Morning Calm v.11 no.84(1900 May.)

THE MORNING CALM. No. 84, VOL. XI.] MAY 1900. [PRICE 3d.

The Bishop's Letters.Ⅰ.

SYEOUL: December, 1899. DEAR FRIENDS, It was with great relief that I found myself once more in Corea after my long absence. And my mind was at ease about Niu Chwang. Though I had lost Mr. Turner from Syeoul--a great loss which I cannot replace--I had him in the Parsonage at Niu Chwang with dear Charlesworth (who is such a help to us all), and amongst people who need him and who will love him. I was glad also to have had one more word with Mr. Sprent, and to hear from him the latest news from our friends. He passed through Chefoo on his way to England, having taken a passage in the last steamer which left Niu Chwang before the port closed for the winter. I believe, indeed, that he was the last passenger to arrive on board, the difficulty of getting a boat being always great when the river is full of floating ice. After spending two days in Chemulpô, where, on St. Andrew's Day, I was glad to celebrate at St. Michael's, I went to Kanghoa. It was delightful to see them all again. The weather was beautiful, and what with talking and walking, the time went all too quickly. But I had to get to Syeoul and relieve my good deacon, Badcock, of some of his responsibilities. Just nine years ago I landed in Corea, and paid my first visit to Syeoul. That journey of 24 miles from Chemulpô was made in a chair carried by four bearers, and if you will refer to my September letter of that year, you will see that that first letter was written in pencil) during my journey whilst all the impressions were fresh. But nine years have been insufficient to exhaust the possibilities of fresh experiences on that well-known road. To-day I was to enlarge those experiences in a train which, in many parts, runs over the old road. The carriages are large and com-fortable. All the working staff of the line are Japanese, the Americans who began the line having sold it to a Japanese company. And the line is completed to within about five miles of Syeoul, stopping short of the river Han, which is not yet bridged. Although the speed was not great, I seemed to fly past the well remembered places, trees under which I had rested and hills up which I had climbed. I reached Nak Tong in a little over three hours. I have done the journey once since then and took only two hours. In Syeoul I found everyone well, and the Sisters completing the orphanage, which looks a very business-like building. My days are occupied a good deal in looking over the various translations which have been made

EXTERIOR OF ST. NICOLAS CHURCH, NEW CHWANG, (Opened November 28, 1899.)

during my absence, not many, but taking me a long time, for I work slowly. So far as I have been able, I have carried on Mr. Turner's services for Coreans--daily prayers in church and a Corean celebration of the Holy Communion every Sunday and Holy Day, with the exception of the first Sunday in the month, when the service is at the Advent, in English, and Coreans are not present. On that day Mr. Badcock, who is very helpful to me in all sorts of ways, takes the Missa Catechumenorum af Nak Tong. Now that Mr. Turner is away, the difficulty of pre-paring our Christians for Holy Communion is considerable.   They want to be taught how to examine themselves and a good deal more, and they understand but little of the service in spite of their hearing it so often. I have no books and I cannot give oral instruction. Manchuria, I am afraid, has deprived me of all chance of ever being able to teach in Corean. But I have set about compiling a book for the three-fold purpose of supplying an instruction on the Sacrament, a preparation to be used in Church on Saturday evenings, and devotions before, during, and after the service on Sunday morning. The book is now printed and in use, but even this book has got to be learnt before it can

INTERIOR OF ST. NICOLAS CHURCH, NEW CHWANG.

really answer its purpose. Our people read with great difficulty, or rather they do not easily attach a meaning to the words which they read, and are quite content not to understand. And here is where I fail. To pound them with questions, to invent sentences, and to change words without altering their meaning, to get them to ask and to keep on asking questions, these are the things I long to do but cannot. But the good people could not be kept from their Christmas Communion because they had an ignorant pastor. We did our best, Mr. Badcock making himself responsible for the men, and one of the Sisters for the women, and had a very happy Christmas Day. All our people were in church, and all made their Communion. On the Feast of Holy Innocents the new orphanage was blessed. It was a bright, cold day, but not too cold for us to go in procession from the Church of the Advent, singing the Litany, and making pauses as we stopped at the door of each room. A circuit was made of the compound and a visit paid to the adjoining women's hospital, where a new dispensary has been added, and the Litany was concluded on our return to the church. You will think that the places must have been very close together to have been visited and circumnavigated without exhausting so short a service as the Litany. But it is the Litany which is long. All the service was in Corean, and many of our Corean Christians joined us and followed me in the procession. But to say the Litany in Corean is for me the work of half an hour. So it made a very good substitute for a processional hymn which we do not possess. Moreover, the Coreans know the responses well, and everything went heartily and smoothly. And so having wished you all a happy Christmas and New Year, we came to the end of 1899. I am, your affectionate Friend, C. J. CORFE.

Il.

SYEOUL: January, 1900. DEAR FRIENDS, — Not to make last month's letter too long, I omitted to tell you of the visit we had from Imai San, who certainly deserves a letter all to himself. For months he had been endeavouring to pay us his promised visit from Tokyo, but was unable to accomplish it until November. On my return from China, I found him here, having been taken in tow by Mr. Smart, with whom he had visited all the Japanese Christians in Fusan, Mokpó, Chinampó, P'yeng Yang, Chemulpó, and Syeoul. This, you know, is how we make these clergy from Japan enjoy their holidays. Dear Imai San worked hard and willingly for us. It was a great joy, as well as a great privilege, to have him. He has given a great fillip to our Japanese Christians and a great encouragement to Mr. Smart, who. I have no doubt, will write a more detailed account of his doings amongst us than I can find time for. One service will always stand out in my memory. Imai San had two Japanese--a man and a woman-- to present to me for Confirmation. Seeing what a help this would be-- as an object lesson in the unity of the Church—to both our Europeans and Coreans, I determined to sandwich the Confirmation between the Corean and English Evensong on the second Sunday in Advent, thereby securing the three congre-gations. The Coreans could not understand a word nor could the English, nor could I. Yet once more I had the temerity to use the office in the Japanese Prayer-Book, and I believe that the Japanese understood--that was the principal thing. Imai San was of the greatest assistance, leading a Japanese hymn, saying all he could of the Confirmation office for me, and interpreting my charge to the two candidates. It was a beautiful and most reverent service, in spite of the many elements it provided for confusion at nearly every step. There are very few churches that I know of in England--if indeed. there is one—where a like service could have been held under like conditions, with like results in the matter of outward behaviour and decorum. Our good English people here have learnt to say their prayers when people alongside them are praying in an unknown tongue. But our Corean Christians had never before heard any language in church but their own. Yet there was no amusement, no levity, no giggling on the part of the younger ones. The outward behaviour was beautiful, and I am sure that they were successful in bringing their hearts, if not their intelligences, into line with what was being done. And this Combination service (I wish we had more of them) was good and useful in other ways which I have no doubt you can guess.

Imai San, on his way home, spent a few days in Fusan to Prepare for a more permanent work than has hitherto been Possible in that Japanese town. I do not know yet what will come of it, but Mr. Smart followed Imai San early in this month, and is now making a stay there of, I hope, some weeks. In Fusan there are about ten adult Church-folk who are residents and who have recently shown signs of wishing to have some Place of worship for themselves. They are very poor, but are anxious to do what they can. I shall be able to learn a little from the reception which they give to Mr. Smart. Hitherto his visits have been of short duration, between the arrival and departure of the same steamer, when he was always welcome. Now he has to find a lodging, and will be known to want to rent a house. That, in Fusan, is quite another affair, for Fusan is practically Japan--the only town in Corea from which the Japanese were not driven out alter their invasion of the country 200 years ago. But whatever difficulties Mr. Smart may have, I am sure he will have the sympathy and active help of the native Christians.   A Sunday or two ago I had to baptize a Corean infant--one of our little orphans. It was my first baptism in Corean, and I do not remember the time when I have been so nervous. The light, too, was not good and the words of administration (which in this language are so long) were seen with difficulty. We are having a rather severer winter than usual, the thermometer having gone below zero more than once. But the fine days, as usual, predominate, and our health is all that we could wish. I hear regularly from Mr. Turner or Mr. Charlesworth, who seem to be getting on famously, and are both in excellent health. I hope, indeed, that the former will give an account of himself in Morning Calm. He will have a great deal to tell you of the Christmas Services in the New Church, and of their doings generally in the Port.

Perhaps because it is so cold the season of fires has set in with unusual severity up here. An Englishman's house was the first to burn ; this was followed by a fire in the house of another Englishman, then a Chinese carpenter's shop was completely destroyed. Our turn came next, with a fire in St. Peter's Chapel, which happily took place in the forenoon, and was speedily put out with but little damage done. An over-heated stove-pipe made a hole in Dr. Baldock's house next. And lastly, St. Andrew's Ward, in the Nak Tong Hospital, had a narrow escape of being burnt down. The nurse on night duty happily dis-covered it in time, but there is more burnt than we want to pay for. The New Year festivities are now--at the end of the month--at their height. No harm, I think, has come through them to our Christians, who will make their New Year's Com-munion, I hope, next Sunday. All goes well at Kanghoa and Chemulpó, but from the former place we hear but little now that they are frozen up. With God's blessings upon you all, I am your affectionate Friend, C. J. CORFE.

Association of Prayer and Work for Corea.

BY the time this number of Morning Calm is published the Annual Report should be in the hands of all associates and friends of the Mission, and will doubtless command the interest and attention it deserves. With the great development of the work last year in all its branches, comes the responsibility which lies with the friends of the Mission in England, of sending out the needful funds, without which the Mission staff is sadly hampered. A letter from Sister Nora received last week puts this forcibly. She writes. “There are now three Sisters and Six Lay workers, two of whom are entirely voluntary. Then Mr. Trollope is most anxious for women workers in Kanghoa, and when the two Sisters now in England return, I hope this may be possible, but it will mean another ￡100 a year (in addition to the ￡350 already required) and about ￡30 for necessary furniture, linen, etc., for the Kanghoa Mission House. Perhaps you will talk over all this increased outlay with your Treasurer, and say what you think we may undertake. . . . Now that the work is developing amongst the women, the need for workers increases, and at the same time living here becomes more expensive, food, firing, wages have nearly doubled in price in the last seven years. . . . Our children are increasing too, there are eleven orphans now, the last three being babies; you would be amused to see them lying on the warm floor side by side, laughing and crowing at each other.” Will all Associates who are able, give a yearly subscription, however small, to meet these increased needs. Prayer and almsgiving are so akin to each other that this request will not be understood to detract from the primary importance which the Bishop desires should always attach to the former. We need an increase of both There is to be a stall specially for the Corean Mission at the Sale of Work for Home and Foreign Missions, in Church House, Westminster, next November. The help of any or all Secretaries and Associates will be very welcome. Apart from saleable things, money is needed wherewith to purchase from Corea and India curios, which ought to be appreciated at Christmas time for presents. Some of our Kennington Associates are making clothes for the eleven little orphans under Sister Nora's care at Syeoul, if anyone has anything in the way of toys, pictures, or comforts of any kind to send out that can easily be packed in a small case, they should be sent in early in May. A special fund for the new Church bell at Kanghoa is well Started by a cheque for £10 from Mrs. Saunders, the Local secretary for Charlton, the result of a sale of work. Another sale of work realised £16. 10s. 6d., this comes from Mrs. Rudge, Local Secretary for Basset. Both cheques are most welcome. There are a good many blanks amongst the names of County and Local Secretaries on the yellow pages of Morning Calm. Havant and Portsmouth, I am told, have been vacant some time, Guildford and Wimbledon still wait for someone, and the Rev. E. Taylor, on leaving Mold Green, resigns his work of Secretary there. On the other hand, Miss K. Fraser has under-taken the work at Bromley, and Miss Merriman, who was at Bromley, is starting a branch at West Norwood. Miss Evans, at Newcastle-on-Tyne, has found a friend, Miss Webster to take her place, as she is obliged to resign. It is such a help when Secretaries are able to do as Miss Evans and Miss Merriman have done. The usual quarterly fly-leaf will not appear in future, but the names of new members will be published in Morning Calm, with a short financial statement, while a full statement of sub-scriptions and donations will be made in the Annual Report. Unfortunately the serious illness of the Treasurer, who is, we regret to say, unable to attend to any business at present, necessitates the holding over of the financial statement this quarter.

LIST OF NEW MEMBERS, JANUARY 1900 TO APRIL 1900.

Atherington Wanabomatih, Rev. Cecil V. Wansborotich, Mrs. Erinouth Manners-Smith, Miss Bassett Jones, Miss Helen Burdinetan. - Morris, Miss Dora Charlton Cooper, Mrs. Hastings, Mrs. Wise, Miss Children's Branck - Per Min Houchton Dixon, John Dixon, Nellie Evison, William Hopkins, Elizabeth Horton, Ernest Ranyard. Louisa Robis, Bertie Per Bliss Corbeti Corbett, Miles Per Mrs. Corle Anderson, Shirley Chinerott, Hamitli Cancron. Evan Harris, Romaniaud Hughes, Hubert Kinkend. Margie hinkuad, Kitty Mortimer, Corinte Nortimer, Godfrey Martin, Pearl Martin, Ruby Martin, Marie Phillips, Harriet Rowe Nark Stokes, Leonard Tighe, Cyril Tighe, Paul Tremlett, Kathleen Southsca Becket, Miss J. Churchill, Miss Henley, Rev. E. C. IVest Norivood. Brodic, Bliss A. Lewis, Miss Florence H. Holy Week. AMY WIGRAM, General Secretary.

LOCALITY REPORTS.

KENNINGTON.--On the evening of Monday, February 19, a very interesting and instructive address was given by the Rev. A. G. Deedes, to a large gathering of Associates and friends, in the Parochial Hall of St. John the Divine, Kennington, on “Corea” and Bishop Corfe's Mission. After describing the country, and some of the curious manners and customs of the THE MORNING CALM. 37________________________________________ inhabitants, the lecturer proceeded to give his audience a glimpse of the special work of the Mission, and a few of the initial difficulties encountered, illustrating all throughout by lime-light views. He concluded by urging those who were not at present members of the Association, to give help, and show real interest in the work by joining. It is hoped that a second lecture will be given before many months are over, with more details of the Mission, from the commencement until the present time. LINCOLNSHIRE.--At the request of Miss C. L. Young, the County Secretary, the Rev. H. F. Goffe undertook a small lecturing tour on behalf of this Association, visiting the parishes of North Witham, Castle Bytham, Thursby near Bourne, Louth, Wickenby, and Lincoln St. Peter at Gowts, and St. Peter in Eastgate) during the fortnight, February 6th to 16th. The slides belonging to the Association were kindly lent by Miss Wigram for use on the occasion, and were much appreciated. The weather was unfortunately severe and unpropitious—the meeting at Lincoln being fixed for the 15th and 16th, the day of, and the day after, the memorable blizzard. Nevertheless very great interest was evinced in the Mission, and the lecturer most heartily welcomed and kindly treated at all the centres. The attendance in the villages was especially encouraging--the con-nection of Miss Lucy Nevile (now at Syeoul) with some of them being doubtless responsible, in some measure, for this. As a financial result of the tour the sum of ￡2. 10s. after payment of all expenses, was sent by Miss Young to the funds of the Association.

St. Peter's Community Foreign Mission Association.

THE first three months of 1900 have been very fruitful and encouraging in greatly relieving S.P.F.M.A. from the heavy additional responsibility of the orphans and their new orphanage in Syeoul. There are now ten little inmates named Nora, Lucia, Anna, Hilda, Helena, Alick, Maria, Angela, Betha, Eva, and they are a source of great interest as they thrive and improve under the care of a Lay-Sister and a Corean amah. Six of them have been adopted by friends as follows:-- Lucia, Mrs. Cooke; Anna, Miss Ada Cooke; Hilda, Mrs. Wigram ; Helena, Miss F. Robertson-Macdonald; Angela, Miss A. G. Smedley; Maria, The Sunday-school Children of Holy Trinity, Southport.   There are great hopes of others of the children finding similar kind supporters ; indeed, the Guild of St. Catherine at St. Augustine's, Kilburn, have already made themselves respon-sible for the next little waif who is undertaken by the Sisters, and is to bear the name of Catherine. A short account of some of the children has been published in the Report for 1899, together with a most interesting account of the Women's Hospital, written by Dr. Katharine Allan, which gives a slight idea of the difficulties of working and overcoming native prejudice, but a very inadequate notion of the brave way in which these obstacles have been met and overcome With the accession of two new nurses, Miss Robinson from England, and Miss Mills from Japan, the Hospitals are now fully staffed, and remittances must go out regularly, so the Secretary would be glad to have all subscriptions as soon as possible, that the Hospital work may not be crippled for want of funds to meet the increasing expenses. SISTER HELEN CONSTANCE, Secretary S.P.F.M.A.

Chemulpó News.

DEAR SIR, I make no excuses for not having written to you again, for the simple reason that I have none to make. But I will proceed at once to explain the photos which I enclose. They were taken by Captain Charrington, of H.M.S. Alacrity, which was in port last June, if I remember rightly. No. 1 is the photo of one of Dr. Landis' old servants, and he is shown standing in one corner of the yard of what was once the old Orphanage, and which I used when I first arrived in the country as a hospital while the new one was building. It is a great relief to all our minds that this house is now pulled down. and the material will be used for building part of the hospital servants' quarters in the spring. You can judge by the little bit of fencing visible in the photo what a tumble-down place it was becoming. The old man has also disappeared, as one day he adopted a son, and asked if he might send this son to work in his place. Of course I jumped at the proposal, but it was rather amusing when I discovered that the boy had been a servant in the Mission before, when Rev. L. O. Warner was in the country : however, he has given no trouble and works well, so I have seen no reason at present to get rid of him. No. 2 is a very good representation of two Corean children; the one standing up is a boy, and the one sitting on the ground a little girl, and shows the difference in dress very well ; in fact, were it not for this difference the children of Corea would all look like girls, as they both wear the hair long; there is, however, a growing minority of boys who like their hair cut when they find out how it adds to their comfort and cleanly-ness—though I don't sup-pose they bother their heads much about the latter point. The picture also shows the fence around the chief official's compound. I consider it an eloquent tribute to the prevailing poverty of the Corean people. Just at the top of the picture you will notice another little boy just coming down the hill, and just below and behind the left sleeve of his jacket you can see the chimney and a little bit of the iron roof of one wing of the Hospital. Of course, it is not so close as it appears to be to the boy's arm in the picture; it gives a fair idea, however, as to the position of the Hospital just on the brow of the hill. No. 3 is a small corner of the Mission compound, and represents a typical specimen of a Corean house, the root being the chief beauty of it, and of course as long as the tiles keep in place it is impervious to the rain. I will say nothing about ventilation, for in a Corean house there is no such thing, except what is admitted when the door, which is also the window, is opened. Of course in winter you cannot open the door for long, as the cold air would immediately rush in, and the change in temperature would be too sudden and too great. No. 4 is another view of the same house. No. 5 speaks for itself. The old lady has evidently come in a long way from the country. The policeman in the sentry-

No. 2.

box is enjoying the fun ; his shoes are of the ordinary Corean

No. 3.

type, and are absurdly out of harmony with the rest of his dress, which is European. No. 6 is a view of the main street of Chemulpó. The  

No. 4.

building on right in swaddling clothes is the new Japanese Bank. It is now completed and in use, and is a very fine bank, built entirely of stone and iron, with just a few fittings in-side of wood; the whole of the material was imported from Japan. In the middle of the picture is a well-known beggar of Corea. He is in the act of begging from the four sailors, from the man-of-war, walking along the street, and in order to excite sympathy pushes forward his left arm, which is deformed from the con-traction of the scar of an old burn received either accidentally or intention-ally. He is a most ob-jectionable beggar, and has been known to push his arm right in front of a lady's face passing along the street in a chair. One day I told him to come

No. 5.

into the hospital, and I would put his arm straight for him ;

No 6.

needless to say he did not take the hint, for if his arm was put straight his living would be gone. The photo also shows very well the back view of two coolies

No. 7.

walking along with their jiggys slung on their backs. The houses on the left side are all Japanese houses.   Nos. 7 and 8 need no description. Now for Hospital news. And I should like to take this Opportunity of thanking most heartily all interested in the Corean Mission for their prayers and sympathy expressed for me in my late severe illness. I myself cannot thank God enough for having spared me to do more work towards the exte-sion of His glorious Kingdom. This brings me to say a word about our sad loss, just after the summer rains were over, in the person of Sister Lois, who was so suddenly taken from us. When I last saw her she was so bright and cheerful, and took such an interest in the Hos-pital here that one would never have imagined that she would so soon be no longer with us. You will hear from others about her illness, so I will say no more: it is our loss, but her gain. The building of the Hospital received a check, as after the rainy season the foundations of the new wing, which were on made ground, sank a bit at one corner so that the wall at that corner had to be taken down and re-built; the stone retaining wall had also to be taken down and built up again, but now the whole of the building is completed. I have been able to use half of the Corean Ward for some time now, my first in-patient was admitted on August 6. There is room for ten adult patients in the first half of the ward, at present five beds are occupied. With regard to the furnishing of the Hospital, as only ￡50 was over from the building fund to furnish the first part of the Hospital, including my house, I have not been able to get all that is required; the most urgent need at the present time is a good enamelled iron or glass operating table, and also an instrument case. Thanks to Dr. Wiles we have enough bed-steads to last us for some time, but eventually I hope to get some iron bedsteads with spring mattresses, which are more satisfactory than those with wooden frames. With respect to our supplies of drugs and instruments in Corea, we are, as you no doubt have heard from others, in a state of chronic poverty, and have frequently to use substitutes for things we have used up. I only mention this to show how much the success of our medical work depends on the help we receive from home. This being about the healthiest time of year I do not get so many out-patients attending: the average is about seven new cases a day, and altogether about twenty to thirty. With regard to the kind of cases which attend, there is nothing much to be said ; they are of the usual kind-malaria, tubercular diseases, and dirt diseases, &c. The completion of the railway brings a few cases of accident; one man lately was brought up to hospital with a fracture of lower jaw-bone and slight fracture of base of skull and cut under his chin, from all of which injuries he is making rapid recovery. It has been a great help to me having Mr. Laws to assist and give chloroform to the cases I have had to operate on, for then one is able to give one's undivided attention to the opera-tion on hand. I have already, I am afraid, taken up too much of your space, so will end, and leave the rest I might have said for my next letter. Yours truly, WM. A. CARDEN.

Notes from Corea.

WE have received the following from the Rev. A. B. Turner : “Mr. Smart has sent me the following account of Mr. Imai's visit the priest of the Japanese Church who was kindly sent over by Bishop Awdry to look after our Japanese Christians and see how they were progressing under Mr. Smart's care:-- “ ‘I want to tell you what a good time we have had during Mr. Imai's visit, especially what a good time I and the Japanese have had to whom his visit was chiefly paid. Everyone accuses me of running him off his legs and giving him no peace. I went down to Fusan to meet him, and had four days to wait for him, for his steamer went ashore in the harbour of the island of Tsushima, whence, as you will remember, he had to return in the summer owing to police regulations. When he did land, I had work ready for him, for had spent the two weeks of my stay therein preparing two adults for Holy Baptism and also two children, and in getting the Christians ready for the Holy Communion, which Mr. Imai celebrated twice while he was in Fusan. I had taken Mr. Trollope's Cowley portable altar and the necessary vestments down, but found Mr. Imai had come fully prepared to celebrate as we do in Corea. The vestments, a gift from friends, I put in a claim to, as they cannot at present be used in Japan, for we have determined to try and get a Mission church for the dozen or more Japanese Christians at Fusan, who at present have no place to meet in and are most earnest. They hold regular Church service every Sunday, keeping a record of all matters and meetings, and making a collection which is banked every week in aid of the Fusan Church Building Fund. I received a letter the other day from them in which they said, “If you are not in a great hurry, we will try and give 200 dollars to the Fund,”-- not a bad sum ￡20, is it? I hope this year we shall see the whole thing completed. for I am happy to say that from what he has seen and from what Mr. Imai has told him, the Bishop is anxious this should be done. “ ‘After spending four days in Fusan we left on November 14, for Chemulpó, where we arrived safely after spending one day in Mokpo. In Chemulpó there was more work waiting for Mr. Imai in the shape of visiting the Japanese Christians, and, further, he celebrated for us, and admitted two new members into the Church in Holy Baptism. One was Mr. Nakamichi's little boy, and the other was an adult, a clerk in the Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Mr. Sato, who was my first inquirer when I returned from England in June. He has been most regular in his studies, and promises to be a very earnest, good Christian. “ ‘Some days were spent in Chemulpó, and then we started afresh, taking steamer for Chinnampo, and there, as the river Steamer for Ping-yang was leaving in half an hour, we simply changed boats and went on to Ban-kei-dai, where the steamer stops, some seven miles from the town itself. We reached Ban-kei-cai at 2 P.M., but only reached the town at 9 P.M., for the tide had been a very high one and we all had to tramp along the bank through the mud. Four Americans, two Japanese, Mr. Imai and I slipped and slithered along in a really bad plight, our feet and legs plastered in mud, and none too happy in our minds, for our Japanese guides knew very little of the road and next to nothing of the Corean language. However, when we met a Corean with a lantern I managed enough Corean to talk to him, but, unlike most Coreans, he wanted to know first how much we would give him, so I took his lantern and went on, expecting him to come along too, but he did not, so we wandered a little further until we met a Japanese, and then, of course, we were all right. A few yards further we met Mr. Nagashima, who had come out to meet us. I gave the poor Americans the best direction. I could, and sorry enough they were to part company, while we made our way to the house of one of the Christians. A Japanese meal and a sleepless night brought us to 6 A.M., when Mr. Imai celebrated for our tw.) Christians. Before leaving the town, of course, we visited the forts and the battle-field of the Chino-Japan war, which was of great interest to Mr. Imai; but we had but little time, for by noon we were on our sampan to return to the steamer, which was waiting for us at Ban-kei-dai and was timed to leave that evening ; but, alas ! the cargo was not unloaded, and we had to remain on board till next morning. Another sleepless night ensued, for there were nine other Japanese besides us in the cabin, and they kept up a constant talking and smoking all night, and neither Mr. Imai nor I could get a wink of sleep. “ ‘We arrived in Chinnampo on November 28, and in the evening Mr. Matsuda's two children were baptized and instruct-tion was given in preparation for the Holy Communion next morning. Mr. Imai and I put up at a Japanese hotel, but here too we got a cold reception, for though the port has some 700 Japanese, so far they have no decent place to offer travellers. It was freezing hard and bitterly cold, and the room (?) we had given us to sleep in (there was no other) was simply a shed with partly open roof, with boards put upon two sides and on the other two with thin lath and plaster, through which we could see, and through which came the bitter cold. To make matters worse, about 11 o'clock, in the next room, or shed, came a lot of Japanese full of wine and bringing with them some singing girls, and they sang like savages till about 2 A.M., and even then, what with the cold, we got but little sleep before 6 A.M. Mr. Matsunda seemed happy at our visit and to be able to com-municate once again. “ ‘We were thankful to get away at midday for Chemulpó, but with my usual luck we ran on a mud bank about ten miles from Chinnampo and there we lay all that night. However, finally we arrived, late on the 29th, in port, and on December 1st started again for Syeoul. I took Mr. Imai round to see the Christians and arranged matters generally, but, strange to say, I complained of not feeling very well, as I did two years ago when I took Mr. Cholmondeley to Syeoul, and I became so unwell that after twenty-four hours I was packed home to Chemulpó, leaving Mr. Imai with Mr. Badcock. Nevertheless, Mr. Imai did excellent work there, finding two other Christians belonging to the Church. I had prepared one candidate for confirmation, and he was able to supplement my teaching, so both Mr. Sato from Chemulpó and Mrs. Hashiguchi, the wife of the constable at the legation, were confirmed by the Bishop in the Church of the Advent on Sunday the 10th; this makes nine baptisms and two confirmations since my return to Corea in June. Mr. Imai Visited Kanghoa on his return and was delighted with all he Saw. While in Syeoul he baptized, I believe, some Coreans, and I forgot to mention that when the Bishop confirmed the Japanese he gave an address which was interpreted by Mr. Imai Altogether we have much to be thankful for, and Mr. Imai must feel glad that he has been able to fill in a leaf of our Baptismal register with the nine Japanese. “ ‘I was sorry to see my dear friend sail for Japan on the 15th, but on the way he called at Fusan again and has kindly under-taken to look up some suitable lodgings for me, as I leave for Fusan early in January, and to inquire about land suitable for a Mission church. The evening before he left I told him how glad l was he had had such a nice rest in Corea, and he gently replied, “Yes, work is rest.” Nevertheless, in spite of all his hard work he has, I think, enjoyed his visit, being delighted to render help and to see how far the Japanese are being looked after by the Mission in the country. “ ‘I am dividing my time until I go to Fusan between Chemulpó and Syeoul. Last Sunday, at St. Michael's, Chemulpó, there was a celebration of the Holy Communion, after which I read Morning Prayer and gave an address : at 10 A.M. I left for Syeoul, and at 3 P.M. read Evensong and preached in Nak Tong Chapel, Monday, at the Advent, we had mattins with an instruction at 9.30, Bible classes at 3 P.M. and 8 P.M. Tuesday, alter mattins and another instruction, I left for Chemulpó in time for a meeting of the Christians at 7.30 PM. Christmas Eve (Sunday) we shall have a late Evensong at 8. a magic lantern service at 9 ; we intend also to illuminate the Cross and a star on the hill before midnight, when I shall read mattins and Mr. Drake will celebrate. On Christmas Day I go up to Syeoul in time for Evensong at 3 P.M., followed by tea and a magic lantern service, and return on Wednesday to Chemulpó, where I am to be Father Christmas at Mrs. Hopkins's children s party, an honour I owe to my beard ! “Mr. Smart concludes by saying he is feeling very well, but   I am sorry to say I have since heard he has been very poorly, but has recovered sufficiently to go to Fusan, where we wish him all success in his many plans.”

The Spirit of Missions.

THE EFFECT OF THE WAR UPON FOREIGN MISSIONS. THE S.P.G. Annual Report which is just issued, after quoting the amounts of its receipts during the past year, continues :-- “These figures will be received with satisfaction and thankfulness. They show under the first item of the General Fund, on which the usefulness of the Society and its ability to extend the work of God chiefly depend, an increase of ￡3,026, while on the total income there is an increase of £4,490. But for the war in South Africa, and the confusing variety of funds established for the benefit of those affected by it, the sum would certainly have been much larger. Up to September 30 there was a large and promising increase on the amount received as compared with the corresponding date in 1898, but the three last months of the year--that is to say, from the beginning of the war--the receipts showed a falling away of £3,700 as compared with October, November and December 1898. It is therefore a thankworthy fact that, in spite of the various appeals which have diverted money from many charitable organi-sations in the past year, the Society's income shows an absolute and substantial increase.

JAPAN. In describing the consecration of Bishop Partridge as Bishop of the American Diocese of Kiyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, The Guardian adds some interesting news from a Japanese correspondent:-- “At the present time a great interest is taken by the public generally in religious questions. This is chiefly owing to the fact that the Government is endeavouring to pass a Bill through the Parliament for the ‘Regulation of Religions. One principal effect of this would be to give formal recognition to Christianity, and place it on a footing of equality, so far as the law is concerned, with the two other religions of the Empire-Shintoism and Buddhism. The Bill has excited very vehement opposition from the side of the Buddhists, and has just been rejected in the House of Peers by a majority of twenty-one in a House of 221. The principal objection on the part of many seemed to be, not to the principle of the Bill, but to the unsatisfactory manner in which it has been drafted, and there can be little doubt that with the large consensus of public opinion which exists in its favour it will be carried in an amended form in the next session of Parliament.” And while upon the subject of Japan, there is a delightful statement in the new S.P.G. Annual Report, that “extension seems to be a law of the Church in Japan which cannot be ignored.” The Bonin Islands have received missionaries; and now there is news of an opening in the island of Formosa. The Bishop of Osaka writes that he would urge that a Mission of two should be sent out to take up residence in Taipeh, the northern capital, where most of the Japanese are congregated, and that they should work in connection with the Church in Japan. Their work would, in the first place, be among the Japanese in the island, but they should be prepared to extend to the Formosan Chinese. The Bishop of South Tokyo also writes a very urgent letter to the Council for service abroad, in which he says:-- “In truth I feel on the edge of a precipice. Good Archdeacon Shaw, after twenty-five years' work, is in failing health. He is absolutely the only representative of S.P.G. in the Diocese, and he holds threads of contact with the higher classes which no one else has . . . If he should be taken from us before he has been able to instruct and thoroughly instal a really high class successor in his place this contact with the highest classes will (humanly Speaking) be almost absolutely lost by our Church. Do, if you possibly can, find for us one man, or better, two.”

MELANESIA. And while we are writing about the Appeals of the Council lor service abroad, we must quote the urgent need Diocese for more men:-- “With our present handful of men, it is, humanly speaking, impossible that we should win these islands in this generation or the next . . . . I should be glad if you would send six or even more, say ten, of the best men you have, as soon after the reception of this letter as possible.” (Extract from Bishop's letter.)   The war--with which subject we opened this article--is teaching a variety of lessons in many quarters, both national and individual. It has one for us upon the subject of Foreign Missions. We have sent our brave General to South Africa ; should he send a message home asking urgently for ten more men, would they be forthcoming? Why, we picture volunteers coming forward in that number multiplied a hundredfold. This we would do for our Queen and English country. We Christians in England have sent our brave Bishop to fight for Christ and the Heavenly country in a region of the world singularly difficult to work in, and he sends a message home asking urgently for ten more men. Will the Bishop of Melanesia get them? If not, why not? To face this last question would be to lead us to study the reasons which underlie our feeble Missionary work. We venture to think that St. Paul's “How can they preach, except they be sent?” gives the key to the answer. Do we Christians in England do the sending? do we equip and train men in order that they may be sent ? Our transports are now laden with presents and comforts for those serving our Queen ; do our missionaries get remembered in that way? or do we rather regard them as people to whom we have said good-bye, and, having said that, there let the matter end. We have ventured to say all that we have, because at the present time there is a feeling taking hold of many of us that our Missionary work needs overhauling in order merely to put it on a level with the secular army organisation.

RANGOON. From this large Diocese, comprising the country of Burma, comes a most encouraging report:-- “Times of loss and sorrow are often times of progress, and this is certainly the case in the Diocese of Rangoon. Two experienced and devoted men, Arthur Salmon and John Shwe Hline, have been taken away in the midst of their work. The work grows in the most real and sub-stantial manner, and this is especially the case in the Karen Missions. The Bishop visited their mountains early in the year, and in a tour of three weeks confirmed 660 souls. He returned to the district in December, and on St. Thomas's Day, in St. Paul's Church, Toungoo, he admitted to the priesthood one native deacon, and to the diaconate no fewer than seven Karens, and confirmed twenty-seven more Karens. His Lordship wrote that   the papers set for the examination were far in advance of any hitherto set for Karen candidates.” ________________________________________ URGENT APPEALS. The United Boards of Missions are in urgent need of Mis-sionaries for the following Dioceses :-- INDIA. —Colombo, 4; Lahore 1. AFRICA. —Capetown, 1: Grahamstown, I; Madagascar, I; Mashonaland, I ; Mauritius, I : Natal, 2; Zululand, 2. AUSTRALTA. —Adelaide, 2: Brisbane, 4; New Guinea ; Rockhampton, 2 ; Tasmania, 2. NEW ZEALAND. —Waiapu, 2. AMERICA. —British Guiana, I ; Newfoundland, 1. WEST INDIES. —Antigua, 2; Bermuda, 1.

Further information as to all these vacant posts may be obtained from the Secretary of the Council for Service Abroad, the Church House, Westminster, S.W. What a privilege it would be for us if these pages were able to come to the eyes of a reader who would volunteer for one of these posts.

Note.

A SMALL number of copies of the Handbook and Directory of the Anglican Church in the Far East has been received from Corea. This work, written, printed, and published by members of Bishop Corfe's Mission, gives full, reliable, interesting, and up-to-date information about all the English and American Church Missions (15 Dioceses in all) in the above countries, together with a succinct account of the peoples, languages, governments, and religions met with there, and a brief conspectus of non-Anglican Missionary work--Greek, Roman and Protes-tant in those parts. Copies. price 2s., may be had of Mrs. Wigram, South Lodge, Champion Hill, S.E., to whom early application should be made.

Wants.

THE Orphanage, Syeoul. There are now eleven orphans, seven of which have been adopted. ￡5 per annum will pay for the maintenance of an orphan, clothing, and toys for the same, and gifts to brighten the orphanage rooms.   A stall for the Corean Mission at the Sale of Work in Church House in November--Contributions of fancy-work, pottery, pictures, warm garments, and anything likely to find a ready sale. Also money to purchase some foreign curios for the stall. County Secretaries, where there are none. Local Secretaries for Welwyn, Heydour, Guildford, Wimbledon, Malta, and Maritzburg Contributions for the bell for the new Kanghoa Church (cost ￡70). Stained-glass windows for the Church of St. Nicolas, Niu Chwang, according to a scheme prepared for the Bishop. Just as we go to press we have two items of news which will interest our readers. The first is that the Rev. S. J. Peake, who came back from Corea for medical training has just com-pleted his course at King's College Hospital, and can now write the following coveted initials after his name --M.R.C.S. England and L.R.C.P. London. He has obtained his degree in 4 1/2 years, or six months less than the allotted time, and we tender him our heartiest congratulations. He hopes to sail for Corea before the end of May, viâ Canada, so that he may reach Corea before Dr. Carden leaves, whose work he is tem-porarily to take over. Then, although the formal arrangements with S.P.G. are not quite completed, we are able to announce that Mr. Christian Steenbuck hopes to sail for Corea in the course of the next few weeks with his wife. Mr. Steenbuch has been trained at Dorchester Missionary College, and is the happy possessor of various diplomas, and is a linguist of no mean order. On his arrival he will offer himself to the Bishop for Ordination, and it is hoped that eventually he may, with his wife, be able to take sole charge of the church and school at Niu Chwang, and thus solve one of the most pressing problems of the Mission. We ask for the prayers of our readers on behalf of these three travellers, and for the Divine blessing upon their future work.