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DR. JOHN SMITH'S GRAVE AT KAGEI, VICTORIA NYANZA. (From a Sketch by Mr. T. O'Neill.)

crown of glory so speedily won by those whom it has pleased God to take to Himself. But the GLEANER's narrow space compels us to refrain; and all we might say is better expressed in the three interesting poetical contributions that follow.

MARCH, 1878.

"Ye shall be sorrowful; but your sorrow shall be turned into joy."

OE shall be sorrowful "-Himself hath spoken,

The Faithful One, the Witness ever true,
He whose least utterance can ne'er be broken :
No strange event hath happened unto you.
"Ye shall be sorrowful." Your Lord before you
Trod the rough wilderness, the thorn-strewn path:
The cloud that presses, dark and heavy, o'er you,
Has emptied first on Him its bitt'rest wrath.
"Ye shall be sorrowful." The conflict rages
Between Christ's servants and the hosts of sin;
And ever thus, throughout the passing ages,
His soldiers fall, unfading crowns to win.
But when the music of immortal greeting

Bursts with its glad surprise upon your ear,
And when you taste the rapture of the meeting
With those now parted, more than ever dear;-
Behold them at their Saviour's side in glory,

By His own royal hand arrayed and crowned;
And hear their lips repeat the wondrous story,
How love hath ever compassed them around;-
And when you gaze, at the last great revealing,
Upon the wonders grace divine hath wrought,
And hear the joyful Hallelujahs pealing

From those to whom the word of life they brought;-
Then shall your sorrow turn to endless gladness!
Then shall the shadows melt in cloudless day!
For ever then farewell to loss and sadness,
For God Himself shall wipe all tears away.

SARAH GERALDINA STOCK.

ON THE BURIAL OF DR. JOHN SMITH. BY HIS BROTHER-MISSIONARY, LIEUT. G. SHERGOLD SMITH, R.N. [On May 11th, 1877, at Kagei, on the southern shore of Lake Victoria, were interred the mortal remains of Dr. John Smith, of the Nyanza Mission. The following lines on his burial were lately sent home by his companion, Lieut. G. Shergold Smith, R.N., who has now joined him in the presence of the Master they both loved and served.] WE lay him on the margin of the lake, His hopeful years just ripening into bloom; The gentle waves with moaning cadence break, While silently we trust him to the tomb. The sun descends, and o'er the mournful scene Casts pall-like shades: but mark, in contrast bright, The heads of golden corn: they downward lean, And bend their ear as not a sound to lose. How fit the emblem! death's dark valley past, The gloom dispelled and Zion's gates in sight! All golden glow its beams to meet him, cast So pure, so dazzling, from the Lamb's own light. And he is there; while we still toil on here, Still gathering in his sheaves, he soweth yet: Tho' dead he speaketh-" Death is ever near, "To Jesus fly, e'en ere your sun be set!"

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THE TRIDENT, THE CRESCENT, AND THE CROSS. Gleanings from Vaughan's Religious History of India.

V.-BUDDHISM: ITS RISE AND FALL.

CARCELY had the worship of Vishnu and Siva become established, the caste system firmly riveted upon the Hindu people, and the Brahmins supreme in dignity and power, than the whole system had to enter upon a life and death struggle with a new and (for a time) vigorous religion. During the time that the Jews were captive in Babylon, the founder of Buddhism was born.

That is, if the person supposed to have been its founder ever existed at all, which some high authorities think very doubtful. Mr. Vaughan, however, accepts "the general truthfulness of the story," and we notice it accordingly. It is certainly remarkable that, in the same age of the world, Confucius in China, Zoroaster in Persia, Pythagoras in Greece, and (if it be so) Buddha in India, set about teaching what they supposed to be new truth. But whatever may be the real facts concerning the origin of Buddhism, it certainly rose in India, and about the period we have named.

According to the story, Gautama or Sakya-muni (muni means saint or monk) was the son of a king who reigned over a small territory at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains. He was a thoughtful and studious child, and the wise men of the court predicted that he would become a religious devotee. To prevent this, his father provided him with every sort of pleasure and

luxury; but "deep down in his soul there were longings which nothing could satisfy," and in his twenty-ninth year four sights that he saw altered his whole life. First he saw a decrepit old man, which reminded him of the misery of old age; then a leper, which led him to think of the sufferings of the human race; then a dead body-" and this," said he, "is what I am to come to !" Lastly, he saw a hermit, silent and thoughtful. "That," he exclaimed, "is what I must be !" That very night he left home to live in solitude. Every inducement was offered him to return, but his reply was, "I seek not an earthly kingdom; I wish to become a Buddha" (an enlightened one). For six years he practised the most rigorous austerities as prescribed by the Brahmins; but all in vain he got no light and no peace. At last, sitting in meditation under a tree (a bo-tree, ficus religiosa), he discovered "the source of evil and the way of emancipation."

*At Gaya, in Behar, North India, there is a tree which is constantly perpetuated by planting new trees in the decayed stem of the old, and which tradition affirms to be the very tree under which Gautama sat. Professor Monier Williams, in 1876, saw some Burmese Buddhists, who had come to meet the Prince of Wales, sitting under it, engaged in meditation (Hinduism, p. 75). At Anuradhapura, in Ceylon, is a tree said to have been originally a branch of the one at Gaya, transplanted three centuries before Christ. Of this tree we give an engraving above. It is regarded with the profoundest veneration. Sir J. Emerson Tennent says, "So sedulously is it preserved, that the removal of a single twig is prohibited, and even the fallen leaves, as they are scattered by the wind, are collected with reverence as relics of the holy place." It is called Jayasri-mahabodinwahawai, "the great, famous, and triumphant fig-tree."

And what was this wonderful discovery? Mr. Vaughan thus states it :- (1) There is no God. (2) Conscious existence is the worst possible evil. (3) Annihilation is the highest possible good." That is to say, every living being has desires; to desire implies a certain suffering for want of what is desired; therefore, to be delivered from suffering, one must cease to desire-that is, cease to exist! This extinction is called nirvana, and is proclaimed as the highest conceivable bliss.

It seems incredible that such a doctrine, even if believed, could give happiness. Yet Buddha is represented as rejoicing like one that findeth great spoil. Moreover, he did not keep it to himself. He preached his new faith for five-and-forty years; and after his death it was spread in all directions by his followers.

are honoured, and an elaborate ritual is practised in their temples. The godless creed, in the teeth of its own principles, has become a gigantic system of idolatry; and, although there can be no prayer where there is no deity to pray to, the natural tendency of men to seek supernatural help is indulged by the institution of praying wheels (see GLEANER, Nov., 1875), which are supposed to act as a charm against demons. Moreover, godless morality is just as great a failure. We may admire the precepts of Buddha; but the virtue, benevolence, and unselfishness he enjoined are, observes Mr. Vaughan, "nowhere more conspicuous by their absence than in those lands where his religion most abounds."

Good precepts are all very well, but how are men to be got to obey them? You may lay down from London to York the best rails ever manufactured; you may place upon them the most perfect engine ever constructed; but you will not get the engine to move a single inch along the rails till you apply the motive power. And the true motive power to do right is supplied only by the Gospel, in the love of a crucified and risen Saviour, shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost.

How came such a religion to gain a footing among a people like the Hindus, who, above all things, must have a god to worship? Yet it won its way, and lasted in India for a thousand years. This we know as a fact, however doubtful may be the story of its origin. The secret of its success was three-fold. First, the moral teachings of Buddhism were excellent. Its chief precepts were eleven in number: 1. Kill not; 2. Steal not; 3. Lie not; 4. Commit not adultery; 5. Drink no strong drink; 6. Exercise charity; 7. Be pure; 8. Be patient; 9. Be courageous; 10. Be contemplative; 11. Seek after knowledge. LEAVES FROM THE HISTORY OF A MISSIONARY Secondly, it denied the possibility of vicarious suffering, and affirmed that every man must, either now or in one of his future lives, bear his own sins; and this teaching was eagerly accepted by a people wearied and disgusted with the countless sacrifices that saturated the land with blood. Thirdly, it abolished all caste. All men were equal; all alike could attain nirvana; to all was benevolence to be shown. This especially it was, no doubt, that gave Buddhism its power. The lower castes jumped at a religion that put an end to their humiliation; it was a message of "liberty, equality, and fraternity."

But though Buddhism made a good fight for ten centuries, it was destined to be overcome. The Brahmins, of course, were its deadly foes, and they attacked it with their usual cleverness. To the Buddhists they became as Buddhists, that they might gain the Buddhists. Buddha, they said, was but an incarnation of Vishnu (see our third chapter), who adopted this form to decoy wicked men to their destruction by inducing them to deny the gods and neglect caste! And Vishnu, they urged, might just as well be worshipped under the form of Krishna, whose religion was much more pleasant to flesh and blood (see the third chapter again). In this way, and by the partial adoption of some Buddhist doctrines, the power of the new faith was undermined, and the Hindus quite naturally came back from atheism to polytheism-the worship of 330 millions of gods. At length the victory was completed by fierce persecutions, which finally stamped out Buddhism in India. The small sect of the Jains is the only relic of it now remaining, and they are now almost as much Hindus as they are Buddhists.

But the tree thus cut down in India had meanwhile, "like a mighty banyan," says Mr. Vaughan, "shot forth its branches into Burmah, China, Thibet, and Ceylon; in those lands the descending tendrils rapidly took root, branch after branch again spread, root after root descended, until at length the vast populations of those regions sheltered themselves under its shade." It is truly remarkable to find the religion that so signally failed in India now professed by 450 millions of the human race. Of every three men on the face of the globe, one is a Buddhist !

So far as China is concerned, Mr. Vaughan finds a reason for this in the character of the Chinese. You search, he remarks, in vain in China for the deep spiritual yearnings which so strongly mark the people of India. The Chinese are of the earth, earthy. Among them a godless creed is a possibility. But it is a noticeable illustration of the fact that man, however "earthy," will worship, that wherever Buddhism now prevails, numerous gods

AUXILIARY.

BY MISS E. J. WHATELY.

CHAPTER XIII.

UR conversation then turned in a somewhat different direction. "Is it needful," said Mrs. Benson, "that so much money should be spent on mere machinery, on travelling secretaries and offices and papers?

"It looks a great deal in a balance sheet," said Mr. Weston; "but in point of fact if you consider the proportions, probably not less than it really was in the beginning. Unless the workers have ample means of their own, something must be spent, on the smallest scale, in postage and paper, &c. Now, if we collect £100 a year, say, and spend £1 of this on postage, and afterwards come up to £2,000 and spend £20, it is precisely the same percentage, and yet in the last case the figures may alarm those who are not used to it. There is

no work done in the world which does not involve some cost in the machinery."

"That of the Apostles does not seem to have done so," said Mrs. Benson.

"No? Who paid for the room in which St. Paul preached at Rome? It must have been a large one to meet the numbers who came to it, as we see in Acts xxviii. And even if the evangelists travelled on foot constantly (which we know was not the case, as they often went by sea), their meals and lodging, however humble, must have cost something. With us, paper and ink often supplies the place of a travelling messenger; and it really costs less. All this is in fact the necessary machinery of any work of the kind, quite as necessary as the spade to the husbandman or the nets to the fisherman."

"But, Henry," said Mrs. Weston, "don't you think that sometimes money is wasted?"

"Perhaps so, in some cases. For my part, I have always felt bound to be very particular when acting as secretary for any charitable or missionary object, to be as strictly economical as possible in the use of the money taken for collections. I do not like, if I can possibly avoid it, writing private letters on office paper, for that reason."

"That is quite right," said Mr. Heathfield, "and I wish all were as particular, for even good people do forget sometimes the importance of sparing the collector's fund."

"All this is very good and just," said Captain Austin, "but, even granting that all concerned were as scrupulous as Mr. Weston, still the fact remains. A vast system of costly machinery-with the fullest allowance-remains to do the Lord's work; and the question is, 'Is it required? Why should not one who feels called to labour among the heathen go without seeking help from man, depending on God alone?" private means are devoting the whole of their property to such work, "Many are doing it every day," said Mr. Weston. Many who have while others, like some of the Moravians and the missionaries of Crischona, learn trades for their support. This last is an excellent plan, where it is practicable; in many places, however, it is not possible."

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"Then let them go on and trust in God, and surely He will supply their wants," said Captain Austin.

"Surely He will; if He intends them to work then and there," said

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"Agreed. But now we come to the point at issue. How are they to know that a missionary needs their help at some foreign station, unless they are told? God might, if He would, put it into the heart of some person able to give, to send a contribution to some particular person or place. In some few cases this has really happened; but these are rare exceptions. We must suppose they have taken place when there were no other means of obtaining the result. But God does not work miracles to do for us what we can do for ourselves. To touch the heart, and make people willing to give, is His province; we cannot do this-but we can tell others when there is work needing support, and furnish the means of sending help to the right place or person; and this He leaves to us: to expect Him to do it for us would be like sitting down before a field, and expecting Him to make the corn and fruit grow of itself."

"That is perfectly reasonable," said Captain Austin; "but what I object to, is not the sending help where it is needed, but having recourse to a complicated system of associations and committees to decide on its destination, and then to publish to the world a table of the expenses incurred, down to the minutest details. It seems simply contrary to the command 'not to let our left hand know what our right hand does.' Why not simply send whatever money the Lord may enable you to give to the person who is doing the Lord's work in another land, and leave all details alone? It seems to me, this would be more of a work of faith." "Faith; but in whom?" said Mr. Weston.

"Faith in the Lord, of course," replied the other.

"Pardon me, but I think the faith you are recording here is faith in man rather than God. If you send money to a worker abroad without even asking how it is spent, your faith is in him; that is, you must be perfectly confident of his trustworthiness and good judgment."

"I am sure I should be very sorry to trust blindly, in that way, to any one," said Mr. Heathfield. "I do know some few-very few-whom I would so trust; to whom I could give money of my own without asking questions. But there is one of those few who would consent to avail himself of my confidence, by withholding details. The less they are asked for, the more a trustworthy agent feels bound to give them."

"But does not that show a great deal of mutual distrust?" said Mrs. Benson. "Ought really Christian people to help each other so doubtingly and grudgingly ?"

"Let us consider the question a little more carefully," said Mr. Weston. "Suppose I have money which I can contribute to the missionary cause. Is not this a trust given me by God, for which I am answerable to Him?" "Certainly," they all agreed.

Well, am I fulfilling my trust as a 'good steward,' if I fail in taking every precaution that the money may be spent in the best manner? An earthly master would expect this of the clerk or agent he employed, and should I do less for my Heavenly Master?"

"No, that is certain," said Mr. Heathfield.

"And this would apply even in the case of money of my own; but if others entrust me with their collections, I am further pledged to them to see that every penny, as far as I can control it, is rightly spent."

"But the question is," said Captain Austin, "whether it would not show more simple faith in God, to trust to Him that He will take care that money given for His work was rightly employed."

"If He had promised to do this for us," replied Mr. Weston, "I grant you we should be bound to leave it altogether in His hands and abstain from any inquiry into the details; but is it faith or presumption to believe that God will do a thing because we think it desirable? He could give us power to read hearts if He chose; but He did not choose to give this power even to the Apostles, as we see by the fact that Simon Magus and Demas, and those whom St. Paul calls false apostles' and 'deceitful workers' were received into the Church."

"Of course we know that only God can read the heart," said Mrs. Benson; "but surely if we, as it were, put our money in His hands, and ask Him to let it be applied to His own work, it would be distrusting His power to doubt His answering us."

"Not His power, but His will. And we cannot know beforehand what His will is, except where His own Word is our guide. Faith is shown, not in expecting God to do what we like, but in firmly believing that whatever He has promised, He will surely perform."

"And how can we best judge what He would have us do, in the way of helping one spot or another?" asked Mrs. Benson.

"Chiefly, I think, by His providential leadings. One country after another is thrown open to the Gospel, and if the door is open and the people willing to hear, it is generally an indication that we should enter in if possible. And I would not deny that there have been and are cases in which Christian workers are led, by this very course of God's providence, to enter on a life in which they must be supported irregularly, and they must just look up to Him day by day for the absolutely needed

help. But I believe that many a missionary living on a small regular salary is showing quite as much faith as the worker who is supported, so to say, from hand to mouth."

"There is something in what you say," said Captain Austin, after a pause; "but is all this like the state of things in the Apostles' time? Were there salaried workers and teachers in the early Church?"

"Of course we must allow for a different state of society; but I doubt if things then were so unlike things now as many suppose. Certainly the illustrations used by the Apostle, in 1 Cor. ix., of a vine-dresser and a shepherd receiving their portions of the vineyard and the flock, do point to a fixed sum, for we know that in all countries a certain regular portion of the profit is given to the worker, where this plan is resorted to. In the case of a labourer, he was hired in our Lord's days as truly as now and the illustration is actually used in speaking of an evangelist or missionary."

"But Paul took no payment from the Corinthians," said Captain Austin.

"No, he would not accept regular or irregular help from them: but there were special reasons for this, peculiar to the Corinthian Church, as he explains at some length: and again and again he repeats that he had a right to expect support from those to whom he ministered, and gave up this right of his own free will. I do not say that all this implies that the support of missionaries was arranged precisely as it is now; but I do say that the comparisons used point rather to a fixed than to an uncertain mode of support. That both may be lawful, I do not doubt; the only question is of expediency. My own belief is that the mode we follow, of regular payment, is the best."

VINEYARD WORK.

Thoughts for those Engaged in Christ's Service.

BY THE REV. G. EVERARD, Vicar of St. Mark's, Wolverhampton.

V.-HUMILITY IN WORK.

"Though I be nothing."-2 Cor. xii. 11.

ND yet the Apostle is not "behind the very chiefest Apostles," and "has laboured more abundantly than they all.” "In stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft." Still for all this he adds, "Though I be nothing." See the depth of his humility. "Least of the Apostles." "Less than the least of all saints." "Chief of sinners." Thus, step by step, does he descend into the valley. But here is the lowest step. "Though I be nothing." "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." (1 Cor. iii. 6, 7.)

As though he would say, "Let the instrument stand aside. Let Christ alone, the grace of God alone, be exalted and magnified. Whatever I am, whatever I have borne or suffered or done, it is not I, but the grace of God that is with me."

Would I be useful in the Lord's vineyard I must walk in the same path. Teach me, Lord, this hard lesson. May I ever take the lowest room, and serve Thee with all humility of mind! May I lay aside the great "I" that so often impedes my usefulness! May I no longer speak of what I can do, the position that I should expect, the post that I have a right to occupy. Keep me from seeking great things for myself. Let me remember that whosoever in God's kingdom would be greatest of all must be least of all and servant of all.

Another lesson I would remember also. Whatever is done effectually to advance the kingdom of my Lord is not my work but His alone. It is not the hammer that strikes the blow, but the hand that holds it. It is not the sword that slays, but the hand that wields it. It is not the pen that writes the letter, but the one who uses it. It is not the pitcher that gives the refreshing draught, but he who fills it at the well and thus gives water to the thirsty one.

O Lord, it is Thy work and Thine alone to break the hard rock, to slay the enmity of the natural heart, to write living epistles, and to give the living water to the perishing one. Only use me in this service, and to Thee shall be all the glory!

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