1856.] FUH-CHAU FUH. 17 miles south-east from Fuh-chau, and up the river Min, about seventy miles, to Chui-kau, at the "Rapids," the head of tide navigation. Mr. Baldwin's account of these tours exhibits somewhat the feelings of the people in regard to the Missionaries. At Tuong-lob, as soon as their arrival was noticed, the whole bank of the river was lined with noisy children and men, anxious to see the foreigners. So great was the crowd and noise, that they soon abandoned all hope of preaching, or even of distributing books promiscuously. The expedient was to distribute in regular order at the shops and houses, on both sides of the streets. "The first thought of our friends at home doubtless is," says Mr. Baldwin, "Would an excited crowd allow two defenceless men peaceably to do this? Would they not press around, and snatch away the coveted treasure? Such was the case, to a very limited extent. Only two or three volumes were taken without our consent. They pressed about us like bees; and hundreds of hands were raised at once to solicit the possession of the wonderful books. Our right of possession was secured by a firm front, and strong grasp of our property, by our ability to talk to them and give them the reason for distributing in shops rather than in a crowd, and by their characteristic fear of causing trouble. The Chinese still stand in awe of foreigners, even when the latter are placed in the most unfavourable circumstances; and for that class of foreigners to which we belong, they begin to entertain a feeling bordering on respect." Taking a walk afterwards over the plain near the city, he says"We sat down to rest, and were much amused to notice the excessive curiosity and timidity of the country people. They had probably never before seen persons of such strange dress, complexion, and manners. Two aged women at first seemed afraid of us; but when we accosted them in their own language, told them who we were, and our object, their delight seemed greater than their former suspicion and fear. They thought us wonderful and very good people, because we talked with them, and manifested an interest in their welfare. The group soon increased; and we then told them of God, and Christ, and salvation." At another city, one of their addresses was made in the porch of an official establishment, the people standing in front and in the street. Some official attendants assisted them in keeping the congregation quiet, and treated them throughout with marked respect. At one of the villages visited on the second tour, the people, " though exceedingly noisy and inquisitive," and wonderfully eager to obtain books, were respectful and attentive to an address delivered in the public market. After leaving the village, and proceeding near half a mile, "we observed, on looking back, an old grey-headed man running after us. On coming up, he besought us to give him a book, with a look and a manner of earnest importunity seldom witnessed among this people. We could not, and we dared not, refuse. We gave him the best that we had, a copy of one of the gospels in the colloquial. On receiving the gift, he spread out his hands in a manner and with an expression of countenance difficult to describe. Converted into words, his conduct seemed to say, 'You have made me a great present. Words cannot express my thanks to you.' This incident made an impression that many years will not efface from our memories." on us, 18 IBADAN. [FEB. Again, at a place of about ten thousand inhabitants, "the people received us with the most noisy demonstrations of wonder that we have witnessed since residing here. We were enveloped very speedily by a great crowd of men and boys, of all grades, pushing and jostling each other in order to secure a nearer position to the lions of the day." A few trials convinced the Missionaries that they could neither address the people nor distribute books in such a crowd. "A man apologized for the noise, saying, 'Teacher, they have never seen you before.' But without this information, our long acquaintance with the primitive manners of this people, as well as our eyes and ears on this occasion, taught us that unmixed curiosity was the sole cause of the confusion. There they were on every side of us, pressing, climbing, shouting. The streets, with the doors and windows of shops and houses, were all filled to overflowing with a dense crowd of men, women, and children, in the highest state of wonder and excitement. If you have any ambition to be an object of admiration, come over, and go with us into the back country. We distributed books in shops and houses on the main streets. It is to the credit of the civility of such a poor people, that they did not take them without our consent.' Thus, with but few exceptions, the Missionaries were treated everywhere kindly and respectfully by the people. Though the manner often seemed rude, the intention was kind. "The simple declaration of our peaceful intentions and good wishes, in their own language, was a sure passport to friendliness on their part.' [Boston "Journal of Missions." In an early Number we hope to give some information respecting Fuh-chau from the communications of our own Missionaries. IBADAN. OUR readers, in another paper of this Number, have had their attention directed to the trials of a Missionary in the cold regions of the north. This paper transfers them to very different scenes-to lands which lie close to the equator, where the powerful sun permits not the approach of winter, and claims the regions as his own. There, instead of cold, it is heat in its intensity that prevails; and the Missionary suffers from the superabundance of the very element, the want of which is so severely felt by his brother in the north. There, amidst the heats of Africa, the system becomes enfeebled, and the period of service shortened; and thus, in each Mission field there is room for self-sacrifice; and he who goes, goes with a willing heart to risk his life in service to his Lord. In our last Number we referred to the severe loss we had sustained in the death of a promising young Missionary at Ibadan. Here, again, is a call for help. Hinderer is now alone, and is there no one willing to volunteer in Kefer's place? It is just the time when help is needed. The work has hitherto been prosecuted without much opposition from the heathen; but now that the gospel is beginning to manifest its power in cases of actual conversion, the enmity of the natural heart begins to show itself. 1856.] IBADAN. 19 The few young converts who have placed themselves under Christian instruction have been severely tried by persecutions from their relatives; nor had there been any abatement of the trial at the date of the last despatches. One young woman, who was in great danger, has at last escaped to Abbeokuta. Two others will probably follow, so soon as they can escape the cruel hands of their persecutors. This, at so early a period of the Mission, when the converts are as yet few, constitutes a very severe trial, and is evidently designed by the enemy to destroy in its germ the infant church. Moreover, the arrangements of domestic life at Ibadan are such as to favour persecution. There is the absolute power which a family father can exercise over all that are his own. The women are much more slaves of the men than at Abbeokuta; and this is calculated to deter them from coming forward unless joined by a sufficient number of men, who are held back by the prevalence of polygamy among all free men; while the slaves have much less liberty than at Abbeokuta, and are mostly confined to the farms. Mr. Hinderer specifies some cases of persecution. Under date of October 6th he says About ten months ago, two young women were severely persecuted by their parents; but as they did not yield, and were already betrothed to heathen men, the parents gave it up until such time as they should be married. Nearly two months ago, that unhappy time arrived for one of them; and, ever since, she and her companion-and, lately, two others— had to suffer dreadfully from their parents and relatives, and the bride no less from her husband and his relatives: and even a priest from Abbeokuta, who came into his house, was allowed to flog her. Pages upon pages might be written about the lies, deceit, and cruelties, practised on these poor girls. The bride especially has been dragged about, week after week, with ropes, from one relative to another, and repeatedly flogged and lacerated. Both she and her companions have stood firm to this day, but their persecutors are not yet tired: we however hope and pray that all this will yet turn out for the furtherance of the gospel. Our position, under these circumstances, is a difficult one; for, in the first place, our number is very small, and therefore more easily overcome by a formidable enemy. In Abbeokuta we had already a large number of both sexes when the persecution began in such earnest. Secondly, in this town the head chiefs have no power over individual families, for each family father has again his master, and that one is perhaps under a greater master; and if I want to bring a case before the chief, this lastmentioned master must be summoned, and he may be so rich in slaves and relatives, as to be more powerful, as regards force, than even the chief, who therefore may be afraid to make any positive demand upon him; for, in fact, in a republic of warriors like this, force is the law." Meanwhile the word continues to be set forth, and meets with willing hearers. As the Missionaries preach in the streets and market-places they are respectfully listened to, and the superiority of their teaching is frankly acknowledged. Thus Mr. Hinderer writes Aug. 10-On an excursion within the Ijebu and Owu road, at one place, 20 WHERE ARE THE LABOURERS? [FEB. after a simple narrative of the historical part of God's plan of redemption, and an appeal to my hearers to accept of that salvation freely offered, I had to listen to an oration of one of them. "There was a time," said he, "when no Yoruba man knew of such a thing as an European plate, cloth, gun, &c.; but our fathers began to know them: but a white man they never saw in their country. Ten years before this I never dreamed of ever seeing one; but now I both see and hear him speak words of peace. Twenty years hence we shall see white men all over Yoruba, Haussa, and Bornu, and hear their words of peace." WHERE ARE THE LABOURERS? THERE are multitudes of men, qualified for the work of the ministry, who are as deeply immersed in the world's business as the apostles were before their call. We must go and look for them, as our Master did, on the quarter-deck and the parade-ground; in the laboratory and the court-house; the carpenters' workshop, the sail-loft, and the senatechamber. The world's business can go on very well without them, but the world's salvation cannot. Let the dead bury their dead, and the church say to Matthew in the custom-house, and Zenas in the courthouse, Joseph in the council-room, and Aquila in the tent factory"Go thou, and preach the gospel." Amos must leave his orchard, and Elisha his plough-land; Carey must drop the last, and Campbell close the ledger; Nathaniel must leave the fig-tree, and Knox the school-room: Peter must throw the gospel-net, and Milne build the house of God, and Luke prescribe for dying souls, and Williams go around the islands of the ocean with wisdom's merchandise, and Duff train young exotics for the courts of the Lord's house, if the Lord Jesus is ever to possess His inheritance. [Synod's Farewell, in the "Macedonian." "Not to myself alone," The heavy-laden bee doth murmuring hum, Content if he repay my cheerless toil "Not to myself alone," The soaring bird with lusty pinion sings, I cheer the drooping with my warbling tongue, I call the worldling from his dross to turn, "Not to myself alone," The streamlet whispers on its pebbly way, I sweeten and refresh the languid air "Not to myself alone" O man, forget not thou-earth's honoured priest, Live to thy neighbour, live unto thy God- BRIGHT SPOTS IN INDIA. 21 OUR readers would not wish that our notices of Missionary effort should be confined to those carried on in connexion with our own Society. They will be glad to hear occasionally of what is being done in other directions, and by kindred institutions. The Missionary army which is going forward against the strongholds of the god of this world is an allied force, and between the different sections of it there ought to be strong sympathy; so that if "one member suffer, all the members" should "suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members" should "rejoice with it." We lose much, very much, by confining our view to our own particular operations-much that is beautiful and heart-stirring in the proceedings of our Christian brethren in America and elsewhere much that is calculated to enlarge our own minds. By extending our circle of interest and observation, we shall discover |