violent commotion, great eddies and circles and masses of foam flecking the surface and congregating in the hollows of the bank.

On our way back we passed a bare patch of about six yards square situated by the river's edge among the thick underwood and vegetation. No less than fourteen or fifteen crocodiles lay stretched out on it, as thick as sardines in a tin. The temptation was too great to be resisted, and the silence of the spot was rudely broken by the crack of several rifles, echoed from bank to bank, and making the eagles scream wildly as they flew in circles high over our heads. Two or three of the huge reptiles lay still on the ground, and I do not think they will be a terror and trouble

any more. It is astonishing what a number of women they destroy, by seizing them when they come down to fetch water. They appear to be frightened of noise, and Pearson and myself have swum regularly in the Nile in the deep water without any of them attacking

us.

We got back to Magungo about 6 P.M., obtaining a good view of a troop of monkeys, who went swinging along from tree to tree, and executing the queerest antics I ever beheld.

This night was Christmas Eve, and we sat under the large tree round a big log fire, singing hymns and thinking of familiar faces in England. We gave our boys a grand feed on Christmas Day, and some new clothing. All the chief men of the place came to pay us a visit of ceremony when they heard it was a feast day with us. We gave them Turkish coffee and cigarettes, and did our best to amuse them. It is a very difficult matter to talk with an Arab, for as a rule they are exceedingly ignorant, and never talk sensibly. The compliments and flattery they give you to your face are perfectly sickening, and none the less so when we know that they hate us in their hearts, and would do anything they I could to do us harm. On this day we opened one of Brand's tinned plum puddings, and found it really first-class.

Our stay at Magungo was longer than we anticipated, as there arose a difficulty about porters. Most of the native tribes conquered by the Egyptian Government have to furnish men when required for the service, as part of their tribute. But in this instance the men did not come when summoned, and it was not until the governor of the station him

intersected by patches of jungle and forest. We were marching wearily, for the day had been a tiring one, and our dragoman was very ill and being carried, when suddenly several shots rang out ahead. The Governor of Magungo, who was in charge of the caravan, came dashing up in fine style to the front, and I raced after him as hard as I could go with my man carrying my guns after me. My purpose was that of peace, for the Soudan soldiers are no triflers, but just shoot any natives that mutiny. I was too late to prevent bloodshed, for one poor fellow lay bleeding on the earth, and the rest of the men of the village fled in a body, and then stood at a distance, waiting an opportunity to attack us. Some more desultory

self had ridden into the interior that we could obtain a sufficient number. The reason of this was that the King of Unyoro, Kabba Rega, was not on friendly terms with Egypt, and it was his purpose to have captured us, and our caravan also, if he could have managed it. He reported us to be spies, and he blocked up the nearest and best road between us and the next military station, Keroto. However, we started on the 28th inst., and made a very long march of some ten hours in duration. We came across many groves of bananas, with their broad leaves forming a shade from the oppressive heat of the sun.

Between 4 and 5 o'clock our route lay through many such plantations,

firing took place between the skirmishers who had been sent out and this body of men, who thereupon retired.

What a night we spent to be sure! If I live to be a hundred years old I shall never forget it. In the first place, then, we had the poor natives driven out of their homes SO suddenly, and showing like a dark fringe on the border of the forest. Secondly, we had the porters, the Unyoro men of Kabba Rega, ripe for murder and the execution of their king's will. Fifteen soldiers kept watch round them with loaded rifles all the night, and we were told to prepare our weapons against an attack. Personally I disobeyed this order, for I was, and still am of opinion, that a missionary ought not to fight and shed blood, and it helps one to keep to such a resolution in a moment of excitement if no weapons are found ready to hand. The porters robbed and pillaged the houses, set fire to the standing crops, dug up the sweet potatoes, and having made enormous fires, settled down to a good feast. Felkin was ill that night, but Pearson and myself sat on the ground keeping watch, until nature could hold out no longer, and we dozed off. I suppose we had not slept one hour before it began to rain, and one of the most terrific thunderstorms I ever saw came on us. The fire went out, and we sat crouched under a waterproof sheet, trying to keep ourselves dry, a rather useless task, as it proved. Flash after flash of vivid lightning revealed the upright form and stern visage of one of the soldiers, gun in hand, guarding against a mutiny. But everything has an end, and so had this storm.

We started off before daybreak. I gave in to a bad attack of ague, and was carried face up to the sun the next two days to Keroto. On the second night we were again favoured by a terrific storm of thunder and rain. Trees split up before a good discharge like so many match boxes.

Our rest at Keroto was very short, and we left on January 3rd to go to Foweira. I was very ill, and had to be carried by relays of four men all the way. At the end of the first day's march we were overjoyed to find the Rev. C. T. Wilson waiting to welcome us. He had heard of our coming in Uganda, and had come to meet us.

The rest of the journey was performed quietly, the roads being very bad and nearly impassable. Foweira was reached on January 7th.

21 S

M. Ex. 9. Matt. 26. E. Ex. 10 or 11. Luke 19. 28, or 20. 9-21. We would see Jesus. John 12. 21.

6th in Lent. Palm Sunday. They have seen Thy goings, O God. [Ps. 68. 24. 22 M 23 T Whom, having not seen, ye love. 1 Pet. 1.8. [hath done. Deut. 3.21. 24 W Slave trade abolished, 1807. Thine eyes have seen all that the Lord 25 T Annun. Virg. Mary. Blessed are your eyes, for they see. Matt. 13. 16. 26 F Good Friday. When I see the blood I will pass over you. Ex. 12. 13. 27 S

M. Gen. 22. 1-20. John 18. E. Is. 52. 13 to 53. 12. i Pet. 2.

Easter Even. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Matt. 28. 6.

28 S Easter Day. We have seen the Lord. John 20. 25. M. Ex. 12. 1-29. Rev. 1. 10-19. E. Ex. 12. 29, or 14. John 20. 11-19, or Rev. 5. 29 M He shall see His seed. Is. 53. 10.

30 T We see not yet all things put under Him. Heb. 2. 8. 31 W 1st bapt. Fuh-Chow, 1861. Come and see the works of God. Ps. 66. 5.

NOTES.

Again, in our word for the month-"SEE"-we have God's side and man's side. One of our texts for March 5th emphatically notes the difference between them-" The Lord seeth not as man seeth." But the omniscience of God should not be a cause of terror and alarm; rather of comfort and strength. As Bishop Sargent goes his rounds in Tinnevelly, the text (March 11th), "He seeth all his goings," may support him with the thought of the great Bishop of souls who walketh in the midst of the Churches; and as the solitary missionary toils away in our youngest Mission, Fort Rupert (March 12th), what a help to him to look up and say, "Thou God seest me!"

Turn from the newest of our Missions to the oldest: note the text for March 8th, the date when the very first two C.M.S. missionaries sent out sailed for Africa-" Thou shalt see what I will do." Have we not seen ? Most true is the text for the anniversary of another great event in the missionary history of Africa, the abolition of the Slave Trade (March 24th) -"Thine eyes have seen all that the Lord hath done." Then comes a cry from China too (March 31st)-" Come and see the works of God"; and turning back to Salisbury Square, we think of the Society's work growing so fast that a larger house had to be built (March 7th), and find the inspiring words-"Thou shalt see greater things than these."

For now we see through a glass, darkly"; and our prayer is, “That which I see not teach Thou me," and, "We would see JESUS"-" Whom, having not seen, we love." We think of one veteran missionary quietly entering into rest (March 1st), and of another cruelly murdered (March 2nd), and we seem to be brought nearer to the promises, "They shall see His face," and "Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty." And we too "shall see Him as He is," if-see March 19 and 20.

But March this year brings round the season of those great events on which all our hopes are based. On Good Friday let us rejoice in that unchanging promise, not only given for once long ago in Egypt, but still bringing a message to every sinner-"When I see the blood, I will pass over you"; on Easter Even, in the angel's significant words, "Come, see the place where the Lord lay "; and on Easter Day, in the joyous exclamation of the ten apostles, "We have seen the Lord." Truly it may be said to us who live in New Testament times, "Blessed are your eyes, for they see"; and although "we see not yet all things put under Him," we look forward to the day when "all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

EPITOME OF MISSIONARY NEWS. The Bishop of Rochester has consented to preach the Annual Church Missionary Sermon at St. Bride's, Fleet Street, on Monday, May 3rd. By the death of the Rev. Henry Moule, of Fordington, Dorset, on Feb. 3rd, the Church Missionary Society has lost an old and highly valued friend. He was the father of the Revs. G. E. Moule and A. E. Meule, of the Society's China Mission.

Intelligence has been received by the Foreign Office, through Colonel Gordon, that Mr. Felkin had reached Lado on the Nile (date not mentioned); that Mr. Wilson was a little behind him; and that both were expected at Khartoum in December.

Bishop Sargent, in a review of the C.M.S. Tinnevelly Mission printed in the last C.M. Intelligencer, mentions that in the past twenty years the Native Christian adherents have increased from 28.151 to 53,536; the school children, from 7,431 to 13,428; the Native clergy, from nine to fifty-eight; the number of villages occupied, from 450 to 875; the money contributed by the converts to their own church funds, from 7,698 rupecs to 24,498 rupees (about £2.140).

We mentioned last month the little contributions sent from the Tamil children in Ceylon towards the fund for providing a steamer for Bishop Ridley of Caledonia. In a recent letter, the Bishop describes the dangerous voyages he has to take in Indian canoes-sometimes 100 miles on the open sea-and says, "How I long for my steamer! Unless I get one, a new Bishop will soon be wanted, for the risk in these frail craft is tremendous, and a short career the probable consequence."

The Fuh-Kien Mission continues to be beset with troubles. The Mandarins seem determined to do their utmost to stop the work all over the province. As the common Treaty rights of Englishmen are thus set at nought, the C.M.S. Committee have appealed to Lord Salisbury to remonstrate with the Chinese authorities.

The Rev. R. T. Dowbiggin reports that twenty-four young people from the Mission Schools at Cotta, Ceylon, were baptized last year-not as infants, but as converts, on their own confession of faith. Nearly all the accessions to the Church in this district," he adds, "are from that source." The Rev. J. D. Simmons, of Jaffna, writes in similar terms: "Schools continue to be our chief instrument for conversions."

Dr. Andrew Jukes, who arrived at Dera Ghazi Khan on the Indus last. year to begin a Medical Mission among the Beluchi tribes on the frontier, has, in the first few months, treated 555 cases. Bishop French, writing in the Indian Church Gazette, says, "Dr. Jukes has been the last week where of all places perhaps he would most wish to be for the present furtherance of his work, i.e., by the sick bed of an influential Beluchi chief."

The Roman Catholics in Cochin, South India, having lately obtained possession of a church which had belonged to the "Syrian" Christians, proceeded to search the houses in the village for Bibles and other books which the people had bought from a C.M.S. colporteur, and made a great bonfire of them opposite the church.

Letters from the Saskatchewan continue to show the activity of our small but vigorously-worked Mission there. Bishop McLean reached his head-quarters at Prince Albert's Settlement from England on July 4th, and on the 20th, in St. Mary's Church, the Bishop admitted Mr. T. Clarke to deacon's orders, the Rev. J. A. Mackay preaching the sermon; and on the 25th another missionary, Mr. Charles Quinney, who has been engaged in the country, was also ordained. Mr. Mackay is now living at Prince Albert's Settlement, and acting as Cree tutor in the new Diocesan Training Institution, ministering also to the Indians in the neighbourhood. Battleford is under Mr. Clarke's charge, his head-quarters being at Mikisiwachu, a few miles off. Mr. Quinney is to open a new station at Fort Pitt, further up the river. The Rev. S. Trivett (whose young wife died shortly after their arrival) is to begin new work among the as yet unreached Blackfeet Indians. Mr. John Sinclair, the Native teacher at Stanley, was to be ordained in February.

The Indian Female Evangelist, the quarterly magazine of the Indian Female Normal School and Instruction Society, has appeared this year in an enlarged form and with a new and tasteful cover. It contains 72 pages Svo, price 6d, and is full of interesting matter, admirably arranged and edited. Among the contributors announced are Sir W. Muir, Professor Monier Williams, Mrs. Weitbrecht, Mrs. Elmslie, A. L. O. E., &c. Our lady friends who are interested in zenana work in India should by all means take in this capital periodical.

TOPICS FOR THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER. THANKSGIVING for encouraging responses to the Committee's appeal for the Deficiency Fund (p. 25). Prayer for a still increasing and extending spirit of self-denying liberality.

Thanksgiving for continued encouragement at Bonny (p. 29). Prayer that the petition of the Christians there (p. 30) may be abundantly fulfilled. Prayer for the Hakodate Mission, so rudely interrupted by the late destructive fire (p. 31).

Prayer for the Uganda Mission in its present painful circumstances owing to the Romish aggression (p. 33).

"I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door." Rev. iii. 8.

UCH was the assurance given by our blessed Lord from heaven to the Church in Philadelphia, and a glorious assurance it was. Compared with the other churches, this one was singularly pure and free from blame. The secret was that it had kept It was, therefore,

Christ's word, and had not denied His name. in a position to go forward in missionary labour, to undertake an active work for God. And the promise from the Great Head of the Church was exactly suited to its peculiar need, "Behold, I have set before thee an open door."

We seem to be thus reminded of the position of our great Church Missionary Society, as it is called, to increasing efforts on every hand. Much is said in the present day about open doors, and the importance of advancing the work, but the thought is almost entirely confined to the opening up of lands which formerly were either unknown or closed against the preaching of the Gospel. This, of course, is one of the most important features of the present time, and for which we can never be sufficiently thankful to God. But the Bible tells us of other open doors, all of them connected with the missionary's work, and which it is well to bear in mind by way of encouragement. There is the heart of man, which must be gained in the first instance if any real work is to be done for Christ. This is naturally shut against Gospel truth, barred and bolted by prejudice and superstition. How is the barrier to be broken down? How is an entrance to be obtained? It is with the heart that man believeth, and we should despair if we only had to depend upon the force of human power and reasoning. But have we not a right to regard this as an open door, since the Bible tells of "whose heart the Lord opened that she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul"?

one

But then there is the mind, the intellect of man, which equally with the heart presents the greatest difficulty. The pride of human intellect, the wisdom of this world, will only treat as foolishness the simple story of the Cross, while the gross ignorance of many presents a formidable obstacle. But here again encouragement is given us from Scripture to look for an open door. We are reminded of the disciples just before the Ascension of our blessed Lord-" Then opened He their understandings that they might understand the Scriptures."

Further, there is the oppressed, degraded condition of man in so many heathen lands. Slavery and suffering, bondage and cruelty, form a terrible barrier to the progress of missionary work. So fearful is this difficulty in many cases that we might almost despair of the extension of Christ's kingdom among the people, were it not that He Himself has assured us of an open door. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."

Let us take this thought to heart, dear reader, and thank God for the open doors which He presents to the missionaries; for little use would it be to have continents opened up, and lands and islands of the sea discovered, unless the heart, the mind, the condition of sinful man were opened also. Here is our promise and encouragement in the work: "Behold, I have set before thee an open door."

A VISIT TO JAPAN.

BY THE REV. A. B. HUTCHINSON, C.M.S. Missionary at Hong Kong.

IV.

Kioto and its Temples-Worshippers in Kiyomidzu-The Goddess of MercyA Buddhist Preacher-Daibutzu-The Shin or "Protestant" Buddhists. E cannot help feeling in Kioto, spite of all the natural beauty of its position, that we are in a city wholly given to idolatry. Amongst its half-million of people, many thousands are priests or nuns, and there is a temple for every hundred of its inhabitants. These temples vary very much in position; some are in the heart of the city, others on the hill-sides, occupying hundreds of acres within their sacred enclosures. We ascend the hill beyond our hotel by means of long flights of granite steps, to visit the Igashi O Tani, where we admire the magnificent carving of screens and gateway which conceal from profane eyes a sacred stone, said to have cried when the founder died. divided in Japan, we inquire to which it belongs, but only after Being curious about the many sects into which Buddhism is pressing the matter are we able to obtain the dubious information that this pertains to the Ikko-shiu, an offshoot of the greatest of the seven great Buddhistic sects. This familiarity of the native mind with the idea of variety in the form of Buddhism, prevents the fact of Christianity being presented under a variety of forms, acceptance. Episcopal, Presbyterian, or otherwise, proving a hindrance to its

We descend by a road which takes us through streets of shops, where the exquisite porcelain and enamel ware, for which Kioto is famous, are manufactured and displayed for sale. Whole families are at work deftly placing the numerous delicate gilt rings which outline the patterns upon pure white vases and tazzas, to be afterwards filled with various coloured enamels. Now we enter Kiyomidzu (pure water), one of the oldest and largest of the idolatrous establishments of Kioto. (See picture.) We pass under a lofty gateway and ascend a broad pathway, paved entirely with granite. On our right is a pagoda, bright with red paint and gilding. Long porticoes between the larger temples shelter us from the sun; under these, priests or attendants offer for sale plans, photographs, guide books, candles, and incense, or will change large for small coins for the convenience of worshippers. Here, under a canopy, is a curious image of Bendzaru, in red marble; the mystery of its beautiful polish and indistinct features is soon explained as a mother approaches, and rubbing her hand over the chest of the idol next rubs the chest of her child; another worshipper applies his hand vigorously alternately to his own and the idol's head, in the hope that his malady may thereby be relieved. Oh, to be able to make known to these poor victims of superstition Him who bare our sicknesses, from whom virtue goes forth for the healing of the nations, not only in body but in soul also! Crowds of worshippers are coming and going. Here, before one of the shrines, are some absorbed in earnest prayer. A young couple approach; the man seizes a rope which hangs from the roof and gives it a vigorous shake; it strikes a gong above us, summoning the deity to incline her ear and hearken; others clap their hands smartly and address themselves to prayer. Some turn to gaze upon us whilst fingering their rosaries, and others, who have come like excursionists to the Crystal Palace, evidently regard us as part of the sight they have come in from the country to We turn from a large court-yard to enter the most imposing of the buildings which surround it, and find a lofty hall whose roof is supported by massive wooden columns, and before whose

see.

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE KIYOMIDZU TEMPLE, KIOTO, JAPAN, WITH ITS GARDENS AND SHRINES.

(Reduced Fac-simile of a Japanese Picture purchased on the spot. They are sold as guides to worshippers. The small labels scattered over the picture, in Chinese characters, indicate the titles of the different buildings and gates.)

gorgeous altars there is ample room for worshippers by thousands. Very popular is the Goddess of Mercy, to whom Kiyomidzu is dedicated. In Japan, Kwanon; in China, Kwanyin (hearing sounds); in Sanscrit, Avalokitesvara (the sovereign who contemplates the world). She occupies a position in the hearts of her worshippers similar to that of the Virgin Mary in modern Romanism. The same pleasing fiction persuades them of her intense sympathy for human suffering as she hears the cries and groans of the universe. Round the interior of the temple are hung votive offerings, principally pictures, from those who believe that they have been heard and answered by this goddess. We step out on to a wide verandah which runs along the front of the temple, and from which we enjoy a beautiful view of the city beyond the lovely gardens at our feet. We seem to be suspended in mid-air above the treetops. As we descend the hillside by a magnificent flight of granite steps, we perceive that the greater part of the platform which we have just left is supported upon a curious framework of timbers, which rise from the valley beneath to the height of a hundred feet. At the foot of the hill we see three tiny streams of water falling from granite channels into a basin about twelve feet below. This is the cleansing water. One worshipper strips to his loin-cloth and stands beneath it, so as to let the water play over him; others come and wash their faces, and more or less of their bodies, in their sad ignorance of the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness-the precious blood which cleanseth from all sin.

Leaving this we pass through an old grave-yard crowded with upright monuments of granite, about a foot square and three to five feet high, overgrown here and there with lichen, which obscures the inscriptions. Turning from this we find ourselves in the enclosure of a new temple, the O Tani, and cannot but admire the solidity of the workmanship and general perfection of finish. Enormous must be the cost of such immense structures,

head and shoulders alone being visible. But what an aweinspiring form! What is visible is sixty-nine feet in height, and the entire body would be two hundred feet high. We walk round to the rear, and find the whole structure to be of wood, gilt, hollow, and with no back. It is very coarsely executed, and does not bear a second inspection. Outside stands a magnificent bronze bell, said to weigh sixty-five tons. It is fourteen feet high, nine feet in diameter, and nine inches thick. Would that the deep sonorous tones of such bells were heard summoning to Christian instead of heathen worship! The old man in charge of these premises showed us some sacred monkeys; they were very dirty; indeed, the whole of this temple's surroundings were more marked by neglect than any other place of the kind. Close by is a long building, said to contain 38,833 idols, and

whose every timber shows signs of careful carving, from whose roofs hang lanterns of vast size, with richly gilt, delicately chased metal frames, whilst bronze pipes carry the rain-water from the copper-covered roofs into large cisterns of bronze adorned with dragons and other designs in high relief. In one side-hall, opening from the extensive granite-paved court-yard of this temple, some hundred attentive listeners sat on the floor before a monk, who was energetically preaching. His manner betokened great earnestness, but his matter had in it certain humorous elements, judging from the laugh in which every now and then his audience indulged,

A few steps brought us to a dilapidated barn-like structure, which shelters Daibutzu (Great Buddha), one of the most extraordinary idols I have ever seen. The effect on entering was as if one of the giants of old were rising from the earth, his

called the San ju san gendo. The front of this temple, four hundred feet long, has several doors in it opening from a wooden platform outside on to a narrow gallery running alongside the whole length of the building. Behind a railing are the gilt idols in groups of figures of various sizes, rising tier above tier in long lines up to the ceiling. The effect is rather that of a great idol shop than of a host of deities. I learned afterwards that there are really only 12,000 figures, all of them representations of Kwanon. No worshippers were present here, but in the rear of the temple we came upon a merry group of soldiers in modern military dress (see picture), who were trying their skill in archery. Once these wiry bows were terrible instruments of warfare; now they are but the playthings of peace, breechloading rifles having quite supplanted them in New Japan.

If we were disposed to augur, from the decaying appearance of these last visited scenes, the approaching decay of idolatry in Japan, the next spot we visited disabused our minds of such ideas. For now we turned away from the picturesque hill-sides and plunged into the heart of the busy city. The lofty curved roofs of the Igashi (eastern) and Nishi (western) Honguanji aroused our curiosity and invited our approach. I can hardly convey by words the impression produced upon the mind by the vast size, the harmonious proportions, and exquisite adornments of these twin temples. Everything was sumptuous and good of its kind. The gilding and painting were rich and delicate. The altars were gems of art. The lanterns, of various forms, diamond, or oval, or hexagonal, were several feet in diameter, with heavily gilt frames and exquisite chasing. The priests, in rich silk attire, walked about with haughty bearing, as if conscious of their power. Worshippers were coming and going in some halls, listening to preaching in another, or joining in a third in a service carried on by several priests in splendid vestments before a shrine resplendent with gold, jewels, and lacquer. Quite a shower of small coins kept falling inside the sacred enclosure, or