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together and comparing notes, receive and give valuable and practical information for the better conduct of the work in the future.

Another Conference was in session during these same days in the Madison Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, the International Conference of the Woman's Boards of Missions for the United States and Canada. On one afternoon a joint meeting was held, and four papers were read relative to woman's work.

A TYPICAL VILLAGE CHURCH IN THE MADURA MISSION.

BY REV. CHARLES S. VAUGHAN, OF MADURA.

ON Sunday, November 21, as oft before, I went to worship in a particular mission church, and while there it came over me that this service was in every way so characteristic of the people, and such a good illustration of the fruit of missions, and in all so encouraging and instructive that it might well repay a somewhat detailed description. I shall not be able to reproduce the beautiful touches of character which were seen at every point, but it may be I can aid some in forming an idea of what it is like.

The building was, like most of its class, built with plain white walls and a masonry roof supported by two rows of pillars which divided the interior into three nearly equal strips about nine feet wide and thirty to forty feet long. At the upper end of the middle one was the pulpit, on a small platform of brick work, and in front of this the communion table with its motto, "Until he Lord come," in the vernacular, as indeed was all connected with the service.

Down each side wall is a row of windows, small and without glass, but capable of being closed by a couple of solid wooden blinds, which during the service stood open on the west to admit the small amount of fresh air that could be allured into this house of worship, or that could be spared by the hundreds of poor inmates of the miserable huts that crowd close up to the sides of the little church, but which were carefully closed on the east to keep out the sun which already, at half-past eight, was beginning to blaze forth with a warmth that reminded one too forcibly of the all but unendurable glare of noontide. In the corner at the left of the pulpit a small door stood open through which came at intervals clouds of blue smoke laden with the odors of some poor man's breakfast which was being cooked just behind a mud wall within a few feet of the church, and into which occasionally peered the curious eye of some naked little heathen.

Looking out at the front door you could see from where you sat the constant passing and repassing of that innumerable throng of people who know no Sabbath in all the years of their life, but day after day, day after day, go up and down with their weariness, seeing only those things that perish and therefore seeking naught else.

But leaving this throng for the moment, let us turn to the small company of about eighty souls that have gathered to worship God. Between the two rows of pillars in the middle of the church sits the important part of the congregation, that is, about thirty men, in chairs which have been secured up to the limit of the church's funds, and which, by a strange coincidence, are in number just what

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the men need; so we are not surprised to see the women, about equal in number, sitting on the floor between the row of pillars to the right of the men and the wall. To look upon this little company of some sixty or so is no wonderful thing, but fifty years ago such a company could not be gathered for any purpose in any place in this city. I look over them and see here a converted Brahman sitting by, and singing out of the same book with, a man who in former days would have been severely punished had he dared to come near enough to his present fellow-worshiper to pollute the air which the latter breathed.

Just under the edge of the communion table sit three bright-faced little schoolgirls whose heads and hearts are so full of games of the school that, in spite of a strong desire and a sincere effort to behave well in church, they cannot resist the temptation to look at each other and smile, and even put their smoothly combed heads together and whisper in each other's ear some message, the purport of which could only be surmised by the effect which it produced. And I dare say that through all that hour and a quarter of effort, amid all the thoughts which flashed through their brains, it never occurred to them that but for Christ all the joys of their companionship would have been lost, and the bright playworld in which they lived could never have been created. For they, or their families, were from different castes. To the left of the men and under the immediate supervision of the dignified teacher, who sat in an end chair that he might be near his boys and also be handy to pass the collection bag, sat the school children in an attempt at rows,- an attempt which, whatever may have been its success at the start, soon lost itself on that uneasy little whirlpool of life. More than once had the teacher's hand to be laid on the head of a forgetful boy, and occasionally a little parcel of humanity was lifted by a tiny arm and redeposited in its own appropriate place.

Up in the corner, in the place of honor, with no air to breathe and no window behind them, sat the four pale-faced worshipers who happened to be there that day. To them were allotted, by common consent, the four best of a half dozen cane-seated chairs which stand in a row down the wall on the right of the pulpit. The service is just beginning when in comes the deacon, Deacon Mightysword, as we may call him, in a somewhat free translation of his true name. He comes in and with due solemnity walks up to the two remaining seats of honor, one of which he moves and places opposite an open window, and then after carefully depositing his faultlessly white turban on the floor, he bows his head in prayer and then settles back to listen to the preliminary words of the service which the pastor is now uttering.

I will pass by the pastor with two remarks, the first of which is that he is the pastor indeed of his people, and not a figurehead through which the missionary works; the other is that he, whatever he is for good, is an unadulterated product of the gospel as he has received it through his mission, which has no more loyal son than he.

The service, with the exception of the singing, which was thoroughly native and therefore indescribable, but also thoroughly congregational in its character, was much like an ordinary service in any little church in almost any American village. One difference is, possibly, the better degree of attention to what the preacher said perceptible here, a result secured in part by the fact that occa

sionally the preacher would ask a question connected with his sermon and pause until an answer came up from the congregation.

When he gave out his text he repeated it twice and then said to his people, "What is the text?" and without hesitation came the answer from man, woman, and child, "That Rock was Christ." We listened to the close and felt that we had heard the message of life in its purity.

There was one face not in its accustomed place whose absence was noticeable. It was the serene brown face of a feeble old woman who usually sits near the pulpit on the floor, without a motion or any appearance of interest in the service. She seems as one who had outlived her interest in anything in this world, even in worship. This apathy led the pastor to ask her one day, "What are you doing all the time while you are in church? You are very quiet." She replies, Pastor, I am praying for my son, who is preaching Jesus to this people." I am not at all surprised to hear him preach good sermons since he told me this little story, with his heart swelling so large that even his broad chest was too small and a strange moisture was forced to his eyes.

In conclusion there are four things which can be said of this little church : First, it is one of the most direct fruits of mission work it would be possible to imagine.

Second, it is, so far as its spiritual life is concerned, much more self-supporting than those churches in many lands that depend upon the periodical visitation of an evangelist to give them another breath of the air of heaven and pump into them enough vitality to last until he can come again.

Third, it is, so far as financial support and management are concerned, an almost wholly native church. It has its services, Sunday-schools, Y. P. S. C. E., prayer-meetings, and work for heathen, and all, with the simple exception of an occasional word of advice from the missionary, under its own supervision.

Fourth, and best of all, it has nothing which is peculiar to itself, but shares every one of its characteristics with several of its sister churches, and is unique, if unique at all, simply in the combination of the various principles the working out of which makes it what it is.

Letters from the Missions.

Marathi Mission.

THE OUT-STATIONS OF AHMEDNAGAR. DR. R. A. HUME, of Ahmednagar, writes of extended visits paid during December to the districts connected with the station:

"I am having an excellent tour in the out-districts. It is always a great privilege to be able to go about in the villages encouraging the agents, talking personally to Christians and inquirers, helping the poor, and putting things in order. On account of hard times I am going about

very economically, for the plague, etc., makes it very expensive to hire tangas now. So I am making this trip mainly in a little bullock tanga of the native pastor. In some places the road is very bad and so I should have to walk any way.

"Leaving Ahmednagar on Saturday afternoon, I rode a couple of miles, and then walked to Nepti and had a good talk with the people and teacher, his wife, etc. The people here are very worldly-minded, and the teacher himself is not spiritual. Started on foot for Nimbgaw, and had the

Nepti teacher walk along and tried to help him.

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The Nimbgaw teacher is a very satisfactory man. I had a nice visit with the people; then started on foot for Hingangaw, four miles away, which place I reached at 8.45; and had a good talk with the people from 10 to 10.45. On Sunday had many talks with agents and individual Christians. Church service and the annual meeting were held, with a report (if I remember rightly) that seventeen males and thirty-five females had joined the church during the year on profession of faith. The net gain, after departures and deaths, was forty-nine from thirty-nine to eighty-eight- so the church had a good deal more than doubled during the year. The members live in five towns.

"In the afternoon I went north four miles to Karjune and had service there with the Christians and others. The Christians are members of the Hingangaw church. Ten adult males, sixteen adult females, and thirteen baptized children are Christians there, and they wish to be organized into a separate church. I said they must be stronger spiritually and in experience and numbers. Back to Hingangaw at seven. In the evening a service with a houseful, where I preached from Jer. 9:23, 24.

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Monday morning I saw a well dug by some Christians; it was a splendid, big well, and very fine fields all about it, belonging to the Christians. But the people have not been able to build up the well, and so the earth is falling in. They have borrowed money to dig the well and to support themselves during the famine, but had not money to build.

"Went five miles to Ambli Wadgaw. Examined our school and talked to the people. Got some people to promise to rebuild a tumbled-down house of a widow of a Christian, not herself a Christian. Thence I went three miles to Daithane. First tried to settle a dispute between some Hindu relatives, and then examined the school and also a woman who was a candidate for baptism. The pastor baptized her. I myself baptized a child who

was born out of doors in a storm, when the mother was working on relief works. The mother then vowed that if she and the child were carried safely through that great difficulty she would dedicate herself and her child to God. The husband and father was away from home when we came, but he knew I was coming. He had forbidden her being baptized, but said the child might be baptized in view of her Vow. She said she was a Christian and wished to be baptized, but thought it best to wait and not anger her husband.

RELIEF WORK AND PREACHING.

I

"At Jambgaw I inspected a well which I had had built for famine relief work, preached to a large company in the schoolhouse, and afterwards preached in the streets of the town. In the evening I talked over plans for work with the pastor and teachers. On this tour I brought ninety cloths for women and ten blankets to help the poor. I made out a list (with the pastor) for one half of these to be given in his district. I went to sleep as usual on this tour at about 11.30. On Wednesday morning came the examination of the school, then baptism of two children of the teacher. Several Brahman officials and town officers and a large crowd of Christians and others were present. preached on the duties of parents to children, visited Christian homes, then in a cart three miles, then three miles on foot to Bhalawani. This town is almost deserted now. I held a service in the ' rest house,' then walked two miles with the agent of that place, talking about his spiritual life, his work, and the coming day of prayer. Went three miles in a cart to Dhawalpuri, and had conference with preacher, teacher, and Christians of that place. Examined the school. In the evening came the church meeting. The father and mother of two young Christian men and the wife of one Christian were baptized and received into church fellowship. During the year six adults have been received into that church on profession of faith. Number on the rolls Janu

ary I was twenty-seven; on December 8 the number was thirty-six.

"In the morning I had a visit from the principal men of the town, asking me to get some relief work opened. No town which I have visited appears so badly off. No crops to speak of, even this year, after last year's famine. It is a hereditary village of a native prince, who has not helped them in any kind of relief. Even now over two thirds of the people are absent, because they have no means of support at home. In the low-caste wada only three farmers have any cattle left for farming; namely, one Hindu has one ox, another has two oxen, a Christian has three oxen and a cow; apparently only onę milch animal giving milk in the town. I had to use malted milk, which I had brought with

me.

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After this I went ten miles over very rough roads, walking most of the way to Takli, where there is a government bungalow available for travelers, in charge of a Christian. The mission school is taught by a very capable Christian woman. and a Christian teacher at Hangé are the only female teachers in the county of Parner. After examining the school I went in the cart over a fine road three and one half miles to Wasunde, and held service in front of rest house, and had prayers in the preacher's house."

After reporting visits at other places, ministering relief to some who were sick, Dr. Hume speaks of his arrival at Hangé, where a church was to be organized: "I was met by a band, who escorted me to the place of meeting, which was elaborately trimmed. The council met, with delegates from six churches. The church was organized with fourteen males and thirteen females from three towns. Every one promised at least one pice every week for the church. Afterwards came a Christian wedding, the first which had ever been celebrated in that town. The school is supported by the Opportunity Club of the South Church, Springfield, Mass. After conference with agents, etc., I went twenty-one miles in Mr. Bissell's tanga, which had brought two delegates

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A YEAR OF GROWTH.

MR. BEARD sends a full account of the remarkable annual meeting of Christians in Foochow :

"The pastors, evangelists, teachers, church members, and missionaries of the American Board Mission here have again met in their annual meeting. There was one glad note of rejoicing and thanksgiving from 9.30 A.M., November 9, to 5 P.M., November 16. From Shao-wu, 250 miles in the interior, to Sharp Peak, on the sea, came tidings of large numbers joining the church and of larger numbers glad to listen to the gospel. Man after man told of villages near his centre of work that were calling for Christian teachers and preachers. Each closed with the same thought, Alas! the harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few. There is no one to send.' Instead of completing this part of the program, we spent the last moments in prayer that the Lord would send forth men to reap this harvest. It is a significant fact, and one which all friends of missions in America will note with pleasure, that these Chinese brethren, as they talked of pushing out into the regions beyond,' emphatically advised that no new work be begun in any village until the people in that village agreed to bear a part of the

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