Q. 2. The right answer, Tinnevelly, is given by twenty-eight candidates, with more or less further information. Four say Sierra Leone, where the Mission did not begin till 1816. One says Japan !-and another writes, “Telugu, in south of India, where they have held a Centenary. It was founded by Bishop Russell 100 years ago "!

Q. 3.-Thirty-eight candidates mention the visit of the Waganda chiefs to the Queen, and twenty-three rightly give as the other case that of Victoria Davies, Her Majesty's African god-daughter. One gives the visit of Iwakura, the Japanese Envoy, in 1872. This was not intended by the Question, but as the GLEANER of October did mention that visit, the answer is of course allowed. Others mention King George Pepple, the Sultan of Zanzibar, and the Chinese Ambassadors, none of whom certainly are mentioned in the GLEANER of 1880 as visiting the Queen.

Q. 4. This is the most important of all the Questions. The maps are many of them very fair indeed, and two or three obtain full marks. The rest of the Question is generally well answered, and even where the answers are meagre and incomplete, there are hardly any distinct errors. One candidate confounds Shintoism with the Shin sect of Buddhism; but it is really creditable that only one does so.

Q. 5. Of the five persons here proposed for biographical sketches, Bishop Gobat is selected by twenty-three candidates, Bishop Moule by twelve, Mr. Gordon by twenty-nine, Archdeacon Crowther by seven, and Sia Seu Ong by fifteen. Some of the sketches are really admirable. Odd mistakes occur in others: for instance, one paper says Mr. Gordon was a son of Colonel Gordon (though this is not surprising, for his father was a Captain Gordon), and another that Bishop Gobat was formerly in Mauritius. Hardly any one has confused Bishop Moule (George E. Moule) with his brother Arthur; but one who does so gives, as all she knows of the Bishop, the remarkable fact that he wrote most of the poetry in the GLEANER last year! We should have thought that not one of our readers could be ignorant who Archdeacon Crowther is; but one competitor thinks he is Bishop of Sierra Leone; another, that he was born in India, "but subsequently preferred Africa to labour on the Niger"; a third that he is "a great helper in the Krishna and Godavery Mission"; and a fourth that he was one day seized with cramp while bathing at Hudson's Bay, and was drowned at that place"! Q. 6. No reader of the GLEANER during 1880 ought to have had any difficulty with these simple geographical tests. Yet A-chia is said to be in Japan, in Palestine, in Asia Minor (was Achaia in our young friends' mind, or Antioch ?); Onitsha is placed in Japan, Uganda, and East Africa, and is described by one writer as the chief station in the Telugu Mission; Kioto is said in one paper to be "the sacred capital of the heathen idolaters in Southern India"; Masulipatam is put in Bengal, in Travancore, and on the western side of Africa; and Chintadrepettah in Ceylon, in China, and in Japan.

Q. 7.-The converts whose stories are sketched are:

The three young widows of Agarpara; the devil-priest of Ceylon; Sia Seu Ong; King Ockiya; the Bonny converts, Isaiah Bara and Jonathan Apiape; the woman who understood the freeness of the Gospel when told it was "God's backsheesh "; the Barber of Batala (by nineteen candidates); Yahiyah, the Christian convert from Cabul; the Japanese policeman; the man spoken of by Mr. Dowbiggin in "Nine Years After"; Sinhaley Appuhamy of Baddegama; a character in Mr. Sampson's "Talks"; Mr. Ensor's first convert, Titus of Nagasaki.

Q. 8.-The following instances from the GLEANER of the year are cited :

(1) Examples of collecting :-The "Birkin Feast"; the two cherry-trees for C.M.S.; a penny a week for a year; the lady's Penny Fund for Bishop Ridley's Steamer; the Tamil school children's collections for same; the missionary box labelled "Thanksgivings for safe travelling"; the grocer's shopman who demanded a penny for his box every time his steps were borrowed. (2) Examples of self-denial and cheerful giving :-The servant who, unable to attend the meeting, sent 10s.; the gift of 10,000 bricks from the two Bonny the church built at Raghapuram by a Native Christian at cost of £100; Mission school children selling part of their meals; Mr. Bickersteth's gift for the Bheel Mission; the £5 saved through giving up smoking; the tailor who gave up snuff; the unexpected payment of £3, made up to £5, and sent by a poor widow"; the contributions from missionaries in East Africa; the working men's boxes.

men

;

Q. 9. Fewer candidates (twenty) have answered this Question than any other, but some of the answers are very good. Two or three can only have been written by those who, anticipating such a question, learned one of the "lessons" in the GLEANER by heart and just wrote it down.

One competitor thinks the chief lesson from St. Peter's life is that "he first found his own brother Andrew."

Q. 10. We have been much encouraged by the answers to this Question. It, like Questions 1 and 8, was put on purpose to draw the minds of the candidates to the spiritual and practical aspects of the contents of the GLEANER. Some have answered only in a vague manner, expressing their thoughts about missionary prayer and thanksgiving nicely, but not mentioning definite topics. But a great many definite topics are suggested, among them the following:

(1) For Prayer:-That Mtesa may not believe the Jesuits; for the Bheel Mission; that Gbebe may not be closed again; for the devil-worshippers in Ceylon; that the Waganda chiefs may take back a good report; that Mr. Wigram may prove a worthy successor to Mr. Wright and Mr. Venn; for "plenty of money"; that the men waiting may go forth; that persecution in Great Valley may cease; "that this Examination may be the means of many of the competitors to see what a great work is carried on by the C.M.S., and do all they can to forward it." (2) For Thanksgiving:-That Dr. Koelle's translations have been returned and Ahmed Effendi spared; for the safe journey of Mr. Felkin and others up the Nile; for the £25,000; for the safe voyage of Bp. Crowther up the Niger; for the preservation of the missionaries in Uganda; for grace given to the late Revs. H. Wright, J. Welland, and G. M. Gordon; for Bp. Moule's past labours and recent consecration; for the appointment of the Rev. F. E. Wigram as Hon. Clerical Secretary of the C.M.S.; "for putting it into the hearts of the people to think of the poor missionaries, which were very likely starving."

In some cases, candidates have done more than they were asked to do. Thus, two of them answer Question 6 as though we had said, "State what you know of these places," instead of merely, "Where are they?" A few have answered more than four sections of Question 1, or more than two of Question 5. In justice to the rest, no additional marks have been awarded to these superfluous answers.

A CANDIDATE'S EXPERIENCES. DEAR MR. EDITOR,

I think you ought to be told what great pleasure your excellent plan of examining our knowledge of missionary information has caused in our neighbourhood. At first it seemed as if, in so small a place as this-for we are only a "country village in the Midlands "- -no centre was at all likely to be fixed within our reach. To our delight, however, we heard not long ago that an attempt was going to be made, and a "centre" was fixed. Forthwith our names were forwarded. Great was the excitement of preparation. Great the interest aroused in comparing notes as to the progress we had made. Then came visits to the privileged holder of the " new Atlas," to see the latest maps. "Do you think we shall be asked to draw a map of Japan?" "Whereabouts in Japan is Fusiyama ?" "How do you spell Jinrikisha'?" "What is the name of the capital of Uganda? Such questions as these we asked of one another whenever we met. At last the day came. And now what followed? Some of us had a long way to go; some had even to go the day before so as to be ready in time. Several of the party were quite strangers to each other, having never seen one another before. But all were alike in this, that they loved the Church Missionary Society with a true love, and wished, with all their hearts, to help it on, and loved nothing better than to read about it, as they had been doing busily of late, with what result was now to be seen. After our welcome from the "heads of the department," we all were set down to our places and our work. Pens and paper were produced. Hints were given us. "Let your answer be as short as you can make it, so that it be complete." "It is not a merit to say a great deal, but that everything you do say be to the point." "Think well over the question; be sure you fully understand it before you begin to write the answer." Such was the sort of advice we received; the questions were given out to us, and then we began. Alas! how soon we found how ignorant we were! As to this part of my description I had better be as brief as possible! However, we wrote, and wrote pretty well all the best part of the time. And then, how pleasant the conclusion was! How enjoyable it was as we talked over the answers we had given, and wondered whether the Examiners would be very severe on our mistakes! In one thing, whether we had answered more or fewer questions, we all agreed; and this was what great benefit we had gained from reading for the Examination. "I never knew half so much of 'foreign parts' before." 'My knowledge of geography has increased tenfold." "Ah! but what I think of most-my heart has grown ever so much larger this year." "What interesting people the Chinese must be!" "I have learned quite to love those Red Indians beyond the Rocky Mountains." These were the things that we said to one another as we sat round the fire when it was over. And in this too we all agreed, that we would read the GLEANER regularly, month by month, another year, so as to "do better next time." X Y. Z.

QUEEN VICTORIA'S AFRICAN PROTÉGÉE.

TO THE EDITOR.

EAR SIR,-Having read your account of the late Mrs. Davies in the December number of the GLEANER, and having had the pleasure of a very intimate personal knowledge of her in her younger days, I thought perhaps a few more particulars concerning her might be interesting to your readers.

Sarah Forbes Bonetta (Mrs. Davies) was brought to England by Captain Forbes about 1850, and subsequently sent out to Sierra Leone, and placed in the C.M.S. Female Institution there for three or four years. In 1855 she was brought to England again, at the direction of the Queen, and placed under the care of my parents, the Rev. J. F. and Mrs. Schön, at Chatham. It then became my privilege and pleasant duty to be her daily teacher in her English and French studies, while she learned German from my father. She was very bright and clever, fond of study, and had a great talent for music, and soon became as accomplished as any English girl of her age. Her disposition was extremely lively. On her first coming to us she was so full of fun and mischief that one was almost reminded of "Topsy," by which name, indeed, she sometimes called herself. She was very affectionate and warm-hearted, and seemed to quite feel herself to be one of our family, calling my parents "papa" and "mamma."

During the whole time that S. F. Bonetta resided with us the Queen gave constant proofs of her kindly interest in her. At the Midsummer and Christmas seasons she often went either to Windsor or Osborne to stay in the family of one of the officers of Her Majesty's Household, and was frequently sent for by the Queen to see her privately. She generally returuel to us with very pleasant remembrances of these visits, and nearly always with some handsome present from the Queen. On one occasion it was a beautiful gold watch, at another time a handsome turquoise ring. One beautiful gold bracelet she had was engraved with the words, "From Queen Victoria to Sarah Forbes Bonetta."

Besides these pleasant vacation visits, the Queen most kindly remembered

EPISCOPAL TRAVELLING IN ATHABASCA. OT having room this month to begin Bishop Horden's narrative of his journey across the moor from York to Churchill, we present instead a picture of another of our North-West America Bishops, Dr. Bompas of Athabasca, on another journey of another kind. It shows what summer travelling is in that "wild north land," and represents an actual journey taken in 1877 (some account of which appeared in the GLEANER of August, 1878), when Bishop Bompas travelled a thousand miles up one stream, the Peace River, to get to the Rocky Mountains, and occupied six weeks in accomplishing that distance. He tells us that to form an idea of what his episcopal life is, we must imagine frequent voyages similar to one from London to Constantinople in a canal barge.

Athabasca is a country of rivers and lakes. There is the great Mackenzie River, one of the largest and longest in the

her on one or two special occasions. When Her Majesty received the Guards on their public entry into London, when returning from the Crimea, she sent for her to be present. Again when H.R.H. the Princess Royal was married, tickets of admission to one of the Palace galleries were sent, and my mother was directed to take S. F. Bonetta up to London to see all the bridal processions. With her usual thoughtfulness the Queen sent her a handsome dress, mantle, and bonnet to wear on the occasion, and also gave her portraits of the royal bride and bridegroom. Mrs. Davies worked a pair of hand-screens for the Princess as a bridal present, which were graciously accepted, as were also at another time some slippers which she worked for the Queen and Prince Consort.

At my marriage, in 1858, she and another African girl were two of my bridesmaids, and as I left soon after with my husband for Ceylon, I did not see her again for ten years, when, on our visit to England in 1868, she was among the first to welcome us, being then herself also on a visit to England and staying with my parents. Soon after that she returned to Africa, and I never saw her again, but I look forward to the time when, amidst "the great multitude, whom no man can number, from all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues," I may meet her before the throne, and join with her in singing the everlasting song of praise unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 8, Alexandra Road, Bedford. ANNIE C. HIGGENS.

world, into which flow the Athabasca, Peace, Hay, Liards, River, which flows through Alaska to Behring's Straits, and its and Peel's Rivers; also the upper waters of the great Youcon affluent the Porcupine; also the Coppermine River, the Yellow Knife River, the Great Fish River. Then there are the three immense sheets of water (more often ice !), Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake, and Athabasca Lake.

In this vast territory the C.M.S. has five missionaries besides the Bishop, and six or seven schoolmasters and catechists born in the county. The Indians, of the various tribes, Beaver, Dog-rib, Slave, Tukudh, &c., 10,000 in number, now nearly all profess Christianity, the larger half being Roman Catholics and the rest connected with the C.M.S.

"GOD'S PORTION."-At Bonhugli, in Bengal, the Christian matrons, before they prepare each meal, cast one handful of rice into a kalshee. This is called God's portion, and every Sunday one or two of these kalshees are brought to church and placed before the communion table. The rice is afterwards sold, and the proceeds made over to the Church Fund.

GOSPEL TROPHIES. "Out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation."-Rev. v. 9. II.-Nunda Sirdar, the "Eliezer" of Umritsur.

BY MRS. ROBERT CLARK.

VERY one who for years past came to the Mission House at Umritsur knew Nunda Sirdar, the Rev. R. Clark's old and valued servant. His handsome face and noble bearing attracted notice, but still more his kindly, courteous, respectful manner, the ready welcome he ever gave to all who visited us, and, above all, his deep devotion to us personally, and to our children.

He was a native of Jeypore; he did not know his age, but used to say he was born the year of the taking of Bhurtpore; he was of the lower Zemindar caste, a Hindu, the second of three brothers, who still dwell on their own land in the neighbourhood of Jeypore. His elder brother, a very old man, in early days was a camp follower, and Nunda had with him gone through the first Afghan war. He had witnessed the disasters of the British army, and, as servant to Dr. Dempster, had learnt many useful rough-and-ready camp ways, cooking, tent-pitching, &c., and was admirable on a march, and most attentive in sickness or trouble of any kind.

He came to us at Peshawur in 1858, and died in our service in August, 1880. From the first he was a kind of Eliezer, a steward of the household, much trusted and faithful in the least; but the children were his special and favourite charge. He was most careful, not only that they took no harm in body, but that no evil should come nigh them through the conversation of other Native servants, and in this was a great help to the overworked and anxious mother, who felt that, though a heathen, "he eschewed lying, and no deceit was on his lips."

After all the babalog, "his children," went home to England, his affection for them never flagged; he was always sending them little presents, and talking of the time when they would come back; their letters and photos were his great treasures, and he was proud of showing the latter round the walls of his scrupulously clean little house. The children wrote to him, prayed for him, and never failed to tell him they hoped he would be a Christian soon. He had the great joy of welcoming back one of the boys he had nursed and loved so dearly, whose affection and teachings no doubt led him to the knowledge of the better things which accompany salvation.

After the death of his old wife he failed greatly, and had several attacks of the painful malady which ended his days. As head of the household he was always conscientiously present at the Bible instruction given daily after breakfast to the servants and their families, which, though not compulsory, was always well attended, and proved a means of blessing to many. was most friendly with all the Native Christians of the Mission, who had a great respect for him, and spared no trouble in recommending the Dispensary and Medical Mission to the atten

He

tion of the people in the city, and in distributing the "Sunday alms" after the preaching to the lame and halt and blind. Still, while his knowledge and understanding of the Word increased, his heart seemed untouched. When

pressed he would say, "Shall I be baptized to please the Mem-sahib [lady]? Am I not a Christian in everything now?"

But the day of grace for Nunda Sirdar was nigh at hand. After the departure of the "Chota Sahib [young master], who left to continue his medical studies in 1878, and whom he sadly said that he should never see again, he read his Bible oftener and went to church every Sunday. One morning, after hearing the exposition on Matthew xxi. 28 (about the rebellious son, who "afterwards repented and went "), he was greatly moved, and said to Mr. Clark, "I am that son. I said I would not be a Christian, but now I repent; I will be baptized." The old man was made willing in the day of God's power, and on Christmas Day, 1878, he was baptized in the Mission Church by Mr. Clark, firmly and gladly answering for himself the questions of the solemn service he had often witnessed before.

Nunda could read Hindi and write fairly. He often read aloud his own books to an admiring audience; but, though often spoken to and instructed in Christian truths, no impression seemed to be made on his heart. He argued that his own religion was best for him, that he was better, "cleaner," more faithful than many Native Christians, that Jesus Christ was no doubt a good "guru" (teacher), and so was Nanak (the Prophet of the Sikhs), but that Christians and Sikhs alike only did the things that pleased them, and that to change one's religion was unnecessary, and that those who came as inquirers had only interested motives, and took the missionaries in.

He performed his own puja (worship, devotions) strictly, and once, when two of our elder children recovered from smallpox without injury to their sight, he had made and presented to the temple two pair of gold eyes as a thank-offering according to Native custom. He accompanied Mr. Clark to England, and was most helpful and interested in all the sights and wonders of a voyage over the "kala pani" (black water, i.e., the ocean). From that time he so far gave up caste as to eat food with Christians, and relinquished the headship of his own class, who frequently even afterwards called him to preside at " punchayats" (native assemblies), and made him arbitrate in disputes, for by nature he was peaceable, and easy to be entreated.

And now he grew visibly in the knowledge and love of Christ his Saviour. One great trial was in store for him; his dear Mem-sahib was taken dangerously ill, and carried away from the City Mission House in April, 1879, on her way home. Seated on the doorstep, Nunda broke down utterly, and cried out, "Mem-sahib, my life for yours, if God will spare you." Was the offering of the faithful, loving heart accepted? I did recover, and Nunda was taken, full of years, and at peace with God and man. The immediate cause of his death was a fall he had during my illness in hastening to carry out some needed service. He never quite got over this, but it was a time of quiet ripening for the glory prepared for him. The Christians faithfully ministered to him, and mourned for him as a father in Israel, while to those he so diligently served and so truly loved his memory is blessed.

1 T Christ is all, and in all. Col. 3. 11.

A. E. M.

Last Qr... 21d. 7h. 39m. p.m. New Moon 28d. 11h. 32m. a.m.

[her heart. Lu. 2. 19. 2 W Purif. V. M. Mary kept all these things and pondered them in 3 T All the world guilty before God. Rom. 3. 19. 4F Go ye into all the world, and pr. the Gosp. to every cr. Mar. 16. 15. 5 S 1st bapt. Abeokuta, 1848. Received the word with all readiness [of mind. Ac. 17. 11. 6 S 5th aft. Epiph. All with one accord in one place. Ac. 2, 1. M. Prov. 1. Mat. 21. 1-23. E. Prov. 3 or 8. Ac. 21. 37. to 22. 23. 7 M 1st Telugu clergy ord., 1864. That with all boldness they may [speak Thy word. Ac. 4. 29. 8 T Great grace was upon them all. Ac. 4. 33. 9 W Bp. W. Williams d., 1878. All live unto Him. Lu. 20. 38. 10 T This Gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto [all nations. Matt. 24. 14. 11 F That repentance and remission of sins should be preached among [all nations. Lu 24. 47. 12 S Lo, a great multitude...of all nations...stood before the throne. [Rev. 7. 9. 13 S Septuagesima. Schwartz d., 1798. Thou hast made heaven...and (earth...the seas, and all that is therein. Neh. 9. 6.

M. Ge. 1 & 2 to v. 4. Rev. 21. 1-9. E. Ge. 2. 4. or Job 38. Rev. 21. 9 to 22. 6.

14 M Nile party reached Uganda, 1879. Thou preservest them all. 15 T In wisdom hast Thou made them all. Ps. 104. 24. [Neh. 9. 6. 16 W He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. Ac. 17. 25. 17 T The Lord is good to all. Ps. 145. 9.

18 F His tender mercies are over all His works. Ps. 145. 9. 19 S All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord. Ps. 145. 10. [sinned. Rom. 5. 12. 20 S Sexagesima. Death passed upon all men, for that all have

M. Ge. 3. Mat. 27. 27-57. E. Ge. 6 or 8. Ro. 4.

21 M 1st C.M.S. Miss. sailed for India, 1814. Go, speak, all the words 22 Saviour of all men. 1 Tim. 4. 10. [of this life. Ac. 5. 20. 23 W Jesuits in Uganda, 1879. Prove all things. 1 Th. 5. 21. 24 T St. Matthias. We are witnesses of all things which He did. 25 F They did all eat, and were filled. Matt. 14. 20. [Ac. 10. 39. 26 S There went virtue out of Him, and healed them all. Lu. 6. 19. [hopeth all things, endureth all things. 1 Co. 13. 7. 27 S Quinquagesima. Abp.'s advice on Ceylon question, 1880. Charity

M. Ge. 9. 1-20. Mk. 3. 13. E. Ge. 12 or 13. Ro. 9. 19.

28 M Though I have all faith, and have not charity, I am nothing. [1 Cor. 13. 2.

EPITOME OF MISSIONARY NEWS.

Within a few days of the proposed Memorial to Mr. Wright being announced, subscriptions were promised amounting to about £1,000, and many more are coming in as we go to press.

An account of the recent difficulties at Frere Town in connection with fugitive slaves is given on another page, in the "Occasional Talks." News is to hand from Uganda to July 3rd last. Mr. Pearson, who was still alone there, reports that Mtesa was in very bad health, and not friendly either with him or with the French priests, four of whom were in the country. In consequence of a dream Mtesa had had, he had proclaimed himself a Mohammedan again. Mr. Mackay was still at Kagei, whence his letters are dated September 27th. He was waiting for canoes to cross the Lake to Uganda. Mr. Litchfield, we are sorry to hear, had been very ill at Uyui, and some alarm was felt there on account of the reported expedition of the Sultan of Zanzibar against the chief Mirambo, which it was feared might lead to a desolating war. The C.M.S. and the London Missionary Society have presented a joint memorial to Lord Granville with a view to British influence being brought to preserve peace. There is no further news of the Waganda envoys, Mr. Stokes having taken them by a way lying apart from the usual trade routes.

On November 10th the Viceroy of India, the Marquis of Ripon, visited the C.M.S. Alexandra Christian Girls' School at Umritsur. An address was presented to him from the Native Christians of the Punjab, delegates from whom had assembled from all parts of the province. In his reply Lord Ripon said, amid loud applause, “I have always held and maintained at home and my views upon that subject have undergone no change, though I have come many miles across the sea-that no education can be complete and thorough if it does not combine religious and secular education. If it should please God to aid you in advancing the great work of education in India, you will by your efforts be doing a great service to the people of this country, and you will be carrying out an object which I know Her Majesty the Queen-Empress has closely at heart."

The Duke of Buckingham, late Governor of Madras, was in Tinnevelly in November last, and visited the C.M.S. Mission at Palamcotta. He inspected the church, the Boarding Schools, the Training Institution, and the Sarah Tucker Institution, expressing great pleasure at all he saw. Many of our friends will be glad to hear that the Rev. R. Clark safely arrived at Umritsur, and is in better health in India than he was in Europe.

In October last the Bishop of Colombo made a tour through the Baddegama district of Ceylon in company with the C.M.S. missionary in charge, the Rev. J. Allcock. They travelled 178 miles by boat or on foot, visiting twenty schools and delivering thirty Gospel addresses; and forty-eight converts were confirmed.

The Rev. Trevor Bomford, B.A., of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, who was accepted by the Society in 1875, but who was prevented from going out by the sudden failure of his health, has again offered himself, and has been sent to Multan.

ERRATUM.-By an unfortunate slip of the pen in our last Epitome

the C.M.S.

RECENT number of the St. James's (Bermondsey) Localised Edition of the GLEANER, thus refers to the missionary boxes at work in that parish:

"Over £60 of the year's receipts for the Church Missionary Society has been raised in collecting-boxes, and as almost the whole of that sum has consisted of pence, halfpence, and farthings, it is equivalent to 300 lbs. weight of copper, calculating three penny pieces to an ounce. Of the whole sum of £71, £48 58. 2d. has been given by the scholars in the Bible-classes and Sunday-schools, two classes alone having contributed £13 16s. 5d. Indeed these two classes have given so much trouble by their commendable liberality, that it has been necessary to apply to the Parent Society to construct special boxes for their use, inasmuch as, although opened every quarter, no existing boxes were capacious enough to answer the purpose. A dozen mammoth boxes were accordingly manufactured, specially to order, and any one in a similar embarrassment can now be readily accommodated."

This is a populous working-class parish. If every similar parish did likewise, what an income the Society would have! How many more missionaries could be sent forth!

Topics for Thanksgiving and Prayer. Thanksgiving for the good work accomplished by the Freed Slave Settlement at Frere Town. Prayer for its preservation and prosperity, and that slavery in East Africa may soon be abolished (see p. 14). Thanksgiving for the baptisms at Calcutta (p. 17).

Prayer for Bishop Moule and the Che-Kiang Mission (p. 18).

Prayer for the Japanese and Ainos of Yezo (p. 16).

Prayer that our "crowns" may not be "starless crowns" (p. 13).

sincerely hope that none of our readers in remote parts of the world will have been alarmed by this mistake. Mr. Barlow is in good health, and will, we trust, long be spared in his important work as Principal of the C.M. College.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

A YOUNG CARPENTER.-There is nothing to pay to enter the Church Missionary College; but candidates are only admitted after careful inquiry respecting their physical, intellectual, and spiritual qualifications. Write to the Rev. F. E. Wigram, Church Missionary House, Salisbury Square, London, E.C.

L. B.-We do not know any easily accessible books on Tinnevelly, except the Life of Ragland (Seeleys), which only refers to one section of the Mission, and Sowing and Reaping (Nisbet & Co.), which relates Mr. J. T. Tucker's labours. Pettitt's Tinnerelly Mission, Hough's Christianity in India, and Miss Tucker's South Indian Sketches, which give the early history, are in many clerical and parochial libraries, but we doubt if they can now be readily purchased. The most recent account is in the Report of the Bangalore Missionary Conference, copies of which can be ordered of John Snow & Co., Ivy Lane, E.C.

S.S. TEACHER. Copies of the Society's Hints on Juvenile and Sunday School Church Missionary Associations can be obtained gratis from the Church Missionary House.

INQUIRER. "Lake Victoria Nyanza" is wrong. You should write "Lake Victoria," or "the Victoria Nyanza," as Nyanza means lake.

A COUNTRY SCHOOLMASTER.-Thank-offering of five shillings gratefully acknowledged.

[** We shall be happy to answer other questions, month by month, as far as we are able; but if received after the 10th of the month, they cannot be answered in the next number.]

THINGS CONCERNING THE KINGDOM OF GOD."
BY THE REV. CANON RICHARDSON.

III. THE MISSIONARY SUBJECT. ISSIONARY work lies among very different peoples. Some are altogether savage, and others are almost civilised. Yet the great missionary subject must be the same in every case. The great purpose is, not to evolve something thought to be good in heathen religions, but to introduce the only thing which has any real saving power as revealed in the message which has come down from heaven. The Christian missionary represents and recommends Christ. He enters in the Lord's name with a direct and distinct message about salvation, needful, suitable, and sufficient for sinners of mankind in all ages and over all areas of their home and history. Among many accounts of the missionary subject, one may describe it here: "The love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Above all objects of worship, the Lord God Almighty is to be always and everywhere set forth. Against all notions about vengeance or delight in human suffering, the great fact is to be made known, that "God is love." We can never place this love too high, never set it forth too plainly. On the forefront of our mission it must be seen that we are the servants of a God of infinite compassion. "He said, I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory. And He said, I will make all My goodness pass before thee." Breathing love, telling about love, the missionary may look for a welcome where misery and hopelessness abide.

Yet it is not the love of God in the general, but that which is "in Christ Jesus our Lord," which the Gospel messenger proclaims. How God's love has provided for the sinner, to make him safe, and holy, and happy, is the story ever old and yet ever new. What the sinner deserved, and what the Lord Jesus endured for his sin, cannot be too strongly stated or too vividly pictured. And what the glorified Jesus is, and how He gives all that the soul needs, and how He sympathises in all that the human heart knows and feels, must be stated in every variety of expression to suit every grade and condition of man. The full Gospel of the grace of God, the whole work of the life and death and resurrection of the only begotten Son of God, are things which must be told with all truth to all people. The missionary who has winnowed out all the chaff, and has scattered the pure seed in faith and faithfulness, may turn to the Lord of the harvest, and wait for the sunshine and the shower. The Holy Ghost accompanies the Word. The power of Christ seconds the Christian's effort. The old promise is still preciously true about God's Word: "It shall not return unto Me void; but it shall accomplish that which I please, and prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." "We preach Christ." "We glory in the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ." The necessary subject must be, "THE LOVE OF GOD WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD."

JERSEY BREEZES.

No. I. Our Missionary Box.

THINK one of our fresh sea-breezes would feel very much at home if it might nestle among the leaves of the GLEANER, for we dearly love that welcome monthly messenger. And then gleaners and breezes have so much in common, both being suggestive of free gladsome nature at her busiest and best. At the close of the year it is pleasant to look back and count up the mercies,

for truly our cup runneth over with blessings in this pretty island-gem "set in the silver sea."

And now, as to our Church Missionary work. We "juveniles" have been an organised body about one year, and our hearts thrill with gratitude in thinking of what we have been enabled to do in this short time. Mr. West was the Deputation in 1879, and his persuasive words so impressed us, that we felt as if the Lord Himself were bidding us at once to enter, heart and soul, into this new field of effort. We scattered Boxes throughout town and country; pupils and friends rallied round, and the result is upwards of £75 gathered for the beloved Society. Our own Box stands on a small clock in the schoolroom, and above it we place the match-box, emblematic of the flying moments, and the call to shine brightly and act promptly. Every Thursday morning at Bible-class we speak of the great work, and try to extend our sympathies far and wide throughout the world, in which so few know the grand old Book which we love. On the first Thursday in each month we give in our pence. How heavy our Box grows then, and what a vigorous shake our little collector delights to give it! Of course we try to get all the help we can besides, by means of Collecting Cards, Annual Subscriptions of one shilling, and so on. Where there is a will there is always a way, and the Lord makes His workers ingenious. Six of our children have carried off Boxes for the holidays, and great will be the excitement to see who has been most successful when we meet again at the end of January.

It was said of Martin Luther, "There goes a man who can get from God whatever he wishes ;" and truly the wings of success are prayer and system. They must not be parted. Subscriptions must be regularly taken; Boxes regularly opened and neatly re-labelled every quarter; interesting facts collected and commented on; "Tokens" distributed. And there must be a strong, calm reliance on the omnipotence of God, and on the approving smile with which all true missionary work, at home or abroad, is regarded by Him.

Nothing calls for brighter faith than an empty Missionary Box; nothing calls for greater gratitude than a full one. He can gather the pence and the pounds from the ends of the earth, and make the zeal of a single "little one" as efficacious as that of "a thousand." And in all our labour for this dear cause, what is our sole aim? Is it not to send the Bible to those whose lives must be a dark desert without its heavenly light; to give peace and hope and submission for discord and despair and self-will? Who would not labour for this, and feel every hour spent in furthering such a glorious object a very Sabbath of the soul? The call to come up higher may very soon be addressed to us. Let us then work as if we could do all things, while praying as if we could do nothing; let us hold firmly together in our common interest, strengthening one another's faith, confirming one another's love. Dec., 1880. A. M. V.