missionaries should not have chosen ling for "spirit" if they had found it suitable. They decided that it was unsuitable, and so also would probably the Protestant missionaries in a body, but for the, in my opinion, unfortunate idea that Shen was the best word for Elohim and Theos, involving the corollary that it should not be used for spirit. I suppose two thirds of the Protestant converts to use shen for "spirit" and one third to use ling for spirit. The probability is, therefore, that shen will ultimately prevail. I have no personal objection to see sheng ling used for the Holy Spirit in conjunction with sheng shen, because the large currency it has acquired in the missions of Chekiang, Kiangsu, and Shantung, has given it a standing.

It may be objected, if the question between ling and shen is to be settled by numbers, then Tien chu should be accepted in preference to Shangti because it is used by more Christians than Shangti. But it is unpleasing to the Chinese and is cumbrous in translation. It is inconvenient to use in new districts, and cannot, in city or country, compare with Shangti in dignity and propriety. In teaching Christianity to the Chinese so that it may become their own religion, we can do far better with a native term. Still I approve of its occasional use.

NOTE. The mode of meeting translation difficulties on the principles of this paper, in other passages of the Bible, may be seen in the Peking mandarin New Testament with Shangti for God as printed at Peking, Fucheu and Shanghai, as also in Dr. Scherechewsky's translation of the Old Testament in the edition now being printed at Shanghai with Shangti for God. It fell to the writer of this paper to fill the blanks for these editions except in the early part of Genesis. The principle advocated in this paper of using shen for "spirit" and for "gods" was accepted by Dr. Schereschewsky and Bishop Burdon in their edition of the New Testament until they suddenly resolved after correspondence with their brethren at Shanghai and Ningpo to revert to ling for "spirit" for the sake of harmonious co-operation with those brethren.

THE SEVEN SLEEPERS.

1 Here to the cave where sleeps the sacred dust
Of John and Timothy on Prion's breast,
Seven Christians flee before the thunder-gust,
The persecuting Cæsar's murderous quest;
And here upon the dripping floor they rest,
Trembling at every sigh of passing breeze;

Till prayer and th' Evangelic scroll most blest,

Subdue their fear and call down heavenly ease:
They sleep, and evening shrouds the sheltering olive trees.

2 Why breaks no glimmer here of morning's beam,
Morning which makes the far Ægean smile,
And shines upon Cayster winding stream?
By night the foe crept up with fiendish wile,
Before the cave's mouth marble blocks they pile,

And "seal within the bosom of the hill,"

Those whom their Saviour loves, whom men revile;
Morn dawns not in that chamber dark and still;

Two hundred summers bloom without, within they're slumbering still.

3 Cayster slides unresting to the sea;

The restless sea for ever ebbs and flows;

Ephesus in her full prosperity,

With ceaseless murmur ever toils and grows;
The blue sea flecked with many a galley's snows,
And the great inland roads her commerce bear;
But those blest seven stir not from their repose;
Deep sleep from God, and tranquil dreams are there,
And long release from peril, sword, and aching care.

4 So pass the gliding months; the hills still rise,
Like islands from Ionia's verdant main;
But Heaven's light shames the darkling Mysteries,
Diana's old magnificence doth wane;

Her marble courts the Gothic armies stain;
The glittering temple falls to rise no more;
The jaspar columns grace a Christian fane;
Her glory passes from the Ægean shore;
All Asia and the world the Crucified adore.

5 Then came awaking, for the marble wall

Tumbles, by storm or throes of earthquake riven;
Light streams into the long forgotten hall,

And stirs the slumbers of the long lost seven;

Fresh wanders through the tomb the breath of heaven;
They rise, and whispering to each other say,

"Morn and the foe have come; to us 't is given

To suffer for our Risen LORD to-day;"

And as they speak they hear beneath the city praise and pray.

6 Forth into day they pass; and Christian cheer

Welcomes them from their slumber long and deep;
They listening as in dreams the tale to hear

Of that long night, alternate laugh and weep;
How GOD was working through His servants' sleep;
How now the Son of God begins to reign;
How in all lands with shouts the reapers reap
A glorious harvest after tears and pain;
Till in an ecstasy of joy in HIM they sleep again.

7 Strange legend of the early days, sweet tale
Of other sleeps and other wakings true;
There Martyn rests in Tocats' distant vale,
As safe as calm as under churchyard yew.
Soon will his opening eyes exult to view
Persia adore the Eternal Son; and lo!
Israel revives the earth like morning dew;

TO JESUS' Name the tribes of India bow,

From Comorin's wave swept foot to Everests' virgin snow.

10 So here where Satan's seat is let Faith's eye
See as in vision now the morning glow;
Faith that builds ever on sure prophecy,

Not "so it may be" saying, but "I know,"

"The knowledge of the LORD through earth shall flow."
So the beloved Disciple on the shore

Of prisoning Patmos heard "beyond the woe,"
Great voices shout above the breakers' roar,

"The Christ of God reigns King of Kings for evermore."

A. E. M,

DEAR RECORDER:

Correspondence.

The 21st of September was a festive day in Siam in honor of the 25th anniversary of her king, and the 4th of his reign. The European community were assembled by invitation at the palace of the Kromatah, Minister of Foreign Affairs. After passing in his steam barge down the river to witness the illuminations which adorned the foreign consulates, the European merchants offices, and the dwellings of the Siamese nobles and wealthy Chinese, His Majesty entered the halls of the stately edifice of the Kromatah, and greeted the assemblage of Europeans, Chinese officials and Siamese nobility, with easy courtesy and dignified grace. He had a gracious bow for all, and a cordial hand shaking and kind words for the ladies and gentlemen with whom he was acquainted.

It was interesting to notice the tact of His Majesty in saying to each one, words in harmony with their social relations and callings in life. This was done through the medium of his own language, or by a sentence in correct English, or by the aid of his interpreter always at hand. Some of his younger brothers also attended him, to whom he is accustomed to speak in the freedom of fraternal friendship. He went into the Kromatah's cabinet of curiosities, and passed the doors within which were seen companies of women of noble families assembled to look upon His Majesty.

After walking deliberately through the halls above and below, and giving the large assemblage of different nationalities the pleasure of looking upon his youthful face and listening to his kind words, His Majesty, with his royal attendants, took leave, under the sound of European and oriental music, played by a Siamese band in a manner which would do honor to Italian performers, and then re-entered his royal barge, under the salute of rockets and fire-works not to be surpassed in any country.

The illuminations, got up on frame works of a great variety of form, were decorated with a brilliancy of beauty; Some representing a temple with its arched portals and colored dome; Some in the shape of a pagoda crowned with lights of varied shades; Some with festoons of light hanging from a tall pillar of fire, while many embraced in letters of living light, the motto, though in various languages still of one meaning,-GOD BLESS THE KING. Most of the illuminations also enresented the Royal Coat of Arms (the three pagodas). Some of

the kings steam-ships were also illuminated so as to represent the form of the hull, the smoke pipes, the masts and yards of the ship.

The whole affair was in striking contrast to the royal entertainments witnessed by some of the older residents here during former reigns, when the king was seen by Europeans only at a distance, as he was paddled in his open barge under a golden canopy, but without hat or coat, while on his annual visit to the Buddhist temples.

Now His Majesty appears in European costume with the easy manners of an enlightened prince, and he must have been gratified with the marked demonstrations of loyalty, while all classes of the people seemed delighted to do honor to the king.

WILLIAM DEAN.

DEAR SIR

The Ningpo Presbytery held its regular annual meeting this year in the Presbyterian Church in the city of Yu-yiao. The Presbytery met on the 12th of October: held two or three sessions each day and adjourned on the 15th. Of the twenty-three members present, twelve are ministers, of whom only three are foreigners: all the others, whether ministers or ruling elders, are natives of China. The foreign element in the body, is year by year, decreasing and the native element increasing. This is as it should be: as it is altogether likely that the church in China will be propagated in the main by the Chinese. Of the five hundred and thirty-seven members, thirtyone were added during the year. There have also been several deaths; and some cases of discipline.

Six of the eleven churches have permanent buildings, as parsonages and church edifices. One of these, that of Baokotah, was put up and dedicated during the past year. The needed funds were subscribed by some friends of missions in the United States. The other congregations meet in purely native, rented, houses. Three of the churches support their pastors without any mission help, and another one supports the pastor some five-sixths of the time.

Two new stations were opened during the year; one at the market town of Song-o, and one near the city of Tong-yiang. Efforts were also made to open the city of Kia-hing; these efforts have not been successful yet, though there is reason to hope that they will be ere long. The funds contributed for congregational purposes amounted to five hundred and thirty-four dollars.

Some cases of official and popular opposition to the Gospel, and persecution of Christians, that had recently occurred helped to give tone and character to the meetings, such as we had not often witnessed before. There is reason to believe that the feeling is deepening in the minds of the native preachers and others that bodily suffering, defeat and shame, was part of the price that our Lord paid for his church; and that those who would share the glory which He will have hereafter must be willing to share the cross, the reproach and contempt that He submitted to while here.

HANGCHOW, November 27th, 1877.

S. D.

DEAR SIR:

It was suggested in the "Circular" calling the Conference to meet last May which was signed by Carstairs Douglas, A. Wylie, Wm. Muirhead, C. W. Mateer and J. Butler, that a Committee might be appointed to prepare a standard, classic version of the Scriptures in the Chinese. Nothing more however was said about it.

1. Its importance need not be enlarged upon. For example; the versions, issued by the American Bible Society, at the various presses, in the wen-li, mandarin and colloquials differ widely in essential points, and to which must the native appeal as the standard?

2. The question of THE TERMS does not come in as the words in Hebrew and Greek translated "God" and "Spirit" may be left.

3. The standing Committee on literature together with the agents of the Bible Societies can easily arrange the details of revision. 4. The present is a most propitious time.

(a). Chinese scholarship within the last twenty years has been brought to a wonderful degree of perfection.

(b). Among the missionaries now in China there are many fitted for this great work, and there are many changes in mission ranks as be seen in the names above.

may

(c). If a version were now made by thirty of "the fathers" after the careful manner of the English and American revision, there is no reason to doubt that it would be the King James of China for three centuries.

(d). Every version that has been made will contribute towards securing an accurate final translation, as for example I might mention the Ningpo colloquial.

(e). Missionary effort is turned to a Christian literature and how important to have a fixed Bible phraseology interwoven as in our English religious books. It was suggested at the Conference in Dr. Baldwin's paper that we need a Concordance, but this first necessitates. one standard version.

(f). As we recently enjoyed the blessedness of united prayer at the Conference, there would be much prayer continually offered that the Committee of revision have dirine illumination.

In order to secure uniformity of versions, after the standard classic translation has been made, the portion of the original Committee residing in the two northern provinces might be retained and others added, to form a Committee for the revision of the mandarin Scriptures so as to make them correspond (a) in all the principal key words and phrases, and (b) in the arrangement of the clauses of each verse.

After this, colloquial versions might be revised, so that whether in the wen-li, the mandarin or the dialect, it might be the one Bible. One notices that often a verse in the mandarin and colloquial is precisely the same, except that parts of sentences are transposed. In some cases the idiom might be slightly injured (not the sense) but then the reasons for uniformity in translations of the Bible are so great, and in other books we are at liberty.

H. C. D.