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THE CHURCH MISSIONARY GLEANER.

VINEYARD WORK.

MARCH, 1878.

Thoughts for those Engaged in Christ's Service.
BY THE REV. G. EVERARD, Vicar of St. Mark's, Wolverhampton.
III.-THE GREAT MOTIVE.

"The Love of Christ constraineth us."-2 Cor. v. 14.
OT a cold sense of duty, nor simply a desire to do
good, but love to Christ, true, genuine, unfeigned
love to the Saviour, a love implanted by the Holy
Spirit in the heart. This must ever be the root-
principle of all faithful labour.
"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me? was the thrice re-

tion, no inspired messengers, no written Word of God. Like many other heathen nations, the Hindu could imagine God becoming man; but it was a man like himself---nay, worse than himself greater in power, and therefore greater in sin. The Gospel alone tells us of a God incarnate without sin. The one degrades God to the level of man: the other lifts man into the likeness of God. How well does the Athanasian Creed express the truth about the Incarnation of Christ-" Not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of the Manhood into God!" At the period we are now considering, what is called the Hindu Triad begins to appear. Brahmă (short, neuter gender), the Supreme Being-but not a personal God such as Scripture reveals to us-assumes three forms: (1) Brahmā (long, maspeated question to the apostle. "Lord, Thou knowest all things; culine), the Creator; (2) Vishnu, the Preserver; (3) Siva, the Thou knowest that I love Thee," was the response. Then came Destroyer. But Brahma soon came to be neglected. As the commission: "Feed My lambs; feed My sheep." He Creator, he had done his work, and now had little to do with the world; so what was to be got by praying to him? And at the present day, says Mr. Vaughan, there is only one place in all India where any traces of the worship of Brahma are to be found. Practically, all the idols of India are forms of, or connected with, the two great deities Vishnu and Siva. And it is Vishnu who, in the later books of Hindu mythology, the Puranas and the Shasters, becomes incarnate in man for the good of man. The incarnations of Vishnu, it is said, are to be ten in number, of which nine have already been accomplished, while the tenth The first three are connected with the Flood, is yet to come. fore, witnessing to its truth. of which there are records very like that in Genesis, and, thereOthers are described as being undertaken to conquer certain terrible demons. The seventh is be interesting to give an account, but we have not space. In the subject of a beautiful poem, the Ramayana, of which it would

Let me ponder the Saviour's exceeding great love to me. loved me when a stranger, a rebel, an enemy. Out of free love He laid down His life for me. In His love He hath brought me out of the horrible pit and the fiery clay. He hath set my feet upon a rock and put His Spirit within me. He hath bestowed upon me the "innumerable benefits which by His precious bloodshedding He hath purchased for me." He giveth me peace unspeakable during my pilgrimage, and hath opened to me the gate of everlasting life.

I would that every moment of my life might prove my love to Him. I would love Him for His own sake, because He is so infinitely worthy to be loved. But I would love Him also for all the tokens of lovingkindness He hath shown to me. O gracious Redeemer, draw me, and I will run after Thee. May Thy love be as a mighty chin. unseen by the world, yet ever drawing me after Thee in labour and self-sacrifice!

Or make it as the mountain torrent, breaking down every barrier, and ever carrying me onward toward the ocean of Thy love in glory! Jesu, my Lord, I Thee adore,

O make me love Thee more and more!

THE TRIDENT, THE CRESCENt, and the CROSS.
Gleanings from Vaughan's Religious History of India.

III. THE GROWTH OF IDOLATRY.
ET us suppose that some hundreds of years have
passed since the sacred Vedas were written. It is
now, let us say, the age of Isaiah and the other
great prophets. Great changes have passed over
India. Some of these, such as the rise of caste
and of the power of the Brahmins, will appear in our next
chapter. For the present let us look only at the new gods that
arose, and at the results of their worship upon the people.

"It was

The earliest Hindus, as we saw in the previous chapters, tried to see God in His works, but ended in worshipping the works themselves. There now came another step. something," says Mr. Vaughan, "to see God in illimitable space and the starry heavens; better still to discern Him in the fructifying showers and the genial heat of the sun; but best of all to trace Him as one with ourselves, able to share our joys and sorrows, and sympathise with our infirmities." The idea of a Divine Incarnation sprang up.

This, as Mr. Vaughan indicates in the words just quoted, looks like progress. It was really the exact contrary. The Hindu was trying to get nearer to God, but really going further and further from Him. Why was this? Because he had no revela

the eighth incarnation Vishnu takes the name of Krishna, and world has become hopelessly depraved. Vishnu will then appear in the ninth of Buddha. The tenth is to take place when the in the sky, seated on a white horse, resplendent as a comet, with a drawn sword in his hand, and will restore peace and righteousness in the earth.

It is as Krishna that Vishnu is generally worshipped in India. And a very mournful fact this is. For Krishna, in the old sacred books (particularly the poem called the Mahabharat) is the hero of every kind of vice and crime; and the legends they contain of his exploits, his tricks, his shameless wickedness, are the favourite stories in every Hindu town and village in India. There is not the least doubt that the painfully low ideas of morality to be met with among the people generally are largely due to the popularity of Krishna. They admit that the acts related of him would be abominable if done by a man, but, being a god, he could do no wrong! And how dear he is to them is illustrated by the worship of Juggernath, for this far-famed idol is but a form of Krishna. 66 'Nothing," says Mr. Vaughan, "could be more hideous than this uncouth, armless idol, seated on his huge car; yet millions of hearts beat with devotion towards this Indian Moloch; and, to gain a sight of him, countless multitudes will travel hundreds of miles, thousands of them dying unpitied and unaided by the road-side."

It is a real and a very solemn fact that a man grows like what he worships. And there is only one Deity in the world that can say, "Be ye holy, for I am holy."

Siva is a god of a totally different character from Vishnu. Although his story contains wickedness as gross as that of Krishna, he is represented, not as a self-indulgent pleasureseeker, but as a stern figure, sitting on a mountain, wearing a necklace of human skulls, holding a rosary of the same, and his

hair interlaced with serpents. And his wife, Parvati, who is worshipped in Bengal more than any other deity, under the name of Kali (whence "Calcutta "), is a most frightful object, and is represented as delighting in blood. "Repeatedly," Mr. Vaughan Repeatedly," Mr. Vaughan says, "have we, in passing her temple in Calcutta, seen the sacrificial stream flowing; as many as 200 animals, chiefly goats, are sometimes slain there in one day. In former days children used to be slaughtered at her shrine."

The worship of Vishnu and the worship of Siva, according to Mr. Vaughan's interesting account, represent two distinct 66 ways of salvation," corresponding to two distinct tendencies in human nature. The Vaishnava (Vishnu worshipper) wants a genial religion; so he lives as he likes, and trusts that his love and devotion to Krishna, the incarnate Vishnu, will secure him salvation. This is Bhakti

marga, the " way of faith." The Saiva (Siva worshipper) thinks to earn merit by selfdenial. "To hold up an arm till it is withered and fixed, to be scorched by five fires, to lie on a bed of spikes, to gaze on the mid-day sun till the eyes are destroyed-these are so many means of accumulating merit, and hastening the desired emancipation." This is Karma-marga, the "way of works." The Vaishnavas and Saivas may be distinguished by the marks on their foreheads, the former having two perpendicular strokes, meeting below in a curve; the latter three horizontal lines, made with white or grey ashes.

But what is the "salvation" looked for? It is to be "absorbed" into Deitythat is, to cease to have any separate existence at all; in fact, to be annihilated-blotted out! But there may be millions of years first, during which the soul may pass into many human and animal bodies; and to reduce that period is the great object of the Hindu's religion.

There is one other way of gaining this "absorption,"

"We have seen," says Mr. Vaughan, "such persons sitting for hours and days like motionless, lifeless statues, striving after utter self-forgetfulness, and identification with the Deity; we have watched the expression of their marble features, always calm and passionless-sometimes sublime and spiritual, and we have turned away, solemnized and saddened, and yearning for the speedy dawn of a brighter light on those who are thus painfully feeling' after God if haply they may find Him." A missionary once seated himself by one such devotee. He spoke as if to a tree or a stone. Not a word or sign was vouchsafed to him in reply. The missionary delivered his message of grace and love, and went his way. But though he went, the word remained, and the Spirit of God. As the anxious seeker after God sat motionless there, the story of the cross came home to his heart. By-and-by he arose, sought out the missionary, and at length found "a better and truer union with God! than he had ever dreamed of before."

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THE MEDICAL MISSION
IN KASHMIR.

URING the four summer
months of last year, Dr.
E. Downes was hard at

work at the Mission Hospital at Srinagur, the capital of Kashmir. He writes:

The old Kashmiri catechist, Qadir Bakhsh, addressed the outpatients each morning, and always concluded his address with a few words of prayer. He was listened to in a way that I never before witnessed in all my experience as a missionary; and fervent and loud "Amens" from the poor suffering people, who joined in his prayers with hands uplifted to heaven, showing how promising a field for missionary work our dispensary may become. The poor despised Kashmiris are sunk low enough indeed, but, I trust, not too low for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to raise them, if only it can be brought into real contact with them. We look forward to having Mr. Wade with us next year, and it is the greatest com- 1 fort to me to think that the still more precious remedies of a full and free salvation will be offered by so earnest and able an ambassador of Christ in the wards of our hospital and to our thousands of outpatients.

HINDU RELIGIOUS MENDICANT.

which is neither Vaishnavite nor Saivite. It is by contemplating God. The religious devotee who adopts this method is thus described in one of the sacred poems:

That lowly man who stands immovable,

As if erect upon a pinnacle,
His appetites and organs all subdued,
Sated with knowledge secular and sacred,
To whom a lump of earth, a stone, or gold,
To whom friends, relatives, acquaintances,
Neutrals and enemies, the good and bad,

Are all alike,-is called "one yoked with God."

I must mention the kindness I have received from the Maharajah and his officials. His Highness built a hospital while Dr. Maxwell was here [see picture in GLEANER, March, 1876]. He is about to enlarge it considerably. He not only has given full permission to the missionaries to remain in Kashmir during the winter, but is about to make such alterations to the Mission-house that the missionary and his family may be able to live during the cold winter months with every comfort and without risk.

Out-patients, 4,180; In-patients, 219; Operations, 540; Number of visits in Hospital, 10,490.

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SKETCHES OF THE PUNJAB MISSION. BY THE AUTHOR OF MORAVIAN LIFE IN THE BLACK FOREST," &c. III.-Sikhs and Sikh Converts.

HE Punjab was not always inhabited by Sikhs, nor did they at the time of the establishment of the C.M.S. Mission then form more than a comparatively small part of its population, which is a mingled one of Mohammedans and many varieties of Hindus. The Sikhs are the followers of Nanak, a Hindu reformer of the 15th century, who taught that forms of religion were not essential, that it was a good intention which was particularly pleasing to the Deity. The object of the reformation which he introduced was the freedom of himself and his followers from mental and spiritual bondage. He did much, but it was imperfect. It was reserved for the disciples of the only and true Redeemer to teach that "if the law make you free, ye shall be free indeed." Nanak's ideas of God and his worship were in the main good and just, but mixed with Hindu superstition. His "gospel" was very successful. It had its apostles, saints, and martyrs. Thousands of Hindus had been converted by the sword to Mohammedanism. These still hankered after the customs and superstitions of their fathers, but the Brahminical form of religion allows no return to those who have abandoned its observances. The creed of Nanak opened a door to the relapsing Mussulman, whilst it gratified the outraged selfrespect of the lower castes of Hindus, for he made all the castes eat out of one dish, saying that they henceforth formed one brotherhood.

"You make Mohammedans out of Hindus," said a Guru, or Sikh priest, on one occasion to the Badsha of Delhi, "I shall make Hindus out of Mohammedans." On this account they were cruelly persecuted by the Mohammedans. Tegh Bahadur, one of their Gurus, ninth in descent from Nanak, was dragged into

the presence of the great Aurungzebe, and ordered to give some display of his power, for he was held to be a mighty magician. Writing a few words on a piece of paper, he stretched out his neck, and bade the executioner strike off his head. The credulous court, expecting to witness an exhibition of magic art, was astonished to behold the head fall on the ground. On the paper was found written one short sentence, "He has given his head, but not his secret," with a play upon the words, untranslatable into English.

His death made a deep impression upon his followers, and led to his son and successor, Guru Govind, giving a new form to their religion. The Sikhs were henceforth to follow the profession of arms, always to carry steel upon them (as they do to the present day), and never to show any hair. To the mild toleration of Nanak was also added a political rancour against the Mussulmans. A prophecy was cherished that God was to grant them revenge for the death of their martyred Guru, and that the time would come when they would storm and sack Delhi. Govind's great aim was to free his followers from the hated Moslem rule, and his reforms ultimately resulted in the establishment of the Sikhs as an independent and powerful nation.

"Its com

"The subjugation of the Punjab is one of the most wonderful events in the history of India," wrote Mr. Fitzpatrick to a friend. in England, on June 22nd, 1852, from Amritsar. pleteness is astonishing. You know that only three years have elapsed since the last battle. Well, now the whole country, up to the frontier, is as settled under our government as Kent is under our Queen; and not only so, but the people are becoming true friends. Our brave opponents, the Sikhs, are becoming our best soldiers. Many of those who have not entered the regiments of the line have enlisted in our police, and are happy indeed in the change which has thus taken place. And so also with all other departments. But this change has more than ordinary religious importance attached to it, because the Sikhs

were told that it was the divine purpose to make them the conquerors and masters of the world, a prediction which is now so hopeless of fulfilment that it will serve as one of the many means of sapping their faith in the doctrines of Nanak."

The first two Sikh converts were not the fruit of the Punjab Mission. They were baptized by an S.P.G. missionary at Cawnpore. But they were employed almost from the first as C.M.S. catechists at Amritsar, and one has now for many years been an ordained pastor. We cannot do better than give his story in the words of Miss Tucker (A.L.O.E.), herself also an earnest worker in the Punjab Mission:

"The days of romance are not passed. I thought this on hearing something of the history of the aged man who is now officiating here.

towers, but far exceeded them in bulk." These or their remains have been in vain sought for, and it may be said of that great conqueror that his memorial perished with him. Our Missionaries hoped and prayed that in the conversion of the Punjab to Christianity, England might be permitted to erect one of more imperishable materials.

"I thought," exclaimed Norman Macleod, awakening from a dream, as he lay upon his death-bed, "I thought that the whole Punjab was suddenly Christianised; and oh! such noble fellows, with their native churches and clergy." May the words prove prophetic!

AUXILIARY.

BY MISS E. J. WHATELY.
CHAPTER XI.

UR friend Miss Thornley accordingly began her account of a "missionary lady's" day in India as follows:

"I take the case, of course, of one who has a boardingschool, or orphanage, under her direction, because that is the case we are considering. She generally begins the day by going (as soon as it is light in the morning) into dormitories to see that the girls are up and putting their rooms in

Before any other of the bold and warlike nation of the Sikhs had LEAVES FROM THE HISTORY OF A MISSIONARY received the religion of our blessed Saviour, the story of the Cross found its way to the hearts of two wandering fakirs. They were considered very devout Siklis, and had many disciples, but they gave up the honour which they received as holy fakirs to become followers of the Lord. As far as I know, only one of their disciples followed them in their new faith, and this man is now a catechist here. But if the two fakirs had given up other friends, they, at least, were still united. When they confessed Christ at the font, in token of their friendship they received the names which (translated from the Urdu) signify David and Jonathan. "David has for about a quarter of a century been a Christian.&c. Of course, there is a sub-matron, and probably one or more He has translated a considerable portion of the Scripture into Punjabi poetry, sharing in some degree the gift bestowed on the royal poet whose name he bears. He appears to be a gentle, meek-spirited old man, who seeks no great things for himself. His countenance is pleasing and mild in expression; the complexion not very dark, but of that reddened bronze which is sometimes seen on European faces after long exposure to a tropiDavid's sons and daughters also promise to be a credit to their parents.

cal sun.

"But where is Jonathan? No one knows; for twenty years he has disappeared from view. It is thought that the Christian convert, accustomed to the wandering life of a fakir, resolved to keep afar from cities and to pursue a kind of itinerating life. His faithful David still cherishes a hope of seeing his brother again. He seems, according to the information which I received, to have an idea floating in his mind, that in some wild jungle his Jonathan is gathering a little flock for his Master. There is something to me of touching interest in this enduring friendship, this patient hope. It is just possible that the aged Sikh may see his Jonathan before he dies; but it is far more probable that the Christian brethren will never meet again until they are re-united in the presence of Him whom, of all the Sikh nation, they were the first to confess."

Of David's work in the early days one of the missionaries wrote: "David is a great help; he is so perfectly sincere and honest. You would smile if you were to see him beginning his work. We go into the most crowded parts, and he takes his large Bible and opens it, and shouts at the top of his voice, Come along, come along, good people. Listen to the Word of God. Come along, my brothers; this is what you have never heard before. Come, listen to the way to heaven, which the Sahibs have come all the way from foreign parts to teach us. We should not have known anything without the Sahibs. So come and listen to the words which they have brought us.' This at once arrests attention, and three or four come together, and then he begins to read at the same pitch of voice, and in five minutes we have often sixty or eighty people."

It is said that Alexander the Great, on his conquest of the Punjab, erected upon the south-eastern banks of the Hyphasis (the Beas of modern times) twelve altars of hewn-stone, each seventy-five feet high, to commemorate as many victories, upon which he offered sacrifices. They were "equal in height to

teachers, but you can never venture to leave all in the care of natives.
Then follows the girls' breakfast, and the prayers, which the lady may
probably take herself, unless she has very satisfactory helpers. Then,
of course, there are her husband and children to attend to, the family
breakfast taken, and the orders for the household given. She must then
go into the school, give general supervision there, often take one or more
classes, see that the pupil teachers are doing their duty, &c. We know
how much care and watchfulness even our English day-schools require to
be efficient; for India, with native teachers and half reclaimed children,
you must multiply all this by a high number to form an idea of the
duties of our missionary lady. In the midst of all this, she has inces-
sant interruptions from people coming up to speak with her-one woman
wants medicine for a sick child, another eye-water, a third a piece of
cloth, a fourth has a quarrel with a neighbour, and comes to the Mem
Sahib' to have it settled-a very common case this last."

"Not a Christian convert, I suppose?" said Mrs. Elwood.
"Do English Christians never quarrel?" said Miss Thornley, smiling.
"Not real, consistent ones, I am sure."

"Of course, it is a sad inconsistency in any real Christian to give way
to temper; but when we see those who have had every advantage in
early training still occasionally yielding to temptation, are we to wonder
if these poor creatures, just brought out of heathenism and exposed to all
the most demoralising influences, should sometimes fail, even when there
is real grace at work? I really think some of our good English friends
act as if they thought an early heathen education was about the best!
preparation for Christianity in the world, they expect such very rapid
effects from the teaching of the missionaries. Well, some sort of
work of this kind falls to our lady friend pretty often; and if not,
perhaps a visitor will come to see her and 'do the civil '; and taking her
seat on the ground, will remain for an hour or more, expecting to be
talked or attended to, and the poor lady must run backward and forwards
from her school to her visitor and try to satisfy all claims. Then comes
the Bible Woman, if she has one, which now is very generally the case;
she must be directed and looked after far more assiduously than a toler-
able one at home would need. If in addition to this there is zenana
work, that is alone enough to tax strength and time to the uttermost;
but in that case more help is essential. Then there is the language to
be studied for some part of every day, in most cases until it is fully
mastered, for no sensible Missionary will be content with making a smat-
tering suffice. And the comfort of her husband must be attended to,
and if she has young children, of course they must be watched, however
careful their attendants. The mistress's eye must be everywhere. In very
hot weather, too, a little rest in the middle of the day is absolutely essen-
tial to health. In the evenings, when it is cool enough, the lady often
goes with her husband or with the Bible Woman to visit the families of
native Christians, or the parents of the children who attend the day-
school. This is a most important part of her work, as if it is neglected
her hold on the people is lost. She comes home late, sits down to write
letters in the first quiet moment she has had that day, and is often so
overpowered with fatigue that she can hardly form a letter on the paper.
I have often fallen asleep with the pen in my hand."

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"And there is, I suppose, a considerable amount of necessary correspondence?" I added.

"Certainly; besides family letters, those who help the school with money or work must be written to, and many such letters spring up naturally in the course of her labours. Now to ask that, in addition to this, two or three letters should be written every month, to give details of each individual orphan, does seem to me hardly reasonable."

"The wonder is," said Mrs. Weston, "that so much can really be accomplished in such cases. Looking at it from a distance, one would say it would be impossible."

"It does need a continual looking upwards for help," said Miss Thornley; "and then, next to that, a good deal of management, making the most of the cool season, and distributing one's work as far as one can. But I can speak from personal experience, having had at one time the sole direction of a boarding-school; I had no family cares like the Missionary's wife, and my task was so far an easier one; but I can truly say that even so I should have found it utterly impossible to write several letters monthly about individual children in addition to my other cares. And I should add that I have been describing a day under favourable circumstances, that is, when the general health of the pupils is good; but as you may often see from letters, epidemics of severe sickness will come from time to time on these schools, and perhaps a third of the children be laid up; and you can imagine in some degree what an additional burden this brings to the 'Mem Sahib,' all the more because she must see herself to the administration of the medicines, the preparing proper food for the sick, the use of disinfectants, &c. The most careful native matron could not be trusted with such supervision; and if the lady's back is turned for a moment, she may reckon on some serious and perhaps dangerous blunder being made."

"What an overwhelming work!" said Mrs. Elwood. "I had not at all realised what it must be !"

"But still," said Mrs. Lambert, "though the lady may be unable to write any but a general letter, such as Mrs. Jackson has just sent, I do not see why she should not in such a letter give some interesting details about those dear children. It was such a meagre report- doing well 'and that was all!"

"But suppose there were no more to tell ?" suggested Mrs. Weston. My dear Mrs. Weston! surely

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"I beg your pardon, Mrs. Lambert," replied that lady; "how many, do you think, of the children in your parish schools at St. John's, of which my husband is inspector, for instance, would furnish matter for an interesting story?"

"I am sure that wonderful little Martha Wilson would," exclaimed Miss Lambert; "don't you remember that dear little thing who answered so beautifully, mamma, on the examination day? "Oh, yes, charming little creature, indeed I do!"

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"But she is only one out of fifty girls. Could we expect that all our orphans should be Martha Wilsons, merely because we have been so kind as to collect a few pounds a year for their support ?" said Mrs. Weston, smiling.

"But I thought those Eastern children were always so forward and so intelligent?" said Miss Jenkins, in her softly emphatic tone.

"More precocious, I think they are," said Miss Thornley; " older, that is, for their age, when quite young; but that does not make them more really intelligent, even where they have had good care and nourishment when young. But, then, the poor famine orphans have not had such advantages; they come to us often not only prostrated in body but stupefied and crushed in mind."

"Yes," said Mrs. Weston, "people don't always remember that starvation acts on the brain as well as on the outward frame. In romantic stories, a half-starved child is always ready to gaze with an expressive look of gratitude and a sweet smile on its benefactor; but I suppose you did not see much of that ? "

"No

"Oh, no, indeed," said Miss Thornley, with a sigh and a smile. one can conceive, who has not seen it, in what an utterly wretched state these poor little ones are sometimes found-almost idiotic, often, at first; gradually the mind wakes up as the body gets stronger, but in the early days the care of them was often most trying; some of them were really almost repulsive objects, so diseased and neglected! One felt it was an effort not to shrink from them, though of course such a feeling would never be yielded to."

"I am afraid I should yield to it," said Miss St. Clair; " I never can bear to go near any 'dreadful objects,' and I can't think how any one else can! It quite prevents my visiting ragged schools and very poor districts; but I can't help it, my nerves won't stand it."

"No more will mine," said Miss Lambert. "I should absolutely faint away, I am sure."

"And how could any one love such creatures?" added another lady. "Not in the sense of personal liking, of course," said Mrs. Weston," at least at first; but with the love of compassion, and the longing to bring these poor neglected little ones into the Saviour's fold."

"Yes, it is just that; when one thinks it is for His sake, you know

everything seems easy, of course," rejoined Miss Thornley, in her quiet, matter-of-fact tone, but with a light in her eye that showed, more than words, that the love, which is the mightiest engine of power and activity the world has ever seen, was so much a part of her being that whatever she did under its influence seemed too much a matter of course to need explanation. "But, then," she resumed presently, "this does not last long. Sometimes, to be sure, the poor things are too far gone to recover; but even then the mind often grows clear when the body is sinking. We have had some very happy deaths among our orphans; but the greater number recover when they have good food and care and cleanliness, and some of those dear children become extremely interesting to those on the spot, living with them as we did. But that, you know, does not always imply that they say things one could make into an anecdote or story for a report or a tract. I don't think that we often find such show-pupils in any country."

"But it seems hard," said Miss Lambert, "that those who have adopted the children should have none of the pleasure or interest in them."

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"Dear Miss Lambert, will you pardon my plain speaking?" I could not help replying: "Is it to please yourself and be interested by pretty stories that you collect the money for an orphan, or for the sake of doing good to a child who is in need, and ministering to one of those 'little ones,' of whom our blessed Lord said that a cup of cold water given to them should not lose its reward' ? "Oh, of course we want to do good, and all that," said Miss Lambert, in a somewhat annoyed tone; but several of the others seemed struck. "I am sure," said Mrs. Curwen, a quiet, retiring woman, who hardly ever spoke in a committee meeting, "I am ashamed to think how much more I have cared about the interest of the letters than the good of those poor children." "I see

"And so am I," put in Miss Jenkins, with tearful earnestness. how selfish and thoughtless I have been, and I will try to do better, indeed. If you will give me a card, Mrs. Weston, I will try to collect for an orphan among my friends at Sea Cove, where I am going, and that good Mrs. Jackson may select any she chooses for me to support; I don't care who it may be, and I won't ask for any anecdotes, though of course I should be glad if there were any."

"If all Christians were as candid in owning their failures, I think we should have more real work done," whispered Mrs. Weston to me as she went to the drawer of her davenport where she always kept her collecting cards.

"And will you put down my name as a subscriber to maintain one orphan ?" said Mrs. Curwen, drawing out her purse. "Here is the sum for the first half-year; and if the child dies or is withdrawn, tell Mrs. Jackson, please, that I will leave it to her to choose another for me to support. I won't call it adoption,' for, after all, it is not quite correct to use the word, when one only pays a small annual sum for the child's education while it lasts, and others have all the care of her. One does not talk of adopting a girl or boy at home if one pays for their schooling for a few years. And here is my subscription, and a donation for the general fund, Mrs. Weston, for I know that must not be neglected."

No, indeed," said Mrs. Weston, "for without that the missionaries, who are like parents to these poor children, could not be supported. Thank you, Mrs. Curwen, you have done good to more than the orphans, for you have cheered me up when my heart was beginning to fail."

The impulse was given now, and money came in quickly from several present. Mrs. Lambert, always impressionable, laid down her contribution at once both for "Violetta" and the general fund; and several more took cards and promised both to collect and subscribe.

Another working party was arranged to be held at Mrs. Curwen's, and Miss Jenkins was sure she could procure us contributions for ours from the friends she was going to.

The only person who still looked dissatisfied was Mrs. Elwood. "It was not amusing details I wanted," she said, "but evidence that a work of grace had been done in the child. Where is the use of education if conversion does not follow ?"

"But of how many children in our schools and homes, in our own country, can we venture to affirm confidently that they are converted to God?" I asked.

"I suppose if we had more faith and prayer we should win more," said Mrs. Elwood.

"Most true; but we must await God's time for the answer. How many Christian parents and teachers have to wait long before they see the result of prayer and labour! And here are children brought up in the midst of heathenism, and we expect them to outstrip our own carefully trained little ones!

"There is something in that; but I trust we may not have long to wait in this case."

"So we all do, I am sure," said Mrs. Weston; "but now our time is more than expired, and we must close the meeting and thank Miss Thornley for her kind and efficient help. I trust we shall be able to show her it has not been in vain."

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