Foreign Mission rooms. Will they answer his pathetic question, "What can I do?" Will that answer be "Retrench?" What else can it be?

The latest reports from 53 Fifth Avenue, show that the Receipts for foreign missions in the first two months of the current financial year, (May and June, 1892) amounted only to $36,269.91, less by $26,898.60 than the receipts of the same two months of 1891. At that ratewhither-?

Is this because our people are so impressed with the need and the opportunity of home missions that they are pouring their gifts into that treasury, assured that now there is where "the Lord hath need of them?" Did the meeting of the General Assembly in Portland so illustrate and emphasize the work of home missions. and the vastness of its opportunity that the Church has decided that sending her means abroad to other lands would be taking the bread out her children's mouths at home? And is she filling the home mission treasury, that the children may be fed? Turn to page 277 of our September number, and read Mr. Treasurer Eaton's figures. He reports for the first three months of his financial year, April, May and June, $31,406.84 less received

than in the same three months of last year.

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Fathers and brethren, tell me, what can I do? What can we all do? What will we do? Something must be done. For this year's debt? No! no! Let us get out of the mud. Stop looking at the debt. Look at Christ Jesus. Think of all he means to you. Think of the darkness without him. Take him entirely out of your lives and thoughts and what have you left? Now look from him to those for whom he died. I beg of you to shut out all thoughts of self now. Take out your atlas and turn to Farther India and the Siamese Peninsula. . . . Could you see out upon these fields as we do, you might answer the question more easily. But, I pray you, think of it, ponder on it, act on it with prayerful determination to do all the Master asks for.

THE LIGHT.

shows, that these two treasuries are not two tanks pumped into from a third tank

"Ye are the light of the world." Oh! may it not be long before we see that light

like the thick night between us and the great ocean that separates this land from America, the land we love so well-for it

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is all one. This morning I saw the sun rise in all his glory and it made my heart glad; but it made me sad, too. I think there was more gladness than sadness. Soon there shall be no more night.

Most sincerely yours,

W. A. BRIGGS.

"More gladness than sadness:" The silver lining that the sable cloud turns forth upon the night is from the upper side, on which "the Sun in all his glory" is still shining. With the eye of faith he beholds us in "the land he loves so well," and applying to us the wonderful honoring words of the Master, "Ye are the light of the world," his sad heart grows glad with the hope that "that light" will soon dispel the darkness that so oppresses him. He surely is right. If we will "stop looking at the debt, and look at Christ Jesus, shutting out all thoughts of self," surely we cannot withhold from him what we know that He needs for His work, alike in our own and in all lands-lands for whose people, as for us, He gave His

life.

• WHITMAN AND SPAULDING.-A venerable contemporary of these illustrious recoverers of Oregon, Rev. Edmund F. Waldo, now in his eighty-second year, having noticed an honoring allusion to Dr. Whitman in our last number, writes to us as follows:

I want to suggest that Rev. H. H. Spaulding's name should be more constantly associated with that of Dr. Whitman. He and his wife made the first overland journey across the continent with Dr. Whitman and his wife for missionary purposes. Mrs. Whitman and brother Spaulding were educated by my

[October,

side in the Prattsburgh Academy (Franklin), and were long useful members of that church with me. Brother Spaulding sat long by my side there in the church choir. When Rev. Chauncey Eddy preached his great Education Society sermon, mainly to enlist young men for the ministry, brother Spaulding nudged me when the collection was taken and said, "Put yourself in."

He was the preaching member of the He endured with his feeble wife mission. all the fatigues and perils of that long and terrible journey. He engineered the establishment among the Indians. He was Whitman's almost sole counsellor regarding his lonely journey to Washington and back by which the country was saved to the United States. He fled with his wife for his and her life when Dr. Whitman and wife were assassinated. He returned to the mission again as soon as possible after the massacre. Some dozen years ago he visited Washington and dug out the records of Dr. Whitman's visit there and

got them into the records of Congress. After visiting Prattsburgh he returned to his Nez Perces mission and led hundreds -300, I think, or more-to Christ. Dear brother, do not let H. H. Spaulding's name be forgotten in connection with his equal in good work, Dr. Whitman.

MISSIONARY ITINERATING.

[We are permitted to give our readers the following interesting narrative from letters of Rev. George E. Ford to relatives in this country.]

On Friday, the thirteenth of May, Mr. Hoskins and I started for a tour in Merj Ayûn. (Fountain Meadow) in the centre of which is a prominent little plateau or level mound, marking the site of old jon, one of the strong cities of Naphtali taken by Benhadad (I K. 15-20) and later by Tiglath Pileser, (II K. 15-29.) The sirocco that day was so stifling and so many im

portant business calls interrupted, that we started in the middle of the afternoon upon a ride of over 7 hours. The native teachers in charge of the Mission Summer House in Jedaideh had gotten the place ready for us and though arriving late we were soon at rest. A domestic by the name of Palm-Tree was with us to attend to the animals, provide meals for us and prepare coffee for the callers as fast as they should come in. This youth is an ex-goat herd, of poor and ignorant parentage, who was brought from his home near Sidon to work at the Female Seminary. A strict Catholic at first, he became interested in religion through constant attendance upon the religious exercises, and after a long "probation" and repeated application was admitted as a member of the Church. He has been consistent and diligent and last winter learned to read in the Testament at the night-school. It is a great cause for thankfulness that so large a proportion of Mission domestics, become converted and give evidence of genuine piety.

Saturday was spent in receiving the many friends who called, including the members of the Jedaideh Church who for a time were disaffected toward the Mission. Sunday Mr. Hoskins preached to a full congregation in the Jedaideh Church, while I went over to Deir Mimas, a ride of an hour and a half. There also a full congregation was gathered and after dinner I came over to Khirbeh (Little Ruin) and held a service for the simple villagers. Here we have no building and no organized Church, only a hired room and a day-school with Bible instruction and sim ple religious services on Sunday and on most week day evenings. From here I went back to Jedaideh (New Little Town) and held a large and protracted meeting in our reception room Monday was devoted to our six schools in Jedaideh. After such inspection as we could give them, mainly in the Scripture lessons, we had them all gather in procession at the little chapel, where we packed them as tightly as could be on the mats upon the floor, with great difficulty seating them all. When we came to count them up, there were in actual attendance 410 pupils.

us.

Outside

THE BANNER TOWN.

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of the two great cities, Damascus and Beirût, no other town in Syria gathers in Protestant schools so large a number. The town is wholly Christian, but the few Moslem officials there pass by the more aristocratic Catholic schools and send their children to Even the governor and the judge have sent their sons, who must study and commit to memory scriptures and gospel hymns with the rest. It was uncommonly inspiring to look upon that sea of faces, bright and clean, and see the gay colors of their clothing and hear their spirited rendering of the Gospel Songs, such as 'Around the Throne of God in Heaven," Sowing in the Morning" and others, and to hear the chapters, psalms and texts.

That evening we rode over to Ibl, held a protracted conference and rode home to Jedaideh (one hour) at 11 P. M. Tuesday we went to Suk el Khan, the weekly market-place in the wilderness where from two to three thousand people gather from all parts of the country "to buy and sell and get gain." It is a fine place to meet acquaintances from remote places, and we were greatly refreshed by these meetings. From this place we passed on to Hasbeiya, dropping in by the way to glance at the celebrated bitumen wells by the source of the Jordan. After inspecting schools here, visiting invalids and receiving some friends, we rode back to Jedaideh in the evening. Wednesday we went to Rasheya, where most of the pottery of this region is made, and from there, over rough basaltic roads across the upper Jordan for the third time in two days, to El Kheigam where I had my last protracted illness in 1864, when I went through the typhoid siege in the unfinished church the missionaries were then building. A partition and ceiling of rush mats sheltered me from the open enclosure where carpenters were at work to roof and finish the building. The same round of school inspection and visiting of the sick was finished in time to allow us another ride to Deir Mimas before supper. Here I preached in the Church in the evening, and about 10.30 P. M. we started for our showery

ride through the darkness over the rough roads to Jedaideh. That made a pretty full day. The next day we went across by Dan and through Cæsarea Philippi, over the Jordan again and past the famous Crusaders' Castle at Banias to Ain Kunyeh where the school and chapel were closed for six years by the government and where we have just enlarged the mission building.

In the afternoon we rode back again, making ten hours in the saddle, (brisk riding) and reached home after dark. Of course as the customs of the country are, each evening after

[October,

The

exploring its almost countless rooms and taking in the superb views from its summit. arrangements for the storage of water for those old knights and their horses were very extensive. Our trip gave us forty three hours in the saddle in the eight days and was altogether quite fatiguing. More than any previous trip it was signalized by the friendliness of the priests. Besides the extreme cordiality of the four Greek priests in Jedaideh and Khirbeh, the Catholic priests, usually so hostile, visited us in Deir Mimas, Ibl, Hasbeiya and Rasheya and the priest of Khirbeh attended the preaching service. It was

reaching home from a long fatiguing day, we had callers to entertain till nearly midnight. The next day after attending to messengers from several villages, and putting the house in shape to be left and having a morning service in the parlor with more than a dozen visitors, we started for Sidon. On our way, after passing the Maronite town of "Little Castle" and crossing Syria's second largest river, the wild and picturesque Litany, we climbed the mountain to the Crusader Castle of Belfort, the most grandly located of all the castles in this land. Here we spent three hours with much profit and pleasure,

the busiest season on account of the silkworms, and this interfered somewhat with the accomplishment of our plans, but in each place we could see gratifying evidence of good, faithful work by the native helpers.

It will pay any reader to turn back to our January number of the year 1891, and read the interesting narrative of the closing of the Ain Kunyeh Chapel six years before, and its then recent re-opening, given to us by Dr. Eddy from a letter of his son, Rev. W. W. Eddy.-ED.

1892.]

SYSTEMATIC

it.

Most cordially do we commend Pastor Bradley's plan and method to the study of other pastors and of sessions, and his example to their imitation. It would not be really following his example merely to copy his method without study of all its parts and features with reference to the situation, character and needs of each congregation. The plan has obvious and great merits, no one of which is greater than its pastoral character. It comes home to the Tuckerton people from their own pastor, just like his own pastoral visits.

Any pastor who, on studying it, sees it just right in all respects for his people is made welcome to it by Pastor Bradley, and he has equal right to modify it in any respect, so as to make it better adapted. The good example of this pastor is his putting himself thoroughly into the effort to help his people intelligently to fulfill their duty to Christ with their money. Any pastor who will do this, freely and gratefully incorporating into his own scheme all that he finds good and suitable in those of his brethren, but making it his own as much as his sermons, and so sending it warm with pastoral thought and care and love to the homes of his people, will not fail to lead them into the blessedness of giving, a blessedness which will be sure to overflow from their hearts into the Lord's treasuries.

As to the particular feature, the use of circulars, we suggest that the more these are

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real letters from the pastor, and not merely leaflets from the Boards, the more effective they will be.

This means some work, but it is work which will bless both pastor and people.

GOOD NEWS.-On Sept. 12, a telegram was received from Teheran to the effect that the cholera has abated in that city and in Rescht, the port on the Caspian Sea through which missionaries to the Eastern Persia Mission must pass.

WORK FOR CHRIST OUR BUSINESS:If our service of the Master is a luxury then we will deny ourselves this extravagance or indulge in it sparingly; if it is an experiment then we will not venture too much in it nor be too enthusiastic and

hopeful; if it is a duty to whose performance we are driven by the lash of conscience then we will do it coldly and grudgingly; if it is hypocrisy then the less of the condemnation of it we incur the better; but if it is our business then we will freely, hopefully and joyously put into it our whole heart, our means, our time and strength. Are not these what a successful man puts into his business? Can we do less for him who said, “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's busiW. K. E.

ness ?"

: