Morning Calm v.15 no.100(1904 May.)

THE MORNING CALM. No. 100, VOL. XV.] MAY 1904. [PRICE 3d.

The Bishop's Letters.I.

HONG KONG: February 1904.

DEAR FRIENDS,

My letter for this month must begin with an allusion to that which will now be filling with sorrow the minds of all of you—the unlooked-for death of our very dear Henry Charlesworth, tidings of which reached me by telegraph at Marscilles. I am without those particulars which must be, even now, passing me in letters to England, and which will doubtless appear in this number of the magazine. But though I cannot give you news, I can and must speak from a full heart of the esteem in which we held him ; and of the loss—the irreparable loss—which his death will be to us. A volunteer in every sense of the word, he placed at the disposal of the Mission from first to last all the faculties with which God had enriched him. His humility was as beautiful as it was real and unassuming. His sense of duty, the duty which lay just before him, was a constant, though always unconscious, rebuke to many of us—to myself more than to all. His singular courage was the outcome of his loyalty and his humility. Diffident of himself, never robust in bodily health, he never hesitated either to begin or to complete, with rare and characteristic conscientiousness, any duty which was laid upon him. His courtesy, most beautiful and attractive, his patience, which seemed inexhaustible, and his equality of temper, which nothing disturbed, carried him over every obstacle; or, when the obstacles were insurmountable, left him undis-couraged. And it has been the great privilege of us who have lived with him in Corea and in Niu Chwang to watch the growth of his character from the simple piety which underlay and accounted for it. I have often said that Charlesworth was an inestimable treasure to the Mission, if for no other reason, because of the unfailing example which he set to us all of a holy life-a life lived consciously with God, to Whom he seemed to be always referring his duties, his pleasures, his joys, his fears, his hopes and his anxieties. We have had men and women of devotion in the Mission, as you know, but I have never met, either in the Mission or out of it, one who so closely resembled my idea of Enoch ; the man who, in the midst of difficulties and temptations, “walked with God." And now God has taken him, leaving us the imperishable possession of another saintly life to profit by and to imitate. How proud his old school at Lancing will be of him as a man and boy sans peur et sans reproche!

To the members of his family we tender our heartfelt sympathy mingled with gratitude—a gratitude which for the sake of the Church they themselves will surely share—for the gift which they have never grudged to us—the gift of a true missionary, a never-failing friend, and a saint. And having devoted the first part of my letter to one whose work for the Mission is done, let me pass to one whose work is just beginning. Dr. Weir sailed from Liverpool before my departure from London ; but as I am travelling by the mail I found myself a few days ahead of him both in Port Said, Colombo, and Penang.

I forget whether I told you that from Penang he hopes to bring Mrs. Weir on with him. They would thus arrive in Corea at the beginning of March, and would be followed by two ladies for St. Luke's Hospital from England a month or so later. Such was the arrangement which gave us a good hope of having the Chemulpó Hospital in full working order again by the spring. But the programme, so far as the two ladies are con-cerned, has had to be modified already by the political situation. The telegrams which we find awaiting us at each port are of such an alarmist character that, though war, so far as we know, has not yet been declared, I dare not authorise them to start until by actual observation I have ascertained whether Chemulpó is at present a fit place for them, or whether, indeed, they can get there at all.

The same consideration led me to leave a message at Penang for the doctor, begging him to use his judgment as to the course which he ought to take. The case is not parallel ; for should he be unable to get into the country, a doctor will have less difficulty in finding useful occupation in China until Corea is once more open. But, in view of contingencies, I already feel that before pushing on to Corea myself it will be my duty to provide a passage for them if I can in a British man-of-war, since all regular means of communication appear to have ceased; and, failing this, it will be my duty to find some temporary home for them in China. They have sacrificed so much for us, and are so eager to throw in their lot with us, that I cannot do less. This may necessitate my getting out at Hong Kong instead of Shanghai, for the purpose of seeing the Commander-in-Chief, who, I know, will help me if he can. In a word, though I desire to get to Corea as quickly as possible, I dare not push on without making such provision for the Weirs—who are just behind me—as I can. It is possible, therefore, that I may wait for them, and that we may all three go on together.

At Shanghai I hope to find letters from Corea awaiting me which will doubtless show me how to act. I shall endeavour to let you have another letter from there before I go on.

The voyage has been as uneventful as most voyages are—with a smooth sea as far as Colombo, heavy rain squalls in the Bay of Bengal, and a strong monsoon against us between Singapore and Hong Kong.

At Singapore I was cheered with a sight of the Bishop, who met me with his wonted sympathy and kindness, which on this occasion were greater than usual in consequence of the calami-ties, internal and external, which have overtaken my diocese.

In this letter, my dear friends, I have given you abundant material for thanksgiving and prayer. That you will use both to the utmost I am well assured, and remain,

Yours affectionately, C. J. CORFE.

II. SHANGHAI : March 1904.

DEAR FRIENDS,

As my letter last month referred to events which happened in January, so my letter for March must be somewhat ante-dated, for reasons which will be apparent as I proceed.

I reached Hong Kong early on February 13, and there heard for the first time of the war which has unhappily broken out between Russia and Japan. Finding that the Commander-in-Chief was in harbour, I called on board the Alacrity and found myself at once amongst old friends, who welcomed me heartily and gave me the good advice of which, you will under-stand, I stood greatly in need. I knew that the ordinary means of communication between Shanghai (the port for which I was bound) and Chemulpó would probably have ceased, and suspected that it would be equally difficult to get to Corea by the Japanese route via Nagasaki. As a result of my interview I determined to leave the P. & O. ship, which was to remain over twenty-four hours in Hong Kong, and take a passage in an American mail steamer which was leaving for Shanghai and Nagasaki at noon. This would not only get me to Shanghai sooner and so enable me to take advantage of any opportunity which might offer of getting on to Chemulpó-only forty hours distant-but give me the option of getting across to Nagasaki at once if, on arriving at Shanghai, I found that that was the best course for me to pursue.

Moreover, I found that amongst the passengers in the American mail were certain residents of Shanghai and Wei hai-Wei whose advice and active help I knew would be useful to me. The ship covered the distance of 800 miles in a little over forty-eight hours, and I found myself at anchor off Shanghai on the 15th, having left Marseilles on January 15-almost a record passage. I went at once to the Consulate-General to inquire for letters which I had asked Mr. Turner by telegram last December to send to Shanghai. Unfortunately, it was China New Year's Day, when all the public offices and stores are closed for the universal holiday, which lasts for several days. I soon found that it was impossible for me to go on in the ship to Nagasaki, and that accordingly I must wait for the present in Shanghai until an opportunity presented itself of getting further, but whether to Nagasaki or to Wei-hai-Wei I knew not. Moreover, as I told you in my last letter, I had to make arrange-ments for the arrival and the disposal of Dr. and Mrs. Weir, who, I hope, will be following me to Shanghai in a fortnight.

The Mission has many good friends in Shanghai, and I was received by them with more than the usually cordial welcome. As I anticipated, all the regular mail steamers between China or Japan and Corea had ceased to run; the Russian and Japanese ships (there are no others) having been perforce taken off to be utilised as transports or for fear of their falling into the hands of the cruisers which are just now surrounding Corea.</span> Through some mishap I find that there are no letters awaiting me here, a fact which has not lessened my anxiety. Meanwhile the telegrams from Port Arthur and Chemulpó, with which you are by this time only too familiar, made it clear that I should have considerable difficulty in getting on at all. So I set myself to make arrangements for the Weirs which are, I. hope, now complete, though they will have to share my difficulty in finding a ship to take them to Chemulpó even if it is safe for them to proceed. Some old friends of mine have offered to take them in when they arrive, and Bishop Graves, of the American Church Mission, will be able to provide some temporary work for the doctor in one of his hospitals should they be detained in Shanghai. From a telegram in last Friday's paper I learn that Mr. Turner has placed the disused hospital of St. Luke, Chemulpó, at the service of the Japanese authorities, who are using it for the Russian sailors wounded in the naval action of Chemulpó. It will be hard indeed if I cannot get Dr. Weit across to a hospital where he must now be so much wanted. You will have heard that the French cruiser Pascal brought away many of the crews of the two Russian ships that were destroyed in this action, and all the Russian residents in Seoul and Chemulpó. I had a note from one of the latter-an old friend and neighbour of ours in Seoul-she and her husband, with the rest of the members of the Russian Legation, are now in Shanghai. I lost no time in calling upon them at their hotel, and there heard my first news-only a week old-of our friends in Corea. I was thankful to learn that all are well and in no danger. The question of mail communications will, I fear, present many difficulties in the immediate future ; no doubt some arrangements will be made, for one cannot imagine that the Foreign Legations in Corea will be without the means of communicating with and hearing from their respective Govern-ments. But, as I said in my last letter, you must expect com-munications between us and you to be irregular, and must not interpret silence to mean that the Mission is in danger. This is why I am writing my March letter in the last week of February.

At this moment I am waiting for a British man-of-war which may be calling at Shanghai on her way to Chemulpó, and which, if she does call here, will, through the kindness of the Commander-in-Chief and her captain, give me a passage. I only wish that I had the Weirs here with me, and that we might all three go on together in her. But in case I may be off before the end of the month I am letting you have a good long letter to give you the latest news of myself, which, you will admit, is good. Of course, when I arrive in Chemulpó</spn> I shall take the first opportunity which presents itself of sending a postscript to this. But I am sure that Mr. Turner is also losing no chance of informing you how matters stand with him and all those on whose account he and you must naturally be So anxious.

When I left England I was full of the internal troubles of the Mission-the lack of men, the expected loss of others, the closing of St. Matthew's Hospital for want of pecuniary support. To these internal troubles must now be added the troubles which are pressing upon the Mission from outside. Well, my dear friends, you have much to pray for, and I know that I do not ask for your prayers in vain. You must pray that "in patience we may possess our souls," and that out of these awful evils good may come to God's Church in Corea.

All last year when the country was at peace I begged in vain for two clergy to repair our grievous losses and to "come over and help us.” Now that Corea threatens to become the theatre of war between two foreign Powers her weakness and her needs, speaking more loudly and more eloquently, ought to produce not two clergy but twenty, who will “come to the help of the Lord against the mighty"-the mighty who are neither the Russians nor the Japanese nor even the Coreans themselves, but, as of old, “the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience."

I am, yours always affectionately, C. J. CORFE.

P.S.-H.M.S. Humber has brought me safely to Chemulpó. on March 2, after a twelve days' wait in Shanghai. I saw the masts only of the Russian ships which have been sunk in the harbour, and, going ashore, was met by Mr. Turner, who is well. A train was leaving immediately for Seoul, so instead of spend-ing the night in Chemulpó I went straight on and in the even-ing found myself at Nak Tong, where I was cheered by the sight of Mr. Gurney, who looks well. I have spent a day in seeing all whom I could, and am thankful to report all are well. And everything is quiet and, so far, safe. During the last few days many thousands of Japanese troops and horses have been landed at Chemulpó. They have all gone north, and I find Seoul just as I left it. The Emperor is in his palace, surrounded by his own soldiers, and there is very little to show that the country is virtually in the occupation of Japan. But Japan is rigidly respecting the independence of the country. When I left Shanghai I had no news of Dr. and Mrs. Weir ; I trust they may get across, but the ships going and coming are few. The hospital at Chemulpó has been offered by Mr. Turner to the Japanese Red Cross Society, and is filled with the Russian sailors who were wounded in the sea fight there. But we do sadly want our own doctor and nurses.

Association of Prayer and Work for Corea.

It is satisfactory to chronicle a great increase in the number of members during the last quarter, and also the foundation of some new branches. Miss Routledge, a corresponding member of the Norwood Branch, has started a branch at Boscombe, and Miss Little, formerly Secretary for Bournemouth, now continues her work for the Mission as a corresponding member of the new Boscombe Branch. Miss Essington, corresponding member of Farnham, is starting work as Secretary at Newquay. We hope these examples will induce other members to do likewise, and to form branches out of their own little set of members. At https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westbury,_Wiltshire Westbury], Mr. King is willing to act as Secretary for the Corean Association, and at the same time acting as corre-spondent for Corea for the Westbury Parochial Missionary Union, who will thus be kept interested in Corea, and include the Mission in their Intercession Services. The Leatherhead Missionary Union also, after an address on Corea by the Rev. M. N. Trollope, decided to help Corea both by prayers and money. The General Secretary will be glad to hear of any other missionary unions who could find a place for Corea in their intercession. The Rev. W. Edgington hopes to revive the Sheffield Branch, and Miss Keary has kindly consented to carry on the work at https://www.visitstoke.co.uk/ Stoke-on-Trent] in succession to Mrs. Robinson, who passed away recently.

The lantern slides have been very much in request lately, and the second set is now revised. The curios have been lent for an exhibition at Thornton Heath, and are promised in May for use in Ireland.

We gladly welcome the annual help from the Southsea Sale of Work; there are to be sales both at Bath and St. Albans in the autumn; the Needlework Secretary (whose name appears on page v. of the cover) will be glad to hear of workers or work parties who are willing to help stock these stalls. The Asso-ciation for Missionary Study has made the Far East their present subject of study ; all particulars as to rules, books, &c., may be obtained from the Secretary, Miss Duff, 22 Onslow Gardens, S.W. Several members of the J.C.M.A. are now lecturing on Corea, and any of our readers who have not yet seen them may like to know of the articles on Corea in The East and West (April) by Bishop Corfe, and in The Treasury (April) by the Rev. M, N. Trollope. The Annual Report is now ready, and copies may be obtained from the General CONSTANCE A. N. TROLLOPE.

Children's Branch.

MY DEAR CHILDREN,

I expect you will all have heard that the war has now really begun in Corea and in the country to the north of Corea, so this is a sad time for all the people living in that part of the world. We in England ought to feel very sorry for them. Most of you will remember what an unhappy time it was for us when the war was going on in South Africa, and now it is the same for the Japanese, the Russians, the Coreans, and many others who are living in the Far East.

We cannot get any letters from Bishop Corfe and the other members of the Mission now, and so we wonder very much, and long to know, what they are all doing. I expect they are very busy, and I daresay the doctors and nurses have a great deal to do, for I believe they are taking care of some of the wounded soldiers and sailors in the Mission Hospital.

You will understand that as we have not been able to get any letters from Corea, I have no news to give you this time of the little orphans or any of the people. All we know is that God is watching over them, and that they are safe in His keeping.

I was very glad to get a message from our members in Pietermaritzburg (South Africa), telling me that they are "praying extra” for Corea just now, so I hope there are others who are doing the same.

It is very nice to know that we now have twenty-five little friends in New Brighton, who have joined the Children's Branch, and eleven more at Thoresway, and all of them, I believe, are working as well as praying for Corea. Besides these, there are nine little girls at Littlehampton who are making cuffs and bibs and other useful things for the orphans; they have learnt a good deal about Corea lately, so I hope they will remember what they have heard, and will remember, too, to pray some-times for Corea. Then I have not forgotten those children at Surbiton Hill who denied themselves during Lent to send money to Corea, and I am quite hoping some day to hear that they would like to join the Children's Branch. Thank you, Bessie, very much for the 6d. you sent. I have not been able to write to you, not knowing where you live, but I think you always see these letters. In the picture you will see a group of Corean country boys, and I think the man with the luggage on his back must be one of the coolies or servants. Look what a very large hat he has in his hand!

I heard a good deal the other day about the Christian people in India, which I think I must tell you. Some of the people are very poor indeed, but they give what they can to God. It very often happens that they are too poor to give money, and then they give their food instead. They live chiefly on rice, and each time the women cook the dinner they put a good handful of rice into a cup which is kept on the shelf on purpose for it, and as they do this they say a prayer. Then on Sunday the rice is taken to church and given to God, and the next day it is sold, and the money is given to some good work. Sometimes the little black children may be seen trudging up the church on Sundays carrying a bowl of milk or a string of bananas. So you see they all give what they can. Don't you think we may learn a lesson from these people?   I like the story of the rice so much. It will most likely be pennies and not rice that you give to God, but you can remember to do the same as these women and say a little prayer when you drop your money into the Missionary Box. Good-bye, dear children.

I am, Always your affectionate friend, Ashurst, Winchester : MAUD I. FALWASSER.

April, 1904.

St. Peter's Community Foreign Mission Association.

A SHORT summary of the work of the Association in 1903 has already been sent in the form of a letter to each member of S.P.F.M.A. with the notes of the Day of Intercession held in December ; but it is as well to emphasise that the subscriptions and donations to St. Peter's Hospital for Women fell consider-ably short of the sum required, the amount received being £385, as against £436 in 1902. There is a great diminution in the first three months of 1904 as compared with former years; and, with the increased price of food and fuel consequent on the war, great and steady efforts will be needful to ensure the con-tinued support of the Hospital. The fund for the Orphanage increases, and £76 was sub-scribed in England for the support of the children. At the close of 1903 all but three of the twenty-one orphans have been adopted.

Obituary Notice.

HENRY EDMUND CHARLESWORTH, who has been con-nected with the Mission since 1896, passed away on January 12 after a very short illness, the immediate cause of his death being tetanus. He came out from England in 1896, but after a year's residence in Seoul the Bishop sent him to Niuchwang to reside with Mr. Sprent, and to help him in the education of the European children of the port. There he stayed until his return home in 1902, coming out again to Seoul in the spring of last year. In both places his memory will long remain green among all who knew him. A true son of the Church of England. in the fullest sense, he united a most devotional spirit with a practical sacrifice of self to the service of God, which, everyone who came in contact with him felt and recognised in his humility and patience and unselfishness. Not intel-lectually brilliant, he had a strong hold on the Christian faith, which showed itself in every act of his life. One feels as one thinks of him how much can be done by the influence of a life which, without any special profession, conformed in the highest degree to the example and precepts of our Lord and Master. The funeral took place on the 15th, and most of the members of the Mission and many residents in Seoul were able to attend to pay the last respects to one whom we had all admired and loved. The service was held in the chapel at Nak Tong, in Corean at 12 noon and in English at 1.30 P.M., after which the body was conveyed to our cemetery at Yang-wha-chin, and there laid to rest.- R.I.P.  

Local Notes.

THE one subject of universal interest at present is, naturally, this war which has just broken out. This is not the place for a full discussion of the matter, though it might be possible to add a few interesting local details to the fuller news that your readers will be able to obtain from the daily papers. We were as unprepared for the actual outbreak of hostilities here as you were at home. It was felt for about a month or more before-hand that it must come, but when it would come it was impossible for the onlooker to foresee. The Russians were quite as unprepared as anybody, and were taken entirely by surprise at the last moment, and the sound of the guns in the engage-ment between the Variag and Korietz and the Japanese cruisers, just outside the harbour of Chemulpó, was at first not believed to be really the beginning of the war. However, we soon learnt the truth, and in fact received confirmation of the fact by the arrival of some 1,000 soldiers from Japan, who marched past our house at Nak Tong, attracting a great crowd of Corean sight-seers. Since that we have had some 20,000 or more men coming in with large numbers of horses, chiefly, I think, for transport; and every available house and building of any kind has been utilised for their shelter. Some of the barracks for the Corean soldiers have been taken over, the Coreans crowding into the other barracks; luckily the weather is still cold, and a little over-crowding will not hurt them much. Of course this arrival has caused a good deal of anxiety to the Coreans, but there has been no outbreak of any kind, and this is due in a very great measure to the excellent behaviour of the Japanese troops. It is generally remarked that it would have been very different if any European army had invaded the country in the same way. Hardly any complaints have come to hand of drunkenness, or any serious disorder among the men. The people kept the new year almost in the ordinary way, except that naturally the price of goods has gone up all round, and many will feel the pinch of want severely this spring. Now the troops are leaving Seoul on the road for Ping Yang, and the Chinese border town of Wiju. Morning Calm, unfortunately, has no map that will illustrate their march or the future course of events, but you will see marked the road along which they are starting to Ko-yang, which is the first short stage out, about thirteen miles. Then Ping Yang, where the Chinese were so severely defeated by the Japanese, is about half-way from Seoul to the boundary, and Anju is again about half-way between Ping Yang and the Yalu River, on which stands the town of Wiju (pronounced Weeju as near as possible). The Yalu River is the northern boundary from its mouth to its source in the white-headed mountain, or Paik-to-san. In the same mountain rises the Tumen, which, running eastward, forms the boundary of Corea to its mouth in the Japan Sea. In some maps the Yalu, which is the Chinese pronunciation of the two Chinese deographs which form the river's name, is called the Amnok, which is the Corean pronunciation of the same two characters. The Russians are supposed to be moving down from that river, and it may be that we shall soon be hearing of the first engagements of the land war, which will test all Japan's powers to the full.

Two questions naturally interest us. First, how does this war affect us at present and in the immediate future? So far as one can see it will not make a great deal of difference except in so far as it upsets people's minds. There is no immediate danger of trouble, nor any prospective danger so far as one can see. Any new work among the Coreans will naturally be more or less at a standstill anywhere where the people are brought into close touch with the war, as we are here, but the ordinary work will go on much as usual. As long as the Japanese are in command in Seoul and its neighbourhood we feel no anxiety for ourselves or for the Coreans ; if, however, they are defeated and the Russians come down from the north there will be a good deal of trouble for the Coreans, and work of all kinds will practically be at a standstill, as the people are so afraid of the Russians that there will probably be a regular exodus from the city. The story of the behaviour of the Russian troops in China in the Boxer trouble is well known here, and the actions of the Legation guard in the last few months in Seoul have stirred a strong feeling of dread in the minds of the Coreans.

Secondly, what will be the result in case of the victory of either party as regards the work of the Mission and of Missions generally? The general feeling is that for our work the victory of the Japanese will be beneficial, as they will almost certainly give missionaries a fairly free hand for their work in the country, and will certainly encourage any educational work in every way they can, whereas if the Russians gain the upper hand in the management of the country, many obstacles will be placed in our way, even if Mission work is not put an end to altogether. Of course one cannot help thus forecasting and trying to see what the future will be for us, but whatever the future may bring, it does not lessen the importance of doing all we can, little though it may be, while we have our present opportunities, hoping for greater ones in the future.

As far as the Mision work is concerned there is not a very great deal to report. We are looking forward to the Bishop's arrival with Dr. and Mrs. Weir. When they will come it is difficult to say for certain, for at present the opportunities of coming over from China or Japan are very slight. Nearly all the ships coming here were under the Japanese flag, and they are all at present taken up for transport work, while those belonging to English or German firms are fully occupied in the Chinese coast trade, but no doubt soon ships will be coming over, and we shall be able to welcome the new-comers.

Mr. Badcock, who has been out here now for eight years, has gone on a well-earned furlough home, and we shall hope to hear of his receiving a welcome at home such as he deserves, and to see him out here again to resume his work as soon as possible, refreshed in body and mind, and above all in spirit by the invigorating atmosphere of home and the Church life at home. The real difficulty one often feels of missionary work is not the hardships we have to put up with so much as the strain upon one's moral and spiritual life, caused by living among the heathen whose standard is so far below our own, and often no change but a stay at home can reinvigorate one and enable one to take up the work again with renewed spirit and energy. Mr. Drake has gone to Kanghoa to take his place, and Mr. Gurney is in Seoul with Mr. Turner, helping with the English services and acting as Chaplain to the Legation guard, while he spends most of his day studying the language. As soon as the Bishop arrives he will no doubt go into the country, where he will have more opportunity of practising what he is now learning. Two or three months in a place like Seoul are all that a beginner ought to have, so that the sooner the Bishop arrives the better it will be for him. In fact any place where there are foreigners is bad for a learner, for he naturally depends too much upon those who know the language a little better than himself.

No account has been sent home of the Christmas services and celebrations, and now it seems too late to say much about them. Their memory has been swallowed up by later events, but we may say that from all accounts received at the time the Festival was well observed among our own people, and there is a distinct movement among the Christians of other denom-inations to make more of the great memorial of the Incarnation. In Seoul the Eve of the Festival was marked by the baptism of six new members of the Church, for whom we have already asked your prayers : one of the Sisters' servants and his wife, a lad of seventeen and a boy of thirteen, the wife of one who has been a Christian for several years, and a little girl from the Orphanage. Two of the Orphanage children are awaiting baptism and one has died, having been baptized in extremis by Sister Barbara. We are now waiting for the Bishop's return for the confirmation of those who have been baptized during his absence at the different stations, especially at On Sou Tong.

At Chemulpó the foreign inhabitants have subscribed generously, and the Corean and Japanese Christians have helped according to their ability towards the repainting of the Church, and towards providing new curtains and other requisites for the building. It is a building one cannot make much of under any circumstances, but at any rate now it will look cleaner and it will be possible to keep it cleaner for some time. The winter work has been going on well at On Sou Tong, but Mr. Hillary complains of the great difficulty of really getting hold of the women; the Sisters in the city are a long way away, and cannot come down for long together, and there are several scattered hamlets where there are prospects of work which very much require visits that cannot be given, or that can be given so seldom that they are not of the value that more constant supervision would be. By degrees we may hope to procure Corean women who can help their sisters, but at first it is difficult to find women who have either capacity or leisure for the work. Widows are, as a rule, the only women available, and they, unless they are of a considerable age, are generally soon married again, and if they are old they are often incapable of the mental effort of assimilating, much less imparting to others, the doctrines of the faith. That is a subject for your prayers, that God may put it into the hearts of men and women to help their brothers and sisters, and enable us so to instruct them that they can be real missionaries to their own people. We have two women in Kanghoa city who are helpful in this matter, and one in Seoul, while we have lately appointed a woman in Chemulpó, who in point of ability is perhaps the best of them all, but she is rather young, and one can only hope and pray that she may do her work faithfully and well.

Of the Hospital work we have little to report. Owing to various causes the in-patients' work has had to be given up in both hospitals in Seoul, as was reported, if we remember right, in the February number. The out-patients' work is being carried on in both dispensaries, but the numbers of patients is at present not great, indeed if there were no other cause the New Year Festival is always enough to account for a scarcity of patients during the beginning of the year. The women have been coming in considerable numbers to St. Peter's dispensary till lately, but the closing of the wards in St. Matthew's at Nak Tong has considerably lessened the numbers of out-patients. We are looking forward to the re-opening of the hospital at Chemulpó, but before much work can be done there the building will require a good deal done to it, and at present the wards are full of wounded Russians. After the engagement in Chemulpó the Russian sailors, wounded and whole, took refuge on the neutral ships, and before they were taken away the worst cases were taken ashore. There was no building suited for them in Chemulpó, so Mr. Turner with our Minister's approval, offered the use of our hospital for their accommodation, and there they are, some twenty-five cases, several of them very serious ones, under the care of the Japanese Red Cross Society, and we fear it will be some time before the hospital will be free to take in the Corean patients for whom it was intended, though we hope Dr. Weir will find work to do among the Coreans in the dispensary, while he is at work on the language and preparing for the greater work which lies before him.

The Spirit of missions.

1. “We can be helped by prayer. I shrink somewhat from mentioning prayer, because there is a great danger as I think. A hasty petition may sometimes seem all that lies in our power to give ; whereas a true prayer will be preceded and followed by God-guided exertions, without which they prayer is in most cases unreal.”—(Bishop Rangoon in Quarterty Paper for December.)

2. MISSIONARY STUDY. —"It is our first duty to keep our-selves informed. If you and I would do the Will of God, we must know the things of God. If there is any place where the power of God is being manifested, it is in Foreign Missions. The Creed of St. Augustine has not been surpassed—' A whole cross for my salvation, a whole people for my staff, a whole Church for my fellowship, a whole world for my parish.' We should give ourselves more to a prayer ; everything vital to Missionary enterprise hangs upon prayer. —(C.M. Intelligencer.)

3. PUNJAB AND SINDH.—"The Rev. Dr. Lucas, of the American Board of Missions, saw something of the Rev. C. E. Tyndall-Biscoe's work in the Kashmir High School at Srinagar last autumn, and writes : ‘Of all the sights in Kashmir, the most refreshing were this school on the banks of the Jhelum, and the C.M.S. hospital on the hill overlooking the city, both doing more to lift up poor fallen Kashmir than all the Pundits have wrought during a thousand years and more.' Every day the physicians and nurses of the hospital meet in St. Luke's Church for prayer and study of the Scriptures, Dr. Lucas goes on to say that when the history of Kashmir is written, its brightest picture will be the record of the lives of the men and women who gave themselves with joy, in the strength of their youth and through long years, to bringing Christ into the hearts and lives of the people of Kashmir.”—(C.M. Intelligencer.)

4. ANOTHER GREAT PROBLEM. —“The Professor of Science of St. Stephen's College, Delhi, after a visit to England, speaks of the condition of Hindu students in these words: ‘When Indians go to England, what do they find ? England, which we have begun to look up to with genuine feelings of loyalty and respect, and which we trusted would take a deep interest in us, leaves us alone in a foreign land. . . . When I visited some of my Hindu and Mohammedan fellow-countrymen in their lodgings in London, I was grieved to find that they were not at all in a healthy, moral environment ; I found that the majority of them did not think at all highly of the social or moral life of the English, and had come to the conclusion that practical Hinduism was far superior to practical Christianity.' It seems that Bishop Westcott had this problem much on his mind and had considered the possibility of establishing hostels in London, so as to provide Christian homes for such students as were willing to use them.”—(Delhi Mission Netes.)

5. METHODS OF MISSIONARY WORK IN INDIA.—“The Rev. St. Clair Donaldson asks whether a 'cold weather' visitor to India has any right to form opinions on missionary policy, and then proceeds to prove the truth of the proverb that ‘the looker-on sees most of the game' by his admirable summing up of the characteristics of the various Missions. . . . (1) The Cambridge Mission to Delhi—one of the greatest of Mission centres, which gives all the impressive strength of a great organisation. It has a complete ladder of education from the most elementary schools to St. Stephen's College, which is affiliated to Lahore University. It has also a large staff of ladies who visit in the zenanas, centres of work in a dozen different districts in the city under the charge of catechists superintended by the clergy ; an orphanage ; a boarding-house for boys; a hostel for students ; a staff of bazaar preachers ; and in the centre of all, a fine church, with daily services and a Communicants' roll of 200. Besides all these there are several out-stations, where members of the Brotherhood work. The characteristic of this Mission is work. (2) The Oxford Mission to Calcutta. —Here the whole method is different. Bazaar preaching is held to do more harm than good ; the Brothers will not touch education with one of their fingers. The reason of this different attitude is that in Calcutta Government under-takes the work of education and also of hospitals. Therefore the Oxford Brothers, who are much more scattered in different places than those of Delhi, work chiefly through their hostels for students, and through their paper of the Epiphany, which is circulated far and wide in India. Their distinguishing feature is influence. Both these Missions have one common characteristic ; their work is done by unmarried priests and laymen living in community. (3) At the Mission of Tanjore, Southern India, the Rev. W. H. Blake has for twenty-eight years directed a large organisation of pastoral and educational work single-handed. Tanjore is in many respects a difficult place to work in ; it has been deserted by its European population. Caste has been a fruitful source of schism and difficulty among the native Christians, and the competition of Lutheran missionaries has in the past been very harassing. Yet he works on undaunted, undiscouraged, and only shows signs of the burden which must at times be so great, by the cordial welcome which he gives to a visitor. (4) Another solitary unmarried missionary is doing an equally great work at Nazareth, in Tinnevelly, which is a large village pervaded by Christian influence. The centre of all the work, the pivot and inspiration of the whole, is the Rev. A. Margoschis, the solitary English priest, doctor, surgeon, teacher, almoner, and father of his people. He is a sufferer from chronic asthma; and his small spare frame seems all too weak to bear so great a strain. Yet so it has been for twenty-five years, and there is no sign of change. (5) Another Mission centre is entirely different in its methods. At Toungoo, in Burmah, the Rev. W. H. Kenney is doing work of a two-fold character. He has an English staff of two or three clergy for the Burmese of the plains, and Toungoo is also a headquarters for evangelistic work among the Karens of the hills. Among these last ‘men alone are wanted,' as Mr. Kenny says, 'to sweep the hills and win them all.' At Toungoo we have neither the Brotherhood system of Nos. 1 and 2, nor the solitary missionary as in 3 and 4, but the ordinary English plan of a married vicar and his staff, which works as well here as elsewhere. Mr. Donaldson thinks, however, that the Brotherhood system would do wonders if tried in Burmah, and would especially commend itself to those who had been brought up under the ideals of Buddhism. He sums up his article by saying that there is a great movement towards Christianity going on just now amongst the aboriginal tribes, and that the Karens of Burmah, the Bhils in the Vindhya Mountains, the Santals in Lower Bengal, the Jonds in the Central Provinces, will in all probability be the pioneers of the Indian Church."—(East and West.)

6. ANSWERED PRAYER.-"Readers of The Watchman will be glad to hear that five clergy are already on their way to Burmah-'a most gracious answer to the prayers offered in Burmah and at home, and a call to us for hearty thanksgiving and strengthened faith.' 'One of the five, the Rev. F. E. Trotman, will live in Rangoon, and besides personal service to the Bishop and N.C.L. in the Cathedral, will be able to work among the English. The young men who live in Rangoon or stay there for a time before going up country need help greatly. A welcome hand stretched out in the name of Christ on a man's first arrival in Burmah may have after-results which cannot be over-estimated.'"-(Rangoon Quarterly Paper.)

7. "THE CHURCH IN JAPAN is a small but growing body, now about 10,000 in number, in a great non-Christian Empire. She is in full touch with our Anglican communion in faith, order, and practice, and claims our deepest sympathy and intercessions. The self-control of her leading Churchmen and Churchwomen is very striking, placing, as it does, the ultimate guidance of the Church in foreign hands, while steadily support-ing the band of native clergy and preparing for a native episcopate. The Nippon Sei Cokwai has taken hold of the Japanese characteristic of self-suppression for noble ends, and may yet redeem for the Faith in the best sense of the word the motto, ‘Japan for the Japanese.'”—(C.M.S. Slips of Latest Information.)   8. IS SHE HAPPY ?--A lady missionary writes from Japan : "One hears so often of the idea which seems so prevalent in England0 that Japan is evangelized--it is stated in magazines--Oh! that you could see and realise the reality ! Thousands and thousands in this land have never even heard of the love of Jesus. . . . A cry is going up day by day from the women of Japan, as sad as ever went up from India or China, only now it is less noticed because a veneer of civilisation covers it. . . . It is true that a Japanese girl's education is improving ; she has a good deal of freedom (not always very desirable), but for a Japanese girl the happiness of her schooldays is but a fleeting shadow. Schooldays over, she becomes but a drudge in her husband's house—despised, ill-treated, a nobody! Is this happiness ?”

9. "SOUTH AFRICA has been won by sacrifice ; it must be made by sacrifice : sacrifice of lives laid down in the service of God. . . . It is Jesus who has set His mark on South Africa with the white man and the black--signed it with the sign of the Cross, in token that it shall not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ before men. He has claimed it for Himself, and laid on us the task to win it for Him.” (Sermon by Archdeacon Furse, of Johannesburg.)

10. WINNING THE RAILWAY LINES FOR CHRIST.—“The Rev. Douglas Ellison tells us of progress in all directions. Naauwport, which in 1892 used to be a tiny group of wooden houses, has now a busy railway station, a military camp and hospital, and a location teeming with native life. Away up in the Transvaal his brother, the Rev. H. B. Ellison, finds himself single-handed at present in charge of at least six railway lines of various lengths, and has to minister to all the places and people who are not touched by existing parochial work. He says, ‘We must have more men for the Transvaal! . . . Wher-ever one goes in this wonderful country one is met with the greatest keenness and enthusiasm of the Church folk. The land is full of fresh English energy and thought, quickened by the sense of freedom and expansion which comes to those who forsake the old beaten tracks at home. There is all the energy of a new country in the making, and a new Church in the building.’ The Railway Mission is also thinking out a plan of campaign for the lines of Rhodesia, and is undertaking work in a fifth diocese (Natal). By this time they are already starting a Mission, with the cordial approval of the Bishop, close to the historic ground of Majuba Hill and Laing's Nek. In Bloem-fontein, things are at a standstill for want of a coach. Mr. Ellison feels very strongly that he cannot do all he wants, for lack of a few devoted men, and ends with these words : ‘It is not always easy to remember that the sending of the labourers has been made directly dependent upon our readiness to pray'; but there is surely no better gift for which we of the Railway Mission can be asking just now."—(South African Railway Mission Quarterly.)

11. ROUND ZANZIBAR.—" Central Africa gives the impres-sions of a traveller, who says: 'Everywhere we went we found strong evidence of Mohammedanism being in possession. I had hoped that possibly in Zanzibar town there might be found some opening for Mission work among the island inhabitants less under Mohammedan influences than those living in and about Zanzibar itself; but it seemed to me that mosques abounded wherever we went, and all the people seemed as strongly attached to the Mohammedan religion as in the town itself.’ Again, another visitor says, ‘There is a terrible dearth of men here as well as at the Lake, and it is a very sore dis-appointment that more are not offering and coming out. Where are the young men who have all been beneficed? Why do not men after two or three years' experience in England come out to this perfectly gorgeous country, where the most interesting work possible is crying out for them?' At the island of Pemba ‘a newcomer' notices the extreme outward cordiality which the whole population shows to the missionaries and to the Government officials—a feeling which must be a strong factor sooner or later in the evangelisation of the country.”-(Central Africa.)

12. A. GREAT MOVEMENT IN ZULULAND.—“Some months ago, a native catechist, called Charlie Hlati, came to Archdeacon Johnson for advice. He had been used by the Dutch ministers as an evangelist amongst the natives on the Boer farms in the Transvaal. The Dutch minister used to baptize his converts, and he had about fifteen evangelists under him. About three years ago the Dutch Church refused to have anything more to do with him, or to appoint any ordained minister to minister to his converts. He went to the Dutch Reformed Synod, to Bloemfontein, to Pretoria, and to Cape Colony, to plead his cause, but without success, representing that for four years the children had been unbaptized, there had been no celebration of Holy Communion, and that the ministers of the Dutch (Boer) congregation living in their midst refused to minister in any way to the natives, or to allow them inside a Christian church. The Boers have a horror of any step which might lead the natives to imagine themselves on an equality. Hlati had built himself a place of worship on a Boer farm, but the owner, who had given leave for its erection, at length refused to allow him to enter the building. Archdeacon Johnson, who wanted to avoid any possible friction with the Boers, carefully investigated the truth of the story, and finding it quite correct, thought it right to accede to their petition to be admitted into the English Church. He gave his answer at a meeting attended by 1,000 natives. Hlati explained why he had been obliged to ask the 'Big House,' as he called the Church of England, to take them in, and then asked all to stand on their feet and signify their approval. ‘It was quite impressive,’ writes the Archdeacon, 'to see the whole assembly rise and shout “Siya vuma!” I felt no doubt about what I ought to do. Here was a large com-munity feeling after God, and persevering under very difficult circumstances and in the face of many snubs, asking confidently for our help; so I told them that we would, with God's blessing, undertake the responsibility. . . . At 2 P.M. began one of the most remarkable Baptismal services at which I have ever assisted. There were 106 infants, ranging from two months old to five years. . . . Everything was very orderly and impressive, even the babies were hushed into silence. Hlati thinks that he can gather the natives into five centres for instruction classes. He has between 2,000 and 3,000 followers altogether, all of whom are unbaptized, and must be prepared. It is likely that this movement of Hlati's will draw in other native communities who will wish to be united in one Church.' The Archdeacon wishes to buy a bit of land at each centre and erect a building so as to ensure the native catechist against the danger of being turned off at a moment's notice. No wonder that we are asked to pray ‘that wisdom and guidance may be granted to those who are appointed to take charge of the new work organised by Arch-deacon Johnson in Zululand.'”-(Mission Field.)

13. A PLEA FOR PRAYER.—"A missionary sends the following request for prayer: 'Uganda needs much prayer, for there is so much external religion, and so little practical. It is the fashion to be baptized and confirmed, and moreover, people cannot be married in church unless they are baptized, and as the native marriage is now rather looked down upon, unfortu-nately the people will do anything to get married in church. We need a real outpouring of God's Holy Spirit over the whole country.'” -(Gleaner.)

14. CRUELTIES IN HAUSA LAND.-"Dr. R. S. Millar, of the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.), says that his party went into Gierku and gave the Story of the Cross in a lantern lecture. The whole effect was to raise a coarse and brutal laugh. ‘The story of the sufferings of Christ does not awaken any tender or gentle feelings in any, even women ; for all are so brutalised to suffering and cruelty that the worst horrors--far greater than those of the Cross--are familiar sights, and only things to be laughed at.' He asks what is to be done with a people to whom love, sorrow, suffering, holiness, generosity, mercy mean nothing, and awaken no responsive chord ? "-- (C.M.S. Slips of latest information.)

15. MORE NEWS FROM UGANDA.—" The following descript-tion is given by A. G. Fraser, M.A., of the difference between Christian and heathen Uganda : 'In heathen Uganda, if a party of workmen are out in the forests woodcutting, and one breaks his leg, the natural and obvious thing is to leave him. He is useless to Society, therefore Society has no obligations towards him.' The writer was once going to an out-station in Uganda, and returning by the same road found an old woman dying in a wild beast's lair in a swamp. She had been abandoned by her heathen relatives from Toro a week before. Hundreds of people had passed her, but none had given her food. It was true that Christian boys had done the same thing, but they had not been long Christians, and Mr. Fraser reproved them severely, and is certain that they would never repeat such a sin. It had never occurred to them before that Christ had any-thing to teach in such a case. On the other hand, Mr. Fraser has known a Christian voluntarily nurse a small-pox patient who was neither relation nor friend. Also men terrified of epilepsy, which they consider very infectious, bear off an epileptic to the hospital because they were Christian teachers. "The Uganda Church has sent missionaries to the surround-ing countries. In one of these countries there was a severe famine. When the missionaries were recalled for a rest after the famine was over, they arrived with very few and poor clothes. They said that their flocks were starving, and they had sold their clothes to provide them with food. Again, public opinion soon begins to grow with the knowledge of Christ. The Christian chiefs of Uganda carried the abolition of slavery through their council, because slavery is against the law of Jesus Christ. They, too, built the hospital and the many schools all over the country. ‘Lying,' says Mr. Fraser, ‘is an accomplishment of all the heathen I have seen, and of too many of the Christians. But I know one Christian who deliberately risked his life, before an angry king, rather than break a seem-ingly insignificant promise. Some Christian men's word there, as here, is as good as their bond.'”—(The Student Movement.)

16. WELCOME HOME.—“We see that the Rev. S. M. Stewart is at last compelled by his Bishop (Newfoundland) to take a holiday after four years' hard work in lonely Ungava. The following extracts from his letters to his Bishop may be interesting. After describing some of the hardships of his life. he says, 'You must not imagine that I am depressed in spirits ; I am well and happy, and looking forward to a time of real work. . . . What a remarkable diocese yours is, my Lord ; it traverses, if I mistake not, the Frigid, Temperate, and Torrid zones, that is if we include Bermuda in the Tropics.' Later on, ‘Parson and people are learning to know and love each other. . . . I have had most happy times with the people, and it is quite encouraging to see their earnestness in the matter of true religion. . . . We have been instructing regularly during the winter some eighty Eskimo, and I hope to reach many more in the course of the year. I have lived at their encampments, and am trying in the meantime to adopt to some extent their manners and customs, particularly their manner of dress and diet.' . . . Again, ‘I had no news from the outside world for nearly eleven months. I was amazed to hear of the death of our beloved Queen.'”—(Newfoundland Occasional Paper.)

17. FINANCIAL IMPROVEMENT,—“We are glad to see that the New Westminster Bishoprics Endowment Fund is able to re-port progress. When the present Bishop entered upon his labours in British Columbia he found his revenues reduced practically to a vanishing point. Cheering intelligence has been received to the effect that the properties from which the original endowments of the See were derived and which, some nine or ten years ago, were almost valueless, have recently developed in an unexpected fashion. They will never be able, however, in themselves, to provide a 'living wage' for the Bishop of New Westminster, but this improvement will prevent workers, both in England and British Columbia, from having to face a task quite so serious as was at one time expected. Latterly the south-eastern part of the diocese has sprung into remarkable prominence. So rapid has been the progress of Eastern and Western Kootenay that a new Bishopric was found to be absolutely necessary. The Diocese of Kootenay has therefore been formed, but is still without endowment."-(New Westminster Quarterly.)

18. HOW TO FOLLOW OUR COLONISTS AND KEEP THEM CHRISTIAN.-" The Bishop of Auckland, on taking possession of his new diocese, finds that though it is overstocked with Churches and vicarages, it is ' hopelessly undermanned.' ‘The conditions,’ he says, 'would be intolerable were it not for the noble band of laymen who all over the Diocese are doing such splendid work for God and the Empire, in trying to prevent the white man from relapsing into paganism.'. . . . A lay reader said to him a short time ago : ‘The horror before us is the fear of getting used to doing without God and His Sacraments.’ The Bishop's comment is this, 'Men who care, are living under the awful apprehension of learning to do without God . . . . hundreds don't care and never have had the chance of caring ; for the State schools inevitably at present create an atmosphere wherein it is almost impossible for men to learn to care. And yet God cares for them so much . . . . and they, good strong honest men and women that they are, would be so glad to care, if they only had the chance. . . . That is the sort of cry the Great God is voicing to His Church both at home and in the Colo-nies. If we do not face the facts prayerfully, bravely, and with holy resolve, we shall find the opportunity gone.' The Bishop hopes that in course of time New Zealand will be able to provide its own clergy, but that for the next few years, at all events, men from England are wanted to start Brotherhoods for itinerating work in the Bush districts, and colleges for training men for the ministry like St. John's College, Auckland, originally founded by Bishop Selwyn. He strongly deprecates the practice of rais-ing money for spiritual purposes by ‘ping-pong tournaments, progressive euchre, socials, dances, and the like,' and reminds us that ‘God's service means self-sacrifice or nothing.'”—(The Bishop of Auckland's Charge.)