Yamen and see the Mandarin, and there promise to pay 5 dollars each for the bodies. Two or three boats then put off to search for the bodies, and in less than an hour they found them not far from each other, but some distance from the place where the boat upset. It was touching to see the real grief of the remaining coolies, as the dripping and helpless bodies of their three drowned comrades, a brief time before as full of life as themselves, were dragged to shore. They tore off and threw away all buttons and metallic substances which they could find on their clothes, and then reverently covered their faces with paper, that the rude eyes of strangers might not gaze upon the face of the dead. They were burned in the evening on the hillside above the village. This accident of course upset our plans. I had spent all my money in finding the bodies and burying them, and as the coolies did not wish to go on I returned to Foo-Chow, arriving there the same evening, much to the surprise of the people at home. A Fire in China. a fire anywhere, they look upon it as perfectly allowable to go and scramble for anything they can get, and thus it comes to pass that the unlucky people who have their house burnt, or have to escape for fear it should be burnt, have to endure the additional trial of being robbed of all their possessions, furniture, clothes, &c. I believe Chinese law recognises the right of any one to keep possession of whatever they may have rescued from burning. Consequently neighbours are not very kind to each other at such times, but think more of what advantage they can reap, than of helping the unfortunate. The Chinese also have a superstition that it is through some combination of evil influence that a house takes fire, and that if they admit those in whose house a fire began to take refuge in theirs, they will bring down ill-luck on themselves, consequently the poor sufferers from a fire are often obliged to camp out somewhere in the open air, no one being willing to run the risk of bringing down ill-luck on their own heads. There are many fire-brigades here in Hang-Chow. When a fire breaks out anywhere, the brigades hurry to the scene of action with the fire is over, they blow a discordant blast on a cornet as a sign of victory! Not an hour ago, my Bible-woman came to tell me that the poor Christian woman whom I mentioned above, together with her grandson, are in great distress, as most of their few possessions, which they had to leave in the room while they escaped, have been stolen. This confirms and illustrates what I said about the Chinese being on the watch to rob at such times. The following account of a fire at Hang-Chow is from Mrs. Elwin, wife lanterns, engines, &c., and banging gongs in a peculiar manner. When of the Rev. A. Elwin, missionary at that place: We were aroused last night by some knocking at our bedroom door, which turned out to be caused by one of our Chinese nurses, who called out to us in great alarm about fire. My husband jumped up, and looking out of the dressing-room window, he saw a great mass of flame and smoke rising up high into the sky. Most of our household were soon stirring and watching the progress of the fire. It looked much nearer than it really was, and the flames kept sending out large bright sparks which showered down on to our cowhouse and into our garden, as well as on to the roof of our house with alarming rapidity. My husband set our menservants to remove the straw to a place of safety, and to watch and stamp out the fiery sparks which were falling about the cow-yard. We learned eventually that the fire had originated in the back premises of a game-seller; this man used to keep a large store of fireworks and crackers, which he Our two pictures on this and the preceding page are common scenes in the streets of China. All kinds of trades are carried on in the open air, the various professors carrying their shops under their arms from village to village. Here you may see standing almost side by side hatters, umbrella makers and menders, doctors, dentists, cooks, barbers, and confectioners. So that a man may satisfy his hunger, be shaved, have his tooth extracted, and his boots repaired without walking more than a dozen yards. The picture on this page shows us a Chinese cobbler at his work. That on the preceding page shows us a street fortune-teller. These men are very numerous, and are constantly consulted as to future events. No business of any kind is entered upon without first consulting them, not a house built or a grave dug without their help, and this that "good luck may dwell in the habitations of the living, and in the graves of the dead." SKETCHES IN CHINA: A STREET COBBLER. gave to those who brought him game instead of paying them in money, and it was these which, catching fire, sent out such large and far-reaching fiery sparks, which made us so nervous. This poor man, alas! with his wife and child were burnt to death. Next door to that house lives a poor old Christian woman, deaf and infirm, belonging to our church; she rents one poor little room in the back premises of a large silk-weaving establishment, and must have been burnt to death had those premises caught fire, but our merciful God protected her, and the fire took the opposite course. Her grandson then came, found her unhurt, and carried her on his back to a place of safety. When Mr. Elwin went out he was astonished to see the order that prevailed; as is usual at such times, all the chief mandarins, the head of the province, the district and city magistrates, &c., had all collected, a band of militia lined the street on each side, every man of them bearing a sort of lance and a lantern, and keeping the way open for the fire-engine men to pursue their avocation unhindered. The firemen rushed up and down the street with buckets, filling them from wells, or the canal not far off, and emptying them into a large tub placed ready for the purpose. The Chinese engines are not furnished with long pieces of piping as ours are, and therefore cannot throw far, but they work pretty well, and at the end of an hour and a half we were gratified to see the flames and smoke subsiding. An unfortunate practice of the Chinese is that when there is THE Freewill Offerings in Ceylon. HE Rev. J. Allcock thus writes of the offerings made to the service of God by the C.M.S. Singhalese Christians of the Baddegama district :They have subscribed Rs. 1,349 for religious purposes. That makes nearly 8s. for each adult in one year. By this they show that they love and value the Gospel. Each congregation sets apart one day in the year, and calls it the "Freewill Offering Day." I am afraid that some of the Pharisees would have their sensibilities shocked if they beheld our offerings. They included a fine bull, a young heifer, over fifty bushels of corn, sugar, treacle, cucumbers, melons, wambotu, plantains, cocoa-nuts, oranges, limes, eggs, fowls, cigars, tobacco, rice, woollen fancy articles, oil, sugar-canes, soap, beans, and other things too numerous to be remembered. One day's freewill offering realised more than 100 rupees. 2 T 3 F 4 S Movember. CONFLICT AND VICTORY. F. Qr. 18th.... 8.42 a.m. F. M. 25th.... 2.3 a.m. 1 W All Saints. C.M.S. Jubilee, 1848. With one mind striving [together for the faith of the Gospel, Phil. 1. 27. 1,140 worshippers at Brass, 1878. Go forward, Ex. 14. 15. The Lord, He it is that doth go before thee, Deut. 31. 8. Usborne Memorial Sch. op., 1878. Wilt not Thou, O God, go [forth with our hosts, Ps. 108. 11. 5 S 22nd aft. Trin. Go in this thy might, Ju. 6. 14. M. Dan. 6. Tit. 2. E. Dan. 7 9, or 12. Lu. 23. 1-26. 6 M J. Hart mart. at Bonny, 1875. Called, and chosen, and faithful, Rev. 7 T 1st Tamil ord., 1830. Fight the Lord's battles, 1 Sa. 18.17. [17.14. 8 W T. Sandys d., 1871. God is the strength of my heart, Ps. 73. 26. 9TH. Carre Tucker d., 1875. Fought a good fight, 2 Ti. 4. 7. 10 F Hang-Chow occ., 1865. The battle is not yours, but God's, 2 Chr. 11 S The Lamb shall overcome, Rev. 17. 14. [20. 15. [his sword girded by his side, and so builded, Neh. 4. 18. 12 S 23rd aft. Trin. Trinity Ch., Calcutta, op., 1826. Every one had 17 F 18 S M. Hos. 14. Heb. 6. E. Joel 2. 21, or 3. 9. Jo. 3. 1-22. 13 M. H. Baker d., 1878. A good soldier of Jesus Christ, 2 Ti. 2. 3. 14 T Price landed at Mombasa, 1874. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 2 Co. 10. 4.] [2 Co. 10. 4. 15 W But mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, 16 T Looking unto Jesus, Heb. 12. 2. [faith, 1 Ti. 6. 12. Cowley began Miss. at Fairford, 1812. Fight the good fight of Elmslie d., 1872. More than conquerors, thro' Him that loved us, Ro. 8. 37.] [here? Nu. 32. 6. 19 S 24th aft. Trin. Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit M. Amos. 3. Heb. 11. 17. E. Amos 5 or 9. Jo. 6. 22-41. 20 M Mrs. Last arr. Mamboia, 1880. Bear ye one another's burdens, Gal. 21 T Lahore Coll. op., Put on the whole armour of God, Eph. 6.11. [6.2. 22 W There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed, Josh. 13. 1. 23 T Nyanza Miss. resolved on, 1875. Let us go up and possess it, Nu. 24 F Through God we shall do valiantly, Ps. 108. 13. [13. 30. 25 S 1st C.M.S. Miss. landed in China, 1844. Art thou not it which [hath wounded the dragon? Is. 51. 9. 26 S 25th aft. Trin. His right hand and His holy arm hath gotten Him [the victory, Ps. 98. 1. M. Ec. 11. & 12. Ja. 5. E. Hag. 2. 1-10, or Mal. 3. & 4. Jo. 9. 39 to 10. 22. 27 M The Lord hath done great things for us, Ps. 126. 3. 28 T S. Gobat sailed for Abyssinia, 1825. Valiant for the truth, Jer. 9.3. 29 W Gaza Miss. beg, '78. When I am weak, then am I strong, 2Co.12.10. 30 T St. Andrew. King Ockiya bapt., 1879. Be thou faithful unto [death, and I will give thee a crown of life, Rev. 2. 10. CHURCH MISSIONARY GLEANER COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION, 1882. HE Missionary Competitive Examination for the year 1882 will be held on Tuesday, January 9th, 1883. The subject of the Examination will be the Twelve Numbers of the GLEANER for 1882. The Examination will be conducted at as many local centres as the Society's friends may be able to arrange. Candidates must be not less than fourteen years of age. There will be two Standards. A and B. Candidates may enter for either. There will be one Question Paper; but certain questions will be marked as more difficult. All candidates who attempt any of these will be counted in Standard A; and those who confine themselves to the easier questions, in Standard B. In each Standard successful candidates will be placed in two classes. Class 1 will include all who obtain two-thirds marks, and Class 2 all others who obtain half marks. Candidates in either class and in either Standard will receive Certificates of Merit. There will be about ten prizes of books in each Standard, or more if the number of candidates is very large. The value of prizes in Standard A will range from 58. to a guinea, and in Standard B from 4s. to 8s. Winners of prizes in previous years are eligible only for prizes of higher value. Any candidate gaining marks that would entitle him to a prize if he had not gained the same prize in a previous year, will have the fact mentioned on his certificate. Every candidate must pay an entrance fee of one shilling. Intending competitors must apply, not to the Parent Society, but to the local clergy or secretaries of Associations; and to them the entrance fee must be paid. Clergymen and other friends of the Society desirous of arranging for the Examination to be held in their districts are requested to communicate with the Editorial Secretary, Church Missionary House, Salisbury Square, E.C. Their duties will be (1) To invite competitors in their town or district; (2) To provide a room for them to be examined in on the afternoon or evening of January 9th, 1883, and also pens, ink, paper, &c.; (3) To remit the amount of entrance fees to the Parent Society, receive the Question Papers, and send up the Answers; (4) To make proper arrangements for the due observance of the conditions of the Examination. Detailed instructions will be sent in good time to those applying for them. SPECIAL FUND FOR EGYPT.-See page 127. EPITOME OF MISSIONARY NEWS. Five more of the Society's oldest friends have been removed by death: the Rev. Canon Reeve, formerly Minister of Portman Chapel; the Rev. R. M. Chatfield, Rector of Woodford, Wilts; R. Trotter, Esq., for many years a member of Committee; T. W. Crofts, Esq., of Coventry; and Dr. Shann, of York. Canon Keeve preached the Anniversary Sermon at St. Bride's in 1874. Dr. Shann's son is a C.M.S. missionary at Ningpo, where he is associated with his wife's brother, the Rev. J. C. Hoare, in the important work of training Native agents. Canon Reeve and Dr. Shann were Hon. Governors for Life. Mr. Arthur J. Shields, B.A., of Jesus College, Cambridge, and Mr. Bernhard Maimon, of St. John's Divinity Hall, Highbury, who were accepted for missionary service by the C.M.S. a few months ago, were admitted to deacon's orders on September 24th, by the Bishop of Dover, acting for the Archbishop of Canterbury. Mr. Shields is appointed to the Santal Mission; Mr. Maimon to Bagdad. Mr. John H. Pigott, of St. John's Divinity College, Highbury, who is about to be ordained to the Curacy of St. Jude's, Mildmay Park, has offered himself to the C.M.S. for missionary service, and has been accepted by the Committee. We regret to say that the Rev. C. H. V. Gollmer, of Lagos, and the Rev. F. Gmelin, of Krishnagar, have come home unexpectedly, invalided; also Dr. B. Van Someren Taylor, medical missionary at Fuh-chow, on account of his wife's health. The Rev. G. Shirt, of the Sindh Mission, and the Rev. J. Hines, of the Saskatchewan Mission, have also arrived in England. Another able African missionary has been called away, Dr. Southon, of the London Missionary Society, who was stationed at Urambo, the capital of the great chief Mirambo. His arm being shattered by a gun accident, he sent for Mr. Copplestone, the C.M.S. missionary at Uyui, and begged him to amputate the arm, giving him instructions how to do it. Mr. Copplestone, not a surgeon, but a plain artizan, performed the operation under chloroform on June 23rd; but the arm was not taken off high enough, and on July 9th Dr. Southon was still suffering severely, and said it must be done again. No letters of later date have yet coine; but the London Missionary Society have received by telegraph the mournful news of Dr. Southon's death. In the first week of July news reached Mr. Copplestone, while he was at Urambo, from Ugande, dated February 19th, when Mr. O'Flaherty and Mr. Mackay were well. This is nearly two months later than our previous dates; but no letters have reached the Society. The new Nyanza party, consisting of the Revs. J. Hannington, R. P. Ashe, E. C. Gordon, W. J. Edmonds, and J. Blackburn, and Mr. C. Wise, with Mr. Stokes, have had, by God's mercy, a very happy and prosperous journey so far, that is up to one stage beyond Mpwapwa, which they reached on August 1st. They had stayed four days at Mamboia with Mr. and Mrs. Last, of whose work they speak very warmly; and two days at Mpwapwa, with Dr. Baxter and the Rev. J. C. Price, and at Kisoko, six miles off, where Mr. and Mrs. Cole are settled. The new Mission at Bagdad, on the Tigris, the famous city of the Saracen Caliphs, is to be begun by the Rev. T. R. Hodgson, late of Jubbulpore, and the Rev. Bernhard Maimon, a Christian Jew, lately accepted by the Society. In July the Bishop of Calcutta visited the C.M.S. station at Gorakhpur, North India, where the Rev. H. Stern has been labouring for thirty years, and confirmed 100 Native Christians. The Bishop writes, "I received a most favourable impression from all I saw, and altogether I consider that there is no more successful Mission anywhere.' He especially notices the new agricultural Christian village (Sternpur) now being established. (See GLEANER of November, 1879.) In June last the Bishop of Saskatchewan visited the C.M.S. Station at Stanley, on the English River, formerly the scene of the venerable Rev. R. Hunt's labours. The Rev. John Sinclair, a Cree Indian, is now the pastor. The Bishop confirmed ninety-four Christian Indians there and at Pelican Narrows. The Rev. Koshi Koshi, of Cottayam, Travancore, is translating Part II. of Butler's Analogy into the Malayalam language. Part I. was translated some years ago by another Native clergyman, the late Rev. G. Matthan. The Rev. James Stone continues his untiring labours at Raghavapuram in the heart of the Telugu country. There had been very decided progress during the year. Thirteen new villages had been taken up in the district, making 62 in all. There are now 753 baptized Christians, and 462 catechumens, together 1,215, against 800 in the preceding year, an increase of 50 per cent. But Mr. Stone urges that the work still needs developing. The district extends from Raghavapuram, forty miles westward and fifty or sixty miles northward. But it is not half occupied; and beyond is "a vast field untouched" by any missionary effort at all. A year and a half ago Mr. Stone received an urgent letter from a village ninety miles off, in the Nizam's territory, begging for a teacher. A catechist was sent to visit the place. "He found all the Malas ready to receive us, and four could repeat the Lord's Prayer. Still I could not take up their village. I have not the strength." Of the nearer villages, eight or ten are pressing for resident teachers; "but we have neither the men nor the money.' In the GLEANER of March, Miss Tristram noticed the C.M.S. Printing Press at Jerusalem. Among the works lately issued by it are :-Sermons on the Lord's Prayer, by the Rev. Michael Kawar; Sermons on Charity, by the Rev. Chalil Jamal; A Translation of Baxter's Saints' Rest, by the Rev. Seraphim Boutaji; A Translation of the late Rev. H. Wright's Tract on Secret Prayer, by Abdallah; A Translation of the Sunday School Institute's Lessons on the Sunday Gospels, by Elias Dogan; and other Tracts, &c.—all in Arabic. THE CHURCH MISSIONARY GLEANER. DECEMBER, 1882. THE WORKING TOGETHER OF GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH IN THE EXTENSION OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM. BY THE REV. J. B. WHITING, M.A., Vicar of St. Luke's, Ramsgate. IX. HE glory of the Holy Spirit shines out in the Acts of the Apostles. Wisdom, power, activity are seen in His blessed work of grace. Events are made to work together for the salvation of single souls and of whole communities. How wide is the embrace of His love! A thousand miles are as nothing when an African eunuch is to be taught by Philip. A woman of Asia seeks wealth by selling purple on the coast of Europe, and finds the riches of heaven. A poor female slave is set free for eternity. A Roman centurion stationed at Cæsarea, and a jailor at Philippi, are instances which draw aside the veil; and behold! God the Holy Ghost is no silent spectator of the glorious plan of salvation! How worthy of His dignity and His power! The Holy Spirit loves the world. His delight is among the children of men. He is everywhere present to seek and to save that which is lost. He takes "Jesus Christ and Him crucified," and "shows" this gospel to heal the bigotry of Jerusalem, the superstition of Ephesus, the busy worldliness of Antioch, the licentiousness of Corinth, the false philosophy of Athens, and the pride of Rome. "The gospel of Christ is the power of the Holy Ghost to every one that believeth, both Jew and Greek." But as we read in the Acts the method of His working, we are filled with renewed admiration of His love. It is the glory of the Holy Ghost to work by means. Nations are not to be converted by a miracle, but by the use of means entrusted to Christians; the written Word, the living voice, the influence of rank and position, the gold and the silver which send and sustain the missionary, labour of love, energy of faith, patience of hope which expects results. How kind, how useful to believers is this life of service! And how pleasing is the picture of the planting of Christianity. Life, energy, self-sacrifice shine out in the early Churches and first converts. It never entered their minds that Christianity could propagate itself as a weed does. They went everywhere telling of Christ. They did not fear to "turn the world upside down." The salvation of man was an object of unutterable importance. The Fatherhood of God, trust in God's care, the throne of grace, brotherly kindness, forgiveness of injuries, holiness of heart, and every other revelation of Jesus Christ, were necessary to a world lying in sorrow, darkness, and sin. Those Christians in the Acts loved the world as the Spirit loved the world. They recognised the Spirit's loving desire for the salvation of the world; and depending upon the power of the Holy Ghost they went forth, not counting their lives dear unto them. They looked for the fulfilment of the promise of success involved in the last command of the Ascending Saviour. Those early Churches had the same mind as the Holy Ghost, and they "travailed in birth for souls until Christ was formed in them." It caused "great joy" in their missionary meetings when they heard of what God had done by the hands of their missionaries. Thus were the Churches multiplied and the number of them that believed grew exceedingly. Let Sion awake. Let her arise and shine. Her instrumentality is necessary. Her strength is "the power of the Holy Ghost." "When Sion travailed she brought forth." Work, for the Saviour cometh, 庭 NEWS FROM UGANDA. T is a long time since we gave any account in the GLEANER of the Victoria Nyanza Mission. If our readers will look at the April and November num bers last year, they will find a summary of the history of the Mission from the beginning, and interesting extracts from the journals down to the end of 1880. Since March, 1881, the only missionaries in Uganda have been the Rev. P. O'Flaherty and Mr. Mackay, and we have news of them down to May 9th, 1882. That period of nearly fourteen months was, on the whole, one of prosperity and progress, and when we remember the trials which Mr. Pearson and Mr. Mackay had had to undergo, this is a cause for deep thankfulness to God.. Of course King Mtesa was capricious; of course the Arab traders were bitterly hostile; and more than once the lives of our brethren were threatened. Nevertheless, the king has generally been their friend, and their work has gone on without hindrance. That work has been both secular and spiritual. They have had to be builders, carpenters, smiths, wheelwrights, sanitary engineers, farmers, gardeners, graziers, physicians, and surgeons! Mr. Mackay's summary of work, which is printed in the Intelligencer of this month, is indeed astonishing. We must look upon all this as real missionary work. It helps to support the Mission, and so saves the Society's money; and it is sure to have much effect in winning the confidence of the people and making them more ready to receive the Gospel message. But we naturally want to know what has been the effect of the Christian teaching which has been given from time to time to so many of the people, and we rejoice to say that there are already results for which we should unfeignedly thank God. On March 18th of this present year the first five converts were baptized. Mr. O'Flaherty writes : "On March 18th, the anniversary of my arrival here, I baptized five young men. Their new names are Henry Wright, Edward Hutchinson, Philip, Mackay, and Jacob. Others actually wept when they were not admitted." And Mr. Mackay writes of them, and of other inquirers : "About fifty young men, average age 20 years, have been taught to fully instructed in the way of salvation, and not a few of them show signs read (and some to write) within the year. Many of these have been careof having received the truth into their hearts. "On the 18th inst., after careful preparation, Mr. O'Flaherty baptized five young men, who, so far as we could judge by their answers, diligence, and behaviour, have resolutely made up their minds to become disciples of Jesus Christ, and face every risk which their confession may involve them in. "A considerable number more are anxious for baptism, and we hope that in a short time, after fuller instruction and when we know them sufficiently, we may be able to welcome them too into the fold of the Church below. "One class of pupils has gone through the whole of the Gospel of St. Matthew and the Acts of the Apostles; another class has studied St. Mark; another has read chiefly lessons in Old Testament History; while some have read two or three of the Epistles. These have all been read in Kisuaheli, and rendered sentence by sentence into their own language, either by the pupils themselves or by us. All of them, and many more, printed in their own language containing the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, have first read and become perfectly familiar with a pamphlet which we the Ten Commandments, and a series of Scripture Texts. "The work of translation has been continued. A large part of the Old Testament lessons, the service for Morning Prayer, and the Baptismal Service for adults, have been translated. Former translations have been revised; while we have added very largely to, and corrected our previous vocabularies and grammar." Will the readers remember these five young men by name before the throne of grace? The spiritual future of the Mission may to a large extent depend upon the character of these first representatives of Uganda Christianity. THE PROCESSION OF THE HOLY CARPET AT CAIRO. UCH offence has been caused to the Christian people of England by the presence of the British troops, headed by Sir Garnet Wolseley and the Duke of Connaught, at a ceremony in Cairo believed to be one of great importance in the eyes of Mohammedans. At the time we are writing it seems to be still uncertain exactly what the troops did and did not do, and we earnestly hope it may prove that they were not really taking part in a superstitious ceremonial. Meanwhile we may remind our own readers that a very remarkable picture of this annual procession appeared in the GLEANER of September, 1879. That picture was engraved from an instantaneous photograph, which was given to us by the Rev. T. P. Hughes, of Peshawar, and it was accompanied by an interesting account of the ceremony, written by Mr. Hughes, who was himself present on the occasion seven years ago. We will not repeat his description now, but we give another picture of the scene, a German one, though it is not so good as our own. We hope our friends will take down their GLEANER volume for 1879 (of course they have it on their shelves!), and look at pages 102, 103. But does not this whole matter remind us of the urgent need there is to give Egypt the Gospel? Miss Whately is at the post she has so long and so faithfully occupied, and the Society is sending out Mr. Klein, formerly of Jerusalem, and a great Arabic scholar, to join her. What more can be done will depend upon the Special Fund for which an Appeal is now being widely circulated over the country. Will our readers do their best for it? Of course it must not interfere with the General Fund. Every penny of that is pledged, and we want "Half as much again." But let extra thank-offerings for our recent national mercies be asked for. The door into Egypt is open now; let us enter in while we may. And may He who " openeth and no man shutteth" open to us also the hearts of the Egyptians! CHINESE BIBLE-WOMEN AT FUH-CHOW. FUH-CHOW, July 4th, 1882. EAR MR. EDITOR,-The accompanying photo will interest the readers of The Story of the Fuh-Kien Mission. You mention in that book the Biblewoman's class, and Chitnio, the widow of the Rev. Ling Sieng-Sing. The middle figure with the little boy is Chitnio, and next to her on the right hand side of the picture is the wife of that good man Ting-Ing-Soi, who died from the effects of the ill-treatment he received in Hok-Chiang, and whose story I see is also told in your book. Three of these women have been studying here at Fuh-Chow for about a year and a-half, and are now going out as Bible-women; the fourth (the last on the left hand side) has been a Bible-woman for some time, and has only come back for a little more teaching and opportunity to study the Bible for herself, which it is hard for them to do at their stations. Perhaps the readers of the GLEANER would like to hear a little about our class here. Our object is, as I think you know, not merely to train Bible-women, but also to teach the wives of the catechists, and indeed any earnest Christian woman who is willing for a time to leave her home for the sake of learning the Doctrine." Many of these we cannot make Bible-women, for the Native clergy and others very strongly insist that young women must not be used in this work; it is so contrary to Chinese custom that they think it might do harm. However, we teach all who are willing and able to learn, and those who are young, or who have children depending on them, return to their own homes and try to do all they can to spread the truth without any pay; indeed they are much like female "exhorters," and we hope much good may be done in this way, for the heathen know well they gain no worldly advantage. There is one woman now at Ch'iah-Sioh who left us more than a year ago, and we hear very good accounts of her work; her mother, uncle, and brother, and several others have joined the |
