with the students gathered about them, seems difficult to be done. They wait and wait, until Mrs. Genähr's health improves somewhat, and still Mr. Krone is absent, and so two years pass away. At last the intelligence comes that Mr. Krone is upon his journey, and will arrive by the next steamer, but when it came instead of bringing the returned missionary, it brought the news of his death. Mr. Genähr's goods were nearly all packed, and he was ready to embark for Germany by the next steamer, but this sad intelligence decided him once more to return to his station at Ho Au. How could he leave his post, with no one here to oversee the native converts! He and his wife were sadly in need of rest but they must not leave their children in the faith to be scattered for the want of a shepherd and so they return, but Mr. Genähr meets his death in the following year, (August 1864). That terrible pestilence the cholera, had broken out in the village of Ho Au, and Mr. Genähr, while saving the lives of many, was at last taken with the same disease and died with two of his children. Thus while saving others, he himself lost his life. Not many persons would have taken a poor woman with the cholera into their own house, and nursed her, as one of their own children but Mr. Genähr knew that it was written, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me," and blessed be his memory and life to us.

But the work of the mission did not stop at the death of its founder, others came and among them, Mr. Faber, who is not entirely unknown among Asiatic Sinologists. In 1878 the mission counted 750 Baptized adults and children and about 400 communicants. Since that time considerable of its work has gone to the Berlin Missionary Society, and some of it to the Basel Mission, thus leaving the mission only to work among the Cantonese, while all the Hakka work either went to the Berlin or Basel Mission, and it was on account of this division of work, that led Mr. Henry in his book entitled. "The Cross and the Dragon" to say that "the Rheinish Mission had undergone some transformations, its works being now chiefly carried on by the Berlin Society," (C. and D. p. 180). But the mission has by no means become extinct, and a careful examination of their mission report, shows 250 persons as having received Baptism, with 150 communicants. The seminary, the pride of Mr. Genähr is no longer under his care, but under that of his son, who is treading in the same steps of his sainted father, endeavoring to train men for the especial work of preaching the Gospel. The trials through which the mission passed some years since have been partially overcome and the outlook of the mission, manned principally by young men, is certainly hopeful. Long before any other society did work entirely

upon the mainland of China, did the Rheinish Mission solve the practicability of a "China Inland Mission," for never from the first year of the commencement of the mission did any of its missionaries live for any length of time in any of the treaty ports, and what has been is so to-day. The life of the mission has been somewhat a checkered one and the same success has not followed it which the Basel Mission enjoyed, but it must be remembered that the Hakkas and the Cantonese are two entirely different peoples, and that success among the latter means more than that among the former. To the missionaries, which the Society has furnished, the mission world of China owes its gratitude, and though some have removed from the immediate work of the society, still it was here that these men were taught their first lesson of Chinese life. May the future work of the mission bring honor and glory to God and to the men who so nobly gave their lives for it.

IF

PICTORIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF CHRIST.

BY REV. A. WILLIAMSON, D.D.

F the Rev. Jas. H. Johnson will consult his Hebrew Bible or the Revised version he will find, both in Exodous, and Deut., that the word "likeness" is an interpolation; and that the interdict extends only to "graven images," or "forms," and not to pictures at all.

But if he hold by the common rendering as he does in his paper, I beg to remind him that the second commandment so interpreted forbids "any likeness of any thing in heaven above or earth beneath" &c; and that therefore drawing, painting, sculpture, and photography are all violations; and the genius of the Fine Arts is not the gift of our Creator, but a root of evil and evil only implanted by the wicked one. Does he say No? Well he makes a show of his logic. Let him get out of this.

He quotes the Fathers but like many other Divines does not sufficiently examine the Scriptures: also he mixes up images with pictures and pictures with images in a very bewildering way; and then he crowns all with the astounding admission of the legitimacy of images of God, provided they are not worshiped (see page 262 para. 3).

Again he affirms that the silence of the Scriptures regarding the personal appearance of Our Lord "precludes and condemns the attempts of painters to give us a true likeness of the God-man.” But the same may be said of all the Apostles and nearly all the prophets. Is a painter therefore precluded from trying to delineate any of the prophets?

Is the portraiture e.g. of Daniel a sin? Does he again say no, well, but where is his logic?

Further he supposes the picture of an old English Lady being called Queen Victoria. He asks if this be honest or not? Certainly not. But seeing we have no certain clue to the likeness of our Saviour there is no deception either on the part of the painter or the onlooker.

The truth is, on this and all such matters, we are left at liberty to exercise a sound Christian judgment. Principles are set forth in the word of God, and if we regulate our action by them we are safe. And if, as I have done in the introduction to the illustrated Life of Christ published at our press, a paragraph is prepared in which we expressly say that no likeness of Our Lord has come down to us; that therefore the representations of Our Lord are only conjectural; that they are used to help readers to understand the story of his life, and are by no means to be worshiped-with this what harm can accrue?

But I will not extend remarks, I believe the incarnation of Our Lord authorizes us to exercise our minds in conceiving of his person, and in portraying it.

All teachers know well the power of object teaching especially with untrained minds; and the value of the "black board," with diagrams and delineations thereon. But the use of pictures in a book is just carrying out the principle of object teaching. From the beginning of work in China missionaries have been vying with each other in procuring illustrations; and pictures of our Saviour have been circulated for years in books of all kinds. Why then cry out now. Does any one think that a Chinese would ever incline to worship a picture in a foreign book? Moreover while pictures are useful in teaching all kinds of knowledge, and all kinds of illustrations utterly pale in importance before the life of Our Lord and the story of the cross. Salvation lies in this. But how can we depict the scenes in the Saviour's History without representations of His power? Here lies the gravamen of the question. While therefore we think Mr. Johnson's attempt fails, it compares favourably-almost in an infinite degree-with the unseemly manifesto of the Swatow missionaries in the Recorder of April, 1886. Which

will remain as a monument of what a coterie of Christian men may do under an eclipse of charity and reason. I would rather be Lot's wife than one of them. She was turned unto a pillar of salt, poor woman, for looking back on her old homestead; but these brethren have pilloried themselves for ever. In the volume of a book more imperishable than the Recorder, they stand as a company of the army of the Lord, suddenly, unexpectedly, and without provocation, turning round and firing a volley into the face of another company of comrades who were making an earnest and much needed attempt to carry one of the lines of fortification with which the enemy has surrounded these people.

Chefoo, 12th July, 1886.

Correspondence.

THE BOOK AND TRACT SOCIETY OF CHINA.

SIR,

Respect for my missionary brethren, and that alone, leads me to notice your remarks regarding the Book and Tract Society of China which appears in this month's issue. It is right they should know the true facts of the case and so I beg your insertion of the following lines.

The first intention of the Book and Tract Society of China was to have both a Home and a Foreign Committee. After a time it was seen that a Foreign Committee, working in China, and likely growing into a large publishing business, might involve the Directors at home in monetary liabilities, and responsibilities as to opinions, which it might be well for them to avoid. Morever, they also saw that such a Committee, working here and extending, would necessitate an office at home, a paid secretary, and clerks, and consequently a considerable outlay for merely working expenses. They were thus led to the conclusion that it would be better to have no Foreign Committee for they would in this way, (1) free themselves from all responsibilities in this land, (2) minimize their working expenses (3) leave themselves free to help all engaged in Christian work in China as their funds would permit, and (4) thus widen the area of their usefulness here, and the sphere of their pleas at home for they could in this case approach every denomination

in every land for contributions to their funds, (5) moreover, it would be free to control our own affairs in China without the need of constant reference home and consequent loss of time, &c.

I entirely concurred in their views: for personal ends have never weighed with me in view of wider work and greater usefulness. I rather rejoiced in the change: for I saw it stamped the new society with permanency, and would make it a greater favourite at home and a greater boon here.

The Directors were kind enough to make me early acquainted with their views; and asked what I could suggest? I consulted my friends; and with their sanction sent home proposals which are now under the consideration of the Home Board. At their first meeting after the change in the constitution had been adopted, they resolved that I "should have the use and control of the press and plant in the meantime," and sent me official notice accordingly.

Thus though there has been a change at home there has been no stoppage here; and we are proceeding with our programme as before-issuing publications which I think will be welcomed by my brethren in the field-more and more as they know them.

In your criticism of the Report referred to there were several things I greatly missed,-no congratulation on the establishment of such a society, no kindly word as to the labor expended in creating it; not even the shadow of sympathy with the new enterprise in any shape or form; and also several matters which greatly grieved me, viz :-picking out every sentence in the Report which could in any way damage the work carried on here and setting them forth conspicuously a gross mis-statement regarding the contemplated connection between the School and Text Book Series Committee and the Book and Tract Society of China and other matters I need not allude to. It is satisfactory to know in such circumstances that a copy of this Report has been sent to every missionary in China and in the Straits Settlements so that they can compare the feeling in Scotland with the tone of your article.

One thing however I cannot pass over. Referring to Dr. Boyd's speech you say, "he fell very naturally into the exaggerated statement that the women of China are not accessible to the missionaries," (only partially quoting him by the way,) and you pride yourself on having already criticised this statement," and affirm it is "an assertion daily disproved by the experience of many missionaries in China." In reference to this I ask do you mean to say that the women of Chinese households from the middle classes upward, "are accessible to the missionaries?" or even those of the better class of the peasantry or small shop keepers? I am thankful to know