day under our doctor's care freed him from pain and gave him the sleep of comfort. The first morning that he awoke in the hospital he fancied himself to be in Paradise. After some days his old father, hearing that the son was dead, came here to find the body and take it to his village home. He found, instead, a son recovered, well-clothed, and in comfort such as he had never known before. The two will make a glad journey home together. We believe that they will remember what the love of Christ did for them."

Marathi Mission.

THE SCHOOLS AT BOMBAY.

Mr. E. S. Hume writes under date of November 7:

"You will be interested to know that we have 156 girls at Bowker Hall, and 120 boys in the Boys' Boarding School. More than half of these have been gathered in from the famine districts. They were selected out of a large number and, almost without exception, are most promising children. All who have seen them have expressed surprise that we should have been able to gather together such a fine company of children. Their expenses have been met by funds received from the Christian Herald, the Home and Foreign Relief Commission, and other societies or individuals who have contributed for famine relief. We have assumed no small responsibility, but have reason to expect that this work for famine children will be provided for. Were the prospects for the generous support of all our other work for 1898 as bright, we should feel delighted."

He

at Au Iong Die, five men at Sang Tung Gio, and four women at Au Ciu. This makes a total of twenty. From the reports which I hear I should judge that the pastors and church members were very careful as to whom they admitted to membership. At Ha Puo I helped examine a man who sold flowers for a living. was not keeping the Sabbath and was not admitted. At the last communion he came again to be examined. He was trying to keep the Sabbath then, but when on Sunday morning he had a few flowers left over from Saturday's sales, he sold them instead of throwing them away. On this account the church refused to admit him. Another man at Au Iong Die seemed to be very earnest and to understand the gospel thoroughly. The pastor at Ha Puo, who was present at the examination, was surprised when the church members at Au Iong Die demurred about admitting him. The man is a scroll painter. About seventy per cent of his work is painting scrolls with the picture of Buddha on them. These scrolls are often sold where they form a part of idolatrous worship. On this account the man was asked to wait till he could arrange his business so as to accord with the principles of the gospel. I am pleased to hear these instances because I know that there have been times when there has not been the same care exercised in the selection of those who wished to enter the church. It is a grave offence for a Chinaman to tell another he is in the wrong. The Christians have found it very hard to be frank in this respect. But for a little over a year now I have noticed an increasing betterment in this respect.

"The triennial examinations for the second degree open to-day in the city of Foochow. About 10,000 first degree men are assembled to try for the second degree, which only 103 can receive, so 9,900 men will go home disappointed. I shall give away and sell about $125 worth of Christian books at this time to these literary men. Books on history and Western science never found such a ready sale, while books written from a Western stand

point on the correction of evils in China and on the betterment of China's industries are much sought after. This esteem in which Western learning is held is a straw which shows clearly which way the wind is blowing in China."

At a later date Mr. Hartwell writes from Foochow :

"The natives took the lead in opening a new preaching place outside the east gate of the city in the summer, and I expect it will be a permanent opening. This makes the sixth country preaching place for the city station, outside the city wall. I thus have that number of preaching places to visit on Sundays, at four of which I administer the communion, two places each month. At each of two of them I have received two men to the church, and at one other seven, since September 15. There are a few inquirers, or "learners," at every place. Miss Chittenden's day schools seem to be doing better work this year than last. There is a steady improvement."

HUNDREDS OF INQUIRERS.

Dr. Bliss, writing from Shao-wu, gives the following remarkable account of the development of work within their station field:

"During the summer three medical students have been under instruction, who, I hope, will some time exert a strong Christian influence while practising their profession. They come from three different portions of the field and represent three different dialects, though two of them speak the Shao-wu dialect, but with some brogue. This illustrates the difficulty of doing any kind of missionary work in this field, the dialects are so nu

merous.

"We have recently been saddened by the death from malarial fever of one of our most promising theological students. We know that God makes no mistakes, but this man's death seems strange to us, there is such a need of workers like him. He had nearly completed his three years' course, and would have been ready in a few months to take charge of an out

station. This event presses home upon

us the thought, the harvest truly is plenteous but the laborers are few,' and we indeed need to pray constantly that the Lord of the harvest will send forth both missionary and native laborers into his harvest.

"The number of adherents grows constantly through the influence of friends used, we trust, by the Holy Spirit. As perhaps Mr. Gardner has written you, interest has recently revived at Tsiongloh, where for many years everything has appeared dead. There are now a number of inquirers at that city. A short time ago a message came from Kong Chu, which is on the river about eight miles below Iang Ken, saying that the inquirers there wished to build a chapel. This was the first intimation that we had had that there was any interest in Christianity at that place. So far as I know, no missionary or regular native helper has preached there during the five years that I have been on the field. Perhaps the work extended up from Hia-lang, two miles below, where within the last few months we have learned that there is an interesting body of inquirers who have already stood the test of serious persecution for Christ's sake.

"In other places there are doubtless hundreds who consider themselves Christians, but of whose very existence we know nothing. Do you wonder that Mr. Gardner and I feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the work? One clerical missionary and one physician to care for a field 14,000 square miles in extent, and the one needing to give the best part of his time and strength to the instruction of theological students and the other busy with medical work! There is no ordained native pastor to assist the missionary, and all the time the work is growing so rapidly that we cannot keep ourselves informed about it, much less plan for it. It does seem as though there must be Christians at home who, if they could understand the great need, would find it in their power to supply the money necessary to send the needed reinforcement.

The remarkable eagerness of the people to listen to the gospel involves a weighty responsibility, for we do not know how soon interest may change to indifference or how many of these inquirers, left, as they have to be, without the teaching and care of missionary or native preacher, will become enlightened and consistent Christians."

South China Mission.

THE BLIND SEE.

DR. HAGER writes from Hong Kong:On a sunny afternoon in October I was asked by one of our helpers to go to his father's house for the purpose of baptizing his mother. I could not refuse his request, though the day had been an unusually busy one for a Sabbath. From our Cheung Sha Yong chapel we had only a short distance to go before we came to a large village, on the edge of which stood a small dilapidated house of one room, the home of the father and mother of our preacher, who, by the way, had been a cobbler all his life until the present year, when I asked him to engage in a new enterprise where we wanted very much to open a chapel. As I entered the house a crowd of children and women followed me, for they all have heard that the aged mother is to be baptized, and they wish to see the ceremony. But the husband of the woman, already a Christian, stands guard at the door, and, with his arms extended, kept the surging throng back. The small boy, and the small girl for that matter, are everywhere in China.

"On a low bed in one corner lies the mother, and at the call of her son she rises; and as she comes into the light I see a woman totally blind, with ghastly cancerous spots where the eyes once were. For a moment the sight is too painful to behold; but, as I am used to seeing all manner of suffering, I only secretly exclaim, Poor woman! God pity you! for no surgical skill can ever restore you your sight.'

"Telling me to be seated, she went back to her hard bed, not to rest on a mattress, but on the simple hard boards

which in China form the bed for the invalid as well as the robust coolie. On glancing around the room I see that it is cheerless and comfortless. No light can enter the room except by the door, while the patient woman lies in a corner where darkness conceals her disfigured face.

“Do you wish to believe in Jesus?' I asked, after the throng at the door had become quiet, and her daughter and daughter-in-law had entered the room. Yes,' she replied.

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"I am afraid I cannot baptize you,' I said, if you only want to become a Christian because you wish your eyesight restored.'

"But my husband, my children, and my grandchildren are already Christians, then why can I not join them in their faith?' Ah, why can she not, and why cannot she be a child of God, even if she does not answer all my questions in the regular way? Perhaps this woman may be received into the kingdom without being able to explain the whys and wherefores of her faith. These are some of the thoughts that came to me as I sat in silence, pondering whether I ought to receive her into the church. Poor soul! her life has been a sad one; and now, with mental faculties waning, she can only be taught as a child. And so, in that cheerless place, I teach her to say, 'My dear heavenly Father, have mercy upon me! Forgive my sins, protect me from all danger, and help me to hate the evil and love the good; and give me my daily food, drink, and clothing.' It is a short prayer, but she can comprehend each sentence. I then ask her whether she is willing to trust Jesus and to pray this prayer for help. To this she readily assents. can do no more, for she is standing on the verge of the grave; and so I baptize her into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and then commend her to the

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God of all mercies for his divine protection. Two women standing near say 'Yes' to my inquiry, whether they do not wish to become Christians. Remember that it is no easy matter for a Chinese woman to break with her heathen customs and confess Christ."

Shansi Mission.

A DAY OF PROMISE.

MR. THOMPSON, under date of October 28, writes from Jen Ts'un:

"I am glad and thankful to be able to report my safe arrival here last night. I made the sixteen days' journey from Tientsin to this place entirely alone, without even a servant, and I am happy to state that I not only had no trouble anywhere, but I experienced uniform kindness from boatmen, innkeepers, and muleteers alike.

"China is actually falling into line in the matter of railroad building. The Peking line is being extended to Paoting-fu. It is also said that a railroad is soon to be built to Tai yuen fu in this province. Post-offices are being established, too.

"The prospect for the progress of the kingdom is good. At Tientsin I heard Rev. C. A. Stanley give an inspiring account of a recent trip he had made to his country district. Others give similar testimony. The day for a large ingathering in our Shansi field cannot be far distant."

North China Mission.

WORK FOR WOMEN.

MISS PORTER writes of the hopeful opening of the autumn work at PangChuang, and of the summer school for women at that station:

The large airy buildings and roomy court belonging to the school, occupied for the first time this year, made it seem safe to invite a circle of women here during the summer months. As soon as the girls were dismissed, fifteen of our most advanced women, young and old, gathered for a two months' training class. The Bible-woman from Lin Ching joined us,

"I had various lessons, giving much time to the school, but still kept up village meetings three days in each week, so the women were thrown more than usual upon themselves. None were invited who had shown not alone a desire to learn, but also a real purpose to help others. So there were no discordant elements to give anxiety, and through the excessive heat all were kept in health, diligent and happy. One most attractive girl, the eldest daughter of one of our beloved new pastors, came from her distant home, and by her gentle, ladylike ways, keen grasp of mind, and intense desire to learn, was a real inspiration to those whose ideals were lower than hers.

"This class left September 1. Since then, in two brief tours, I have made the round of the out-stations which cannot be reached by a day's trip; so that I have seen nearly all of the women of our parish and noted something of their condition and progress. These semiannual visits are our only direct way of keeping in touch with many of our people, and enable us to decide intelligently whom to invite to classes and to whom to send any of the native sisters who can go out for work."

A MERCENARY INQUIRER. Mr. Chapin, of Lin Ching, reports some recent tours, particularly one to Tung Chang-fu, a city thirty-five miles southeast of Lin Ching, where helper Chi has been doing a good work, amid much opposition. Mr. Chapin speaks of a recent illustration they have had of the wily and mercenary character of some who had first appeared to be inquirers, and against whom they have to be on their guard constantly: