ceremonial observances into duties of the greatest importance. That there may be spiritually minded men in Islám is not to be denied; but a system of religion which declares that the virtue of prayer depends practically on an ablution, and that that ablution is useless unless done in the order prescribed, is one well calculated to make men formalists and nothing more. It comes to this, that, if a man when making wazú washes his left hand before his right, or his nose before his teeth, he cannot lawfully say the daily Namáz enjoined on all Muslims. None but those who have studied Muslim treatises on the subject can conceive of the puerile discussions which have taken place on points apparently trivial, but which from their connexion with the Sunnat are deemed by learned Muslims of great importance. Now it may fairly be conceded that these religious absurdities may be paralleled in those Jewish traditions whereby, as our Blessed Lord told the Scribes and Pharisees, they had made the commandments of God of none effect. It would also be most easy to produce corresponding follies from the ceremonials and practices inculcated by the Greek and Romish perversions of Christianity. These have been and are so puerile and contemptible in the estimation of every religious mind capable of discernment, that the advocates of Mohammedanism have a specious case when they ask whether it would be really worth while to substitute those degrading superstitions for the faith, such as it is, of Islám. The true reply to such argumentation is that Christianity is not inextricably bound up with the perversions of it exhibited by Greece and Rome; that it has no necessary connexion with the idolatrous and foolish accretions which have gathered themselves around the Word of God. It has neither Sunnat, nor Ijmá, nor Qiás of co-ordinate authority with Holy Scripture, except in the estimation of the depravers of God's truth, which is the case with the Mohammedans. There is nothing therefore to hinder the free, the unadulterated, the simple proclamation of the Gospel as enunciated by the Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles, as the remedy for the evils under which the votaries of the false Prophet are labouring. While most earnestly commending Mr. Sell's valuable labours to the consideration of all interested in the Mohammedan question, we furnish them an extract pregnant with matter for thought. The conclusion will, we think, be that Islám is the one principle of death amidst all the jarring elements of destruction in the Eastern world :— To the Muslim all that the Prophet did was perfectly in accord with the will of God. Moral laws have a different application when applied to him. His jealousy, his cruelty to the Jewish tribes, his indulgence in licentiousness, his bold assertion of equality with God as regards his commands, his every act and word, are sinless, and a guide to men as long as the world shall last. It is easy for an apologist for Mohammed to say that this is an accretion, something which engrafted itself on to a simpler system. It is no such thing. It is rather one of the essential parts of the system. Let Mohammed be his own witness:-" He who loves not my Sunnat is not my follower." "He who revives my Sunnat revives me, and will be with me in Paradise." "He who in distress holds fast to the Sunnat will receive the reward of a hundred martyrs." As might be expected, the setting up of his own acts and words as an infallible and unvarying rule of faith accounts more than anything else for the immobility of the Mohammedan world, for it must be always remembered that in Islám Church and State are one. The Arab proverb, Al mulk wa din tawáminí "-country and religion are twins-is the popular form of expressing the unity of Church and State. To the mind of the Mussulman the rule of the one is the rule of the other, a truth sometimes forgotten by politicians who look hopefully on the reform of Turkey or the regeneration of the House of 66 66 Osmán. The Sunnat as much as the Qurán covers all law, whether political, social, moral, or religious. A modern writer who has an intimate acquaintance with Islám says: If Islám is to be a power for good in the future, it is imperatively necessary to cut off the social system from the religion. The difficulty lies in the close connexion between the religious and social ordinances in the Qurán, the two are so intermingled that it is hard to see how they can be disentangled without destroying both." I believe this to be impossible, and the case becomes still more hopeless when we remember that the same remark would apply to the Sunnat. To forget this is to go astray, for Ibn Khaldoun distinctly speaks of "the Law derived from the Qurán and the Sunnat," of the "maxims of Mussulman Law based on the text of the Qurán and the teaching of the Traditions." K. DAILY LIFE IN UGANDA. Extracts from the Rev. G. Litchfield's Journal. VERY long and detailed journal has been sent home by Mr. Litchfield, recounting the incidents of the twelve months he spent in Uganda, from February 1879 to February 1880. It was written for his private friends, and not for publication; but we have permission to make some extracts. It does not tell us much of the more public side of the Mission-the visits to the court, the services in the building set apart by Mtesa as a "church," the arguments with heathen and Mussulman, the relations with the French priests-for Mr. Mackay's knowledge of the Suahili language, gained during his journeys backwards and forwards nearer the coast, gave him an advantage in these respects over Mr. Litchfield, who (being one of the Nile party) had not been on the East coast at all. But we gain from it a vivid idea of the daily life of our brethren, their manual labours, their patient teaching of their visitors, their efforts to master the language, and many interesting particulars as to diet, health, &c. Of the period covered by the earlier part of the journal we have already published ample accounts. We begin our extracts in July 1879, when Mr. Litchfield and Mr. Mackay were alone. Mr. Wilson and Mr. Felkin had left for England with the Waganda envoys; Mr. Stokes and Mr. Copplestone had gone southwards across the Lake; and Mr. Pearson had accompanied the latter party, intending to return shortly. The Romanist Mission had been reinforced, and its public repudiation of the English Mission had taken place; but we hear little about it and its doings. July 4th, 1879.-Had my first medical fee this morning, in the shape of a load of beautiful bananas. This was a fee (unasked for) from one of Katikiro's headmen, who had his finger half taken off by the bursting of a gunbarrel; which finger, I am thankful to say, is rapidly getting better, through the use of carbolic lotion and careful dressing. Felt lonely this morning and had a good" oratorio" with my concertina and myself, out of Mercer's hymn-book. 7th.-Killed a calf. Made some calves'feet jelly. Had five chickens hatched this morning; and as the two hens fought over the possession of them, I had to fasten one of them up, or the chickens would have been killed. 18th.-Killed, skinned, and cut up a goat this morning, in a little over thirty minutes. This is a decided improvement, as it used to last me nearly two hours. 21st.-About 8.30 a.m. I was seized with the first attack of malarial fever I have had since coming to Uganda. The first, or shivering stage, lasted nearly four hours. I was very ill all day, temp. 103, and feeling very sick. Ibeyn, my little attendant, was very desirous of being an assistance, and sat down on the floor at the foot of my bed, watching me carefully all day, and at night he slept on the mat by my bedside. 22nd.-Felt much better this morning, but still weak and giddy. Of all our fever remedies give me Dr. Warburg's tincture. It acts sooner than quinine, and is more efficacious, judging from the results I have seen. Concluded that exertion was the best thing for me, so got up, killed, skinned and cut up a goat. Mackay was busy forging. I worked at the language. 23rd.-Much better to-day, thank God. Had some hours' work digging, first thing, and then settled down to the language. Mackay went to the court. We heard from Toli, the king's drummer, that the French are buying young slaves fast, paying 100 bullets, or jora of cloth, for each slave. 26th.-Up by daybreak. Killed and cut up a goat. Then settled down to the language for some hours. I find it hard work, with no teacher and no medium. I have to get all my information from the Waganda who come down to see me, and the only way I can do it is by making signs, as, for instance, in the verbs to laugh, to shout, to сту, to crow, to kick, to run, to spit, to wink, to strike, &c., all of which are rather ludicrous in illustration. But I have now got some 400 or 500 words and verbs, besides phrases, and hope to crawl like a child in the language before three months are gone by. Mackay went to the palace, but did not see the king. August 6th.-Worked hard all day in washing and ironing. I dislike this task very much, and would much prefer six hours' spading to one of ironing. 7th.-There was a good deal of thunder about to-day, and a very little rain. The ground needs rain badly, and is at present very hard to work. In making a portion of a fresh bed I had to work it all with a pick, as the spade could make no sign on it. This, of course, makes the labour of digging about double its usual amount. 9th.-Found a slave of Monoculia (a chief) waiting to see me, and desiring to see me for some medicine he wanted. I accompanied him to his master to see the patient, and was warmly welcomed by the chief, who has often been at our Missionhouse, and seems really desirous of learning the truth. I found, not one, but four or five patients there, and promised to return on the morrow, bringing a stethoscope. I could make no diagnosis of some of the cases. Busy with the spade in the evening. Sunday, 10th.-Bad night. Did not go to the palace to-day with Mackay for service. Went, as I had promised, to see my patients at Monoculia's house. As this chief seemed anxious to talk on religion, I tried to explain the death, resurrection, and love of Christ to him in my broken, stammering language. After a while he went outside and sent a slave to fetch me. I went to him, and found him in a very small hut on his knees, and he asked me to pray. I said I did not know Suahili, but he said, "Pray in English, God understands you.' And I did so, deeply moved by the scene. 16th.-Busy this morning in taking to pieces and cleaning a sewing-machine, which came with the east coast party; but I did not get it finished so quickly as I expected. It was all rusted over, and took me a long time to make right; but eventually it worked smooth, and I sewed a pair of pantaloons with it. The Natives were greatly amused to see a machine sew. I next took in hand Mackay's lever watch, but night fell before I could complete it. The next extracts give us some glimpses of native life and customs, and also refer to Mtesa's request for baptism, and for an English princess for a wife! Aug.21st.-Beautifully fine day. Busy with the language and in the smithy forging. In the afternoon a slave of Mkwenda's came down to say his master was ill. From the description I thought it was fever, so I went to see him. found him surrounded by a host of I 66 wives, and some of them were rubbing dust and water over his body for medicine. His disease proved to be over-eating," as far as I could make out, so I prescribed an emetic of ipecac. His leader (Kilangoza), named Kaima, then came in with T another batch of women; and when the place was about crammed full with them they executed a peculiar dance, squatting on the ground and writhing their bodies about in an extraordinary manner. Their bodies as far down as the waist kept stationary, but the rest of the body seemed capable of a distinct circular motion, in which every muscle seemed in movement. A few of the younger women were stark naked, and had a narrow roll of serpent-skin about their waist. Both Mkwenda and Kaima offered me a wife, which I at once politely declined.. 30th-Paid a visit to the house of Toli, the king's drummer, who came originally from Zanzibar, and has been here for twelve or thirteen years. I was much pleased with the careful way in which his large shambeh was kept, and the numerous plants he had managed to grow; such as rice, onions, pomegranates, lemons, sugar-cane, potatoes, &c. His houses are large and well-built, and his numerous crowd of wives (about 100) find plenty of work to keep the place in such order. He fetched about thirty of his prettiest wives in (all well dressed in cloth of bright colours) to see the white man, and I have not met a finer-looking lot of women in Africa. Four of them were Wahuma women, with a light tawny skin and European features. They all seemed pleased at the sight of a white man, and sang some songs for me in a low, sweet tone; indeed so low as to sound more like a hum than singing. Sept. 2nd.-Mackay and myself paid a visit to a chief called Kasuju, who has the care of the king's sons. We found him a very pleasant man, and I played with him a game (used throughout Uganda) of black balls, with a board full of holes. He gave us a splendid goat, so fat and big as to pull my boy Musoki after it at a run all the way home. He also presented Mackay with a lubugo cloth, stained black, in straight patterns, with round spots between the lines. His house was one of the largest I have seen in Africa for native building, and had in it six or seven rooms. It was built with a sloping roof like European houses. 7th.-Mackay went and saw Mtesa, who entered into a long discussion on baptism. It is plain that the French priests have been at him, for he wants to be baptized; but Mackay tells him that we could only tell a tree by its fruits, and that if the king would be a monogamist, &c., we should see that he really meant his religion, and would at once baptize him. 9th.-Mackay went to the palace. The Arabs had their Koran there today, and began to argue vehemently, The king was again deeply interested on the subject of baptism, and was desirous of that sacrament, saying that he would put away his wives and follow Christ truly. He said he should like to have but one wife, and would prefer a white woman, and said that "as he was a king he must have a king's daughter." He would give 1000 tusks for her. On being told that if he ever did get a king's daughter he would get a dowry with her instead of buying her with 1000 tusks, he seemed greatly pleased. The court was finally broken up without much real good being entered upon, the king wanting Mackay to write to Queen Victoria for her daughter. 15th.-Walked up to Monoculia's (a chief), taking with me several magiclantern slides illustrative of the life of Christ. He would have me to pray with him in a little hut he has built, and which he calls the house of God. 19th.-Mackay again went to court and saw the king. Mtesa was hearing the Koran read, and evidently was inclining to the Mohammedan religion. He said if Mackay did not get him the Queen's daughter to wife he would not let us read the Bible at court, &c. Then he wanted to be baptized, and next a cannon to be made. 20th-Up with the sun, but did not enjoy a good night, for I seem to have some whole colonies of rats in my bedroom, and, in fact, all over the house. They race over the bed, up the wall, and about the floor, squealing and knocking articles over in the most reckless fashion. I got a pot of very good honey from Toli yesterday, which makes a very decent change from the usual goat's flesh and plantains. A chief named Chambalango has been coming down very regularly lately, early each morning, to learn reading. Have been printing several days this week. An old chief named Kaima, whose office is that of going before the king when on the march, came to see me for the first time this morning. I asked him if he would give me an old woman that would do the cooking for me, and he promised to send me one. Then Mkwenda and Monoculia came down and stayed a good while, looking at the spots where their respective men are going to build houses for me. I am afraid that even now it will be long before the building gets finished, for the Waganda style of working is for one man to work and twenty men to sit and watch him do it. This is, as a rule, the division of labour adopted here, and reminds one of their similar division as regards food, which the women have to cultivate, gather, bring from the country, and finally work, while their lords condescend to eat it. I made a chief stare the other day by putting three sticks on the ground, and calling one clothes, one cattle, one women, which they treated exactly alike as regards buying and selling; and I informed him that in the beginning God made a man and a woman, not a man and a beast. 24th.-Bought fifty plantain-trees for 200 cowries, and planted them in my portion of the ground, afterwards to be fenced in. We now come to the time when there was such an influx of people, men and boys, anxious to learn to read. It is a deeply interesting picture, and gives us some idea of the faithful work done by our brethren. Remarkable notices of Mtesa occur, too, which show how much ground there has been for even such sanguine expressions as we have been used to in Mr. Mackay's letters. Since then, indeed, the king has again professed himself both a heathen and a Mohammedan in succession, and we have had sad evidences of the caprice and cruelty that mark his despotic rule; but have we seen the last of the changes in this strange man? God knoweth ! Sept. 29th.-Busy to-day building the new house. A good number of men were at work, but they make little progress, for there are three looking on to every one working. Gave a Scripture lesson to my reading pupils, and to a knot of men as well, this morning, out of the first chapter of John. They seemed to understand it, and my heart rejoiced that God had so far unloosed my tongue as to enable me to stammer in this language. Some of my boys can read very fairly now, and if we had the Gospel translated into Kiganda this teaching might have great influence. Oct. 2nd.-Very few builders are here, most of them having gone for more grass, &c. The Matongoli, who is the overlooker of these men, is very desirous to learn reading, &c., and has got the Lord's Prayer off by heart, and daily listens to my teaching from the Gospel. There is altogether a change here from the time when our trouble was heavy upon us, for, instead of being shunned, there are few days now without chiefs, Matongolis, and slaves coming to see us, and learning to read. May we not take this as a sign of God's favour upon us, and ought it not to render us all the more earnest in the work? 4th-Called to see Kitimzi, the chief who has been so very ill, and found him holding an audience. One of the king's sisters, a daughter of Suna, was there, and offered me one of her women as a wife, which I promptly declined. The people all seemed astonished, and evidently could not understand my indifference on the subject of marriage. I explained that Christians had but one wife, and that the king and chiefs of England had but one each, at which their astonishment increased tenfold. 7th.-The king appears to be taking a real interest in the things of eternity at this present time, and few days pass without his holding a long discourse on them. I had a crowd of boys down to see me and to read; and I gave a Scripture lesson of nearly an hour's length, out of St. John's Gospel. 9th.-Up very early, and painting alphabets for the boys who are learning to read, as there are a number of fresh ones. They make reading-boards very nicely, scraping the wood very smooth and level, considering the tools they have. Continued the Scripture lessons out of St. John's Gospel to the most advanced pupils. They appear to take a real interest in the truths of God, especially one man, who is a Matongoli, |