and take charge of the funds which are given them for the sick and needy. One important duty is to confer frequently with the presbyters of other districts, and also to act as intermediaries between the brethren who are imprisoned or exiled and their families. We can see how much tact and prudence it requires on their part not to excite the suspicions of the police.

Next in importance to the elders are the deacons, who are generaIIy younger men full of zeal, but at the same time men of discretion. The deacons have charge of the Sabbath..schools, and preside at the regular services in the abs~nce of the presbyter. They keep the records of births, marriages, and deaths, and attend to the meting out of assistance to the aged and sick.

The elders and deacons do not form a clergy distinct from the people. * They work for their living just as their brethren do, usually tilling the soil. They receive 110 salaries, simply their traveling expenses when they make trips in behalf of their congregations. In the beginning the Stundists thought to have more of an organization, with lists of the members regularly recorded and periodical meetings of the elders and deacons, a common treasury, etc.; but all these features, which give unity and cohesion to a movement, were broken up by persecution. Eve~y movement of their leaders was watched, and as soon as their plans were known by the priests or the police, measures were taken to thwart them. If they attemptJd to appoint an elder or deacon, he was immediately ordered by the civil authorities to another district, and not even permitted to remain there any length of time. Often the lists containing the names of the members were seized by the police, aud being thus in their power, we know the treatment which, at a moment's notice, they could be forced to undergo.

But despite these difficulties, the movement has preserved a remarkable unity. Some inevitable divisions have occurred, which nothing but the existence of one recognized head would have been able to prevent. The different congregations keep in communication as well as possible with each other. The head men exchange visits as often as they can, and keep .. The elders uSUlIlly receive the laying on of hands, but not alway. ; for the persecutions of late bave been so bitter, that I10Ile of these fIlnctions could be regularly administered. up frequent and regular correspondence. Just as at the time of the first persecutions of the Church, so now these letters are passed from hand to band, from village to village, and from province to province- until they become worn and almost illegible. One of these letters, addressed to the Church at T–, a little village of the province of Kiev, begins thus: "To the well-beloved in Christ, brothers and sisters of the church at T–, salutation.•, Then follows the exhortation : " Take care, brethren, that your church, which for ten years has made its voice heard like a trumpet, be not silenced now." In another letter, addressed to the church at P–, the brethren are exhorted: "Gird up your loins in view of the great conflict, for the enemy rejoices over your feebleness. Take care that your elders are men of good repute, and do not forget the poor and the oppressed when you assemble about the Lord's table."

Let us penetrate into the interior of one of these communities. They have no special building for their services. " Poverty, simplicity, and austerity distinguish the meeting-places of the Stundists." They meet in the house of some peasant, in a room scrupulously neat, which on Sabbath morning is cleared in haste of its beds, furniture, and provisions. On the whitewashed walls hang two or three Scripture texts, on the earthen floor rude benches and chairs are placed. At the end of the room stands a little table, covered with a white cloth, and a chair for the preacher. On the table rest a Bible and a collection of hymns, many of which are from the English.

Reading and explanation of some New Testament passage occupies the principal place in the service, but singing also plays a large part. The " little Russians" have a highly developed musical sense. All strangers who attend the meetings of the Stundists are struck with the beauty of their songs. Many of their original hymns are very remarkable. The Stundists kneel in prayer and pray much. They pray often for the Emperor ; their prayers are long, and frequently accompanied by tears, and are characterized, above all, by great humility, while they use their hymns to express their joy in Christ.

Here is a description given by an eye-witness of one of their assemblies: "They salute each other with hand-shakes and embraces, the men kissing the men and the women the women. Then they sit down, the men on one side, the women on the other. The elder takes his place at the table and gives out a chant. He then reads and explains a chapter in the Bible, and gives an opportunity for anyone else to add a word of explanation. Women are not permitted to teacb, but following 1 Cor. 11 : 5, they 1U'e permitted to pray in meeting. After several hymns and prayers, the elder closes the service with a sermon. "

Tbey celebrate the Lord's Supper as do the -Protestant churches of the West. It is customary for the Stundists to linger after service and exchange news itnd read letters from their friends in prison or exile.

A Stuudist marriage is celebrated in the following manner: On the

BIBLE MOTIVES IN MISSIONS

date selected the friends gather at the house of the groom, w,here the parents of the young couple present them to the elder, telling him of their desire to be joined in marriage. The elder calls the young people before him, and thus addresses the bride-elect : , , Young woman, is it your own free will and desire that you be united by marriage to this young man, or are your parents or anyone else forcing the union upon you f' The young woman responds: "It is my own free choice."

" And do you love this young man ~" " I do." " And do you wish to love and take care of him when he is old and ill ~" "I do." The elder asks the same questions of the fiance, then the assembly sing a canticle, which is only a simple and appropriate prayer for the wedded pair. The elder tells them to embrace and to join hands; this ends the ceremony. It is hardly necessary to say that marriages thus solemnized are legally null. The only legal marriages are those performed by the orthodox priests in the Orthodox Church. About the end of 1865 the German Baptists in the south of Russia were joined by some men of prominence, like Kapustinski, of Kiev, and by Trophime Khlistoun,* a man whose saintly life preached as loudly as his words. This strengthening of their ranks and increase of their zeal and their attitude toward the Orthodox Church have had a great influence on the Russian Stundists. To-day almost all the Stundists hold the beliefs of the Baptists, and in the sonth of Russia Baptist and Stundist are practically synonymous terms.

(To be concluded.) BIBLE MOTIVES IN MISSIONS.

BY REV. T. T. EATON, D.D., LL.D., LOUISVILLE, KY.

Many of us believe that a good sbare of the loss of interest in foreign missions is due to the World's Parliament of Religions. No one who read the reports of this parliament and the editorial comments thereon can doubt that the impression made by the press was unfriendly to missions. For example, a leading editorial in one of our largest dailies laid emphasis on the" erroneous impression" that mission boards and preachers had made on the minds of the people. These Hindus were really fine gentlemen, well dressed and educated, and thus the claim of the preachers that non-Christian people were all savages was unfounded. The idea of sending the Gospel to such fine gentlemen was ridiculed. In 80 far as men had the idea that all heathen are savages, to whom the Gospel should .. Khlistonn was ba.nished in 1893 to" desolate region in Caneasis, where he has suffered mneh misery. Kapustinski, banished likewise, seven or eight yesrs ago, perished in exile. be sent to civilize them, in so far did such reports and editorials chill their missionary zeal, and make them think that, after all, the well.dressed Orientals already possessed all the Gospel offered them, and led them to cease their mission contributions. I have myself had personal arguments with several business men, who, because of the reports of the Parliament of Religions, declared that they" would never give another cent to foreign missions." In so far, howel-er, as men had the idea that the Gospel is to save people from sin, rather than to civilize them from savagery, in so far they were not affected by such newspaper utterances. '

That it was possible for the Parliament of Religions thus to injure the cause of missions shows that it had not been made to rest on the right basis in the minds of large numbers of people. Too much emphasis has been laid on the temporal advantages of missions, too little on the spir- itual. A civilized heathen needs the Gospel DO less than a savage heathen.

Bunyan's immortal allegory owes its greatness to its truth, which does not pass away, since it is faithful to human nature, which is not changed by the passing years. The path to the celestial city was narrow and difficult, and the pilgrims could make but slow progress therein. There was a path, just over the stile, running through a green and pleasant meadow, a smoother path along which progress could be made more rapidly j and it ran so nearly parallel to the king's highway, they had no doubt it would lead them to the celestial city. If they found it deviated too much from the right direction, it would be easy to cut across to the way in which they were commanded to go. The result of their trying the smoother path is well known.

In every good work men get impatient of God's methods, and the greater their zeal the greater the temptation to try the meadow path.

Sometimes they get impatient with their brethren, who, refusing to cross the stile, go on along the appointed path. Therefore we have need to look carefully into the roll the king has given the pilgrims for their guid- ance. This is true in all good works, especially in the work of saving souls. The reason for the decline in interest in foreign missions is that we have been trying the meadow path, and some have been locked up in the Castle of Despair. The narrow way leads over the Hill Difficulty, but it does not lead to the Castle of Despair. Only when we walk in God's way can we look for God's blessing.

There can be no improvement on the methods of infinite wisdom, and progress can be made more rapidly along the narrow way than in the beautiful and easy meadow path. Let us remember also that the motives for giving money and the effect the methods of giving have upon Chris- tians are far more important than the aIDount of money to be raised. It is hard for those who have to raise money for missions to realize this fundamental truth.

What then are the proper motives for giving to missions ~ I men- tioned, first, love to God, which desires His glory. "Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God," is thod command of the Holy Spirit. Love to God is the highest of all motives, the first and greatest commandment. The Westminster Catechism is right on this point, man's chief end is " to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." The glory of God is the purpose of our lives. Jesus says: "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

The second motive is like unto the first, gratitude to Christ for dying to save us. Were there no command on the subject, this motive should lead every renewed soul to do his utmost to win souls to the Savior. This motive animated Paul and the apostles as they rejoiced in being counted worthy to suffer for Christ's sake. In view of what He has done for us, it were base ingratitude not to strive to bring the world to Him to crown Him" Lord of aU," who wore a crown of thorns for us ; to live for Him who died for us.

The third motive is love to man. This rests on love to God. "We love Him becanse He first loved us," and we love our fellows because He first loved them. 'Ve are to love men not because they are lovely, but because God loves them. I had an only brother who died when a boy and far from home. One of the last things he said was, " Tell the folks at home to be good to my dog." It was a miserable cur and always in the way; but the love of the dead sanctified the dog in onr eyes. No more was he regarded as in the way; no place was too good for him to lie, nothing was too good for him to have that he could enjoy, and no service human beings could render to a dog was not rendered to that miserable cur, for the sake of the dead. However base and unworthy men may be, we are to love them because God loves them, and we are to see in every man material for a star in the Redeemer's crown, and a means whereby God may be glorified. And we will care no less for a man without God, because his body is well clad and his mind well trained. Our love to Christ should hallow in our eyes all for whom He died.

The fourth motive is obedience to Christ. The command is clear and plain: "Go disciple all nations, baptizing them, ,. etc. And" Go" includes sending; for "How can they preach except they be sent ?" We must obey our marching orders, as the Iron Duke well said. When the Pharisees stopped the healed man carrying home his bed on the Sabbath from the pool of Bethesda, and demanded why he thus violated the Sabbath, his one reply was, " He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed and walk." Whatever He that made us whole commands, let us do.

These four motives, then, and those that are corollaries to them, but no more. Whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil, and doeth evil. But it may be said that people will not give from these motives, and we must use others-is that true g No Christian will admit that such motives do not influence him more than any others. The Master said, " If ye love Me, ye will keep My words." In dealing with those who are not influenced by these motives, what is needed is, not to take a collection for missions, but to preach "repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." But Christians are not influenced by these motives as they should be. So often have they been appealed to by other motives that their consciences have been dulled.

The physical hardships of the heathen should never be made prominent as a reason for sending them the Gospel. There are hardships amonll Christians. What would be a great hardship to one of us would be none at all to a Chinaman, for exampie. Dr. Hayes exhibited a picture of a native "belle" who, he said, had thirty years' dirt caked on her never washed face. That would have been torture to a cleanly person, while she was not in the least disturbed by it. We should consider the sin of the heathen, and remember that only by the blood of Christ can they be cleansed. They are helpless of themselves, a hopeless eternity lies just before them, only one Savior has been provided in whom they must believe or perish, and "how can they believe on Him of whom they have not heard ~"

Neither should people be urged to give to missions because of the value of missionary labor to commerce. At a recent professedly missionary meeting the great stress was laid on the material resources of Mexicowhat crops could be raised by a proper system of irrigation and cultivation, what mineral wealth could be developed, etc. The Bible never appeals to any such motive. Paul did not go into Macedonia in order to dev~lop the resources of that country or to increase its commerce with Palestine, but in answer to the cry of need-" Come over and help us." To hear some mission talk, one would be led to think we worshiped mam. mono How often and with what complacency has it been told that before the missionaries went to the Fiji Islands their trade with other lands was nothing, while now it has run up into millions yearly ~ Oh, mammon ! mammon!! Such motives injure us, lower our characters, dim our vision of God, so that money takes the place in our thoughts which God's glory ought to occupy. Here is one of the worst evils in this materialistic age.

Deep conviction for sin is necessary before one can feel that love to God and to man which will make him delight in working to save his fellows. Whatever minimizes sin miaimizes God's mercy to guilty men. If sin be a little thing, an imperfection, a wrong development, then it is a matter of small consequence that the heathen are sinners. With shallow views of sin always go low views of God. He is no longer the aU-holy One who will by no means clear the guilty, but He is a weak and indulgent parent. There is no longer a throne in the universe, but only a rocking-chair, from which a doting Father sings lullabies to all. Hence we are led to think that God will be pleased if we please ourselves, and spend un ourselves aU that has been entrusted to our stewardship. If we decide to have a good time according to our pleasure, without troubling

THE MALABAR SYRIANS

ourselves with disagreeable things, no douht God will make up to us and to the heathen for our failure. To be sure, this contradicts the Bible, but we must not be " Bibliolaters," we must modify our views of the inspiration and authority of the Bible so as to fit our flabby theology, and to suit the " new conditions" about us. This rocking-chair Father will not deal strictIy with us, aud His holiness, justice, and truth must not be allowed to stand in the way of the pleasure of His creatures. Such are the views that follow minimizing sin, and those who hold such views can be persuaded to give to missions only by harrowing stories of suffering, or by appeals to their vanity, their covetousness, or their palates.

Back to the Bible, therefore, back to the Bible! Along this one line lie all the promises of God. Along this line all the triumphs of the faith have been won. When we obey God we are guided by in%nite wisdom, when we go our own way, foHowing our "Christian consciousness," we are guided by our own folly. Infinite wisdom has made no mistake anq no omission. The Bible is the one infallible and all-sufficient rule of faith practice. Its one purpose is to turn men to righteousness, and it will not do to say its teachings are inadequate for this purpose, and other motives and methods must be used.

THE MALABAR SYRIANS-A FORGOTTEN CHAPTER IN INDIAN MISSIONS.

:BY REV. JOHN RUTHBRFURD, LEWES, ENGLAND.

We find traces of the working of God's hand where we little expect it. In Central China the Nestorians had their missions, which for a time were largely successful; and the Malabar coast has to this day its settlements of natives belonging to the Syrian Church, or, as they often call themselves, the Christians of St. Thomas. God's providence has watched over them, or they would certainly have succumbed to their difficulties; for they have been hemmed in by heathenism and under subjection in civil affairs to none but pagan rulers. Had there been no guiding Divine hand, the Syrian Church in India could never have beeu preserved throughout so many centuries.

The earliest Christian settlements in South India are probably the seven churches which are traditionally said to have been founded by the apostle Thomas.

When they first came in contact with European voyagers they were Nestorian in doctrine, and had been so for a thousand years or more. It was only in 1665, when the Romanists prevented their communicating with the Nestorian patriarch, that they became subject to the patriarch of Antioch, who is monophYRite in doctrine.

In 1502 Vasco de Gama, the discoverer of the sea route to India, was a second time sent out by the King of Portugal. On his arrival a deputation of native Christians from Cranganore went to meet him with gifts. They informed him that they numbered thirty thousand, and that they kept themselves apart from their heathen neighbors as a special community. The following year, 1503, the Rajah of Cochin gave the Portuguese a piece of ground on which to build a fort, and this place soon afterward became a stronghold of the Romish religious orders in India.

Certain relics of St. Thomas are said to be in existence, imd the miracles attributed to these relics are worthy of the most flourishing age of medieval superstition. One of these was to the effect that when the Indian bishops annually approached the apostle's shrine to present their offerings, he opened his hand and graciously received these, provided they were presented by orthodox believers, while he sternly withdrew his closed palm from all heretics! When many other absurd and degrading stories abounded, no wonder that the Christian community which delighted in such things gradually wasted away, till its influence on surrounding heathenism became a vanishing quantity.

There are historical notices carrying back the antiquity of the Malabar Christians to a very ancient date ; but they possess two documents of the highest antiquity, which prove how very far back we must go to the time of their arrival in India. These documents are engraved plates of copper, supposed to be a thousand years old. One of these, written in Tamil, conveys a grant of land to a merchant who is supposed to have belonged to the Manichean sect. The other is written in Tamil-Malayalim, and also conveys a piece of land to a community connected with a church called Tarisa-paIIi, or Tarisa Church. These ancient documents show that in those remote times the Syrian Christians were a recognized community, to whom certain rights were accorded.

Unfortunately the intercourse of the Roman Catholic Church with the Syrian Christians is a long story of cruel persecution, in which the secular arm was invoked for the purpose of forcibly compelling submission to Rome, with the alternative of much suffering and sometimes even of death. Mar ~·talla, one of the Syrian bishops, was first imprisoned at Goa, and then burned as a heretic in, 1654. In 1700 another of their metrans or bishops, Mar Simon, fell into their hands, and was detained at Pondicherry in irons till his death. When the Portuguese had been ousted from Cochin by the Dutch there came relief from persecution in that locality ; but the Syrians continued greatly destitute of books, of pastors, and of instruction, and their moral and spiritual tone was lowered through their intercourse with the Jesuits. The native rulers, too, were despotic and merciless, and things were altogether at a low ebb when, in 1795, Cochin surrendered to the British.

Without going further into the question of antiquity, suffice it to say that at the Council of Nice, 325 A.D., a bishop named John signed the decrees then passed as " Metropolitan of Persia and of Great India ;" and about the year 200 A.D. Pantrenus, who then presided over a college in Alexandria, is said to have himself gone to India and labored there; this he did in response to a message from certain Christians in India who de- sired further i1lstruction. The detail of what he may have done is un- known, as his writings are lost.

What a strange conflict is that of the Christian Church-internal strife, outward persecution! We have it all in miniature in the Syrian Church in India. Though it was from the beginning a Nestorian Church, yet for the last two centuries it has been under Jacobite rule. About the year 1663 the Jacobite patriarch sent Mar Gregory to India, and he being accepted by these Malabar Christians, they were quietly incorporated with the Jacobites, a party dogmatically antagonistic to the Nestorians. Mar Greg- ory openly proclaimed that both the Pope and Nestorius were heretics.

The members of the Syrian Church in Malabar are now all connected with the Jacobite party.

Very strangely, there still survive Christian Manichees among th8 Syrian Christians of India. Their traditions allege that in the third cen- tury a certain sorcerer called Manikavachakar arrived on the east coast of India and deceived and perverted many Christians by his wiles, after which he came round to Travancore, where he continued his labors and succeed- ed in perverting eight families to !fanicheism. The descendants of those families were formed into a settlement and were called Manigramakar- that is, the people of the village of Manes-and the remnant of those peo- ple are still known by the same name.

The Mohammedans, too, since the time of their appearing in India, have sadly vexed and oppressed the Syrian Christians. .

Very little is known of the Syrian Church in India during the Middle Ages. It is said that the English King Alfred the Great sent messengers to visit the shrine of the Apostle Thomas in India. A Dominican friar named J ordanus, who went on a mission from Persia, visited QuiIon, in South India, about the year 1324, and .lohn de MarignoIli, or John of Florence, returning from a mission to China, visited South India on his way-this was in 1346 or 1347 ; he resided in Quilon upward of a year.

He says: "After some harvest of souls-for there are a few Christians there-I proceeded to Ceylon." Cadamustus, the Venetian, set out for a voyage to the East in 1493, and visited Calicut. He says that city was in- habited by Indian Christians, and that he there saw churches with bells.

He further says: "The Christians ride on elephants, believe Christ w~s born of the Virgin Mary, and never sinned; that He was crucified by the Jews, died, and was buried at Jerusalem. They know, indeed, that the Pope lives in Rome, but have no other knowledge of the Holy Roman Church; are somewhat educated, and can wrpte their own tongue. "

When the Portuguese arrived in India for the purposes of trade alid conquest, two of the native Christians of Cranganore waited upon Peter Cabral, asking him to convey them to Europe. They said that they used no images, but only the simple cross in their churches; and that they possessed many copies of the Sacred Scriptures, and commentaries on them, from which their priests taught the people. 'This was in 1500.

One of these two Hindus was " Joseph the Indian," aud in a small book of his travels these details. are given regarding the Syrian Church. Inside their churches, he said, there were no images ; they had priests, deacons, and sub-deacons; they used unleavened bread in the communion; the people received the Lord's Supper three times a year; they knew nothing of extreme unction, and buried their dead with religious rites.

In 1504 four Nestorian ecclesiastics wrote to their patriarch: ",There are here nearly thirty thousand families of Christians of the same faith as ourselves, and they pray to the Lord that He may preserve you in safety. And now they have begun to erect other churches. They live in the midst of plenty, and are gentle and peaceable in their dispositions. Blessed be God !"

Gouvea, an Augustinian friar, has recorded in detail the visitation of a Portuguese ecclesiastic, Archbishop Menezes, in 1599. Gouvea, speaking of the Syrians, condemns their adherence to Nestorianism and their refusal to call Mary the mother of God. He says that they did not allow image worship, and only acknowledged three sacraments-baptism, the eucharist, and holy orders; that they knew nothing of confirmation and extreme unction, and detested the sacrament of penance.

Archbishop Menezes was a most energetic agent in bringing many of . the Syrian congregations to submit to Rome. He brought about this result, both by visitation of the congregations and by holding a synod which afterward became famous, the Synod of U diamparur. It was held in June, 1599, and was a " packed" synod, most subservient to his wishes. This he brought about by holding more than one ordination of priests, who were present as members of the synod, and of course did exactly as he ordered. Without doubt certain good decrees were enacted, but the evil outweighed the good. Among other changes effected by the synod's decrees, there were these : The Syrian Christians were commanded to adore the images of Christ ; they were now taught that it was " pious to believe that Mary was conceived without original sin ;" all Syriac books were to be delivered up to the Jesuits within two months; and the whole diocese was made" to submit itself to the Holy, Upright, Just, and Necessary Court of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in these parts established." The synod condemned a book of homilies used in the Syrian Church, because therein it was stated" that the holy eucharist is only the image of Christ, and is distinguished from Him as an image is from a true man ; and that the body of our Lord Jesus Christ is not there nor anywhere else but in heaven." The doctrine of transubstantiation was introduced, and the cup was to be taken entirely from the laity. The Malabar Christians had known nothing of masses for the dead, but the synod introduced this a,lso. Compulsory auricular confession and extreme unction were also unknown in the native. churches, but both of these Romish practices were forcibly enjoined " on pain of mortal sin." Celibacy was enjoined, and to make this doubly sure the synod suspended all married priests.

The Jesuit missionaries continued to hold sway in this part of India for more than fifty years, until there occurred the great rupture with Rome, which took place in 1653 under Bishop Garcia.

The Syrians did not feel comfortable under the new regime. The enforced celibacy of the clergy, the introduction of images, and the attempt to supersede the Syriac language by the Latin in the services of the Church were very offensive to them, as also were the pride and intolerance which the Jesuits showed to all who would not conform to their orders.

In 1653 Mar Ignatius, a Syrian bishop, arrived from Antioch. The Portuguese seized him at Mylapur, where he had landed j then, after a term of imprisonment, they delivered him to the Inquisition at Goa, where he was condemned as a heretic and committed to the flames in 1654. In order to avoid the odium of this deed, the Jesuits asserted that the bishop had been drowned at sea! The Syrian communities were now so alienated in sympathy from their Jesuit rulers that they formally threw off allegiance to the Roman bishop Garcia, and declared Archdeacon Thomas, a native Syrian Christian, to be now their bishop. Afterward, when the Dutch had destroyed the power of Portugal in Malabar, the Syrian Church obtained from Syria the usual episcopal ordination.

Seeing how the sympathies of the native Syrian Chnrch were alienated from the Jesuits, it was thought at Rome that it would be advisable to send a new mission, consisting of certain Carmelite priests j and this accordingly was done. After the arrival of the Carmelite bishop and monks there were many quarrels between these missionaries and the Jesuits, whom they partly superseded. The Dutch, who had now ousted the Portuguese, looked with much disfavor upon the Syrians; and while forbidding European ecclesiastics to reside in the Dutch territories in India, they confirmed the Carmelites in their position, as these monks now had a bishop who was a native Indian. Bishop Joseph, of the Carmelites, before leaving Cochin, consecrated this native bishop. 'rhe Dutch chaplain was assured by Bishop Joseph in a personal interview that the Syrians were" persuaded that the very essence of Christianity consists in three particulars diametrically opposed to the articles of Lnther and Calvin-namely, the adoration of images and the crucifix, fasting and prayers, and masses for the souls in purgatory." We see how successful the Romish missionaries had been; their steady work, continued now through several generations, had leavened the Syrian Church with the essentials of Romanism.

There was much confusion occasioned by the struggles of the Jesuits and Carmelites on the one hand, and part of the Syrian Church on the other. The testimony of the native Christians themselves is as follows: " The above-mentioned two orders trouble our Church and bring dishonor upon her; they seize our priests, and, by confining them closely, cause their death ; their servants also maim them in their bodies. If our Metran deposes a priest from his office, then their Metran immediately reinstates him; if our Metran pronounces the Maharon" (curse of excommunication), "then theirs absoTves. Certain of their priests, when visiting some of our churches, openly and privately transgressed the seventh commandment, and committed sundry other crimes. On this account the heathen look upon us with scorn and contempt. "

About 1727 some of the early Danish missionaries to Southeastern India were brought into contact with the Syrian Church in Malabar. Messrs. Kolhoff and Horst, missionaries at Tanjore, made inquiries, and, as the result of their inquiry, came to the finding that the Syrian clergy were divided into two sects directly opposite to each other-Nestorians and Eutychians ; that they had been Romanized in many particulars; that they were very ignorant, and at the same time dogmatic in their own opinions about ritual; that they knew only enough of the Syriac language to go through their liturgical service; and that through caste pride they had hardly any intercourse with those of an inferior caste, whereby they incapacitated themselves for the propagation of the Gospel. For these reasons the Tanjore missionaries concluded that they could not then hope for any union between themselves and the Syrian Christians.

Paoli, one of the Roman ecclesiastics, gives us much information. Of the natives, he says that they dragged the Christians by force to take part in the lewd dances held in honor of the idol Sheva ; and also that the law against the killing of cows was no dead letter. He had often known men condemned to death on this charge; and that on one occasion five men were executed for the killing of a single cow near Callurcada.

Regarding the state of the Romish congregations, he admits that many of the so-called converts from heathenism had no higher motives than to gain a lawsuit or to gain some other temporal advantage. In 1780 and 1781 he claims to have" confirmed" no fewer than twenty thousand persons. The Bible, either in whole or part, he says, he did not distribute -and this of set purpose. Of church discipline, he says that if the offender is too poor to be fined, "a large wooden cross is placed on his shoulders while he is kneeling at the church door; a human skull is put into his hand, and in that manner he is made to creep round the church; or he is sent to Malleatur, where he must do penance at the foot of the holy cross which is said to have been erected there by St. Thomas himself. Women must bear a death's head or a wax candle. When the penance is over, the bishop, missionary, or priest gives the offender absolution in the presence of the whole congregation by means of a whip or rod, that the scandal which he brought on his Christian brethren may thereby be removed."

Of his own clergy, Paoli says: "Had these native priests sufficient learning, were they in any degree acquainted with their duty, and did they know how to procure from the pagans the least respect, they might certainly be fit to be entrusted with the care of Christian congregations j bllt, unfortunately, they are strangers to these qualities, live like the irrational animals, and by these means are the cause that their parishes are converted into dens of thieves."

In 1790 a terrible event occurred to these Syrian and Romo-Syrian churches. Tippoo Saib invaded parts of Travancore and Cochin, devastating the territory and inflicting vast cruelties on the people; both heathen and Christian. Some ten thousand Malabar Christians are estimated to have lost their lives in these invasions. Twenty-six of the Roman churches and three or four of the ancient Syrian were destroyed by Tippoo. It is thought to be the recollection of the atrocities of that time that kept Southern India true to the British Government in the Mutiny of 1857.

Cochin having been captured by the British in 1795, the way was opened up for obtaining more accurate information regarding the Malabar Christians and for awakening sympathy on their behalf, and various methods were soon employed for their temporal and spiritual good. Attention was directed to the subject in the beginning of the century through the publication of Dr. C. Buchanan's "Christian Researches," and much sympathy was enlisted in behalf of those ancient Syrian churches. Since that time the Church of England has carried on mission work among them.

"After the almost unbroken heathenism and Mohammedanism of Bengal, one cannot be surprised that a man of Buchanan's enthusiastic temperament was at times carried away, when he came among these native Christians, who claimed nothing short of an apostolic origin for their church, which had survived the revolutions of well-nigh two thousand years and the violent persecutions of heathenism and Romanism. To have been in any way useful in helping to raise and revivify such an interesting Christian community was an honor that could fall to the lot of few men; and to be the first in so noble an undertaking might well tempt a flowing pen to run occasionally in a somewhat romantic strain."

In 1816 missionaries arrived in Travancore, sent by the Church Missionary Society, and were cordially received by the Syrians. Their work did much to purify and to consolidate this ancient Christian church.

The fair promises of reformation held out by the Syrian Church were unfortunately not realized. Superstition and venerated abuses carried the day. Very great gentleness and forbearance were shown on the part of the Church Missionary Society; and in 1835 Bishop Wilson, of Calcutta, paid a visit to Uottayam, and was most conciliatory in his endeavors to adjust any differences or difficulties; but notwithstanding all these efforts, the reactionary party among the Syrians succeeded in bringing about a complete rupture between the missionaries and the ecclesiastical authorities of the Syrian Church. The missionaries handed over their college buildings to the Syrians; and in 1838 a new college was erected in Cottayam under the direction of the Church Missionary Society. In this institution many young men of the native Syrian Church have been trained, and some of them have proved to be of much value in mission work in connection with the English Church. In 1842 a large new church was also opened at Cottayam by the missionaries.

The Church Missionary Society, repulsed in their patient efforts to work alongside the Syrian Church, could do nothing else-unless they were to withdraw altogether-than accept the alternative of continuing to do the best work it could for the Syrians by preaching the Gospel to all who would receive it. And this work, happily, has been successful.

A view of the internal working of one of these Malabar churches shows us how vexing is their refusal to accept the kindly help toward reformation offered them by the English missionaries. Take, for instance, the church at Puthupally, near Cottayam. The building presents an imposing appearance. The eight or ten priests used to be supporters of a lucrative but demoralizing feast held every year in honor of St. George. The heathen flocked to it with offerings of fowls, and the pilgrims were entertained with plays and other exhibitions. This feast maintained its evil character so lately as 1863. Miracles were said to be performed here in the shape of the curing of diseases; and those who supposed themselves benefited, or who hoped to be so, presented small silver models of the arm or leg or other part of the body which had been diseased. At the church at Palaiya there is a large community of priests, and in this neighborhood every respectable family who can afford it is accustomed to devote one of its members to the priesthood j and so the land is overstocked with ecclesiastics who have nothing to do, and who just vegetate like tlie plants of the earth on which they lounge about.

The work of the Church Missionary Society has gone quietly on, notwithstanding all difficulties and discouragements j and through the churches and schools which they planted converts have been gained whose growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ gives ns cause to hope that they will be a race better than their fathers, and that through their efforts very much will be done to win South India for Christ.

Already has the work of the missionaries been of a most beneficial character; it has been altogether friendly toward the Syrian Church j and since it began the Syrians have both increased numerically and have progressed in education, wealth, energy, and enterprise j and many of them have improved socially and morally, and have been provoked unto love and good works.

We cannot end this paper without commending the Syrian Church of Malabar to the interest and love and prayers of all who desire the growth of the spiritual kingdom of the Divine Redeemer, and who pray that the churches of the East may be revived by the Holy Ghost and aroused to trim their lamps and watch and wait for the coming of the Bridegroom.

MOHAMMEDAN WORSHIP

MOHAMMEDAN WORSHIP.* BY RICHARD DAVEY.

Mahomet, rightly dreading idolatry, so prevalent in Mecca in his day, wisely ordained that the interiors of lhe mosques or places of prayer should be destitute of all representations of human or animal life. The early mosques were plainly whitewashed, and were not even ornamented by verses from the Koran. In the course of time, certain pious califs expended vast sums on the construction of mosques, and many of them became monuments of architectural magnificence into which the richest materials were introduced. But their interiors, however splendidly adorned wilh marble columns, stained-glass windows and glorious carpets, are as nude as an English town hall when cleared of its proper complement of chairs and tables. The only furniture of a mosque is the mihrib, a sort of niche indicating the direction in which Mecca lies, the mimber or pulpit, and in some of the Imperial mosques a maafil-i-humayum or private pew for the Sultan, and a little gallery called a maafil for the chanters. Two gigantic wax candles in gold, in silver, or brass candlesticks, stand on either side of the mihrib, and are only lighted during Ramazan. Most of the mosques are embellished with elaborate inscriptions in Arabian or Turkish characters quoting verses from th~ Koran. In some of the mosques, notably those at Brussa, there is a large fountain under the central dome. This does not serve, however, for ablutions, but simply as an ornamenl;. It is a popular error to say that people are obliged, as a sign of respect, to take off their shoes before entering a mosque. This is done simply because the floors of the mosques are covered either with mats or carpets which must be kept scrupulously clean, because the faithfnl touch them with their foreheads constantly during their devotions. If you wear overshoes,you need only remove them, and boldly enter the mosque in your boots. Another popular error connected with the mosques is the idea that Christians must not be admitted into them. This is absolutely opposed to the teaching of the Koran, which declares that any man or woman may enter a mosque, be their religion what it may. Indeed, in the earlier period of the history of Islam it was considered an excellent method of converting unbelievers to invite them to attend the services. Since Turkey and the East generally have become the happy huntingground of tourists, the Imams have conceived the idea that, by charging the Giaour for permission to enter the mosques, they may turn an honest penny to their own advantage. There are, however, mosques held to be so sacred, on account of the relics they contain, that the mere presence of a Giaour would pollute them. Otherwise the exclusion of infidels from the mosque is contrary to the teaching of the Prophet.

The ceremonies of the " howling dervishes" are thus described: " The first person to begin the office is the sheik, who wears a vivid crimson robe and squats down in front of the mihrib, on either side of which burn two small braziers, occasionally fed with incense. Then the musicians assemble and sit in a circle; at the other end of the room, against the wall, a number of members of the congregation and dervishes .. An extract from an article in the Fortnightly Review, reprinted from the Literary Di(ll8t.i

MOHAMMEDAN DEGRADATION OF WOMAN

arrange themselves in a row. Then the ceremonies commence. The musicians bang away on the cymbals and tambourines, and begin to cry out as loud as they can' Allah Ekber, Allah Ekber !' The devotees who loll up against the wall also begin to roar in cadence and rhythm, keeping the measure with their feet, and swaying their bodies to and fro. Louder and louder they cry until their excitement rises to literal frenzy. Their eyes seem to start out of their heads, their mouths foam, and in about an hour after the exercises are begun, several of them tumble on to the floor rolling in epileptic fits. When the excitement is at its height, several mad men and women are brought in and laid gently before the sheik, who tramples on them very lightly with both his feet. On one occasion I saw a poor woman, who was evidently dangerously mad, catch hold of the sheik's legs and almost pull him down. She was removed immediately with great difficulty by no less than four men. :Meanwhile the howling continued more deafeJting than ever. Little children were brought in and laid down to receive the pressure of the holy foot. A spruce young officer prostrated himself and was similarly treated. By this time the dervishes at the upper end of the room had lost all control of themselves. '1'he cymbals twanged and crashed, the tambourines and drums were banged with tremendous force, and the whole frantic congregation was screaming as if possessed, 'Allah Ekber, Allah Ekber!' As a grand finale to this scene of wild ~xcitement, a little and very officious dervish made his appearance carrying a brass dish containing a sharp knife, a live snake, and a small red-hot poker, which he presented to the sheik, who, holding the dish in his hands, advanced to the upper part of the chamber, and actually stabbed one young epileptic with the knife from cheek to cheek; another frantically Reized upon the snake and began to bite it, but nobody seemed inclined to touch the red-hot poker, for that remained unused on the dish to the end."

MOHAMMEDAN DEGRADATION OF W OMAN.-When we think of the part played by women in the Christian religious world j when we remember how women have come to the front in every progressive movement; when we think of their place in art, in literature, and in society; when we note how in Christian nations women are honored and protected-then we begin to realize that some immense power must have entered the society where women were once secluded, degraded, and oppressed. Exactly the opposite of all this is witnessed in the whole Mohammedan world. This alone accounts for the decadent history of the faith which Mohammed planted. A religion which perpetuates the degradation of woman is doomed, and it is dying. This is one reason for the condition of Turkey and of Persia. Society in these lands is paralyzed by the absence of any sentiment in favor of the elevation of the female part of the community. The Koran, which contains so many noble inculcations, yet fatally brands woman with the stamp of complete inferiority. In doing this it sinks morality, purity, and society itself under a deadly weight. Some curious Englishmen and a few eccentric Americans some time ago tried to make themselves famous by importing Mohammedanism into England and the United States. The attempt at a new sensation was a complete failure. The world has no place for a new faith of that sort.-The Ohristian Oommonwealth, London.

INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT

n.-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT.

EDITED AND OONDUOTED BY BEV. J. T. GRAOEY, D.D.

The Power of the Gospel from Personal in Christ with an element of decay so Observation in India. un-Christlike as the caste system. Therefore, these largely passed away. BY REV. H. F. LAFLAMME, CANADA BAP- But the impression left by those early TIST MISSION, L"iDIA. tho nominal successes in the eighteenth A young Braman, 8. Bachelor of Arts century determined the whole bent ot of Madras University, once spoke of our missionary effort and ambition in India mission work as follows: "Sir, I per· for some time in the succeeding cen- ceive that in your successful mission tury, and decided the policy as that of work you devote your energy to the the educational method which strives outcastes rather than in striving to win to affect the mind of the subtle and the higher castes through establishing metaphysical Braman and other higher missions schools, and colleges. In this castes, rather than the evangelistic you imitate your Divine Master. When method which strives after all alike.

He founded His religion He did not be- But the great revival that swept over gin with the proud and haughty Phari· . the Ongole field in 1878 and the mag· see, filled with prejudices so deep seat· nificent successes in that mission chang- ed as to be impossible of eradication; ed the entire missionary policy of India.

but He chose the simple, unlettered fish· This prominently emphasized the Di- ermen of Galilee, and on their unsophis- vine order, which seems to be to reach ticated minds He stamped His message the rich and noble through the despised for aU mankind. He wrote on blanks, and rejected. Dr. Gordon very aptly ex· that the word might be clear and legi· pressed the reason for this order of work· ble to all. So in this land you have ing as follows: "The most virile and practically passed over Us Pharisaic uncorrupted manhood is often found Bramans, filled with our preconceived among the wild and outcaste tribes of notions of religion, our own systems of heathen. Once subdued by the Gospel, philosophy and conceits in learning, and they in turn become subduers, aggressive have delivered your message to the un· and irrepressible evangelists. Therefore learned and unprejudiced outcastes. the directest way for the Gospel to reach They will hand it on to others, without upward is for it to strike downward."

bias, and will be found much safer me· This truth is illustrated forcibly by diums for its preservation and transmis- Lakshmaya, the converted grass-cut- sion than any higher caste. You also ter, a poor, despised outcaste, sometimes illustrate the great natural law that, if asleep, sometimes awake, always drunk.

one wishes to lift all the books in a pile, His daily home·coming was generally one must lift the lowest. So, sir, if you followed by beating his wife, drivinl{ convert the outcastes, if you are sue· her and the terrified children from the cessful in elevating them, all other high- house, smashing the pots and simple er castes up to the Bramans must come furniture, and then falling on the mud up with them." floor of his little hut or into the tilth of The earliest Protestant missionaries the yard, and there sleeping like a hog.

to South India were successful among The Gospel message reached his dull caste people, gathering in large num- ear, and the energizing power of the bers, and with them the deep.set preju. love of Christ touched his drink·sodden dices and customs that a more or less heart. Lakshrnaya was converted. He superficial knowledge of the saving rose early, cut grass all morning- power of Christ scarcely altered, much as much as he could formerly cut in a less eradicated. lio church could exist whole day-sold it at 110011 to the viIlage landhohlers and high-caste men, "God from heaven put it in my then preached Christ in the afternoons heart." said the convert. "He has and evenings. He was most fearless in changed me, the poor drunkard, and his testimony. and showed Christ to has given me a new heart. He can high and low alike. His first experi· change you and can fill you with humilence in witnessing to the Bramans was ity instead of pride; with truth instead remarkable. lIe had put down his bun- of lies, and with love instead of hate." dle of grass in the spot indicated by the high-caste purchaser. He had possessed With that manful testimony he goes himself of the copper coins thrown his way. And from that time forward down from a distance in the dust for his changed life commands an undis· him, in the fear that any closer ap- turbed hearing among them. He fearproach much more, contact, might lessly exposed his life in testimony bring ceremonial defilement, and was for Christ. In a short time he had about to retire in obedience to the arro- won thirteen of his fellows to a savgant order to begone, when the happy ing knowledge of Christ. It might thought came to him in the fulness of be said of him and of many other his new joy in Christ to tell these Bra- similar humble followers of the Lord mans. At first they were amazed at his as was said of Peter and John by impertinent presumption; but when the rulers and elders and scribes at Jeruthey realized that this filthy outcaste, salem: "When they saw the boldness this blatant, drunken fool, was attempt- of Peter and John and perceived that ing to teach the twice-born sons of the they were unlearned and ignorant men, great Brahm the way of holiness, their they marveled; and they took knowlanger passes even the bounds of caste edge of them, that they' had been with prejudice and ceremonial prudence. Jesus" (Acts 4 : 18). They rush at him with uplifted sticks to beat respect and sense into a fellow However marked the change in the seemingly devoid of both. But, to their life of the individual convert, nothing astonishment, instead of fieeing terror- so strikingly impresses one with the struck at the mere possibility of invok- transforming power of the Gospel as ing the Bramans' curse, as well as their renewed communities engaged in the blows, the man stands his ground, turns exercise of some public function conhis naked shoulders to them, and in- nected with their new-found religious vites their violence with neither an ap- hope. An additional emphasis is laid proach to fear or defiance. Overcome upon this by contrasting these newly with wonder at his courage, they pause made Christians with what they formerfor a solution of this strange metamor- ly were, or with their fellows still phosis. The converted drunkard con- wrapped in their old superstitions and tinues his broken message, and closes engaged in some rite or festival of a rewith those fearless words of Stephen: ligious nature. Many such contrasts " Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not are constantly repeated before the eyes in houses made with hands; as saith the of the missionary in heathen lands. To prophet, The heaven is My throne, convey some faint conception of the reand the earth the footstool of My feet : ligious antithesis thus presented considwhat manner of house will ye build er the following pictures: first, of a me? saith the Lord; or what is the Hindu low-caste festival, and then of place of My rest? Did not My hand one of the simple annual gatherings of make all these things P Ye stilI-necked the Christians, most of them converts in heart and ears, ye do always resist from the outcaste classes in India. the Holy Ghost." In addition to the principal and gen- "Where did you learn such wis- erally popular deities of the Hindu Pandom 2" asked one of the Bmmans. theon there are innumerable local gods worshiped throughout all India. Scarce- ly a village, and, indeed, scarcely a household in India is without its own of the transition from light to darkness tutelary divinity which is peculiar to -an unusual commotion rises above thQ that community. Such a goddess-for ordinary noises of the village. When the most popular are females, and re- all preparations are completed, the pro- ceive the general appellation of " moth- cession breaks through the main en- er"-is adopted as the village deity be- trance to the village and is ushered into cause more active, watchful, and force· . the open plain in a flood of light from ful than the plt,asure-Ioving male. She many torches. Its approach is herald- is believed to be the protectress of chil- ed and headed by a troop of almost dren, the preventer of small-pox and naked drummers, their dark and .oily cholera, and the patron of all enterprises bodies glistening in the torchlight as consigned to her care by a special vow they spring about in mad eftorts at invoking her aid. The village to which a contortionist's accompaniment with reference is to be made is an abandoned every limb and member of the body to seaport, now composed mainly of fish- the wild and rapid music of the drums ermen's hnts, with some few houses of and the discordant blare of half a dozen Ii better stamp belonging to men who trumpets and long horns. One more are the faded remnants of better and supple than the others accompanies his bygone days of commercial prosperity drumming with somersaults forward and prominence. Our missionary party and back, never for a moment, not even occupied a disused warehouse near the when in mid:air, interrupting his noisy surf line of the seacoast, presented to contribution by drum and voice to the our mission by a well-disposed merchant general uproar. Men leading goats and in a distant town. A sand plain lies be- sheep, boys and women carrying hens tween the old warehouse and the vil- and cocks, little girls and .old women lage. In the center of this plain is the with brass platters loaded with flour, temple of the village goddess. This is grain, fruits, and paints, poised upon no larger than a small bake-oven in this their heads, make up the motley follow- land might be, and, like it, is built of ing. Every living thing with vocal masonry even to the roof. The image capabilities contributes a not insignifi- of the goddess consists of a simple cant offering to the volume of noise- stick, not two feet in length, and rough- by no means to be despised as a recog- hewn to some remote resemblance nized essential in the worship of their of the female form. She lies upon the gods. The long procession three times summit of an ant-hill, and has recently encircles the temple, then masses in received fresh daubs of yellow ochre, front to celebrate the sacrifices and pay red lead, and oil. The hot season is the accumulated vows of the past well advanced, for it is late in April. twelvemonth. The goats and sheep are The sun shines down through cloudless led to the altar. Before it they are skies upon the burning sands of the sea- placed with necks outstretched by the shore. The season is not propitious for leading cord. Then a brawny fellow fishing. wielding a sickle-shaped ax with one Taking advantage of the forced idle- stroke severs the bleating head from ness, the fishermen, at the instigation the trembling trunk. In rapid succes- of the village priest, have detel·mined sion scores are thus slaughtered. All the date of the annual festival of the about, the cocks and hens are being be- goddess. On this day all vows made headed. Incense is burned at the foot to win her favor, propitiate her anger, of the goddess in the shrine, where all or invoke her blessing must be paid on the offerings are displayed, a little of pain of fearsome and calamitous visita- each being left in the temple, the rest tions. Soon after nightfall-for no twi- being retained to provide the night's light intervenes to break the abruptness feast. The mingled smells from smoking torches; from human breaths fetid appear, wending their way from all with tobacco, garlic and toddy-the points of the compa.,s in little bands, intoxicating drink of the country; from which. as they draw nearer the common hundreds of unwashed bodies steaming center, unite and swell the larger with perspiration in the suffocating choruses. On they come across the heat and from the blood of the victims, naked rice .fields, through the empty now clotting ankle deep at the altar's watercourses, over the tank bund, and foot, make breathing difficult and spread into full view from the church. All a sickening faintness over us. The ap- are well dressed, neat, and tidy. Men pearance of many of the people, now and women, with the children, are all excited by strong drink and religious on their way to the house of God, sing- fervor, is wild in the extreme. The ing as they come the sweet songs of drummers and leaders seem like demons Zion, the psalms of ascent of the Telu- let loose in fantastic frolic. The noise, gu Christians. They sing as with one the blood, the nauseous smells, the un- voice, much as Israel must have sung canny sights, suggest the gaping mouth in their journeyings to and from the of the great abyss. Overcome with an great annual festivals-for these Telugu intense and weakening disgust we re- Christians, like them, are coming in to treat to our homes, and in the privacy one of their annual meetings of the of our bedrooms pray-for sleep is im- Colais Association, from the neighbor- possible after such a vision-that the ing Christian Villages. There are fifteen Sun of Righteousness may arise with churches with a membership scattered healing in His wings and shine upon over one hundred villages. The Gunam- these sin-sick Bouls. All through that apudi church, in which they meet, is night of prayer thete comes from the their banner church. The church build- village near by the sounds of drunken ing rises in bold prominence above all revelry, of fearful blasphemies, and of surrounding buildings, the high ma- gross and debasing idol worship. For son-work walls and substantial tile roof in as many houses as there were sacri- presenting a bold contrast to the thatch fices made that night is being held an roofs and mud walls of the villagers'

orgy of lustful and filthy indulgence, homes. This place of worship is a con- known only in lands where confidence crete expression of the people's love for and faith are" in the shedding of the Christ. The building represents their blood of bulls and of goats" to take sacrifice in liberal gifts. Three broth- away sin, and where He is unknown ers led the list with a SUbscription of who, "when He had offered one sacri- $400. That would be a generous offer- fice for sins, forever sat down on the ing even in this land of plenty, but right hand of God." magnificent in a land where day labor Now consider this other picture. commands only six cents in the man A bell rings gladly. It is a church and three cents in the woman. The bell in a land of heathen darkness. The general liberality in poverty of the rank bell is tolling for morning worship. It and file of Christians is indicated by the is a Sabbath morning in a land where fact that the several hundreds remain- the groan of labor never ceases, where ing members have been enabled to give the toil of living finds no respite in a $100 additional. The balance of the day of quiet. As the bell rings forth total $1500 is made up by missionary across the fields a far-off echo seems to donations and a small debt, the prospec- come back. And yet there is no echo, tive contribution of posterity.

for tho the music of the bell has long Within the church walls are repre- since died away, this note grows strong- sented all the activities of a complete er and louder, till the full melody of church organization-the public preach- song breaks upon the ear. The singers ing of the Word, the celebration of the ordinances, the meetings for prayer, preach Christ where Christ was not the Sunday.school, the regular meetings known. for the transaction of church business, and the conference or experience meet- Mark God's blessing on a church with ing-by some termed the love feast. that spirit. Enter with the worshipers The pastor renders unremunerated ser- as they gather in this peculiar meeting vice, being one of the three brothers of the churches. See the five hundred mentioned above as liberal givers. In worshipers bowed in reverent silence order that the oversight of the church as the man of God leads in prayer. may not Buffer during his frequent Hear them as they rise to sing with the absences on extended missionary tours heart and with the understanding. Mark among the surrounding heathen vil· their intelligent interest and the kindly lages, an assistant pastor has been en- joy of response to the thought unfolded gaged by the church. In addition to by the preacher. Note their offerings these, a day-school is in operation with- in coin and kind during the collection. in the building-the teachers' salaries When the service concludes see the litand other incidental expenses being met tle knots of earnest converts gathered in part by the church-members and in here and there in the spacious building. part by the State. The church satisfies They are examining the candidates for all three of the cardinal tenets of a per- baptism. Then the pastor leads down fect New Testament organization in a score or more into the waters of the being self-supporting, and, therefore, little lake and baptizes them in the likeself-governing. They administer their ness of the death and resurrection of own discipline, elect their own mem- the Lord Jesus Christ. That churchbers, and govern their own movements. membership now numbers close on 580. Some time since they refused seventy Twenty-five years ago they were idolaapplicants for membership who were ters engaged in the gross and degrad. recalcitrants from another mission, on ing orgies indicated above. Now they the ground that they did not pay their are changed men; they worship God, debts and were therefore unfit for ad- the Spirit, in spirit and in truth. They mission. The third essential of the hallow the Sabbath Day. They revere New Testament church found in the the name of Christ. They are decided Gunamapudi organization, a most un- temperance advocates. They are incommon distinguishing feature, is the tensely foreign missionary in their fact that they are self-propagating. spirit. even to the point of great self- They have not only a membership dis- sacrifice. However, in the place of that tributed in many different villages, in man sent forth God sends another as each of which an independent church capable for their school. They are thus will one day develop, but they support amply blessed at home. In response to a missionary of their own. the earnest appeals for Christ in that great heathen town, in a few months' The call came to send a representa- time some twenty-five are gathered into tive up to a neighboring town of fifteen their church-membership. God blesses or twenty thousand souls, of whom them abroad. none know Christ. The Gunamapudi people selected their best man, the prin- Marvel of marvels I Omnipotence of cipal of their day-school, an intelligent, might I God's blessed transforming and highly educated, capable, and fervent renewing Gospel is manifested in these young man, and setting him apart, sent believers in apostolic power. We are him forth, and now contribute to his constrained to cry out as we regard this support. He was the one man besides band of believers and remember the pit their pastor they could least afford to from which they have been digged, lose; he was the one man chosen by ~'The Gospel is the power of God unto them all to go out from among tbem to salvation to everyone that believeth." Amen. Adva.nce in Korea. in Korell had doublcd its membership in one year. The annual meeting, when BY REV. GEORGE HEBER JONES, SEOUL, returns for the last year (1895–96) will be KOREA. in, is still to be held; but from news to A general impression seems to pre- hand there is every indication of a gain vail in the Church that the great war of 50 or 60 per cent., and a possibility between Japan and China over Korea, that again we may double our mem- the very disturbed condition of the bers.

country itself, and the recent interven- Little has been heard in the home tion by Russia have seriously interfered church of Wansan,.the northeast port, with our work in Korea, and that little where Dr. McGill has been laboring can be done there along missionary lines most successfully for four years. In a until the present undetermined political letter dated June 20th, 1896, to the writ- status is finally settled. er, Dr. McGill says of the infant church Such is far from being the case. at Wansan: Since July 23d, 1894, when a new order " Dr. Scranton was here and baptized of things was inaugurated for Korea by 19 persons and admitted 4 to full mem- the capture of the royal palace by the bership. We have had over 60 in our Japanese at the point of :the bayonet, Sunday meeting, but about 40 or 50 is the attitude of each successive ministry the rule. We have a number of whole has been one of official non-interference, families attending, and a dozen of wom- while the "officious" or personal atti- en or more. One of the members got.

tude of thebigh ministers in notable indi- into prison for debt, an1 the members vidual cases, and on some occasions even raised over 8 yen to get him out-a re- as a body, has been that of extending markable sign of brotherly love for a recognition to the missionaries and their Korean. We have over one hundred work as an important bctor in the ref- probationers. I am very busy building, ormation of the country. When chol- and also visiting the sick, having treat- era was raging in Seoul the Government ed 2500 patients this year, and my re- placed a large appropriation from the ceipts for the three months now ending public funds at the disposal of a com- will amount to 225 yen. "

mission of missionary physicians and Dr. Scranton, as superintendent, finds committed to them the Government himself at the head of an exceedingly measures for the suppression of the busy and overworked body of men, and scourge. When the Government school cries loudly for a reinforcement of six was crowded with pupils the Ministry new men. Brothers Appenzeller and of Education made a contract with our Bunker have more than 130 young men mission school at Seoul for the educa- and boys under their charge in the col- tion of such students as the king might lege. Brother Hulbert, in charge of appoint, to the number of 200, these our press at Seoul, is working day and students to be subject to the Christian night, turning out thousands of Chris- regimen in force in the school. When tian books and tracts, which are already the ministers of State, on behalf of the being felt as a regenerating force intel- king, gave a great banquet last October lectuallyand morally. Dr. Busteed is to celebrate the Declaration of Inde- redeeming the bright promise of the be- pendence from China, all the missiona- ginning of his missionary career as a ries at Seoul and Chemulpo were in- successful physician of the bodies and vited. souls of men. Dr. Folwell has in- At the present time the returns :in trenched himself in Pyang Yang, the immortal souls saved are cheering the strategic center of North Korea, taking hearts of the workers. Only three or over the work which the sainted Hall four years ago the church at home was bequeathed to the mission as a sacred ~laqd~ned by the report that the Church and desirable heritage. And Mr. Noble is probably, at this writing, near- Writing only a few days previous to ing Korea to take up the work so dear this from Dr. Scranton, Mr. Appenzeller to his heart. says: Like his brethren, Dr. Scranton is " Russia at present is not doing any- doing the work of two men. He writes thing except to further the independence from Seoul under dateof June 29th, 1896: of the country. Her hand does not ap- " At Chang-chin Nai I baptized (re- pear. Our opportunities are now much cently) 9 adults and received 17 into full greater than they were before the war.

membership. At Yong-in (a new place, This morning we had 88 Koreans who and never before reported) I baptized 6 are students of English present at pray- adults and 4 children. Wehaveagood ers, besides OVer 50 boys who are tak- work begun there. Next winter it will ing Chinese in the school. Every Sun- show up well. I suspect that from 100 day morning our chapel is so full at to 200 will come out for the Lord. Sev- divine service that we have to utilize eral years ago I baptized a man whom the hall. This afternoon we received we know as Pak No-in (Old Man Pak). 50 volumes of history and other books I did so, as Bishop Thoburn does, on as a grant to the library from the Min- one full presentation of the Gospel. It istry of Education. Bunker and I have is the only case in which I have attempt- had a year of unparalleled success. The ed this. He has been a most sincere Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and devoted Christian ever since. while Acting Minister of Education vis- Through his preaching-and he never ited us one morning, occupied a seat on rests-a doctor in Yong-in was reached the platform during prayers, and after- who has used all his immense influence ward addressed the school. He is not with the people for Christ. With books a Christian, but, having spent several and preaching this doctor has reached a years at Washington, he knows what thousand or more people, and a great Christianity teaches and has his boy in harvest lies before us. To-day I was our school.

to have gone south ten miles to a place "We never had the opportunities for where your man Chung, from Kang- work we are having at this moment. I wha, has started a small work, but was have put up a new book-store at Chong- prevented by the rain. " no, and on June 8th invited foreigners Then follows an account of how, at and native~ to be present at the open- three different points, our Korean breth- ing. Both classes came. After I told ren are inaugurating plans to build the object of the store, Mr. Choi chapels. Returning to the work in the (one of the local preachers and an offi- capital, Dr. Scranton thus speaks of cial of the Government) felt moved to the work under his personal care aR a speak to the crowd gathered in the pastor: street. He made a good address. Street .. At Sang-dong, since I came back preaching! Of his own accord I More from Wonsan, I baptized 29 adults and than this: last Sunday evening, after 9 chlldren, received 38 into full connec- the communion, the brethren volun- tion, and have taken 22 new names on teered their help to hold these street- probation. In fact, all this has oc- preaching services at the book-store for curred within the last two :and a half one week. Five P.M. is the hour. This, months. Work and opportunities for to my mind, is the right kind of an work were never better. It is exactly opening of the book-store. The fact in Korea as Bishop Thoburn represents that these schoolmen, who, as you know, the matter for India. Our trouble is were somewhat averse to this kind of not to gather the people, but to train work, volunteered, is in itself a signifi- them after reaching them. I have more cant thing. God is at work in our work than I can well attend to. It is midst. The people have begun to glorious work. " think, and it is impossible fQr them to go back to ante-bellum somnolence and 7279. The number of houses swept death. away and damaged by the wave, 1367.

" At the end of the war our college The population of the region was 48,- was the only missionary institution 990 ; the number of killed, 3366, and ready to enter the magnificent field thus the number of wounded, 726. The opened. Weare now recognized as a officials at the capital furnished each center for coining ideas. During the one of the committee with a map of the audience to which the king graciously devastated region and an official letter invited me, His lIajesty of his own ac- addressed to the Government, directing cord took special pains to thank me them to aid us in every way in our work for the work done, and bade me go on. of investigation and distribution of reo 'We are here to stay, and in this forma- lief. They also sent a telegram to the tive period of the nation's history it railroad station nearest the first town would be wrong for us to hesitate to that we were to visit, ordering jinrik- move right ahead. We believe in Ko- shas to be at the station.

rea. We believe she must have the When we reached there we did not Gospel. The truth we preach alone find the jinrikshas that had been: or- can save her. We are doing our full dered for us, so .we engaged four men duty, and we look to the Church to sus- to take us from the railroad station to tain llS in doing it. Shizukawa, a town on the seacoast that "In conclusion, let me say that at had been partially destroyed by the Chong.no, the site of our book-store wave. We had not rode more than a and the scene of this crucifixion of the mile before we met the jinrikshas OI- pride of schoolmen, there stood within dered for us by the officials in Sendai.

the memory of the living tablets in- We changed jinrikshas and rode on to scribed with insults to foreigners and a a small village, where we stopped for bloodthirsty threat against Christian- lunch. After we had lunched, the jin- ity. " riksha men came for their pay, and we were surprised to learn that they would not go on any farther. They said that The Tidal Wave in Japan. they had been instructed to bring us from the railroad station to that village, B~ REV. WHITING S. WORDEN, M.D., and they would not go on to Shizuka- YOKOHAMA, JAPAN. wa. Here was a difficulty. It was afternoon and it began to rain, and we The foreigners of Yokohama wished must reach Shizukawa by evening.

to aid the sufferers from the tidal wave After consultation together we decided of June 15th, which devastated the to start off on foot and leave our bag· northeast coast of the island of Hondo. gage at the house where we had lunch- Funds were raised, and a committee of ed. It was a bold expedient. but it three was appointed to visit the devas- • worked well. We had not gone more tated region and distribute:relief among than a mile before we were overtaken the sufferers. Rev. A. A. Bennett, by a policeman, and after he fully un- Rev. J. G. Cleveland, and myself were derstood the case he promised to send chosen as the committee. We left the baggage and jinrikshas on after us.

Yokohama on June 25th and fflached These overtook us after we had gone Sendai on the 26th. Sendai is the capi- five or six miles. We then came to a tal of Miyagi Province. We went to deep river, which we crossed by ferry- the capital, and received the foJ1owing boat. and then we began to climb the statistics of the calamity for the prov- mountain that lay between us and the ince of Miyagi only: seacoast.

Before the tidal wave the number of We reached the top of the mountain hOllses in the devastated re~~Q~ was ~QS~ !.?~fore dark, passed through the tunnel, and stopped at a tea·house for great earthquake of 1891, especially the refreshments on the other side. The roofs of the houses lying on the earth, descent from the top of the mountain their supports having been washed from to Shizukawa was quickly made; the under them. The next village we came road was excellent. It reflects great to was Hosoura. This village extend- credit on the Japanese Government to ed from the seashore up two valleys be- have constructed such a good road over tween high mountains in the form of a this mountain, with a tunnel to save the Y. All the houses were destroyed and steepest climb at the summit. When washed away by the wave. On one we arrived at Shizukawa the rain was branch of the Y the water had been falling fast, the hotel was full, and we forced up fully a quarter of a mile from found entertainment in a private house. the seaslxore, destroying acres of rice The sensations I felt were peculiar in- fields. Rere we heard a sad and touch- deed as I listened to the acconnt of the ing story. A man who had' gone up great wave coming into the land and the side of the mountain overlooking washing away so many homes. The the village on the nigbt of the calamity dogs barked and yelped all night, so saw the people come out of their houses that it was difficult to sleep, and we and go on top of the roofs with their were glad when the morning sun shone lanterns at the first intimation of dan- upon us. After breakfast we walked ger. From hiE position on the moun- out to see what damage had been done tain he could see the people and hear to the town. All the houses near the their voices, and in another moment the seashore had been washed away. Some wave burst in, all the lights were ex- houses had been floated inland. The tinguished, and the sound of the destruction at the place had been com· voices was hushed forever.

paratively slight, owing, perhaps, to The next place we came to was lsa- the fact that an island which lies just tomai. Here 60 houses had been de- olf the coast protected this place from stroyed, 52 were killed, 20 wounded, the fury of the wave. We visited the and 9 horses lost. There were a large hospital here which is under the direc· number of soldiers and coolies at work tion of the Red Cross. There have clearing away the debris, and fires were been 92 patients, 8 of whom died. The burning here and there to get rid of the cases include bruises, simple and com· rubbish, and the air was full of smoke.

pound fractures and dislocation, pneu- The smell emanating from these de- monia, pleurisy and catarrhs from ex- stroyed villages was not sanitary. and posure. The hospital is well equipped, now and then we could detect the odor having 7 physicians and 4 nurses in at- of burning flesh. The houses here tendance. were of much more substantial appear- We lunched, and having secured a ance than any we had before seen in pack·horse for our baggage, pushed on that region. Temporary houses and our journey on foot. We soon came to huts had been built to shelter the sur- the place where the village of Shimizu- vivors. The scenes all along reminded hama had been. This was a village of me so much of the sights all over the 60 houses lying near the water on the earthquake region, except that here coast, with mountains around on all water was the destructive agent, while sides except toward the sea. All the in the other case fire and shaking of the houses except one were destroyed. One earth did the damage.

hundred and eighty persons were killed. We learned that many bodies are Here and there were the thatched roofs being dug out of the sand on the shore, of the houses straddling the earth like and that many are washed up from the huge saddles, and under some of them sea daily. We reached a pretty village were numbers of the survivors. The called Tsuya, far away from the sea, scenes here resemble those after the at nightfall, where we secured a good room at the hotel and enjoyed a. quiet measured value to the International rest. Missionary Union, the program of We left our comfortable quarters at whose last three annual meetings he Tsuya the morning of June 29th. The prepared, taxing the remnant of his first place we came to was Osawa. vigor to the uttermost. We will hope Here had been a little hamlet in a rocky to present a much fuller sketch of his gorge on either side of a stream that life and missionary work In the near flowed into the sea a few rods from the future. l'rlrs. Belden needs not to be road. The bridge had been washed assured of our personal sympathy at away and all the houses destroyed. A this hour.

temple standing a hundred yards from the sea was carried away. The waves here reached fully thirty feet in height. Rev. J. E. Scott, of Mutra, India, Here and there we observed the smoke says: of burning thatch and rubbish. Many bodies were consumed in these fires. "Eight years ago there were only The conformation of the seashore had about 11,ODO Christians connected with much to do with the destructiveness of the whole of the Methodist Mission in the wave. The next town visited was India. Now there are more than 100,- Oya, the whole of which, except a few 000. ..lnd many more could be baptizhouses on high ground, was destroyed. ed were it not for the fact that there are At Kisenmuma we met Miss Mead, mis- not pastors and teachers enough to take sionary of the Baptist Board, helping care of them. These people, it is true, in the hospital, from the lower castes, and many of them are very poor, so poor that the average pay of workmen is only about six cents per day. Yet the people show Death of Rev, William H. Belden, their earnestness by giving out of their poverty toward the support of pastors The death of Rev. William H. Bel- and teachers who have been appointed den, at Clifton Springs, N. Y., on July over them. I have seen some of their 31st, will be the occasion of sorrow to giving, when the people brought vari- a very wide circle of friends in the for- ous kinds of grain, and even eggs and eign missionary field. His association sucking pigs to be sold for the support with the International Missionary of the work. And the converts have Union, of which for some years he suffered persecution. A few have been was secretary, made him well known killed, some have been beaten, many in almost all the missionary fields of all have been turned outol home and hare American churches. His zeal for mis- suffered worldly loss, yet not one has sionaryadvance was unexcelled and is gone back. Many good workers have rarely equaled. His labors for the Si- been raised up from among these peo- multaneous missionary meetings of his ple. I sent out a converted cook, who own church in New Jersey were emi- has been the means of leading many to nently successful. He represented the Christ. And even a poor ignorant man, Presbyterian Board in the great MIs- who could only playa broken fiddle, has sionary Conference in London, the In- brought many to Christ. So the work ternational Missionary Union also charg- is going on. God is blessing it. The ing him and ]Irs. Belden with being greatest need is more preachers and their delegates to the same body. His teachers. But $30 will support a preach- pure literary taste, his critical scholar- er for a year ; $12 will keep a boy in ship, his profound spirituality, his ur- school and feed and clothe him for a uanity and frankness, and his executive year. I have 4() such boys at school temper and judgment made him of un- and need scholarships.

FmLD OF MONTHLY SURVEY

lII.-FIELD OF MONTHLY SURVEY.

BY DELAVAN L. PIERSON.

Turkish Empiro,* Persia..t .Ara.bia,+ North Afrioa.§ RUBSia,i Oriental Ohristian- ity,'IT Mohammedanism.** MISSIONS IN TURKEY. Presbyterians, Church of England mis- sionaries, and various independent so- Modern missions in Turkey were be- cieties and individuals. The most fruitgun about 1805 by the colporteurs of ful field for labor was found to be that the British and Foreign Bible Society. among the Oriental churches-Chris- These were followed in 1819 by repre- tian sects that had long since lost their sentatives of the American Board. The vitality and often their morality, by inhabitants of Asiatic Turkey adhere constant contact with the Moslems chiefly to Islam, Judaism, or one of the around them, and by their failure to Oriental sects of Christianity. Work make a practical use of the Word of among the Moslems, openly at least, God. These sects include the Armewas soon found to be impracticable, nians, Greek, Bulgarian, Nestorian, Jacand still proves to be so. Jewish mis- obite, Maronite, and Caldean sectssions are chiefly carried on by Scotch all of them having become more or less removed from apostolic life and doc- * See also pp. 50 (January); 119, 129 (Febru- trine. The first id3a of the missionaries was to reform the churches among ary) ; 161, 198, 204 (March) ; 282,285 (April) ; 38-3 which they labored, but while many (May); 431, 451 (June); 501 (July); 601, 613 welcomed the new light and life, the (Augnst) ; 685 (September) ; 776 (present i"sue). opposition of the ecclesiastical leaders New Boola: .. Constantinople," E. A. Grosve- and their persecution of converts soon nor; "The Rule of the Turk," F. D. Greene; necessitated the formation of an inde- .. Turkey and the Armeniau Atrocities," E. A. pendent evangelical church. The work :Bliss. Recent Articles: "The Sultan of Tnr- in Asiatic Turkey has been carried on key," Review of Review8 (January and Feb- chiefly among the Armenians and ruary); Armenian Massacre," Christian Lt!- Greeks, and has now grown to be large emture Magazine (February); Missionary and flourishing. The recent persecu- Herald (monthly). 'tions have almost put a stop to all prog- ress, and have rendered the outlook t See also p. 729 (present issue). NtWl Boola : dark, if not discouraging. The effect .. Persia and the Persians," S. G. Wilson. Recent of the massacres has been, on the one Articlel: "On Things Persian," Fortnightly Re- hand, to put a stop to the active educavitWJ (June); •• The Li'nd of the Shah," Gode1j'S tional and evangelistic work, and to (July); Church at Home and A/J'I'oad (October). bring to most extreme poverty and dis- tress all Christian sects; on the other :I: See also p.735(present Issue). RecentArticles: hand, these times of trouble have shown to the people among whom they labor, "Egypt and its Frontier," Fortnightly Review and to the whole world, the heroic (April); Mission Field (monthly). character of the missionaries, and has thus opened the hearts of natives on § See also pp. 436,542 (July). Recent Articles : the field for furthe; instruction, and "Female Life in Morocco," Church at Home has loosed the purse-strings of Chrisand Abroad (January); "Morocco," Ohambers' tians at home to help carry on the work. JouNWl (June); "AfricaNorthofthe Equator," Contemporary Review (July); North Africa The American Board is the most im- (monthly). portant agency in the field. Their work covers the whole of Asia Minor I See alsopp.l42 (February); 740 (present issue). New Boob.' "The Empire of tbe Tsars and the Russians," Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu. Recent Articles.' "Russia, Persia and England," Nineteentl~ Century (July); "The Apotheosio of Russia," Blaclcwood'8 (July).

,. Seepp.193(March); 436 (June); 750 (present issue.) ** See also p. 71i8 (present issue). Recent arti- cles: .. Mohammedanism In Paris," Connopolitan (March); "Some Fallacies about Islam," Fortnightly Review (April).

ed Eastern Turkey, toi_ther with of ChristilUl heroism and martyrdom Macedonia and part of Bulgaria. They for the faith which is in Christ Jesus employ 176 American missionaries (116 which the ,world, Christian and non- ordained) and 869 native laborers (100 Christian, will never forget. The time ordained). They occupy 19 stations has not yet come for Christians at home and 306 out-stations. Places where to close their pocket-books and let the stated preaching is carried on number survivors of the Armenian outrages suf- 327; organized churches, 125 ; church- fer alone and unaided; another winter is members, 12,787; and adherents, 33,- fast approaching, and it will be many 787. The educational schools are one a long day before the destitute Chris- of the most important features of the tians will be out of want. As long as work-including all departments, theo- there is a need to be met, whether ma- logical, collegiate, and preparatory, terialor spiritual, let Christians at home there are nearly 20,000 students under cease not to give their prayers and their instruction. Bibles and other books, substance for the furtherance of the papers and leaflets are published and Lord's work.

distributed in large numbers in the PERSIA AND THE PERSIANS. Greek and Turkish languages, and have had almost as wide a usefulness as the In Persia, as in Turkey, work among missionaries themselves. the Moslems is practically prohibited Other American societies at work in by the government, and in consequence the empire are the Bible Society, which attention is chiefly given to the Nesto- publishes Bibles in the Turkish lan- rians and Armenians. The name Nes- guage in Arabic, Armenian, and Greek torian was given to them by their ene- characters; also in the Armenian, Bul- mies as a term of reproach. They garian, Kurdish, and Arabic languages. speak of themselves as Beni-Israel.

The Society of Friends labor in Pales- The Jews residing among them ac- tine, the Presbyterian Church (North) knowledge them as the descendants of occupies Syria and Mesopotamia, the the Ten Tribes, converted (the Jews United Presbyterian Church laboring say apostatized) to Christ, as a nation, in Egypt, the Reformed Presbyterians in the time of Christ and His apostles.

in Syria, Reformed Dutch in Arabia, Their history and descent is unbroken and the Disciples of Christ in Constan- from that time to this. The way they tinople and vicinity. Britiih societies have been preserved in their mountain are the Church Missionary Society in fastnesses, in the prbSence of and sur- Syria and Palestine, Church of Scot- rounded by their enemies, and kept a land in Syria, and the Free Church in separate people, is one of the most mar- Arabia. The British and Foreign Bi- velous and romantic chapters of his- ble Society confines its work chiefly to tory. The first permanent. work was the coast lands. started in Persia in 1871 by the Church Such are the interests of Christianity Missionary Society_ The only other involved in the Turkish problem so far society here is that of the American as statistics will show them. Shall we Presbyterians in the North. The Re- withdraw? With one voice missiona- formed (Dutch) Church has a station at ries on the field, secretaries at home, Busrah, on the border of Persia, for .

and faithful Christians the world over work among the Arabs.

reply, "No I not until the Lord beats The Babi faith is an important ele- a retreat." Unhappily the times of ment in the work of evangelization.

trial and distress do not yet seem to be The Babis are a Mohammedan sect, but passed; the horrors of the past two friendly to Christianity, haTing bor- years can never be described, but they rowed many doctrines from it. Islam have served to exhibit many instances seemS to be losing its hold on Persia. The increase in the saJe of the Scrip. into the Greek Church, and no perse.

tures indicates a growing interest in cution is too severe for those who be· the Gospel. Medical work plays a very come apostate. Active proselyting is important part in the work of evangeli. carried on in the Baltic provinces and zation. People flock to the mission elsewhere, and between bribes and hospitals in large numbers, but often threats many of the people have joined their eagerness for spiritual instruction the Russian Church. Proselyting for is greater than for medical aid. Belief Protestants is not forbidden among in Christ as the only Savior is spreading Jews and others who are not adherents cven among the Moslems, tho oftcn of the Greek faith, but converts are secretly. often sorely persecuted, as has been so The condition of women, as in other abundantly seen in the case of the Moslem lands, is pitiable in the extreme. Stundists. The Baptists in Russia also There is no home lite. Polygamy has continue to suffer deep persecution, to destroyed the Persian morality, if there which has now been added the confisca.

ever was any, and the children grow tion of all religious literature. In spite up accustomed to the language and of the great difficulties under which scenes of a brothel. they labor the work goes on, and they It is still too early to predict the now report a membership of more than effect upon the mission work of the 17,000, with 90 ministers, and the bap- coming of the new Shah to the throne. tisms last year were more than 1200.

He is said to be less enlightened, but The religion of the great majority of more indifferent than his predecessor. the European inhabitants of Russia is, ARABIAN MISSIONS. of course, the Orthodox or Greek Church. The absence of a celibate The work in" the neglected penin- clergy gives it an advantage over the sula" consists chiefly in medical treat- Romish Church, and, until now,little, ment at the mission stations, and in the if any, obstacle has been placed in the sale of the Arabic Scriptures to Jews way of the free circulation of the Holy and Moslems by native helpers. An Scriptures. The monks and the higher interesting example of the way in which clergy are, however, forbidden to mar· the Lord turns apparent misfortune ry, and any advantage which the Greek into blessing is seen in a recent riot in Church possesses over its great rival in Muscat. In a fight between two Arab the matter of doctrine is almost out- chiefs the mission premises were looted weighed by the superstition and idola- and a large supply of Bibles were try which press alike on priest and peo· stolen. These were put up at auction pIe. Strong pressure is now being and sold as foreign books to one of the brought to bear to drive outsiders into Arabs. He, in order not to lose money the bosom of the Orthodox Church, but on his purchase, sent his slaves all over secession is making far greater progress the district, and they sold the copies of than forced conversions. God is, in· the Scriptures to hundreds of lHoslems deed, working mightily in Russia among who could otherwise never have been Jews and Gentiles, in the midst of so reached directly by the missionaries. much sin and wrong. In the case of The work is progressing in the face of the Jewish popUlation the old prejudice many difficulties, climatic, financial, is found to be slowly but surely giving and Satanic. way before the spirit of inquiry, and THE GOSPEL IN RUSSIA. the seed sown in the past is beginning to bear fruit. The outlook for Christian The land of the Tsars is almost as missions is more than hopeful. and. altho much a closed land to the Gospel as are theoretically absolutely forbidden by the Tibet and Afghanistan. N() stone is government, up to the present time left unturned to bring every inhabitant there has been little di1J:l.culty in carry· ing on the work of the British Bible Soci· tach the adherence and cohesion of ety, though tbeworkers have been com· their orthodox neighbors. Their bitpelled to exercise milch tact, patience, terest opponents in the State Church and forbearance. The spiritual harvest cannot deny these many virtues of the is indeed plentiful. Denied the liber- "heretics," nor can they, if they bear ties enjoyed by all civilized people, the truthful evidence, decline to acknowl- Russians thirst for the better liberty of edge the reclaimed lives and material the sons of God. prosperity of the many thousands of ignorant, intemperate, and degraded A clergyman of the Russian Ortho- peasants who have voluntarily adopted dox Church recently wrote to a Mos- the Stundist teaching and copied the cow paper, saying that the rigorously manners and morals of the sectarians. suppressive laws lately promulgated There are no more conscientiously lawagainst the Stundist sectarians are not abiding subjects in the Tsar's dominonly unsuccessful, but would actually ions. appear to have given a renewed impetus both to the open and to the clan- With the exception of part of Turkesdestine spread of the schism; while the best efforts 01. the special missiona- tan, Siberia, * or Asiatic Russia, comries appointed to counteract the teaching of Stundism, and to reattach the prises the whole of Asia lying north of Orthodox apostates to that creed, have the Chinese Empire, Afghanistan, and been absolutely fruitless. The most Persia (area 4,833,496 square milest lamentable feature of this propaganda, larger than Europe). says the clerical writer, is its evident progress among the intelligent class of The greater part of this" land of ex- Russians who have practically aban- ile" consists of monotonous lowlands doned the State Church, or who attend stretching away to the horizon" like a the Church service once or twice a year limitless ocean plain." But toward as a mere habit. It is also to this the east rises a vast tableland, the growing public inclination toward "Great Divide" (i.e., between the Arc- Stundism that the writer attributes the tic and Pacific oceans), connected with difficulty of getting the majority of the which are the Yablonovoi, or" Apple ordinary magistracy to ,convict the Mountains," and other ranges. In the Stundist propagandists, and for the southwest is the famous mining district same reason large employers ignore the of the Little Altai Mountains. legal injunctions laid upon them with regard to the exclusion of Stundist To the north are the extensive Tun· workpeople of both sexes. dra swamps, covered with snow eight months of the year under dull, leaden This writer makes a significant ad- skies, the long nights now and then remission when he candidly avows that a lieved by magnificent Northern Lights. large number of intelligent and edu- The nomadic tribes dwelling here decated people who are gradually adopt- pend on the reindeer for their existence. ing the Stundillt creed would otherwise become freethinkers. Unlike South of the Tundra is a forest zone, many other Russian sectarians, the or Taiga, reaching almost uninterrupt- Stundists, whose religious tenets very edly across the continent. The noted closely resemble those of the Baptists, Siberian pine is conspicuons, and berrydo not proselytize, and hence the police producing bushes are abundant, supauthorities find it difficult to convict plying food for man and beast, quantithem. It is by the force of example ties of berries being preserved for winonly, by their exemplary lives, their ter use. high-toned morality, sobriety, industry, thrift. and honest dealings that they at The water system of Siberia is the most extensive, but least serviceable of * These notes on Siberia are taken from the Reilions B'1/Md. t All Asiatic Russia comprises 6,500,000 square miles. any in the Old World. The Obi, addicted to drink and tobacco; even Yenesei, and Lena, running north with young children may often be seen the Amoor and lesser rivers, cover the smoking Chinese pipes.

country with a network of about 30,000 In Western Siberia the aborigines are miles of navigable waterway. But un- of Finnish race-80yots, Ostiaks, Samo- fortunately all are ice-bound most of yec1cs, and Voguls. The Cassocks hold the year, and only serve as sledge-roads. villages on military tenure, supplying The people are chiefly of Mongol (or man, horse, and uniform, in lieu of rent.

Tartar) descent; but many of the na- The principal races in Russian Tur- tive tribes seem to be dying out or be- kestan are the Uzbeks and the Tadjiks; coming absorbed in the advancing Rus- the former an agricultural, and the lat- sian element. (Population, 8,000,000.) ter a commercial people. High walls Eastern Siberia is largely occupied of sunburnt brick surround the towns, by the Tunguses, of whom it is said: and gardens and vineyards are inter- " Tra,velers are never wearied of extol- spersed among the houses, which are ling their many admirable qualities; of m'ld thatched with reeds.

and there can be no doubt that they Over the steppes northeast of the are one of the very noblest types of Caspian and Aral seas roam the Klrghiz mankind. They are cheerful under hordes. Their square graves, made of the most depressing circumstances, per- the trunks of trees, look at a distance severing, open-hearted, trustworthy, like log-huts. On the borders of Persia modest yet self-reliant, a fearless race and Afghanistan dwell the Turcomans, of hunters, born amid the gloom of shepherds and farmers.

their dense pine-forests, exposed from Siberian towns, which are not popu- the cradle to e~ery danger from wild lous tho covering large spaces of beasts, cold, and hunger. Want and ground, form both trading and military hardships of every kind they endure posts, the mass of their inhabitants with surprising fortitude, and nothing being Russian. Irkutsk is the capital can induce them to take service under of Eastern Siberia, Omsk of Western; the Russians, or quit their solitary Tobolsk, the chief commercial depot, woodlands, where they cheerfully face exchanges the produce of Siberian the long and harsh winters, when the mines, fisheries, and hunting-grounds snow-storm often rages for days to- for manufactured goods. Tomsk is gether." the sole Siberian university; Yakutsk, The Yakuts. of Turkish origin, on the Lena, probably the coldest town dwelling on the banks of the Lena, are on the face of the earth.

the mos~ enerp:etic and versatile of all The religion is nominally that of the Siberian people. This tribe, unlike the Greek Church, but throughout South others, is increasing in numbers. They Siberia, or Russian Central Asia, Mo- are described as "men of iron," and hammedanism prevails, and toward the more inured to cold than perhaps any Chinese frontier Buddhism. The old other people in the world. religion of Siberia was Shamanism, a The Koriaks, belonging to the" Hy- kind of nature-worship, based entirely perborean" group, treat their women on oral tradition. Many of the people, and children very tenderly, but put an tho outwardly Buddhists or Greek end to their weak or aged kindred, Christians, are still at heart Shamanists thinldng it an act of mercy to save -e.g., the Tunguses and Yakuts, who them from linge!·ing death. The Kam- -tho under Russian compUlsion most schadales (aborigines of Kamschatka) of them have been baptized-despise keep their houses scrupulously clean, the rites of the Greek Church as mere but the doors are so low that they have formalities, and are true nature-wor- to be entered on all fours. shipers.

The Buriats on Lake Baikal are much They believe that two principles of good and evil took part in the creation, from which he has lmt recently rethe former making the earth level, and the latter tearing it up in a rage, whence turned, he speaks of" the joyful serthe hills and valleys. It is held that a Supreme Being reigns above all, but vice in having new congregations of too far off to hear prayer, too good to reaZ sinners in every place, and even need supplication; and the circumstances of life are controlled by good in every ward; sometimes also hunand evil spirits, the latter requiring to be propitiated, but not the former. dreds together in the corridor or in the The Samoyedes are idol.worshipers. yard eagerly catching the sound of the Political prisoners are chiefly found in the Transbaikal District, but" whole Gospel, which they have never heard regions of Siberia Ilre simply huge prison regions." Many of the exiles before." All prisoners Who could read are Jews and Stundists. "The Stun- were supplied, grati8, with copies of dists, for sobriety, industry, and godli- the Scriptures_ ness, are the cream of the Tsar's subjects. They send them off to Siberia; To resolute hearts the door into Sibebut they cannot abstract from the Stundist his religious belief, his love of ria stands open. Whole-heartednees God's Word or his love of proclaiming that Word. So pure and undefiled re- invariably wins the day. But" the ligion penetrates into the prisons." There i8 not a 8ingle resident Protes- half-hearted measure in which we evantant missionary in the whole country. But in this, as in other lands where lit- gelize the age deserves and brings failtle personal effort has been made, that ure_ Steam and electricity in religion silent yet most eloquent missionary, the Bible, has found its way and will win; old-fashioned, easy-going brought light iuto many a dark home. The colporteurs of the British and For- methods mean defeat. We have not eign Bible Society during the last year distributed nearly 50,000 copies, and heretofore won the age; let us not put met with universal kindness from the authorities and others. One colporteur all the blame upon the age." had an interview with the State Inspector of Prisons, who greeted him warm- A correspondent from Constantinople ly, thanked the Society, and" fervently writes under date of August 19th: wished that the blessing of God might " Affairs here continue to be most inrest on it and its work in Siberia." He teresting. The Armenian patriarch, said it gave him much pleasure to grant Mgr. MatHios Izmirlian, has at length the colporteur a permit to visit the been forced to resign, and a rascal prisons. named Bartholomew of Broussa has Dr. Baedeker, well known in Sibe- been chosen as locum tenen8 until a new rian prisons as the " good old man, the patriarch can be legally elected. The Anglichanin with the fine gray beard," whole thing was cooked up long ago at has within the last few years preached the palace. and was no snrprise to us. the Gospel to multitudes in these dreary Izmirlian is a true hero and a devoted abodes, journeying across the whole patriot as well as a true Christian, and continent. Describinji his last visit, the nation monrns his loss. A few days after his resignation the local pa- pers stated that he had applied for per- mission to visit Jerusalem, and that the Sultan had graciously granted the re- quest, which means that Izmirlian has been banished to Jerusalem, and the official world is again hoodwinked by the wily Turk. _ • _ "lleports from Asia Minor are en- couraging in almost every case. The government is actually distributing food and clothing to the poor, and is protecting life and property. The de- plorable affair in Van was due to the folly of the Huntchagists. who succeed in getting Armenians killed while they run away themselves. . . .

"The work: of the Red Cross has been excellent, but would have been impossible without the aid of the mis- sionaries,"

EDITORIAl, DEPART!dENT

IV.-EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT.

Rev. A. Benollel a.nd the Jerusalem than of any of the other resiuents here, Mission. they have been so very kind to me.

In May last the editor of this REVIEW Mr. Benolle! impresses me as being a felt himself constrained to set guards very religions man, a thorough student about any direct or indirect endorse· of the Bible. and thoroughly in earnest ment of this brother and his work, in in his work. .He has asked me to drop view of certain published nSf/auIts made in when he expects his Jews to be there upon him by Rev. Selah Merrill and a for religious conversation, and I intend certain Mr. Alley, together with private to do so.' letters from parties whose names we are not quite free now to disclose, but who "As the writer is an Episcopalian. appeared to be responsible parties. and one who would not have written thus had he not satisfied himself that All that was intended was to simply he could do so with perfect truth, his suspend judgment until proper inquiry testimony is the more valuable. could be made. It is now time to say that, after a year spent in diligent in- " Mr. BenoUel writes to me of four vestigation, nothing has been found young J ews-Sephardim-who are now worthy of credence or sustained by any openly attending his Bible class, as dilireliable proof, of all that we have heard gent students of the New Testament, or read against Mr. BenoUe!. He may after having been students of it in not always have been prudent, and his scores for some weeks. He gives the self-vindication under attack was not names of the fathers of two of them. perhaps the wisest course. but nothing and I find that I knew them both well assailing his piety, integrity, or loyalty as men of the highest social standing to Christ has ever been supported by among the Jews; one of them, indeed, any evidence entitled to consideration. is perhaps the most learned rabbi in Jerusalem.

It seems indeed to be a case of personal persecution, prompted by misunder· Turkey, in Oonneotion with the End of "The Times of the Gentiles." standing 01' private dislike. Among other testimonies favorable to Mr. The attention that Turkey awakens BenoUel is a letter too long to be pub- at the present time will give interest to lished, from R. Scott Moncrieff, Esq., the following statement of prophetical the concluding portion of which we dates, gathered chiefly from Mr. J. B.

gladly append: Dimbleby's "New Era at Hand." We " Only last week I received a letter ma.y not agree with: everything con- from a friend who has gone out to Jeru- tained in it, but the subject is deeply salem on behalf of Mrs. Finn's society, interesting.

a man of high Christian character, who " 'l'he times of the Gentiles" are gen- has seen much. of the world on both erally admitted by prophetic students sides of the Atlantic. I had given him to consist of 2520 years, according to letters of introduction to several of my the year.day theory, " a day for a year,"

friends in Jerusalem, and after having as in Ezek. 4 : 6 and Num. 14 : 34. A been there for some weeks, he has writ- prophetic year of 360 days (taking" a ten to me at some length of his impres- day for a year") is 360 years, which, sions of the city. and refers to the Beno- multiplied by seven, makes seven Iiela (to whom I had given him a letter) times-i.e., 2520 years. "Seven times"

as follows: aTe mentioned four times over in Lev.

" , I have seen more of the BenoUels 26 : 18, 21, 24, 28, as the period for which God would punish His rebellious peo- and continued 304 years till 3970, A.M. ple Israel, and the Jews have been suf- Then the Romans conquered the Grefering from the time of the 70 years' cians in 3970, A.M., and continued for captivity, which commenced in 3406, 666 years till 4636, A.M. Thus the four A.M., and will continue for 2520 years kingdoms of Nebuchadnezzar's dream from that date, until 5926, A.M., our (Dan. 2) fulfilled exactly 1260 years, the 1928t A.D., the probable commencement half of the 2520 years of " the times of of the millennium. the Gentiles." The Saracens (Turks) then, in 4636 A.M. (our 638 A.D.), took The Gentile times commenced 30 Jerusalem, and have been dominant years before 8406! A.M.-i.e., in 3376! there for more than 1257 years, leaving A.M., when the ruling power was giveu nearly two and three quarter years from to the Gentiles. Nebo-polassar, Nebu- this date (August, 1895) to fill up the chadnezzar's father, became the first second 1260 years. Thus the whole of Babylonian king comprised in the" head the 2520 years, counting from 3376, of gold" (Dan. 2 : 38), and began his A.M., will be completed, so that we may empire, which lasted 90 years, from expect the reign of the Turks in Jeru- 3376i- A.M. to 8466! A.M. The Medo- salem to be overthrown in, or before, Persian kingdom succeeded it in 3466 5896, A.M.-our 1898t A.D. A.M., and lasted 200 years till 3666; A.M., when the Grecian kingdom suc- "The times of the Gentiles" may ceeded the Medo-Persian in 3666, A.M., therefore be tabulated thus: The Babylonian Kingdom (gold) …•……….•.•..• Iasted for 90 years, from 3.'l76J.jl to 3466J.jl A.M. The Medo-Perslan Kingdom (silver)…. …………." " 200 years, from 3466J.jl to 3666'$ A.M. The Grecian, or 3d Kingdom (brass)…….. . . . . • . . . " "304 years, from 3666J1i to 3970J.il A.M. The Roman, or 4th Kingdom (iron) ……………." .. 666 years, from 3970J.jl to 4636J.jl A.M.

5896" .. A Time, Times, and a half" thus fnlfilled…. …." .. 1260 years, from 3376J.jl to 4636}6 A.M. The Saracens (Tnrks) forasimilarperic,d (Rev. 11: 2)." "1260 years, from 4636J.jl to A.M.

The two 1260 years make" the Gentile Times" …••…•…•••. 2520 years, from 3376J1i to 5896Ys A.M. which, added to their commencing date in …………….•..•3376, make the year 5896 A.M.-unr 1898 A.D ….. _…………………….5896 Anno Mundi.

If Mr. Dimbleby is correct, this date peror of Austria, the King of Italy, will usher in tremendously important the Queen Regent of Spaiu, the King changes in this world, both religious of Portugal, the King of Belgium, and and political. The words of the Lord the President of the French Republic Jesus are sure to be fulfilled: "Jerusa- are Roman Catholics; the Emperor of lem shall be trodden down of the Gen- Germany belongs to the Evangelical tiles, until' the times of the Gentiles' Protestant Church; the Queen of Engbe fulfilled" (Luke 21: 24). Turkey land is an Episcopalian; the King of must fall sooner or later, but not later, Denmark and the King of Sweden are it would seem, than about 1898 A.D. Lutherans; the royal family of the As these things are at hand, let Chris- Netherlands belong to the Reformed tians be looking for the fulfilment of Church; the Mikado of Japan is very 1 Thess. 4: 16, 17. We know not now liberal in his respect for both Shintoism "what a day may bring forth !"-Se- and Buddhism; the Emperor of China lected. is a follower of Confucius; the Shah of Persia is a Mohammedan; the Queen The Czar of Russia belongs to the of l'Iadagascar professes the Christian Greek Catholic Church; the Sultan of fait.h of the London Missionary Society; Turkey is a Mohammedan; the Em· the President of the Mexican Republic is a liberal Roman Catholic, as are each found. Not only were these .killed, but of the Presidents of the Spanish·Ameri- terribly mutilated as well. Noses, lips, ears were cut off, not to speak of other can Republics and the President of indignities. Even the Kurdish mule· Brazil; most of the lesser rulers in teer who was with the party was killed, Africa and Asia are Mohammedans; so that no survivor should tell the tale. The horses were found grazing near the King of Siam is a Buddhist; the Presidents of the United States have aU· the spot, and the bodies were brought down on them to the different homes been Protestants. that have been made desolate.

" The remains of the bishop and his The following letter from Re'i'. F. G. nephew were brought to Oroomiah, Coan, of Oroomiah, Persia, already where they will be buried with great ceremony on the Sabbath. 'l'housands printed in the Presbyterian Banner, have been coming all day to look on should be widely read. It refers to the the ghastly remains, and the whole Nesturian nation is greatly and rightly outrageous murder of Bishop Gorial and his suite on Turkish soil, Persian stirred at this most terrible insult and indignity ever offered them on this side. subjects who had gone to Turkey to " When it is considered that the out- visit the bishop'S superior. He writes rage was committed, not against armed men or warriors, not against anyone from Oroomiah, June 28th, as follows: with whom the Kurds might have a " One of the most shocking tragedies, feud, but against an ecclesiastical par- that for parallel in the history of the tv, that even in Turkey and among the Nestorians of Oroomiah has no equal, Kurds would command, ordinarily, re- was enacted last week just across the spect, the crime seems the more atroborder from us, fifteen miles above the cious and uncalled-for. None of those college. A party of fourteen Nesto- killed were even poor, despised Arme- rians, consisting of the Nestorian Bish- nians. All were Nestorians but the op, Mar Gorial, of Oroomiah, and his one Kurd. nephew, three kashas or priests from " The crime had evidently been com- Tergawer, two deacons, Aserfant of mitted on Turkish soil, as the bodies the Partriarch. and attendants, left had been dragged and thrown on to about two weeks ago to make a visit to Persian soil, which at the scene was not the Metropolitan, who lives in Nochee, over a mile away. about two days' journey from here. " The question is, who did it? Could Near the Metropolitan also lives Sheikh the sheikh have ordered it done? Sadick, the 80n of Sheikh ObeiduIla, There are well·founded rumors that a famed for his invasion and attack on terrible massacre, one that will throw Oroomiah fourteen years ago. all preceding ones into the shade, has " Ten days had elapsed from the time taken place in Van and vicinity. As the party left Tergawer, four hours proof of this, early in the week the above us,without any word as to the fate Kurds, who are Persian subjects, were of the party, when an ugly mmor got summoned to the aid of those at Van, abroad of foul play, and searching par- and sent to the Governor of KllOl ask- ties went up to find them. Just over ing permission to join the Kurds of Van t.he border, near the Persian village ot in wiping out the Armenians, as' Jahat '

Rashikan, an awful scene was encoun- or religious war had been proclaimed.

tered. On the grouud lay the bodies The governor referred the matter to of twelve of the fourteen, with thllir the governor here, who referred it to throats cut from ear to ear, stripped of Tabriz. Refugees are already coming all clothing and horribly mutilated. into Van, and much booty is being sold There were signs of a terrible struggle, at that place very cheap. as shown by the trampled snow, mud, .. There is no doubt something ba8 at and number of dagger wounds, also the last happened in Van. It is even re- fact that some had been bound with ported that the English consul has been ropes before they could be overcome. killed and the Russian consul badly Two poor wretches had evidently es· wounded. All th!s the sheikh would capEd and run a short distance, only to ,hear; could he have committed this be shot down, as seen by the bullet fell deed in revenge? It is certainIy in marks in their backs. The rest, de· some way connected with the Van re- fenseless and without arms, had been ports. To-morrow the government cut to pieces with daggers. here is to be seen and urged to take all "Two bodies are missing, as the necessary precautions for the safety of searching party did not dare go far the Christians here.

from the place where the twelve were .. So far all is quiet, but it may be the lull before the storm. Certainly if the year. Now is the season of the awthe Kurds over the border are on the ful 'traffic in girls.' God help us. war-path, disturbances may be looked 'We have failed to secure some we have for near us soon. We rejoice in the earnestly prayed over. One poor creafact that God reigns, and that while ture we hoped to save took her own life earthly powers may be indifferent. not in an hour of awful deapai'. We knelt a hair falls to the ground withot.t His by that dead body and prayed for' help knowledge. " to save others before it is forever too late.

At the Northfield Conference in Au- H Twin babies, a boy and a girl, were gust, it is not too much to say that no born in our Home on Washington's address made a deeper or more spiritual birthday. Fourteen little waifs have impression than those of Rev_ Edger- been born in the Home since two years ton R. Young, whose books, "By ago. Who will send HELP FOR THESE Canoe and Dog Train," "·Wigwams INNOCENT BABIES, or help to SAVE the and Northern Camp-fires," etc., have HARDENED men and women. found so many absorbed readers. After hearing Mr. Young frequently, the im- "Gnd will hold liS responsible for pression grows upon us that he is one what we can do. If you cannot draw of the few really fascinating speakers a hundred-dollar check. can you not on mis.gions, and especially missions make a five-cent sacrifice to buy a little among the Indian tribes. He has re- Testament for the camp work or collect pennies enough for a quart of milk for cently returned from a prolonged tour our baby-waifs? We plead in Christ's in Britain, where he spoke to thou- name for all this great work, whether sands_ His lectures on his" Journey- it be a camp missionary or a cup of ings by Canoe and Dog Train," " The milk. "

Indian Woman as She Was and Is," .. The Indians, their Haunts, their II Ohristmas for Ohrist," Sports, their Homes," etc., would instruct and charm any audience. He is A correspondent from Evanston, Ill., graphic, vivacious, earnest, humorous, suggests that "a movement to secure pathetic, loves the Gospel and loves the adoption by Christian people of the soul of the Indian, and has a rare such an observance of Christmas Day, story to tell, which he tells with great the day when God gave His Son to the simplicity and power_ He may be ad- world, as will not only be more apdressed at Ingleside, Deer Pa:.k, P.O., propriate to that event, but, while be- ing this, will also result in giving im- Toronto, Canada. mediately to the world yet lying in Emma C_ Nason, of Sault Ste. Marie, darkness the glad news o! the salva- tion which Christ came on that day to Mich., who has in charge the work bring.

among the lumbermen there, writes; .. It is proposed that the following form of observance of Christ's natal " In need and in haste we send this day be adopted by the convention, to letter, urging prompt help. We have be advocated by the Volunteers in their thus far held on to the work at every own churches and communities-viz_: point of our mission. The overworked .. That the Christian people of the missionaries have reached almost the world be solicited, as far as possible, to limit of strength, yet we must not gi ve transfer their giving from their relaup. God has shielded us in times of tives and friends to their Lord-i.e., danger, and the winter has been laden that they set aside the money they with blessed results. The crowded would expend for pleasure gifts to their camps will soon break up, dens of sin friends and earthly loved ones under of every kind-brothels, drinking and the ordinary regime of Christmas Day gambling hells-are now preparing at- observance, and make of the monev tractions, and laying every trap to grasp thus set aside a gift unto the Lord in the hard-earned wages of lumbermen_ token of love and devotion and of ap- What shall we do for the souls of these preciation of the matchless gift of God men? Must missionaries sorrowfully to men on that memorable day, the withdraw from the work now while same to be devoted to the carrying out the ambassadors of hell go forth with of Christ's last great commission as yet smilp.s to meet their prey? Help is so grievously neglected. needed now to do the best in our lodg- .. One Christmss season's givings de- ing-rooms, cofl'ee-rooms, and for the voted to this end would mean the im- Gospel ser·vices. The rescue work is mediate provision in hand of all the needed more than at any other time of funds necessary to accomplish the world's evangelization, and that, too, providence of God shall guide our misif none but the Church of Christ alone sionaries on the frontier. Political cau· adopted this form of Christmas o.b- tion on the part of the British authoriservance. ties, and religious bigotry on the part of independent native rulers are the .. What would be a more appropriate chief obstacles with which we have to commemoration of God's great gilt to deal at present. But we earnestly trust the world than for those who have that the medical mission work and the availed themselves of this wonderful circulation of the Bible by efficient colgift and tasted of its blessedness, to portage may en!1ble us ere very long to make this natal day a day of return make some beginning in reaching these giving to Him? unevangelized peoples.

.. Cdn this not be taken up by the " We shall be very thankful for the Student Volunteer Movement under remembrance in prayer of friends in the watch cry, 'Christmas for Christ,' America in this great and difficult underbe by them carried into their own com- taking. munities, and so advocated and proclaimed by them throughout Christen- " P. IRELAND JONES, Secretary." dom as a Christian festival, as that by Christmas of 18116 there will be forth- 1flrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe ought to coming into the Lord's treasury the be reckoned among the foremost prorequisite funds for such a missionary moters of missions, for the grand work crusade as will sweep the world with she did in helping to bring about the the Gospel before the close of the cen- abolition of slavery by the publication tury?" of " Uncle Tom's Cabin." The daugh- ter of Dr. Lyman Beecher and wife of In regard to the appeal for more Professor Stowe, she settled apparently workers to supply the unoccupied fields into a quiet life; but she heard the cry of Central Asia, voiced by Dr. Neve in of the slave, and a message came which she must tell out, as she did in her inour last issue, the Church Missionary imitable story. In four years 313,000 were printed in the States alone, while Society writes: translations were made in many lan- " Our committee recommended that guages. In" The Life-work of the Author of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,''' by Dr. A. Neve be granted three months' Florine Thayer McCray, the following leave i~ order to make inquiries as to account is given of the circumstances possible openings for itinerating mis- in which the story of ., Uncle Tom" sionary work from the base of Kashmir was written: "In perusing The Naor Peshawur. Dr. Neve has made an tional ./l}ra, Mrs. Stowe noticed the inci- dent of a slave woman escaping with expedition into Baltistan, and iii propos- her child across the lioating ice of the Ing in September or October to go up river, from Kentucky into Ohio, and it to Hunza Nagyr and other districts. became the first salient point of her We have also been in communication great work, and is seen in the history of Eliza. She began to meditate and with the authorities here and in India dream over a possible story that should as to the possibility of missionary work graphically set forth the bare ugliness and repulsive features of the system of in the neighborhood of Chitral, or in negro slavery. The black husband Kaffiristan or Afghanistan. In both who remained in Kentucky, going back the latter cases we are informed there is and forth on parole, and remaining in no prospect whatever of missionary bondage rather than forfeit his word of honor to his master, suggested the charwork being allowed by the Amir. But acter of Uncle Tom. Once suggested, we have hope that ere very long mis- the scenes of the story began rapidly to sionary work may be possible in the form in her mind, and, as they are neighborhood of Chitral. We are also prone to do in the practical forces of energetiC character, emotions and impurposing to establish a strong medical presSions instantly crystallized into mission a.t Peshawur with a view to reaching the frontier and trans-frontier tribes, and plans are now being arranged with this purpose before us. But for the most part our duty for some time to come seems likely to be pioneering work, looking for opportunities as the ideas and opinions. The whole wonder- and fame as long as Uncle Tom him- ful scheme was defined before the au- self. It was told me, as such things thor of • Uncle Tom's Cabin' put her go, from lip to lip of personal friends pen to paper. She has related that the who take pride in cherishing the sweet- closing scene, the death oC Uncle Tom, est thoughts and facts about those came to her as a material vision while whom they love and revere. During sitting at the Communion one Sunday the latter part of her life l'Irs. Stowe in the little church at Brunswick.· She has been one of those devout Christian was perfectly overcome by it, and believers whose consecration takes high could scarcely restrain the violent emo- forms. She has placed faith in prayer, tion that sprang into tears and shook and given herself to the kind of dedi- her frame. She was carried out of her- cation which exercises and cultivates . self. It was the fire of outraged feel- it. There came a time in her history ing which inspired this memorable When one who was very dear to her work. She hastened home and wrote, seemed about to sink away from the and, her husband being away, she read faith in which she trusted, and to which it aloud to her older children. Her life and sorrow hall taught her to cling burning sentences so tonched their as only those who have Buffered and young hearts that they wept with her, dOUbted and accepted can. This pros- and cried out that slavery was the most pect was a crushing grief to her, and accursed thing in the world. Some she set herself resolutely to avert the days afterward, Professor Stowe, hav- calamity if and while she could. Let- ing returned, was passing through her ter after letter-some of them thirty room, and notiCing many sheets of pages long-found its way from her closely-written paper upon his wife's pen to the foreign town in which Ger- table, he took them up and began to man rationalism was doing its worst read. His casual curiosity soon merged for the soul she loved. She set the full nto interest and deepened into astonish- force of her intellect intelligently to ment. He sought his wife with words work upon this conflict. She read, she of enthusiastic praise, and said, • You reasoned, she wrote, she argued, she can make something out of this.' 'I pleaded. Months passed in a struggle mean to,' was the quiet reply of his whose usefulness seemed a pitiable wife. From this time on, Harriet hope, to be frustrated in the effort. Beecher Stowe was possessed by the Then she laid aside her strong pen, and theme; it dominated all other concerns, turned to her great faith. As the sea- and held her a willing captive until it son of the sacred holiday approached, was done. She said to the writer a she shut herself into her room, seclud· year or two before her death, • I did ing herself from all but God, and not think of doing a great thing, I did prayed as only such a believer-as only not want to be famous. It came upon such a woman-may. As she had set me, and I did as I must, pel'force, wrote the full force of her intellect, so now it out; but I was only as a pen in the she set the full power of her faith, to hands of God. What there is good and work upon her soul's desire. One may powerful in it came from Him. I was not dwell in words upon that sacred merely the instrument. It is strange battle. But the beautiful part of the that He should have chosen me, ham- story, as I have been told it, is, that a pered and bound down as I was with few weeks after this a letter reached feeble health and family cares. But I her, saying: 'At Christmas-time a had to do it.' .. light came to me. I see things differ- ently now. I see my way to accept A beautiful example of the power of the faith of my fathers; and the belief in Christianity, which is everything to prayer is furnished in a recent incident you, has become reasonable and possi- ble to me at last.' .. which Elizabeth Stuart Phelps tells of The Chicago Evangelistic Institute, Mrs. Stowe, whose recent death thus re- closely associated with Mr. Moody, moves one of the striking and heroic lOBeS a grand man and a teacher dearly women of our day from among us : beloved in the departure of Professor " The most beautiful story which I ever heard about Mrs. Stowe I have W. W. White, formerly of Xenia Theo- asked no permission to share with the readers of these papers, and yet I feel logical Seminary, who soon leaves for sure that no one who loves and honors her could refuse it; for I believe that India to give lectures and addresses on if the whole of it were told, it might live to enhance the nobility of her name the Bible to the ten thousand candi- dates for matriculation at the Universltyof Calcutta. Calcutta is one of the turn to the city one man came in from great educational centres. It conta.ins one of the outlying villages, and said about twenty colleges, and about double that he had prayed to God to carl:! for tha.t number of high schools. In these him, and that altho the cholera was in colleges there are about three thousand the houses next to him, there was none students, and in the senior class of the in his dwelling. Another man testified high schools about two thousand more later to the similar preservation in an. who have an acquaintance with Eng. swer to prayer. Another told of how lish. The actual student constituency a few Christians in his village had in Calcutta at anyone time numbers prayed to God, and altho the cholera about five thousand. Of this number visited villages all about them none three thousand are strangers in the came there. 'l'his testimony was retown, not living with parents or duplicated a. dozen times from a dozen friends, but in lodgings. In addition different parts of the province. Who, to the men actually in college, there then, can doubt that what the Koreans are at least fifty thousand English- believed was true-that it was through speaking and non-Christian natives in their faith and prayers that they had Calcutta. Tbe International Commit· been protected from the scourge? tee of the Y. M. C. A. had its attention " Such testimonies made, we ask our· called to this magnificent opening for selves. have we such a simple, child· foreign missionary work by J. Camp- like faith lind sllch perfect assurance bell White, Secretary of the Association as these Koreans ? .

in that city, and by Mr. Mott, who is " About two weeks ago it was my now making a tour of the world in be· privilege to baptize a man who had half of the movement among students taken the cholera in Pyeng Yang, and in colleges and universities. A build- had been carried outside the city wall ing in the heart or the college quarter and there left to die or get well, as the has been secured for $50,000 through case might be. One of our Christians the generosity of Lord Overtoun and -no other would have thOllght of such others in England and America. An a thing-carried the man into a vacant auditorium is being prepared to hold a house next to his own. There he thousand persons. The students of nureed him back to life. He has since Calcutta have already shown a deep become an earnest believer. iuterest in the proj ect. " Our work is most encouraging-in fact it has grown far beyond our ability to look after it properly. Our province Over }Ir. Gladstone's bedstead is hung is some 300 miles long and averages sbout 100 miles wide. Scattered over the motto, " Christian, remcmber what this territory there are sixteen places thou hast to do." where Koreans meet every Sabbath to Contrast with this the public declara· worship God. Everyone of these six- tion of Senator Ingalls, that the Golden teen places is imploring us to come snd teach them more. Besides these Rule and the Ten Commandments had sixteen places where regular worship no place in politics, and that no man is held, there are about thirty villages could succeed in public life along such 'where the people have given us most lines. urgent invitations to visit them.

" We are sadly in Deed of more help. We have asked our Board (Presbyte- Korean Ohristians. rian) for another worker, but we sadly We are in receipt of an interesting Deed two. Do not these forty·six villetter from Rev. Graham Lee, of Pyeng lages plead eloquently to the Church at home?" Yang, Korea, in which he gives some encouraging illustrations of the child· like faith of the native Christians. lIrs. Arthur H. Smith writes: "The Mr. Lee says in part : Holy Spirit seems to be moving on our "During the cholera, wnich raged Shantung Church (North China) as here la.qt summer, these Pyeng Yang never before in a quiet, powerful way, quickening into new life cold and dead Christians grasped the idea that God members and putting a great longing was able and willing to care for them hunger into the hearts of our Chinese if they would pray to Him and trust preachers for more spiritual power. Him implicitly. The testimony which At a little conference three of them had they gave us of God's care over them Was remarkable. Shortly after our rewith Mr. Smith about the baptism of ment that the Emperor of China is now the Holy Spirit, they were full of joy to systematically studying the New Testa- hear there waa a way to gt!t power, and ment, and is at present reading the wished they could build tabernacles Gospel of St. Luke.

and stay there, as one of them said, Among the agents of the China In- where they had learned this good land Mission 32 are laboring at their news." own expense, 87 are supported entirely by friends, and 16 are supported by Dr. D'Erf Wheeler, medical mission- friends in part. One friend supports ary at Jerusalem, says that fifty years 5 missionaries, 3 support 2 each, and ago Jerusalem was simply a large vil· 39 support 1 each. In two cases 2 lage. Tbere were no roads, and there friends support 1 missionary between were no houses decently built. There them.

were then only about 6000 Jews there, who were very poor and downtrodden, The great Indian Rajah M.ontja, it is while now Jerusalem outside the walls said, had but one son, to whose educawaa almost larger than Jerusalem inside tion he gave much time and thought, in the walls, and there were now over order that the boy might be fitted for 88,000 Jews there, and they were still his high place. Among his devices for coming. . the wise training of his son was the Orders came from Constantinople to placing near him an old man whose the Beirut Customs House in Septem- duty was to say to the prince, whenever ber last to allow no books to be shipped, he was enjoying any pleasure keenly, even tho they have the imperial permit, "The day hath but twelve hOUl·S." unless each separate volume is stamped When the lad, on the other hand, was by the Director of Education. As we sick or in trouble, he changed the warnhave 12,000 volumes ready for ship- ing to," The night is but twelve hours ment, our work is virtually and practi- long. "

cally stopped. The Director of Educa- tion has written to the Collector of the "In British India the annual death- Port that these books all have the im- rate among Europeans in the early part perial permit, but he says his new or- of this century was eighty-four to the ders are peremptory. and not a book thousand; but in 1890 it was reduced can go without the disfiguring stamp to sixteen to the thousand. So in the on it. Dutch East Indies, the European death- Mr. Freyer, manager of the Press, rate has been reduced from one hundred prepared at once a telegram on the sub- and seventy to the thousand in 1828 to ject to the United States Minister in sixteen-much less than the native Constantinople, but the Director of death· rate, which in 1892 was twenty- Telegraph refused to send it. three to the thousand. In the basin of The United States Consulate then the Congo the death-rate among white prepared a telegram on the subject, men in 1893 was seventy to the thou- which they thought it unwise to re- sand, but this embIaced many mere ad- fuse. But it is evident that there is a venturers and campaigners. deprived of persistent policy at the Porte to thwart the comforts and conveniences of life.

and cripple all Bible work in the em- In Leopoldville and Boma, white settle- pire as far as possible. ments, where good homes are available H. H. JESSUP, D.D. and fair sanitary conditions, the death- BEIRUT. rate is but thirty-two to the thousand."

If science and Christianity go hand in Professor Headland, of the Peking hand, men may yet be as healthful in University, is authority for the state- Africa as in America.

71:14 G1l:NEBAL MISSIONARY DI'l'ELLIGENCE

V.-GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE.

EDl'rED BY REV. D. L. LEONA.RD.

Extracts and Translations from Foreign alleled by our efforts for the evangeli- zation of African and Polynesian races, Periodicals. And, corresponding with the conversion of the Roman Empire, the bishop places BY REV. C. C. STARBUCK, ANDOVER, our task in evangelizing India and the MASS.

INDIA. other Asiatic countries in which exists – " Bishop Barry," formerly Primate an ancient civilization needing to have of Australia, .. considers that the Church new life infused into it. Here the bish- of England has a threefold mission to op wisely urges that extension in these the world; and he finds an analogy to countries has a different ideal from that this in three phases of the spread of Chris· which suits the growth of the colonial tianity as seen in the history of Chris· Church. 'It cannot and must not aim tendom. The Church, he says, had first at reproduction of the English Church to undertake the task of the conversion itself, with local variation but substan- of the Roman Empire, and this task tial identity. If ever these Eastern was 'not to create, but to regenerate races are to be won to Christ, it will human society,' and' to create a new surely be by the service of men and and diviner unity in the Church Catho- churches of their own blood, and lie.' When this was accomplished, a thought, and character. • .. Our real second task presented itself-the con- work is, not to transplant the full-grown version of the barbarian nations-which English tree, but simply to sow the liv- involved civilization as well as evan- ing seed of Christianity and leave it to gelizatio~. And then a third task was grow.' This is an admirable statement the fostering of Christian national life of a principle enunciated again and in contradistinction to the universal again by the Church Missionary Soci- dominion claimed by the papacy, and ety. The difficulty is, that whenever the accomplishment of this task is best there is a suggestion to put the princi- seen, observes the bishop, in England ple into action, there is sure to be a loud itself. With these three phases of the outcry. The present Archbishop of development of Christendom the bishop Canterbury once said that it was a pity compares the threefold sphere of church that white should be the color of a expansion now. clergyman's dress in officiating in a " Alongside the last of these three he country where it is the color of mourn· puts the growth of our rising and fed- ing; but supposing a C. M. S. mission- erated colonial churches. 'This ex- ary in China took the Archbishop at pansion has not been on the principle his word and discarded the surplice, of absolution on the one side and de- convocation itself would probably put pendence on the other. The ideal of on record its extreme displeasure.

the Roman Church may be spiritual " Altho, however, the bishop distin- empire; ours is free spiritual federa- guishes these three phases of ' ecclesias- tion. It is the desire of th'l Church of tical expansion,' he nevertheless urges England, true to her ancient spirit and that they cannot be separated. 'They traditions, to sit, not as a queen over not only coexist, but ultimately they spiritual dependencies, but as a mother are really one.' The same solidarity is among her daughter churches.' The shown in the healthy influence of Chris- second of the Church's three tasks in tian extension abroad upon Christian past ages, namely. the conversion of the life at home; and again, in the signifi- barbarian races, is, of course, now par- cant fact, upon which the bishop pro-

EXTRACTS AND TRANSLATIONS

ceeds to enlarge, that the present cen- the way which is marked out in the tury has been simultaneously an era of Savior's words ~ • I thank Thee, 0 Fa- missionary expansion and of develop· ther, Lord of heaven and earth, that ment in the home church. Here he de- Thou hast hid these things from the scribes in eloquent paragraphs the Evan- wise and prudent, and hast revealed gelical Revival, the Oxford Movement, them to babes.' When once the masscs and that third religious influence whose are won for Christianity the leaders motto, says the bishop, is, • The har- soon follow after, as missionary history mony of the natural and the supernatu- confirms by numerous examples."

ral,' and which is commonly called, -" It is probable that there will be with more or less accuracy, • Broad developed in Japan, as in all Christian Church.' The first of these movements countries, two churches, the one evanproduced widespread evangelization; gelical or orthodox, the other liberal; the second, the expansion of church or- the first, moreover, will be very probganization; and the third, the bishop ably divided into several denominathinks, has corrected the crudeness of tions, altho assuredly it would be highly earlier missionary ideas, altho he admits desirable that this evil, inherent, it that it has sometimes tended, • if not to should seem, in Protestantism, might kill, at least to throw over, "the native be spared to the future Evangelic&l hue of resolution," something of " the Church of Japan. The destinies of pale cast of thought.'" "-Ohurch these two churches will be, without Mi8sionary Intelligencer. doubt, identical with what they are in JAPAN. the United States, the only country where the religious sentiment can de- -Pastor SCHILLER, quoted in the velop itself in full liberty. The one Zeitscltrift for Missionskunde, remarks: will be living, prosperous, conquering, " It is beyond all doubt that, sooner or which is the character of all the denomlater, the stream of Japanese national inations which maintain the doctrines development will issue into Christianity. professed from the beginning by the The Japanese feel this themselves, altho universal Church; the other will' painthis does not imply that the individual fully drag on a precarious existence, as who makes this conce~sion acknowl- is done by the Unitarian Church and edges himself bound in conscience to others of the same rationalistic characbecome a Christian. Yet we must not ter. In a word, in Japan also will manbe oversanguine as to speedy results. ifest itself the truth of the word of the The religious interest in the Japan of apostle: "He that hath the Son hath to-day is frightfnlly low-lower among life; he that hath not the Son hath not the cultivated classes than among the' life."-Revue des J'Jil>8ions Oontempomass of the people, who at least show raines.

sign of a religious instinct by adhering -AU8 dem Lanc:e der aufgehenden to the old religious customs. The edu- Sonne (From the Land of the Rising cated, indeed. are, as a rule, more de- Sun). B~l'lin; Druck und Verlag, von A.

pendent on the prevailing current O'f Haack. This is a pamphlet or 31 pages, opinion and its changes than the people. by Pfarrer CARL MUNZINGER, mission- The time when Christianity was the ary of the Protestantischer Verein in vogue, and regarded as an indispensable Japan. It describes in a clear, well- finishing-olI of European culture, is disposed manner, minute witllOut being gone by in Japan; the educated throngs tedious, Japan as to land, people. lan- that used once to fill the Christian guage, customs, religion, State, family, houses of worship have dwindled away, schools, churches. Anyone who reads the theological journals now scarcely it will have Japan, materially and spir- find readers. The missionaries will do itually, clearly set before him. It is well to enter with full consciousness on well worth translating.

GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE

MISCELLANEOUS. .. We plead for an increase of confi- dence right through our missionary -" Altho the heathen, who become work. No Illen ever realize their high. Catholic Christians, commonly rise only est possibilities until they are trusted." from a religion of form to another re- -Ibid. ligion of form, whose contents, however, are infinitely better, yet they for -" Are means lacking for t'1e work the most part experience so much of it of missions? Sound the bell of prayer that cannibalism, infanticide, concu- rather than the bell of the mendicant. " binage, etc., can no longer remain the -Pastor GOSSNER. prevailing rule; morally, therefore, they are extricated from the coarsest of -We notice not unfrequently the their former excesses, and every phil· statement that the Persian Shah, as sucanthropist and Christian must desire cessor of the prophet, is the spiritual that where the Evangelical Church can- and temporal chief of his subjects. not win them they should rather be- This, however, appears to be an error. come Catholic Christians than remain heathen. "-Herr PETRI, in Allegemeine n arises from transferring to the Per- Missiona-Zeitschrift· sian monarch the attributes of the Turk- – " Are the missionaries the agents or ish monarch. The latter, however, is servants (1) of the societies, or are they Caliph Mohammedan Pope, not as king the messengers of the churches? Is of the Turks. but as having, in his anthere a sufficiently close connection be- cestors, obtained from the heirs of the tween the churches at home and their Bagdad caliphs a cession of their claims brethren abroad, for whom they are in his favor. His Turkish and his Mosasked to pray and gi ve? Do not socie- lem, his temporal and his religious, digties sometimes act as a barrier to sepa- nity are distinct and separable. Thus, rate rather than as a link to unite? A when it was determined, in 1876, to great step in advance would be taken depose Abdul·Aziz, it was held necesif the societies not only allowed but en- sary that he should first abdicate the couraged churches to support missiona- caliphate, under the form (tho certainly ries of their own, with whom they might not the reality) of a voluntary act. This be in direct communicatiou."-The left him still sovereign of Turkey; but as he had now lost the sacredness of his akristian, quoted in The Bomhay Guard- person, he was then dethroned outright. The Persians, it is known, are regarded ian. by the Mohammedan world at large as schismatics and heretics. They deny -" Is it true, as some have affirmed, the succession acknowledged by the that missionaries meet for conference Sunnites, and have one of their own, and prayer in India or China, decide whose incumbent, however, is not the upon certain modes of procedure in con- Shah, but resides within the Turkish nection wit.h their work, but are power- territory, and whose religious authority less to act until their proposals have is said to be sometimes as embarrassing been sent to the home committee and to the Persian Government as the papal considered by them? Is it also a fact authority has often been, sometimes for that not unfrequently the home commit- good and sometimes for evil, to the civil tee rejects the proposals of the missiona- governments of Europe. ries, and dictates an entirely different course? .•. The Persians, however heretical, are intense Moslems. Mr. Benjamin de- "If so, we venture to suggest the clares, what l~ certainly not true of the need of a change. . .• The churches Bunnites, at least in most countries, generally would trust the decisions of that no Christian, however exalted his the men doing the work rather than rank, would dare to enter a mosque in those of brethren at home, however Persia if he valued his life. wise and experienced.

ENGLISH NOTES

-" Fear of death," says Dr. KROPF, arms, reaching down to cover the feet: .. encompasses the Caifres their whole they hold them up as they walk. The life long. They cannot endure to hear bishop preached, the archdeacon inter- a word about dying, and run away if preting for him.

anyone speaks of it, or else hide their " Another day we paid a visit to the faces and tremble; even the sight of Namasole, or queen·mother. She is a gray hair inspires them with the fear regular heathen princess, with a grim, of death. This explains Cetewayo's hard face, that made one quite believe embassy to Queen Victoria, to solicit a her capable of all the many acts of remedy against the hair's turning cruelty which they say she has com- gray. "-ZeitBchrijt f'lllr Mi88io1Ulkunde. mitted. She sat in state on an em- broidered Indian rug spread on the -Miss Fineley, writing in the Ohurch ground. holding a large knife in her Missionary Gleaner from Ugands, says: hand, made of copper and brass mixecl, " On Sunday. October 6th, we went to and was most autocratic in the way in our first service in the big church at which she ordered us to stand up and Mengo. What a wonderful church it sit down, that she might get every pos- is I Its size is immense, and all built sible view of us. One could not help of reeds in the same way as our house. contrasting her with the Christian wom- There are over 200 trees in it as pillars en here; the v.ifference is most marked."

to support the roof. When you think that each of those trees took 100 men to drag it up the hill, you get some English Notes. idea of the labor expended on it. It reminds one of the old pictures of the BY JAMES DOUGLAS.

building of Nineveh. Then look at Presbyterian Mi86io1Ul.-So far as can the rows and rows of beams in the roof, be judged at present, the election by which are not beams at all, but bundles the Free Church of Scotland of Dr. Mil- of reeds and grass bound round and ler, of Madras, to be its moderator for round closely together, making a firm the present year has tended to the clear- support, not so heavy as a beam, which ing away of misunderstanding and the the walls could not bear the weight of. increase of the missionary sentiment.

This church is always full. but this It has been felt that uniformity of meth- Sunday it was packed. I shall never od need not be striven for, and that as forget the impression when we went in. there is .. a diversity of administration, It brought tears into one's eyes, the but the same Lord," so there may be a immense sea of black faces and the concurrency of method without same- quiet, reverent behavior. The men sat ness. Such, in effect, seems to be the on one side, the women on the other. summing up of the able editor of the They say there were quite 7000 present Ohurch Missionary Intelligencer. He in the church and in the veranda of the observes: "With Dr. Miller's chief church, where they hear as well as in guiding principle, that educational the church itself. We sat on the work in India is part of God's prepara- women's side. How nice they all tion, long and slow preparation, we looked in their bark cloths; no odd, have no quarrel at all. It embodies a gay colors, as you see at the coast, but grand and indisputable truth. Only wherever the eye turned this universal there is another truth alongside it which terra-cotta color. There is a great va- ought never to be forgotten, but upon riety in the shades of them, the darker which Dr. Miller" (tho we are sure ones being the best and most expensive, he holds it) " has not always laid equal and the cloth itself is always darker on stress; and this is that a Christian edu- one side than the other. They were cationist is also to seek the immediate worn very elegantly, round under the conversion of individual souls."

GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE

Exeter Nall.-The annual missionary band and his relations determined to meeting of the two London presbyteries break her of her Christianity, even if was one of the best ever held. Lord they should kill her. For four years Overtoun presided. Mr. Maclagan, of she never saw a Christian's face, and Swatow, in the course of a speech of for twelve years that poor woman held great interest, observed that" of all the on. During all that time she never for- work carried on under foreign super- got to pray that some day God would vision there was none more fruitful in send a preacher of the Gospel to that the number of converts than the work place. These heathen relations did of the medical missionaries." Mr. Mac- everything in their power to break her lagan spoke hopefully of the native spirit, but she held fast. or, rather, Christians and of the way .he native Jesus Christ stood by her and held her Church was maturing. The congrega- up. One day she felt unusually sore at tion of Yam-tsau was instanced as a heart, and began to wonder how long good example of the methods of work she could hold up. She knelt down in of the native church. There the Gos- her room with her Testament before pel was first preached by a good mis- her, and in her own words she said: sionary of the London Missionary So- , Lord Jesus, my heart is so sore, and I ciety-Mr. Stronach-who, after sowing am all alone, and there is nobody to say the seed and gaining a few natives, was one word of comfort to me. Won't obliged to leave the district. Years you speak one word out of this book to after Mr. Stronach revisited Yam-tsau, comfort my sad heart?' She opened and on seeing what had been done, the book, and the words she read were said, "I had to run away and leave -what? • Peace I leave with you.

you, but God didn't leave you." There My peace I give unto you. Let not was now at that place a congregation your heart be troubled, neither let it be of 100 members, with elders and dea- afraid. ' Her face shone as she told me cons, all of whom were sons of men that it seemed as if the Lord Jesus baptized by the first missionary. Christ was standing beside her, and she Miss Graham, of Chin-chew, next could see His face and hear His voice, spoke. Her address, which was full of saying these words straight into her incident, closed with the following heart. After that she didn't mind what touclling recital: "There was one they did to her. The Son of God came woman who came to the hospital very and stood beside her, as He did in weak and in great suffering, and yet the Nebuchadnezzar's furnace long ago.

peace of God was so stamped on her And the eame miracle was being re- face that she (Miss Graham) knew that peated in many a Chinese village to- she was a Christian before even she day."

spoke to her. Her story was a most touching one. Her blOther, years be- Ohurch _¥:issionary Society.-An ad- fore, had heard the Gospel and came mirable review of the C. M. S. in Hok- home to tell her of the love of Jesus, kaido, Japan, during the past twenty and he and she agreed together that years is supplied by the Rev. W. An- they would be His disciples. They had drews. There are now in that province, a copy of the New Testament and read church buildings, 11 ; schools, 4; hos.

it whenever they could. She was mar- pital, 1 ; native workers, 30; and con- ried not long after, at the age of sixteen, verts, Japanese and Ainu, 1100. Mr.

to a man whom she had never seen, and Andrews sets forth the lessons to be was taken away to a village where the learned from the past thus: 1. Do not people were utter strangers to her, and despise the day of small things. A she was the only Christian in the whole Christian here and another there, tho countrydde. She refused to take any their faith and light seem dull, is a cause part in heathen worship, and her hus- for thanksgiving. 2. Remember that everything must have a beginning; we marked by much fervor of spirit. Sevcannot leap to perfection at once; 3. eral new brethren and sisters have been Then, too, when we think of the pres- designated for the foreign field. The ent outlook here we must bear in mind work in Orissa. India, is especially that we are laboring for the future. being strengthened, the Rev. George Howells, of Regent's Park College, and Kuc7umg.-Dr. J. Rigg, writing con- the Rev. F. W. Jarry, of the Pastor's cerning this district in connection with College, being both appointed to that the recent massacre, says: "It is more sphere. The following are the terms and more impressed upon my mind that of the resolution passed, and which it was expedient that our sisters and claims sympathetic adoption: "That Mr. Stewart should die for the people this meeting calls upon the churches of and the whole nation be saved from the the denomination for more fervent horrors of a rebellion. . . . I can con- prayer, so that reinforcements may be ceive that our people, by their deaths, speedily sent forth in response to the may have saved China, and if so, THEY numerous and pathetic appeals recently KNOW IT. The heathen sentiment in received from the mission field; and that the Kucheng district is, ' You say Jesus such a personal spirit of consecration died for us, but we never saw Him, but to the great missionary enterprise may we have seen Mr. Stewart, and he died thereby be evoked as shall result in the for us; for certainly if he and the requisite resources." others had not been killed we need not have sown any seed this year, for Ohina Inland Misnon.-During 1895 the Vegetarians would not have allowed the number of converts baptized :was us to reap it." 844, which was an increase of 98 on the previous year. There has been also a Wesleyan Missionary Society.-The still larger number of candidates on notes published from the Lagos District probation for baptism as compared with oj Africa are of special interest. In Porto that year, as well as an increase in the Novo tbe work is hard enough to make number of new missionaries. the boldest quail. Still, tho the battle is an uphill one, Goel is giving the vic- THE KINGDOM. tory, for the flock has increased by 56 full members. In Klein Popo the fight -God be merciful unto us and bless seems to be still more accentuated ; and us, And cause His face to shine upon among the foes enumerated are dense us. That Thy way may be known heathenism, cunning Roman Catholi- upon earth, Thy saving health among cism, and sore trials from within. Not- all nations. Let the peoples praise withstanding all, there are new openings Thee, 0 God; Let all the peoples anel an extension of the work. In the praise Thee. Yoruba Interior there is only as yet a preparation tor the sowing. But the -Christ gives life to men, and then ljehn Remo mission is growing apace. says: " As the Father hath sent lIe, In the capital city the young men have even so serid I you." Every Christian erected a temporary house of worship is a missionary. He may have been themselves. Further at Ipern the nursed in the lap of Christendom and church's influence is making itself felt trained in a luxurious religious home, in the town; while in Ago, despite op- or he may have been born a pagan, and position, 60 names have been enrolled "suckled on a creed outworn." It as those who are desirous to know the matters not. If he has been born again, words of Eternal Life. and feels the throb of the Christ-life, he is a missionary sent by the living Christ Baptist Missionary Society. – The to touch dead souls to the newness of meetings held at Portsmouth were Ufe.-G. L. Mackay. -Consider the absolute and unques- 35,000,000: Turkey, 40,000,000; Japan, tioned religious liberty of the time in 40,000,000; and Spain, 27,000,000.

which we live, and in those countries -It has been calculated that missiongoverned by the English-speaking races, aries on the foreign field bring in three and then go back three hundred years, times as many converts as ministers at and endeavor to realize here in England home aided by Christian influence, the condition of John Robinson and his workers, and literature, while the offerlittle flock of religionists asking only to ings of native Christians in mission be allowed to worship God as their churches now amount to upward of needs of conscience and the hunger of $550,000. heart instructed them to pray; for con- science and reason were the underlying -The late Governor Russell was on moral factors then, as now, and from one occasion called to give an address them is slowly evolving all social and on " Practical Success" to a high-school political progress. at the root of which class, and what he had to say was lies the recognition of individual free- summed up in this weighty suggestion: dom and the" equal right of everyman •• Remember that there is one thing bet- to be unhindered by men in the fulfil- ter than making a living-making a ment of his duty to God."-Ex-&cre- life."

tarll Ballard. -Of the Rev. William C. Burns, the -At the annual meeting of the Con- first English Presbyterian missionary to ference of Missionary Associations, held China, it has been said that his life was in London, the Rev. C. E. Brooke ex- far more powerful as an influence than pressed a wish that the word" foreign" as an agency. He was distinctly a should be abolished in connection with sower of the seed which others have missIonary work, and that the whole reaped.

work of the Church, whether at home -A wealthy banker in Hangchow or abroad, should be regarded as mis- offered to give all the money needed for sionary. a good work. The people would not let -Christian England laughed when him. "If lIou give all the 'I1Wneg, lIou Sydney Smith sneered at the" consecrated cobbler" going out on a fool's will have all the blessing." they said. errand to convert the heathen. But Carey was visited on his death-bed by -A missionary at home on furlough the Bishop of India, the head of the Church of England in that land, who writes in the Methodist Review of Mubowed his head and invoked the blessing of the dying missionary. The Brit· llions: .. I have been sorry to find some ish authorities had denied to Carey a preachers who have no missionary books landing-place on his first arrival in Ben- later than the Acts of the Apostles in gal; but when he died, the Government their libraries. But we need to read as dropped all its flags to half-mast, in well the new Acts of the Apostles. We honor of a man who had done more for need to know how God has been, through India than any of her generals. His Holy Spirit and through His ser- vants, working miracles in later days as wonderful as any that are recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. We need to know of the open doors that lead to Christless nations; of the highways -Two thirds of the population of the which He has made for His messengers ; globe is under the sway of five rUlers, of the strength which He has given to and this fact greatly simplifies the prob- them in times of need; of the souls that lem of missions. The Emperor of Chi- have been called out of darkness into na governs 400,000,000; Queen Vic- the light and liberty of children of God ; toria, 380,000,000; the Czar, 115,000,- and we need to know and hear of the 000; France, 70,000,000; Germany, ten hundred millions of people who are yet in darkness-that is, the shadow of -Miss Willard said in a recent addeath-and waiting for Christ to come dress: "Twenty-th,ree years ago the in the person of His own with a mes- strains sounded by the temperance sage of light and of love." movement were liS the soft tones of the violin, while the soprano notes of the -Information gathered from the lead- women voiced their heartfelt sympaing officials of 45 railroads, employing thies; but the grand orchestra has been 200,000 men, shows that without excep- augmented by the cornet of science, the tion the companies regard habitual trombones of legislation, and the drum drinking as hurtful to the efficiency of of politics, while the great chorus of the service, and that they forbid the use mighty voices is one of the inspirations of intoxicants to employees while on and aspirations, and to-day the wave of duty. Fourteen of the roads require public sentiment is created with reforms total abstinence from intoxicants for all along the lines of temperance and mumen connected with train service. nicipal betterment."

-" I have a great sorrow," said an -The Ladies' Association of the Engintelligent preacher. "I know the lish Baptist Missionary Society for Ze- Lord Jesus Christ was a white man; nana Work reports" that SUbscriptions yet I could not pray to Him and love and donations reached a higher figure Him as I do if I did not picture him as than in any previous year." The total black and with wool like myself."- amount at the disposal of the society Olive Schreiner. during 1895 was $60,000.

WOMAN'S WORK. -The fifty. eighth annual report of the Church of Scotland Women's Asso- -The World's Women's Christian ciation for Foreign Missions has been Temperance Union is sending forth its issued, and the record is one of steady seventh round-the-world missionary in progress. An opening has been made the person of Miss Clara Parrish. The in Chamba, India, new work has been six who have already gone from this started at Kurseong, a town about thirty country into foreign lands carrying the miles from Darjeeling, and the boardwhite ribbon are well known. The ing-school for Christian Nepali girls at first was Mary C. Leavitt, who spent Darjeeling is proving an interesting eight years in introducing the work into addition to the mission work there. At Europe, Asia, Afr,ica, and Australia. Calcutta and Poona the work among )'[iss Jessie Ackerman followed her, and the girls has been blessed, and interestremained about two years in Australia ing details of baptisms at both these as president of the Union. Her last stations are given. The number of chilvisit as world's missionary was to Ice- dren in the schools in India is about land. Dr. Kate Bushnell and Mrs. 3000, and to these are to be added the Elizabeth W. Andrew went together, children at Blantyre and Domasi in Britand their work in suppressing impu- ish Central Africa, and at Ichang, Chirity in the cantonments of India has al- na. The total income at home and ready been sounded around the globe. abroad was £10,114, and the accounts Next, Alice Freeman Palmer went to balanced on the right side. Africa and spent the greater part of three years in building up the work. -The North Indian Medical School Then Mary Allen West went to Japan, for Christian Women, opened in Octoand was greeted by the homage of well- ber, 1894, for the purpose of training nigh the whole nation. Tho she laid Christian women as medical missionadown her life, the white ribbon work in ries and assistants, shows signs of rapid Japan remains as her last and, in one development. Beginning with only 6 sense, highest memoriaL students in 1894 the number now is 21. This is the only Christian medical school hut $12,500 annually for this work, for womell in North India, and perhaps which equips some 70 students, and it in the whole of India, and some of the is really foreign missionary work on students come from far distances, as far home missionary ground. The college as Calcutta, Central India, and the has a property worth about $35,000 and northwest frontier. All have medical a weekly organ, Le Oitoyen Franco- zenana work in view. Plans and esti- Allwricain, printed in French and Eng- mates have been prepared for a suitable lish, the type for which is set by the stu· building as a wing to the medical dents.

school. The buildings are designed so -The Norwegians are to build a that they may at present be used as a portable church, 40 X 60 feet, in Minhospital to supply the 80 beds reqllired, neapolis and ship it to Madagascar, and eventually. as the school grows, where they are conducting a mission. may give additional dormitories and '1'he old Vikings sent their ships into all lecture-rooms for the students. seas for plunder, but these go for phi- lanthropy.

UNITED STATES. -No one of our missionary societies has suffered more from the hard times -Mr. John D. Rockefeller has given than the Baptist Missionary Union, 276 acres of land, valued at $600,000, which never until lately has had a debt to the city of Cleveland for park pur- of $70,000. Yet a debt of $208,000 was poses. It will be named for him.

-According to the Independent. the incurred two years ago; then the ex- gifts to the starving Armenians are penditures were cut down by the amount some $400,000 from America and $800,- of $109,000, and still further the next 000 from Great Britain. year; and yet the debt has been reo -A report of the Tuskegee Institute, duced only to $16!J,000, and a further Ala., for colored boys and girls, says: reduction of $30,000 is proposed. Mis- .. There are 875 boys and 375 girls in sionaries cannot be sent out, and those the school at an average of eighteen on furlough in this country cannot be and one-half years, none under four. returned.

teen. A boy in the cotton field earns -A new missionary has been sent out 40 cents a day. He graduates from under the auspices of the Americau the school and earns at his trade, or as a Board. '1 his would not be a startling school teacher, $1.50 a day, a gain of announcement in ordinary years, when $1.10 a day, or for a year, say 300 work- from 30 to 50 recruits are sent annually ing days, $330. A girl in the cotton to the front. But, in view of the fact field earns 25 cents a day. When she that it is ten months since one has gone, graduates from the school she can earn the news becomes extraordinary inat sewing $1 a day, a gain of 75 cents a deed. It gives a more vivid idea, too, day over the cotton field, or for one year of how the hard times are affecting our of 300 working days. $225. A gain for beloved foreign missionary society.

the 750 boys and girls in one year of Nor would this modest reenforcement $208,125, or in twenty years more than have been possible unless special provi· $4,000,000. sian had been made.':" Oongregationali8t.

-There are 1,500,000 of French- -In the midst of such general finanspeaking people in the United Stat,es, a cial distress the Alllerican Board is able third of them French Canadians in New to sound one note of joy and thanksgiv- England, and the French·American ing over the receipt of a legacy of $55,- college at Springfield, Mass., aims to 000 from the estate of Mrs. C. L. A. evangelize, enlighten, and Americanize Tank, of Fort Howard, Wis. Of this this New England contingent. It costs sum, $35,000 are for the present needs and endowment of North China Col- can Board missionaries employ about lege, one of t,he most important and 25, and Methodist missions (North) most needy institutions; $5000 are for about the same. the Tank Chapel and Bridgman School at Peking ; $5000 for the Williams Hos- -The Cumberland Presbyterian pital at Pang-chuang; $2500 for the Church is planning to open a mission International Institute for Girls, and in China, having received the pledge of $500 for Euphrates College. The re- $1000 to take a medical student through maining $4500 are to be devoted to gen- a post·graduate course, and enough eral work in papal lands, Mexico and more to pay his first year's salary. the city of Prague being particularly mentioned. -The Salvation Army is about to in· troduce a novel plan in New York. It -At the annual convention of the will send out ambulances at night in Christian Alliance, held at Old Orchard certain districts of the city to pick up Beach, Me., the total offering is report- men who have imbibed too freely. ed as $101,500, of which about one third They will be taken to an army shelter to was in cash, the remainder being jewels sober up. The work is to be conductand every conceivable gift. ed by a branch of the Army called the League of Love.

-The Southern Baptist' Convention EUROPE. sustains missions in Africa, China, Japan, Italy, Mexico, and Brazil, and Great Britain.-A "heathen" vilreports, missionaries, 86; native help· lage has been found in England, with· ers, 110 ; churches, 98 ; members, 3801 ; in a hundred miles of London. It baptisms, 735; contributions from the has about 200 inhabitants. There is field, $5553. a fine old Episcopal church, but the vicar is away for his health; there is -The Missionary Society of the Meth- also a Congregat,ional chapel, but it is odist Episcopal Church is heavily in ar- closed. There is not a Sunday-school rears. While the American Board in the place, and, according to an old started its financial year with a debt of woman, " We're like a lot 0' heathens $115,000, and the Presbyterian Board of here; an' if a boy like that" (pointing Foreign Missions with one of $154,000, to one about ten years of age) .. goo to the debt of the Methodist Board was church, he git a cuff 0' th' hid and sent $220,000. The American Board, by a awaay. He hev' a been. "–Independent. special effort, has cleared off its debt, and the Presbyterian Board has reduced -The youngest son of the Bishop of its debt to about $46,000. The Meth- Durham is giving himself, it is saili, to odist Society feIt that something special the mission field. Three others are almust be d()lle to relieve their financial ready Indian missionaries, and the stress, and appointed Sunday, July fourth will go to Delhi. 26th, as a special debt·paying day, when each church in the denomina- -The annual report of the English tion was to take up a collection. There Baptist Foreign Missionary Society is are more than 12,000 churches in the unusually encouraging. The debt of Methodist Episcopal body. Of these $113,000 with which the year comup to August 9th, 2488, about one fifth, menced is extinguished. The total reported an aggregate sum of $2R,OOO. gross receipts have been $375,000- The others apparently took no notice of "the largest income the society had the day.-Independent. ever received, excluding the Centenary Fund." In addition, a debt of $1800 -Thirty-three different languages and on the Widows' and Orphans' Fund dialects are learned by missionaries of has been turned into a balance in hand the Presbyterian Church; the Ameriof $1200. Sixteen new missionaries of £2500. The Society's Board of Exhave been sent ont during the year. aminers have accepted 15 clergymen Mr. Baynes, the general secretary, re- and 19 laymen for work abroad. The cently presented to Ki~g Leopold, of number of ordained missionaries on the Belgium, a copy of Mr. Holman Bent- society's list includes 11 bishops and ley's" Appendix to the Kongo Gram- 550 clergymen lauoring in Asia, Africa, mar and Vocabulary," which that mis- Australasia, and Amedca ; including 40 sionary had just completed. His Majes- holding chaplaincies in Europe, and 179 ty subsequently expressed his apprecia- natives of Asia and Africa. Thel'e are tion of the valuable services rendered also some 2900 lay teachers and 3200 by Mr. Bentley to the Kongo Free State. students in the colleges. The work of The secretary also received from the the S. P. G. covers 55 dioceses, and is king for the Rev. George Grenfell, an- carried on in 54 languages and dialects. other missionary, the patent of his appointment as a chevalier knight of the -The total number of Irish Pres- Order of the Golden Lion, and the in- byterian missionaries serving in Insignia of the Order set in brilliants, in dia and China were 21 in 1885; in recognition of the valuable services ren- 1896 they are 42, and it is expected dered by Mr. Grenfell in connection that before the year closes they will with the delimitation of the sputhern have increased to 50. The Female Assofrontier of the Kongo kingdom. ciation has been making great efforts to keep as many laborers in the field in -The InteZUgencer (Church Mission- India as the foreign mission of the ary Society) states that" the plan of a Church. They have almost succeeded. particular parish, or missionary union, Their agents have doubled in the ten or family, or individual, supporting an years, and now stand at 14. 'own missionary' in addition to the general contributions to the evangeliza· -The death, in the beginning of tion of the world, is extending beyond June, of the Rev. Daniel Edward reanticipation. Out of a total of 730 mis- moved from his earthly labors one of sionaries on the books (not including the first missionary band sent to the wives) no less than 249 now do not draw Jews by the Church of Scotland-the their personal allowance from the gen- undivided Church in 1841. From 1841eral fund. Of these, 67 are honorary, 95 he labored. first at Jassy, then at 23 are supported by the colonial asso- Lemberg, and finally for forty.four ciations, 40 by parishes or local associa- years at Breslau, having cast in his lot tions, 28 by the Gleaners' Union and its with the Free Church in 1843. He was branches, 31 by other bodies, and 60 by the means of bringing many Jews to private individuals. Out of 80 new the knowledge of Christ. Among his missionaries who are, God willing, sail- first converts was Israel Pick, whose ing for the mission field this year, no meteor-like career attracted so much at· less than 55 up to July 14th had been tention till he disappeared in 1859. His specially provided for, including 5 from latest notable convert was Hermann Australia. Adding 6 who are honorary, Warszawiak, now carrying on work this leaves only 25 not yet taken up on among the Jews of New York. that date." -The Established Church of Scot- -The report of the S. P. G. for 1895 land reports that the European mission announces that its receipts amounted to staff consisted at the close of 1895 of 20 £118,258, of which £81,333 came from ordained missionaries (1 of whom was subscriptions. £11,609 from legacies, also medical), 4 medical missionaries, 7 and £15,648 was contributed to special lay teachers and evangelists (including funds. Compared with last year, the 2 Jady missionaries), 2 engineers, and 1 voluntary offerings show an increase industrial missionary-in all 34, and 21 wives of missionaries, making together – Eva.ngelical Gliiristendom supplies 55 Europeans_ There are upward of some notes of the annual meetings of 300 Christian nati ves in the service of the Protestant societies of France.

the mission, of whom 6 are ministers, 2 The Societe Gentrale d'Evangelisation licentiates, and the rest evangelists, supports 140 agents, has 300 places of teachers, doctors, and assistants in worship, and visits 195 localities. It humbler capacities. The baptisms num- records the conversion of 387 Catholics, bered 968 last year, of which 538 were and the opening of four new stations in the Panjab, 262 in the Eastern Hima· during the year. The Mission Interieure layas, 54 in Calcutta, Madras, and Ar- bas been at work for a quarter of a cen- conam, 84 in Africa, and 30 in China. tury. It conducts evangelistic meet- The Income from all sources was £28,- ings in different districts, leaving to the 328. Deducting £6700 received for care of the nearest churches those gath- school fees and government grants in ered in.

India, and spent there, and £6037 con- -The organization of a German tflbuted to special purposes and so ap- league against the rum traffic in theplied, there remained a net revenue to German colonies is now practically an meet the ordinary needs of the mission accomplished fact. At the annual meetof £15,590. The gross expenditure was ing of the Evangelical African League, £25,732. in Berlin, which the Governor of Kam- -The Scottish Free Church entered erun and the chief of the Colonial De- on the year 1896-97 with 157 missiona- partment bonored with their presence, ries (besides 21 industrial masters, mak- an organizing committee was elected.

ing 178 in all), sent out to 49 central It includes Dr. Christ, of Basel: In- stations in India. South Arabia, Africa, spector Dr. Merensky, of Berlin; Pas- New Hebrides, Syria, Constantinople, tor G. Muller, amI Dr. Zahn. botb of and Budapest. The statistical sum- Bremen. Four experienced deacons mary of results in 1895 showed: Adults and deaconnesses and the material des- baptized. 892, and admitted on profes- tined for the settlement of liberated sion, 267-1159; children baptized, slaves just founded by the league are 1114; candidates for baptism or full on the way to their destination in Usam- communion. 3964 ; students, 2045 ; and bara. A medical missionary will fol- scholars in 6 colleges and 418 schools at low them as soon as his preparations are close of year, 27,922; native Christian completed.

contributions, £2476 : native fees, £20,- ASIA. 927; native communicants, 9017. Rev- enue in Scotland, £66,533 ; and abroad, Islam.-The annual catalog of Rob- £41,638; Women's Society'S income, ert College, Constantinople, bears all £14,102. An anonymous donor has re- the more interesting. because unintencently given £1000 each to the home and tional witness to the benefit reaped the foreign work, and £500 each to the by the Turkish Government from a Jewish mission and the deaconess hos- missionary institution of this character, pital. and hence the value of missions in gen- The Continent.-The Paris Mission- eral. A list is given of all graduates, ary Society, regarding a missionary with their various avocations since ship as absolutely necessary for its graduating, so far as could be ascer- missions in, Tahiti, has opened a sub- tained. Omitting those of the last eight scription to obtain one. The collection years, as too recently graduated for for the ship, however, is to be kept en- their careers to be significant, we find tirely separate from the general funds that of 232 graduates between 1868 !lond of the society, which are not to suffer 1888. 84. or more than one third, have any decrease for that purpose. served the State in cabinet, diplomatic, civil. military, or judicial departments; -The report of the Persia and Bag- 59 (including several of the former dad Mission of the Ohurch Missionary class) are or have been teachers; 16 are Society shows cause for thankfulness physicians, some of them having studied that, amid the disheartening influences medicine in this country.-Evangelist. of the past year, they have been able to -Baron Rothschild is establishing an- carryon their work with encourageother Jewish colony in Palestine-in ment, and but little interruption, The Galilee, not far from Damascus. The headquarters of the mission, which bedistrict selected covers 3000 acres, and gan in the labors of Dr. Bruce in the is watered by numerous springs, which great famine of 1871-72, are at Julfa, practically form one of the sources of the old Armenian suburb of Ispahan. the Jordan. It appears that the Jewish The relief which Dr. Bruce was able to colonists already in Palestine are prose- give to the destitute, and the su,pport cuting agriculture with gratifying sue· and education of the orphan children cess. The red and white wines they thrown on his care, resulted in the forare now bringing into the market are mation of an Armenian Christian consaid to be quite equal to the wines of gregation in Julfa, with a band of well· Europe. instructed workers helping greatly in the evangelization of the Mohammedan -Dr. Sarkis M. Hagopian, an exiled population.

Armenian, has received good news from India.-In 1881 there were about his home in Aintab. All the Protestant 180,000 lIohammednn pupils in the and Gregorian Christians there who schools and colleges of India; in 1895 have been in prison since last Novem- there were 490,000. Yet this rate does ber have been released, as the Turkish not begin to compare with the progress Government could find no charges of the Hindus in education. against them after severe and rigorous examinations. Among the prisoners -A missionary writes : "Every Bud- was the native pastor of the Second dhist school is itself a pleasure to me.

Congregational Church in Aintab, phy- • Let them go on,' said Bishop Cople- sicians of wealthy families, who were ston to me one day; • either they must educated in America, and other promi- teach that the world is round, and then nent citizens. they are bad Buddhists, or that the world is fiat, and then they lose their -A recent writer in an English re- Government grant I' And every Gov· view says that Persia will remain under ernment school is in a sense a centre of Mozaffer-ed-din, as it was under the gov- _light. In one, a Christian teacher has ernment of the late Shah, a nation of allowed my catechist to speak to the highly civilized barbarians, ruled by a schoolboys after school hours, and disbenignant despot. The late Shah was tribute tracts." no idle or vicious despot; he did not smoke, and his diet was of the simplest, -A work of considerable interest to and he was a merciful king. It was he Indian Christians will shortly be brought who did away with the hateful custom out by the Christian Literature Society.

of the Shah presiding in person at exe- It will consist of sketches of the lives cutions. The long struggle that took of more than 40 Indian Ohristians be- place between the late king and an arro- longing to the different provinces. The gant priesthood lasted for many years, following are some of the persons and the Shah succeeded in shaking him- sketehed: Bombay-Rev. Hari Ram- self free of the mollahs, and in reducing chandra Khisti, Rev. Vishnu Bhasker their claims upon the public purse. Karmarkar, Rev. Dr. Seshadri, Mr.

Persia is no longer a priest· ridden Baba Padmanji, Pundita Ramabai.

country.-Church at Home and Abroad. Northern India-Dr. Imam·ud-din, Rev. Jani Ali, Rev. Nehemiah Goreh, suIts of his mission work in China.

Professor Ramchandra. Mad1·as-Rev. During his missionary life he baptized N. Devadasen, Rev. P. Rajahgopllul, 940 adult persons, 46 of whom were be- Mrs. Tabitha Bauboo, Rev. W. T. Sat- tween the ages of fifty and sixty ; 38 thianadhan, Mrs. Anna Satthianadhan, between the ages of sixty and seventy; Krupabari Satthianadhan, Rev. lIf. Rat- 25 between the ages of seventy and namgaru, Rev. Jacob Rama Varma, eighty, and 2 were over eighty years of Rev. Hermann Anandarao Kanudinya. age. Intelligent advocacy of mission Ben.qal-Rev. Dr. Krishna Mohan Ban- schools does not depreciate the impor- erjee, Mr. Ramchandra Bose, M.A., tance of direct preaching of the Gospel, Rev. Mathura Nath Bose, B.A., ,B.L. but cooperates with it just as Sabbath· Portraits of some are also given. This schools do at home.-Ohurch at Home is the first attempt to bring together in and Abroad.

a permanent form the lives of some of -Notwithstanding the troubles in the prominent Indian Christians.- Fuh-kien, over 500 converts were bap- Christian Patriot. tized by the C. M. S. in that province last year. -All girls in India are very fond of pretty and bright-colored dresses. The -" I am persuaded," writes Archdress is simply live yards of muslin. deacon Wolle, "that missionaries and When only three of four years old a lit- foreigners generally can live with greattle girl begins to learn how to wind it er safety than eVer before in the integracefully around the body and over rior of this country. • .• Foo-chow is the shoulder. When she goes into the being moved as it has never been bestreet she slips one end over the head as fore. Our churches und preaching-halls It veil. 11 little short-sleeved jacket is are filled with eager listeners and inthe only other garment she wears. This quirers… , It is the same in many is a very cool and comfortable costume parts of the country. . .. In places for the hot climate. Every family has where for years everything seemed dead a jewel-box full of little" cubby.hoies" and hopeless, hundreds are coming to for each ornament. This is often buried the churches. People are throwing in the mud floor of the woman's inner away their idols, and hundreds of copies apartment. If you want to Bee their of the whole Bible have been purchased jewelry you must make an appointment by the gentry and literary classes… beforehand, so that they can dig it up.

Once in eight days the girls and women _H Never was our work soencouragwash and comb and oil their hair, and lng and so pressing as now," writes have it nicely braided. They also take Mr. Hartwell, of the American Board, off and brighten the jewelry at this in the same district. "The openings time. They would rather starve than in many parts of our .field are such as give up their jewclry, they are so fond we have never seen before." From of it. The poorest people make theirs Shao-wu reports come of a great moveof tin, brass, lead and glass, sealing- ment, and that a number of villages wax and shells.-Over Sea and Land. have professed Christianity.

China.-The argument in behalf of -A conference was recently held in schools, which depreciates the import- Shansi,in which native Christians shared ance of direct preaching of the Gospel, who represented churches gathered by and contends that the only hope of mis- several missionary societies. It was a sions lies in the edncation of children time of peculiar privilege, but one of and not in the vain attempt to secure the missionaries made note as follows: the conversion of adults, finds a strong "One of our greatest difficulties was refutation in the memoranda which the well illustrated. Unless they came from quite the same district, hardly late J. A. Leyenbergel' made of the reany two of the Chinese spoke the same in Japan, and no one knows what dialect. Consonants were interchanged changes the next year or decade may promiscuously, vowels differently pro· bring. Perhaps there will be a revolu- nounced, different sets of phrases used, tion of a non-political character. Per- while nearly every speaker had a broad haps we shall live to see that, in the and thick utterance that made you sus· midst of wars and rumors of wars, the pect that his mouth had been made on Prince of Peace will establish His king- a wrong plan, and that tongue and dom in Japan.-Evangelisches Missions teeth were loose and had got hopelessly Magazin.

jumbled together. I do not think any -There are said to be 11 Japanese one missionary understood all the evangelists laboring among 10,000 of speakers. " their countrymen who are engaged on the sugar plantations of the Hawaiian -The Rev. E. B. Inslee was the Islands. pioneer of the Southern Presbyterian Ohurch in China, and began to preach -A Japanese gentleman, who was in Hangchow, the southern terminus of converted to Christianity in Japan the Grand Canal. There are now 9 mis- through the efforts of an enthusiastic sion stations. Hangchow and Tsing. missionary, has had his religious con- King-pu, at the north end of the line on victions sadly shattered since coming to the canal, are 360 miles apart. this country. Because the missionary -The German Mission of the Roman who accomplished his conversion wore Catholic Church was started some six a silk hat, the Oriental supposed that II years ago in southwestern Shantung, silk hat was always an adjunct to Chris· in the midst of the Presbyterian sta- tianity. When the steamer which tions. The German Bishop Anser man- brought him to America reached San aged to carry his point of putting him- Francisco, it was boarded by a man in self and his work under the protection a silk hat who swore continuously in a of the German Government rather than shocking style. Such language from a continue, as the other missions are, man who was certainly a Christian (for under the French protectorate. When he wore a silk hat) upset the convert's this was decided, the German Govern- belief, and he shortly lapsed into agnos- ment, for the sake of prestige, zealous- ticism.

ly pushed forward all the schemes of -Rev. H. Loomis writes in The Obller Catholic representative. Bishop server that " one of the most unfortu- Anser was nrst received as a consul, nate things for Buddhism that could and later on, through the recommenda- have happened in Japan has been the tion of the German Minister, he was conduct of Viscount Miura, who is a given mandarin rank of the fourth special ,representative of that form of grade, and has succeeded in raising religious belief. His appointment as funds and securing assistants, until now minister to Korea was evidently made there are some 30 German priests. only as a temporary affair, and to satis- ]apan.-Christian influence in Japan fy the great multitude of the Japanese is increasing, and one proof of it is that who are still firm adherents to that sys- a comparatively large number of Chris- tem of faith. Owing to their numerical tians belong to the upper classes. One strength, the government felt obliged to minister, two deputy-ministers, the make some concession to their clamor chief judge of the Supreme Court of for official position and patronage.

Justice, the president, and many mem- That Viscount Miura should plot to bers of the House of Deputies are Chris- murder the Korean queen, and then be tians, and many other men of conse· so unconscious of the heinousness of quence are favorable to Christianity. his crime as to think that it was possi.

There is a great deal of unrest just now ble to condone it, was something that the men who had given him the office came the news of the outbreak of the had not dreamed of." plague in the lake region and on the plateau of the great Masai tribe, and AFRICA. among the herds of Somaliland further.

-A writer from Africa, alluding to north; and for the past few months the the African's fondness for music, says: scourge has been advancing toward the " Nothing is done here without a song. borders of South Africa, The ravages Your boatman sings all day long, keep- have now extended from the upper ing time with his paddles, the woman Niger to the Indian Ocean, and from beating rice beats in time to her voice; the desert of Sahara on the north to your carriers sing to their tread, and the 11atabeleland on the south. The late farmer to his hoe. Joy, grief, pain·-all revolt of the Matabeles is attributed in are shown in spontaneous song. Their part to the loss of their cattle, on which songs are always extempore, and adapt- they depended for subsistence.

ed to present circumstances. The ordi- -Bangala is the finest station of the nary method is for one person to sing a Kongo State on the Upper River. All bar and the whole company to join in a the buildings, even those reserved for responsive chorus, consisting generally the blacks, are made of brick. They of a single syllable, suited in sound and have a wide veranda and are separated meaning to the sentiment. Current by flower gardens, where even the neWevents are described often with great ly imported lilac greets the eye of the accuracy, and they frequently ridicule European traveler. The plantations inthe manners of some king or praise the clude 30 hectares of rice fields, and over virtue of another, acting out the char- 30,000 coffee and cocoa trees. The acter to perfection. " military and missionary colony has al- -North Ajriea says, with reference ready 8 brick houses and 3 brick kilns, to the serious epidemic of cholera pre- each of which contained over 15,000 vailing in Egypt: "Thanks to the en- bricks of snperior quality. The pupils ergy of the sanitary officials, Alexandria number 600, all from the Ubanghi and and Cairo are now comparatively free; Welle River. Some can read and write.

but in the country towns aqd villages -The late Father De Deken gives the more than 6000 persons died in three following account of the arrival at Leoweeks." poldville of 100 pupils from the Bangala colony: "Lieutenant Freitag brings -The Basel Mission on the Gold me about 100 young men formed as our Coast has lost no less than 13 of its mis- colony of Nouvelle-Anvers (New Antsionaries-l0 men and 3 women-dur- werp), and who are going to Boma, ing the past year.

-In consequence of the rapidly in- there to complete their military and re- creasing traffic in spirits in the Yoruba ligious education. As they are passed country, a petition on the subject hus in review by the State Inspector they been drawn up and signed by over 8000 sing' Brabansconne ' with enthusiasm; natives of Abeokuta, while another sim- their obedience is punctual, their piety ilar petition bears 3800 more signatures touching. More than one European from Lagos and the neighborhood. felt the tears come to his eyes when -A fearful epidemic among cattle is they sang their hymns and recited their sweeping over tropical Africa. It was prayers with uplifted arms."-Ibid.

first discovered several years ago by -The German imports into the Trans- the French explorer, Mantei!, who wrote vaal have steadily increased since 1891.

from Kano, in the Sudan, that not one In 1891 aud 1892 they amounted to head of cattle in a thousand had escaped 1,300,000 marks; in 1893, to 3,200,000 jor 500 miles ~lon<g l.J.j~ Ioute. Soon mar~!l i i~ t&94, to nearly 6,000,000 marks; in 1895, to about 7,000,000 twenty years old, and in its earlier years marks. passed through hottest fires of persecu- tion. Last year the number of converts -Mr. Goodenough writes most hope- received was 2921. fully of the present condition of the new church at Johannesburg. It will -The African Tidings publishes a be remembered that a chapel was built letter from a missionary describing a over two years since, and that during mission school at Likoma, which says: the first year a debt of $500 was paid, " The African does not take kindly to besides meeting the current expenses. figures, but our little girls can do fairly On April 1st, 1895, there was a balance long addition and simple multiplication in the treamry of $85. For the year sums. as well as the exercise we digending April 1st, 1896, the receipts of nify by the name of 'mental arithmethe church were a little less than $1200, tic. ' In this latter fingers are brought and came within about $70 of meeting into play, anu, what will amuse you all expenditures. The latter included more-toes I Quite unencumbered by the salary of the nati ve preacher and a shoes, they prove most convenient, and house for him, together with the cost of when a pupil's own set gives out, she a class-room and some furniture for the may be spied eagerly borrowing the chapel. This is a remarkable showing toes of her immediate neighbors to finfor a church composed of Zulus, gath- ish the calculation with! We treat ered so recently in a new place. Mr_ Class 1. to nice copy-books, sent out Goodenough writes of a plan for estab- from England, and they all learn to lishing another station eight miles from write remarkably fast, and in many Johannesburg, at an important railway cases exceedingly well-faster far than and mining center, where already a lit- many English children. So far 'J tle chapel has been secured.-Mi8sion- pens' are not fashionable, but each (],1'y Herald. child has a pen-wiper of her own, which is in constant use; at first, it -The British House of Commons must be owned, somewhat to her teach- er's horror. Tbe pen-wiper is her own voted £3,000,000, by 255 votes against woolly little head, into which the pen is plunged every few minutes, and f75r~tmowthaerdpothrte construction of a railway rubbed vigorously. I now look upon of Mombasa, in the Ind- it as a kind provision of nature, and offer no expostulations. If ink gets ian Ocean near Zanzibar, to the Victoria spilt on the table it is wiped off with their own hands, no one being a penny Nyanza, passing through the protec- the wiser; another advantage of a shiny black skin, which, by the way, torate of Zanzibar, British East Africa, I am getting to admire more than a white one. The little ones and newand Uganda. It is expected that 100 comers write on slates, which they use cuddled UD in their arms, quite disdainmiles will be laid before next April, tho ing the use of a table. . .. Their edu- cation does not go far beyond the' three the railway is to follow the substantial R's,' for they seldom stay at school be- yond the age of thirteen or fourteen, pattern of existing lines in India and when we suddenly look round and find that our little girls of last year have Egypt. It is estimated that the car- shot up into marriageable young wom- en, and off they go to keep house for riage of 3500 tons of freight in three themsel ves."

trains each way per week will pay the working expenses. At present the gov- ernment pays £37,000 per annum for porterage of stores alone from the coast to the Uganda, an item which the rail- way will reduce to £6500. The politi- cal advantage in tending to promote still further the consolidation of British power In Africa is too obvious to need comment.-Montreal Star.

The Uganda mission is less than

The Missionary Review of the World — March 1896

HUT NEAR CORDOVA, VERA-CRUZ

GIRLS' SCHOOL, PRESBYTERIAN llISSION, SALTILLO, MEXICO. MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD.

VOL. XIX. No. S.-Ola Series.-MARCH.-VoL. IX. No. S.-New Serle,.

THE MISSIONARY STATUS IN TURKEY.

BY REV. JUDSON SMITH, D.D., BOSTON, MASS.

The political aspects of the grave internal commotions which have prevailed in the Asiatic portion of the Turkish Empire for a year and a half are easily recalled and have commanded wide attention. The fearful massacre and outrage of August and September, 1895, have been far outdone and almost forgotten in the wild, swift march of robbery, arson, and massacre throughout the six eastern provinces, from the Black Sea down through the Valley of the Euphrates and westward to the Mediterranean, during the last three months. Constantinople has been the scene of active and varied diplomatic discussion j the Sultan has made sudden and frequent changes in his Cabinet, has greatly increased the armed force of the empire, and has well-nigh exhausted his credIt at home and abroad. The whole area of Asiatic Turkey, and especially its eastern portion, has heaved and fermented, as if a radical revolution were in swift execution. The Armenian question held a notable place in the Queen's speech at the recent opening of Parliament j it was equally conspicuous in the President's message at the opening of Congress. No topic has been more prominent in the news of the day or in elaborate magazine articles, in England and in America, than the new phases of this Eastern question.

All this agitation has an indirect but important bearing upon the missionary work established in Turkey, and gives a special interest to the present consideration of this work. The fields swept by massacre and pillage ar.e among the most important occupied by our missionary enterprise. The people especially attacked and crushed by these repeated disasters are of that very nation, the Armenians, in whose behalf this missionary effort has especially been made. In the ruin that has overtaken scores of cities [,!ld hundreds of villages, schools and churches connected with our mission, and a vital part of the enterprise, have gone down along with the homes of the people around them. If it had been the intention of those who directed these attacks to break up the missionary work in

THE MISSIONARY STATUS IN TURKEY

Turkey and to make its further prosecution difficult or impossible, the blow could scarcely have been aimed with greater effect. The dimensions of this work, the length of time during which it has been carried on, the eminence of the men and women engaged in it, and the results already attained would of themselves, at any time, command general attention. Set against the backgrouud of massacre and cruel suffering which fill the land, the dark and wayward course of diplomacy in the capItal, and the concentrated attention of Europe and the civilized world, they assume a new character and attract an almost world-wide Interest.

But we hasten, in the first place, to say that this mIssionary work has no direct and Intended relation to the polttIcal affairs of Turkey. The missionaries of the American Board in Turkey have always been sent out under explicit instructions to abstain from all political activity, from all connection with political movements j and they have faithfully observed those instructions from the first to this day. They act in loyalty to the existing government, they inculcate loyalty thereto upon all who come under their influence in church or school j and the TurkIsh Government has had no truer friends in all its dominions these seventy years than the missionaries of the American Board. They are to a man enthusiastIc lovers of their native land, and intelligent admirers of its government; they have doubtless seen many thIngs in Turkish life and institutions which, in their judgment, were susceptible of improvement. But they have not felt themselves called upon to undertake or advocate a change of government or the introduction of free institutions j but have devoted themselves with all their hearts to the religious and educational work for which they were sent out. The natural effect of their labors and influence is to foster piety and conscientiousness in the individual life, the spirit of brotherly love in all social relations, industry and thrift in business, public spirit and patriotism, and a nobler type of manhood and womanhood. And this has been the real effect to some degree in every city and town, in every hamlet and home, where they have lived and labored. There is no risk in saying that the sum total of human virtue and happiness has been notably increased wherever their influence has been felt, and has varied in close proportion to the effectiveness of that influence. The Porte, in its efforts to promote the welfare of its subjects and the prosperity and greatness of the empire, must have felt itself upheld at every point, and seconded in a noble way, by the missionaries of the Board In their personal influence and in their proper religious labors.

The missionaries have not always been fully credited with such careful limitations of labors or with the loyal attitude they have in fact maintained. More than once they have been accused of fostering a seditious spirit in their pupils, of favoring revolutionary projects among their fol. lowers, and of disturbing the peace of the empire. Sometimes these charges have been made by persons who did not know the missionaries, or were misinformed in regard to them j more often they have sprung from suspicion and enmity. But never in a single instance have these charges been proved; there has never been sufficient real force in them to induce the Porte to give them a thorough official investigation. And to-day, when these accusations reappear in diplomatic conferences, and are widely circulated in official newspapers and documents, and are telegraphed to the press in foreign countries, they are met by the same absolute denial and a fearless challenge of investigation. The few scattered voices, in America and in Europe, that in this hour of cruel wrong and bloody outrage which the Porte has not once disowued or publicly rebuked, still speak in praise of those who are responsible for these deeds and in detraction of the missionaries who repeat in our day the deeds of a Polycarp and a Cyprian aud add a new luster to the Christian name, gain no credence and win no applause. Through all these dreadful weeks and months of regulated and unrepressed murder and robbery, the missionaries have sought peace and not tumult, have counselled submission and n….t rebellion, have maintained their loyalty to the government, and stand to-day without fault and without just accusation. In truth there has been no rebellion to be suppressed, no rising of the Armenians against lawful authority to be put down. The testimony of eye-witnesses proves beyond a question that in everyone of the principal outbreaks murder and pillage broke upon the unarmed and unsul:lpecting victims like a thunderbolt from the clear sky, that there was little resistance, and that Kurds and soldiers shared in the murder and plunder, that the soldiers offered no protection while the havoc went on, aud that when the time for license was ended the authorities were able to put an end to all disorder at once. It was not a wild mob that broke from restraint and worked its mad will; it was regulated murder and robbery, with fixed bounds of time and object. Usually the deadly work began with a signal at noon, and ended at sunset. None but Armenians were attacked or robbed. The missionaries were not directly attacked save at Harpoot. Mission property was guarded save at Harpoot and Marash, where mission buildings were looted and burned and property to the value of above $100,000 destroyed, in Marash by the active efforts of the soldiers who were nominally set to guard that very property. The Sultan again and again has promised protection to the missionaries at every point, and has never once declared them guilty of any wrong, or undeserving of his favor.

The missionary operations in Asiatic Turkey have been no inconsiderable part of the entire volume of work carried on by the American Board. The missionary force and the annual expenditures in this field have been nearly one third of the total amount reported each year. Up to the present time the total expenditures on this field exceed $6,000,000, and the mission plant has a value of at least $1,500,000. The missionary staff from the first days, when Fiske and Parsons and King were the pioneers, through the middle period, made illustrious by such names as Jessup and Van Dyke, Goodell, Dwight, Hamlin, and Bliss, down to the noble company of men and women at the present time, has been a roll of honor, of able and trusted men and women, household names in the churches from which they went forth, and widely known in all missionary circles. To- day the list contains 152 men and women, dIstributed through some twenty chief cities and towns from the Bosphorus to the Russian frontier, from the Euxine to the Mediterranean, among them Constantinople, Brousa, Smyrna, Sivas, Erzeroum, and Aintab. This work has been con- fined to the Armenians, Greeks, and other nominally Christian people in the empire. The Armenians are distributed throughout the empire, mingled with Turks in the same citip.s and towns, being more numerous relatively in Eastern Turkey, but confined to no one section. The Greeks are less widely scattered, being found chiefly in the regIOns bordering on the lEgean Sea and OIl the Black Sea, and in the capital. The aim of missionary effort has been to give to these people the Bible in a language intelligible to all, to awaken a true faith in Jesus Christ, and to develop a genuine Christian life. The reform of the old churches has been sought, and the separate Protestant organization, the result of persecution and not of missionary influence, has always been deemed a temporary adjustment.

The Turkish Government has never cordially welcomed this effort in behalf of its Christian subjects, has looked with more or less disfavor upon the methods employed in making the Bible accessible to all, opening schools for the youth of both sexes, and cUltivating the self-respect and manhood of all who came under their influence. Sometimes this disfavor has been expressed in words, sometimes in a greater or less interference with the work. Of necessity a modus vivendi has been gradually worked out, expressed in treaties and diplomatic correspondence, mutually recog- nized by the Porte and the government at Washington. It is one of the anxious features of the present situation that for some time there has appeared a growing disposition on the part of the Porte to ignore thIS sanction, and to question the validity of the rights so long enjoyed and so fully secured by general and parl.icuJar treaties. American missionaries are now in Turkey, and have been there for seventy years, on the same ,grounds as European missionaries have been there for one hundred and sixty years, on the same grounds as Christian people of various races have been in the Ottoman Empire since the conquest of Constantinople by Mo· hammed II. No diplomatic pressure has opened the way, no specific con- cession of the Sultan on their account has been made j they have come as the citizens of other friendly nations come, and have remaiued in the en- joyment of the common rights belonging to the citizens of friendly powers. In the course of their long residence in the empire, and of the gradual ex- tension of their enterprise to nearly all the most important cities and towns in Asia Minor, many occasions have arisen for defining the rights of these American missionaries, and the action of the Turkish Government in these cases is a further and explicit recognition of their legal standing and the legitimate character of their work. Specific treaties have also been made, guaranteeing to Americans all the rights and privileges yielded to the citizeni'! of the" most favored nation." The occupation of the missionaries has never been made a ground for exceptional treatment, and does not differ from the recognized occupation of the citizens of other friendly nations who reside in Turkey. The missionaries in large numbers are teaehers, in charge of schools of all grades, in which tuition is charged and from which revenue is derived. Several of their number are engaged in the manufacture and sale of books, a business yielding a profit, and as legitimate as any other commercial enterprise. Th:!lt their personal influence ' and efforts are also directed to the encouragement of virtue and piety, honesty of life and conscientiousness of purpose, neither destroys those other aspects of their occupation nor exposes them to the just displeasure of a sovereign who desires the improvement of his people. In a word, the American missionary in Turkey is there by the same right as the American merchant, pursues an occupation as legitimate, and is entitled to the same protection.

The material interest involved in the missionary enterprise in Turkey is by no means inconsiderable. At least $6,000,000 have been expended by American citizens in developing the plant and maintaining its operations for the last seventy years. The annual expenditure of American funds upon this field is now above $160,000, and the annual receipts from various sources on the ground, which are also spent upon the development of the work, amount to at least $70,000 more, making the total annual expenditure $230,000. The greatness of the enterprise itself and the significance of the interest at stake is suggested, but by no means fully expressed, by this annual investment of nearly a quarter of a million dollars. When we consider in what forms this expenditure is expressed, how many churches and schools of various grades, what a volume of literature and text-books, and what a weight of personal and social influence are represented by this sum, the value of the American interest in Turkey, and the validity of it15 claim to immunity, and the importance of its ample and efficient protection, must be clear and convincing to every mind.

It is a grand success which missionary labors in Turkey have attained. It needs but a few statements to make this plain.

The territory of Asiatic Turkey is substantially covered by the labors of the missionaries. Twenty cities and towns are occupied as places of missionary residence, and about three hundred other towns and villages are centers of evangelical teaching and preaching. There are but few considerable places in the whole empire that are not thus reached and blessed by missionary influence. This is a significant fact, and full of promise.

The first evangelical church was organized at Constantinople in 1847, a necessary step after t.he evangelicals were formally excommunicated by the Armenian Patriarch. The last reports from these fields show 111. churches, with 10,935 members, 90 of them having native pastors of their own. The average congregations in all these fields number 32,092, and 24,132 pupils are in regular attendance on the Sunday-schools of the missions. Widely distributed as these communicants and students of the Bible are, it is a very effective leaven which is thus cast into the religious and social life of the nation. In close relation to all this, and still further revealing the happy results of evangelical teaching, is a widespread movement within the bosom of the old AJ'lllenian churches toward a pure gospel, cvangelical preaching, a righteous life, and better education, a movement which the missionaries rejoice in and foster as far as they can. This advance toward the evangelical position is marked at many points in Eastern and Southern Turkey, and is noticeable in every part of the empire.

The schools of the missions are among their most striking and hopeful features. The people are of quick minds, capable of high culture, and ready to welcome it. Education is used by the missions as an indispensable auxiliary to the great end of missionary effort. A native ministry must be raised up capable of sustaining itself and of leading the churches, or there can be no great or permanent result. Christian schools alone can train the men and womcn who are necessary to the self-supporting, self-directing, and self-propagating church, which is the consummate fruit of missionary effort. In Turkey schools undcr the care of the mission have beeu found to be the best centers for evangelistic effort, and the evangelical communities are constantly reinforced therefrom. These schools range from the kindergarten up through day schools, high schools for boys, boarding-schools for girls, to the college and the theological seminary, where the preachers and teachers are trained. It is well-nigh impossible to overestimate the significance of these schools to the vigor and fruitfulness of the missionary movement as a whole. The mind is sharpened and enlarged, manners are softened and refined, character is built up according to the Christian ideal, manhood and womanhood are developed, and the whole life braced and inspired by the, sentiments of duty and loyalty to God. In no respect is the success of the evangelical movement in Turkey more evident than in the place these schools enjoy and in the influence which they wield. In Asiatic Turkey there are four theological schools, with 20 students, 28 high Rchools for boys, including three colleges, with 1213 students; 20 boarding-schools for girls, including three colleges, with 1206 students; 350 common schools,. with 15,555 pupils. Adding to these 1793 pupils. in other schools, we have a grand total of those under instruction amounting t.o 19,812.

The Bible has been translated into all the principal languages that are spoken in the empire, and is widely distributed and read in every part of the land. Text-books for the schools and a Christian literature of no mean volume are also available everywhere in the vernacular of those who desire them. A weekly religious newspaper is published in Reveral languages, and widely circulated in the evangelical communities. In a word, the missionary enterprise in Asiatic Turkey has attained a great suceess. It has gathered a great plant and establish",d itself at strategic points all over the land j it has organized a select and influential evangelical com:- munity, represented by numerous churches and flourishing schools, and is continually enriching its character and widening its influence by the example and instructions of the missionaries, by its own Christian activities, and through the circulation of the Scriptures and a Christian literature. And it stood thus in strength, working only good and peace to the empire and to all its people, when the dire deed at Sassoun was wrought, when the more direful scourge of massacre and robbery swept over the whole eastern section of the land in October, November, and December just past.

We will now briefly mark the salient features of these disasters, and the condition in which for the present they have left the missionary work around them.

There has been serious disturbance of the regular order of things in. every place j in some places only a part of the usual work is now in progress, and in a few instances everything is at a standstill. The massacres, which have fallen on eleven places occupied as stations or places of missionary residence, and upon scores of towns and villages where mission schools and chapels were located, have not only destroyed great numbers of the people among whom our work was carried on, and left those who survived homeless and destitute, and thus have struck at the very heart of the work, they have also destroyed for the time being that confidence in one another which is the necessary basis of social life and industry and trade, and temporarily have thrown many places into anarchy. In these places public worship is suspended, schools are closed, free movement from place to place, and even from one part of a city to another part, is unsafe, and the conditions of effective and continuous missionary work are wanting for the time. In Marsovan and Aintab the colleges and girls' schools are in operation, but the excitement and disorder that surround them seriously interfere with the effectiveness of the work. In Sivas some forms of evangelistic effort are still carried on, though under embarrassing restrictions. In Harpoot and among its villages all ordinary labor is at, an end for the time being j the disaster was too widespread, too destructive, to permit the resumption of work in college or seminary or field for some time to come. In Bitlis and Marash the missionaries are safely guarded, it is true, but are practically cut off from all opportunities of labor. In Trebizond, Erzeroum and Van the entire energies of the missionary force are directed to the administration of relief to the suffering and perishing thousands around them, and the usual missionary labors for this time must take a secondary place.

In a few places there has been serious loss of mission plant. Eight out of twelve buildings belonging to the missionaries in Harpoot were burned, and all the buildings were plundered. At !vIarash the building devoted to the theological seminary was burned, and other school buildings were plundered. And in village after village around Sivas and Cesarea, Trebizond and Erzeroum, Harpoot and Bitlis, Van and Mardin, Marash and Aintab, Oorfa and Hadjin, from the Black Sea southward through the Euphrates Valley and westward to the Mediterranean, chapels and schools in great numbers have been plundered or burned to the ground.

But in the midst of this dire destrnction and thronging danger there are relieving features, heroic deeds, stedfast faith, and in many a case the martyr's glorious crown. When offered the choice of Islam or the sword, Christian men and women not a few, young and old, pastors and people, have chosen death rather than the denial of their Lord. The native pastor in Sivas was caught in the market when the havoc began, and was shut up with several of his people for some hours. He knew thal; death was imminent, and he prayed with hiR people and preached to them, and comforted them as he could. At length the soldiers found him, and at once demanded that he abjure his faith. He refused, and they smote him. Again they called on him to accept Islam, and upon his refusal they struck him again. When the third time they asked him to recant, he answered, like Polycarp, "Not only am I a believer in the religion of Christ, but for years I have been a preacher of it. I cannot give il up. If you' wish to kill me for this, I am ready." And with that he fell, twice pierced by Martini rifle balls.

The true grace of martyrdom has shone out in all this lurid picture as fair as the star in the front of the raging storm, and the glories of the early church have reappeared in our own day and have lifted an oppressed people into the admiring sympathy of lhe civilized world. Christian faith has been put to the last and sternest test, and has not been found wanting.

The missionary ranks also have shared the experiences of those among whom they dwell; they have looked on danger in many a form, and have refused to flee from the post of duty ; some of them have faced death again and again, and in spirit have triumphed over their impotent assailants. Offered safe escort to the sea or to the capital, to a man they have chosen to remain where they are, thrice clad in innocence, and cheered by the all-repaying smile of Duty and of God. They have done no wrong, they have kept faith with the government, they have abstained from every unlawful act, they have sought the good of the whole empire and tb,e peace of its sovereign; and they will not acknowledge a fault of which they are guiltless, nor will they leave a post that is rightly their own. They choose to identify themselves with the stricken people around them, who look to them for example, for help, for comfort, for protection from despair and dealh. They love the cause to which their lives are given, and personal safety with the loss of this seems to them no boon.

No thoughtful person can observe the situation of these missionaries, and mark their course, and note how they choose duty with danger and count not their lives dear unto them if they may testify the grace of God and maintain His cause, without exulting in their manly courage and un-

GREAT CONVENTION OF STUDENT VOLUNTEERS AT LIVERPOOL

daunted faith. Manhood and womanhood with this definition and exercise mean more than heretofore ; the term missionary comes to be almost synonymous with hero and saint; and the movement which can command such devotion and exhibit such sublime virtues is placed beyond successful assault in the honor and respectful veneration of mankind.

There are not wanting signs that these days of strife and blood are to be the prelude to a new expansion of Christian work. In the height of the Arian controversy, when Julian was striving to restore heathenism and displace the Christian faith, Athanasius uttered this brave and foreseeing word: "Nubecula est, transibit j" it is a little cloud, it will pass away. In like assured faith we believe that this night of storm and death will soon give way to the gracious dawn and a glorious day. The mission churches are being sifted, their Christian faith tested, their love confirmed. The missionaries are binding the hearts of the people to them with hooks of steel, by sharing their f~rtunes, by giving them the protection of their preseuce, and by thc ministry of relief. In the coming days their words will have unwonted authority, 1heir persuasions and counsel will be wellnigh resistless. And the Christian life, thus deepened and sublimed, will overflow on every side, will fill the land and make the empire a kingdom of righteousness and peace.

THE GREAT CONVENTION OF STUDENT VOLUNTEERS AT LIVERPOOL.

BY THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.

One of the most significant gatherings of this century, if not of all the centuries, held its opening sessions in the Young Men's Christian Association hall on the evening of January 1st, with the Lord Bishop of Liverpool (Dr. J. C. Ryle) in the chair.

A more representative gathering of young men and women, having in view the foreign missionary field, has doubtless never before convened. This alone sets on this convention the special mark of a unique distinction. A thousand delegates were present, representing at least thirteen different nationalities, and all branches of the Protestant Church and the whole wide world. It stirred one's deepest emotions to see them filing in, one by one, Chinese and Japanese, Hindus and Armenians, Africans and Americans, Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, Germans, Swiss-all shades of complexion, all varieties of race, all peculiarities of feature, all languages of earth, finding representation in one great assemblage, and all forgetful of minor differences and diversities in the great unity of the Spirit, acknowledging one Lord and essentially one faith. One could only think of the words of our Lord, "They shall come from the East and the West, from the North and South, and sit down in the kingdom of heaven."

It was an awe-inspiring gathering. It seems to mark a new era and epoch in modern church history, and no human forecast can calculate the future outgrowth of this movement. Its momentum is already tremendou8, and well-nigh irresistible. As the eye glanced over this vast assembly, mostly composed of young men and women, and saw only here and thcre a gray head, the possibilities of the next thirty years loomed up grandly and awfully; for who can foresee or foretell the diverse spheres, forms of eervice and suffering, varieties of ministry to human ignorance and want, heroic self-denials and valian1; examples of faith, unselfishness, and holy living which are destined to frame themselves into the structure of the ages out of the raw material here brought together for the Master's shaping hand?

Great were the expectations that centered about this opening meeting, and they were not disappointed. The Lord Bishop who presided is known to many of Christ's dear people as the author of that tract which has shaped so many lives for God, "Come to Jesus," and his pen has done more than one distinguished service to the cause of Christ. Having reached his fourscore years, his eye seems undimmed and his natural force little abated. His opening address was brief, but full of evaQgelical tone and hearty sympathy. He referred incidentally to a simple-minded negro who was daily wont to pray that there might be " a full heaven and an empty hell," and encouraged his younger brethren to go forth seeking to realize this prayer.

One memorable sentiment of the Lord Bishop will find echo in many a true heart outside of that Liverpool gathering. He earnestly deprecated any conflict or dissension between these two great countrie8, Britain and America, as well he might. Certainly such alienation and antagonism could create a jubilee only in hell. These two nations have a history and a destiny that are singularly interwoven. In the woof and warp mingle the same threads of language and literature, of manners and customs, of character and culture, of moral principles and religious faith. The very names inseparable from British territory are embedded in American soil- Cambridge, York, Oxford, Birmingham, Worcester, Leicester, etc. The great men and women of Britain belong to America, and the family life of these two nations is so interlinked that they are inseparable. War between England and the United States ought to be-and we believe is-impossible; it should be inconceivable, It was said of Michael Angelo and Raphael that, altho their preeminence in the fine arts and the entire tendencies of their times were toward mutual distrust, jealousy and rivalry, each of these great men rose so high above the common level of the men of his day that, like twin mountains rising from a level plain, they could not but look each other in the face and feel themselves necessary companions to each other. And so these two great nations, rising on opposite sides of the sea to such superior heights, are necessary to each other, and should not forget that both stand for the same Protestant Christianity. From their summits flashes the light from the same cross; and let us believe and hope that, instead of war between them, they will unite in war against common foes of God and man, and all the powers of darkness. To rend such nations asunder is to rend the cross itself, inwoven with their common fabric Qf histQry Qut Qf crimsQu tlneads dyed by the blood of martyrs which belong alike to both countries.

To follow a five days' meeting or series of meetings and gi'e a detailed account of them is of course impracticable in these pages. All we aim to do is to sketch the main features of the gathering as a whole, reproducing wholly or in part some of the main addresses or papers, and especially giving the solid nuggets of suggestion and information which constitute the richest contribution to the general cause of missions. The Philharmonic Hall, where these monster meetings were held, was found singularly adapted to the purpose. It has a capacity for about three thousand, and was filled at each service. Mr. Donald Fraser, himself the main organizer of the convention, and a student, presided at the general meetings, and very simply and sensibly, without self-intrusion or needless ceremony. This relieved the meetings of the useless form, so often a weariness, of having some distinguished man in the chair, who is expected to make a speech and to whom some vote of thanks, with one or more speeches in support of the motion, must afterward be made.

The exercises, promptly begun and carried on without delay, in few cases outlasted one hour and three quarters at anyone session, averaging three half-hour addresses at each meeting.

Every day opened with an hour of prayer, and uniformly these meetings proved fully attended and of deep interest. This was one of the most hopeful signs of the whole conference. Wherever a spirit of grace and of supplication is not first poured out, no other blessing of a permanent sort evel· follows. The Church is slow to learn this; but it is one of God's primary lessons. He will be inquired of, and recognized as the source of all blessing. If our dependence is on human planning and organizing, on eloquent speaking and literary attraction, on elaborate entertainments and artistic music, on human patronage and secular methods, there may be apparent succesS and a demonstrative enthusiasm, but iti is all like a flash from powder in the pan, and carries no lasting propulsive force.

In no convention to our remembrance hag every step seemed more manifestly a step !orwa.l·d, and it must needs he so where the spirit of prayerful dependence on God is first of all cultivated. Noisy applause, which so frequently begets uproar and confusion, and both interrupts and sometimes confuses a speaker, became more and more distasteful as tho presence of the Spirit of Gou grew more vividly real, and both speakers and hearers seemed to feel His invisible control. There was also singular freedom from all attempts at ambitious intellectualism-the display of rhetorical fireworks, set speeches, learned essays, grandiloquent orations-none of these have had any place in these assemblies. Simplicity, solidity, spirituality, the practical truth fitted for young men and women ernerging into actual life of duty and sacrifice-these were the controlling features of all the addresses to an almost unprecedented degree.

Of course sectional meetings had to be resorted to, as the time would not suffice for large public and general assemblies in the interest of specific phases of mission work. India, South America, China and Japan, Africa, the Jews, etc., had each a separate meeting on Thursday, January 2d. On Friday morning the conference broke up on phases of work, as, on the day before, on fields; and in as mauy sectional meetings, evangelistic, medical, educational, and" Bombay Settlement" forms of service received separate treatment from most competent hands. Then on Saturday afternoon the societies were the basis of the cleavage, and nine separate assemblies convened to consider the work of the Church Missionary, London Missionary, Presbyterian, Calvinistic Methodist, Baptist, Wesleyan, China Inlaud, and Zenana societies.

Whoever doubts that beneath all the diversity and variety of denominations there is real unity among true evangelical believers should have been present at these great meetings. Here Anglicans anti Wesleyans, Baptists and Congregationalists, Presbyterians and Methodists, Lutherans and Moravians were all found sitting together in loving fraternal counsel. Not a discordant note was struck. And, as one of the speakers at the opening meeting remarked, unity in diversity is the Lord's mode of operation everywhere. God forms man in families with vast variety even among individuals, not in regiments, where there is little to distinguish one from the other. Uniformity is monotony. The mother who hugs her babe to her breast and declares" there never was such a child" is right; there never was and never will be ; and one reason for seeking to save every child is, that every child unsaved represents a type of character unique and solitary; to let any child perish is to permit to be lost by neglect one child like whom there was never to be any other.

Never have we felt the substantial and vital unity of the true body of believers more than during these five days that opened this new year. Not a speech was made or a prayer offered or a hymn sung that could not have been equally well made in all that constituted its real core and heart by any other of the speakers or almost any other of the audience that represented the evangelical body of believers.

Another impression that grew with the progress of the meetings was the entire capacity and competency of the Ohurch to carry out our Lord's last command, and to do it promptly and within the lifetime of our own generation.

Mr. C. T. Studd, so well known as one of the famous Cambridge band that ten years ago, in connection with Stanley Smith and others, went to China, gave some startling figures to his audience as he contrasted the nearly 400,000,000 of Chinese with 2000 missionaries, half of whom are women, and the 40,000,000 inhabitants of Britain, with 30,000 ordamed clergymen in the Church of England alone, and in all denominations an aggregate of 50,000'; and this besides all the numerous so-called lay workers, who far outnumber the total of ordained preachers. He had undert~ken, he said, to estimate the total number of Christians engaged in various forms of evangelistic and soul-saving work in Great Britain alone, and before he had got two fifths of the way through the Wesleyan body alone the estimate reached seventy thousand, and he found it impracticable to ascertain the real aggregate, because so many were engaged in work that has no definite classification or reported form.

It is well to linger, perhaps, on this contrast for the sake of the lesson it teaches. Here is a great Oriental nation with a population numbering nearly one third of the world's population-certainly one fourth. It has not more than one regularly qualified missionary for every 30,000 people. Great Britain, with 40,000,000 people, has one ordained minister to every eight hundred souls; and if we count in all competent Christian workers engaged in evangelistic effort, there is one to every two hundred, if not more than one. When it comes to average wealth, what shall we say ~ Another speaker told us that from a careful estimate of the aggregate wealth of Protestant disciples the world over, it was calculated that not more than one quarter of a farthing to the pound-i.e., or about one cent out of every nine dollars and a half-goes to the mission cause. We can only recall the emphatic testimony of Caleb and Joshua to the children of Israel: " Let us go up and possess the land, for we be well able to overcome it."

How many times must it be reaffirmed ~ There is nothing in numbers or wealth to prevent the Protestant churches of the world from at once taking possession of the world for Christ. As to numbers, we have only to send to the field one out of every hundred church-members to put a working force of 400,000 men and women into the work; and we have only to give one tenth of the wealth in the hands of Protestant disciples to the support of those workers to have at disposal an income of £75,000,000, or $375,000,000 annually to apply to the world's evangelization.. Of course facts and figures, however marshaled before disciples who are asleep, apathetic, indifferent, will not alone ever suffice to awake, arouse, and transform them into active workers and liberal givers. But these possibilities must be submitted for the consideration of God's people, even tho, like all other rejected, neglected truths, it ends only in deeper condemnation.

No more awe-inspiring conception ever occurs to my own mind than that of the judgment-seat of Christ, as already erected just within the veil where He has entered, and as a tribunal to which may at every instant be now referred every perplexing question or ensnaring allurement, for a clear, decisive, conclusive judgment. To hold up every motive, word, thought, habit, indulgence, or purpose of life before that invisible tribunal, survey it in the light of its searching inquiry, and test it and weigh it as in the scales of eternity-that is to learn to look upon every matter which now engages attention as it will be looked upon in the solemn review of the last day. The melancholy fact is that very few of us, and in very few of our affairs, subject our c~lUrse to such divine arbitration and decision. We consult the tribunal of public opinion or the still more corrupt court of prevailing custom. Weare content to do as others do and be as others are. We measure ourselves by ourselves and compare ourselves among ourselves, which is far from wise. To take an imperfect standard is both to justify and perpetuate imperfection j and as all imperfection on our standards tends to degeneracy in the product, even our standard itself gets lower and lower. Ve must erect anew the standard of God, and measure and weigh by that. Thl3n we shall begin to see that a revol'ution is necessary before we shall bring our preaching and praying, our living and giving back toward the divine idea and ideal. Let everyone of us dare, in secret, to hold up his own daily conduct and hidden promptings to the bright light of the omniscient eye and the holy touch of God, and as He judges may we judge, for no other decision is safe.

Now that this great gathering has dispersed, one naturally looks back, in review of its proceedings, to get one last general glimpse of it as a whole j and it does not suffer in comparison with any missionary convention held within our recollection.

One impression, quite emphatic, is that the whole ordering of this five days' conference was singularly faultless. One scarcely expects to find younger shoulders surmounted by wise heads. vVhen a thousand young men and women meet in such assembly, and the whole conduct of the meetings is in comparatively inexperienced hands, it would not be surprising if serious blunders were made. We often see enthusiasm rampant, overriding better judgment; more "action" than "counsel," more impulse than self-control, more excitement than moderation, displayed in large gatherings of young people; but throughout this colossal convention's sessions there was a calmness, self-repression, freedom from intrusive and ambitious declamation, a wise forethought, discreet management, that we have never -seen surpassed.

For example, at all the great central gatherings, one man, himself a Student Volunteer, just on the eve of departure for Nyassaland, presided. With simplicity, dignity, modesty he took the chair, made no speeches, quietly kept track of time, and without offensive mannerisms held speakers to their limits, and so kept the meetings from becoming burdensome by tediousness. Mr. Donald Fraser, by common consent, uniformly presided, and it was certainly a model of presiding, eliciting universal approbation. He made no flattering introductions of speakers, in not a single case indulging in that common vice of great assemblies; he quietly discouraged all noisy, demonstrative applause, counseling all to "listen as in the silence of God;" he emphasized prayer and praise, and had no session open without a brief and singularly pertinent reading from the Scripture, generally only a few verses, read by himself, but with much care in selection and tenderness of manner; he counseled his brethren to do all things quietly, in order, avoiding haste and confusion, and bade them remember that their own calmness and peace and prayerfulness would have much to do with the general tone of the gathering; and, in a word, we all felt that, behind this visible leader was Another, far greater than himself, who was actually and invisibly condncting the great assembly.

One or two instances may be mentioned of the singular felicity with which Mr. Donald Fraser guided the convention. When, on Saturday night, it seemed necessary to take a large offering to meet the expenses of the great conference, at least nine hundred pounds were announced to be needed to cover outlay, and help in the work of the year to come. Many foreign delegates needed aid in meeting the heavy cost of their own travel, and in establishing on the Continent branches of the Student V01unteer Movement Union. Mr. Mott, now going around the world to kindle new missionary fires, had appealed for help in visiting Australia to encourage the Volunteer movement there; the cost of securing speakers from afar ought, of course, to be paid; and so a large amount was needful. How to raise it, without undue urgency, or repeated appeal, or dependence upon unscriptural and unwholesome methods, was a matter of much prayerful thought. Mr. Fraser, before the meeting began, quietly instructed his corps of helpers how to conduct the whole business as before God, without any hurry or worry, and with a contagious spirit of consecration. Theu, with blank forms of subscription, these young men to@k their stations, scattered at regular intervals through the audience; at a given signal, after announcement, from the chair of the intended gathering of offerings, a clear statement by the financial secretary of the exact sum needed and for what, and a simple earnest prayer for Divine prompting in all hearts, these young men with military precision moved about among the audience, until everyone present had a subscription paper. Then there was a pause for prayer, and all were requested to give as God might lead j then the papers were partially collected, and the amounts read from the platform without announcing any names ; then another pause, another season of prayer, and the work of subscribing aud gathering offerings was completed, and the whole mass of uncounted subscriptions passed into the hands of collectors, the result to be subsequently announced ; then another prayer, with praise to God for the accomplishment of the desire previously presented at His throne of grace, while as yet the result was known only to Him, and the Doxology was sung and the meeting quietly dispersed. Anyone present could have had little doubt that God would honor such expectant faith ; and it proved that, instead of the nine hundred, pounds desired, some seventeen hundred were realized-enough, beside the necessary sum required for actual outlay, to distribute eight hundred pounds to the continental contingent for a forward movement among the European universities. Mr. Fraser had remarked, before the gifts were collected, that, in this act of offering consecrated substance to the Lord, the very " climax of such a meeting might and should be reached ;" and it was. There was not a session wherein, notwithstanding the feature of the" collection," which is often so unpleasant if not offensive, spiritual joy and power were more regnant. And the great Giver of all good showed how, when He moves on His own dear people, they bring the tithes in, so that there is abundance of meat in His house, and abundance of blessing outpoured on givers.

Another striking feature of Mr. Fraser's conduct of these great assemblies was seen in the closing session of Sunday evening, January 5th. He naturally made the address in which the last words were spoken. He was very brief, occupying not over fifteen minutes, and spoke as quietly as he had done all else. The seed thought of his address was that key to the Acts of the Apostles, " It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us" (Acts 15 : 28). He referred to the great fact of the presidency of the Spirit in the primitive Church, to His indwelling and inworking in disciples, so tha.t when Peter spake at Pentecost, it was the Holy Ghost and Peter, and when disciples at the first Church council at Jerusalem drew up their deliverance it was the joint verdict of the Holy Ghost and tb,em. Then he besought the brethren present to remember that, as they went forth, they were to go in partnership with God; back to the college, as Spirit-filled men, into fields at home aud abroad, to do and suffer for God and with Christ. We hope yet to produce this simple, cha.rming address in full, but meanwhile we leave this on record, that it was a fit close to a great gathering in which the one prevailing impression was that God was there.

The hidden history of that convention some of us happen to know. It was conceived in prayer and nurtured in prayer. Every step has been taken in waiting dependence on God, and if wisdom was not given the step was delayed until it was manifest what God's will was. The reward was great, for from the opening hymn to the closing benediction we can now look back on no wasted time, no vain speeches, no note of discord, no unhappy blunders. There were many wheels within the greater wheel of the convention, but they all moved in one direction, and we felt the Spirit of the living God to be in the wheels. Mr. Fraser succeeded in his presiding because God was in him and with him, and hence we are not complimenting the man, but honoring his Master in commending the conduct of the meeting.

Most noticeable is it also that in this gathering there was no attempt to spread before ns a great array of distinguished names. Hundreds of men and women in the kingdom, whose reputation is world-wide, might have been asked to speak; but there was no announcement of speakers beforehand, no sensational subjects, no substitution of fame for spirituality. The one thought seemed to be unity of impression and the power of God. The speakers were not orators, but men and women who were known for sanctified common sense, true devotion to missions, and soundness of faith. Such men as Eugene Stock and Dr. George Smith, C. T. Studd, Rev. Edgerton Young, Rev. H. P. Beach, Sherwood Eddy, Bishop

MEXICO, HER NEEDS AND OUR DUTY

Ryle, Rev. Charles Garrett, and Rev. F. B. Meyer, and such women as Mrs. Duncan McLaren and Miss Gollock and Miss Selincourt are a sufficient proof of the sort of speaking sought for; and the result proves that the whole effort to supply flashy and brilliant orators for such occasions is a mistake. We heard nothing approaching a "star speech." Dr. Smith's grand historical review of the century, condensing the studies of thirty years into half an hour, was a magnificent marshaling of facts, rhetorically complete, yet there was no finish about it, but the unconscious completeness of truth put in crystalline clearness and beauty before us. Eugene Stock's discourse on "character tested and trained" was a mine of jewels, but there was no artificial lustre about it ; and so all along the one grand impression was that we were hearing God speak through divers mouths but one harmonious message. We thought of those words: " The Lord gave the Word ; Great was the company of those that published it."

We turned away from Philharmonic Hall Sunday night, marveling what new and greater surprises God may have for us in the coming career of that thousand select and elect young men and women.

Let unceasing prayer go up to Him in their behalf !

MEXICO, HER NEEDS AND OUR DUTY.

BY ROBERT E. SPEER, NEW YORK CITY.

While the world is the field for all Christians and Christian nations, there are special fields for each. In a peculiar degree Great Britain is responsible for the evangelization of India, France for the evangelization of the Niger Valley, while we have confessed ,our responsibility for the nations to the south of us by the famous declaration of President Monroe in his annual message to the Eighteenth Congress on December 2d, 1823 : " With the governments (on this hemisphere) which have declared their independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have on great consideration and just principles acknowledged, we could not view an interposition for oppressing them or controlling in any other manner their destiny by any European power in any other light than as a manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States." This assumption of political responsibility, as the tutelary power of this hemisphere, 'we have at no small pains maintained. But by it we have made ourselves responsible for much more than the independence of the American republics from European aggression. We have charged ourselves publicly with the obligation of giving to these neighbors the only secret of stability and strength for a free nation. This at least the Christian man dare not refrain from reading into the Monroe doctrine, as in its highest sense, a mission~ ary declaration. By the traditions of the past and the necessities of the present we are more closely bound to Mexioo than to any other American nation, and we owe to her on many counts a pure faith and a Bible for all.

A pure faith for a corrupt-this is Mexico's need. Christ's Christianity was not brought here when the pious soldiers of Cortez subdued the Jand in " the holy war" of 1521, and his priests baptized four million people in a few years, one man baptizing about five thousand in one day, and not desisting until he was unable longer to lift his hands. The effect was inevitable. "The introduction of the Roman religion," declared Humboldt, "had no other effect upon the Mexicans than to substitute new ceremonies and symbols for the rites of a sanguinary worship. Dogma has not succeeded dogma, but only ceremony to ceremony." On such a church feasted a corrupt and crafty priesthood, the support and product of the tyrannical political system which lasted from Cortez's conquest for three centuries. In the struggle for freedom from the ecclesiastical bondage which lasted even after the yoke of Spanish authority had been thrown off, Sefior Lerdo compiled, in 1850, as Minister of Public Works, a statement of the wealth of the Mexican hierarchy, showing that it owned 861 estates of the value of $71,000,000, and 22,000 city lots valued at $113,000,000. This was but a partial revelation. The yearly income of the priests was estimated at $25,000,000, while the whole banking business, loans and mortgages, was in their hands, and a bankrupt government was helpless before them. Of nearly half the property in the City of Mexico the archbishop was the virtual owner. The Church possessed wealth in other forms. Three bejewelled petticoats of the Virgin of Remedios, a figure of the Virgin Mary, in the Cathedral of Puebla, were believed to be worth $3,000,000. The profligacy and corruption consequent upon this wealth were fearful. Twelve bishops in 1793 had an income of $539,000.

In this luxury and wealth Mexicans had but little share. The priesthood was a Spanish incubus, working ever' toward the subjection of the native peoples and the maintenance of European control. From the beginning the Aztec had no part in it, and at the end of its supremacy it was alien to the people whom it had oppressed. It was a heavy oppression. There were at one time more than fifty monasteries and convents in Mexico City alone. Robertson says: "In the year 1644 the City of Mexico presented a petition to the King of Spain, praying that no new monastery be founded, and that the revenue of those already established might be circumscribed, otherwise the religious houses woul': soon acquire the ,property of the whole country." In Mexico City the monastery of San Francisco covered four large blocks, while at San Luis Potosi was another nearly as ~arge, many of its walls still standing, six or eight feet thick. On one corner of the property is now a Presbyterian church, while in Mexico City the Methodist church and printing establishment occupy a part of the great monastery-the greatest in the New World, and peopled at the time of its confiscation by fourteen monks! The heavy walls of many of these old monasteries furnished safe and secret sepulcher for the victims of the Inquisition. Corruption was the fruit of this evil supremacy. Butler, in " Mexico in Transition, " one of the best books on Mexico, quotes the testimony of the Abbe Emanuel Domenech, chaplain of the French expedition- ary force, who published in Paris in 1867 a report of a tour of observa- tion he was required to make before leaving Mexico, to investigate the rumors of the low moral and religious condition of the clergy and Church of Rome in Mexico. The report is entitled " Mexico as it is, the Truth Respecting its Climate, its Inhabitants, and its Government." The abbe was a prominent clergyman of the Romish Church of France. His report is one of the most damaging revelations to be found anywhere of the life nourished by the Church of Rome in lands completely under her control.

" Mexican faith is a dead faith. The abuse of external ceremonies, the facility of reconciling the devil with God, the absence of internal exercises of piety, have killed the faith in Mexico. It is in vain to seek good fruit from the worthless tree, which makes Mexican religion a singular assemblage of heartless devotion, shameful ignorance, insane superstition. and hideous vice. . " The idolatrous character of Mexican Catholicism is a fact well known to all trave~rs. The worship of saints and madonnas so absorbs the devotion of the people that little time is left to think about God. Religious ceremonies are performed with a most lamentable indifference and want of decorum. • .• One day I was present at an Indian dance, celebrated in honor of the patron saint of the village. Twenty- . four boys and girls were dancing in the church, in the presence of the priest. An Indian, with his face concealed under a mask of an imaginary divinity resem· bling the devil, with horns and claws, was dil'ecting the figures of the dance, which reminded me of that of the Redskins! I remarked to the Driest. who for all that was an excellent priest, that it was very incongruous to permit such a frolic in a church.

" , The old customs,' he replied, • are respectable ; it is well to preserve them, only taking care that they do not degenerate into orgies.' . . .

" During holy week I ha ve seen processiolli! of three thonsand persons stripped and covered only with sackcloth, so coarse as to show that the individual had not even a shirt. The different phases of the passion of Christ were represented by groups of painted statues large as life, and by men and women placed upon stages, borne on the shoulders of hundreds of Indians. The bearers, bending under the weight of their burden, would go, from time to time, to refresh them· selves at the liquor shops, leaving in the middle of the streets the groups representing the Passion. Jews and R'Omans, decked with helmets of tin plate, breast· plates of pasteboard, and breeches embroidered with silver, made a part of the procession. ,.

The Church c01ltrolled marriage, and fixed the fee so high as to force the mass of the people into concubinage. Formal marriage was beyond their means. She controlled education, and was happy to ensure the per- manent ignorance of the people. She controlled baptism and burial j held the keys of life and of death, and by all the curses of the life that now is and of the world to come drove into darkness those whom she should have led into light. At the outset she substituted for the living Christ an image of the Virgin, a wooden figure, "Virgin de los Remedios," brought over from Spain by the army of Cortez. On the Nacke Triste the imagedisap_ peared, but was miraculously preserved and became increasingly the deity of the Spanish party. The enmity between the conquering Spaniards and the conquered natives made it desirable to have a Virgin who would com- mand the loyalty of the people. Most opportunely just such a Virgin was miraculously provided. With some modification and apparent seriousness Archbishop Corrigan told the story of the revelation of this Virgin of Guadaloupe in a sermon in St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City, on December 1st, 1895 : " It was on December 9th, 1531, that Juan Diego, a Catholic Indian of little education, while passing among the hills on the outskirts of the Mexican city of Tlaltlolco, waR suddenly accosted by a beautiful woman who seemed to descend from the sky. She addressed him in friendly terms, and told him that it was her desire that he should tell the bishop of the diocese that it was the will of Heaven that a temple should be erected on the spot in honor of the Madonna. She then disappeared. Juan went to the bishop and related what had occurred, but his story was listened to with incredulity. He was told to go away and obtain more convincing proofs of his statements. He visited the same spot the next day, and was again confronted by the apparition. The same request was made of him, and he again told the bishop of it. The latter was circumspect. He nevertheless told Juan to pass the place of visitation once more, and if he saw the woman to ask her for some substantial evidence that she was commissioned from heaven.

" On account of the sickness of his uncle, Juan, on the succeeding day, was hurrying past the place, when he was for the third time stopped. On this occasion the woman was more beautiful and resplendent than before. When Juan told her, in humble terms, what the bishop had said, she told him to go to a spot where nothing but weeds were known to grow, and that he would find there bushes of roses in full bloom. She told him to take them to the prelate. She then vanished.

"While proceeding to the spot indicated, Juan was surprised to find that the rough cape he wore was imprinted with an exact likeness of the person who had visited him. To his great astonishment, he found the roses in bloom and took them with the cape to the bishop Both were convincing proof that something of a very extraordinary nature had happened. The news spread far and wide, and t.he place was thronged with wondering persons from all over Mexico. The cape with the wonderful imprint was the object of much veneration. It contained various colors, and appeared on both sides as if inwoven. There were the stars that Juan had seen around the wonderful woman's head, and the halo of light which surrounded her. It was hung in the church and afterward in the temple erected on the spot where the miracle occurred. As early as 1666 the matter was brought to the attention of Rome, and an investigation was made. Since then other investigations have been made by the Sacred Congregation of Rights at Rome. All of these investigations strengthened the belief in the miracle. The final one was approved by the Holy See on March 6th, 1894."

For all this Archbishop Corrigan is willing to vouch! Three and a half centuries have not brought emancipation.

These two virgins are the deities of Mexico to-day, with the Christs, white for the light skinned, and black for the dark skinned, that each may have a suitable image, a new idol to take the price of the teocalli and the stone idolll of old j for the priests had no thought of conversion of char- acter. They aimed only at a degree of external conformity. The old habits, modes of thought, religious ideas were not interfered with. New idols for the oli, new priests, new ceremonies, new incantations-that was all. The effect of the mixture is picturesque, but it is not Christianity_ It is doubtful if it is religion. Whatever it is, however, it has many fea- tures wholly superstitious, half pathetic, half grotesque. I cannot describe one of them as il~ustration better than by a quotation from my own diary : .. ZACATECAS, MEXICO, January 17, 1894. .. Perfect afternoon. Every afternoon perfect in this land. The bluest of skies, and earth matching heaven in the richness of its coloring. Took a picture of the finely carved brown-stone front of the cathedral from a roof opposite. The criminals from the penitentiary, who were working merrily on the street, looked up interestedly. At four went to the baptism of the animals at the picturesque little Church of Jesus. This church was built by voluntary work from voluntary offerings. After his day's labor a man would bring a stone from the quarry and leave it at the church. So the material was gathered. It is built on the side of a hill overlooking a deep. dry valley, beyond which the sun. goes down in a perfect wealth of glory. This is the day of San Antonio the Abbot. He was the animals' friend. They understood his sermons. On his day the animals go to church and are baptized and blessed. " On the way to the church we saw people with bird cages gayly decorated with colored papers and tinsel streamers. Almost no one at the church when we arrived, altho there was much expectation in the air. I had scarcely taken a seat in a corner, with the sun properly placed for picture-taking, when the crowds began to come, the poor people bringing their own animals, and servants the animals of the rich. Chic'kens, pigeons, all kinds of birds, doves, cats, dogs, 11 little brown pig who trotted in and out with pink paper pennons flying all over him; a dog with a gilt crown with feathers in it, and a long, lace paper dress; a big black dog with green and pink papers; roosters with pasteboard stove·pipe hats; a cat with a bonnet and a finely worked velvet short coat; rabbits in arms and in cages; a guinea pig dressed in gold ; two dogs with each quarter painted a different color; a sheep and three rams (one black, one white, and a small, rambunctious one painted pink, who stood up frequently to view the proceedings when tormented by some small boys); a green parrot with a yellow head; wee girls holding pigeons-all these animals were led into the church and arranged in two long rows in the body of the church. The Mexican churches in the main have no seats. As soon as the church was full the people who had charge of the animals knelt down, and a young priest, clad in a long black robe, went up and down the space between the kneeling lines, reading Latin-to which some of the animals made intelligible responses-and sprinkling water with a long tin sprinkler, which he filled from a bucket carried by a small boy in a long red gown. A large horse came to the door of the church, together with several donkeys, decorated with bronze frontlets and tin pieces on their hips. When the baptism within was completed, the priest came out into the church-yard, where he held a special service over the burros, but his speech was unintelligible. One fine horse stood in the street just outside the gate, and the priest stood in the gate and sprinkled it, lIexican law not allowing any religious service outside of church grounds. On our way home met scores of people carrying or leading all sorts of animals grotesquely decorated. Some of them seemed to see the ludicrousn~ss of it. Small boys respond at once to a wink. On the whole, the animals seemed to object to the ceremony. The big black dog was drenched with water, his fine green and pink papers soaked. The roosters could not refrain from crowing with exultation, and the other animals also had evidently not been to church frequently enough to be properly quiet. The small brown pig nar· rowlyescaped destruction at the mouth of the large dog. It was evidently a gala day. Everyone was dressed up. This did not involve in most cases, however, any excess of garments. What a diabolically ludicrous scene it all was! If only it meant larger love for the dumb brutes one could understand it and sympathize with it; but the poor burros and horses are treated outrageously. Their religion is meaningless, whether regarded in its bearings upon animals or upon the souls of men.

" At Santa Clara animals when sick are taken to church, and for a compensation the priest exercises them in the church or the church-yard, and praying for them, exorcises them too.

"The meaning of the baptism is this: people think the animals have evil spirits, and try to have the evil spirits driven out by this ceremony. San Antonio is painted accompanied by a pig. They call the pig' Cochina de San Antonio.'

" Three soldiers guard one or two convicts working on the street. Employment must be found for the standing army, or President Diaz-a Dios. The convicts look up and beg as we pass by."

Mary and the saints constitute the Mexican pantheon. The living God is not known, and the Christ is afar off. If there was a true faith ill the past, only its corpse or its ashes remain. If we lift the covering to-day, as Hopkinson Smith says, the dead body can be seen. Liberalism is the religion of the men who rule Mexico, while the Indians worship their Christian idols and the women tIle Virgin's form. The roulette wheel spins at the church fair, and tawdry bull and cock fights afford Sunday delight. Apparitions of the Virgin are still discovered on the leaves of the maguey plant and worshiped. Idolatry is not forbidden by the Ten Commandments as given to the people by the Church. In the Mexican decalogue the second commandment is, "Thou shalt not take the name of God in vain ;" the third, "Thou shalt keep the feasts;" and the tenth commandment is divided into two to make out the number, the second command as given to Moses being wholly omitted, and the fourth distorted into the injunction to observe the feasts.

These generalizations can be abundantly verified in any community in Mexico. At Parras, an old town, three centuries old, with some of the original bnildings still standing, in the State of Coahuila, twenty miles by diligence from the railroad, there is a little white chapel perched on a high rock overlooking a rough plain studded with maguey and mesquite. The " Capilla del Madero" is visible from a far distance, and is a shrine of great sanctity. The local belief, held unshakably, is that upon this rock a cross miraculously appeared one night years ago, when two prieE'ts were visiting the village, and that the priests at once ordered the chapel to be erected over the cross. This was done, but immediately several great fissures appeared in the rock, through which the conquered devil escaped. Pilgrimages have since been made annually to the cross, which grows an inch or so yearly. This growth is cut off and sold as precious relics. On the pilgrimages people have measured this length wearily, slowly, over the plain and up the hill, bleeding and worn, to seek blessing at the cross, and the walls of the chapel are covered with votive tablets, rudely drawn, testifying to miraculous assistance and cures. In the chapel of the Virgin of Guadeloupe, near Mexico City, where Juan Diego's blauket with its miraculous picture is preserved, there are many similar tablets. One of these represents a man falling by accident from a housetop, suddenly checked and suspended in midair by a happy thought of the saint of the chapel. Another was the offering of a man spared from death by robbers because gazing raptly at a picture of the Virgin, while his innocent children were murdered in bed, the tablet gorgeously presenting the whole scene. There are thousands of such tablets in Mexican churches, aud their storage rooms are littered with crucifixes, and virgins, and Christs, graven images, the work of men's hands.

The marvel is that after three hundred years of this, the oppression of the Spanish tyrants and the deadening paralysis of the Church of Rome, unchecked by the atmosphere of freedom, any manliness, or strength, or spirit was left in the Mexican nation. The conquest had been most cruel and repressive. Even Clavigero, the Jesuit historian of Mexico, confessed that the Spaniards "in one year of merciless massacre sacrificed more human victims to avarice and ambition than the Indians, during the existence of their empire, devoted in chaste worship to their gods." The soldiers of Cortez destroyed the records of the Aztecs-records of untold value. A system of peonage was introduced that was slavery. One good priest, Las Casas, is remembered now, almost a solitary exception to the great mass, as the protector of the Indians. From Cortez until 1821 sixty-one viceroys in succession governed Mexico, enforcing legislation devised in Spain, destroying all industries which might compete in Spanish markets or shut Spanish goods out of home markets, ruining the land under forms of law, or robbing it without law, pillaging its mines of silver and the hearts of its people of the joys of life and the peace of death. It is a testimony to the strength and worth of the nation that all this did not destroy the spirit of liberty, did not crush from them that passion after right which makes true children of a living God everywhere readier to fight and die for truth and justice than to live in the tame bondage of a lying peace. Mexico won her freedom against odds, and in a contest compared with which our struggle for independence was child's play. Hidalgo, Morelos, and Nicolas Bravo are names to be set beside any of ours. They show that there were some, at least, even among the priesthood, who loved liberty, and counted the far-off vision of it sweet.er even than the breath of life. If they failed, yet over their dead bodies the cause of Mexican independence moved steadily on, and at the last they failed not.

.. They never fail who die in a great cause."

Benito Juarez, a pure Indian, in 1855-57 established free institutions, a free constitution, religious liberty, free speech, free schools, the secularization of the ill-gotten wealth of the Church, and, in advance' of the Emancipation Proclamation, freedom and protection to all slaves who entered the national territory. The Maximilian fiasco was only a sad episode. Mexico had a better destiny.

Before his death, Juarez, whom Mexicans reverently and rightly regard as their Washington, declared: ' , Upon the development of Protestantism largely depends the future happiness of our country." Protestantism had entered Mexico in 1847 between the covers of the Bibles carried in the knapsacks of American soldiers. It entered to remain and to increase. Melinda Rankin, from her seminary at Brownsville, Tex., sent Bibles and Christian pupils into Mexico, and in 1864, after ten years' work, crossed over herself to Monterey. In 1865, in Mexico City, Francisco Aguilas, who had withdrawn from the Roman priesthood, gathered those who were seeking to follow a pure religion, and on the coming of the Rev. Henry C. Riley, in 1869, sent by the American and Foreign Christian Union, this company formed the first Protestant church in Mexico City, which was soon mightly reinforced by the conversion of Manuel Aguas, a Dominican friar, who had been chosen as the antagonist of Mr. Riley. This church jn Mexico City was not the first Protestant church in the country. In 1867, as the result of Miss Rankin's colporteurs' work, an independent evangelical congregation was formed in the house of Juan Amador, at Villa de Cos, a village fifty miles northeast of Zacatecas. The field was ripe to the harvest, and in 1872 the Presbyterian missionaries entered, the Methodists in 1873, the Congregationalists in 1880, and the Baptists the next year. The spirit of God had gone before the missionaries. Independent congregations had sprung up in many places, the fruit of scattered Bibles. In 1871 a Mexican opened a bookstore in Zitacauro, and offered for sale four hundred Bibles and tracts. The .state of Michoacan, in which Zitacauro is situated, has always been peopled with bold and independent men. The liberators were born there. Its people were most stubborn in their resistance to Spanish oppression, and most fearless of Romish superstition. In the war for independence they took the images out of the churches and piled them up for bonfires, saying, "If these are gods they won't burn, and if they are not gods they might better burn." The Bibles spoke the needed message to them, and congregations sprung up in a score of places. Sr. Rodriguez, au aged and blind preacher, able and refined, living at Zitacauro, said he could remember the early days, when the Bible was wrapped up with the lunch to be taken to the day's work, the noonday prayer-meetings, when laborers gathered for their meals, and the moving lights nightly on the hill-sides, marking the course of the people

CHURCH OF THE VIRGIN OF GUADALODPE

2. FRONT OF THE ZACATECAS CATHEDRAL.

3. CAPILLA DEL MADERO, PARRAS.

MEXICO, HUR NEEDS AND OUR DUTY

gathering for worship and praise. These were days of apostolic fervor, when those who had learned of Christ went everywhere preaching Him.

The fervor and devotion of these early days, yet to be revived, were met by fierce hostilities and persecution. In the excitement aronsed by the preaching of Manuel Aguas, forty Protestants were killed. In 1873 the Rev. J. A. Stephens, a Congregational missionary, was shot at Ahualulco by soldiers while appealing to them for protection, and his body was barbarously abused. Preachers or members of Presbyterian churches suffered martyrdom at Acapulco, where six were killed; at Almoloya, at AhuacualtitIan, where Abraham Gomez, the newly ordained preacher, was beaten to death with his own large Bible, which was then put under his head in mockery for a pillow, and at El Carro, a hacienda near Zacatecas, where Gregoria Monreal was stoned to death and then decapitated. One of the missionaries declared five years ago that the martyr-roll of the Protestant Church in Mexico included sixty-five names.

The days of martyrdom have perhaps also passed away, but it requires courage still to be a Christian in Mexico. The entrances to some little meeting-places in the slums of Mexico City, where the elders of the Church of Divina Salvador go of their own accord to conduct services on Sundays, are so arranged as to make the attendants secure from the stones and dirt thrown in from the street. A poor little girl, Amalia Fuentes, was offered by the wife of ex-Governor Modera, of Coahuila, a trip to the World's Fair two years ago if she would give up going to the mission school for girls at Saltillo. The wealthy woman offered to take her in her carriage if she would go with her to mass. But the child preferred usefulness to pleasure, and said she would rather walk to the humble Protestant service than ride to mass.

There are discouragements and difficulties, many and serious, but neither more nor more serious than the encouragements and the boundless opportunities. The evangelical churches of Mexico are meeting the three tests which every church must meet; and some may think they are not meeting them less faithfully than the evangelical churches of our own land. They are reaching the poor. They are reaching the sinner. They have a place for the child. If they lack much that we possess, it must be remembered that they are emerging from a night which has lasted for three and a half centuries. They are moving ahead toward larger light. A native preacher showed us a picture of his little daughter taken with the great family Bible in her lap. It was not fetishism. He loved the book. He wanted the picture to tell of the family attitude. The Bible lies in a conspicuous place in most Christian homes, and tho these homes are humble, so was the manger where the Lord of life was born. Christ Himself has been planted in Mexican life. One poor man, weak and erring, but earnest, declared to us at Venado, speaking a more general truth than he knew, "The kingdom of God is in my heart. Tell the Christians of America that the kingdom of God is in my heart."

THE INDIANS OF CENTRAL AMERICA

It is said, to Mexico's shame, that it is the country of delay, of postponement, the land of " manana." The larger charity turns the reproach into praise, and anticipates for our Southern neighbors the nobler " manana," the to-morrow of purer faith, of larger life, of closer loyalty, the better day that comes.

'THE INDIANS OF CEN'TRAL AMERICA.

BY REV. C. I. SCOFIELD, D.D., SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL AMERICAN MISSION.

In the inception of the work of the Central American Mitlsion an effort was first made to gain a clear idea of the poptilations of the five republics which were to constitute the field of operations-their distribution, habits of life, religious state, numbers, means of a(".cess to them, and, generally, of whatever facts might enter into the intelligent direction of missionary effort for their evangelization. We had not long prosecuted inquiries in this direction when we became aware that an indeterminate number of aborigines were scattered throughout the entire region in question, and it soon became evident that anything like complete information concerning them was, by ordinary means, unattainable.

For the most part occupying either the higher and more inaccessible mountains, or else the low-lying hot lands along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, they entered so little into the political and economic life of the countries that even the respective governments felt but a languid interest in them, and possessed bnt the vagnest information upon all the points of greatest interest to us. Such facts as were within governmental knowledge were cheerfully placed at our disposal, but these were too few and too indefinite for the basis of rightly directed missionary effort.

In short, it became clear that only by means of laborious and expensive explorations could the data for such effort be obtained.

Mcantime, work was begun at San Jose, capital of Costa Rica, among the intelligent inl1abitants of that beautiful city, and soon after another station was opened at Naranjo de Alajuela, westward from San Jose.

The missionaries at these points were from the first instructed to gather by every means information looking toward the evangelization of the aborigines. 'The motive for this can scarcely require statement. It was deeply felt that the descendants of the interesting and lovable peoples who had received with guileless hospitality the discoverers whose advent was to bring to them centuries of unspeakable outrage, should be in a very especial manner the objects of solicitude to Christians laboring in those regions.

Accordingly, soon after the establishment of the mission at San Jose, Mr. W. W. McConnell, the first missionary, undertook a toilsome journey, fraught, too, with no inconsiderable danger, to visit the Talamanca Indians, inhabiting thc low, swampy region of Southeastern Costa Rica, bor- dering on the Caribbean Sea, and the Republic of Columbia. Much in- teresting information was gathered, and some opportunity was found for Gospel teaching. The results of this journey, published in the Central American B1tlletin, were graciously used of God to draw attention to the condition of the Indians of Central America, and we felt encouraged to go forward in 'the work as rapidly as means and men might be raised up.

At this juncture the attention of that well-known friend of missions, Robert Arthington, Esq., of Leeds, England, was drawn to this great opportunity to carry the Gospel to a people as absolutely heathen as any in Africa; and, after some preliminary correspondence, Mr. Arthington proposed to bear the entire expense of a thorough exploration of the five republics for the gathering of exhaustive information concerning them.

The Lord's blessings ne,er come singly. Simultaneously with this provision for the expense of the undertaking, Rev. C. H. Dillon, one of the most capable and devoted of our missionaries, and a man in every way fitted to carry forward a work requiring courage, persistency, and the tact to deal with uncivilized tribes, became available for the work. He was at once put in charge of it, and, with the fellowship and invaluable assistance of Senor Quesada, one of the converts of ~fr. McConnell's work at San Jose, has now so nearly completed it that I am enabled to lay before the readers of THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE "VORLD the greater outlines of the resuI1;. The details will be published when the explorations are finished. It may be said, however, that Mr. Dillon has done his work so effectively that the mission is prepared to send missionaries direct from this country or England to any tribe, and to inform such missionary as to their numbers, habits, language, degree of civilIzation, religion, and disposition toward white men. And not this only, but also the best route of travel, all things considered; the prevalent characteristic diseases of the region; what clothing and, supplies should be carried; and the expense both of the journey and of support on the field.

This result has been achieved by the intelligent and patient execution of plans carefully elaborated before the actual explorations began. In all the preliminary w.ork, and from time to time during its progress, the suggestions of Mr. Arthington have been of great value.

In the present article it is proposed to do no more than generalize the results achieved.

It may be well to remind the reader that the entire population of the five republics approximates 3,250,000, distributed as follows: Costa Rica, 243,205; Guatemala, 1,471,025; Honduras, 431,917 ; Nicaragua, 312,- 845 ; Salvador, 777,895. Speaking broadly, this population is composed of pure whites, inconsiderable in number, but of great influence; pure Indians, of whom hereafter; and mestizos, or people of mixed white and Indian blood, and thesc are in numerical majority over both the other classes. In religion, the whites and mestizos are Roman Catholic, but with this qualification: that the better educated of both classes are deeply tinctured with modern forms of scepticism, open infidelity, and spiritism. Alienated from the traditional faith by the shameless lives of many of the priests, and by the childish superstitions which they impose upon the people, and knowing little or nothing of the simplicity that is in Christ, they follow the unfaith of the German, Swiss, and French instructors in the state colleges. The number of those of this class who have already been converted affords proof of the readiness with which they will hear the pure Gospel.

Turning nO"W to the Indians, and premising that this article deals only with that part of the popUlation which is of pure or greatly predominant Indian blood, the facts may be broadly stated as follows : In some parts, notably in Nicaragua, the Indians have practically lost their tribal organizations, and have not only merged with, but actually compose the mass of, the population. Of this class the Masaya, Mata- ga1pa, and Ometepe Indians of Nicaragua are examples. In every politi- cal and religious sense they are indistinguishable from the mass of the Central American peoples. From them come many of the priests, of whom their towns are full, and they are the soldiers and minor officials of the republic. As objects of missionary solicitude they afford indeed a most interesting and promising field, but this they share with the other inhabitants of the republics. In Nicaragua the only distinctively Indian tribe is the Mosquito, among whom the Moravians have long conducted a heroic and fruitful work.

Beginning with the southernmost of the republics, Costa Rica, the expedition visited the Chiripo, Talamanca, Tucurique, and Coj tribes. I wish it were possible within the limits of a magazine article to reproduce Mr. Dillon's vivid account of these journeys. They were often perilous and always arduous.

1. The Ghil'ipo Indians.-This interesting tribe, which has furnished the firstfruits unto God from the aborigines of Costa Rica, inhabits a high mountainous region in East-central Costa Rica, and is accessible only by narrow paths through the dense tropical jungle, and across rivers which are deep, swift, and destitute of bridges. The expedition was so fortu- nate as to find at Turrialba, the point of departure for the Chiripo coun- try, a competent guide who was of that tribe, and who spoke Spanish as well as the Chiripo language. It is gratifying to record that before the exploration was finished, this man, Rafael, had received baptism, having given most gratifying evidence of conversion.

The Chiripo were found to be about five hundred and twenty in num- ber; to have a well-defined tribal organization, with first and second chiefs, whose authority within traditional lines is absolute; to live in scattered . habitations simply built, with roofs of grass thatch; and to subsist by small cultivatious in part, but mainly by hunting, fishing, and by the natu- raj growths of edible fruits and vegetables. In character they were found to be suspicious of whites j but, their confidence once gained, open, cheerful, and hospitable. They seem to be almost destitute of religion, having turned from their immemorial idolatry without having been as yet indoctrinated with the corrupt form of Romanism prevalent in Central America.

Mr. Jamison, who had gained among the Talamancas some experience in Indian mission work, accompanied the expedition, and, finding an extraordinary openness of mind among these simple Indians, elected to remain among them. One may easily imagine the feelings of these brethren, Dillon, Quesada, and Jamison, as they clasped hands in parting-the two former to retrace their steps to civilization, the latter to remain alone among these remote and little-known people.

A most remarkable work ensued. Through an interpreter who knew some Spanish, Mr. Jamison began at once to speak of the true God and of the manifestation of His love in the gift of His son to die for the sins of all men, and in a very few days the power of the Spirit was revealed in a wonderful way. Runners were sent out to bring in outlying members of the tribe, a comfortable grass house was built for Mr. Jamison, and in a few weeks twenty-five of these children of nature received Christian baptism after giving clear evidences of conversion.

Mr. Dillon's account of this interesting people recalls the stories of the kindliness, courtesy, and hospitality of their ancestors at the time of the discovery. Mr. Dillon says: "During our visit the Indians brought us more than an abundance of such food as they had, and in every way that they could show kindness tht,y did so. For example, they never use tables j but, learning that we had been accustomed to such extravagances, the second chief came, on the morning after our arrival, with two young men, and spent a half day making one for us. They are strictly honest j anything under any circumstances is perfectly safe. "

It would almost seem that this primitive tribe had been preserved in their mountain fastuess to afford an impressive object lesson by contrast with such Indians as the Guatosos on the one hand, and of the Coj on the other of the evil inflicted upon the aboriginal peoples of Central America by whites who have either shamelessly degraded them or turned them into sullen fanatics.

2. The Talamanca Indians.-This numerous and degraded tribe, living in the low-lying lands and foothills of Southeastern Costa Rica and Northeastern Colombia, present in most respects a striking contrast tt> the Chiripo. There is some affinity in the languages of these two tribes, but they are otherwise most dissimilar. The Talamancas are about two thousand in number, live in clusters of huts, which are little more than thatched roofs, avoid contact with the whites, from whom, in the persons of runaway sailors, rubber hunters, and cattle thieves, they have suffered unspeakable outrages. They have a tribal organization j but a representative of the government lives among them and is the real ruler. Some slight attempts at the most primitive agriculture are made; but the Indians subsist principally on fish, wild animals, and wild fruit.

Very few of them speak Spanish. To the vices of heathenism have been added nameless degradations, brought in by the bestial whites who have been among them. Fortunately the rubber trees have mostly disappeared, and they are now spared the incursions of the rubber hunters, who are to the Indians of Central America what rum traders are to the native African.

The climate is trying and dangerous. Fevers prevail, even the Indians having no immunity, and poisonous serpents are numerous. Yet these conditions have not prevented the residence in Talamanca of white persons, impelled by greed or lust, and it cannot be conceded that the trader can go where the missionary canl).ot. Mr. Jamison lived and labored among these Indians until withdrawn by the mission, because it was felt that such isolation was inexpedient. Into such regions missionaries should go two and two.

Access is had by open boat along the Caribbean coast from Port Limon, Costa Rica, to Cahuita ; and from thence over an execrable trail forty miles to the first of the villages. Another route is by Old Harbor, but is the more difficult of the two. There are to-day no missionaries among these Indians. Who will go q 3. The Tucuriqui Indians.-These Indians, numbering some five hun~ dred, live in a river valley in Eastern Costa Rica, and may be reached on horseback by a ride of seven miles from the railroad station of Tucuriqui on the railroad connecting San Jose with Port Limon. They are settled in one village, have some slight admixture of Spanish blood, and are mostly nominal Romanists, and are visited at intervals by priests from Cartago.

The climate is good, if care is taken about exposure to night air, the elevation above the sea being about twenty-five hundred feet. No missionary has ever resided among them. Who will go ~ 4. The Goj Indians.-This tribe, inhabiting the very high lands of Central Costa Rica, have a considerable mixture of Spanish blood, live by agriculture, are nominal Romanists, and inclined to be fanatically so, and have almost lost the native language, speaking Spanish instead.

They are reached with comparative ease except for the last few miles of the journey, which is a mere trail through the jungle. They number about twenty-five hundred. They have no distinctively tribal organization, and have a resident governor. No missionary has gone to this tribe. Who will go ~ 5. The (}uatoso8 Indians.-This tribe. numbering perhaps twelve hundred, and living for the most part along the Frio River, in Northwestern Costa Rica, is reported by Mr. Dillon to be the most pitifully in need of the Gospel-the dirtiest and lowest of all the Indians whom he visited.

Very few of them speak Spanish; they have had no chief for thirty years, and are so remote, degraded, and useless that the government has been able to accomplish but little in their behalf. For two hundred years they were able to resist the incursions of the whites, killing even priests in their efforts to penetrate their country. But the rubber hunters-those pitiless scourges of all tropical America-overran and subdued them and taught them th~ unspeakable vices of the degraded white man. Now their spirit is thoroughly broken, and the country is defended only by its inaccessibility. Perhaps no natives in all America have suffered more from the whites than these Indians j but once assured that the expedition meant good and not evil toward them, they were found to be friendly and hospitable. Their religion is a rudimentary belief in a future state, and they are wholly uncorrupted by debased forms of Christianity.

Of the many routes by which this tribe may be reached, the best, all things considered, is up the river Frio from Lake Nicaragua by canoe. Under favorable circumst,ances, the trip can be made in five days from the mouth of the river.

This tribe was visited in March, 1895, by Mr. William A. Arthur, of Philadelphia, who has since founded the Central American Industrial Mission.

The purpose of this mission is to plant colonies with the view to self· supporting mission work in that needy region. The Guatosos are eRpecially the object of the immediate solicitude of this infant mission, which is "represented in this country by the Philadelphia Missionary Council, Fifty.fourth Street and Lansdowne Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa., and by the Central American Mission, of which the writer is secretary. The former has exclusive charge of industrial or self.supporting work j the latter of the missionary work in Central America which is supported from abroad.

6. The Indians of Salvador.-What has been said above of the Indians of Nicaragua will, in the main, apply also to the Indians of Salvador. Indians of pure blood form the bulk of the population, have no tribal organization, are, in fact, the people, tho neither so well educated nor so influential as the whites of pure blood among them. They are the laborers, soldiers, petty officials, and agriculturists of the country.

In religion they are fanatical Romanists. To the lasting disgrace of this great Protestant land be it said, there has never been a resident mis. sionary in this republic. The population is dense, eight hundred thousand living in a territory of twenty thousand square miles extent. In the capital and larger towns a liberal element is found which earnestly desires that missionaries be sent. Who will go !

'I. The Indians of Guatemala and Honduras.-As the final reports upon the Indian peoples of these two republics are not completed, and as by far the greater number of the pagan Indians in the five republics are found in theRe two, an account of them is, by consent of the editor of the REVIEW, postponed to a subsequent paper.

It may be here said, however, that the explorations just approaching a conclusion have disclosed a mission field among the aborigines of these two republics, which is of great extent and surpassing interest. The reports of the expedition, tho not ready for publication even in this brief, summary way, are so definite and comprehensive that the Central American Mission is now fully prepared to induct at least twenty missi()naries into fields as absolutely untouched by the Gospel of Christ as any on the whole earth. That the reader may have some more definite conception of the greatness of the field thus opened in Guatemala and Honduras one tribe may be mentioned.

The Xicaque Indians of Honduras, for example, whose country lies northward from Tegucigalpa, the capital, among the high mountains in which the rivers Guayape, Aguan, and Sulaco take their rise, number between twelve thousand and sixteen thousand, of whom three fourths are in some sense Romanized, but who number at least four thousand of absolute pagans. These are neither inhospitable nor revengeful, but their distrust of the whites is so deep that it was a matter of the greatest surprise to the tribe when their chief gave his hand to Mr. Dillon at parting.

It will be seen that there are many contrasts between the Indians of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Salvador, and those of Guatemala and Honduras. Tl,te tribes of the last-named republics are strong in numbers and are spread over fast spaces of mountain and forest. In the former the tribes are small, and many languages must be learned before they can be thoroughly evangelized. In the latter, one language will often give access to from ten thousand to seventy-five thousand souls.

While the churches of America have been sending missionaries into the remotest parts of the world, they have strangely neglected this tempting and destitute field at their very doors. And this in plain disregard of the spirit of the Divine plan of campaign of missions given by the Lord Himself in Acts 1 : 8, which contemplates the moving out by concentric circles from strategic centers, and-by implication at least-forbids the overpassing of unevangelized regions.

With the opening, through the Arthington Explorations of the Central American Mission, of this vast Indian field, within four days' sail of New Orleans, it is hoped that the response in men and means will be commensurate with the need.

At least in the beginning it will be inexpedient for lady missionaries to attempt work among these tribes. Not alone nor chiefly because of the difficulties of travel, but because they can at first be more effectively reached by men. With the gathering of a few converts, however, this objection will disappear, and a great door and effectual will be opened to women missionaries among these peoples, so near, so needy.

THE ARMENIAN CHURCH

THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. * BY REV. FIDLlPP VOLLMER, FH.D., PHIL A-D ELPHIA, FA..

Armenia of old and that part of the Turkish Empire where the majority of the Armenian race still lives is situated in the western part of Asia, not far from Palestine, between the Black, the Mediterranean, and the Caspian seas, remote, inaccessible, and isolated. The fact that in the northwest, Turkish Armenia is bordering on Russia is at present the cause of much uneasiness and concern in English diplomatic circles.

In extent Armenia is a country as large as New England, constituting a plateau of 7000 feet high, which is for the greatest part barren and rough, but not without many fertile spots in the numerous valleys. The highest point is Mount, Ararat, on which Noah's ark is said to have descended after the flood. Many theologians and not a few archroologists also strongly assert that in Armenia the cradle of the human race must have stood; and with a great array of learning they have proved to their own and many others' satisfaction that the very spot is to be found in the region where the fonr great rivers, Euphrates, Tigris, Araxes, and Kur, take their rise, these being in their opinion identical with the four rivers, Pison, Gihon, Hidekel, and Euphrates, which, according to Gen. 2 : 10, " went out of Eden. "

The name of the country, Armenia, is derived from the name of one of their ancient kings, Aram, who was a contemporary of Abraham. The Armenians themselves call their country Haichia, from Haichun, the name of their ancestor, who was a great-grandson of Japhet, one of the three sons of Noah. In outward appearance, however, the people show great resemblance to the Semitic type, having a brown complexion and eyes of a yellowish brown.

The Armenian people are not confined to the territory of old Armenia, but are to be found almost everywhere, preserving, however, with great tenacity, their national unity and individuality, wherever they are found, almost equal to the Jews. With this people they have, moreover, in common, their dispersion, their pohtical dependence, the oppression endured in all ages, and their occupation as tradesmen. The Armenians number, according to the last census, 4,000,000, over three fourths of whom st,ill occupy the same territory as their forefathers did, ~,500, 000 of them being Turkish, 1,100,000 Russian, and 100,000 Persian subjects, while the rest are scattered all over the entire globe, our own country not excepted. But wherever they live, they enjoy the reputation of being a quiet, int.elligent, very polite, temperate, and extremely frugal people. The majority of them are engaged in trade-almost the entire commerce of the * As the Armenians are just now in the public thoughts of the civilized world, owing to cruel massacres of thousands of their nnmber, a brief statement as to their conntry, their character, and their religion seems timely. Turkish Empire being in their hands. This occupation accounts mainly for theIr almost universal dispersion. The Armenians under Turkish sovereignty are, of course, everywhere surrounded by fanatical Mohammedans, ruled by 1hem, hatp.d by them, constantly annoyed by them, and from time to time massacred by them. These outrages are no mere ebullition of violence, temporary and transient in its nature. They show, on the contrary, a settled purpose on the part of the hordes of Eastern barbarism to suppress a civilization that is based on the Christian religion. Positive proof of this are the four bloody persecutions of the present century-in 1822, when 23,000 were slain and 17,000 sold into slavery; also in 1860, 1876, and the one at the present time.

The ancient history of the Armenians is, like that of most old nations, shrouded in obscurity. First they were a constituent part of the Assyrian Empire; then they were ruled m succession by eight mdependent kings; later Cyrus made them part of his Persian Empire, and afterward the Seleucides subjected them unto Syria. For more than seven bundred years Armenia was the bone of contention between the Romans, the Persians, the Parthians, and native rulers, till the Arabs subjugated one part in 650 and the other in 950 ; in 1574 the whole became a part of the Turkish Empire. Part of the ancient Armenian territory has belonged to Russia since 1829.

Circumstantial evidence proves that Oh1'istianity must have been introduced into Armenia at a very early date. The first church historIan, Eusebius (died 340) found in the library at Edessa a manuscript in the Syrian language containing a very remarkable correspondence between Jesus Christ and Abgarus, an Armenian prince. These are the words of the letter f)f Abgarus to Jesus : " From Thy miraculous healings and raising of the dead, I conclude that one of two things must be true: either Thou art God HImself, descended from heaven to do such deeds, or Thou art the Son of God because Thou performest such acts. )ome, therefore, to me and heal me from a severe sickness. ' , Christ answered this letter in the following words : " Abgarus, blessed art thou because thou didst beheve in Me without , seeing Me. For it is written that those who see, Me shall not believe in Me, in order that those who do not see Me might believe and lIve. In reference to thy request that I should come to thee, I say that I have here among My own people to fulfill all for whIch I am sent. After having ful- filled it, I will be taken to Him who had sent Me. But when I shall have been taken np, then WIll I send to thee one of My disciples that he might release thee from thy sickness and give life to thee and to those with thee."

Eusebius goes on to say that in the year 30 A.D. Thaddeus, one of the seventy disciples, did actually come to Abgarus, did heal him of leprosy and convert him and his subjects to ChrIstlanity. Legend has it that Christ even sent him His picture through Thaddeus, and thlS pieture is still shown in one of the churches in Rome. Another historian, Moses Chorensis (died 470A.D.), communicates also a correspondence between the same Abgarus and the Roman Emperor Tiberius. In this, Abgarus brought charges against; Pontius Pilde for condemning Christ to death. Tiberius, in his answer to Abgarus, says lhat Pilate had written to him about the miracles and innocence of Christ, and it was only the Senate's fault that divine honors were not rendered unto Christ.

The genuineness of these letters may well be doubted. Their existence at so early a period goes far to prove, however, that Christianity must have been very early introduced into Armenia. This was actually done during the first and second centuries of the Christian era ; and in the third century, the people accepted Christianity generally, thus becoming the first in the world's history to accept Christianity as a nation. Tertullian in the second century already speaks of flourishing churches in Armenia; and in the middle of the third century a bloody persecution under Tiridates III. is reported.

The real apostle of the Armenians, however, and the actual founder of that ancient church is Gregor, calJed the Illuminator, because through his activity the night of heathenism vanished and the light of the Gospel began to rise brilliantly over Armenia. He was the son of a prince, and was born in 257. In the afore-mentioned persecution his whole family suffered a martyr's d()ath, notwithstanding their high position, Gregor, then two years of age, b()ing the only member who was almost miraculously rescued by an old nurse, who fled with him to the neighboring province of Cappadocia. Here Gregor received a Christian education, and after returning to his native land, he labored so successfully, in spite of persecutions, that at last his work was crowned by the conversion of the persecuting king himself and by the general acceptance of Christianity by the great majority of the people. In planting the Armenian Church, Gregor proceeded with much prudence, circumspection, and wisdom. In admitting young men to the schools which he opened aJ] over the country, he gave preference to the sons of the heathen priests and their relatives, his intention being to make them well disposed toward the new doctrine. In the year 302 A. D. Gregor was consecrated bishop of all Armenia, and in 325, he received a cordial and very pressing invitation to the famous first ecumenical council at Nice, where the doctrine of the eternal Godhead of Christ was promulgated. However, he did not go personally, apprehending that too much honor might be bestowed upon him for having been a confessor during the persecution. As his representative he sent his son, to whom he also, toward the end of his life, entrusted the supervision of his diocese. At his death he left the church which he planted in a very flourishing condition, in which it remained for a long period after his death, notwithstanding political upheavals. Gregor was also a very able writer, of whom sermons and prayers are still extant. Thus by his own example, he kindled a profound interest in education and learning, so that after the invention of the Armenian alphabet, the golden era of Armenian literature was ushered in by translations of almost the entire Greek and Syrian literatlIre, as well as by original works.

One great hindrance in spreading Christianity was the lack of a transla- tion of the BibLe into the vernacu1ar of the country. The preachers were compelled first to read the text in a foreign language, and then translate and expound it. There was not even an alphabet of the Armenian language. To overcome both difficulties, Mesrob worked incessantly day and night 1.0 invent first an alphabet for the Armenian tongue, which would then enable him to translate the Bible. For a long time all his exertions remained fruitless. Seeing that human ingenuity and wisdom alone is not sufficient, he took refuge in prayer. One day, when he was again engaged in earnest prayer, he beheld a rock and a right hand engraving upon it several signs. These imprinted themselves so clearly upon his memory that afterward he could recall and imitate all of them; and thus, Mesrob's disciples tell us, the origin of the Armenian alphabet was found. Immediately he began work, and in the year 410 A.D. the translation of the Bible was completed.

Soon after Mesrob's death, the then ruling Persians instigated a bloody persecution with the intention of converting the Armenians to the Persian fire-worship. In a hotly contested battle, in 451, on the river Dechmnd they were ~tterly defeated. But in spite of oppression following this defeat, the Armenians remained steadfast till their oppressors, the dynasty of the Sassanides, were overthrown.

Up to this time, the Armenian Church constituted an integral part of the Church universal. In 451, however, they adopted in open synod the doctrinal errors of the Monophysites, who deny that in Christ two natures were inseparably united-a truly divine and a veritable human nature. Since that time they constitute an independent church and are affiliated with none of the three great bodies into which the Church is divided. They know nothing of Protestantism, not having been in the least influenced by that great movement; but both the Roman Catholic and the Greek churches have been trying to secure their adhesion. A disruption came in 1439, and one part joined the Roman Catholic Church, acknowledging the Pope as their spiritual head and adopting the distinctive Roman doctrines, yet retaining in their services their native tongue. This portion of the Armenian Christians is called the United Armenians, while the old monophysitic paM; goes under the name of the Orthodox Armenians. This schism revived the old persecutions, and about the middle of the eighteenth century the Armenian patriarch sought and obtained the intervention of Peter the Great of Russia. Since then the orthodox part of the Armenian Church has found shelter under the protection of Russia.

The doctrines of the Armenians are almost identical with those of the Greek Church. They have the seven sacraments; in baptism the child is immersed three times, it is then anointed with holy oil, confirmed, and partakes of the Lord's Supper in both elements. Prayers are said for the dead; but the Church does not believe in purgatory nor admit of indulgences. There is a threefold order of the clergy-bishops, priests, and deacons; and there are three degrees of episcopal rank-the archbishops (chief among whom is the patriarch), the bishop, and the teacher of theology. The clergy are further divided into the black and white, the black being the monk.s and the white the parish priests. This la1ter class is permitted to marry before ordination, but not after.

The Armenian Church teaching then, as we have seen, the same errors of the two medieval churches, has justly been regarded by the Protestants as a proper mission field for the dissemination of a purer gospel. Consequently missionaries of the American Board of Boston began work among them in 1831. For many years it was hoped that they might quietly and without formal church organization exert an influence that would reform and spiritualize the ancient church from within. Persecution reluctantly compelled the missionaries to seek protection by forming a separate -Protestant Church in 1850. At about the same time, the Missionary Society of Basel, Switzerland, also established a mission among them. There are now three missions in Armenia, comprising 281 stations, 944 foreign and native laborers, 112 churches with a membership of 11,481, 264 Sundayschools, with 46,864 adherents, and a number of colleges and theological, high and boarding-schools with a total of 19,886 persons under instruction. It is hoped that these native Protestants may be instrumental in arousing this ancient but fossilized church and raise it to a more spiritual type of Christianity; and a beginning of this uplifting work has alreadybeen made.

How necessary this missionary work is in Armenia, may be gathered from the very unfavorable reports that reach us touching the religious and moral condition of clergy and people. Very recently one of the Protestant missionaries, trying to impress an Armenian bishop with the duty of the Armenians to work for the conversion of the Mohammedans, was startled with the reply : "What are we to preach to the Mohammedans? They believe in God like we and have good prayers. We could only preach to them about the Trinity and the divinity of Christ." "But," said the missionary, "the difference between Christianity and Islam is truly very great. The heaven-e.g., which the Bible teaches-is a far superior conception and a much purer ideal than that of the Mohammedans." To which the bishop replied: "If I were certain that the paradise of the Mohammedans really existed, I would wish to be there." This proves better than many words the low condition of the Armenian Church, and the urgent necessity of working among them.

The first evangelical Armenian Church was organized July 1st, 1846, after those who had accepted the Protestant form of Christian belief had been excommunicated from the Armenian Church by the anathema of the patriarch. It was the original desire of the missionaries to bring about a reform in the Armenian Church, but the attitude of the patriarch made this impossible. At the beginning of 1895 the evangelical Protestants numbered nearly fifty thousand.

A NEW MISSIONARY UPRISING

A NEW MISSIONARY UPRISING.

BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS, ASSOCI.A.TE EDITOR OF "THE GOLDEN RULE."

One whose ears are open to "the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry-trees" must have heard the premonitions of a new and mighty movement among the young people's societies of our churches. I think that I speak well within the truth when I say that this revival, or " advance," is of greater importance to the cause of Christ than anything that has concerned the youthful members of the Church since the discovery of the Christian Endeavor Society fifteen years ago. Yet this new movement has spread so imperceptibly that only he whose ears are quickened by the Spirit may have noticed it.

I speak of the marvelous awakening in practical evangelIstic effort and deeper spiritual life that has possessed the Christian endeavor movement within the past year. Already this spirit has resulted in thousands of conversions outside of the usual line of the Society's work, and it has spread itself abroad throughout the length and breadth.of the land as a sweet savor. of the pure Gospel. Vithout comment upon it, let us briefly follow the history of this" new endeavor."

Two years ago, in the city of Reading, Pa., the State Christian Endeavor convention was held, and Rev. Charles Adamson, a pastor zealous for the salvation of souls, conceived the idea of having the delegates share their blessings with the work people of the city who could not get to the meetings, even if they so desired, and most of whom knew practically nothing about the joys that filled the hearts of the Endeavorers. There had been little preparation for such a campaign, yet permission was secured from a number of employers to hold meetings during the noon hour in their shops and factories. Companies of willing workers were soon formed, and at the close of the morning sessions of the convention the delegates would march, with songs on their lips, to these places of employment, where the Gospel story was simply told by the earnest young people. The result was most marked. The Endeavorers themselves were thrilled with something of the joy of the missionary, and the cordial attention and intense interest of the work people surprised even the most ardent advocates of the plan.

One year later, at the wonderful convention of Pennsylvania Christian Endeavor societies, held in York, this evangelistic movement was made the predominant feature of the convention. Rev. Charles A. Oliver, a Presbyterian pastor of the city, whose chief ambition is the salvation of men, took charge of the work, arranging for evangelistic meetings each day in mills, factories, shops, the jail, the almshouse, in the public square, etc. Vhen the convention met, the delegates were formed into companies with experienced leaders, and each was assigned a p1ace of duty. More than a score of meetings were held each day of the convention, many souls found the light, and a general religious awakening of marvelous character was the result. This determined the place of practical missionary work in the Christian Endeavor conventions. .

With the experience of York (1894) in mind, the United Society arranged for a similar Gospel campaign in Boston during the convention there last summer. So, when the Endeavorers came up from all parts of the land, they not only reported direct missionary gifts of $340,603.54, and the glad news that 202,185 of the associate members had been led to Christ during the year, but they also showed the practical nature of their religion by entering heart and soul into this movement for practical evan- gelism. Rev. James L. Hill, D.D., of Salem, Mass., a trustee of the United Society; Rev. Charles Roads, of Philadelphia, Pa., ex·President of the Pennsylvania Christian Endeavor Union and a leader in this work, and Rev. Charles A. Oliver, of York, Pa., were appointed a committee to arrange for evangelistic meetings during the Boston convention. It was felt that if this sort of work could be carried on with any degree of success in Boston, with its abnormally difficult conditions, it would surely succeed . in any other city in the land. Therefore, altho hindered in many ways, the committee arranged for evangelistic companies of Endeavorers from many States, organized and instructed them before they left their homes for Boston, and had them ready to begin their splendid campaign of wit- ness-bearing on the very first day of the convention.

Fifty-five different places were secured in the city. These were of almost every sort-wharves, shops, missions, stores, institutions of various kinds, and favorable points in the open air. Notice was given through the press and by direct communication to the working men of the time, and place, and character of the services. Since most of the evangelistic com- panies were from distant States, the very novelty drew together large audi- ences.

Perhaps I can in a word describe the character of one of these Chris- tian Endeavor evangelistic meetings. It was held in a mill. The Endeav- orers gathered at the noon hour. After the work people had eaten their lunches they assembled in the weaving-room, among the looms, and as near to the visitors as possible. The leader (Mr. William Shaw, one of the three executive officers of the United Society of Christian Endeavor) stood on a bench for an improvised pulpit, and after telling in a few words who the Endeavorers were and what they represented, the company began to sing the bright Christian Endeavor songs. There was much praying, and a few practical words from the leader proclaiming " the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world," and one after another, the dele- gates testified what this Jesus is to them. Then, the engine having been set in motion some minutes earlier than was expected, the leader gave the Gospel invitation to the music of whirring pulleys, belts, and shafting, and ten persons accepted the offer of salvation.

More or less similar were the 120 evangelistic meetings held by the Endeavorers during the Boston convention. The audiences were interested to a remarkable degree, many of the toilers putting themselves to great incon- venienceto be present. When the opportunity was given each day for all to share in the services, 284 attendants, most of them Christian employees, testified or took part in some other way. Twenty thousand persons were reached by the Gospel message, and 585 delegates, from more than a score . of States, participated in these services during the days of the Boston meeting.

Of conversions it is impossible to speak. It is not always well to eount on visible manifestations. Certainly the number of those professing to accept Christ reached more than two hundred. As many as twenty per- sons in a single meeting took the decisive step. This magnificent show- ing, marvelous as it is, does not reveal on its surface the greatest good of the meetings, for from this taste of the joys of preaching the Gospel, hun- dreds of Christian young people went home to their churches and societies in all parts of the land to partake more fully of the feast of consecrated work for souls.

Such an influence permeating the societies of the land could not be without tremendous effect; and now, as I write, I have before me the reports from some of the last of the Fall State conventions of Christian Endeavor societies. These tell the glad story of Boston, 1895, over again. The majority of the State unions made practical evangelistic work by the delegates a chief feature of their great annual meetings. Pennsylvania surpassed its noble record of the previous year; California witnessed pentecostal times; Maine held thronged Gospel services; Wisconsin, Nebraska, Indiana, Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, Delaware, all report in the same jubilant strain glorious Christian Endeavor meetings for the unreached masses. Massachusetts, the conservative Bay State, went into the work at her State convention with a zeal and enthusiasm that resulted in an untold harvest of redeemed ones, and now her societies have gone forth to practically fulfill the year's motto, " Saved to serve." Each of these great meetings has increased the influence of the evangelistic spirit, and has sent the Endeavorers home to their individual societies to carry out in their own churches and neighborhoods this practical effort for those who do not come within the scope of the usual methods of preaching the truth.

One single society in Glenholden, Pa., upon the return of its delegates from Boston, appointed an evangelistic committee; services were held weekly, and the first seven meetings resulted in 50 conversions! York, Pa., the place where this movement received its first great impetus, is at this writing carrying on a Christian Endeavor evangelistic campaign. The Methodists of Philadelphia, in their great revival in Armory Hall, adopted the same method of using organized companies of their young people. In like manner, in many parts of the land, these convention efforts have been but the starting-points of mighty radii of evangelistic influence.

There is not space to comment on the striking lessons that these bare facts so eloquently tell. Above all else, they show the power of a living Gospel. The plain, blood-stained cross of Jesus Christ has not ceased to be the greatest magnetic force of all the ages. The Lamb of God has lost none of his beauty and power. No topic is of such vital interest to man everywhere as that of Christ and salvation. I could repeat instance sfter instance to show how this simple Gospel story has been sough~ with utmost eagerness. Listen to this! During the Boston convention a company of delegates from a distant State were lost in the labyrinth of streets and failed to reach their appointment on time. The workmen were so eager for their presence and their story that they hired a carriage and sent one of their number to the Convention Hall to see if some Endeavorers might not come down and hold a meeting with them. Who of us thought that such a story could be told of a great Christian city?

One other truth that I desire to merely indicate is that the young people of the Christian Endeavor Society and of the Church in general have no greater enthusiasm than that for practical missionary work. There is nothing in all Christian Endeavor that has met with the response that has been accorded this" advance." Invariably the delegates report these evangelistic meetings as the very best sessions of the convention ; and if you could see them, as I have seen them, trudging for miles to a remote factory, beneath a burning sun, simply for the privilege, not of making speeches or of winning applause, but simply of bearing humble witness before a company of untutored men of the power of God unto salvation, you would with me praise the Lord for this new crusade:; Coincident with this evangelistic enlargement has been the outreaching after spiritual power manifest in Christian Endeavor circles. Thc Society has always stood for spirituality, but in an unprecedented degree there is being witnessed at the present time a seeking after those things of Christ that lie deepest in the spiritual life ; an outreaching for a fuller consecration, for a richer abiding of the truth. In line with this Dr. Clark has proposed to Christian Endeavorers a " World's Christian Endeavor Prayer Chain," to be joined by all those who feel the need of a better spiritual life, and who are willing to pray daily for spiritual blessings upon the cause of Christ everywhere, upon the Christian Endeavor Society, and upon the members of this prayer chain. Within one week after the covenant had been proposed Dr. Clark received more than two hundred letters from Christian Endeavorers asking that they be enrolled as members of this World's Prayer Chain. Thousands of persons, in many lands, have already become" links," and each day witnesses further enrolments. Here is the covenant to which all Christians, whether Endeavorers or not, are asked to affix their signature : " Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, and realizing the untold blessing of fervent, united prayer, we, the individual links in the World's Christian Endeavor Prayer Chain, covenant and agree to make it our practice to offer a petition for one another and for the cause of Christian Endeavor

ELSIE; OR, THE GRACE OF GOD

every day. We also promise to endeavor to bear in mind, at the usual time of our daily devotions, the particular cause which is brought to the attention of the Prayer Chain each month as the object of our united petition."

There is no form of organization. The memberR are asked, but not required, to send their names to Dr. Clark, that they may be enrolled on a private list in order that the members may be known and the faith of the members increased. Dr. Clark's address is 646 Washington Street, Boston, Mass.

Who shall say that these two new and twin endeavors-the enlargement of spiritual life and the practical evangelistic crusade-shall not have a great part in ushering in that glorious day when all the kingdoms of this world shall be the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ ~ ELSIE j OR, THE GRACE OF GOD.

BY MRS. E. M. WHITTEMORE, NEW YORK CITY.

Mission work in the slums and in the upper part of New York City is very similar in many respects. Lives of sin, hidden behind brown-stone fronts, are, if anything, more difficult to correct, and following the Master to fine-appearing haunts of sin is beset with more difficulties than amid the poverty and coarseness of the slums. Sin is the same whether it is enconntered on the top rung of the ladder, where the devil temporarily blinds the senses of his victims behind a whirl of tinseled finery, or when, descending lower and lower, the lowest step is reached, and the weary, reckless tread of vice and crime is heard in the slums. It is worth while, however, to follow sinners through their various stages, amid repeated discouragements, if finally one may rescue them by the grace of God.

From a beautiful home of comfort and refinement there stepped forth one day a poor, silly, foolish, but exceedingly pretty young girl of fOllrteen. By her side was a noted villain, who, through lying and deceit, had passed himself off as a person of title. By the time that SuspiCIOn was aroused in the minds of those who entertained him he had in subtle ways gained the love of this mere child, and he managed so to control her every thought that it was comparatively easy to gain her consent to elope with him. Once married, he thought that the parents would speedily relent, and thus he would be reinstated in the household, and later would have at his disposal whatever wealth the family might possess.

Contrary to all expectations, the dishonored family most emphatically resented all efforts at reconciliation, and with breaking hearts closed their doors even to their own child. Through gambling aud other evil pursuits the newly married husband kept up appearances for a few short years, during which time no attempts succeeded III turning poor Elsie to the Savior, tho many regrets and much shame and sincere remorse filled her heart.

The wild excitement of the life she led gradually produced and strengthened in her the taste for wine, until at last it gained such a mastery over her that, tho dressed in silks, she was powerless in the hands of companions who led her still lower into the sinful ways of the corrupt world.

The once apparently fond husband, under whose influence this formerly pure girl had become so changed, became not only a tyrant, but with great brutality -too awful to record-caused her to submit to his diabolical whims, until she no longer sent for liquor to give her a pleasurable gratification, but that it might, if possible, render her oblivious to his cruelty. In desperation she made six attempts 1.0 leave him, but each time she was captured again before the night passed. Finally one day, more than ever crazed with grief, she succeeded in carrying out her purpose, and be- came a wanderer upon the streets of New York. Agam she was found, and was urged to accept of the love and salvation of Jesus; but through false reasoning she again rejected the way of escape from the life which quickly followed.

Disheartened by ill health and repeated failures to secure light occupa- tion, she yielded more than ever to her craving for drink, and for weeks at a time was comparatively unconscious of her surroundings or companions. One -night, after a dreadful debauch, she was arrested with others; she was tried and senteuced to prison, and was placed on a par with the very low- est characters from the slums. She was made to realize very forcibly that the devil is no respecter of persons. The refinement of former days only intensified her misery, and the recollections of the past at times almost bereft her of her reason. Incensed beyond measure at all this additional disgrace, her parents, at the time of her release, had her again committed to avoid future publicity.

A few days after her second sentence the Door of Hope was opened at 102 East Sixty-first Street j and after the opening exercises were over and friends had left I knelt before God and reminded Him that all was in readi· ness, that even the beds were prepared, but that no inmates had come to find shelter there. I asked that He would graciously send those whom He saw were in need of such a home. The following morning a note came from Elsie, in which she asked that we would for God's sake give her a chance. With some difficulty, consent was obtained to have that second committal withdrawn. Those who knew her best sadly shook their heads, aud said that the experiment was certain only to meet with failure, and that it might materially reflect upon the work just being started. Nevertheless, by God's guidance, provision was soon made for her reception, and it was not long before she was introduced to the Head of the home-our blessed Lord. She gladly availed herself of the oft-spurned love, and it proved sufficient not only to convince her of sin, but through its purity the sin . was washed away, and in the strength of that love she has daily proved His effi0acy to save and to keep.

Not many months later the death of her husband was reported, and some two years ago one of God's ~servants was prompted to give her his hand. Under cover of his name she has now a dear little home of her own. Not only has this happiness been bestowed, but her family (so greatly injured) have relented and have welcomed her back.

Feeling in her heart a strong desire to work for God, she, with a few others, have opened a place of worship in the town where she lives, and there they gather regularly, with heartfelt gratitude 10 God that He is no respecter of persons, and that He wills to save even unto the uttermost.

Surely this instance will suffice to prove to the most skeptical the advisability of persistency in service for Christ. Never be in such haste to further God's cause as to pass by even one who has ca~ed discourage- ments and disappointments without number. Opportunities are granted to us to sow seed for which we will not later be held responsible. To be effective workers in the slums or in less conspicuous places of vice, we must keep in such close touch with God as to catch His divine thought, to act upon it, and to give Him the glory for all that may be accomplished. Never be influenced even by blessed results, but trust in God, work by God's strength and guidance, and definite fruit will then be gathered for God.

INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT

II.-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT.

EDITED AND CONDUCTED BY REV. J. T. GRACEY, D.D.

The Attitude of the Turkish Empire When the American missionaries first toward Ohristians. entered Turkey seventy-five years ago, they did so under cover of these" capito BY J. T. GRACEY. ulations," which had thus been in usage for more than three hundred 1. UniJer the ., OapituZations."-The years. Rights of worship and educa· Roman Empire recognized" extra ter- tion, according to their own convictions ritoriality" in the government of for- and pleasure, were recognized as be· eigners settled within its bounds, and longing to all Christians entering, or extended the privileges under it by a resident in the Turkish Empire. Unsort of fiction according to which these der this general concession Christian communities, smaller or greater, were missionaries prosecuted successfully treated, within limits, as if non-resi- their distinctly professional business In dents. various parts of the Turkish Empire. They established schools and colleges, Five hundred years ago, when the set up printing establishments, and ex- Turk. entered Europe, he adoptcd this ercised themselves in all religious func- Roman fiction toward non-.Moslems tions incident to their vocation, not as a within the territory of the empire. privileged class, but in common with Theoretically, as a good Moslem, every merchants and others, cach within their Muhammadan ruler is obliged to put to own sphere. the sword all who refnse to accept the Quran and the Prophet. As a matter 2. Under the Berlin Treaty. – The of fact, no Moslem conqueror or ruler Christian Powers sought from time to has found it within the range of practi- time to incorporate the privileges rec· cal politics to thus far" unify" the in- ognized in the "capitulations" into habitants of the geographical section rights, secured by treaty with the Ottohe claimed to govern. There never man Empire. The object of the Berlin has been an instance where all the sub- Treaty of 1878 was to perpetually bind jects of a Muhammadan ruler were the Turkish Empire by compact to an Moslems. The preservation of these unalterable observance of these privnon-Moslems has been essential to the ileges, save as they might be modified commerce or other fixed necessity of the from time to time, with the consent of country. Hence, under restrictions, the Christian nations. The representa· they have always been suffered to re- tive of the Sultan at Berlin declared it main, the right of the realm to compel to be the full intent of the Ottoman all subjects to accept Islam, as a the- Empire to maiutain the principle of the ory. never being vacated. The fiction "capitUlations" in force. It had, unof " extra territoriality" in the Turkish der the law of internal necessity, for Empire adopted from the Roman Em- centuries made such concessions, alpire was an invention to a~·oid the con- ways, however, as an act of clemency, cession that any subjects of the empire subject to modification or suspension at were not Moslems. It was thus simply the pleasure of the sovereign. The in accordance with ancient usage, al- Berlin Treaty stripped the S.ultan of ready recognized in the territory, that this privilege, as we have said, save non-Mussulmans continued, possessed with the concurrence of the other naof liberty under slight personal restric- tions of Europe. The Sublime Porte tions, tho not exempt from taxation or became only a vizier governing these tribute, and some other obligations to races, subject to a consensus of Christhe government. tian sentiment. That this was the plain while reserved till the Treaty of Ber- understanding is shown by the fact lin.

that very many reasonable modifications The Treaty of Berlin took away from have been from time to time agreed the Sultan this fiction of sovereign clem- upon, till they have become quite a ency. Henceforth forever these were department of international and Otto· to be rights which not even the Sublime man jurisprudence. It was a humilia· Porte might deny. Under the galling tion to the Sultan to have thus thrust humiliation of that treaty the Turk did upon him a limited monarchy, subject not rest. He signed the treaty as a war to an outside congress of nations. Ac- necessity. It was his duty to violate it cording to Moslem law the Sultan is as soon as possible, and Abdul Hamid Pope as well as king. This struck II. chose to set himself to the task.

from him all his powers as Pope over This he has done by administrative all except his Moslem subjects, and at acts and by interpreting in a new way one blow blotted out his right as a good sundry laws and treaties. The authori- Moslem to put to the sword all who zation of presses and their publications would not accept the Quran and the by the Turkish authorities was a req- Prophet-a right never conceded till uisite accepted by the United States in then, the exercise of it, we reiterate, the treaty of 1870, but administration being a matter of expediency. The under it had been reasonable. Now it Berlin Treaty became the magna charta was extended to minutest cavil. and the of Christians in the Turkish Empire. work was obstructed by the most trivial Great Britain became security that the detail. Permission to print a work Turk would carry out the compact, and was annulled an hour after its publica- received the island of Cyprus in lieu of tion, and all the outlay was a loss.

the guaranty. Even Gospels long in circulation were 3. How has the TU7'k kept the compact 1 prohibited because they contained the -1. American missionaries, under the word "liberty" or the words "king- axioms of the" capitulations," had con- dom of God," the Sultan not wanting ducted enterprises of publication and any other .. kingdom" but his own; education, also charitable work of medi- and the ridiculous incident is vouched cal treatment, free instruction of the for of the suppression of Paul's letter poor, and maintained religious exercises to Galatians, as being addressed to the in their houses, in hundreds of cities, people of Galata, a suburb of Constan- towns, and villages in various parts of tinople, where they have been resident Turkey during the sixty years from from the time of the Roman Empire 1824 to 1884. All these privileges were under its "capitulations." When the exercised under ancient principles of censor was assured that the author of political administration of 'l'urkish law the letter had been dead many years, and usage, gradually extended from he demanded the certificate of Paul's the Edict of Toleration of 1453. '.rho burial! One would not quote such an Moslem law prohibits peaceful relations absurd instance but that it is matched with non-Moslems, nevertheless it was in hundreds of similar cases of obstruc- the right of the Sovereign Khalif to spare tions of recent date. The" Christian whom he pleased. By various decrees, Endeavor" constitution was not suf- enactments, and usages the Sublime fered to be printed, because the people Porte confirmed the privileges of non- would be thereby trained in organized Moslems in the empire under this gen- action, and "Onward Christian, Sol- eral policy of suspension. The right to dier " was interpreted as a seditious break treaties, cancel the edicts, and re- document. Similar repressive meas- verse the usages, whenever good policy ures were imposed on schools. History permits the resumption of war measures and general litbrature were eliminated for the extension of Islam, was all the from curricula. Graduates of Christian schools were debarred from gov· caused a lack of Moslem unity in the ernment service for the sole reason that civil service, and the Sultan set himself they were such graduates. A Christian to <:hange-not the treaty, but-the ex- teacher en route from Marash to Tarsus isting Christian majorities. The Chris- in September, 1895, with four pupils tian increment must be removed from was arrested on the road, and conveyed the civil service within the impositions with great indignity to Adana, where of the Berlin Treaty. It could be read- they lay in prison six weeks, no charges ily accomplished by a revival of the of any kind being made against them, ever-present principle of the Moslem after all their belongings had been right and duty to put to the sword all searched in vain for any objectionable non-Moslems, a principle, as we have matter; and after this they were sent seen, never abrogated, only suspended back to Marash and forbidden to leave first by the "capitulations" inherited the city for a year. Another preacher in Europe and then at the cannon's was thrown into the Adana prison for mouth at Berlin. four and a half months, with no charges of any kind against him. He was re- How could he superinduce this de- leased and again seized and condemned struction of Christian majorities? The to a year's imprisonment for having a tale is already thrice told. Nineteen copy of Shelley'S Poems in his posses- months ago, in the early summer of sion. His aged father after thirty 1894, the robber hordes on the northeast years' ministry was condemned to pris- border of the empire, the Kurds, were on for a year for having in his library incited to raid Armenians, with renewed an old hymn book which contained vigor, carrying off their cattle, their the hymn•. , Soldiers of Christ arise !" crops, and their women. The Arme- nians lived in seventy-five villages on These are not rumors; they are vouch- this plateau. They naturally went to ed for in Dr. Christie's report of St. the rescue of their women and their Paul College at Tarsus. property. Some shooting wall done; some Kurds were kill(;ld. The Knrds For half a century the proclamation did not bury their dead, but carried of religious liberty of worship was in· them and threw them down before the terpreted to include the exercise of this governor and said, "Is this the way function in any property of which the we are to be treated 1" The massacre perso!). was possessed, special sanction of Sassoun ensued. Ten thousand only being required if the property was Turkish troops were sent to " put down to be exclusively used for this purpose. the rebellion," with orders that the Shortly after the edict of 1892 was is- " dogs" were to be slaughtered-man, sued, it was interpreted to require that woman, and child. whenever a Christian purchased or ac· quired property, he must sign a bond The troops were dressed like Kurds, that whether house or lands, the same and the Kurds led the attack, thus de- should never be used for the education ceiving the Armenians into resistance of children or for purposes of religious which they hoped might be successful; meetings. This has been rigidly en· but presently they discerned from the forced against Christians, and against way the troops handled their weapons, no others. It was not made retroactive from the weapons themselves, and the in general, but an old law was inter- way the forces were manceuvered, that preted at will to apply against exist- they were not Kurds at all, and panic- ing institutions, as having been begun stricken at facing 10,000 regular troops, , .. without permission." they precipitately fled. Four hundred . Under the Hatti Humayoun,the com- women took shelter in a church, where they supposed they would find protec- . munity in which the school or worship tion from the sacredness of the place. was to be established was made the sole They were all murdered, and the blood judge of the need thereof. Under the ran over the floor of the church into the edict of 1892 the absolute authority was streets. A few of the more beautiful transferred to the government official, women were offered Islam as the alter- and an imperial firman was required to native of death, but they promptly said, authorize it, which of course could only " Kill us I" and then When men were be obtained by those having "influ- defiled to dig the trench to bury them, ence" (?) at court. they were all thrust, the living with One of the "reforms" promised by the Turkish Government was the ap· the dead, into the trench and kerosene pointment of local governors from the poured over them, and all were burned. class which were in the majority in any One mother with two children was given district. This would secure threatened that her children should be Armenians the civil rule when Arme- destroyed if she would not accept nians were in the majority; but this Islam, She refused; they tore one child to pieces before her eyes, and the British consul in thrt rity, "The asked her again, only to be repulsed Turkish Government can only maintain again. They killed the other child, its supremacy by cutting down its and again asked for her decision. She Christian sects," and the Grand Vizier's again said she could not" deny Christ." assertion is quoted, " To get rid of the and then they murdered her, and dying Armenian question is to get rid of the she said, "I cannot give up Christ." Armenian people." The Sultan is not, The soldiers boasted that they had as some affect, playing a new role; wit. slaughtered 15,000 in Sassoun. The ness the massacre of 50,000 Greeks in telegraph wires were cut, and it was Scio lIes in 1822, of 10.000 Armenians in two months before the news reached Mosul in 1856, of 11,000 Syrians in Europe. When an English commission 1860, of 14,000 Bulgarians in 1876, of was appointed to investigate these mas- the slaughter of other Armenians in sacres it was hindered for two months 1877 and 1879. Hamid II. is the Pope more. It never got to Sassoun at all. of a religious fraternity and king of a Witnesses were threatened with death political empire based on the forty-sevif they gave testimony against the enth chapter of the Quran, " When yo Turks, and for a year and a half the encounter the unbefievers strike off Sultan played one European power their heads, until you have made a great against another. Persecution was no slaughter of them." He will teach longer confined to remote districts. Europe that the theory of all survival The fall of 1895 saw a thousand Chris- of Christians is stilI an act of clemency tians murdered about Constantinople, of the Sublime Porte, and that the right and a hundred-nobody knows how to compel all to become Moslems was many-driven into the Bosphoros, their never yielded, not even in form. till bodies in many cases washing ashOl'e. the Berlin Treaty, and this principle Trebizond came next. Erzroom, Har- of the Moslem faith the Sultan now re- poot Aintab, Marash, Diarbekr, and affirms, Berlin Treaty or no Berlin others followed. The killing was au- Treaty. That the principle is a perma- thorized.all day some days, and for nent one he emphasizes by the slaughter four hours on other days. Then the of 2000 Yezedies at Mosul in 1892, and troops were to be called out and go by all the fierce fury of the Armenian through the farce of suppressing the massacres of 1894-96.

riots. No Turks were sbot. The offi- European navies were massed in the cer assured Dr. Barnum that the mis- DardaneIles to ask after the Berlin sionaries and premises at Harpoot were Treaty, and the Sultan's answer was in all safe, and tbat no Kurd should enter the appointing a Kurd to tbe office of the city. When the assault began Dr. Vizier of the empire I It is not likely Barnum appealed to him, only to re- they were obtuse enough not to under- ceive the reply, " What can I do against stand what that meant. The gauntlet 15,000 Kurds ?" At no time were there was thrown down, and an uncontrolla- more than 300 Kurds. A sheIl burst ble Moslem fanaticism was threatened in Dr. Barnum's study. Nine hundred if it was accepted. The violation of Christians were killed that day. treaty rights, and the suppression of The missionaries fied to the college Protestant interests, systematically and buildings. They were ordered to come openly on the increase for several years, out. Their reply was, "No, we will was deliberately inaugurated by the not. Kill us here." There were 17 Ottoman Government, because they adult missionaries on the staff. Their saw the success of Christian missionary eight houses were piIIaged and burned influences, especially of Protestants.

to the ground. Diarbekr was eighteen was steadily nndermining, and ulti- hours from Harpoot; 900 people were mately destined to overthrow the power killed there. In Southern Armenia of Muhammadanism in the empire.

three pastors were kiJIed, the wife of They recognized the struggle as not one carried off with his three children ; merely for ascendency, but for exist- two of these were killed, one rescued. ence. Selfishness impeIled them to reo The girls of the school were canied off sist all efforts, to interfere with their to Kurdish Villages. One pastor had his methods, and expose their corruptions.

hands cut off, and he was shot. Thus All missionary work has been seriously the unifying of the Turkish Empire has menaced, and much of it prooably degone on till a conservative estimate stroved, unless defended by force from makes 50,000 Armenian lives to be lost, witliout. and half a million reduced to starvation Russia has no sympathy with Prot- estantism, and Ahe is inevitably behind in midwinter. Nejib, Pasha of Damascus, is credited every scheme of the Turk to oppose rewith saying to a confidential agent of ligious liberty or education or reform. During all these eighteen years not a and have ceased to exert an influence blow has been struck because the Turk upon the communities where they are disregarded the Berlin Treaty. Prop· located. Sometimes the fault has been erty of American citizens has been de- with the inexperiencc or lack of zeal stroyed. and indemnity, tho it may be of the teacher. Generally the mission- promptly promised, will scarcely be ary has been unable to visit these paid, unless in the presence of force of schools often enough or to stay long threatening magnitude, probably of enough to advise the teachers how to greater force than the United States improve in their methods, or to enable without England can bring to bear them to gain that cooperation in its upon the Porte. An astute statesman- patronage and support from the local like friend of the writer said to him, community which assures it a standing.

after the Berlin Treaty, "They have Primary schools, in the nature of the sowed dragon's teeth." Mr. Salisbury case, are so comparatively inexpensive is quoted as affirming that Abdul Ha- that this has often led to their being mid has fixed the fate of the Turkish established where there was not a suffi- Empire, because Divine Providence cient demand. While one of the dis- will certainly avenge its cruelty and tincti ve features of Protestantism is the crimes. But what about that same fostering of the education of the masses, Divine Providence in its dealings with the masses, beyond the mere rudiments a body of Christian nations, who in or- of reading and writing, have very little der to perpetuate a buffer State between understanding of what an education is.

themselves, have perpetuated the exist· Without the stimulus of desire to read ence since 1878 of the most monstrous the Bible or the newspaper, or opportutravesty on all government and justice nity to apply their learning in definite and humanity of modern history? It ways which yield a money return, they is a case not merely of sustaining a buf- are apt to sink back to the verge of il- fer State, but one whose merit as a buf- literacy. At first a primary school may fer State is, that it is not Roman Catho- attract many pupils whose parents are lic nor Greek Catholic nor Protestant, possessed WIth a more or less sentimen- but that it has a religious complexion tal desire to have their children edu- which will not assimilate with either of cated ; this is the opportunity for the these to the political advantage of any mission to begin work and put in a one as against the other. Christians teacher, one who has the capacity to perpetuate Islam becau8e it is I8lam! make a primary school an evangelizing center, and who, at least, can prepare the way for public preaching services. The Outlook for Protestant Schools in As a general rule, after the first or Mexico. second year, unless the school has an BYW. HENRY GRANT, NEW YORK. unusual amount of attention or a spe- cially qualified teacher. there will be a In estimating the value of education decrease in the number of scholars enas a method of propagating and estab- rolled and a falling off and an irregulishing a pure Christian faith among larity in the attendance. If before this the Mexicans, it is necessary to discrim- occurs the school has not been utilized inate very particularly between the sev- to the full extent as an evangelistic cen- eral grades of schools and the condi- ter, resembling somewhat a mission tions under which each is operated. Sunday-school held six days in the For instance, some would do away en- week, its opportunity will have gone, tirely with primary schools, and confine perhaps never to return. In this view their attention wholly to providing the primary school is used somewhat higher Christian education for students to break down prejudice and to gain who are aiming to become teachers or access to the homes of the pupils.

preachers; some devote themselves ex- The later and more general demand clusively to combinations of boarding for education will be marked by the and day-schools, teaching the primary desire on the part of the Christian par- and higher branches to those Roman ents to have their children well taught, Catholics and .Liberals who prefer the and fitted for the part in life they are American schools, and are willing to to fill. It is quite safe to establish pay the school fees, M well as to such schools under this demand, providing pupils as it is expedient to take free. that the people benefited bear a full halt Perhaps the reason why many mis- of their support and are primarily re- sionaries consider the primary school sponsible for the salaries of the teach- as needless or wasteful of mission funds, ers. The conducting of such schools is that they have inherited a good many will, however. be very largely gov- of these schools which have run down. erned by whether or not there are already public or private schools estab· first of all it provides only for a favored lished of the proper character, without few. selected by fallible men, and not any adverse religious teachings. In by the Holy Ghost, and that it often Mexico, where there are good primary fits these few to be stumbling-blocks to schools already established in any 10· those who might come to the light. cality, it would be folly to start others Many missionaries who have made perunder Protestant management, unless sonal sacrifice to go to' foreign fields fully supported by the local Protestant have felt that practically they were im- community. proving merely the mental faculties of Higher education proceeds or should the heathen, and effecting little toward proceed with a somewhat different aim. the conversion of the world. It proposes not only to give the scholar High schools in Mexico to some ex- the mechanical vehicle for receiving tent have already come into active comand communicating thought, but seeks petition with State normal schools.

as well to guide him in his inquiries, These well-organized, well-equipped, and to develop his thinking faculties, and steadily improving State instituinducting him into a study of the order tions, with all the backing of the State and laws of nature and human society. government and all the favor of institu- Goethe says, " It is good to knowevery· tions belonging to the people, must be thing ;" and on this principle that edu- reckoned with in the long run. It is cation is a good thing in itself, it has safe to say of Mexico, ae of Japan, that often been accepted as incumbent upon the cases are few where the well-to-do missionary societies to provide for a class will choose the mission school in scheme of liberal education for their preference to the State school, the Prot· converts. The question of maintaining estant in preference to the Mexican and a hi~h school, however, cannot be de- non-religious, so that the mission must termmed merely upon its merits as hazard considerable, with a good pros· being" a good thing," but must rest pect of ultimately withdrawing.

upon the foundation of being essential As an essential to the progress and to the permanency of the Church, or a permanency of the native church, high practical aid in opening the minds of schools must be adapted to meet the the scholars and their relatives to re- needs of the local community from ceive the Gospel. which the students are drawn, and so Before considering the high school as must qualify those who take the full an essential to the permanency of the course of study for the work they have Church, we shall consider the high to do after their school-days are over.

school as an aid to evangelization and And this must be more carefully guard- the peculiar dangers of its failing of its ed in the case of those who are aided object. High schools may unfit the by being exempted from paying the poor for the part in life which they fees, or whose parents are making con- have to perform (uI).less carried suffi- siderable sacrifices that their children ciently far to practically provide them may be better qualified than they were with a profession). To be profitable in for getting on in the world. The prep- the sense of providing the education aration of teachers for mission schools demanded by those whose parents can or for entrance to the theological class pay the fees, high schools must gener· has often resulted in throwing almost ally adopt such a curriculum as to be the whole burden of education upon the utterly unsuited to the needs of the mission, and subsequently the support great mass of those who go from the of both the schools and pastorate upon schools back to manual labor, or who the same sources.

are to become teachers or preachers. It would not seem wise at presen t to Without the element of personal con- discontinue the conducting of high tact of an experienced missionary, whose schools already well established which influence over the scholars is great- have a strong Christian basis of work and this is rarely secured in large in the number of active Christian pu- schools-the factor which counts for pils, and which are successfully prepar- most in leading the students to faith in ing teachers to occupy positions in the Christ Is the life of the Christian schol- government and mission schools. It ars. No mission school should be al- would, however, appear wise to have lowed to grow out of proportion to the an outlook upon the future, and seri- number of active, earnest young disci- ously study what is likely to be the de- ples it contains. We do not say it will mand for the next ten years. Two do harm, but that under such conditions plans suggest themselves as modifica- It does not justify the expenditure of tions of those already in operation: mission funds. The expensiveness of First, that instead of providing ad- this method of evangelization is that ditional institutions for the preparation of teachers, or continuing those not Oonference of Foreign Missionary Boards fully established, good Christian homes of the United States and Oanada.

migbt be opened in cities wilere there are first-class State normal schools, under the supervision of the missionaries One of the most helpful and potent wilo are qualified to develop the spiritual means of forming and enforcing mis. life and Bible study of those residing in the home. As the government pro- sionary policy, for bringing about comvides in many cases for the board of ity and cooperation in the foreign field, pupils, it is not unlikely that the Prot- and for awakening interest at home is estant young men and women might the yearly conference of the representaavail themselves of Christian homes set up for their benefit; 01' where the mis· tives of American missionary societies, sion provides for such scholarships, it which held its fourth session this year, would be vastly less expensive, and in January 15th and 16th. in the rooms of some respects more broadening. to the Reformed Church of America. The subjects discussed included the conduct educational work on this problems of finance, methods of work, plan. The second, and probably the scheme that would be most readily accepted at relations of missionaries to governments, present, wouLi be to have such a curric- and the means of increasing interest ulum in the high schools as would make and efficiency at home and abroad. them effective training agencies for There were present 63 delegates, includ- Christian workers; thus those who did not study the full term or were support- ing 51 representatives of 23 mission ed by the mission would be able in their boards, 10 mi.sionaries from India, own c:>mmunities to superintend the China, Japan, Persia, Arabia. and Mex· Sunday-schools and do such educatiDnal ico, and editors of the T11e Independent work as their people could afford to pay for. Such is now the effort mak- and lIIssIONARY llEVIEW OF THE ing in several of the missions. At Zitacuaro the Presbyterian mission de· WORLD.

signs to have a training institute in We give the substance of the REPORT which it is designed that those who OF THE BUSINESS COMMITTEE as C(lUcannot pay the fees shall devote the taining some of the most importaut larger part of their time in industrial work. It. however, seems probable features of the discussions.-D. L. P.

that after this school is fully organized, it will inclu–le a course of preparation The first subject on which recomfor theolugical study, as the native mendations were presented was the church seoms to demand a more highly Study of lliissi:JJt8 in Tlleologica,l Semi- na1·ies.-a theme on which Dr. H. C. educated ministry.

The conclusion is that the school best Mabie, of tIle Baptist Missionary Union, suited to Mexico has not yet been read an able paper. evolved; that a few schools like the The following resolutions were ree- Presbyterian girls' schools at Saltillo ommended for adoption: and Mexico City and the lIethodist 1. That in our larger seminaries the Episcopal schools at Mexico City and time has come for the establishment of Pueblo are measurably meeting the a full missionary professorship. . . • needs of the Mexican Protestant com- It might be suggested as the function munity ; that most of the other high of this chair to unfold the nature of the schools are in a more or less transitory Christian religion as fundamentally and stage, not fully definable, and doing essentially missionary-missions are not unquestionable good, tho perhaps not incidental, but are constitutional to in the most profitable way; and that Christianity; they are incumbent on the American Protestant school as a pri- Christians at home, priVate or official, mary, preparatory, or high school quite as really as upon the missionary should be thorough, both in training who goes abroad-to exhibit the his- the intellect and in culti vating the spir- tory of specific missionary movements ituallife; that tho~e who pass through of the past, and having special reference these schools shonld be living witnesses to the missions of the denomination con- to the fact that Christianity is the very cerned ; to wisely treat the subject of foundation of a well-regulated manhood comparative religion and cognate phi- and womanhood. profitable for the life losophies; to present the geographical, that now is and for that which is to physical, climatic, political, and social come. features of the countries occupied by the denomination concerned; to lead in pentecostal devotion will ever avert the the study of methods; of moral ap- vital evil. proach to the peoples studied; how to build them up when won, iu s~If-re­ Something may be done by students specting, self-supporting, and self-gov- among themselves in the way of carry· erning Ohristian churches and commu- ing out a prescribed course of reading nities ; charged with the further duty recommended by the Student Volunof extending the Gospel received into teer 1'Ilovement. the regions beyond. Where such a pro· fessorship is impracticable, . . . each Regarding the Ejftcieney ~f Missionaseminary should at least have a mission- ries. upon which subject Rev. R. P. ary department in connection with some other chair. Sm'vice thus rendered, McKay, of the Oanadian Presbyterian however, should never be a perfunctf)r.v Board, read a paper, the report conservice. It should be assigned b some tinued : man of contagious spiritual vitality, who will perform the service as a real While expressing the most cordial aplabor of love with as much abandon preciation of the great ability, high and devotion as should characterize a character, and deep devotion of the mismissionary to Africa or the South Seas. sionary body, this conference would ex- press its conviction of the obligation 2. That in a few of our older and resting upon the missionary boards and stronger seminaries a special course of societies, to strive in every way to ingraduate or elective undergraduate in- crease the efficiency of the mission struction be provided, for which the ordinary curriculum does not afford op· force. To this end it would suggest yet portunity. This course might have greater care in the selection of new mis· particular reference to the detailed study of comparative religion and the philoso- sionaries ; firmness in discouraging the phies underlying; to methods of deal- return after the first ret urn to America ing with the adherents of various sys- of missionaries who have proved un· terns; to the subject of the relation of adapted to the work; greater prayer on education to evangelistic movements in the respective countries; and to the the part of boards and the home chUl'ch subject of languages and literatures in in behalf of the workers; a bringing to which the great ethnic systems have ex- the attention of the missionaries as may pressed themselves. be possible or practicable the results of 3. That in some cases in which the the experience of missionaries in other financial resources are more limited, fields; and also helpful books both eduseveral seminaries might combine to cational and practical-e.g., Dr. Nevius' support one professor or lecturer who should visit the several institutions in " Methods of Mission Work ;" high recourse, and in such a way thllt each quirements in the acquisition of the lanoutgoing class would secure the benefit guage b.v new missionaries; and a of the lectureship at some period in its greater effort to instruct appointees becourse. Where the seminaries are of fore leaving for the field in the main the same denomination, a joint endow- principles of missionary policy. . . . ment fund might provide for this at a The conference would suggest to the minimum cost to any single institution until such time as each could afford to missions that the work, however urgent, have its own. be so kept under control as to leave the workers time and opportunity for that 4. No seminary should be content Bible study, prayer, Ohristian conferwith less than securing occasional lec- ence and communion with God without tures from returned missionaries, secretaries of boards, and pastors apostolic which activity will be without power in tOlle on the great theme of missions. and earnestness withl'llt the conscious and sustaining presence of the Spirit 5. We think that all will agree that of God in His fulness. . . . the very' spirit of missions might be fairly required in the characteristic As to Self-SuPP01·t in Mission ChU1'elW8, influence of every professor in the theo- a subject di,cussed in a paper by Dr. logical institution, in whatever depart- Judson Smith. of the American Board, it was recommended: . . . ment he lubors. . .. The thing always to be feared is the human ambition to 3. That . . . in the judgment of the maintain a relatively higher intellectual conference the true ends of missionary than spiritual stanllard. Nothing but work are the preaching of the Gospel to a holding to New Testament ideals and every creature for the salvation of souls and the establishment among each peo- ple of an independent, self.sustaining, self-pr"pagating church.

4. That these ends are frnstrated or their attainment postponed by a system of prolonged, excessive, and debilitat- ing support of native pastors and eva.n- geIist~ from mission funds. Such sup- port attracts needy men and stimulate::; insincerity, cultivates a mercenary spirit, of its proper congregational and school and increases the number of mercenary expenses, and report what it has done Christians; it tends to stop the volun- to the mission or missionary in charge tary work of unpaid agents; it encour- each year before a further grant is recages the habit of dependence on for- ommended. eigners, and discourages the spirit of Discriminating Use of Mission Funds self-reliance; it makes it difficult to was discussed in a paper by Dr. S. H. judge between true and paIse preachers Chester, of the Presbyterian Board and church-members; it makes it proba- (South). The committee recommended ble that we will establish wrong stand- (1) that gifts for special objects outside ards of remuneration, causing distorted the regularly. . . authorized appro- ideas as to pay, and projecting the na- priations for the mission work are to tive church on a scale beyond the ability be strongly discouraged. Such gifts of the native Christians to maintain it ; involve unjust discriminations, subordi- it tends to lower the character and les- nate the judgment of the missions to sen the influence of the missionary en- private judgment, aqd interfere with terprise in the eyes of both foreigners the regularincome of the boards. Such and natives. It limits the work by diilcriminations, if right for one are right making it depend upon the neces- for all ; they militate against the pursarily restricted supply of funds from pose of the establishment of the boards, abroad. and are demoralizing to the work; . • .

5. That the time has come for definite (S) that it is desirable that some form of and united action in the direction of a statement showing the relative expendi- larger measure of self-support. This ture for each branch of mission work can be reached by establishing new should be published in the annual rework on II. self-supporting basis from ports of all the societies.

the outset. or upon a basis of partial The question of Ma'l'1'iage oj Mis- but diminishing assistance, which COll- sionaries was given a full discussion in templates distant self-sustentation. Both a paper by Dr. F. F. Ellinwood, of in the establishment of new work and the Presbyterian Board (North), and by in the reconstruction of old much can the conference as a whole, during which be done (1) by our general recognition the advantages and disadvantages of that self-support is both desirable and marriage were fully and fairly presentpossible, and by persistently instilling ed. It was finally resolved: into the minds of the converts the 1. That the Protestant position in reo thought that they must extend the Gos- gard to the marriage of missionaries pel, and that no money will be given should be maintained; that the effi- them for doing what they ought to do ciency of the missionary force as a themsel vas; (2) by such an adjustment of whole will thus be increased.

our ecclesiastical ideals as will form a 2. That there may and should be ex- system suited to the condition of the ceptions; that it is desirable in many country, and to wide, rapid, and volun- cases, especially in pioneer work, that taryeffort ; . . . (4) by recognizing that the missionary should remain for a lim- the result we aim at does not depend on ited period unmarried, and that mission- complex machinery and complex teach· ary boards and societies may wisely call ing. but on a few simple, deep truths for a greater or less proportion of volun- well enforced, and on sincerity rather teers who shall be sent to their fields than exactness and definiteness; (5) by with the understanding that they re- recognizing the slowness of growth, by main unmarried for from three to five avoiding precipitancy, or the ambitious years, or until the language is learned desire to make things as they are in the and the foundation of a prosperous American churches; (6) by trusting to mission is laid.

the real power of religion, its inherent S. That it may in some instances be vitality and ability to endure and to sup- wise for those who are so led by the port whatever is necessary for it; (7) Spirit of God to follow literally the high by spending time especially on the im- example of the Apostle Paul in devot- portant men and centers; (8) by re- ing an entire missionary life to the wor k membering that too little aid is better of a single missionary for the Master's than too much. It is always easier to sake.

recede in the direction of more aid than How to increase the EjJicierwy of Offi- of less. The dangers of less aid are cers of Foreign Mission Boards was the blessings in comparison with the evils subject of a very able paper by Dr. W.

of more…. S. Lambeth, of the Southern Methodist 7. That each board be requested to Episcopal Board. The committee re- adopt a rule whereby each Christian ported: community shall bear a definite share " Painfully conscious of our insufficiency for the wisest administration of that generous gifts be promptly-sent to this vast work, it is our conviction that the relief of that suffering.

we should seek in all the ways suggest· Resolved, That we authorize an ap· ed-by more frequent visitation of the peal in the name of the foreign mission- mission field, and by constant study, ary boards of the United States to the watchfulness. self-discipline, and prayer Government lit Washington to exert its -to meet more nearly if we may the hIgh full influence in all legitimate ways to demands of our office." bring the massacres to a speedy end, and On the Relations oj Missiona1'Y Work to guard the missionary interests imto GO'Ve1'nments, the conference listened perilled thereby.* with great interest to a paper by Dr. The conference heartily approved of S. L. Baldwin, of the Methodist Epis- the plan of a simultaneous missionary copal Board (North). and heartily en- campaign proposed by Dr. J. R. Davies, dorsed the principle that Christian mis- and it was recommended that a commit- sionaries are entitled to the same pro- tee be appointed with full authority to tection that is accorded to citizens of carry out this campaign. The conferthe United 8tates and Canada in China ence closed with an evening session in who are engaged in trade or other the assembly hall of the new Presby- seenlar pursuits, and this both with terian building, when Dr. G. W. Alexrespect to personal safety a!ld as to mis- ander (Presbyterian) and Dr. Crawford sionary property. It approved also the (Methodist Episcopal) delivered ad- wise discrimination between extreme dresses on "How to Increase the Effi- views which have been advanced in ciency of Members of Missionary reference to the claims which may Boards." wisely be used by missionaries or the consular agents who represent them in A Mission Oruise in the Pacific.

cases where mob violence or other causes have led to the destruction of property We have often queried why someor injury to life or health. body did not organize a tour for the special study of missions in foreign With respect to the complaint that parts, and 10, here we have it projected by the Evangelist, of New York, which missionaries have sometimes trenched is guarantee enough that it will be wiseupon the function of the local authori- ly conceived and faithfully conducted. ties in their efforts to protect native It is a boldly projected plan to provide for the conduct of a small party on a converts, it was resolved: tour of missions bordering on and lying 1. That the conference would urge in the Pacific Ocean. The starting- point is New York, April 8th, thence upon all missions in China which it rep- across the continent, leaving San Franresents to respect the powers that be, cisco for Japan, Yokobama, Tokyo, and to avoid all appearance of forcible Nagoya, Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagasa. measures taken in the interest of those ki, and other points; thence to China, who are lawful subjects of the Chinese Shanghai, Foochow, Hong-kong, Can- Government. ton, etc. ; thence to Singapore. Bata- 2. That while thus refraining from via, New Guinea, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii, etc. The details all resort to force, the conference would of the tour and expenses are published approye of the use of all persuasive and in a prospectus, which may be obtained intercessory means to secure from the from the Evangelist, 156 Fifth Avenne, New York. We do not see how fifteen authorities fuJI justice and protection to to thirty intelligent persons can make native converts. this tour without its resulting in a fresh impetus to the missionary cause. They The following resolutions also were will not" know it all," and may fecI passed regarding Armenian sufferers .- afterward that they are only just pre- pared to begin the study of tbose mis- Whereas, The sulfering in Turkey re- sions ; but-well, we envy those who sulting from massacre and robbery, in- shall take this tour. Alaska can be in- cluded in the itinerary if desired.- volving hundreds of thousands of home- J. T. G. less and destitute women and children, is vast in amount. and is daily increas.- ing as the winter deepens. . . .

Resolved, That, in the judgment of this conference, the appeal for relief is most urgent. and lays a sacred obligation not only on every Christian, but also on every citizen of the civili.zed world.

Resolved, That we recommend to the pastors and churches of the several de- * Gifts may be sent to Frank H. Wiggin, Esq.• nominations which we represent that earnest prayer to Almighty God in be- treasurer of the American Board, 1 Somerset St. Boston, Mass., or to Messrs. Brown Brothers & half of that suffering land be made, and Company. Boston, New York or Philadelphia,

FIELD OF MONTHLY SURVEY

I1I.-FIELD OF MONTHLY SURVEY, BY D. L. PIERSON.

Mexico,* Central America,t West Indies,+ City Missions.S MEXICO. can press; (2) the disposition to imitate many of the good points of Protestants; In spite of the many difficulties en- (3) the increase of brotherly kindness countered in the evangelization of the and charity; (4) the increasing demand Republic of Mexico, Protestant Chris- for Bibles, and (5) the entrance or Gos- tianity is growing in extent and influ- pel truth into government schools.

ence. Twelve evangelical denomina- The g,)vernment college of Guanajualo tions have established congregations in has fo~ its motto our Saviour's …..ods, various parts of the country, and these, t< The truth shall make you free."

numbering over six hundred in all, are Thirty years ago there was no orgau- centers of light and fruitfulness; over ized evangelical church or school hOllse eight hundr-eJ pupils are in Christian in Mexico; the statistical result of day· schools, some of them of higher twenty-five years' systematic work is grade, and about twelve thousand as follows: scholars are gathered in Protestant Sab- Centers of operation, 90; c(lngrega- bath-schools; medical missions are em- tions, 615; ordained missionaries, 60; ployed to some extent, and religious assistant missionaries and wives of or- literature is circulated everywhere on dained and assistant missionaries, 60; an average of nearly twenty-seven thou- lady teachers, 67; native preachers, sand pages daily; the American Bible onlailled, 111; natil'e preachers, Ull- Saciety reports over twenty-nine thou- ordained, 164; native teachers, 177; sand copics of the Bible in whole or other native helpers, 94; grand total part sold during the year, besides thou- of foreign and native workers, 782; sands of copies given away. TlJis churches organized, 444; communi- shows that multitudes of Mexicans will cants, 17,000; probable adherents, not only read the Gospel, but will pay 50,000.

for the opportunity. But success always arouses opposition, .. The wlwle country seems to be in as was manifested in the" burning of expoetancy, waiting for the Gospel," heretics" at Taxacapo not long since.

says Dr. Sibberts, of Queretaro. The Ten Protestants were dragged from indirect influence of the work of evan- their houses, shut up in a small room, gelization is manifested (1) in the toler- and burned to death, the torch being ant and conciliatory tone of the Mexi- applied by the local constable. The reason given was that tl18 missionaries * See al.,o pp. 1,'7,208 (present issue). BooTes: had denounced the worship of .. Our U About !ttexico: Past and Present," Hannah Lady of Guadaloupe." Even many of lfI'Jre Johnson; "A Mexican Ranch," Mrs. J. ,the Romish priests are brought under the power of the Gospel, and this great- P. Dugan; H Sketches of :Mexico, '1 J. 'V. But- ly arouses the enmity of the papal ler, D.D.; "Story of Mexico," Hale. Articles: bishops and their adherents. •. 'rl.le Republic of Mexico," The Ohanfauquan (October and November, 1895). The needs of this field are many and t See also p. 186 (present issue). Books: urgent; among them llre especiaJly (be- B The Gospel in Central America." F. Crowe. sides more lIlen and money) increased Articles: .~ The ~loskito Coa~t." MOl'avian facilities for the pUblication and dis- + Periodical Accounts (December, lh95.) tribution of Christian books and papers. See H Cuha's Struggle for Freedom, " C08- and increased efforts along educational mopolitan (Oct:)bcr, 1895); H Cuba Libre," In- lines.

dependel<t (December 5). is,svu.e)f.r. Banks: § See aL;o 202 (present Elsing, H rrhe Poor in p. Great Cities," Our Jacob O. Riis, and others; "Handbook of 80- ciologicrJ lteferences for New York," V. II.

'folman. Articles:" One Way Out," CentuJ'Y, (December). CENTRAL AMERICA. The missionaries are extending their work in the face of all difficulties, and The Mo.~qlU:to Ooast is now under the the blessing of God is still manifest. control of the Nicaraguan Government. so that the Moravians carryon their THE WEST INDIES_ work under the jurisdiction of a Catholic State, fruitful in revolutions. Thus The result of the revolution in Ouba far, however, the work has not !Jeen is still uncertain. There can be no iuterrupted, since the liberal party is in doubt that the people had many causes power. The hard times are not over, to complain of Spanish oppression and and the prosperous condition of two misrule; whether or not the natives years ago has not yet been restored. are capable of self-government may be ~Iostof the Moravian stations appear to a question in the minds of many, but have suffered little by the change of they could not make matters much government, but the effects of the worse than they have been under Spanish change were soon felt. These have ad- l·ule. There is always a temptatil)n for vantages as well as disadvantages. On a country to make use of a colony " for the one hand, the new government has revenue only"-a temptation which the power to enforce as well as to enact Spain has by no means withstood. The laws-a power which the Moskito Gov- Church in Cuba is at a standstill. but ernment had not. Many Indians cared the truth is still ali ve, aud will conquer neither for la ws nor for threats of punish- in the end, benefited in thc longrun. we ment for tbeir infringement, but they doubt not, by the results of the present cannot disregard the decrees of Nica- war. The Home :Mission Board of the ragua. When the Nicaraguan official Southern Baptist Convention has concame to Ephrata for the first time, the nected with its work in Cuba 24 misfirst words he spoke were, " This place sionaries and 2698 church mcmberE. is dirty; within one week every cne must cut down the bush on his ground. Christianity in Jamaica has progress- Whoever fails to do so will be fined 1" ed steadily through the workers of the The" head man" of 1he village had told Church of Scotland, the English Bapthe Indians that many times, and had tists, the English Presbyterians, Lonthreatened them with punishment, yet don Missionary Society, Wesleyans, nobody moved a finger. Three days Free Methodists, Moravians, and after the Nicaraguan uttered the em- others. 'fhe contrast between the nephatic word" dirty," almost every man groes of this island and those in the Reand woman in the place came out, public of Hayti is a striking testimony hatchet in hand, and began to clear to the value 1)£ missions. A century away the bush. On the other hand, ago tbe two islands were equal in social the heavy duties imposed by Nicaragua and intellectual degradation, and elIorts press very severely upon the Iudians. at evangelization awakened only ricli· The import duties have doubled the price cule. In Hayti, where papal and pagan of most goods, and especially clothing, superstition have prevailed, we still and the export duties have crippled some find commercial bankruptcy, physical of the industries by which they were sq!lalor, moral rottenness, inl,eIlectual wont to earn a livelihood; but the people stagnation, and spiritual deadness. In seldom complain. We believe that God, Jamaica, on the other hand, tho thcre who loves the Indians, means this trou- are still many thousands in neeu of lhe ble for their good. Formcrly many Gospel, even a casual visitor will notice spent their time in idleness, they did not the signs of prosperity, education, and need to bestir themselves; everything reJigious life. The progress of Chriswail cheap, and consequently they would tianity in Jamai~a answers, once for all, nell work. N uw they ha va tu work hard the query. "Can the African be Christ.:J cal'll sc;.i.L!;mt to c1oi,hc themselves. tianized 2"

Brazil is at present seeking to recover TTinidad from Great DJitain. The result is not yet certain, but will not, daily devoting themselves to a life of in any great degree, effect the progress of missions in that island. The inhab- self-denial and self-sacrifice for the sake itants number abont two hundred thousand, about sixty-five thousand of of their Lord and their unsaved brothwhom are Indian coolies employed in the plantations ; there are also a small ers and sisters. But the Church should number of Chinese; all others besides the Europeans are negroes. The Mora- do still more to send out godly men and vians, Canadian Presbyterians, and others are laboring here with increasing women into the shIms, who will tear success. The Moravians also 'carryon work in Jamaica, Tobago, 'St. ,Kitts, down those vile tenements (not main- St_ Croix, :St. Thomas, St. Jan, and Antigua. tain them and grow rich by them), and * CITY MISSIONS. who will put up something better in Various people look at the city from their place. It is ten 'thousand times different standpoints. To some it is a mart of commerce; to others it is the better for the little babes to die at their seat of learning; to others it is a combination of brick and mortar, a vast mothers' breasts in many ,conditions anetwork of streets. But the city is also under which they are born, than to vast battle-field crowded with the dead and the dying; it is a storm-swept grow up to have their lives blasted by sea, throwing multitudes of immortal souls into the breakers of the life be· the flames of lust and passion, and be yond the grave; it is a vortex in which human hopes and peace and joy, and damned for time and for eternity. everything else that men love and hold dear, are being swallowed and swept The Church needs to have a larger away_ The modern city, multiplying itself so rapidly, and with its congested knowledge of existing conditions. damnable conditions, is to-day, in some respects, one of the greatest foes of the Many of God's people find their city Christian home and civilization, and unless we master the problems which life limited to the avenues of fine resiit offers, and regulate it according to the principles of the Gospel, it will dences and magnificent business estabsooner or later overwhelm us with a ruin darker and deeper than ever came lishments; they know nothing of the to the Roman Empire. vast districts where sin and shame and But in the midst of our modern city we have something which the ancient sorrow are a thousand times more comcities of the forgotten empires never had, and that is the Church of the Lord mon than righteousness and joy and Jesus. The Church of Christ stands to-day in the midst of the city, and peace. Unless we come face to face pours out a consecrated stream of godly men and of devout women, who are with the existing conditions, sooner or * The substance of an address by Rev. Dr. later the unchurched masses will rise John R. Davies. up ; God alone can foretell the result.

The Church of Christ needs better organization for city mission work_ Our evangelical churches are for this reason overlapping each other in their efforts to reach the ma.sses. One mis- sion works for years a few doors from where another magnificent mission plant is being built, tho there are other crowded districts where no one is work- ing. There is much to be done, and we need to exercise wise discrimination. This need would be met if all those who believe in the simplest essentials of Christianity should form a vast confed- eracy and portion out the entire city, placing men, women, and money where they are most needed, as they are guid- ed by Divine grace and wisdom.

The Church also needs a larger ap- preciation of and enjoyment of the pres- ence of the Holy Ghost. Look at the Church's machinery for this work- wealth, intelligence, numbers, experi- ence, and power. But we need the fill- ing of the Holy Ghost, so that all this vast machinery may move with one purpose and with almighty power.

The city contains the possibilities for almost unlimited evil, and also for boundless good.

EDITORIAl. DEPARTMENT. 21'7

IV.-EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT.

MarQh of Events. has so long derived a revenue. Italy carries on a desultory warfare in Abys- The great student missionary conven· sinia, and Russia is said to be massing tion at Liverpool (January 1st-5th) has troops on the Korean frontier, and to now passed into history. but the influ- have entered into an offensive and deence exerted upon those privileged to fensive alliance with Turkey-in fact, be present snd upon the whole world there is scarcely a nation of the earth cannot but be deep and lasting. On which is not either threatened with war another page of this issue of the REVIEW or which has not recently been engaged will be found a careful "bird's-eye in one. What blessed results might not view" of this notable gathering, to be be expected if earth's rulers were only followed in a subsequent issue by as zealous to care for the interests of the " choice nuggets" from the addresses kingdom of heaven as tbeyare to main· by the world-renowned speakers who tain their own honor and extend their were there present.-D. L. P. own possessions I-D. L. P.

Another convention of great interest Armenia's cry still goes up to God, and importance-that of the Representa- the Turk still carries on his bloody tives of the Mission Boards of the United work, the rulers of Europe still delay States and Canada-was held in New to force the Sultan to terms, and Chris- York, January 15th and 16th. A par- tians are very, very tardy in contributtial report of its proceedings will be ing the necessary funds to relieve the found on page 210 of this issue. suffering brothers. Miss Barton has started for Armenia to institute the reo While the Student Volunteers of the lief work under the direction of the world and the Mission Boards of Amer- Red Cross Society, tho the Sultan reica have been in session to confer as to fuses to recognize that Order as such. the best means of extending the spir- Every day's delay meanS untold sufferitual kingdom of Christ on earth, the ing to 350,000 destitute Armenians in nations of the world have seemed on the dead of winter. "Inasmuch as yo the verge of becoming embroiled in did it not unto one of the least of these bloody strife to maintain or extend My brethren, ye did it not to Me." their own selfish temporal interests. England, in addition to the trouble Resolutions have recently been passed with the United States and Venezuela in the United States Senate urging the over the Venezuelan boundary, has been Powers to stop the outrages, and promthreatened with war with Germany on ising to support President Cleveland in account of Jamieson's raid in the Trans- the most vigorous action he may take. vaal, and has sent an expedition to bring the King of Ashantee to terms-an ex- Rev. Thomas L. Gulick writes that pedition not involving a battIe, but cost- Senor Ximenes, whom F. Hopkinson ing the life of Queen Victoria's son-in- Smith, one of the few Americans who law, Prince Henry of Battenberg. Bra- seek to excuse the Sultan and his zil and the Argentine Republlc also wish butchers, gives as his authority for the to settle accounts with Great Britain by statement that missionaries" sow seeds demanding the restitution of Trinidad of rebellion," is "a man without charand the Falldand Islands. Spain still acter and utterly untrustworthy, and spends men and money in seeking to lived by swindling." Mr. Gulick says: suppress the Cubans, from whom she " I am credibly informed that Senor Ximenes obtained photographs of the frightful effects of the Sassoun massacres, but wag induced by the Turks bad and partly destroyed other villages. by potent considerations to suppress Three hundred persons perisbed in the the photographs, and to become the several villages. On the following Sunadvocate of the Turks against their day there was another and severe shock, which destroyed the small town of Goi, victims." and did great damage in many of the villages in the district affected. Eight How are we to view the following hundred persons are said to have been "Official Declaration of the Sublime killed in Goi alone. Large numbers of Porte [publisbed in the REVIEW for cattle and sheep perished. September, 1894], relinquishing the practice of Executions for Apostasy," Intelligence reaches us from Lima, in the light of tIle recent massacres? Peru, that the mayor of San Miguel a few w('eks since seizerl and burned in (TRANSLATION.) the public square of that city all the Bibles and stock of the local agent of .. It is the Apccial and constant inten- the American Bible Society. There is tion of His Highness the Sultan that bitler opposition in Peru t:J the distribu his cordial relations with the High lion of Protestant Bibles. They have Powers be preserved, and that a perfect been burned there before, and only two reciprocal friendship be maintained and years ago the Bible Society'S agent was increased. imprisoned several months for no other offense than distributing Bibles. It " • THE SUBLIME PORTE ENGAGES TO only shows what fanaticism is capable TAKE EFFECTUAL MEASURES 'ro PRE- of in a country dominated by the Ro- VENT THENCEFORWARD THE EXECU- man hierarchy, and that the spirit of TION AND PUTTING TO DEATH OF THE the papacy is the same that was mani- ()HRISTIAN WHO IS AN APOSTATE . fested in the days of the Inquisition. The cause of Rome is weakened rather .. • March 21, 1844.' than strengthened by making fuel of God's Holy Word. .. To this must be added the following declaration of His Highness the Sultan to Sir Stratford Canning, at his audience on March 22d, 1844 : " • Henceforward neither shall Christianity be insulted in my dominions nor shall Christians be in any way persecuted for their religion.' "

We acknowledge the sum of $10 re- Gtah was proclaimed a State on Janceived from J_ H. Beck, of Waynes- uary 4th. Christians are anxiously burg, and forward to the relief of the watching the result. The laws pro- Armenian sufferers. What is to be hibit polygamy, the Mormon Church done to feed and clotbe these starving has for the time suspended the ordiand destitute fellow-Christians must be nance for plural marriages. Will the done immediately / every day's delay laws of the State, which are against the means untold suffering to thousands of laws of~the Church, be enforced? men, women, and children; before the winter is passed thousands will have Commander Ballington Booth and perished unless immediately relieved. hie wife have been recalled to London Contriblltions !lent to the editors of the from tl.e command of the Salvation REVIEW will be immediately forwarded A.rmy in the Uniteu States. No official to the relief committee.-D. L. P. reasons have yet been given. Com- mander Booth has had charge of the News comes from Persia of two Stl- Army here for nine years, and has built vere earthquakes, causing the loss of it up from a struggling, fanatical band 1100 lives in the Khalkhal district. of people to the great body of religious 'rIle first shuck, which was experienced workers that now commands respecton January 2.1, was severe. It com- ful consideration all over the United pletely destroyed the village of Zanza- States. Mrs. Booth is a ,refined and intplligCllt lady, whose influence iu the At present the laws of Japan l'rol,ibit greu.t work achieved in this country has the 'owning or leasing of real estate by not been surpassed even by hei' hus- foreignprs except in the treaty ports band. They have come in personal (the revised treaty becomes operative in touch with the members of the Army, 1900)_ In consequence of tbis, all sllch property purchased by the different and with many persons not identified boards has been held in the name of with the organization. They 1Iave so Japanese_ With two exceptions no loss endeared themselves to all that uni ver- has been suffered through mi.placed confidence. This arrangement WH,S satsal regret will be expressed over their isfactory to all parties until the political departure. campaign of 1893, when one of the party issues related to a more atrict €Ilforct)· Report of the Deputation to Jrtpan.* ment of the treaties. Tbe holders of mission property were denounced as After an absence from home of about lacking in patriotism, thus being caused four months (August-December, 18ilG), cOIlfiiderable )neasine~s. The introducth2 Deputation sent out to Japun by the tion in the Imperial Diet of a bill im- po,ing severe penalties npon Japanese Prudential Committee of the American holding real estate for foreigners so ex- Board has snbmitted its report as to the cited those who held the property for conditions of the missions to that em- the Board, that they appealed to the mis- sionaries to be relieved of it. The mispire. and the policy to be pursueu in sion authorized the transfer of tne propthe future relations between foreign erty outside the treaty ports (except and native workers. The Deputation that in Kyoto, MatsllYllma, Osaka, and consisted of Rev. James L. Barton, Kumamoto) to the trustees of the D.D., of the American Board; :Hon. Doshisha for the endoViment of a theo- William P. Ellison, of the Prudential logical department. CaDc€l'ning this Committee; Rev. James G. Johnson, property there is no misunderstanding. D.D.. of Chicago; and Rey. A. H. The Board also has purehused at vari· Bradford, D.D., of Montclair. We ous times lots of land in Kyoto upon hope to givc further consideration to which it has built nine hOIlSES for the the report in a subsequent issue of the use of its missionaries. Afler the Doshi- REVIEW, but at present can notice only sha Company was organized. all of this a few of its salient features. D. L. P. property was transferred to the trustees. Concerning this property there is a seri- The points of investigation pertained OilS misunderstanding. the Board beespecially to the tenure of property. the lieving that it was given for the use of condition and managemf'llt of Doshisha missionaries, and the trustees claiming University, and other institutions in that it was for the" foreign teachers." which the Board is interested, and the Altho there were many conferences, no best methods for the further prosecu- result was reached, and the deputation tion of evangelistic and educational left the Whole matter to the honor of work, together with plans for coopera- the truRtees_ tion with the Japimese. The report is, in part, as follows: Becllllse of the peculiar conditions in Kyoto making medical 'Wol'k DO longu Interviews were accorded by the Sec- essential, the Deputntion was not a,hle to retary of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary advise the return of Dr. Berry to Japan, of Education, and by various eminent altho it fully recognized the unique S('reditors, edueators, professors, and mis- vice which he had rendered in the pa~t. sionaries of different boards; prolonged conferences were also held with 154 Jap- There was marked concurrence in tbe anese. The Deputation visited nearly opinion that a change had talu'n place all the missif)t1 stations of the American in the theological attitude oj the ])osltisha, Board in Japan and of many other b'larus_ The subject of missions in and that in its Christian character and Japan was never before studied so thor- spiritual tone it was far less posHi ve oughly ; in ·making its report the Depu- than formerly. The Deputatbn was tation was unanimous. especially impressed with the unusual way in which the trustees used the word * The full text of this report may be seen in " Christianity," which in the Constitu· tion of the Doshisha defines the char' the Independent for January 30, 1896. acter of the institulion. The clause reo ferred to is: "Christianity is the foun- dation of the moral edncation promoted by this company_" It was asked if they would affirm as among the beliefs for which the Doshisha stood in Japan. 1896 is paid, the sum given by the the personality of God, the divinity of Board be reduced annually. so as to Christ, and the future life. They de· cease at the end of the year 1898.

clared that as individuals they could Mission work in Japan, to be efficient affirm their acceptance of those beliefs; must be adjusted to the changes whicl; as trustees they could not, since differ- are there taking place. In a land where ences existed among Christians, and schools are provided for all; where dis- they must not ally themselves with any pensaries, hospitals, and trained nurses party_ 'fhey declined to accept the are provided, either by the State or by creed of the Kumi-ai churches in defini- individual enterprise; where even Chris- tion of the word "Christian," saying tians are only a quarter of a century that they would thus identify them- from the Buddhism, Shintoi~m, and selves with a single denomination. Confucianism of their ancestors, the When urged t:> make some statement, missionary problem is serious and com- however brief, of what they meant by plicated; the wonder is that divergence " Christianity," they said that, having from the traditions of Christendom is declared their purpose to maintain a not greater. The question forccd upon Christian institution, they should be us by our investigations is not, How trusted so to do_ They said that theo- may the American Board withdraw its logical opinion in Japan was in a forma- missionaries from Japan? but, How tive state, and beliefs were unsettled; may it help them to work more wisely that it would be disastrous to them to and efficiently? That can be best ac- act now under appearance of compul- complished not by an increase of the sion, therefore they could make no state- resident missionary force, but by certain ment except that they should maintain changes in methods. Therefore we a Christian university. They said that recommend that the number of mis- tho some professors in the university sionaries in the service of the American were not Christians, effort would be Board in Japan be not increased at pres- maLie as changes occurred to secure such ent. The time has come for a slight professors only as would be in harmony change in the method of conducting the with the Christian spirit of the institu- work. The opportunity before Chris- tion. Careful inquiry showed but a tians and preachers who are not only small number of pastors in the Kumi-ai consecrated, but also learned and wise, churches who held agnostic position in was never more inviting, and we believe regard to the fundamental truths of that the people were never more willing Christianity, concerning which the to recei ve them. Evangelistic work can Doshi.~ha trustees were unwilling to be better done by the Japanese, but the speak. The Doshisha is a Japanese in- training can better be gi ven by profes- stitution, and its trustees must be, under sors and pastors from abroad. What is the laws of the empire, citizens of now most required is instruction in Japan. While most of the money for apologetics and the philosophy of Chris- its erection and maintenance has come tianity. and direct aid in evangelistic from America, it has not failed to h9ve work by those whose position in the support from the Japanese. In the ris- Church and among scholars will secure ing of the national spirit there has come for them the respectful cousideration of sensitiveness on the part of many in the men who must be the Christian close relations to the university lest it leaders in Japan during the next gen- should seem too much controlled by eration. We therefore recommend that foreign influence. The Bible has place the Prudential Committee send annu- in the curricul um ; professors amI stu· ally to Japan men of established ability dents are required to attend daily ser- and reputation to speak on various sub- vice; the president preaches evangelical jects in furtherance of missionary work, and fervent discourses; the trustees and that in this plan they endeavor to pledge themselves that, should the secure the cooperation of other mission· Doshisba cease to be a Christian insti- ary societies.

tution, the property shall be sold and Your Deputation has found a desire the proceeds returned to the donors. for a more scholarly Christian literat1lre The Deputation recommend: (1) That than is now within the reach of those· the teachers supplied by the Board be who read only the vernacular. Other continued, if desired by the trustees; religious bodies, Budahists, etc., are (2) that while the men sent by the Board flooding the empire with cheap books are connected with the theological de- in favor of their religions. As one way partment, our cooperation with the of meeting this demand, the mission has Doshisha in the training of pastors and already taken steps for starting a Reevangelists be continued; (3) that, after view in the vernacular, which shall aim the reduced appropriation for the year to provide the best results of modern Christian scholarship. We approve this been done since 1871. The non:Chrisaction, and recommend that the project tian leaders in Japan now recognize the be financially aided by the Board. worth and power of the Christian char" (Jooperation between the mission and acter, and honor the true Christian life. the Kumi-ai churches, your deputation The missionary is now free to go at will is of the opinion, is desirable. Pastors into all parts of the empire. The Bible whose radical views in theology make and Christian literatulc have free cir- fellowship ditlicdt are exceptions, and culation. The prisons are open for the they should not be allowed to disturb Christian evangelist. Christian teach.

the fraternal relations between the mis- ers are in many of the Government sion and the churches. Churches schools. Persecution is a thing of the should still be organized according to past except as it occasionally appears in the usage of the Kumi-ai body. If the disguise. Christianity has already put church becomes self-supporting, the mis- its stamp upon the laws of society, of sionary will have no l'elation to it ex- the army, and of the State, and is mak- cept that of love and fellowship; but ing itself felt in literature and forms of if the church expects :hom the Board thought. Nevertheless, we must bear financial assistance, then the missiona- in mind the fact that, compared with the ries must take measures to satisfy the entire population, the number of Chris· Board that the money given by it is not tians is small. Including those con- used to aid or to support those who are nected with the Greek and Catholic not evangelical. On self-8upport, the churches, the highest number claiming Deputation recommend that the mission the Christian name is less than one plan to reduce its expenditures for evan- fourth of one per cent. of the Japanese gelistic work as rapidly as is consistent people. Even the best of these have with the success of the missionary cause. only a few years of Christian experience We suggest that those regions where and training. Under these circum- there are strong Kumi-ai churches be stances the marvel is that Christianity left as far as possible to the care of those has been able not only to maintain itself churches, and that the mission devote during these Jater years which mark the its attention to the more remote and less rise of the new national and intellectual spirit, but also to make signal progress. developed localities. It is now a generally accepted princi- The time has not yet come, and for ple that the evangelization of any land many years may not come, to leave the should. so far as possible. be committed evangelization of the empire to the Japto the hands of native Christians. 'fhis anese churches. Of the ninety-nine is peculiarly true in Japan. In so. far Kumi-ai churches and provisional as practicable, we urge conference with churches, only thirty-nine are self-supthe Home Missionary Society of the porting. All are young; some have a Kumi-ai churches (which is entirely in- small membership.

dependent of the Board) as to the best The members of the Deputation feel that such visits as they have made to places for beginning new work. The condition of the Kumi-ai churches Japan ought often to be made to the and of the missionary service in Japan various mission fields, both for the sake on the whole is very encouraging. The of the missionaries and still more for the abnormal movement of multitudes tow- sake of those cbarged with the duty of ard Christianity has given place to a carrying on the work. The problems slow and healthy growth. The churches of missionary policy in almost all lands are not so well attended as formerly, are so complicated that study on the but those who do attend are more faith- ground alone can give promise of satisful and are developing a stronger faith factory solution. Therefore we unite in suggesting that occasional visits be and doing better work. Concerning education, it advised that made to the various missions of the the attention of missionaries should Board by the secretary and members of rather be directed toward evangelistic the Prudential Committee, and by such than educational effort. The educational pastors and laymen as may be selected, system of Japan is excellent, and reaches in order that the Board may better understand their responsibilities, and into nearly all parts of the empire. While Japan is a smail country in that the churches may better appreciate area, yet when we regard its popUlation the difficulty of the service committed of more than forty_one millions, with to their representatives in foreign lands.

its political, social, and religious impor- tance in relation to the problems of the Far East, it is of the utmost moment Rev. Nathaniel G. Clark, D.D., that we give to this nation careful consideration. Christianity entered in 1859. LL.D., who until the fall of 1894 was but the most of the work in Japan bas Secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Society for the Suppression of Vice, died at his home in West Rox bury, reports as a token of the efficiency of Mass., on January 3d. Dr. Clark was the society for 1895, 2044 arrests, 19 born in 1825, and for twenty·nine years tons of gambling paraphernalia seized, worthily filled the office of Correspond- and 47 tons of obscene matter destroyed.

ing Secretary of America's oldest for- It is well·nigh appalling to discover eign missionary society. He was re- how much of this moral filth is cap- markable for the beauty and symmetry tured ; it might be still more appalling of his character, for his rare executive to know how much is now in circula- ability, and for the breadth of view and tion or on the market.

the foresight which he displayed. His entire consecration, strong faith, and Mr. S. H. Hadley has been the Super- great practical wisdom rendered him intendent of the Jerry llcAuley Water an invalnable counsellor in anyemer- Street Mission for nearly ten years.

gency ; the impulse which he gave to This good old mission was the first dis- the cause of missions will long survive tinctive rescue mission in the world, him,:and make his memory precious for and from it have sprung hundreds of generations to come. other soul-saving works which are now established in many parts of Amer- As a result of the report of the com- ica and in foreign lands. Its op- mission of investigation of the Kucheng portunity for usefulness was never ma~sacres, 26 were executed for murder, greater than now, and yet it is in sore 17 banished for life, 5 imprisoned for need of funds to carryon its noble work life, 27 banished for ten years, 5 impris. of saving men's souls, redeeming their oned for five years, 5 chained to a stone bodies from the curse of rum and for three years, and 5 for six months, 2 vicious habits, and helpiug them to lead placed in a canguc for two months. In a noble and useful life. The miracles all, 92 persons were punished; only of grace which have been witnesed in those actually proved gnilty were sen- that old Water Street Mission have set tenced. Mr. Banister (C. M. S.) says that God's stamp of approval on the work, we may learn the following lessons from and should call forth unceasing funds the experiences of the commission in for the work. Mr. Hadley is ready to Kucheng: respond to invitations of pastors and 1. That any future commission which others to hold evangelistic and rescue may be appointeflshould have full pow- meetings in any of the larger cities and ers and explicit instructions. 2. That the towns, where he will relate his own Chinese authoril.ies should appoint a wonderful experience, and will tell of special commissioner with full powers, the transformations wrought in that without reference to the local officials. dark quarter of New York. No sub- 3. That there should be some tangible ject is of greater interest or more imevidence of the serious local results fol- portance than this work of rescuing lowing refusal of immediate justice, or moral outcasts. The work calls for of duplicity on the part of the local offi- your prayers and your gifts. Mr. Hadcials. 4. That it is possible for the ley may be addressed at 316 Water Chin{)se authorities to discover and Street, New York City. D. L. P. promptly apprehend the real offenders iu any outrage on foreigners in whatever part of China it may take place.

" Please remember this great Honan Rev. D. M. Stearns haa shown an inplain in prayer, with its 8,000,000 and terest in foreign missions as well as in 62 chief cities, all unreached by the Bible study which might well be imi- Gospel"-so writes Howard Taylor, tated by all the Ohristian pastors of the from China. world. His report of the collections made and distributed through him tl) Anthony Comstock, of the New York missionary fields shows a total of $19,- 094.18 for the past year, and a grand The American Tract Society issues total of $55.868 for the past seven years. " The Islands of the Pacific," by Rev.

The contributions have come for the James M. Alexander. It claims to be- most part from his own church in Ger- what it is-a compendious sketch of mantown, and from the members of his missions in the Pacific. It traces the Bible classes in various cities. history and development of these mis- The Student Volunteer Fund has reo sions from their origin on, and ends ceived contributions from Rev. J. 1. Seder, of .Tapan ($5), Mrs. McEwen, of It- with the "glance at the future of the Paaly ($50), and Mr. Charles T. Riggs, of Constantinople-himself a student vol- cific Ocean_ Its maps and illustrations unteer-($10). If friends in foreign lands recognize the call to enable needy are of a high order, and of themselves student volunteers to ;keep pace with the problems and progress of mission- constitute a marked attraction. It is ary enterprise. should there not be more response from Christians at home? The worth while to have in one comprehen- Volunteer Fund is very much in arrears, and the publishers of the REVIEW are sive but not too bulky volume such a in danger of being compelled to limit their offer of the REVIEW at a nominal story of a triumphal march of missions_ price to volunteers, owing to the growing debit to the account of the Volun· He who reads this book will feel as teer Fund. never before that the Isles have waited Rev. Henry Stout, D.O., has returned to his native State, New Jersey, for God's law. A. T. P. after twenty-seven years' absence as missionary in Japan, under the aus· Few books on the subject of missionpices of the (Dutch) Reformed Church. ary policy show greater imight into the present-day problems in the mission field, or more consecrated wisdom as 10 how they are to be dealt with, than Dr. John L. Nevius' " Methods of Mis- sion Work," * the first edition of which was printed from the Ohinese Recorder ten years ago. Dr. Nevius was a man with a genius for missions, and possessed the rare combination of good judgment, firm convictions, anu courteous defer- Publications Noticed. ence to the opinions of others. The Among recent issues of the press, METHODS set forth in this little book are F. H. Revell Company have added to their already comprehensive list, " Nad- " flexible, and so wise and discriminatya, a Tale of the Steppes," by Oliver lI:I:. Norris, which will be very interest- ing," as the PresbyterianBoard says in its ing to those who wish a glimpse of Hussian life, and especially of the Stundists, introductory note, ., that the spirit of tho who are to Russia what the Moravians have been to Bohemia and Saxony. method is clearly evidenced as the meth- The same publishers have issued" Parsian Life and Customs," by Rev. S. G. od itself. It removes one wholly from "Wilson, M.A., whose fifteen years' service in the land of Esther fits him to the spirit of dealing with hirelings to one write with intelligence and appreciation of this country and its people, of which of blessed privilege of working with so little comparatively is known. The book is a valuable addition to our mis- brethren in the Lord for the glory of sionary literature. It contains a condensed account of modern missions, God as supreme." The book discusses, briefly epitomized within some twenty- among olher things, how to deal with new convcrts, begiuning wOlk, and the founding and governing of out-sta- tions, illustrated by his own work in Central Shantung. The appreciation of the :Methodist and Presbyterian boards (North and South) is evidenced by the fact that they have sellt copies of the book to all their missionaries in the field.' D. L. P.

three pages, which will be especially • Published by the Presbyterian Board, 156 helpful to students of missions. Fifth Avenue, N. Y.

GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE

V.-GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE.

EDITED BY BEV. D. L. LEONARD.

Extracts and Translations from Foreign thew's, Melbourne, Victoria, has re- Periodicals. signed his charge in order to go to Per- BY REV. O. C. STARBUCK, ANDOVER, sia, as Bishop Stuart, of New Zealand MASS. lately resigned his diocese for thc sam; purpose. "Naturally enough many UNITAS FRATRUM. doubts and questionings prevailed in -The Moravian missionaries in Lab- Melbourne at first regarding such a rador gave no encouragement to the project. Mr. Blackett's own congre- scheme of transporting Eskimos to the g~tion were aghast; but after hearing Chicago World's Fair. They have hIS assurances that God's call had come been sadly justified by the result. The to him, they rallied round him in warm returning wanderers brought back with sympathy, and Ii remarkable farewell them a contagious sickness, apparently gathering took place in the spacious typhus, which has already carried off Sunday-school buildings of the parish, at Nain, the mother station, 88 persons. when 900 persons were present, and To tthhiastisthaeddmedisaerfyaiilsuraepipnatlhlienfgis,hearlitehs~ Archdeacon Henry Langley, his predso ecessor in the incumbency, presided.

the brethren are doing their best to Subsequently a still more imposing mitigate it by large distributions of meeting, attended by two or three thou- food. sand people, was held in the splendid " And how does our congregation re- town hall of Melbourne. The new ceive this visitation? It humbles itself dean, Dr. Vance, presided, and spoke under God's hand, and thankfully ac" out vigorously. • Some,' heconsdauicd~ • might call Mr. Blackett's cepts the chastening. At no one death- quixotic, and say that he was sacrificbed have I heard a word of murmur- ing service to sentiment, and a higher ing against the Divine leading. They duty to a lower; but the whole history are resigned to God's will; indeed, of the Church and the evangelization many thank God for the sufferings He of heathen nations gave a refutation to has laid upon them. "-Rev. ALBERT that idea. The men who had shown MARTIN. in Mission8-Blatt. the fervor and the faith to make im- Mr. Martin's own little boy llernard pressions upon the heathen and Mohamwas also called away. "He was so medan populations were bound to be patient in his suffering, so thankful for men of special ability and mark-the every little loving attention, which, very men who, if they had remained at alas! how glad we were to show him home, would have probably won for and he exhibited even to the last mo: themselves front places in the Church ment in a touching manner his love and and in the world; of such men Mr. attachment to us. During the Christ- Blackett was one."-Ohurch Mi8sionmas festivities he was still particularly a1'Y Gleaner. joyous, as If, as it now appears to us in the retrospect, already a foregleam of MISCELLANEOUS.

the heavenly glory illuminated his -" There is at present a great temp- tation to an extension of the missionary whole being. 0 Lord, Thou hadst commission, confusing it either with a • purely external ecclesiasticizing of the given him to us, Thou hast taken him masses or with a mere civilizing of them. While the Roman Catholic misfrom us, Thy name be blessed !" sions stand inextricably under the ban PERSIA.

-The Rev. A. B. BLACKETT, rector of the important parish of St. Mat-

EXTRACTS AND TRANSLATIONS

of the drst of these dangers, the latter the early Jesuits. And we have no to-day threatens the Christian missions reason to doubt that their first purpose of all confessions. If the diffusion of in secluding themselves with their Ind- • Christian culture' is stamped with ian converts in Paraguay was that of the dignity of the missionary commis- protecting these against the cruelties sion, missions come into danger of their and the corrupting influence of the very life, for their religious end is adul- whites; but once established in Para· terated thereby, and a foreigu element guay, and endowed by Spain with regal substituted. Doubtless Christian cul- prerogatives over the natives, the essenture is a self-evident result of the Chris- tial vices of the Jesuit institution could tian work of cbnversion; but if this re- not fail to unfold themselves. It is sult of missions were substituted for true, the accusation that the Jesuit con· their proper end, this would signify the stitutions authorize a superior to comsubstitution of a secular purpose for a mand an inferior to sin is a gross calpurpose of the kingdom of God. Such umny, originating in an ignorant misan impulse to the secularization of mis- interpretation of a phrase which is sions is rife in the present, and has re- shown by that learned enemy of the ceived new nourishment, especially Jesuits, Dr. Steitz, to have throughout through the economical interests and all ages of Catholic theology one uni· national jealousies of the most recent form sense-namely, " to bind to obedicolonial policy, and it has recalled into ence under penalty of sin." The Jesuit life a medireval misuse of missions for rule expressly reserves to every memo the ends of the temporal powers. In ber the right" to refuse to sin." Nevview of this danger, which threatens ertheless, the whole effect of the Instithe innermost life of Christian missions, tute is to develop most portentously the the present time above all stands in the instinct of domination, of the highest most pressing need of a clear exposition over the higher, of the higher over the of the religious character and ends of lower, of the lower over the lowest. A missions."-Dr. WARNECK, in Evan- necessary result of this is the instinct gelische Missionslehre. of suppressing intelligence in inferiors, and of reducing Christianity itself as -" Missions have not the primary nearly to a mechanism as is possible. purpose of civilizing the barbarous It is no wonder, then, that Dr. PFOTENpeoples. Whatever goou is implied in HAUER, quoted in the Zeitschrift fur culture, missions may very well make Missionskunde, is able to show, by the serviceable to themselves, but they will amplest documentary evidence, how never confuse their proper end with a well justified was the unfavorable judgsimple result of their labor. . .. All ment finally formed by Spain and also the splendor of culture is too weak to by Rome concerning the Paraguay Misblind their eyes."-P. E. STEIN, quoted sions. Spain and Rome were little in Zeitschrift fur Mis8ionskunde. likely to be scandalized by an excess of ceremonialism, but they were scandal- -" Missions, above everything, are ized by Jesuit rebelliousness, and by appointed to follow God's ways, which the extreme harshness of the Fathers are very often indeed ways of long ex- toward the Indians. Benedict XIV. pectation. "-ibid. tried reform, but as this proved ineffect- ual, Spain tried abolition of the mis- -It would be unreasonable aud un- sion, and finally Clement XIV. tried just to judge all Jesuits by one stand- abolition of the order. There was ard, or all Jesuit missions, or the much gained and nothing lost. .. Un- Jesuit missions of all ages. The En- der all the speciousness of outward' cyclopllJdia Britannica says that the guise there was concealed in Paraguay Brazilian nationality owes its very ex- an abysmal emptiness. Not a trace of istence to the awakening influence of

G1l:NERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE

inward apprehension of Christianity, of really so, it becomes us to bow in deep the worship of God in spirit and in humility, and to exclaim, 'Not unto truth, everything only a performance us, 0 Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy of eeremonil'l externalities, not a trace Name be the glory.' If in the guidof instruction aiming at the winning of ance of our society we are firmly persouls, nothing but crossings, chattering suaded of one tlting, it is of this, that of catechisms, genuliexions, repetition such a blessing of God is a wholly unof rosaries, not a trace of labor aiming merited one; but we will therefore be at moral de-velopment, or at the awak· all the mOle thankful,"-Bericltte der ening of self·confidence and personal Rlteinisc7.en MisBions-Gesellscltajt. activity, nothing but idle imitation: the inferiority of the natives-relig- -" Before there were German coloiously, morally, economically -most nies it was a matter of course with every rigidly maintained, so that the absolute German missionary that in taking leave authority of the Jesuit Fathers might of his home he must also, in a certain remain uninfringed. The whole work measure, take leave of his own Germanof the Fathers not imbued with the ism, of his national habits of feeling, of pure spirit of ministering love, but la- all manner of inherited and dashing boring unweariedly and in the falness views and customs, in order to become . of holy earnestness on the souls and all things to all men. Moreover, it was hearts of other men. What a harsh- universally accepted, as a peculiar adness of temper, when the Fathers speak vantage, that the German missionary In of the natives as • wild beasts, for all English, Dutch, or Danish colonies was the world like monkeys,' , mere stupid free from all suspicion of coming with cattle, forest demons,' 'a horde of political ulterior views. Now this bedirty, mast·fed swine rather than a rout gins to be treated as an antiquated poof reasonable men'! What a frivo· sition, and men begin to insist emphati. lous, indeed criminal apprehension of cally that missions must bear a national the missionary work enjoined by the character. German missions in German Lord, when the natives were heaped colonies, that is the only sound state of with presents and provisions, with the things, they will have it, We fear that remark that' the way to the heart only there is a great danger involved in this. goes through the mouth,' and when This easily brings the missionary into a accommodation to heathen religions hybrid position, prejudicial to hisactlvwas carried so far that a Jesuit says a ity as a herald of the kingdom of God Christian mass in the morning, and in and as a witness of Jesus Christ. Things the afternoon a mass for the old gods secular and spiritual, national and Chrisof the land." The Jesuit accommoda- tian, are thus confused, and finally Gertions to heatbenism in China, for which manism comes in the place of Christian- Rome inexorably broke up their mis- ity. It is our duty to testify against sions, were nothing to this. this tendency, and to emphasize the in- ternational character of all evangelical -The Papuans of New Guinea, it is mission work. We rejoice that, for insaid in the Berieltte de1' Rlteinioelten stance, the Bremen missionary inspector, Miaaiom·Gesellacltajt, are distinguished ZAHN, has done this again and again. by a peculiar depth of feeling, and a This alone would have merited his late relatively high morality. This renders honor .of Doctor of Theology, for it is a the work among them much more hope- fundamental character oftrue theology to ful. distinguish, with Luther and with Paul, between too kingdom of the world and -" It hM been occasionally said to the kingdom of God, and to take Christ's us of late, that our Rhenish missions word in earnest: 'Render to Cresar the are at this present the most richly bless- things that are Cresar's, and to God the ed among those of GerlP..:1uy. If this is

ENGLISH NOTES

things that are God's.' "-Calwer ~lfi8· not what it ought to be. Even if some aionsblatt. Christians had theological doubts, this should not prevent them working We observe that this excellent sheet heartily for the benefit of humanity. does not flare up and accuse those of Then some said of the heathen: • These hating German missions and of being are in the hands of a merciful God.' no Christians who venture, after German So were passengers and sailors on a sources, to represent that in Germany, sinking ship; so were the sick; so as well as elsewhere, there are those who were our children; but this did not wish to make missions a servile hand- prevent us from taking such steps as maid to ambition and commerce. In our natural feelings called for. Some, Germany, a1l elsewhere. the true friends again, objected to missions because they of missions set themsel ves against this had (so it was said) inculcated the dread elIect, and there, as elsewhere, they of eternal torment. He did not think have abundant occasion to do so. this was so. He did not find it in the early records; and the founders of this -" Rev. E. P. RICE, B.A., Chik society were not narrow, but broad· Ballapur, South India, said his only minded men. Contending, in answer reason for being a missionary was that to recent criticisms, that it was no more he was a Christian. The two things unreasonable to correct the erroneous lay very close together ; and he could beliefs of the heathen than their crude not understand a consistent Christian views of geography and other things, who was not a missionary at heart. If Mr. Rice closed by saying: 'In our it could be proved that Jesus Christ preaching place at Chik Ballapur, we never spoke the words, ' Go ye into all have inscribed on the wall, " One God the world,' the injunction would still for all mankind; one Savior for every remain both in the Commandments and sinner; one brotherhood to all races; the Lord's Prayer. We could not do one law of duty for every man." This our duty to God and our neighbor if we continually asseverate. What we we neglected missionary work, and we preach is not only a white man's re- could not consistently pray. ' Thy king- ligion ; it is a universal truth, and it is dom come,' if we failed to put forth adapted to all ages and all time.'''- our utmost elIort to promote its advent. The Chronicle. We were called upon to give to the world our best, and our best was our -Dr. Glover (in The Chronicle) hopes knowledge of Jesus Christ. This was that Great Britain will not go to war to the best thing in our li ves. We could avenge the death of any missionary. part with our wealth, our health, our Fill up the gaps. friends, and our reputation; but so . long as we had God for our loving English Notes. Father, guiding our lives, we had the secret of eternal peace; and we should BY JAMES DOUGLAS. no more be able to keep silent about this than we could stifle a sweet per- Baptist Missiona'I"JI Soeiety. MU8soorie, fume by placing the hand over it. We India.-The Rev. Thomas Evans, in re- should manifest the love abroad as well porting the baptism of several soldiers, as at home, because the brotherhood to tells also of the baptism of one named which Christ calls us is a world·wide Sobha Sing. who is a native of Tibet, brotherhood. Britain had a world·wide and who has a great desire to be the empire, and had now to show itself first to open up that dark land so long worthy of it. If they considered the barred against the heralds of the cr05S. relative population and needs at home He is described as a man full of energy, and among the heathen, they would and as having no fear of man or the see that the proportion of workers was want of means. At present he is a

GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE

zemindar in Tizhoot, but is going to palling. Kuti, a native catechist, says; devote himself entirely to the Lord's " Gin has invaded the country, and is work. He has great hopes of being al- determined to ruin and desolate it, if not lowed to enter Tibet, and there shed put a stop to. There is no distinction abroad the light of the grace of God. -men, women, and children drink; and, what is worse, infants and suck- :North Italy.-Interesting particulars lings have the gin-glass held to their are furnished by the Rev. W. K. Lan- mouths by their parentl!." Later on he dels, of Turin, concerning the forma- says: .. Drink is a great impediment tion of an evangelical church in Haena. to the progress of the Gospel, and a The circumstances which resulted in great barrier to a betterment of the this were peculiar_ The people of this condition of the people. It renders futown having quarrelled with the priest, tile and abortive all the civilizing agenand unable in consequence to procure cies sent forth to make us YOMaa rise his services, determined to ask an evan- and improve our condition." gelical minister to hold a religious service, and communicated their wish to Ranaghat MedicaZ Mi8sion, Bengal.,- Mr. Landels. On arriving at the sta- From the report of this mission it trantion of Haena "we were met," says spires that 28,000 people have heard the Mr_ Landels, "by a band of music, and Word of the Lord within a few months. escorted to the place of meeting." On Many attribute the cure of their bodily that occasion some 1500 people heard ailments to the Lord Jesus. May the the Gospel, and the wish was unani- time soon come when they will acmous that the preacher should again knowledge His power and His grace as come. This led to the opening of a hall the Savior of their souls! and the holding of services every Sunday. There is now an evangelical South India.-The Rev. F. W. N_ church in Haena consisting of 12 mem- Alexander, who has labored long in bers and some 50 declared ndherents. India, has had a fresh reaping time in Including the immediate district, the Po7.aanipaUi, where he was the first to number of the baptized is 25. plant the Gospel 33 years ago_ On that occasion-his first missionary tour Shensi, Ohina.-Mrs. Moir Duncan where never missionary foot had trod sends an account of a gracious revival before-a boy heard aDd believed, and in her girls' school. As the result of others were converted. "Now," he addresses and earnest appeals, a spirit says, " we have had a movement among of intense prayer was developed. the heathen remnant, and 16 adult men "Night after night," says this lady, have joined us after long holding out, .. they prayed, sometimes till midnight, and are now in the fold of the Good for themselves and each other, with Shepherd. " the result that most if not everyone of the 40 odd professed conversion. The Presbyterian Ohurch oj England. That many of these have truly been -Four new missionaries have recently born again we have no reason to doubt, been inducted at Highbury to their rebut that many may grow cold we must spective positions in the foreign field. fear. Still there has been an outpour- Their career thus far is bright with ingof God's Spirit on the whole school." promise. Mr. Campbell Moody, M.A., The whole atmosphere of the school has done yeoman missionary work in seems Changed, and the villagers re- the Gallowgate, Glasgow, after a dismark on the difference. tinguished university curriculum. He was also, during his last year in the Ohurch Hi8sionary Society. – The Glasgow Free Church College, Presinews this month as to the havoc dent of the Students' Theological Sowrought by drink in Weat Africa is ap- ciety. Associated with him is Dr. Lands-

ENGLrSH NOTES

borough, another youth of· great prom- and others, bearing the Christian name, ise. These brethren will settle in the have had to fiee. For the time being, Chiangoa country, Formosa. Mr. An- at Kagi and some other stations, the drew B. Neilson. M.A., is appointed to regular services have been suspend· take the place of the late lamented Mr. ed.

Thow, in Taiwanfoo. !fr. Neilson's London Mi88ionary Society.-Anxiety purpose to devote himself to the mis· in respect of Madagascar is intensified sionarylife became definite at Northfield by the news of the murder of Mr. and in 1889, when he attended Mr. Moody's Mrs. Johnson, of the Friends' Mission Summer School for Students as a dele- which occurred on the last day of No: gate from the Glasgow University Chris· vember. The sympathy of a very large tian Association, of which he was after- circle has boon deeply stirred, for these ward the secretary. The fourth name missionaries were greatly beloved, and is that of Dr. John M. Dalziel, who is were known as most devoted to the ~a­ to be associated witl1 Dr. Lyall, at Swa· cred cause of the Gospel. Probably tow. and who is well reported of alike for months to come there will be much as it regards professional qualifications unrest in country districts. Still the and missionary spirit. ultimate outlook is not so unpromising Japan and Formoaa.-It is interesting as was at first threatened. For one to find that Japanese Christians have tiling. the French Chambers have retheir thoughts already turned to mission solved to sustain the treaty made with work in Formosa, the new possession the Queen of Madagascar; and further, of their country. The Presbyterian the appointment of a Protestant, who Church has taken the initiative. At is known to be in sympathy with Protits recent General Assembly in Japan estant worship and missionary work, as it was resolved to take steps toward the the first Resident-General in Madagasfounding of a mission in that island. car, is another and clearer indication of Pessibly the East Coast work will be the same pacific purpose.

handed over to the Japanese Church. Woman'8 Work.-With the new year 'fhe likelihood is that among the a special niche is to be reserved in The aboriginal tribes of that part a happy Ohronicle for the latest intelligence conand fruitful sphere would be found. cerning woman's work on the mission field. This is designated .. Our New Recent commotions in Formo8a have Departure," and it is confidently hoped involved the Church of Christ in no that the ladies will be able to give a small tribulation, attempts having been good account of themselves in their made, not without some melancholy own department. The advance in success, to direct ill-feeling against the woman's work during the past 30 years Christians as in league with the Jap· has been wonderful, but when it is conanese. Mr. Ede, Presbyterian mission- sidered that out of a female popUlation ary, had this accusation fiung at him in in India of over 128,000,000 there are the streets of Taiwarifoo; while in Kagi only, according to the last census 197and elsewhere the Christians have had 000 girls under instruction, a giimp;e much more than hard words to bear. is given of the reigning d!,stitution, One of the members of the Kagi church educational and religious. was beheaded on a trumped·up charge of having assisted the enemy. His poor wife died immediately of shock and THE KINGDOM. fear, and the home was plundered. As several of the hearers of the Gospel in -A missionary writes: "The Chi· Kagi are missing, it is feared that one· nese have been known to raise an ob- or more of them have been made away jection to going to • mansions in the with. Not a few have lost their all; skies' after death. On being asked

GEl"ERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE

their reason, they an~wer that we try in its place a Dew religious heart which to get everybody to go there, and they does not lust for anything." know the place will be crowded !" -It appears from the last Bibliotlteca -On his recent journey home from Sacra that some missionaries, who are Persia, Mr. E. T. Allen traveled 500 also sons of missionaries, afe of considmiles OD his bicycle, arousing conflict· erable account, and even in realms ining emotions along the road-admira- tellectual and scientific; for we find tion, resentment, and terror. A case Professor Romanes, of Oxford, who of the latter was a man ghastly pale, had been" :;,hattered" by rationalism, who stood by the roadside and drew pronouncing Rev. J. T. Gulick, of Ja· his dagger as the wheel came up. Dis- pan, "the most profound of living mounting and proffering a few human thinkers upon Darwinian topics," and inquiries. Mr. Allen discovered that he writing to him in this fashion: "How had been taken for the angel of death. is it that you have retained your Chris- – Woman's 'Workfor Woman. tian belief in the midst of your scien- tific researches? Looking at your life, -Once when Bishop Taylor passed I feel that you have done 80 conscienthrough Pungo Andongo, a king from tiously; and looking at your logic, I the interior came to open up trade; so know that you have not done so withhe arranged a cot in his own room for out consideration." Later the learned the repose of his majesty. Next day professor abandoned rationalism, and the king said to Mr. Shields, the mis- found peace and hope in the Gospel. sionary: "I heard in my own country of the bishop with the long beard. lIe -The foreign field contains Christian is not a man at all; he is a god come heroes by the hundred, and of both down to men. Last night when he sexes. Take these two as specimens. came into the bedroom I saw him take Rev. Dr. Barnum, of Harpoot, in a prioff his head (wig)" and lay it down by vate letter written before the massacre, his bed, and yet he had a head same as said: "We are glad to be here, what· beforo. I was scared nearly to death, ever may happen. If the Lord permits and trembled all over. If he had us to be cut off in an uprising of fanatitouched me then I would have died. cism, it will be because we can bless He is the god that piled up these great the country more in that way than in Pungo Mountains. If I could have any other. Perhaps something of the got out of the room I would have run kind is necessary. If so, for my part, for my life, but the god was between I am ready. '1'he people are excited, me and the door, and I couldn't get but we are not, for we are sure that out. When I go home to my people I God's hand is in all this movement, and will tell them that I saw a god, and that whatever may happen He will see came near to the end of my life." He that no grave mistakes are made." could not be induced to risk his life in And Mrs. Montgomery, without the that room again. presence of any male missionary, held her post at Adana, tho urged to come -When one of the Uganda natives away, and wrote: "While we hear of was to baptize certain candidates, a dire massacres in many directions, and crowd gathered to witness the cere- know not to what ollr own people may mony, and departed saying: .. It is all yet be liable, still faith says it is but a lie they told us about eating snake's part of the coming forward of the kingtails and human flesh." He found also dom for which you and we have prayed it was reported that baptism consisted and worked so long; and to be on the. in " making an incision in the head and ground now, I count the crowning privrubbing in a powerful medicine which ilege and joy of my life, partly because kills the old heart, and then there comes our presence here means so much to the people in their fears and distres84ls, 000 in three great cemmlmions of ChrIsand partly because the occasion reveals, tendom who bear His name. PraiJle as nothing else could do, the quality of God for such failures." the Lord's material in them. Surely the faith, love, and genuine spiritual -Tho not all Germans are reliable grasp that many of them evince is noth- witnesses in things which relate to the ing less than Divine." Gospel, it is yet pleasant to hear that when Major Leutwein, the new gov- -Among the antiquities of modern ernor of the German Protectorate in missions this incident may be set down. Namaqualand, had been a short time As far back as 1717 we find Ziegenbalg, in office, he said to the missionary at the first Protestant missionary in India, Keetmannshoop : "I am perfectly addressing a letter to "Cotton Mather, amazed at what I have seen since I Boston, Weat Indiea(!)," and asking came into this country. I thought I bow work was carried on in America was coming into a heathen land, but among the pagan natives. In due season instead of that I find a fully Christiana reply was sent, with the accompani- ized land." This remark, which is rement of a money contribution. This p;)rted in the ..Allgemeine Mi8siom·Zeitmissive was 14 months on the journey, seMift, is of special interest to English and Ziegenbalg died before it reached readers, because Namaqualand was Tranquebar; but Grundler, his succes- the scene of one of the early missions sor, returned hearty thanks, as well as of the London Missionary Society. several books just printed in Tamil. The correspondence was held in Latin, -Not since the Sepoy outbreak in and is to be found in a volume which India in 1857 have Christian missions Mather published, entitled India Ohris- experienced such severe reverses as were tiana. witnessed in 1895. The expulsion from Szchuan Province, West China, of -During a few months of last year nearly all the missionaries, to the num- 6 societies sent out no less than 250 ber of more than 100; the massacre missionaries to the foreign field, three near Ku-cheng; the conquest of Madafifths of them going out for the first gascar; the war between China and time. Japan, and the destruction of mission property and massacre of native Chris- -A writer in the Okri8tian Observer tians in Turkey, with the large debts muses and figures in this fashion: resting on nearly all missionary soci- "There are but 5994 missionaries in eties, form a series of events which the world all told. This is about one profoundly affect the progress of the missionary to every 6000 communicants. kingdom of Christ throughout the At this rate the Federal armies to sup- world. press the rebellion could never have exceeded 8000 men of all arms; while the -The saints cannot but rejoice and Confederate soldiers from Richmond be glad over the recent furious war to the Rio Grande could never have talk in relation to the Venezuela-Guiana numbered more than 1265. A country boundary question, and if for no other thus defended would be laughed to reason, because of the hearty expresscorn. sions of affection which by the ten thou- sand ha ve crossed the sea between Great -North and Weat exclaims: "The Britain and the United States. "The failure of missions! At the first Easter pulpits of the English.speaking world, there were 120 Christians. N ow there east and west of the Atlantic, have are 120,000,000 Protestants, who rule spoken with clear and unfaltering note. most of the area of the world. There Bishops and divines, leading merchants, were 500 brethren who saw the risen authors, editors, and statesmen have Lord at first. Now there are 500,000,- joined in a chorus, claiming commu- -To the same ancient city where nity of race and interest as a ground Florence Nightingale won immortal for deprecating war, and calling for fame, and ona kindred errand of merthe continuance of peace." Bloody cy, an American woman has bent her strife between these two foremost of steps. God bless and prosper Clara Christian nations, to which the world's Barton in carrying food to the starving redemption has been committed, would Armenians. The request to act in the constitute a crime and disgrace far more case was sent to the Red Cross Society colossal and damnable than any to be from the American Board and the Presfound upon the pages of history. byterian Board, endorsed by the State Department at Washington. Tho the WOMAN'S WORK. Sultan declares that her heavenly mis- sion will not be tolerated on Turkish -I never yet saw a missionary's wife soil, yet even he has been known sudwhose companionship did not double denly and utterly to change his mind. her husband's usefulness. I have known more than one whose face as the years of life increased took on that -Yes, and Japan also has her Florcharm, that wondrous beauty, that ence Nightingale. For" a Chinese youthful features never wear – the naval officer, captured by the Japanese, beauty of character disciplined by suf· has recently given to a newspaper corfering, of a life unselfishly devoted to respondent high testimony to the gentle, the highest ends. One of the choicest unostentatious labor among the Chinese things of missionary work is the unwrit- prisoners in Japan of an American misten heroism of missionary homes. It is sionary, Miss Talcott. She had a mys- the missionary's wife who by years of terious happiness, whose fountain they endurance and acquired experience in could not understand; and her sunny the foreign field has made it possible face, aglow with an inward delight, in these later years for unmarried wom- soothed and blessed the sorrowful and en to go abroad and live and work broken-hearted. The conservatism of among the people of Eastern lands.- these men was proverbial, yet the most Dr. Herrick. stubborn hearts yielded to Miss Tal- -Archdeacon Wolfe gives this em- cott's simple·hearted love. Tho relucphatic testimony to the value of wom- tant to acknowledge the superiority of an's part in the world's evangelization: anything foreign, their prejudice was .. A mission without a large staff of de- disarmed and their wrong impressions voted lady missionaries, 1 have no hesi- dispelled." – Ohurch at Home and tation in saying after 34 years of ex- Abroad.

perience, is destitute of one of the most -The Helping Hand, organ of the potent agencies for the conversion of Woman's Baptist Missionary Society, China to Christianity. The vast masses in the January issue celebrates the quarof Chinese women can be reached only ter 'centennial of that organization by by lady missionaries. Even our Chris- various appropriate articles, and be- tian congregations, on account of the sides, a " dress" all radiant with silver ignorance of the wives and daughters, and most attractive to the eye.

are sadly lacking too often in devoted- YOUNG PEOPLE. ness and zeal. The presence of lady missionaries is the only remedy for this -The King's Daughters began with state of things, and I can bear testi- 10 women in New York less than ten mony, with deep thankfulness to God, years ago, and now have a membership to the improvement seen everywhere in of over 400,000. They aim to work our Christian congregations which have quietly, to take up new work quickly.

had the privilege of their presence and and mcite others to royal deeds of love teaching." for the King. A society bearing this euphonious name in Burlington, Vt., resented is 570. The largest has 39 achas a .. Sunshine Circle" in a hospital. tive members, 19 associate, and 12 hon- orary, the Chinese names for these -The young people of the United classes being" real members," "learn- Brethren Church volunteered to raise ers," and " guests." One of the soci- $5000 to build a church in Los Angeles. eties sends 2 members every Sunday Success is about to crown their efforts. afternoon to speak in adjoining villages.

-The Christian Endeavorers of Clar- endon Street Baptist Church, Boston, AMERICA.

gave $1900 to missions last year. United States.-The Chicago 'J'ri- -Among the Friends the Endeavor- bune'8 record of gifts to benevolent in- ers number about one fifth of the entire stitutions in this country in sums of membership of the denomination. Dur- $10,000, or over, for the year 1895, ing the past year those in California shows a total of $28,943,549, an in- and Ohio gave for missions $1 each, on crease of over $9,000,000 from the gifts the average, and those in Canada $1.50, for 1894. The gifts of less than $10,- while 15 who are now engaged in for- 000 were correspondingly larger, and eign work are partly or wholly sup- may be estimated at $15,000,000 more.

ported by those remaining at home. It is safe to place the voluntary benevo- -The New York City Endeavor lences, not counting the support of local Union numbers 135 societies, with a churches, at a total of over $40,000,000 membership of 6500, and the Chicago for the year.-The Interior.

Union has now increased to 410 soci- -January 4th. by proclamation of eties, with a membership of about 18,- President Cleveland, Utah, after nearly 000. German, Dutch, Norwegian, 50 years of waiting and knocking, has Swedish, Welsh, Bohemian, and Chi- been admitted to the Union. The first nese are languages in which meetings application for statehood was made in are regularly held in societies belong- 1849, the second in 1855, the third in ing to the Chicago Union. New York 1862, the fourth in 1867, the fifth in also has Bohemian, Italian, French, 1872, the sixth in 1887, and the seventh and German societies, besides several -the successful one-in 1894. Until among the sailors. The German work 1887 all petitions had been made in the in Chicago has been made a distinct de- name of the " State of Deseret," lind in partment of activity, with a special su- 1849 the State was to comprise all the perintendent in charge. country now covered by Western Colo- -The annual convention of the Foo- rado, Western. Wyoming, Southern chow district, China, was to have been Idaho, all of Utah, Nevada. and Ariheld in a church, but it was seen that zona, and California as far west as LOB the building would not accommodate Angeles. The new commonwealth nearly all that would attend, so the En- comes with a population of about 250.- deavorers secured cotton cloth and put 000, and an assessed valuation of propup a tent on the lawn of the Ponasang erty amounting to $97,900,000. The compound belonging to the American governor is a Mormon, and was born Board. The first native Endeavorer, in Salt Lake in 1859.

Mr. Ling Muk Gek, presided; 700were -Mrs. Phineas M. Barber, of Phila- present, and 300 of these had little or delphia, widow of the late Phineas M.

no knowledge of Christ. The tent was Barber, has devoted $40,000 for the fastened on one side to an idol temple, building and equipment of a seminary and a short distance away men were for girls, to be located at Anniston, making objects connected with idol Ala. It was given to the Presbyterian ,worship. The total membership rep- Board of Missions for Freedmen, will be completed by October of this year, more than for the 12 years preceding , and be known as the •• Barber Memo- 1884.

rial Seminary." Mr. Barber, who died Canada.-This is a specimen part of two years ago, made a bequest of $113,- the story which Bishop Newnham has 000, which will probably be increased to tell of travel through his hyperborean by another $100,000 for the benefit of diocese of Moosonee: •• For a large the churches and ministers of the Freed· part of the way I only had two Indian men. lads, which means that I paddled myself for many hours in the day. besides -Cornelius Vanderbilt and his wife helping to carry over the portages, to have transferred as a gift the property haul at the' tracking-line,' or tow-rope, on the north side of Forty-second Street, and to make camp at night. I have 155 feet east of Third Avenue, to the been traveling in canoe and open boat St. Bartholomew's Protestant Episco- for over three months, sleeping in a tent, pal church, this city. The property or in open boat without even that shelwas purchased by Mr. Vanderbilt for ter, for the whole of that time, except $60,000, and will be used as an insti- for three weeks altogether at the diftution for missionary, religious, char- ferent Hudson's Bay Company's posts, itable, benevolent, and educational in almost tropical heat of midsummer work.

-Behold how an Indian church can and the frosty nights of the autumn, grow. The Standing Rock Congrega- sometimes plagued with myriads of tional Church was organized December mosquitoes and other venomous flies; 8th, 1889. January 1st, 1890, it had 12 at other times, on the Bay, surrounded members; in 1891, it had only 16 mem- by vast ice-floes from arctic regions, bers; in 1892, it had 24 members; in much of the time wet through from in- 1893, 116; in 1894, 170; and January cessant rain or from wading in rivers ,1st, this year, there were 2 churches, and through swamps; exposed somewith 78 members in one and 152 in the times to the risks of swift rapids, at other, making a total membership of others to gales and tides; rising daily at 230. 4 or 4.30 A.M., and retiring to my bed on the ground at 10 P.M."

:- -If all the Methodist home mission -And the Intelligencer (Church }<Iisconverts could be brought together in sionary Society) for December last has a conference we should hear them speak long and intensely interesting quotain Welsh, German, Swedish, Danish, tions from the diary of Rev. E. J. Peck, French, Portuguese. Italian, Bohemian, who is gladly self-exiled for the king- Hungarian, Chinese, .Japanese, Span- dom's sake among the Eskimo of Cumish, and various Indian tongues. berland Sound far to the north of Hud- -Remembering that he includes all son Bay. What he narrates of adven- who have joined on probation, and all ture and endurance from the climate (!onver~s gathered in Protestant Europe and the natives certainly leaves nothing from the Lutherans, etc., these figures to be desired (1).

of Rev. C. C. McCabe are deeply inter- ., People busy cutting up whale.

esting : In 1883 we had in all our for- The total length of this huge creature eign missions 43,100 communicants. is about 50 feet, height fully 15, and In 1894 we had 135,833. Estimating breadth of tail 12. Both dogs and peo- the gain in 1895 at only half what it ple are now feasting away to their was in 1894, we add 8000, giving us a hearts' content, and they seem quite total of 143,833, making a gain in 12 elated at the prospect of having many yellrs of 100,733, more than two thirds a hearty meal. Busy during day speak- of the whole number. The missionary ing to the people, and teaching them in income for 12 years has been $5,000,000 our little church. .. We were startled this morning at joicing and wonder: Does everyone about 3 A.M. by a pack of hungry dogs. know that there are 350,000,000 of peo- These crcatures had managed to climb ple who are not Christians in British up on the roof of our skin church, and territories or under British dominion?

to our dismay were tearing the edifice – During the first week of the year a to pieces. Hastily slipping on our fur conference convened at Liverpool uncoats, Mr. Parker and myself rushed der the auspices of the Student Volunout in the bitter cold. Here, in the teer Missionary Union, which was the dim light, we could make out our po· largest and most representative gathersition. We were literally besieged by ing of Christian students ever held in dogs, and they must in all have num- Britain. Some 620 British students, bered over 100. Most of these were on men and women, representing about the roof, some had fallen through the 65 colleges of various denominations, same, others were devouring pieces of gathered, with representatives of the volseal-skin, and altogether such a con- unteer movement in America, France, fused mass of dogs-young, old, bruised, and South Africa, as well as students and wounded-it would be hard to find from the Continent, belonging to inanywhere else. After a sharp battle stitutions in Germany, Switzerland, we managed to put these unwelcome Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, visitors to flight, and we then man- and Denmark. aged, by the help of our Eskimo friends, to patch up with some old canvas the -Our missionary societies are extri- holes in our little church." cating themselves from their burdens But for some time services were held of debt. The London Missionary So- in a structure which could not be de- ciety has already raised a centenary voured: to wit, in "a large circular fund of more than £90,000, and hopes wall of snow about 6 feet high. The to make it at least £100,000. The Wes- seats were made of blocks of snow leyan Society has cleared its debt, and placed close to the wall." At his call is aiming at an addition of £20,000 a "quite a number came to hear the year to its income. Besides which, in Word of God," and sat" with nothing this society there is a revival of the mis- between us and the blue heavens." sionary spirit among the students in .. We had a grand time together." the colleges, many of whom are offer- ing for work abroad. We shall pres- EUROPE. ently learn also to economize our -England has a great many citizens strength at home, that we may have all of wealth and handsome incomes. The the more for foreign service.-London income tax reports recently published Ohristian. show that 66 Englishmen enj oy incomes above $300,000, and that 2000 more -The latter half of the year which have incomes ranging downward from has just closed will be memorable in that to $50,000. Those who have missionary annals for the number of the $25,000 to $50,000 a year exceed Lord's servants in the mission field who 3000 in number, 5000 are taxed on in- have fallen victims to the violence of comes of $10,000 to $15,000, and nearly lawless and wicked men, for whose 15,000 are reported as enjoying an- spiritual welfare they were laboring. nuities of from $5000 to $10,000. Our own party and that of the C. E. Z. M. S. in China; Mr. Atlay, of the Uni· versities' Mission, in the region of Lake -In a recent address the Bishop of Nyassa, East Africa; and now Mr. and St. Albans put this tremendous inter- Mrs. Johnson and their daughter, of rogatory, which every Christian in the the Society of Friends, in Madagascar- United Kingdom may well ponder with 15 in all. The S. P. G. missionary at fear and trembling, as well as with re- Ramainandro in Madagascar, with his family, appears to have very narrowly in the vicinity of the Vatican. "As escaped a similar fate in November, late as 1861, when Minister Marsh en. leaving the mission premises only a tered the papal dominions, his Bible few hours before they were attacked was taken from him by papal officials. and destroyed by an anti-European And now the walls of Rome contain 11 mob. It is a feature common to all the Protestant churches." -Jolfiah Strong. outbursts, that they were prompted by anti-foreign rather than anti-Christian -The Florence correspondent of feeling.-Intelligencer. Evangelical Ohristendom affirms that there is no book so widely spread in -Next to that of women's work, no Italy at the present moment as the department of the missionary service Bible; that of all books, none finds so has witnessed so marked a development many buyers. This is owing to the in recent years as medical missions. persevering and successful work pur- The first qualified medical man sent out sued in this country, for now nearly 40 as such by the society was Dr. Elmslie, years, by the British and Foreign Bible who sailed for the Punjab to open the Society and the National Bible Society medical mission in Kashmir in 1864. of Scotland. These societies have Since that year 45 have gone out under now spread throughout the length and the Church Missionary Society, and 29 breadth of the land about 3,000,000 European medical missionaries (besides copies of the Word of God, in whole or 3 qualified native doctors) are now on in part. The figures of last year's cirthe active list. During the 12 years culation are: Bibles, 7662; Testaments, from 1864 to 1875,5 were sent out; dur- 16,926; portions, 165,085; total, 189,- ing the 10 years from 1876 to 1885 the 633. The total for 1893 was 169,937 number was 15; and during the last copies; the increase, therefore, is about 10 years it was 25.-Idem. 20,000 copies.

-The Free Church of Scotland has -In Rome the Catholic Professor sent forth 28 medical missionaries, of and Doctor of Theology, Filippo De whom 5 are women, and supports 2 na- Lorenzi, has become a Protestant. He tive missionaries, at Madras and Tana, has addressed a letter to the committee making 20 medical missionaries in all. of the Free Church, in which he has Besides these, at Blythswood and other given the reasons for this step. After stations, chiefly in Africa, simple medi- stating that he was born in 1863, and cal cases are attended to by the mis- had been a priest and a professor of sionaries and their wives. About 120,- dogmatics in various colleges in Rome, 000 cases, surgical and medical, were among them also that of the Propatreated by 17 of the missionaries who ganda, he applies for admission to the have reported, besides the large num- Free Church. He acknowledges that ber of women dealt with by the physi- for years his heart has been filled with cians and surgeons of their own sex at unrest, and states that he has found Madras and Nagpoor, and the many're- peace in the Evangelical Church, lieved unprofessionally. At least 150,- .. whose faith is based solely and alone 000 men, women, and children, suffer- upon the Word of God, and which ers, of all Asiatic and African races and lives in accordance with this Word." creeds, annually receive healing and sympathy, and have the love of Jesus ASIA. Christ preached and read to them in our Church's dispensaries and hospitals, Ialam.-Sublime Porte means literin zenanas, and in the tented camp.- ally lofty gate, referring to the gate of Free Church Monthly. the palace at which justice was admin- istered, and so easily came to designate -Verily, "the sun do move," even the chief office of the Ottoman Govern- ment. -The mission to Syria was begun' in ly. They seldom or never visit them.

1828 by the occupation of Beirut. They know hardly anything about Twenty-five years ago, in 1870, it was them. They often speak unkindly of transferred from the American Board them in the mass, because of some ex- to the Presbyterian Board, and within perience of an untoward kind in con- this last quarter of a century there has nection with a few individuals. They been encouraging progress. In place pray little for them. They do not wor- of 18 American missionaries there are ship with them, and almost in no way now 40; in place of 63 native helpers, do they show sympathy with or for there are 219. In 1870 there were less them.-Indian Witnes8.

than 800 communicants; now there are -Miss Annie Taylor has entered 8048. The pupils in the schools have increased from 167 to 7352. The mis- Tibet as a bona, fo1e trader; she deals In sion press at Beirut issued over 22,000,- 000 pages in 1894, of which nearly one medicine, for which there is great dehalf were portions of the Bible. mand, and meantime loses no opportu- nity for missionary work. The Com- -Some months ago we published an missioner of Customs at Yatong is Mr. appeal from the Rev. George A. :F'ord, Taylor, and the missionary at Yatong of Sidon, Syria, for a well-boring ap- is Miss Taylor. The Tibetans naturally paratus for the Sidon Academy. We conclude that both Taylors belong to are gratified to learn from Dr. Ford the same firm, and the poor commisthat in response a friend, who insists sioner is afraid lest he should be held upon remaining unnamed, has sent in responsible for the deeds of the other a check for $3400, in full payment of Taylor. the apparatus I Dr. Ford writes: .. This is a magnificent gift, and I doubt -The last engineering feat performed not that it will also prove such to the by Britons for the benefit of Hindus is work at large. Our first concern in known as the " Peryar Project," and this connection now must be the task, consists in turning the course of a large by no means light, of finding a com- river, which ran worthlessly down the petent, experienced, and Christian man, Western Ghauts of Southern India to select the necessary apparatus, and into the sea, by a tunnel down the eastthen come out and manage it until he ern side instead to irrigate large barren has trained some native mechanic to wastes, and to feed hosts of the huntake his place."-New York Evangelist. gry. The dam is exceeded in height only by the new Croton dam in New York.

India.-It is by no means a palatable -The latest weapon forged against piece of information that the Indian caste and the seclusion of women is Christians suffer considerably from un- found in the (to Hinduism) pestiferous, happy influences, negative and positive, because so attractive, zenana car. Let which their European neighbors bring the mothers, wives, and daughters of to bear upon them. Negatively, the India move about swiftly by steam and growth of spiritual life in Indian Chris- see the world for a few years, and they tians is harmed by the isolated and will raise a successful rebellion in beunique position which is accidental to half of their rights. the profession of their faith in Christ.

The Hindu casts them off. The Mo- -This is how the Salvation Army is hammedan regards them with horror making assault: "Our methods are as deserters from Islam. The Parsee getting more and more wholesale-we closes the doors of his home to them. pioneer and prepare a given district for The Europeans, generally speaking a few weeks; experienced • sappers (missionaries excepted), pay but little and miners' deal with the villagers heed. to them. They regard them cold- treat with the group of headmen who rule the community (called the panch) work of the Ku·cheng Commission apand make them willing to accept our pointed to investigate the Hwa·Sang teaching. Then a large party is organ· massacre sat 74 days, and its labors reized, of from 40 to 100 officers and ca- sulted in the execution of 26 criminals, dets, living in rough huts, etc., and including the 5 leaders; 15 are to be camping in the open. With drums banished; 27 to be imprisoned for 10 beating and colors flying, they attack years; 5 to be imprisoned for 5 years, village after village, summoning them 5 more for 6 months, and 4 others to to surrender in the name of King be chained to a stone weighing 133 Jesus. Often the inhabitants come pounds, for 3 years. In addition to over en maS88 praying for pardon."- this it may be said that Vegetarianism The Oonqueror. for the time has been crushed.

China.-Of the 1500 missionaries, -A dispatch to the New York World men and women, now in this empire from Chun King says: "The Cheng the Church of England has about 210. Tu Commission, it is generally admit- -One of the significant signs of prog- ted, has achieved a complete success.

ress in China is a new university and The results have met with the approval preparatory school in Tientsin, under of the Cheng Tu missionaries, who are control of Chinese officials, with Mr. now recognized by the Chinese officials, C. D. Tenney as its first president. from the viceroy down. The mission· The English language will be taught aries were publicly banqueted wilh the and the new institution developed along commissioners. Everything possible is American lines, but Mr. Tenney is to now being done to obliterate remem- be assisted by competent foreign pro- brance of the late viceroy's misdeeds.

fessors. It is proposed to open prepara- The claims of the Methodists have been tory schools in other localities in North settled…

China under the management of the' -An interesting communication university to a certain extent. In the comes from Minister Denby, at Peking, course of time the university will pro· to the effect that a reform club has vide besides a general scientific conrse lately been started in that capital. The special courses in civil engineering, plan includes a daily paper, a readingmining, mechanical engineering, and room to be supplied with papers and law. books bearing on science, politics, and progress, a library, lecture courses, -Bishop R. E. Hendrix, of the Meth· etc. Rev. Gilbert Reid has been asked odist Church, South, who has just re- and has consented to assist the club in turned from China, brings this message carrying this scheme into execution. from Li Hung Chang: "Say to the American people for me to send over more men for the schools and hospitals, Ja-pan.-A. Japanese church at Kyoto and I hope to be in a position both to has adopted individual communion aid and protect them." He had asked cups, Il,nd all the members consider it how many American missionaries there an improvement. A deacon and a were in China. "There are about 600," deaconess served the cups, and another replied the bishop. "More are need- deacon and deaconess followed and ed," said Li, and in a moment he re- gathered them on trays.

peated the same words, "more are -As a result of 25 years of labor in needed." He then expressed the great Japan there are now in that country obligation of China to American mis· 400 Protestant churches, 50 Young sionaries and the spirit which has sent Men's Christian A.ssociations, 57 Christhem, and ended by asking the bishop tian Endeavor Societies, 18 circles of to convey the message. King's Daughters, and 6 home mis- -Rev. P. W. Pitcher writes that the sionary societies. -The progress of Japan in cIviliza- Christianity in the total he placed at tion may be illustrated by the following 5,550,000.

recently published statistics: In 1870 -Tropical Africa has its Hying frog, there was not a mile of railway; to- whose legs terminate in a sort of fan, day there are 1750 miles in operation, and with these'the little reptile paddles and 850 miles more about to be con- the air like a locust, or like a partially structed. These railways carried, in fledged bird testing its pinions for the 1894,36,000,000 passengers. There was first time. Altho somewhat awkward no post·office in 1870, but in 1893 the in its flock, the winged frog can dart Japanese post handled 277,000,000 let· through the air at a speed of about 10 ters and newspapers. In 1890 there yards per second, and can keep itself were no Japanese steamships; to-day going forward at that rate for from 10 there are 700. The ultimate secret of to 15 seconds. The average distance this progress is to be found in the work covered by these spurts of grasshopperof 470 evangelical missionaries, backed like Hight is from 75 to 125 yards; but by 111,000 native Christians and the Bishoff mentions instances where the schools they support. flying frog cleared sandy stretches 200 -According to intelligence from yards in width. And then, as if this Formosa, the capitulation oCTai-wan- were not enough for one continent, a fu, the ca.pital of the island, and the flying mouse is to be found in the Cam- pea.ceful entry of the Japanese, which eroons, which is a link between the bat brought the long campaign to a con- and the true mouse, has a tail like a clusion, were due to the gallant con- mouse and heavy gray fur, while its duct of two Scotch missionaries, Messrs. wings are not so well developed as Ferguson and Barclay, who at the criti- those of the bat.

cal moment, when the excited popula- -When Bishop Taylor first went to tion were expecting the worst, ap- Liberia the only small currency in use proached the Japanese and led them in in portions of the Kroo Coast was leaf peace into the city. tobacco. Two Methodist missions used it in the purchase of rice for absolute -If these statements are true, there needs and for tbe landing of supplies is trouble ahead: "Watches which sent from New York. The bishop incost $20 to manufacture here are made troduced laundry soap as small curin Japan for $3; 10 boxes of excellent rency, and his son, Ross Taylor, has parlor matches sold here for 5 cents can sent from a firm in New York from be bought there for 1 ; a piece of silk 3 to 5 tons at a single shipment, fair tapestry for which French artists de- quality and full weight, 8 and 16 ounces manded $10,000 has been duplicated in to the bar, to serve the purpose of cur- Japan at a cost of only $700, etc. An rency. No tobacco has been used in American firm has recently purchased 9 carloads of buttons made in Japan. trade since the stations were opened.

Business men on the Pacific Coast are -Speaking of Lutheran (General becoming seriously alarmed at this Synod) Muhlenberg Mission, West Afrimenace to almost every line of produc· ca, Dr. Scholl states that" as a result tive industry." of Christian learning and training, the AFRICA. native boys have built a steamboat of -In a recent paper on the Dark Con- their own, and 35 years ago those peotinent Fred Perry Noble brought down ple had never seen an ax. They have the number of Mohammedans to 40,000,- sent to America 25,000 pounds of 000. He made the native Protestant coffee."

communicants 255,000 and the native -A French missionary journal gives Roman Catholic 250,000. The force of an account of the progress 01 misslonary work in the Congo Free State in expected way. Eight missionaries are 4 great felds-namely, the Lower Con· laboring there, and since 1891 4 sta~ go, the Upper Congo, the Basin of the tions have been founded. A small Kassai River, and in the Katanga steamer, the Paulu8, has been sent out, country. There are now 1500 native and is doing good service, carrying the Christians in all these various regions. missionaries from shore to shore, en· In the Lower Congo there are 15 sta- abling them to preach the Gospel in tions, and 34 missionaries, and about the villages lying there. The mission- 1300 converts, of whom 225 were bap- aries have gained the confidence of the tized the past year. In this region the native population in a very remarkable International Missionary Alliance has degree.

the largest number of workers. On the Upper Congo, above Stanley Pool, there -Letters from Bishop Tucker an- are 12 stations, with 45 missionaries and nouncing the arrival of his party in about 100 converts. In the Kassai Val- Mengo on October 4th are received.

ley there is one station connected with Three weeks before they reached their the Presbyterian Church, South. The destination greetings began to arrive last of these mission fields is under the from Uganda chiefs, and from that care of Mr_ Arnot, at Lake Moero, in time forward proofs of the interest the southeastern part of the Congo re- with which their arrival was awaited gion. multiplied day by day. At Ngogwe -Dr. Thompson, who is one of them, in Kyagwe, the station from which the a.nd 80 ought to know, writes thus of Rev. G. K. Baskerville has just come how luxuriously the pampered mission- home, the joy of the women was unaries live at Mt. Silinda, East Africa: bounded. "They ran along by the "The work we are obliged to do on sides of the ladies' chairs," the bishop these temporary 'wattle and daub' writes, " grasping their hands and uthouses is highly unsatisfactory, because tering all manner of exclamations of it requires to be done over again so fre- joyful and loving greeting." A thanksquently, and because it does not result giving service was held in the church, in comfortable quarters for civilized at which 600 were present. When at man. I have been obliged to spend len5th Mengo was approached, the 6 weeks in repairing, rethatching, and scenes baffled even the bishop'S powers altering our house, building chimneys, of description. "As we drew near to etc., to make it at all comfortable for the Chagwe market we found every another rainy season. This ti,me I very place of vantage from which a good much needed for work on the perma. view of us coulQ. be got occupied by nent house, which the mission have re- interested spectators – Mohammedan quested me to build. And now that and heathen, as well as Christians, both the work of repair is done, it is not Protestant and Roman Catholic. The done, for the mud is constantly falling mass of people was now so great that from the mud walls, thus opening it was difficult to get along." On Suncracks which have to be filled again, day, October 6th, a congregation of at the sun-dried-brick chimneys are wash- least 6000 people assembled in the ing away, and will soon have to be re- church aud in the barazzas outside. paired again," etc. Nearly 300 afterward partook of the Lord's Supper. The bishop's letter -Rev. A. Merensky, director of the states that 2000 people were baptized Berlin Missionary Society, reports that during the first 9 months of 1895 in its mission in German territory at the Mengo and its suburbs alone, that liDO north end of Lake Nyassa, at the foot candidates in Mengo alone were await· of the Livingstone Mountains, in the ing coufirmation, and 300 others at Konde country, has prospered in an un- Ngogwe. – Intelligencer.