State line, to El Reparo, to which place we flee from the heat for a time in summer. The crests there are some 5,000 feet in height. Most interesting acquaintances we are gaining with those mountain people. But we return to spend Thursday in St. Sayaro with a lame shoemaker, where men congregate, often to gamble, but also to listen and frankly admit: dice bien!'-'he tells the truth! And so Friday in Tetarroba, where one of the most devout Romanists is an old forty-niner' of California; and though I can't get him out to the service, and though I know that he would consider loss of the priest's favor as little less than eternal death, yet I am sure his prejudices have yielded somewhat, and he gives me a cordial in

"A similar week's work lies eastnortheast, to Agua Caliente el Grande; another south, to Ocorroni; and the better part of two weeks down river, nearly to the mouth.

"The services are held nearly always in the private house of mine host; sometimes, though rarely, in the same places where the priest also is entertained and 'says mass.' The priest's opposition in my district is not very much heeded. note no particular change in this opposition. Great as is the lack of desired results, I believe we are being accorded a sure place in the confidence of multitudes."

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THE EFFECT OF THE PLAGUE.

MR. BRUCE, of Satara, writes: "The Lord has shown us that He can work in spite of reductions, famine, and plague. We believe that these very things which we have so deplored He has chosen as the means of establishing his own kingdom. He has turned aside our missionaries from their usual methods of working, and led them in paths which they knew not, and which at the time they deeply regretted. But by terrible things in righteousness' He has answered our prayers. Famine and plague, affliction, sorrow and death, have softened the hearts of many who have withstood all the blessings of the past, and have led them to feel their need of something better in life than they have ever known before. Hence a growing disposition on the part of many to leave their helpless idols, and turn to the true and living God.

"The 12th of December was widely observed as a day of earnest prayer for 'the awakening of India.' That day of

prayer was not the beginning of the 'awakening.' It began months before, and that led to the day of prayer. On that day of prayer our little Satara church received seventeen new members on profession of their faith, making twenty-five for the year. We rejoice that the work has not stopped there. There are inquirers all around us, many of whom we expect soon to welcome within the fold. Some are detained by the plague and the quarantines which prevent their coming to us. But we hope that a merciful Providence will remove these restrictions before very long."

A REMARKABLE YEAR.

The Annual Report of the Marathi Mission for 1897 has just been received, and notwithstanding the story of famine and plague, it shows a notable increase along all lines. The report says:—

"On the 12th of December we were praying for the awakening of India,' and it would seem as though the awakening had already begun. The number of persons received to the churches on

profession of their faith is 748. This is more than three and a half times as many as were ever before received in one year. Add to this 88 adults who received baptism, but for various reasons were not received to communion, and we have a total of 836. The net gain of communicants is 605, and the total at the end of the year is 3,354. Of these 1,806 are men and 1,548 are women, but a comparison with former figures shows that 97 more women than men have been received in the last year. The column of readers indicates, just what we would naturally expect, that the great majority of those received were from the uneducated classes, the increase being only seventy. Seven hundred and three children have been baptized, giving a net gain of 497 and a total of 2,378. The whole number of baptized persons in our connection at the end of the year is 5,950, a gain of 1,158.

It will surprise no one that in this famine year the contributions of the churches should fall short of last year by nearly 400 rupees. But a comparison with last year's tables shows that this deficiency is more than covered by the falling off in two particular churches, so that the average in all the other churches has been quite up to last year. In the table of district statistics we find one new church and two less pastors. The number of preachers and Bible readers remains the same; the Bible women are increased, while the number of teachers, male and female, has increased by eleven each. This shows the great demand for schools in every quarter. The whole number of native Christian agents is 382, an increase of twenty upon last year. It is always a satisfaction to see the number of nonChristian teachers decreasing, as it indicates that the Christians are coming on more and more to fill the higher places. There are four less now than in 1896. One less out-station is reported.

The schools are two less than last year, but the number of pupils has increased by 651, giving a total of 4,856. There are 130 Sunday schools, an increase of eight. The whole attendance is 5,781, an advance of 704. The larger increase is among the Christian pupils, showing that the recent converts are at once to be found in the Sunday school, studying the Word of God. We rejoice that in this year of famine and plague and reductions the hand of the Lord has been manifest in the enlargement of His blessed kingdom. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end.""

WILLING LISTENERS.

Mr. Gates, who has been absent from his station, Sholapur, much of the time upon tours, writes under date of March 24:

In one village Mrs. Gates and I found, as we approached, that two Hindu priests had gathered the people and were instructing (?) them, using music as one attraction. During a brief pause in their proceedings I began to speak. The priests listened for a time, and then, very politely taking some tracts, withdrew. We had the whole field then, and men and women listened very eagerly for a while. Afterwards Mrs. Gates called the women aside while I continued with the men. The priests had asked some questions, which I answered, and there seemed to be general satisfaction that the preaching had changed hands. The men very cordially thanked me for telling them something better better than their priests knew, and Mrs. Gates said that the women were of the same mind. Το show their gratitude they came to our camp, a mile away, next morning and brought some parched grain.

"We found many cases where a little charity helped to relieve suffering, and in some instances, I think, saved life. The season has been the coldest, and,

aside from plague, the healthiest that I have ever known in India. The plague followed me a part of the way as I journeyed west, and I felt that my tour was providentially timed to give a word of warning to some who might be soon called away.

An old Mohammedan

came to me one evening, after I had been preaching for an hour to an audience of several hundred, and said, Come to our village often; such things as you say will be very good for our people.'

"In one village a service turned in the line of confessions, and this was the beginning of better things there. The meeting adjourned to the house of a man who had a little idol temple in

front of it. The stones were thrown away and the temple broken down.

Letters from there since show that the good work is going on. As Mrs. Gates and I were talking to a company of several castes one day, we noticed four or five children not more than ten feet from us who were covered with small

pox sores. They seemed as regardless of any disease as they were of clothing. A girl found that a boy of a lower caste than her own was standing near her, and she gathered her few rags closer about her, haughtily told the boy not to touch her (though he was far neater than she was), and went and stood by a boy of her own caste who was covered with small-pox sores!"

THE COLLEGE CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

MR. ZUMBRO of Pasumalai speaks of the Young Men's Christian Association as one of the most encouraging parts of the work in connection with the college.

"It is in many respects much like any college Y. M. C. A. A number of the teachers take a lively interest in it, and do much towards making it the force that it is in the school. The prayer meetings on Wednesday evenings are attended by from 75 to 125. When opportunity is given for prayer the response is usually quick and earnest. Both the younger and the older students take part in these exercises. There is a general religious meeting on Sunday. evenings, addressed sometimes by one of the missionaries, sometimes by some of the teachers and pastors of the mission. The service is opened with a number of songs from the Gospel Hymns, and sometimes the students of the theological school bring their violins and play for us. The attendance at these meetings is about 200.

"One of the most interesting parts of our work is the evangelistic department.

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The Y. M. C. A. entirely supports a catechist in a village about four miles away from Pasumalai. Members from the Y. M. C. A. often go out to assist him in the work, especially on Sunday. There has been a small congregation of Christians there for some years. school is kept up, the catechist teaching when he is there, and his wife takes charge when her husband is away preaching in the other villages. Twenty students appeared for the examination from this school recently, and all but one succeeded in passing, which speaks well for the faithfulness of the work done. The students and teachers take a good interest in this work, and I think the training which they get in this way will prove invaluable to them when they themselves leave school to assume responsible positions. There is scarcely a boy in school among the Christians who does not contribute something to the support of the Y. M. C. A. catechist. The sum is very small which most of them can give, for most of the boys do not have more than three or four annas (six to eight cents) a month for spending money."

FROM SHAOWU.

MR. GARDNER writes from Shaowu January 22, in the midst of preparations for coming to the United States for a much-needed furlough:

“We had our annual meeting three or four weeks ago. The most prominent feature of this annual meeting was the ordination of a pastor for the East Gate Church. This was the first ordination in this field. The brethren at Foochow sent two native pastors to participate in the ordination. The East Gate Church starts out this year to be entirely selfsupporting, making a step in the right direction, and setting a good example for the other churches. I am sending all the theological students out into the field for the year, to work until some one comes with whom they may resume their studies.

"The new chapels are going forward slowly but successfully. The one at Ti Lu Fung is practially completed and will seat about four hundred. The new chapel at East Gate will seat, when completed, between six and seven hundred,

and, I think, will be the largest in the Foochow Mission. I am hoping to get the year's work well started before we leave. Kind friends continue to aid us financially, and thus help us very materially in keeping the work moving.

I am much grieved over the loss of one of our brightest and most promising theological students. He died of fever. Just before his death he asked to be dressed in clean clothes, so as to be neat to meet his Saviour. Later he had a sinking spell, but revived again and said he had seen the Saviour. A few days ago the teacher in our girls' school died. He also bore testimony to having seen the Saviour. These testimonies seem very valuable in strengthening the brethren. The native brethren seem to have views of the Saviour before death, much more than we foreigners. Is not this God's way of increasing their faith at this period in life of these young churches?

"The need for new recruits becomes continually more imperative. I trust the Prudential Committee will soon see the way clear to send reinforcements to Shaowu."

A COUNTRY FARMA MILLION

PEOPLE.

MR. NELSON of Canton tells an interesting story of a visit to a farmers' village, as well as to four large centers in the Shun Tak District, in the vicinity of Canton. In this district there are a million souls and not a single Christian chapel, yet several persons from the section had been received by Mr. Nelson into the church at Canton; one of these, a Mr. Kan, a special friend of Mr.Nelson, is a large land owner in the country. Mr. Kan had hesitated about acceding to a request of Mr. Nelson to take him on a visit to this district, but he finally consented and they went together in a steam

launch, reaching the estate after an eight hours' ride. Mr. Nelson writes:

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My friend's farm is called Kwong Shang Wai, which means Broad Life Enclosure. Two thirds of the land was under cultivation, growing mulberry leaves for the silk worms, and one third consisted of fish ponds. Mr. Kan is not the sole owner, though the larger part is his. There are about one hundred houses on the farm; some are of brick and some are thatched cottages erected by the tenants. The houses are clustered together for protection. About four hundred men, women, and children are living on the place. In many ways it is an ideal spot; idlers and bad peo

ple are not allowed, and gambling is strictly prohibited. The youth are thus, in a degree, immune from the evils of the city. The village supports its own school for boys but none for girls. The place also supports a temple, I am sorry to say, where the women worship the goddess of mercy and the men the god of wealth. It is to be hoped that this temple will soon be turned into a preaching hall.

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Although no foreigner had ever been there, the people were civil to me. I mingled with them somewhat, and in the afternoon we announced that a preaching service would be held in the evening in the central house, where Mr. Kan had his office. Only about twenty came, but they listened attentively for two hours and bought some books. Mr. Kan talked to his tenants with tact and power, and the people expressed the belief that more would come another evening. At the close of this service Mr. Kan said he would have this room ready for us at any time, and if a preacher were sent he would board him free of cost. We have, therefore, a foothold, and not a very uncertain one, when we consider that the place has 400 people, among whom we may labor with considerable freedom.

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The following day we went to the city of Tai Leung, taking with us about one hundred books and fifty calendars, not expecting to sell more, as the people hitherto have been extremely hostile. Upon entering the city we called upon the magistrate, Li Ka Chenk, whom I had met once before at the United States consulate, when he was captain of the Canton Guards. He recognized me and we chatted pleasantly together. Finally I made known my errand, that I was selling Christian books and calendars, and asked that we might not be disturbed. He assured me that it would be all right, and added, I will send two soldiers with you.' When we went into the city we quickly disposed of all our

"After preaching, we tried to visit some schools, but were met with: The master is not in.' It was a polite way of saying, the foreigner can't enter here. When we concluded to leave the city we were followed by a howling mob crying: Kill the foreign devil!' I am so accustomed to such expressions in Canton that they had no effect on me, but Mr. Kan felt uneasy about me, and often faced about to speak to the mob. As we went on the crowd diminished, and we were allowed to proceed unmolested. In the meantime we saw nothing of the two soldiers. Tai Leung is a walled city with more than 100,000 inhabitants. The streets are broader and cleaner than those in Canton. The evening of the same day we had another service at the farm village, when about sixty were present. It was a pleasant gathering, and we believe that there will be very little opposition in the future in this small village."

RUDE MULTITUDES.

"The next day we walked to a village called Lak Lau, and from there took a small boat for Lung Kong. Just as we entered the canal leading to the village, whom should we meet but the two soldiers from Tai Leung! They had been looking for us, and now proceeded with us. We put up at a drug store owned by Mr. Kan and brother. After lunch we went out to sell books, but as it was both market day and the goddess of mercy's birthday, we found the streets so packed, and the crowd so boisterous, that we decided to pass on to the next village, called Lung Shan, where, much to our surprise, the women were more