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FRERE TOWN.*

T is high time that the readers of the GLEANER heard something more about Frere Town. During the last two years we have given several pictures of the place and the people, with Mr. Price's notes; but we have told very little of the missionary work going on. During this period the colony has been greatly tried. Each of our Missions has its special hindrance or difficulty; and one of the peculiar difficulties of the East Africa Mission has certainly been the frequent changes in its staff. Yet each member of it in succession has contributed his share to the success of the enterprise. For through God's blessing we may claim for it no small success, notwithstanding many drawbacks. The great result is that Frere Town exists; that the Freed Slave Settlement is a fact. It has had serious trials, but it is there. The work of Mr. Price, Mr. Lamb, and Captain Russell, has not been in vain; and our latest intelligence is most encouraging, and gives good ground for hope that the seed sown is about to bear fruit. The present members of the missionary staff are Mr. J. R. Streeter, Lay Superintendent; Mr. J. W. Handford, schoolmaster; and Mr. W. Harris. The Rev. H. K. Binns sailed lately to return to his old post; and we hope another clergyman, and a medical man, may ere long be supplied. The Native agents, George David, Ishmael Semler, and Isaac Nyondo, have continued to work

faithfully under

It is astonishing how little these people know after being taught so long, but just the opposite with the dear children. I have no hesitation in saying, that although I had some good Sunday-school classes in the old country, I never knew of one learning verses like my little black men. And then they seem to learn with their heart as well. One forgets all cares when teaching them; and as there is much truth in the old saying about "all work and no play, &c.," I often go over and have fine games with them. Have had a large trap-bat made, which they enjoy heartily, if they take to that we may expect something from the coming race. also a trapeze, and I have initiated them into the manly game of cricket; The girls are more difficult to rouse. They patronise the swing a little, but only laugh at my skipping; their favourite occupation is to sit on the ground with three small stones at an angle, with a cocoa-nut shell of water on the top, and a little fire under, preparing for the future, like all girls. Shall have to start a South Kensington School of Cookery amongst them. I suppose there is a cookery class at home, as all missionaries' wives and daughters coming to East Africa ought to know how to make a dinner out of nothing, and warm the remnants up for supper.

I have plenty of live stock to look after. First come two black boys, and Cephas, and a gardener-they are nearly a handful. Then I have two donkeys, two cows, and a beautiful calf, two sheep and a lamb, three goats and a kid, two dogs, one cat and two kittens, four geese, one of them sitting, eight ducks, ten fowls and twenty chicks, a lot of pigeons, two civet cats, and a young leopard, besides keeping both eyes on the mission stock.

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ONE OF THE MISSION HOUSES AT FRERE TOWN.

Mr. Streeter; and William Jones is in charge at Kisulutini, the inland station fifteen miles off.

Mr. Streeter was for some time a good deal troubled by the disorderly conduct of some of the freed slaves, and in one letter he quaintly observed that were it not for 1 Pet. v. 7 (" casting all your care upon Him ") his head "would soon be getting like the top of Kilimanjaro " [the snow-capped mountain in the interior]. Latterly, however, he has been much encouraged by the improved tone of the people. We give some passages from his letters :

Just like it used to be in England, I get enough joy on Sunday to carry me through the week. As well as my Sunday-school, I now am privileged to give the freed slaves half an hour, and I believe they like to listen, and I trust One above will bless the words. I share the time with George, who interprets. It was hard to make them comprehend, so one Sunday I took my magnet and two needles, another an orange, and we are now raising a ladder from earth to heaven (on the blackboard); it makes their faces brighten up, and the men say "hush" to the mothers when their babies cry. Have just had a census taken of the little mites; they number near forty.

The house represented in the picture has been used as a temporary dwelling in succession by Mr. and Mrs. Price, Mr. Handford, and Mr Streeter, but it is not suitable for a habitation, and is now, we believe, a storehouse.

the means of helping many by-and-by to listen "The land that is fairer than day."

We have now another leopard about. He went at the wire netting of Mr. Handford's bedroom window. He got up and fired as the brute went by a post, and of course he hit the post. Last week he came to my place, and nearly carried off my dog from the verandah. The Sepoy fired, but missed. The poor fellow was so sorry.

The fame of my musical box has travelled sixty or seventy miles up country, and when the natives come they want to listen. I trust it will be to sweeter music in

At Rabbai, last month, I was greatly cheered. Looking into a little Mnika hut, the good woman was rather frightened. After a little talk she called in her three children to see the Muzungu (foreigner), who sat on the tiniest of three-legged stools cut out of the solid, in a kind of gipsy tent, 5 x 9 ft., and not tall enough to stand upright in. At one end was a kitanda (bedstead), on one side another; so you may guess the drawingroo room table was very small, for the door was on the other side, and at the other end was the kitchen; a nice fire was burning, and two feet above it was a fixed wooden rack, with corn, &c., on to dry. Bright beams from the fire illuminated that little hut, which for a time was better than a palace to me, for as I spoke of our Saviour's love, and some of His precious promises, she said she should not be afraid any more, that she loved to hear about God, and prayed Him to help her understand more, and you could see, by the beautiful smile that lit up her face, "it was truth." Jones, who sat in the door-way, said she never lost an opportunity of learning. Coming away, the dear woman reached down four or five bundles of Indian corn, and begged me to accept them, not liking it because I would not. Í accepted the small stool made by her brother, who came by at the time, and did not want me to have such a rough thing, saying he would make me a proper one; but it was not that, for if spared ever to return home I shall show my "little stool, with a story," and it will warm some hearts as it did mine. I am thankful to say I keep uncommonly well, but the clock has struck one, so I must commend myself to Him who neither slumbereth nor sleepeth, and say good night.

In September last, Frere Town was visited by Bishop Royston Giriama people. The whole service was most devoutly attended to, and of Mauritius, who writes :

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And now we were at Mombasa, the place whose noble missionaries, Krapf and Rebmann, made me long, when I first offered myself to the Society, to be allowed to join them in their work. How little I thought of ever visiting it in present circumstances, and of seeing and hearing what I was privileged to see and hear! You will often have heard of the great beauty of the scenery-the beautiful creek affording a splendid harbour inside the island which you pass to the left; the sloping and now well occupied land of Frere Town facing you; the ferry-boat, carrying a constant succession of Wanikas and other mainland dwellers to the market of this fortified old town, who, with their bows and arrows and burdens of produce, are ever passing through this Christian village, seeing, one trusts, and hearing too, much which will at least conciliate them for future intercourse. On the left, as we anchored, was Mr. Lamb's beautiful up-stair house, with its surrounding of the most magnificent mango trees which I have ever seen; in front, three other houses (at present occupied by Messrs. Streeter, Handford, and Harris), and many thatched buildings of various shapes and dimensions. Still further round to the left spread the beautiful creek, winding its way navigably for some ten or more miles inland. On the beach itself was the Highland Lassie under the process of outer painting. On the right the shore spread on to where Mrs. Krapf and three little infants-her own and those of Messrs. Sparshott and Chancellor-lie buried, a precious occupancy, I trust, of the great mainland in days gone by.

Sunday was a busy day. At eight was the Suaheli service for the ex-slaves; conducted as to repetition of texts, &c., much as a Tinnevelly service for inquirers at a village station. About 180 were present. I afterwards addressed them from John viii., "If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed," George David acting as interpreter. Then, again, the Sunday-school at 9.30, taken with loving zeal by Mr. Streeter, at whose request I addressed the children and teachers. At 11 was a service wholly in English, which I took, preaching from Rom. xii. 1; and afterwards administered the Holy Communion to thirty-three persons, mostly Bombay" Christians and the Mission agents. The outward conduct at the services was all that could be desired, and throughout the attention was well sustained. From all I hear I think that there is more life among the poor people who come from Bombay than was at first manifested. After an early dinner there was a second Sunday-school for the children, and at four a Suaheli service for all by the catechist.

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On the Tuesday, the Bishop went up with Mr. Streeter to Kisulutini (Rabbai), where five women and ten children of the Wanika tribe were baptized, one of them the woman referred to in the last paragraph of Mr. Streeter's letters on the preceding page. The Bishop says:--

I never remember seeing a group of Natives so manifestly touched by the Spirit of God, or a little assembly in which the presence of the Saviour seemed more deeply felt. When closely questioned through the catechist, they all, in individual but common sentiments, and with most evident sincerity, confessed their deep conviction of sin, their earnest trust in the Saviour, of whom they had now long heard, and of whose work and words they had been well instructed, and of whose holy faith they now earnestly desired to make a public profession.

On the Friday, the Bishop held a Confirmation at Frere Town -the first in connection with the East Africa Mission :

The great bell-hourly struck, near the landing-place and office, night and day, by one of the settlement watchmen-loudly summoned us to the school chapel, which was soon filled with not far short of 400 worshippers. The service began with the reception of an excommunicate member; then a hymn; the baptismal service, when four were baptized; then the confirmation service, with, I fear, a somewhat long address by myself to the various classes present, translated by Catechist David, as indeed were all the more important passages of the prayers and services throughout. Then the female candidates, from Frere Town twelve, from Rabbai thirteen, and Giriama one, were confirmed, followed by the males, fourteen, eleven, and three, from those stations respectively-in all fiftyfour. The last of those who were confirmed were old Abraham Abe Gunja, of Rabbai, and his worthy son Isaac, who knelt side by side to receive the imposition of hands and the united prayers of pastor and people for their "continuance as Christ's for ever, and daily growth in His Holy Spirit until they come to His eternal kingdom." It was, I think, a moving sight to most of us, and we were full of thanksgiving to Him who had wrought it all.

After another hymn, the Communion Service was begun, and, after a short address to the communicants, the rest of the congregation retired at the end of the prayer for the militant Church of Christ. Some sixty remained for the administration, including most of the Rabbai and

the responses and hymns very hearty and melodious.

Altogether it was a day to be much remembered by us all-certainly by myself. I would willingly, had my duties in Mauritius not forbidden it, have remained some weeks in this interesting and promising Mission, the visit to which has filled my heart with gratitude to God. I can quite understand the proverb that those who have drunk African water must taste it again.

It was a sore trial to Mr. Streeter to go the second time to East Africa last January, after his wife was, in God's mysterious providence, taken from him, and to leave behind his four little motherless children. But though the sowing has been in tears, there is already, as we see, some reaping in joy-a pledge, we are assured, of a rich harvest in God's good time.

ORDINATION AT MOOSE FACTORY OF A
MISSIONARY TO THE ESQUIMAUX.

WICE in the year Moose Factory, usually so quiet, becomes somewhat animated-in August, when the annual ship arrives from England, and again in February, when the long silence is broken by the arrival of our overland post. At the latter season teams of dogs may be seen coming in from the neighbouring stations, bringing the Hudson's Bay Company's officers, who come here to await their letters. It was in order that these might have an opportunity of being present that Bishop Horden fixed Sunday, February 3rd, as the day for the ordination of Mr. E. J. Peck-our missionary to the Esquimaux. Mr. Peck came out here in the summer of 1876, and went at once to Little Whale River-a settlement in the Esquimaux country, where he hopes eventually to work. [See GLEANER, June, 1877.] After making the acquaintance of the people, and acquiring something of their language, he returned to Moose last summer, and has spent the past winter here in reading with the Bishop, preparatory to his taking deacon's orders. The ceremony took place in our church here on Sunday last, February 3rd. Almost all our wishes with respect to the day were realised. The visitors we had expected arrived on the Wednesday, and the Rev. T. Vincent, of Albany, on the Friday previously; and the post, which has the effect of greatly distracting people's minds, happily delayed till all was over. Add to this, that the weather was extremely fine, and mild enough for us to leave our overcoats at home.

The service began at 11.0-an early Indian service having been held as usual in the morning before breakfast. The Bishop's ingenuity had so arranged the furniture of our little chancel as easily to accommodate us all-himself, Rev. T. Vincent, Mr. Peck, and myself. The church, which seats a goodly number, was quite full; indeed, in speaking of the attendance afterwards, we could think of only two persons who were absent without good cause. As soon as the voluntary had ended, the 100th Psalm was given out, and sung with great spirit, Miss Horden leading at the harmonium. Then the Bishop went at once to the pulpit, and preached an excellent sermon on 2 Tim. iv. 2, "Preach the Word." After calling attention to the character in which St. Paul would have Timothy to go forth, viz., as a "herald," he dwelt at some length on the signification of "the Word," and the manner in which it should be ministered. Then, addressing himself more directly to the candidate, he remarked on the peculiar features of the work before him :—

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"Your home is to be in one of the world's bye-places, where, except the priceless souls to be gathered in, there is nothing to attract you. Of ice and snow, of storm and tempest, of wild bleak hills and an utterly unproductive soil you will have enough, and more than enough; and amid those you will have, perhaps, to endure much hardness. Yet I think you are to be envied. For the missionary should not look so much to his surroundings as to his prospects in his ministerial work. And yours are glorious! I think there is no mission in the whole country in which God has more people to be gathered in than in the Mission at Whale River. Long has the cry been raised, Come over and help us'; but it met with a faint response; an occasional visit was all that could be given... But I longed for a shepherd, and at last the noble C.M.S. sent me you to be the Esquimaux's missionary No people I have ever known or heard of seem more ready to receive the Gospel than they, more ready to honour the bearer of Glad Tidings, or to lend him all possible assistance, so as to render his life among them as free from care as circumstances will permit. With the language you are partially acquainted; make yourself a thorough master thereof. Be to them a father. Feed them with the milk of the Word; and I trust that, by-and-by, you may be enabled to present one of your spiritual children as one fitted for, and anxious to become, a teacher of others also. A numerous body of Indians, and a few Europeans and half-castes, are likewise entrusted to your care. The soul of each one is equally precious in the sight of Christ, and must be so in yours. Neglect no opportunity of speaking a word for Christ. Think it no less important to speak to one than to five hundred. The deep spiritual sermons in John iii, and iv. were preached in each case to

but one person. Preach the Word to hundreds when you have opportunity. Preach to the single individual as occasion arises. In the house, in the igloe, in the tent, in the church, preach the Word."

After the hymn, " The Church's one Foundation," the Bishop took his seat in front of the Communion table, and the candidate was presented in the usual way to the Rev. T. Vincent. The Bishop having laid his hands on the head of the future missionary to the Esquimaux, Mr. Peck then came inside the rails and read the Gospel.

Thus our poor Esquimaux brethren, who have so long been uttering the Macedonian cry, "Come over and help us," have now the prospect of soon having an ordained minister resident in their midst. It is arranged that Mr. Peck shall still remain here and continue his studies till June next, when he will (D.V.) receive priest's orders, and then go at once to the scene of his future labours. A nice iron church for Mr. Peck's Mission (for which, I believe, we are indebted to the kind efforts of Miss Wright), is now lying here, and will, we hope, be conveyed to Whale River by the same vessel in which Mr. Peck himself sails. That God, by His Spirit, may bless him, and make him a blessing, is, I am sure, the prayer of us all. J. H. K.

OUTRAGE ON THE MISSION AT FUH-CHOW. E regret very much to have to report a most serious outrage perpetrated by the Chinese upon the missionaries and mission property at Fuh-Chow. It is a matter for thankfulness that the personal injuries inflicted are slight; but two of the houses in the compound have been destroyed, and much damage done to two others. If our readers will refer to the GLEANER of April, 1876, or to The Story of the Fuh-Kien Mission, p. 13, they will find a picture of the U-sioh-sang (or Wu-shih-sang, i.e., Black Stone Hill), a prominent hill within the city, on which the headquarters of the Mission have always been. Latterly, the premises have been occupied by the Rev. R. W. and Mrs. Stewart, the ladies of the Female Education Society, and some of the Native helpers and students; Mr. Wolfe and Mr. Lloyd dwelling four miles away in the foreign settlement at Nantai, as being more convenient for journeys to the country stations. This year a new building has been erected in the grounds, to serve as a college for the Native students; and as the Chinese have a superstitious fear of tall houses, it was built lower down the hill than the others. No sooner was it finished than a demand was made by the mandarins that it should be pulled down. The British Consul, Mr. Sinclair, appointed August 30th for an examination of the Chinese complaints; and on that day the Prefect of Fuh-Chow and five other mandarins met Mr. Wolfe and an official of the Consulate at Mr. Stewart's house. It was while they were together that the attack was made; and Mr. Sinclair himself, arriving some hours afterwards, witnessed the destruction of the new building and another one. Mr. Wolfe writes on August 31st:

At eleven o'clock A.M. we met at Mr. Stewart's house. The mandarins and a few of the gentry came, accompanied by a mob of about sixty desperate-looking men, and filled Mr. Stewart's house, and behaved in the most violent manner, to the great alarm of the ladies. I requested the authorities to order these men away, else we could carry on no quiet conversation or make any settlement as to the points in question. The mandarins refused, saying they had no power. I then asked my servant to shut and bolt the compound door and keep out others who were coming into the house. Two or three of these men brought in by the mandarins rushed at me and struck me very severely with their feet and hands on the head and chest. The entire crowd in the verandah of Mr. Stewart's house rushed at me. I escaped being killed and very severely hurt by nothing less than a miracle. The mandarins stood motionless the whole time, though they witnessed this assault. Mr. Stewart was also struck. I feel very sore and hurt from this beating.

We now proceeded to examine the ground, and though under the disadvantage of the howling mob and the angry gentry, we succeeded in showing and proving that the opposite party had not a leg to stand upon on the charge of encroachment which they brought against the Mission. The evidence was too strong on our side. This rather upset them, and they were evidently much enraged.

The mandarins now went off, leaving the violent mob which they had brought with them in our house and garden. I requested that some protection should be given us against this rabble. The authorities

actually refused. For four long hours we (Mr. and Mrs. Stewart and myself) had to endure the most annoying and abominable conduct from the ever increasing mob of the lowest villains in the city. We tried to humour them, but they evidently were bent on mischief, and we could do nothing but remain quiet. Ling, the ringleader, came several times and excited the mob, and evidently did not seem pleased that they had abstained so long from mischief. At length, by good humour and coaxing, we succeeded in getting the place comparatively clear and quiet. H.M. Consul now arrived, and toward six o'clock P.M. the mandarins again made their appearance with fifty soldiers and a number of runners. The work of destruction now commenced-it seemed to us as if under the sanction and superintendence of the authorities. The whole was done under the eye of H.M. Consul, who was powerless. The mob now set fire to the college, and pulled down the old girls' school. The mandarins made no effort whatever to disperse the mob all this time. The soldiers prowled about, but apparently only really to superintend the destruction of the Mission.

The work of destruction went on all night long, and we imagined every hour they would attack us in Mr. Stewart's house. You may be sure it was a most anxious night to us; but God was with us, and we are so far preserved. I was wonderfully encouraged by a text on Mr. Stewart's wall in the bedroom which caught my eye as I went in to change-"I will trust and not be afraid." It looks very hard now, and we cannot see the why and the wherefore; but we will trust and not be afraid, and no doubt what we know not now we shall know hereafter.

The next morning at eleven A.M., as we learn from a further letter, another attack was made on the house of Miss Houston, of the Female Education Society, and the windows were broken. The ladies and the school-girls, however, managed to escape by a back door into the street, where they were most kindly treated, and conducted in safety to Nantai-a fact which fully confirms Mr. Wolfe's statement that neither the outrage nor the hostility that led to it can be charged against the people generally. Almost everywhere they are friendly, and the only enemies to be feared are the gentry and their hired ruffians.

A report of the outrage has been made by the Consul to the Foreign Office, and we doubt not that full reparation will be exacted. But we hope Lord Salisbury will do more than that, and make such representations to the Chinese Government as may secure in reality the religious liberty, and protection for Native Christians, which were provided for by the Treaty of Tien-tsin and confirmed by subsequent official proclamations. Meanwhile, let us thank God for the preservation of the lives of our brethren and sisters, and look to Him to overrule all to the furtherance of the Gospel.

P.S. Since the foregoing was in type, we have received a further letter from Mr. Wolfe, dated September 23rd, which we are sure will arouse the sympathy of all our readers, and send them to their knees in earnest supplication in behalf of our much tried fellow-Christians in the Fuh-Kien province ::

Our enemies in the country everywhere have promptly taken up the signal of destruction from their brethren in Foo-Chow, and are threatening our chapels and churches, and in some instances we have had warning to leave. Our catechists dare not preach publicly, and the private Christians are subjected to the most cruel wrongs and persecutions. The most horrible charges are being trumped up against them, and the magistrates show them no justice. Their houses are torn down and their goods taken away, and, if they complain, they are thrown into prison and beaten with stripes. For example, two Christians of Achia have the boldness to confess that they belong to Christ, and cannot take part in or support the village idolatry. Their houses are in consequence pulled down, their goods taken away, and they are at once charged with the murder of an old man who had died a natural death eleven days previously, and with whose death they had nothing to do whatever. They have been thrown into prison, and the most cruel treatment has been inflicted upon them to force them to confess that they are guilty. I fear very much that they will be murdered in the prison, as the magistrate has been very forward in persecuting the Church.

Christianity is now too widely, and I hope too deeply, rooted in the Fuh-Kien province to be suddenly rooted out. Yet I should fear the effects of a ruthless and continued persecution on this feeble and infant Church. There are noble men in it who would joyfully lay down their lives for the sake of the Lord Jesus; but there are many whose faith would not, I fear, stand unaffected the ordeal of a long and fierce persecution. Our friends at home have very little idea of the cruelties and wrongs to which our poor weak Christians are exposed.

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1. THEY SELL THEIR FIELDS AND TAKE THEIR HOUSES TO PIECES (TO SELL THE MATERIALS).

2. THEY STRIP OFF THE BARK OF TREES AND DIG UP THE GRASS ROOT FOR FOOD.

THE CHINA FAMINE.

O sadder calamity has occurred in recent times than the terrible famine in North China. It is needless to describe it here, and we allude to it simply to introduce some engravings of Native design and execution, illustrating an appeal published in China and circulated among the higher classes of the Chinese, on behalf of the suffering. This appeal was translated into English and reproduced in England by the Committee of the China Famine Relief Fund. We are indebted to the Secretary of the Fund for the loan of the four cuts, with the following translation of the original text accompanying them :

1. For a time the sufferers could borrow from one another, but this came to an end. Then they killed their ploughing oxen and pawned their implements of agriculture, their coverlets and clothes; and at last they gave up all thoughts of the future, and fell to selling their furniture and the materials of their houses, and many of their fields, for a mere song, till at last no purchaser could be found.

Think of this, ye who live in high halls and fine houses, and let your hearts move!

2. The glowing sun is in the sky and the locusts cover the ground. There no green grass in the fields and no smoke of cooking from the houses. They caught rats, or spread their nets for birds, or ground wheatstalks into powder, or kneaded the dry grass into cakes. Alas! what food was this for men! They were at last reduced to the straits seen in the picture.

Ye who spend large sums every day on your food, will you not give these sufferers a cup of soup?

3. Everywhere the famine prevails and nowhere can any means of living be found. But while a breath remains who will resign himself to die of famine? They lead their old and support their young, turn their backs on their wells and leave their villages. East or west they go, seeking a resting-place and a mouthful of rice, but in vain. Beneath the curtain of the sky, and on the mat of the ground, the dew is their drink and the wind their food. Multitudes fall a prey to disease and pestilence or faint and die on the way. Alas!

4. There is not much good talk among our learned Confucian scholars of the special recompense of special deeds; but the principle is not to be called in question that the accumulation of good actions leads to superabundant blessing. And this year may afford fresh confirmation of its truth. He whose eyes these pictures shall affect, and whose heart they shall move to manifest his benevolence, helping his neighbours in the day of their calamity, may be sure that he is walking in the way of happiness.

Independently of the Fund already mentioned, the Church Missionary Society has been entrusted by its own friends with contributions amounting to £2,000, and this sum was remitted to the Revs. W. H. Collins and

3. LAMENTATION FILLS THE COUNTRY. THEY BEG FOR FOOD AND SLEEP IN THE OPEN AIR.

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4. ON THE GOOD WHO OPEN THEIR PURSES ALL THE SPIRITUAL POWERS BESTOW BLESSING.

W. Brereton, the Society's missionaries at Peking, for distribution. We cannot but hope that by God's blessing on the liberality of the English public, a way may be opened for the diffusion of the Bread of Life.

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AN APPEAL FROM NAGASAKI.

NAGASAKI, JAPAN.

AGASAKI has not been mentioned in the GLEANER for some time. It is the principal port of the southernmost of the four larger of the islands forming the Empire of Japan, Kiusiu, which is about the size of Ireland. In that port, with its 60,000 people,-nay, in that whole island,-the Church of England has one missionary, the Rev. Herbert Maundrell. Nagasaki was the first place occupied by the C.M.S., the Rev. G. Ensor landing there in 1869. He was succeeded by the Rev. H. Burnside, and Mr. Burnside by Mr. Maundrell. Another missionary, the Rev. W. Andrews, has lately sailed to join Mr. Maundrell. The Japanese Christians attached to the C.M.S. Mission now number between forty and fifty. Twelve were baptized last Easter Day.

In the above picture of Nagasaki, the foreign settlement is in the foreground. The suburb of Deshima is seen across the bay, and the native town lies beyond to the right. If our readers will turn back to the picture of the Mission Church at Deshima in the GLEANER of March, 1877, and compare it with this one, they will understand better Mr. Maundrell's remarks below. The picture below shows us the building in which dwell the students preparing for work as mission agents. The figures, beginning from the left, are Midzu Shina, Stephen, Paul Muraoka, Mr. Maundrell, Paul Yoshidomi, and John Ko. Some of these names occur in a journal of Mr. Maundrell's printed in the GLEANER of September, 1876.

In June last, Nagasaki was visited by

Bishop Burdon, of

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When the Bishop visited us in 1876, eight Japanese were confirmed. The number would have been more than doubled this year had not some of those baptized during the past two years been unavoidably absent from Nagasaki; the number who, after very careful preparation, received Confirmation was fifteen. The service was held in the Mission Church at Deshima. It was most interesting and solemn. The Bishop had kindly studied the service so as to be able to go through most of it in Japanese, which made it much more a real service to those confirmed. The church was open to all who chose to enter, and many Japanese came in and remained during the whole service. It was also pleasant to see that some of our neighbours, and officers from some of H.M.'s ships now here, were sufficiently interested to be present. The Rev. Mr. Corfe, Chaplain of H.M.S. Audacious, took his place with the Bishop and Mr. Maundrell. The service, of course in Japanese, was exactly the usual one, commencing with Morning Prayer. We sang hymns in Japanese, and concluded with "Thine for ever," in English, in which those of our pupils who were confirmed were quite able to join. The Confirmation was held on Saturday, June 29th, and on Sunday morning at our usual hour, half-past eight, we assembled for service, when all but one of the newly confirmed, those who were already regular communicants, and the officers Communion, and if all felt as I did, we were very happy and very thankwhom I mentioned as being at the Confirmation, partook of the Holy ful. The increase in the number on this occasion, and the large increase

C.M.S. JAPANESE STUDENTS' RESIDENCE, NAGASAKI.

in the number of those coming to the Church services, were observed with pleasure by the Bishop. There certainly has been a rather remarkable increase lately in the attendance, especially in the evening, all behaving so properly that we can only distinguish the believers by their standing to repeat the Creed. It does seem to us that a change is working in the minds of the people, for which we ought to be ready.

We can now appreciate the appeal contained in the following letter from Mr. Maundrell to the Editor:

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