Morning Calm v.12 no.88(1901 May.)

THE MORNING CALM. No. 83, VOL. XI.] FEBRUARY 1900. [PRICE 3d.

The Bishop's Letters.I.

NIU CHWANG: September, 1899. DEAR FRIENDS,

Last month's letter left me trying to get hold of the tangled threads of the church-building operations here, with a view to taking them over from Mr. Sprent, who, according to Bishop Scott's wishes, was to proceed at once on a much-needed Visit to England. But alas ! the task was beyond my strength. After a fortnight's close inspection of the condition of the Problem which had to be solved I came to the conclusion that the solution was beyond my powers-beyond the powers of anyone but Mr. Sprent himself. It is quite impossible to make you understand the extraordinary difficulties which have beset him for nearly twelve months in the building of this church. When I arrived the work had stopped almost entirely-stopped when the walls had been raised nearly to the tops of the Windows, whose wooden frames were in position and clothed half way up in their stone settings and intermediate brick. You are not to suppose that the difficulties arose from any vast-ness or complication in the architect's design, nor from lack of funds to execute it. The church, though a solid structure, will be simple enough, and all the necessary funds for its erection have been provided. The trouble has lain from the first with the Chinese contractor, a clever but unscrupulous man, who receives his advances as they fall due, but who does not pay his workmen. I saw that my ignorance of the language, of the details of building, and, more than all, of the tortuous methods of the contractor, would result in total failure if it rested with me to finish the building. Fortunately, I received, towards the end the month, a letter from Bishop Scott which gave me the option of keeping Mr. Sprent so long as the church made his presence in Niu Chwang necessary, and the contractor having promised that the building should be completed in two months, I appealed to Mr. Sprent, whose trunks were packed, to stay and see the matter through. With a kindness of which, I think, he will never repent, he consented, and the struggle with contractor and workmen was renewed. But we had to appeal to the Chinese authorities before we could get any hold on the contractor, and for the last month the unusual and, under other circumstances, ludicrous spectacle has been seen of the contractor being brought to the compound every day and kept to his work in charge of two yamên runners, or, as we should call them, policemen. Not that the church will be finished in the two months which he promised; but I have good hope that before the port closes for the winter the building will have its roof on and its windows glazed. At the time I am writing the walls and gables are all but finished, and the heaviest of the roof timbers are in their proper places. My letter this month, therefore, has to be very dull and uninteresting, for I have little else to record of our affairs in Niu Chwang. You will have heard of the outbreak of the plague in the Port, and will doubtless have seen very ex-aggerated reports of the numbers of cases which have ended fatally. So far they have been entirely in the Chinese quarter, but the impossibility of getting the local officials to take any adequate steps towards either cure or prevention has made the foreign consuls and residents very apprehensive of what may happen if the disease increases in virulence—the port being so constructed that Europeans and Chinese are necessarily very much in contact with each other, and having certain areas in it over which the foreign consuls have no control. You will perhaps have seen the announcement from Chefoo of the death of the Rev. Miles Greenwood, of the North China Mission. When I passed through Chefoo last July, I asked him if he would come to Niu Chwang this winter, and repeat the kindness which he did for me last year when he supplied Mr. Sprent's place as Chaplain of the Port during his journey to the Yalu. He consented with his usual kindness and modesty. Little did any of us suppose then that in less than two months his work on earth would be done. A stroke of paralysis, from which he never rallied, brought his singularly beautiful life to a speedy and painless close, leaving the diocese, which he has served for twenty-five years, poorer by the loss of its first, its oldest, and its most devoted priest. How glad we all are in Niu Chwang that he spent last winter here! How greatly he was respected by all who came in contact with him! And how well and strong he was looking when he returned to Chefoo last spring! Personally I feel very thankful to have had him (for however short a time) as one of the clergy in my diocese. I made Mr. Greenwood's acquaintance in Chefoo when I was on the China station in 1875, some two years after his arrival in North China, which was then included in the diocese now known as Mid-China. So patient and plodding in his efforts to master the language, so faithful in his ministry, so loyal to the Church, so unaffectedly humble in all he said and did-he was then, as he has been ever since, a man to know, to respect and to love. It does not become me to speak of his work as a missionary-of his generosity, his self-sacrifice. His own Bishop and loving comrade will surely have much to say on such a matter. Or the influence of his character and example on myself, however, I may speak, however greatly I have failed to learn the lessons which I might have learnt from them. The picture of Mr. Greenwood beginning his life as a missionary is one which through all these years of my wanderings in different parts of the world has never been effaced from my mind, and, when I have thought of it, has always been a rebuke to my cowardice and an exhortation to steadfastness of purpose and simplicity of life. I am still as far off as ever from finding a chaplain to take charge of the English congregation in Niu Chwang when Mr. Sprent leaves. The Conference of Bishops calls me to Shanghai in October, and I am indulging in a hope, which I fear will not be realised, that when in Shanghai I may see or hear of some priest for whom a change to our bracing climate In the North will be beneficial. But Bishops in the Far East are more crippled than their brethren in England and America, where the supply of clergy seems always to be out of all proportion to the need of them. I am glad to hear of the sale arrival in Corea of Sisters Margaretta and Barbara. But for other Corean news I must refer you to the Editor. My next letter will be, I hope, from Shanghai. Yours affectionately, C. J. CORFE.

II.

SHANGHAI : October 1899. DEAR FRIENDS, — The address of this letter will recall to many of you last letter which I wrote to you from Shanghai, just before I left for the Lambeth Conference in 1897. Then, I had been in Shanghai for the purpose of attending a Conference of the English and American Bishops of China. And, as I told you last month, it was the second meeting of this Conference which was to bring me here this year. In China and Corea there are just six dioceses, five of the English Church and one of the American. In 1897, the diocese of Victoria was vacant, and so had no representative amongst us. The presence of Bishop Hoare, the new Bishop of Victoria and South China, made us this year a complete, homogeneous, and very happy body. Our Pastoral Letter and Resolutions go forth to all the Church people, native and European, from a united Episcopate of the Anglican Communion. For the Church of England to be thus working corporately with the Church of America, without the inde-pendence of either Church being infringed by the other, is a privilege of which you in England know nothing. Unlike the practice of the Lambeth Conferences, Resolutions are passed by us only when unanimity can be secured. If for any reason, the subject, after it has been fully discussed by us, cannot be put into a shape which commands the votes of all, it is either relegated to a Committee to be reported upon two years later, or it is passed over in silence without any further reference being made to it. And so, the Conference having no legislative power, our discussions are immensely increased in value by the presence of certain of our selected clergy who on the first days of the Conference join us in the discussion of the agenda. On each subject every bishop and priest says all that he wants to say without any Resolution being proposed. Then the bishops meet alone, read over the Minutes of the proceedings of the previous days and, if they can, throw them into such Resolutions as I have described. Then they proceed to discuss alone matters belonging more immediately to the Episcopal Office, such matters being dealt with in the same way. The unanimity amongst men of such different ways of thinking is remarkable, and can be accounted for, I humbly believe, by the spirit of unity which prevails amongst us. We are of very different schools of thought, and yet there was never a word said in heat, much less in anger, and this, notwithstanding the fact that at times the most burning questions were under consideration.

The area over which the Bishops attending the Shanghai Conference have jurisdiction extends beyond the eighteen Provinces of China, includes the Kingdom of Corea and last - but, in one sense, the most important of all-the island of Hong-Kong. Thus, whilst there are Bishops of the English and American Churches in the Conference, there are represented three distinct civil jurisdictions, those of England, China and Corea. You can imagine, therefore, how great and various are the questions arising from our many languages and dialects, from our divers customs and prejudices, questions which have all to be answered in the language of our Book of Common Prayer, in accordance with our common order and discipline based as they all are on the one authority of the Holy Scriptures. Some of the things we have discussed will seem to you Very simple, as, for example, the best Chinese words for the days of the week. Others, again, will appear sufficiently complicated—such as the reconciliation of Chinese marriage customs and laws with holy matrimony. But, in truth, nothing is simple when it has to be translated into the language and common life of the Chinese. The great value of these Conferences lies not in the final solution of important problems affecting the life of the Church so much as in the discussion of them by Bishops from all parts of these huge Empires, With each Bishop rests, of course, the responsibility of pro-viding in his own diocese a solution of each problem as it arises. But, inasmuch as these problems press on us all equally, though in different ways, you can imagine what help is afforded in providing a true solution when the Bishops meet with their clergy, and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit as they tell each other how Satan hinders and God helps. In a future letter I may be able to give you a copy of the Resolutions to which we were led. For the present, however, I have only room to say that the Conference with the clergy lasted for three days, and the Conference of the Bishops alone for three days more-that on October 21, the opening day, we received the Blessed Sacrament in Holy Trinity Church, Shanghai-that we met with the same hearty welcome as before from Bishop Graves and our brethren of the American Church in St. John's College, and that during a great portion of our time we enjoyed the warm and gracious hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Hodges in the deanery.

This letter, you see, is all about the Conference. I have, indeed, very little more to say this month. I had hoped to find in Shanghai some clergyman who would relieve me of my difficulty in Niu Chwang this winter. This hope has not been realised. I hear that the church is roofed in, and I am now on my way back to make final arrangements both for opening the church and for providing some one to serve it. Another piece of sad news must conclude this letter. Word has reached me that our dear, valuable and much- venerated Lay Sister Lois has been taken to her rest. Details will, no doubt, reach you from Corea, Thus the first breach has been made in that branch of the Community of St. Peter which has worked so hard and so unselfishly in Corea for over seven years. Let me rather, and with greater truth, say that a continuity of that work-a continuity which can never be interrupted-has been vouchsafed to us by the removal of our dear Sister to Paradise. With my Christmas and New Year greetings to you all, I am always Yours affectionate and grateful friend, Di C. J. CORFE.

III.

NIU CHWANG: November 1899. DEAR FRIENDS, - On my return here from Shanghai, I found a very different state of things prevailing--the workmen busy on the church, and the church all but finished. There has been the same trouble with the contractor, but since Mr. Sprent has taken to paying the workmen daily himself they have worked willingly enough. On the 16th all was finished with the exception of the painting and varnishing. Two alternatives were presented to me--either to hurry on the dedication service and leave the church to be completed in the spring, or to use the few precious remaining days before the port closes for finishing the church and postpone the dedication service until the spring. To have adopted the first would have been to disappoint every-body, and especially Mr. Sprent, who naturally wishes not only to see his work carried through, but to carry his congregation with him from the old court room to the new church. I ac-cordingly chose the second alternative, and having made arrangements for the church to be opened informally and used for Divine Service on the last Sunday after Trinity, November 26, I prepared to take my passage by one of the many steamers which now crowd the port in daily anticipation of the rush of ice floes down the river which close it to navigation until next spring. And so on the morning of the 16th, before the work-men arrived, the altar (the gift of our dear friend Mr. Greenwood), the altar cross given by Bishop Scott, and the chalice and paten given by Prebendary Michell, were brought into the empty church and consecrated by me to their sacred uses. The usual Thursday celebration followed, when I celebrated at the new altar with a congregation composed of our three selves. Work was then resumed-to be continued day by day until the church is finished and furnished. The gifts of our kind friend in New York have enabled us to furnish the church very completely, whilst the font, given by the children of Niu Chwang, is a gem of oak carving. But you will doubtless see it all, inside and out, by the help of photographs which are to be taken. My steamer did not leave until the afternoon of the following Sunday, so that I was able to take part in what I hope will be the last morning service in the court room and to hear Mr. Sprent give notice that the services next Sunday would be held in the new Church. On November 27 therefore Mr. Sprent hopes to be free to leave Niu Chwang, taking with him the very warm gratitude of us all, for the untiring exertions and never-failing good humour with which he has brought to a successful con-clusion his most difficult task. And now I must tell you what arrangements I have been compelled to make for supplying the services during the winter. I have been from Corea since last July, and can stay away no longer. My three priests there cannot be moved without serious loss to themselves and the work they are engaged in. But the new church must have a pastor. Something, then, in Corea has had to be sacrificed, and after long and very anxious thought I have felt it to be my duty to sacrifice Mr. Turner's work in Seoul. You will try but will altogether fail to imagine the grief this has caused me, but missionaries, like beggars, cannot be choosers. The hopeful native work and the shepherding of our infant church in the capital must be suspended or carried on as best it can by Mr. Badcock. There is only one ray of comfort in the prospect, Which is that we all feel that Mr. Turner will be the better for a prolonged and real rest. This he will get in Niu Chwang in a way he will never get in Corea, where, go where you will, Coreans follow and the distractions of the mission insist on forcing themselves on you. In the comfortable surroundings of the parsonage, in the happy companionship of our dear Charlesworth, in the presence of a doctor (should he be needed) next door, and with a beautiful, well-ordered church in his garden, attended by a united and sympathetic congregation of English folk, he will get a rest which we in Corea never know, but a rest for which, if it could be secured, we should all be the better. But I hope you are going to send me a married priest to look after the English in Niu Chwang by next spring.

I am, your affectionate friend, X C. J. CORFE.  

Association of Prayer and Work for Corea.

IT falls to my lot again to announce an important change in the work of the Association. Miss Hilda Wigram, who under-took, at the Bishop's request, the arduous post of Secretary to the Association, which Miss Chambers-Hodgetts was com-pelled to relinquish in 1898, hopes very soon to enter upon her Novitiate in the Community of St. Mary the Virgin, Wantage, a step which necessarily involves her withdrawal from active work in connection with the Association. I say advisedly "active work," because we should know, without her telling us, that her interest in the Association will in no way be diminished, while her ability to promote the welfare of the Association will only be intensified in the retirement of the Religious Life. Miss Wigram is the last person who would wish to have attention drawn to her work, and indeed it would be unnecessary, for her devotion to her duties is well-known to the Associates, and so I will only say that she has always placed her time and her powers unreservedly at the service of the Mission, and has sought to maintain the high standard of efficiency set by her predecessor, and to insure this part of the home organisation of the Mission keeping pace with the progress of the work in Corea. I confidently ask for the prayers of the members on her behalf on the Feast of the Purification, when she hopes to be admitted as a Postulant Withdrawals like this necessarily involve some unsettlement, but it is satisfactory to know that in this case the change is reduced to a minimum, thanks to two kind friends who have come forward to help us. Mrs. Herbert Wigram has undertaken to carry on the work of General Secretary, and with a view to this coming change has been rendering herself familiar with the various details of the organisation for some time past, so that the name and address of the General Secretary will remain as heretofore, and Mr. C. G. N. Trollope has nobly added to his many duties the work of Treasurer to the Association. Mr. Trollope has for some time supervised the accounts each quarter, and he will now relieve the General Secretary of the entire work of the accounts, though he asks that money may be forwarded to him only through the General Secretary. Cheques and Postal Orders should be made payable to "The Treasurer Association of Prayer and Work for Corea."

It should be added that these appointments are of course made subject to the approval of and confirmation by the Bishop, and we have no hesitation in saying, that we believe they are made in the best interests of the Association and of the Mission. ARTHUR G. DEEDES, Vice-President, Several changes have taken place during this last quarter of our year; and I am sorry to have to announce more losses than gains, with regard to our Local Secretaries. The localities of Welwyn, Bromley, Heydour, Guildford and Wimbledon, are now vacant by the resignations of the respective Secretaries. Will some of our members, resident in these localities, offer themselves to fill the vacant posts? Under the new scheme the work of Secretary does not involve much secretarial work, only the general superintendence, and we cannot afford to lose any locality where interest in the work has already taken root. The Secretary at Burnham is resigning, but the County Secretary has arranged that Berrow Road and Burnham should be joined together, and Miss Beilby is going to act as Secretary for both. The two new Secretaries who have kindly consented to start branches, are the Rev. E. C. Corse, at Pulborough, Sussex, and the Rev. C. W. Morse, at Durham. This means the revival of two old localities, for which we are most grateful. With regard to the returns this quarter—the number of new members is larger than usual, and we welcome these additions to our ranks. The sub-scriptions and donations, too have come in most generously at a time when they were much needed. The real beginnings of Missionary work in Corea will involve greater expenditure, and increase the demands for funds. Reference has already been made by the St. Peter's Foreign Mission Association to the Orphanage work in Seoul. I should like to acknowledge with many thanks the receipt of two five pounds through our Association. Each five pounds is estimated to be sufficient to keep one child for a year. There are now nine children, five of whom are provided for, and the Sisters are still waiting for offers for the rest. As mention will be made in the Annual Report of all the meetings held during the last year, there is no need to refer to them here, beyond saying how Welcome these signs of activity are. Three very successful Sales of Work have been reported during the last quarter, organised by the Local Secretaries. One in connection with St. Anne's, Buxton, which realised the splendid sum of £25. one at Tunbridge Wells, by which ￡10. 11s. 6d. was made, and one at Gosport which made ￡7. 15s ; these sums have formed a substantial addition to the year's income. The following account has been received from Buxton :

"A Sale, promoted by the Mission Guild, St. Anne's Church, Buxton, in connection with the Association of Prayer and Work for Corea, was held (by kind permission of Mrs. Pettitt) at Holm Leigh, Buxton, on St. Andrew's Eve, 1899. A second Sale, to clear off what was left, was held on December 9. The total receipts amounted to £53. 1s.; of this £3. 1s, was spent in expenses, leaving the nett sum of £50; £25 of this was given to the work in Corea, and the remainder was divided between the Central African and the Grahamstown Railway Missions. The Priest-in-charge of St. Anne's (Rev. J. T. Mumford) was specially pleased with the result. The Mission Guild only numbers twenty-seven members, and has been in existence only eighteen months." With regard to the needlework, new patterns of hospital garments have been brought home by the two Sisters who have lately come from Corea, and there is a large amount of work to be done, in supplying the various hospitals. Sugges-tions have also been made by the Sisters, that clothing for the orphans might be sent out from England, and they have also told us that picture books, toys, and dolls dressed å la Corean would be much appreciated by the children, and work-bags, needlebooks, or any such useful little things which give great pleasure to the women.

Will all those who are willing to undertake work for the hospitals and orphans apply to the Needlework Secretary, or the General Secretary respectively, for full particulars as to patterns, and the General Secretary would be very pleased to give all information to anyone who would care to help in getting together a box of presents to send out in the spring. The Vice-President's letter will explain why this is my last notice to Morning Calm as General Secretary. I am very thankful to have been allowed to have any share in the work of the Association, and it is with real regret that I lay it down. It is a great satisfaction to me to feel that I shall still have a close link with the Association, through my mother, who will act as General Secretary, subject to the appointment of the Bishop, and I shall in no way lose interest in the Mission through my withdrawal. I should like to be allowed to take this opportunity of thanking, most sincerely, all the Secretaries and members of the Association, for the assistance they have always given me, and for their kind forbearance with all my many shortcomings. It is my most earnest hope that the work of the Association may continue to grow and prosper. HILDA WIGRAM, South Lodge, Champion Hill, S.E. General Secretary.  

St. Peter's Community Foreign Mission Association.

IN MEMORIAM.—LAY-SISTER LOIS. THE fears hurriedly expressed at the close of the notice in the November number of Morning Calm have since been confirmed by letters received from Seoul giving details of the illness and death of Lay-Sister Lois, who passed away on the evening of October 6, after three weeks of lingering illness, not in any way due to the climate or work, though no doubt accelerated by the incessant strain of the constant pressure of the last seven years, during which she had very little rest. Her bright cheerfulness and untiring vigour endeared her to all, and though she has passed to her rest, her influence will long be remembered, and the fruits of her labours shown in many ways in the future.—R.I.P.

The Annual Day of Intercession and Thanksgiving held on December 5, at St. Peter's Home, has been fully described to all members of S.P.F.M.A. in the notes kindly taken and edited by the Secretary of St. Luke's Branch. They will be sent to anyone enclosing a stamped envelope. The Special Intercessory service at noon, conducted by Rev. R. B. Harrison, of All Saints', Walworth, was most im-Pressive, the address on Intercession very earnest and thought-ul; and the subjects reached far and wide throughout the world, thus carrying out the spirit of Catholicity which is such a distinguishing mark of Mission work in Corea.

The speakers at the meeting were Rev. A. G. Deedes, Vice-President of the Association of Prayer and Work, who kindly took the chair in the unavoidable absence of the Bishop's Com-missary, Rev. J. B. D'Arcy, Sub-Warden of Community of St. Peter, Rev. R. B. Harrison, and Rev. Arthur Burnett. By a mistake, the Rev. and Hon. A. Hanbury-Tracy mistook the time the meeting for that of evensong, but arrived in time to preach a stirring practical sermon on St. Andrew, and Missions s the work of the Will, the Intellect, and the Heart. A most cheering incident of the day was that when the claims of the orphans were ably put forward by the various speakers there was an immediate response to the appeal for Help, to the effect that five out of the nine orphans are now provided for at ￡5 a year each, and we hope that before long the hospital funds will be quite free from the tax on them rendered necessary by the adoption of the “castaways” and maintaining the orphanage. The proceeds of the Corean stalls at the Bazaar in November far exceeded everyone’s espectations, and, with various small sums which came in later, reached the large total of ￡105. 12s. 3d. It is impossible adequately to thank all those who so kindly helped, both with contributions or by making purchases, but the Misses Trollope and Miss Frances Robertson-Macdonald, who so ably managed the stalls, were well rewarded by the eager way in which purchasers crowded round to secure the beautiful and unique specimens of inlaid work, old brass, quaint bronze figures, mysteriously made food and dinner boxes, coffer formed of a rare amalgam, and above all handsome brass-mounted red cabinets, all of whish sold off at once. To prevent disappointment to the numerous applicants for the loan of curios the Secretary begs to say there is nothing left, and there will be no more until the next consignment in the autumn of 1990. SISTER HELEN CONSTANCE, Secretary S.P.F.M.A.

Correspondence.

DEAR MR EDITOR, Circumstances whish we all regret deprive us for this occasion of the services of our “local editor” for Morning Calm. So I take up mt pen in the hope that I may at least do some-thing to fill the gap created by his temporary absence. The truth of the matter is that the hot damp summers (July and August) are pretty trying to all of us in Corea, Mr Turner among the rest. He was a good deal pulled down this summer, and a combination of untoward circumstances prevented his picking up and regaining his strength, as we hoped he would, in the autumn. He spent about a month in Kanghoa, from the middle of September onwards, but, as he was no better really when he returned to Seoul, we were glad enough when he accepted an invitation from Admiral Fitzgerald to run over to Wei-hai-Wei on H.M.S. Barfleur which happened to pay a visit to Chemulpó in the middle of October. We expected him back, however, early in November, and it was a great disappointment to find that the Bishop (who has not been in Corea since July) had pounced upon Mr. Turner in Chefoo, as he (the Bishop) was returning from the Conference of Bishops in Shanghai, and had packed him off to Niu Chwang for the winter. The only re-deeming feature about this arrangement is that there is now

REFECTORY WING LOOKING N.E., WITH COREAN TEACHER, CHINESE COOK, AND HIS CHILD.

some prospect of our having the Bishop with us in Corea during the winter. Of course the most serious piece of news that we have to record is the death of Lay Sister Lois of the Community of St. Peter on October 6. She had been, with our good friend Mrs. Hopkins of Chemulpó for a short holiday at the end of August beginning of September in Kanghoa, where we lent them our little cottage on the water's edge at Kapkotchi. While there, we used to see them not unfrequently (though our house in Kanghoa City is three miles from Kapkotchi), as they used to walk in to services or to do marketing, etc. They returned to Chemulpó to meet Sister Margaretta and Lay Sister Barbara on their arrival from England early in September, and Sister Lois went up to Seoul with the two new arrivals almost at once. She had not been feeling well for some days, and on her return to Seoul was in such pain that she had to be put to bed as soon as she reached St. Peter's Mission-house, and she never left her bed until she was called away on October 6. She had, of course, every care and attention in the way of nursing and medical attendance, but some internal mischief developed, which there was no remedying, and she gradually sank, retaining her consciousness almost to the very end. It was a very great blow to us all-especially, of course, to Dr. Baldock and the lady doctor, Miss Allan, who were in attendance on her to the last, and with both of whom she had done so very much work. The funeral took place on October 9, when we laid her body to rest, in a special corner set apart for the Sisters in our little cemetery at Yang-hwa-chin, some five miles from Seoul. As in Nurse Webster's case, the coffin was carried by our Christians and catechumens, who did their part very nicely. R.I.P. It was seven years almost to the day from the date of her leaving England with the other Sisters in 1892 to the date of her death this autumn.

Of course the very serious illness of Sister Lois threw a great gloom over the departure of Sisters Rosalie and Alma, who left for England about ten days before her death. Long before this reaches you I hope that they will be safely at home, gathering fresh stores of health and strength for their return to Corea next autumn. They had the honour of sharing in the first “railway accident" (not a very serious one) in Corea. For we really have, at last, a railway from Chemulpó to Seoul, though at present it does not come within seven miles of the latter place. An American company began the work in 1897, but it proceeded very slowly until they sold it to the Japanese at the beginning of this year. They have pushed the work on rapidly, with the result that on September 18 of this year the first trains ran between Seoul and Chemulpó. There are two trains each way every day. The total distance from Seoul to Chemulpó is not more than twenty-four miles, and, as the trains at present stop seven miles short of Seoul, the run cannot amount to much more than a total of seventeen miles, which distance is covered in the respectable time of one and half hours. You need not laugh! If you had tramped over those weary twenty-four miles as often as I have, you would value the improvement as highly as I do. Of course there are draw-backs and breakdowns at present, inseparable perhaps from a new beginning-as the Sisters found on their journey to Chcmulpó, when, owing to some misunderstanding between the engine and the engine-driver, they took five hours instead of one and a half over the journey.

This letter would not be complete without some reference to bricks and mortar, from which the missionary never seems able to detach himself. Mr. Turner and Mr. Badcock and Sister Nora have been very busy this autumn erecting a new abode, next door to St. Peter's Mission-house in Seoul, for our little family of orphans. They have quite outgrown their present temporary and very inadequate quarters, and I hope before Christmas that the Sisters will see their infantine charges (there are eight of them and they are very tiny) more suitably housed. Meanwhile in Kanghoa we have begun a big work in the erection of our new church, which a grant of ￡500 from the Marriott bequest is enabling us to build. In your next Issue perhaps I shall be able to explain to your readers some-thing of the plans, which are modelled on the native style of architecture. Our present temporary church room is terribly cramped-the sanctuary being about seven feet square, and the nave about seven feet wide by forty feet long. When you have packed this limited space with (say) fifty or sixty Coreans, redolent of garlic and other horrors, you begin to realise why the early Christians found it desirable to burn incense in their assemblies, "propter odoris amoenitatem," as Blessed Thomas of Aquino hath it. The new Hospital of St. Luke at Chcmulpó, which we also owe to the generosity of the Marriott Trustees, is, I am glad to say, practically finished, except for some out-buildings, the erection of which will now have to wait till next spring. We hoped the Bishop might have formally opened it on or about St. Luke's Day. But we are still expecting his arrival, so the Hospital is now in use without any formal ceremony of opening as yet. I am, Sir, &c., MARK NAPIER TROLLOPE.

P.S.-Wouldn't some of your readers like to set to work and raise money for a good bell for the new Kanghoa church, which is to stand on a well-raised site in the centre of the city? A good bell, which would apparently cost $70 or so, would make itself heard all over the city and some distance outside the walls.

II

I am sorry to say I am unable to send you much news from Corea, as I have suddenly received orders to go to Niu Chwang for the winter. The Bishop will have told you of the reasons in his letters, no doubt. Any news I have must take the form of a letter. Our great loss through the death of Sister Lois you will have heard of. The hospitals are always looking forward to a time when they will be able to work at full pressure, but man proposes and God disposes ; as the time seems to be drawing near, so invariably comes illness or death will necessitate Miss Cameron’s removal to the women’s hospital to take her place, with will correspondingly weaken the Nak Tong staff. At Nak Tong we have been put to considerable extra trouble and inconvenience by the illness of one the American advisors to the Government, whose only hope of life was the constant and careful nursing that he could get in the hospital. I am sorry to say that even the care and attention he received there was unable to pull him through. I am writing under difficulties, for it is some two months since I was in Seoul for more than a day or two. For one month I was in Kanghoa, for another in Wei-hai-wei. I went to Kanghoa to exchange duties for a time with Mr. Trollope, who was glad to get to Seoul to put some translation work through the press and to see to things generally in the capital – among other things buying timber for the building of the new church in Kanghoa. This will make him very busy next spring. I hope he will write you an account of the difficulties of a church builder in Corea ; it would be instructive and amusing. Plans, contracts, &c., being almost unknown among Coreans, the difficulties are very con-siderable, and a great gift of patience and perseverance is required to overcome them. Mr. Badcock has had a taste of there same difficulties in Seoul, where he has been superin-tending the erection of a new house for the orphans under the Sister’s change, including a room for the resident superintending Sister, rooms for the children (at present seven in number), kitchen, store-rooms, &c., and spare rooms for future increase of numbers. The whole cost has come to something like ￡100, of which I received ￡30 from the working party at Hagley

in England, £10 from a collection at Easter, and £10 from an officer of H.M.S. Barfleur, where I have lately been staying.

CHATEL, NAK TONG.

Sister Nora has somehow raised the rest of the money. Mr. Pearson's building operations in Chemulpó are nearly com-pleted, for the new hospital is built ; but there was a slight sub-sidence of the retaining wall in one place, which has necessitated some little reconstruction. But talking of building operations, you must come to Niu Chwang to see the "magnum opus" of the year. Mr. Sprent has his own story of difficulties, greater than any we have experienced in Corea. You must get him to tell you about them viva voce, for I doubt very much if you will get a written account of them from him, and no second-hand account would be worth hearing; and the opportunity will probably be given to many of your readers, as he will be able, we hope, to leave for home early next month with the knowledge that he has built an excellent little church for our worshippers in Niu Chwang, and that he has done it in the face of great difficulties and very satisfactorily. His leaving for home is the cause of my sudden call here for the winter, or rather that in conjunction with the necessity for the Bishop's presence in Corea. I had hoped to have been in Seoul all the winter, working at Corean and the unending Chinese character ; but perhaps it will be done as well here as in Seoul, for Nak Tong has many calls of its own which one is free from here, especially as I shall be in only temporary residence. My last month I have been enjoying myself staying with Admiral Fitzgerald on board H.M.S. Barflenr at Wei-hai-wei. He came to pay his respects to the King of Corea before leaving the station, and carried me off with him for a change of air. One always finds on board the men-of-war on this station a peculiarly warm welcome as a kind of representative of Bishop Corfe, and this in addition to the natural hospitality of naval men, so I need hardly say how much I enjoy my stay; and though in itself Wei-hai-wei, apart from its connection with the late war, is an uninteresting place enough, yet where two or three men-of-war are there is always something to do. One day I spent seeing the Chinese regiment drill and going through the barracks, etc. They are getting on wonderfully well. As yet the uniform is only a modified Chinese costume, but they are petitioning to be put into khaki and English boots next year, that they may be like their Excellencies the officers. It must have been terribly trying work at first, but now the officers and non-commissioned officers are picking up Chinese fast, and the native non-commissioned officers are very keen on drilling their own squads, so that they feel they have really made a beginning. The men are very smart and soldierly compared with anything I have yet seen of Chinese soldiers, and   THE MORNING CALM. 19 they have very few deserters from the regiment, which now numbers some 350 men. One of the junior officers was ordered to join his regiment at the Cape, and the whole of his company volunteered to go with him, his two native sergeants and the bugler being only detained by force from following him on board ship when he sailed. You may imagine, in the interest of the beginning of the Boer War with its rather serious reverses, how eagerly we hailed the advent of even the very meagre telegrams that reached us, and discussed the chances pro and con, and who was there and who was going, and why the Barfleur was in such an uninteresting place as Wei-hai-wei. By the time this is in print we may hope the worst will be over. There is little news I can tell you from here beyond what the Bishop is sure to have told you, so I will close with best wishes for the new year from us all in Niu Chwang to all your readers. I am, yours sincerely, A. B. TURNER. III I HAVE been reminded by the powers that be that the Editor of Morning Calm is expecting a letter from me. I feel very much inclined to make an excuse to commence with, but that would at once betray me and tell you I was a Japanese. No doubt some of your readers will remember, when I was in England, I generally began my addresses with an excuse, but I always said that was purely a Japanese custom, unknown, of course, in England. I think I thanked the many friends who were so good to me during my recent visit home. I only regret I did not feel equal to responding to the numerous invitations I received. I look back with pleasure to the delightful times I had on board the training ship St. Vincent at Portsmouth. The young men were charming, and I am sure the Mission has many friends among them. The meeting at Haslar Hospital was a good one, and one or two men came up after the meeting who had been shipmates with Bishop Corfe. The meeting in Eastney Barracks was a good one-in fact there was a full house. Colonel Poore was most kind and hospitable, even asking some Japanese naval officers to meet me at dinner ; needless to say we had a long five minutes chat in Japanese before we parted. My visit to Plymouth and Devonport was no less delightful. Here, too, I am sure the Mission has many friends among the young men I spoke to on the training ship   20 THE MORNING CALM. Impregnable, and among the students of the Naval Engineering College. Our devoted secretary at Downton did much, with the help of the new vicar, to make the meeting there the best country meeting I had during my stay in England. No doubt the enthusiasm was greatly due to the fact that Downton, like Newcastle-on-Tyne, was one of the parishes in which Mr. Turner had worked, and in both places Mr. Turner has a warm corner in many hearts. Certainly, from the interest displayed at the evening meeting in the Cathedral School at the latter place, and the meeting in the Lady Chapel of the Cathedral, we ought to have a large branch of the Mission Association there. St. Mary's Parochial Mission Association also gave promise of future interest in Corea. Meetings at Oxted, Woking, Charlton, Totton, Malvern, Worcester, and Durham all assured me that while the various members of the Mission are at work in Corea there are many good and kind friends thinking about them and praying for them at home. I would like too to mention the meetings I had at Halifax, and how successful they were, through the efforts of our local secretary, Mr. Spenser. Also at Chapel Allerton, where I spent a few days, the guest of Mr. Little of Clough House, during which I was permitted to give two missionary addresses in St. Matthew's on behalf of our Mission. Forgive me, too, if I mention my visit to Hull. It was from Hull I started for Corea in 1892, and in going back there it seemed like going home. The great meeting held in St. Silas's Church was most successful, and many friends were made for the Mission, and promise of support was given from the parish. I might go on in this manner through a long list of places, but must forbear. It will seem strange to say that I was glad to leave England, but so it was; I looked forward to the quiet of Corea after running about from place to place at home. I left England on March 18, in a Japanese steamer, the Sanuki Maru. This line of steamers runs some fine cargo boats, some 6.000 tons, but certainly they are not comfortable passenger boats. and those travelling second class will, I think, find other lines better. However, I made good use of the opportunity and talked Japanese whenever I could. Many times during the fifty-two days between London and Yokohama I used to get the sailors together and talk to them about God and the Faith. They were most friendly, and you would be surprised to find how many of them have learnt a great deal of Christianity. Many of them told me they wished to be Christians and fully believed in God, but they were so situated, always on board   THE MORNING CALM. 21 ship, with no one to instruct them, that even though they tried by themselves, everything seemed against them. Most of them being pure heathen, or, perhaps worse still, believing in nothing, vice of all kinds goes on unchecked. I think we shall all agree, under such circumstances, it is most difficult for them to be even so far advanced as to receive Holy Baptism. I have heard from many Japanese seamen of the kind way in which some help in Christianity is being given to them during their stay in England. I spent some time in Newcastle-on-Tyne. There I saw many Japanese, and I heard English people invited them to their houses and entertained them, but I have not yet learnt of any effort being made to lead them to the Truth. I remained in Japan four weeks, which seemed to fly past. I was in the midst of old friends, both foreign and Japanese. I was able to renew most of the former acquaintances which I had made during the year I spent in Japan in 1895. It was delightful to see the large congregations of Japanese Christians at St. Andrew's Church, Tokyo, and even more the hearty way they joined in the services. The work altogether at St. Andrew's, I should think, is one of the most healthy in Japan. I arrived in Fusan on June 4, which was the First Sunday after Trinity, about 4 P.M. A few of the Christians came off to the steamer to welcome me back again. A service was arranged for 8 o'clock in Mr. Haihashi's house, and our congregation con-sisted of twelve adults, eleven members of our Church, the Seikokwai, and one who was anxious to become a Christian. Two children baptized, and two others awaiting it, made up our numbers to sixteen in all. I was delighted with the way in which they seemed to understand their Prayer-books. When I left them last year on my way to England there were only about five Christians, but lately others have come to settle, and altogether there are now fourteen baptized, of whom six have been confirmed; two children to be baptized, and three who are desirous to be instructed. The above Christians are members or the Nippon Seikokwai, the Holy Church of Japan, therefore when they come into Corea they pass under the jurisdiction of our Bishop. It is nice to find how clearly they understand this, the idea of the unity of the Church, in whatever land it may be or whatever nation one may belong to. Of course many of them I had never seen before, but one and all were most kind to me, and asked me to try and visit them often, and to stay as long as possible with them when I did come. Bad weather delayed our departure for a day, which enabled me to go ashore again and see more of them. There seems to me a good   22 THE MORNING CALM. prospect of future work here, but their first need is a Mission Chapel, which I hope they will have ere long. I have already told them they must assist in the matter, and they consented to a weekly collection towards the fund. I was glad to find an account of services, collections, and number of attendances was being kept. Up to the time of my visit the weekly collection had been made on behalf of a poor Mission in Japan. A few hours brought us to the newly opened port of Mokpo, where a Japanese lady and her two children were living. There was a baby only a few months old, and her first wish was that the child might be baptized, which has now been done, as she passed through Chemulpó on her way to Haijo to join her husband, Mr. Nagashima. The steamer only stayed there a few hours, but in spite of my landing at about 10.30 A.M., a great dinner (gochiso) had been provided at the house of two members of the Greek Church, who a few years ago lived in Chemulpó, and always attended our services. I could not tell you all the nice dishes we had, but I thought there were enough to last out a Chinese dinner, such as one I once attended in Shanghai, when we sat down at eight and finished at half-past eleven, while the host was full of apologies that he had not been able to give us a better dinner. After leaving this new but beautifully situated port, two days brought me to dear old Chemulpó, where the Bishop and several other members of the Mission were staying. This time the Bishop did not have to receive an invalid as was the case some years before, for I was feeling in particularly good health and spirits. I was no less glad than the Japanese Christians to be with them again, and our greetings were of the warmest kind, my only regret being that more than half of them had gone away to other places in Corea, and some to Japan. The greatest joy of all is that they have remained faithful during my absence. This I mention because they have had very little teaching or help, as no other member of the Mission can speak to them in their own language, and all the more praise is due to them for their perseverance. I have since paid a hurried visit to Seoul, just to see the few Christians there, and on my return the Bishop sent me up to another new port called Chinnampo, the port for the district of Pingyang, where the great battle was fought in the late war. There we have only two Christians, one of whom has been con-firmed, the other has been prepared, but left Chemulpó before he could receive the rite. The wife of one man is to be baptized and his two children, but I have yet to spend some time there   THE MORNING CALM. 23 in further preparing them for it. Chinnampo has but recently been opened, therefore a rush of Japanese and a few Chinese have gone there, which makes it difficult to get comfortable lodgings, to say nothing of food. However, the Christians, though unable to put me up, did their best to supply me with food; accordingly, about an hour after I arrived at my hotel (?), a basket came round with a piece of bacon, about two pounds, six pounds of onions, and a Japanese sponge cake. This was most kind of them, and they were further anxious to try and hunt up for me a table and chair, as my room only contained a mat to sit on and a small box with a little charcoal in case I wanted a smoke. However, I made myself quite happy with things as they were. There also I landed on a Sunday, and we had our evening service in the house of one of our Christians, the Chief of the Police; all told we were five. They seemed pleased with my visit, and here too, 210 miles from Chemulpó, there is more opportunity of extending the Church's work, but, alas ! what can one do single-handed? I feel it is almost hope-less, as a layman, to do much for these scattered people, living hundreds of miles apart, and the short time I can be in each place gives me no rest-time in which I can sufficiently instruct those who wish to become Christians. Since my return to Chemulpó one young man (so far he seems most earnest) has been admitted as a catechumen, but I must soon leave here to visit other small congregations living in the other ports. We are looking forward to a visit from one of the Japanese priests from Tokyo, Japan, the Rev. J. Imai. When he comes I have lots of work for him to do, and I fear he will find more work than holiday in his visit, and of the former I know he has plenty in Tokyo, while his coming here was to be in some sort a rest and change ; the latter it may be, but I fear there will not be much of the former. Yet I am sure he won't mind in that he will be extending God's work, a labour which he loves to perform. With Mr. Cholmondeley, Mr. Imai was one of my examiners when I left Japan in 1896 for Corea ; I am therefore anxious he should find I have made good use of the little Japanese I had learnt when he examined me. I trust your readers will remember me and my needs in their prayers, that God may give me wisdom and the grace needful to bring the Japanese in Corea to the knowledge of the true God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent. I am, yours truly, W. SMART.   24 THE MORNING CALM. Spirit of Missions. INDIA-DIOCESE OF LAHORE. ON All Saints' Day, November 1st, George Alfred Lefroy was consecrated as Bishop of Lahore, in Lahore Cathedral. The Rev. G. A. Lefroy had been head of the Cambridge Mission at Delhi. The cathedral is described in letters which we have seen as "crowded in every part," a large portion of it being occupied by Indian Christians, from Delhi, Umritsar, and other places. The consecrating Bishops were the Bishops of Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Lucknow, and Chhota Nagpur. The preacher was the Rev. S. S. Allnutt, who is now the head of the Cambridge Mission. He mentioned as one of the greatest hopes which centred round their new Bishop, the probable work in the way of furthering unity among the divided bodies of Christians in the diocese, which he might, God helping, achieve.

INDIA-DIOCESE OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN. On November 19th, occurred the death of the well-known Archdeacon Koshi Koshi. He had been ordained in 1856. His funeral was at Cottayam, and is said to have been attended by about 2,300 mourners.

CANADA. The Archbishop of Ontario stated, at a meeting of the executive committee of his diocese, held on November 23rd, that he had decided, owing to increasing age and to his infirmities, to resign his work as Bishop in May or June. A local paper (The British Whig, of Kingston) has given the following short account of Church work in that diocese : - “His Grace has seen wonderful advance in Church work in the territory he assumed, the increase being from barely 40 to 125 parishes. 300 new churches have been con-secrated at his hands, with corresponding growth in parsonages and other parochial buildings." This remark covers a period of thirty-eight years, Bishop Lewis having been consecrated Bishop of Ontario in 1862. Three years ago, our readers may remember, a portion of the diocese was cut off, and formed into a separate diocese, which at the present moment is the youngest of all the Canadian Dioceses, namely Ottawa, founded in 1896.   THE MORNING CALM. 25 In two parts of Canada, however, there is soon to be a division of existing dioceses: - The Diocese of NEW WESTMINSTER, which comprises the southern mainland of British Columbia between the 49th and 54th parallels of N. latitude, and bounded on the east and west respectively by the Rocky Mountains and the Strait of Georgia, has been a diocese since 1879. Besides the ordinary work of the diocese, there are special Missions to the Indians and to the Chinese who are within its territory. Some three or four years ago, the silver mining at Kootenay made great strides in prosperity. It is now proposed to cut off all territory east of the 120th Meridian, and constitute it as a new Diocese of KOOTENAY. That most unmanageable Diocese of MOOSONEE, is also to be divided. It consists of the whole basin of Hudson's Bay, its extent is described as "600,000 square miles, but practically unlimited to the North.” The Bishop has told us that "The whole of the Crees in the diocese have been baptized, as well as at least three-fourths of the Ojibbeways. The diocese is divided into large districts, over which a clergyman is placed : his work is arduous, as he has to travel throughout his district at least once a year ; this is done in summer by means of canoe, and in the winter either on snow-shoes, or with dogs and sledges." The Bishop has worked for a long time in order to have a boarding school for Eskimos. The new diocese is to consist of the West and North-West third of Moosonee, and will be called the Diocese of KEEWATIN.

WEST INDIES-DIOCESES OF BARBADOS AND WINDWARD ISLANDS. Bishop Swaby, the present Bishop of Guiana, has been invited to undertake the charge of these two dioceses, now vacant. Dr. Swaby has been Bishop of Guiana since 1893.

S.P.G. In what we may regard as the "Home Department” of Foreign Missions, the great event of this year will be the Bicentenary of the S.P.G. A noticable feature of the Com-memoration is that it is to be spread over a whole year. The Society received its Royal Charter on June 16th, 1701, and the   26 THE MORNING CALM. time of Celebration will begin on June 16th of this year (1900) and be continued until a week after the 200th anniversary (June 23rd, 1901). The Bicentenary, however, aims at a far greater work than merely satisfactorily celebrating the one year. The Standing Committee have boldly announced that "what they have set before themselves is to take advantage of the Bicentenary year to emphasise certain great principles of actions, which will, they hope, remain and bear fruit long after the Bicentenary is past," and they specify three matters in particular :-- 1. Intercession as the normal duty of the Church at home towards the Church abroad. 2. An increase of local effort and initiative as the best means of developing local enthusiasm. 3. The duty of interest and instruction. It readily occurs to us, as we read these suggestions, that if these three principles could be really grasped and put into practice by us English Christians, the new century would soon, God willing, change the face of the world in its attitude to Christ. In addition to the emphasising of these principles, ten Special Resolutions on various matters are put forward by the Standing Committee. We should like just to allude to one or two of them : - No. 1. Regular Intercession Services for Foreign Missions, monthly or quarterly," if possible, after Evensong on Sundays." No. 2. Personal Service abroad. All Communicants to be urged to ask, “Lord, what wilt Thou have ME to do?" in the matter of going out to the Mission Field. No. 4. Almsgiving. A Thankoffering of not less than £250,000, over and above the ordinary income, of the Society. No. 5. That in every Town or Rural Deanery a Com-mittee should be formed to organise combined Meetings for all Parishes in the Deanery, Children's Services and Meetings, Missionary Exhibitions, Sales of Work, and cir-culation of special Collecting Cards. Special Bicentenary Leaflets for general distribution have been already issued. Those already published are :-- No. 1. The Archbishop's Speech of May 4th, 1899, at the Society's Anniversary. (2 pages.) No. 2. Bicentenary of S.P.G. (8 pages.) No. 3. A Great Day in Zululand. (3 pages.)   THE MORNING CALM. 27 No. 4. Cashmere. (7 pages.) No. 5. On the Road to Klondyke. (4 pages.) Some more are soon to follow, we believe. We hope, if space permits, to say more on this subject in our next number.

S.P.G. CHILDREN'S EXAMINATION. We venture to commend this Syllabus to all who are concerned with children. Copies (price 2d.) may be obtained from Miss M. S. Benham, St. Edmund's Rectory, 32 Finsbury Square, E.C. It is written by the Rev. Hugh Benson, M.A., and is entitled “The King's First Messengers." Its subject matter is the Missionary work of the Apostles and of the Apostolic age-showing the principles upon which it was done. An examination will be held on Saturday, March 31st, 1900-full particulars of which will be found in the opening pages of the Syllabus.

Wants. UNDER this head it is proposed to enumerate the more pressing needs of the Mission, both at home and abroad. Further information regarding them can be obtained from any of the Heads of Departments, whose names and addresses appear elsewhere. 1. A Priest for Manchuria, to serve the new Church of St. Nicolas, and minister to the European population at the port of Niu Chwang, and also to take charge of a small school of European children (this could best be undertaken by the wife or sister of the Priest). Salary (including school) £200 per annum, with a house, and passage paid. 2. The Orphanage, Seoul.-Of the nine orphans at present in the Orphanage, five have been adopted, leaving four still to to be provided for. £5 per annum will pay for the maintenance of an orphan. 3. Local Secretaries for Welwyn, Bromley (Kent), Heydour, Guildford, Wimbledon, Malta and Maritzburg. 4. Work parties and workers for hospital garments, as well as contributions to provide materials. 5. Pictures, toys and dolls (dressed in Corean costume) for Orphans. 6. Work for periodical sales.