Morning Calm v.5 no.53(1894 Nov.)

THE MORNING CALM. No. 53, VOL. V.] NOVEMBER 1894. [PRICE 1d.

The Bishop's Letters.

CHEMULPÓ : August 1894. DEAR FRIENDS,

Although it is not quite the end of the month, I must take the opportunity (a rare and uncertain opportunity now) of a man-of-war going to Chefoo, and send you the record of a month which is nearly past. And, first, you will be glad to know that we have been, and are, all well. The work, with the exception of that at St. Matthew's Hospital (which is still closed) goes on much as usual. At the begin-ning of the month I bade good-bye to Mr. Smart, who has gone to Kobe, in Japan, under circumstances which I proceed to relate. As you will have seen from a recent number of the Morning Calm, his Japanese school was in a flourishing state, and continued to be so until the end of June, when the usual summer vacation of three months began. The end of term came, fortunately, when the first Japanese troops were landing in Chemulpó. I had therefore plenty of time to consider what ought to be done in the future without making any abrupt break in the work. As you know, the school has from the first been secular, and undertaken at the invitation of the Japanese themselves in 1890. It has led as yet to no Chri-tian instruction, not because Mr. Smart was unwilling, but because his ignorance of Japanese prevented him from giving it, whilst the close and continuous work involved in teaching English precluded him from any real attempt to learn Japanese, which is the only language in which, for many years, it will be possible to convey Christian instruction. This invasion of Corea by the Japanese, especially under the barbarous and cruel circumstances which are characterising it, has converted the previous universal hatred and suspicion of the Japanese by the Coreans into a feeling of detestation and horror. This secular school, therefore, would identify the Mission with the Japanese in so marked a way as to raise suspicions in the minds of the Coreans that we were come to the country rather as agents for the Japanese than as missionaries. Had it been a Mission-school, had I obtained the services of a Japanese-speaking priest or schoolmaster, it would have been different. We should have kept the school and hoped that circumstances would have justified our action. The school-house is close to the official residence of the Corean Sub-Prefect of Chemulpó. Japanese have been in the habit of coming at all hours to see Mr. Smart, who has many friends amongst them.

This invasion, and the bitter feelings which Coreans of all classes (except a few who are receiving Japanese pay) now have towards Japan, compel me to reconsider the whole question or the future of this school. We were all unanimous in the opinion that it should be closed. On the 1st of October, therefore, it will not be reopened. I must wait now until I get the man for whom I have looked and written in vain for three years : a man who, with a knowledge of Japanese, will come and be a missionary to the ten thousand Japanese who, before the war, were in this country. But our extremity was Mr. Smart's opportunity. For a long time he has wanted to learn Japanese or at least to make a real attempt to learn as much of the vernacular as will enable him to talk to these people and to read the language when written (as it very often is written) in English letters, There was nothing else to keep him here. I was on the point of sending him for this experiment to Fusan, the treaty port in the south of Corea, when the treatment which the unhappy Chinese soldiers in the Kow Shing met with at the hands of the Japanese sailors made it impossible for me to assume the responsibility of sending him to live in a Japanese settlement where even less protection would be offered to neutrals than is offered here and in Seoul. At his own request, therefore, I have sent him to Kobe for a year. There, under the direction of Mr. Foss, the excellent S.P.G. missionary, he will, I hope, have every oppor-tunity of pursuing his studies with a view to presenting himself for examination at the end of one year's residence. He went away in excellent spirits and full of hope that he will still be able to render good service to a Mission which he has hitherto served so well. In the first week of August I went up to Seoul in one of the river steam launches which has been attached to the English fleet for the purpose of conveying neutrals between this and Seoul. Japanese sentries guarded the gate, but admitted me without any hesitation. It was delightful to find myself once more with all our friends. The city was quiet, almost deserted it seemed; the printing press was at work as usual; Miss Cooke's hospital at the Advent, now full of Corean soldiers (wounded by the Japanese when they seized the palace), looked very busy with all the sisters, once more united, paying them every atten-tion. The parsonage of the Advent is an additional hospital, furnishing two more wards, and Dr. Baldock, temporarily lodged in Miss Cooke's house, finds his time fully occupied in the hospital and elsewhere. The bluejacket guard at the Consulate-General next door is a great support, and almost fills the Church of the Advent on Sundays. One object I had in going to Seoul was to see whether I ought to remove the sisters to a place of greater safety. They would not hear of it, and declined to leave a place where they were hard at work all day. I did not press it ; for, in the first place, I was assured by the Consul-General that there was no immediate danger, and I found all the ladies of the American Missions in their places. So long, therefore, as the Consuls remain they will remain. Having given directions to have all our books and papers removed to the Consulate, where Mr. Gardner had been kind enough to give them a refuge, I returned to Chemulpó. In truth it is not safe to leave any of our houses now without a European-our Chinese servants are so frightened. Mr. Warner, too, returned to his house at Kang Hoa a few days later, and, though he has since been to Seoul, I am expecting him down here shortly on a visit. In a word, I am endeavouring to carry on the affairs of the Mission as if there were no war. When circumstances arise which we are unable to control then we shall have to give way. Accordingly, I spend a good deal of time every day over " Lumen," which I find an excellent lesson book. It is a great thing at last to be reading the Holy Scriptures in Corean, and to feel that one does, under-stand a little of them. On my return to Chemulpó I found Admiral Fremantle here in the Centurion, with four or five other ships. A part of two days had to be spent in visiting old friends, some of whom I had not seen for more than twenty years. Indeed, if the fleet had not gone away after a two days' stay, "Lumen" would have suffered more than it did. The Archer has now been replaced by the Porpoise as our guardship. Last Sunday morning, at the request of the captain, I went off to perform Divine service on board. I am received there, as in all our ships, with the same open-hearted kindness which I remember so well of old. I only wish some of the officers could get to Seoul that they might see what good account the doctors and sisters are giving of the funds of the H.N.F.

As I write ten more Japanese transports are entering the harbour, containing I know not what fresh abominations for this poor country. This is not exactly a cheerful letter, but you are to under-stand that we are cheerful and, one and all, in excellent spirits. Have us more in your prayers than ever, and believe me always Your affectionate friend, C. J. CORFE

Association of Prayer and Work for Corea.

As usual, there are a few changes to be noted in our list of Secretaries. Mrs. Warner, of Gainsborough, has changed her locality, though not her county, and is going to begin work for us at Stoke, while Mrs. Moor has kindly consented to fill her place at Gainsborough. At Streatham, Miss G. M. Innes succeeds Mr. Fisher—one of our first Secretaries—who, we hope, has also only changed his locality, as well as his place of residence. It will be seen by the accompanying fly-leaf that a smaller number of Reports than usual have been received, and also less money than in the same quarter of last year. The difference in the latter respect is mainly, or entirely, due to the absence this quarter of the proceeds of any sales of work. But, on the other hand, the more than usually large number of new members should be most thankfully noted. Corea needs now, as we all know, in an especial sense and degree, and Corea and all Missions need always far above everything else that richest gift and strongest support of which these names are the pledge, the “daily prayers of the faithful.” No less than forty-nine of these names come from one locality and one parish. Yiewsley and its Secretary are indeed to be gratefully congratulated, and held up for imitation. It may be well to state, with much regret, that Mr. Trollope's list of engagements during the time of his stay in England which can be given to travelling is already full. We fear that he will not be able to go to many localities where a warm welcome would have awaited him; but even so the gain to the Mission from his presence in England is very great, and the store of information and interest which he brings will be widely distributed. If possible, a list of Mr. Trollope's engage-ments will be given in this number of the Morning Calm, that our readers may know when and where they may have an opportunity of meeting or hearing him, as it is hoped that in many cases the Association workers will find this opportunity, when the primary object of his visit is to preach or speak for, and at the invitation of, the S.P.G., to which Society it is desired that collections at Association meetings at which Mr. Trollope is the speaker, should be given. M. M. CHAMBERS-HODGETTS, Rowancroft, Exeter. Gen. Sec.

GOSPORT WORKING GUILD.

A sale was held in Forton on September 17th, which enabled the Members of the Guild to send ￡9 10s, to the Hospital Naval Fund. The Hon. Mrs. Nelson has kindly consented to act as Secretary and Treasurer to the G.W.G., and will be pleased to give information or receive subscriptions. Mrs. Barnes will be glad to receive any parcels of clothing sent for sale. (For the addresses see cover.)

Correspondence.

 DEAR MR. EDITOR, 

It has been my intention for some time to write a letter to Morning Calm, and I do not think I can do better than give your readers an account of the journey I made into the country, referred to by the Bishop in his letter in the June number. I left on the 23rd of February with a pack horse, a coolie, and my dog Juno. The horse is a necessary expense because of the difficulty of taking Corean money. I took 12 dollars' worth of cash, which made a very heavy bundle. (Silver is very low now, 100 dollars being given for £10, whereas five years ago only 50 could have been got.) Besides this my horse carried my Corean blanket, pillow and a rug, a small portmanteau, and a basket of provisions consisting of five tins of milk, a tin of oatmeal, three loaves of bread, and two tins of cocoa. I thought I would try to live for the rest on Corean food. Never again! I have tried it and failed: my stomach is, I am sorry to say, not cast iron, and rejects the Corean messes. The horse and mapoo (coolie) cost me in English money 1s. 9d. a day, inclusive of food for both. My coolie carried on his back a hand camera with which I was provided. I have taken 18 snap-shots, but being very much of an amateur I am not at all sure that they will develope. My horse had been “moulting,” and was quite bald in parts. I started with a very crude idea as to my destination, but thought Chol-la-do would be a good place. You will see from the map in Morning Calm that it is one of the southern provinces. It is generally supposed to be the great centre of the Tong Hak Society, and I was anxious to see if I could discover anything about these revolutionary gentlemen. With this idea in view I started on the main road to that province. We crossed the river Han some miles above Mapo, and here my horse first showed signs of his Corean origin After the break-ing-up of the ice the river was in flood, and we had to be carried “pig-a-back” to the ferry-boat. The horse refused to enter the boat and began to kick and plunge, much to the damage by water of my goods and chattels. Finally he was unloaded, but even then it took some ten minutes to induce him to enter the boat, and when he did so was spiteful enough to deluge us all with water. If there is one thing the Corean dislikes it is getting wet, so you can imagine the strong remarks that were passed, for there were some 15 passengers, besides a bull or two. The roads were pretty bad that first day, just recovering from the spring thaw. I was a little disturbed on finding I had forgotten to take any soap with me, and how could I teach the Coreans the great lesson of cleanliness, which they so much need, without it? Fortunately I was able to buy some Japanese scented stuff at the first town I passed through. After a beautiful walk under my favourite mountains of Koa Nak San we reached the prefectural town of Koa Chyen at 2 P.M., where we stopped for tiffin. One of the drawbacks of taking a horse is the long delay in the middle of the day, as quite two hours are occupied by the man and the horse getting their food. You enter the courtyard and your servant calls for a room and a rush mat; the latter is to sit on, and is generally, but not always, clean. The landlord then enquires how many “tables” you want, i.e., tables of food; these are all the same, the gentleman and his servant having exactly similar fare. Well, of course I always ordered two tables, one for my servant and one for myself--or more often for Juno (the dog). After wait-ing about half-an-hour two little tables are brought in. A large bowl of (generally) dirty rice, often mixed with beans, is the piece de résistance, the other dishes--about 10 in number--containing such things as slices of raw turnip, sea-weed, chang (a sauce made from decomposed beans), dried fish with cayenne, stale shrimps, minute threads of beer or dog, and soup (oh, that soup! I have never got beyond smelling it). Altogether the odour arising from these tempting (?) little tables is sometimes quite over-powering. After the first day or two I told my servant he could have my 10 little extras as well as his own. For this most excellent and really substantial meal (for the bowl of rice is enormous) you pay the extravagant sum of about 160 cash a table, and as now 3,300 cash go to make up 2s., the cost is some 1 1/2d., which includes a night's lodging. I took with me a travelling saucepan and frying-pan, and fried some eggs for tiffin, and, boiling some water, mixed a little milk with it, and so managed to eat some of the rice and beans. But to proceed. After a 25-mile walk we reached Son Ouen, one of the four fortresses of Corea, about 6 P.M. A most excellent road, broad and well made, led to the city, and for the last five miles we passed through an avenue of trees lined with memorial tablets, many resting on stone tortoises, and every now and then we came to a royal tablet enclosed in a highly decorated pavilion, with a notice outside requesting “all people, both great and small, to dismount.” Further on we passed a large artificial lake and some summer-houses. Altogether the approach to the city was very lovely. I was charmed with Son Ouen, which we entered by the east gate, going straight through the city past the big bell (which was ringing), and out of the south gate to a large inn. Just before we got in we met the military governor, and as it was dark his attendants were pulling great bamboo torches along the ground, leaving a train of sparks behind. He was carried in a chair. It was a weird scene. The inn was a very decent one, and I slept well. I spent the next morning in walking round the walls of the city. The four gates are better built than the Seoul ones, and that is saying a good deal. They are really double gates, for you first enter a small gate in a wall about 20 feet thick, and then go through a court before you pass under the actual gate, which is two-storied, with the wood-work painted and well carved. About every 50 feet along the walls are towers and buttresses of every shape and size, and in every state of repair, but they are very picturesque and interest-ing. The area of the city is, I should say, five square miles, and with a sufficient force it could be well protected, the wall being well built and in good repair. The population of Son Ouen I should put at 5,000 to 10,000, I left in the afternoon, intending to sleep at a monastery about eight miles distant, and after about an hour's walk we lost the main road and went across a pretty, well-wooded hill, which took us to the monastery of Ryongton Sa, outside of which we found some 50 monks and boys bally-ragging. The monastery was so filthy and smelt so badly that I ordered a retreat, much to my servant's annoyance. After an hour's search we discovered another monastery on the top of a hill inside a san syeng (hill fortress). A small village and rice granaries were pitched up there, surrounded by a wall with gates.   The monastery—called Po Yok Sa—was a tiny one with only three monks, but it commanded a magnificent view of country. I spent Sunday up there. On Monday morning, much to the amusement of the villagers, I went out with the boys collecting firewood, and a pretty scramble they took me. Of course the hills near by had been pretty thoroughly scraped of every burnable atom, so we had to go some distance. This collecting wood is hard work; you are provided with a rake made of bamboo and a basket, and you scrape, scrapc, scrape the sides of the hills, and by evening you have a fairly large pile of brushwood, which you strap on your back and trudge home. You sometimes see little boys of 12 and 13 staggering under enormous loads 15ft. in height. Mr. Trollope once came across a boy who had tripped up, and such was the weight of his load that he could not extricate himself and was calling lustily for help. My room in the monastery was only 8ft. by 6ft., but it was astonishing the number of people who managed to squeeze in. I did a good deal of talking (one of my objects in going into the country) both here and in neighbouring villages. The whole place turned out to see me off, and I tried to get a photo of some of the people grouped round the gate, but they bolted directly the camera was pointed at them. The country now was rather uninteresting, for we travelled all day across an immense plain, following in a horrid way the windings of a river. We stopped at the town of Chin Oui for tiffin, and at Chik San for the night; the latter place was some miles off the main road, and we kept losing our way in the dark. It was a pretty little scattered town, with a decent tiled house for the magistrate. A town is always marked by the arrow gate and tiled house of the magistrate. We saw a great quantity of game: snipe, ducks, geese, swans, and turkeys. In one place I saw thousands of wild turkey feeding in the paddy fields just off the road, and so large are they that we mistook them in the distance for men weeding. If I had taken a gun I should have lived well. I was mistaken all along the high road for an American tract seller, and in consequence was shunned. The more ignorant people called me a Japanese, which mistake was rather humiliate-ing. My dog Juno (a pointer) attracted a good deal more atte-tion than I did. “Look at the dog's ears,” was the general remark, or “Beautiful dog!” “What a large dog!” Often, however, they would turn to me and say, “What is that creature?” and once or twice I was asked whether it was a lion ! I found her a great companion, and had her to sleep in my room, as the Corean dogs were inclined to be vicious. Tuesday we had a pleasanter walk among hills, but the whole province of Chung Chong Do is very uninteresting, although it is the best province for growing grain. We tiffined at another town--Chyen an--but slept in a large village—Tai Pyeng. I find, on reference to my diary, that I finished my bread on Wednesday, the 28th. On that day, after a pleasant walk, we sighted Kong Chyon at 4 P.M. What we could see was a walled-in wooded hill, with a picturesque summer-house standing on the summit. The city of Kong Chyon, however, I found was situated in a valley behind, and was not walled-in; but the hill itself contains a large village and the residence of the Choung Koun, a military official. It also contains a fair-sized monastery, at which I put up. An old monk of 73 kindly placed his room at my disposal, and they did what they could to make me comfortable. A bowl of honey-water was very acceptable, and they plied me with persimmons, dates, chestnuts, and walnuts. I was the first foreigner they had ever had there, so they made the most of me, well examining everything I possessed, and asking the usual impertinent questions. A telegraph wire runs between this place and Seoul, and I decided to wire to the Bishop to give him a chance of recalling mc if necessary. A couple of Coreans were in charge of the office, who could not speak English but Could write it. They began by wiring to Seoul to know the rate of dollar exchange, how much to charge per word, if Chyen Chyon (the name of a town) should be one word or two, and if 1 A.M. counted three words. After three-quarters of an hour's wiring they transmitted my message. Then the other side began to ask ridiculous questions. Was Bishop a surname? Who was Corfe? Describe the situation of his house, and so on. It was very amusing and a little tiresome. That evening I went on show at the village. A man asked me down to see him, and I sat in his house while the whole place passed before me. “What is your name? What is your age? How many sons have you?” If I answered these questions once, I answered them 500 times that evening. It is tiring work being looked at and stroked all over. My host was very distressed because I would not drink with him. Poor old Juno got more mauled about than I did, but She got tired of it at last and started a low growl, much to the horror of the spectators. The village or city, which is the capital of Chung Chong Do, was not very interesting, but was beautifully situated on the banks of the Kenm Kiang river. I was told here were 3,700 houses, which would make a population of about 18,500, but this is probably excessive. I left again the following afternoon for Chol-la-do, and after rather an un-interesting walk we passed under some grand mountains, and reached a large village with a large inn, which was very clean but frightfully hot, the fire that warmed my room being used for cooking the horses' beans, and so it was constantly replenished. I woke up in the night feeling cooked, and moved as far away as I could. The next day we had a pleasant view as we approached the confines of Chung Chong Do, the country beginning to get very beautiful; the villages seemed to be better kept, and had a stout fencing round them, and they were generally nestling in a grove of bamboo shrubs, which are green and pretty. Chol-la-do is noted for its bamboo. This afternoon I had an unpleasant experience. We had just mounted a hill, and saw in the distance a large crowd of several hundred people collected, but what they were doing I could not discover. At all events one of them caught sight of me and raised the cry of ‘Oai nom!’ (Japanese fellow). Immediately the cry was taken up, and they all rushed for the road, which they lined for some distance. I had to run the gauntlet amidst loud booing and hooting, and a few stones whizzed past my head. It was an unpleasant five minutes, and I wished I had a companion. We had row to put up at the small village of Hoa Chengi on account of the rain. Some students were also stranded in the same inn, so I had someone to talk to. They wrote me verses in Chinese, and were ‘rather surprised that I could not answer them. They imagine that the Chinese characters are universally used, and their respect for you goes down a hundred-fold when they hear that you do not know the language. It rained the whole of the following day, but fortunately I had some books to read, and was content. The next day was glorious, and we again proceeded; but the roads were terrible--simply feet of mud. We passed a good many beggars, who were often paralysed or misshapen, and generally sat close by one of the many roadside shrines, and as you came up they bow and scrape, and beseech the deity to give you a generous spirit. Very few people pass a beggar without giving him a cash. We also now met crowds of men who were, I was told, Tong Hak men going to a great meeting. They were very respectable-looking people, each carrying his pipe and a small knapsack. What made me think my informant was correct was that they took no interest in me except to turn me off the road into the paddy fields. A Corean always steps aside and makes way for you, and generally stands and stares until you are out of sight, but these fellows spread across the road, and I was compelled to step down into the paddy fields or force my way through, which latter I did once or twice when it was very dirty at the side. Otherwise they were quite inoffensive. We had a grand walk this day over a breezy down with beautiful mountains on one side and a long, undulating grassy plain on the other. Now I must relate my last unpleasant experience. After a long 25 miles we reached Chyen Chyon, the capital of Chol-la-do, about 5 P.M., and, accompanied by an ever-increasing mob, we went from inn to inn and were refused admittance. At last I thought of my passport, and, seeing an official building, I boldly entered, still surrounded by an enormous crowd. Inside I found numbers of soldiers and Yamen runners, mostly drunk, and it was with no effect that I tried to induce first one and then another to take my passport to some official. I was getting angry and tried to go in but was stopped ; at last an official came out. He first ordered the soldiers to bamboo the crowd, and then he turned to me in a rage and began to rate me up and down, asking me how I dared to come to the governor's about such a little matter as wanting a room, and didn't I know the difference between a governor and a magistrate? I was tired, cold, and hungry, and felt inclined to box the fellow's ears. He was a "chipsa"--a petty official --not even a gentleman, and he was a very small man, so I went up to him, and put my hand on his shoulder, and, looking down at him (I am over six feet and pretty big). I told him pretty straightly what I thought of him. I now went to the magistrate and was shown into a room with about a dozen men. I handed in my passport and told them to give me a room. They leisurely looked it over, and then laying it down said, “So your name is Na, is it? What is your age? How many sons have you? I say, what are your clothes made of?” &c., &c. I never had my patience so tried before in my life. At last I got one of the men to take my passport in to the magistrate, and after a long wait he returned and asked what I had come into the country for. I said, “Can't you read your own language ?” and showed him the character meaning “for pleasure.” He said “Yes,” but people had different ways of interpreting that character. Well, after being worried from Pillar to post I at last was given a room, but I could get no fire-wood, food, or even washing water, and that room was cold, I can assure you for the doors were not shut for two minutes the whole evening. The room was packed with hangers-on at the magistrate's and the governor's. They even brought some dancing girls in to see me. I was very miserable that night, and left the first thing the next morning. It was the first time I have ever experienced rudeness at the hands of the officials.   This letter is getting an unreadable length, so I think I had better close it, though I have a great deal more I could tell you. Yours very truly, MAURICE W. DAVIES.

The Island of kang-hoa.

(Continued from October.) Existing Missions in Corea have, in the face of these restric-tions, usually adopted one of two methods of action. The French (R.C.) method is apparently to fly in the face of the treaty, and to station their missionaries where they please throughout the length and breadth of the land. Still the French Mission has, I suppose, if any Mission has, purchased by its undaunted self-sacrifice in the past the right to take liberties in the present. The American (Methodist and Presbyterian) missionaries, on the other hand, have hitherto usually adopted the plan of living almost entirely at Seoul, varying the monotony by an occasional passport-protected tour through the country. Such journeys are, I believe, as a rule, not unaccompanied by profuse distribution of Corean Gospels in admittedly poor Corean-apparently on the rather doubtful principle that unsatisfactory and unintelligible translations of “the Word” (with no one to explain it) are better than nothing, and on the rather large assumption that the Bible is not “a book disap-proved of by the Corean Government.” We of the English Mission are hoping that there is a third course open to us, involving neither the defiance of the French method nor the shallowness of the American. The restrictions upon the movements of foreigners in Corea are, I suppose we may imagine, likely to become rather less than more stringent as time goes on. In the meantime it certainly seems best to be quite frank in one's recognition of the limitations placed on one, and within those limits (which in reality give plenty of scope for years to come) to make the best possible use, on behalf of Christianity, of the privileges secured by treaty to all British subjects resident in Corea. One must have some sort of centre and headquarters in Seoul (and perhaps ultimately in the other three Treaty Ports): and in the scores of busy and populous hamlets which cluster round Seoul within the 10 li (3 mile) limit we are at perfect liberty to buy as much property, erect as many buildings, and practically be as independent as we please. Furthermore, within the 100 li (30 mile) limit we are at liberty to wander yet further afield, and (short of purchasing property on an irrefragable title and erecting buildings) are free to pursue our avocations “where we please” (and presumably as we please) “without passports,” and consequently without having questions asked by tiresome officials as to the particular “purposes of trade” for which we have arrived, or the character of the “pleasure” of which we are in pursuit.

The discovery that the island of Kang-hoa lay within the charmed circle of 100 li—as Mapó is within 10 li of Seoul—went far to enhance its attractions in our eyes. The further discovery that in Kang-hoa we should also be trading, as far as missionaries were concerned, on practically virgin soil deepened those attractions still more. Of course we are anxious, very anxious, to avoid clashing with other Missions, either Protestant or Catholic—and particularly with the latter. I am sure, by the way, that Mr. Dermer and our other candid critics in the Church Times will be pleased to learn that Monseigneur Mutel (the French Bishop) and his subordinates have been heard to express themselves handsomely about us in their appreciation of our obvious unwillingness to meddle with their people; though I am afraid it is also true that at least one of the subordinates added that of course the French Mission could not be expected to reciprocate our forbearance. That, however, we knew before, and is a risk which we are quite prepared to face. To resume, however—the year of grace 1893 found Kang-hoa, in addition to its other attractions, possessed of this supreme one, that it was so far wholly innocent of Christianity and Christians. The Roman Catholics seem never to have touched the island, and to possess neither catechist nor convert there; nor (after the events of 1866) would it be an easy place for them to approach. That the American Methodists should have developed a surpassingly keen interest in the island on hearing of our settlement there, is Perhaps only what would have been expected by those who know anything of the manners and customs of missionaries in the Far East. But that again is an eventuality which we might have anticipated, which we cannot help, and which we must be pre- pared to face. “Thrice armed” at least “is he who hath his quarrel just.” No sooner had we begun to cast “sheep's eyes” on Kang-hoa—and indeed almost before Mr. Warner (who was selected for the post by the Bishop) had begun to make inquiries as to the possibility of securing accommodation there—than we heard Tidings of the other event which is calculated to make Kang-hoa Interesting to Englishmen, namely, the prospective establish-ment of the “Royal Corean Naval Academy” on the island, under English auspices and English officers. The “Academy” is now fairly established—there is already a school of some thirty or forty cadets, all Iearning English as fast as they can under the instruction of Mr. Hutchison, an English school-master, hard at work at Kapkotchi, the little village on the river's edge of Kang-hoa, in which Mr. Warner also lives. The naval in-structor, a retired English naval officer selected by the Foreign Office, with probably also a warrant officer from the Royal Navy, is almost daily expected to arrive from England, and it is even rumoured that he is to be accompanied by his wife. The Gover-nor of Kang-hoa, in addition to his other dignities, has become the “Comptroller-General of His Royal Corean Majesty's Naval Affairs,” and the old barracks of the city of Kang-hoa are full to repletion with budding sailors only waiting for their initiation into the mysteries of seamanship, while the cadets at Kapkotchi, having learnt the English tongue, are to become their officers. There is a sadly humorous side to all this. Unkind critics point to the Military School, the Royal Corean University, the Royal Corean Hospital, the mints, the silk factory, the match factory, the paper factory, and the hundred and one other European playthings which during the last ten years have provided amuse-ment for the monarch, and “pickings" for the courtiers, of Corea, to say nothing of salaries for the talented Europeans and Americans who have been attracted by his enlightened policy into the service of His Corean Majesty. Corea is strewn with the wreckage of great projects hastily taken up, expensively trilled with, and prematurely thrown aside. Seriously, we shall all wait anxiously to see whether the “British genius for dealing with backward nations” is destined to win for this last venture any higher measure of success than has attended the earlier ones. And, meanwhile, we shall, all of us—and not least, I am sure, Mr. Warner in his exile at Kang-hoa—welcome with plea-sure the arrival of the naval instructor, his wife, and his assistant in Corea. You do not often hear from me directly, I am afraid, Mr. Editor, so I hope that you will pardon the otherwise inexcusable length of this letter. I only wish that I had time and space to add an account of the interesting journey I took last week with Mr. Fox, H.B.M. Vice-Consul in Chemulpó, to Kang-hoa to in-terview the officials and inspect the accommodation being pre-pared for the naval instructor on his arrival. I travelled, of scourse, incognito as the friend of Mr. Fox, to whose courteous kindness I feel greatly indebted. But that is nothing new in Corea, where one has found the British Consular authorities uniformly courteous and kind. The visit gave me-in addition to an interesting glimpse into high official life--an opportunity of seeing Mr. Warner in his little cottage, and Mr. Hutchison at work amongst the naval cadets in the English School at Kapkotchi. But of these you must hear on another occasion. Believe me, very truly yours, MARK NAPIER TROLLOPE.

The Spirit of Missions.

“THERE is hardly a branch of human study, as there is no exercise of lofty and self-denying effort, which has not found ample scope on the mission field, or has not been enriched in the pursuit of missionary work. Philology, geography, and ethnography, our recent science of comparative religions, our extended knowledge of the world's surface, our clearer comprehension of the primitive state of man, have all been widely indebted to the labours of those who have gone forth to carry the Master's message into the depths of continents hitherto untrodden by Europeans, or who have been nerved to penetrate into territories where death would probably be the portion of the intruder. Nor have the material advantages of missionary work been less conspicuous. The extension of Christianity means the extension of a civilis-ation which brings new ideas in its train, before which the walls of the most inveterate exclusiveness are falling, which opens out new markets for the world's products, and which, by the introduction of more humane and pro-gressive principles into the government of savage and stationary races, ameliorates the condition and augments the happiness of a large proportion of mankind. Such blessings inevitably follow in the track of missions, and it would seem therefore to be the height of folly to sneer at missionary effort, and the mark of culpable ignorance not to know what is doing in this noble field of human enterprise. It is too late to speak of efforts as futile or fanatic which have literally girdled the globe with a chain of missionary stations, and those who now speak scornfully of missions are simply men behind their age.”-- Quarterly Review, January 1894.

The following gives an excellent example of the quiet every-day bravery of the Mission Field. It is from a letter in the Salisbury Diocesan Gasette by the Rev. J. F. Welsh, Principal of S. Boniface Missionary College, Warminster. “Those who were present at the Diocesan Missionary Festival in Salisbury in 1892 will remember the attractive power of the Bishop of Trinidad. Three of the Warminster students present on that occasion offered themselves subsequently for work in that diocese; and the Rev. T. H. Walker, who was the first to sail, had been working in the Island of Tobago, and was ordained priest last December. The Rev. W. T. Allen, the second of the three, was working with Canon Trotter at Princestown, and was acting as curate-in-charge there during the Canon's absence in England. But yellow fever was raging, and Mr. Allen was sent by the Bishop to take up the work of a priest who had died from the epidemic ; and Mr. Walker was fetched from Tobago to work at Princestown, where he died, after two days' illness, of yellow fever. The terms in which his Bishop speaks of him and his work almost take away the sadness and fill us with encourage-ment. I must only quote these words from the Bishop's letter :-- ‘Tell his fellow-students that he had done a man's work here, and had made everyone his friend with whom he came in contact, and that I feel his loss keenly. It is pleasant to an-nounce that Mr. F. J. Titcombe, the third of those present at Salisbury, who had hoped to go out and work with Mr. Walker, bravely sets forth at once to take his place in response to the Bishop's call, 'Can you send me Titcombe at once?’”

There have been at all times cases in which the unwisdom or arrogance of Christian converts has led to their persecution at the hands of the heathen. At present the converts at Ogbonoma in the Niger Delta are suffering from petty cruelty at the hands of the heathen chiefs ; and the following letter from Archdeacon Crowther, in the Church Missionary Intelligencer, shows what was the occasion of it :-- “From the inquiries I made from interested persons, to know the causes of this persecution, and from what I was told, I cannot help saying that a little prudence was needed at the outset on the part of Church adherents. For instance, one baptised man, who is a slave, boasted that at Christmas he spent no less than ￡1 to buy for himself and wife, from the German shop, to put on, whatever articles he knew were against the country law, among them an umbrella, which only chiefs and sub-chiefs are allowed to carry : so also two Church women, who are slaves, purposely bought a sort of cloth forbidden to be worn, called ‘juju cloth,’ put the dresses on and went to the town, to be seen that they are now Christians : and other such like actions which had no direct bearing on the spiritual requirements of Christianity--such as not eating things offered to idols, &c. The above reforms are bound to come in time (!), but I think it was very imprudent for such a handful of Church people to try and press them on where there are only eight baptised people in the list, against a whole population of heathen people and chiefs.”