preacher of the gospel to his countrymen. In a recent letter to the Secretary of that Society he says: "I received duly your kind letter announcing me that you will afford me any possible aid. I am very glad to hear such kindness; but still greater joy was the one letter from my friend in Yokohama. I thought I lost all my friends in Japan, but they remember me, and sent me most welcome letter from their society, which was established by them." 66 He then mentions the formation by these his friends of a native Church, and says of them: "Most of these are prominent men in our country; nearly all of them can read and write Chinese, English, Dutch, and Japanese, better than I can. They made such bold advancement in their undertakings as our Mikado could not oppress their growth nor the people resist their doctrine, which they believe." In concluding his letter he says: I am afraid that I will be too late to become a missionary to Japan, for if they continue so a few years more, our country will not need missionaries, but rather send them out to other hea hen lands. Therefore recommend to all those who desire to become a Missionary to Japan to go soon, and begin now to preach; for the time is very short, but the work is great." A SHORT CHAPTER OF MISSIONARY EXPERIENCE.* My training was long enough. I only make the chapter short to suit the occasion; and time would fail me to tell of all the lessons I have had to learn. It seemed an easy thing to be a teacher to a set of ignorant men and women, and to try to reach their hearts by love, and tell them simply the story of the Cross and the love of God to them. But the hard facts were not like the theories. The people were shrewd and not simple, and their whole constitution of mind, and their habits of thought, where they did think, were so different from ours! I found I Sending this article for publication in the Missionary Herald, the writer says, "It has a purpose which I cannot as well reach in any other way." must modify my notions. Failing to make Americans of them, as I fondly tried, I conformed to them, and tried to understand how our beloved brother Paul, "became all things to all men," that he might gain some. I yielded nothing in principle, but much in other ways. One great mistake we made in educating the children, especially the boys. Taking them from their wild, free life, it was not well to confine them in school, as we do our children in America; and even here some are beginning to find that it is not well. I knew of but one way, the routine of school; but the children began to droop, and before I was well aware of it, their lungs began to give way. It was not easy to get much help in medical advice, and it was not till some precious lives had gone that I learned wisdom, and gave them more freedom, even at the expense of a longer time of study. Their diet was very simple, and much less nourishing and stimulating than ours; and so I found they could not do as much brain work; and fresh air was of the last importance to them. For a long time our quarters were limited. I wished some of our friends, who were accustomed to the school-houses and academies of this country, could see the place, which we called schools. And often before I was aware, I would find the air close and exhausted; and of course we all drooped. It was killing my scholars. By degrees I learned this and ceased to talk of" Providence," except as enacting laws which we must obey. God takes away no lives arbitrarily, and some things which I had regarded as mysterious dispensations," were simply the penalty of breaking natural laws. This was merely one of the lessons to be learned; and if any man needs to have all his wits about him, and a good supply at that, it is the missionary. Learning to spare the people and the children much confinement, and to keep them in the free, fresh air, as much as possible, they have suffered less from attempts at civilization. The laws of health and life do not seem to have been repealed, even in heathen lands. The nearer we come to obedience to all these laws of God, the better our prospect of well doing on Christian or on heathen ground. ROMANISM IN SYRIA. THE "Foreign Missionary," for December last, gives the following among items of recent intelligence from Syria: "About five years ago, the French Papal Sisters of Nazareth, opened a great school for girls in Beirut, with large means at their disposal. They drew in many girls from the leading Greek and Maronite families. A private note from Dr. Jessup, dated Beirut, October 5, will show what they are now doing. He says, Those famous French Sisters of Nazareth are in trouble. A Greek girl from Cyprus was in their school, but her guardian could never see her alone. At length she slipped a paper into his hand when he was with her, and on going out he read it. She begged him to send for her mother, as she was in distress. Her mother came from Cyprus and took her out. The stories she tells of the Jesuits and the nuns, are of a piece with what is always occurring in these diabolical schools of celibacy. When the girl was leaving, the Sisters called her aside and told her if she ever told of what was going on in that institution they would kill her, wherever she was. On leaving, they very sweetly told her that as she would no doubt be sea-sick on the voyage to Cyprus, she had better take some lemonade powders, which were a sure preventative of seasickness! The powders were afterwards given to a doctor, who analyzed them, and found them to be poison! The friends and guardians say that they shall publish the facts in the case.' A ZULU PASTOR. MR. BRIDGMAN, of the Zulu mission, in a recent letter, says of the Rev. Rufus Anderson, native pastor. "I think he is more and more looked up to and loved. His preaching is with power, tact, spirituality, and modesty. He spends nearly two hours every day with me in my study, going over, verse by verse, the New Tes Shanghai is the stronghold of the Romanists in China. They have a large cathedral there, besides flourishing mission establishments. Their adherents in and around the city are said to number 80,000. Twenty Protestant missionaries are now to be found in Peking, representing seven different societies. Dr. Blodget, of the American Board, was the first to enter this capital of China. The Veda is just now much extolled by some Western scholars, and rather boastfully compared with the Bible. Max Müller says, that at the present day "but few Brahmins can read and understand the Veda," to say nothing of the mass of the people. How pertinent then the suggestion that the Hindoos be referred to their own sacred books for instruction! How impertinent that an accomplished English scholar should recently have been invited to expound the sacred books of the Hin doos to native scholars! An edition of the New Testament in the Russian language, under the sanction of the Greek Church, is going into circulation. The agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, at Odessa, reports the sale of 40,000 copies within the first six months of 1871, and hopes to sell 100,000 annually. There is reason to hope that the terrible famine in Persia is now past. The loss of life, and the suffering, have been unprecedented. Thousands upon thou- vest. The horrible atrocities perpetrated in Micronesia by slave ships, are seriously interfering with missionary work, and endangering the safety of the Morning Star. How long are representatives from Christian lands thus to dishonor the very name of civilization? Two of these vessels recently called at Ponape for supplies. The Wesleyans report a membership of 689 in Italy, and 586 scholars in schools. The number of communicants in the Italian Free churches is not far from 1,000; in the Waldensian churches a little less than 2,000. The Baptists number less than the Wesleyans; hence the entire number of communicants in evangelical churches falls short of 4,000. The hearers of the gospel are twice as many. These figures represent the entire Protestant population outside of the Waldensian valleys. They differ materially from the statements of Father Gavazzi, but are believed to be correct. The Moravians report 1,156 converts on the coast of Labrador. The Bible complete, in the Esquimaux language, has recently been distributed among the heads of families. In South Africa, the Moravians reckon 8,814 converts; in Surinam, 23,703. The Brahmo Somaj movement in India appears to be on the decline. As a spiritual agency, to which it has made such high pretension, it is now at a very low ebb. The Unitarian missionary at Calcutta, the Rev. Mr. Dall, who has been making some advances to be taken into fellowship, does not receive a very cordial welcome. The term "Christian Brahmo," by which he designates himself, is regarded as absurd. The congregation of the 3d Avenue Chapel, New York, recently sent a telescope, worth about $50, to the school at Tungcho, China, under the care of Miss Jane E. Chapin. Dr. Hepburn, of Japan, has just carried through the press a new edition [January, of his Japanese-English Dictionary-a most valuable aid to young missionaries. put in circulation in Japanese. It meets The Gospel of Mark has just been with a ready sale. means of inaugurating that great moveMr. Yung Wing, who has been the ment on the part of the Chinese governfor education, was started on his course at ment of sending Chinese young men here a mission school in China. The religious interest at Bombay, which began in connection with the labors of Rev. Mr. Taylor, a Methodist evangel ist, a year ago, continues with unabated interest. hundred persons were present, who proAt a recent meeting, about two fessed to have received the grace of Christ. A Theological Seminary was opened 1872, in which Rev. J. D. Paris, Rev. B. at Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, October 1, W. Parker, Rev. H. H. Parker, and Rev. D. Baldwin are Professors. Mr. Paris is the President. May the school do much for the Hawaiian Islands, and missionto raise up a competent native ministry aries for other islands of the Pacific. The evangelization of Mexico has been begun in good earnest. The American and Foreign Christian Union has capitol, and at Monterey; the Presbytean interesting work in progress at the rian Board has established a mission at Cos and Zacatecas; and the American Board has just sent two missionaries to the west and northwest. Guadalajara, with a view to labors in BIBLIOGRAPHICAL. Republication of the Gospel in Bible Lands, History of the Missions of the A. B. C. F. M. to the Oriental Churches. By RUFUS ANDERSON, D. D., LL. D., late Foreign Secretary of the Board. In two volumes. Vol. II. Boston: Congregational Publishing Society, 1872. of the first. Full details of the work in This second volume fulfills the promise engaged in it, were quite impossible within so vast a field, and of the men and women count, a comprehensive survey, was all the limits proposed. A brief yet just acthat was possible, and that is here offered to the public from the only pen that was fully competent to present it. The story of the Nestorian and Syrian missions fitly closes with their transfer to the Presbyterian Board. The narrative of the work among the Armenians is brought down to 1872. Such a history as this had come to be a necessity, not only to the missionary student, but to all who would have a just and satisfactory view of the present condition and prospect of the missionary enterprise in Western Asia. The friends of missionaries who have been called to rest from their labors, will find the same kindly and generous appreciation of character that gave so much interest to the former volume. A carefully prepared list of the missionaries who have been connected with the different missions, and of the various publications issued from the mission presses, followed by a copious index, add much to the value as well as the completeness of the history. Bible Work in Bible Lands; or, Events in the History of the Syria Mission. By the Rev. ISAAC BIRD. Fully illustrated. Philadel phia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1334 Chestnut Street. This is a valuable contribution to the history of the Syria mission, by one of the early missionaries of the American Board in that interesting field. The vol Romanism as it is; an Exposition of the Roman Catholic System, for the use of the American people; embracing a full account of its origin and development at Rome and from Rome, its distinctive features in theory and practice, its characteristic tendencies and aims, its statistical and moral position, and its special relatious to American institutions and liberties; the whole drawn from official and authentic sources and enriched with numerous illustrations, documentary, historical, descriptive, anecdotical, and pictorial; together with a full and complete Index. By SAMUEL W. BARNUM, Editor of the Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible. Connecticut Publishing Company, Hartford, Conn. The title-page above given, exhibits the object and scope of this work. It is a storehouse of valuable information on the character and aims of Romanism, its contents well arranged and indexed for the convenience of the reader. The author has kindly placed several copies in the hands of missionaries, for their use. These for Those. Dr. Warren has issued a new edition of this valuable little book, bringing to view some of the compensations received by the Church for effort in the cause of missions. The work is worthy of extensive circulation. See advertisement in this number of the Herald. ARRIVALS. REV. J. E. WALKER arrived at Foo ume is largely confined to the period of chow, China, to join the mission there, wit the author's own labors, and is thus the record, to a great extent, of an eye ness. It brings before the reader, with fresh interest, the thrilling story of the trials and hardships of those who laid the foundations, on a hard and barren soil, for the great work now in successful progress. For the sake of readers not familiar with missionary history, we are glad of the one reference, on page 429, near the close of the volume, to the fact that this mission was, until quite recently, connected with the American Board. It may thus be inferred that the noble men whose record is here given, went out under its auspices. The fine paper and type, and the illustrations, add much to the interest of the volume. October 16, 1872. Messrs. Marsh, Baird, and House, with Mrs. House, on the way to the European Turkey mission, and Miss Noyes, who will probably go to Central Turkey, reached Constantinople November 10. DEATIIS. AT Madura, India, September 2, Rendall Ames, an infant son of Dr. H. K. Palmer, of the Madura Mission. At Tirumangalam, India, September 5, Sarah W. A. Yorke, infant daughter of W. Yorke, Esq., and the late Mrs. Yorke, formerly Miss Ashley, of the Madura mission. At Brooklyn, N. Y., November 25, Walter S. Griffith, Esq., formerly, for several |