VERY interesting and valuable reports on the Micronesian Mission, by Dr. Charles H. Wetmore, delegate of the Hawaiian Association, and by Mr. Logan, of Ruk, have been received; but, farther than the article in the Young People's Department, which has been compiled from Mr. Logan's letters, they must be deferred to our next issue.

MR. ROBERT CHAMBERS, in a recent letter, speaks of a genuine though quiet revival in progress in the Girls' School at Erzroom. He says that during all the time he has been there he has not seen anything like it. Interesting articles have been written for Life and Light, called "Talks with our Girls," now publishing in that journal, which are literal transcriptions of conversations held, the real names being disguised, — and which show vividly the character of the work.

As indicating the changes that are taking place in India, even where the people do not become Christians, an incident that comes from Madura may be mentioned. A catechist was preaching in the public street of a village when the Brahmans brought out their rugs and carpets for the catechist, and a chair for the pastor, and raised a small sum of money as a contribution. In former days these Brahmans would not have deigned even to walk the streets while people of the catechist caste were present.

A SINGULAR illustration of the good-natured way in which the Chinese use opprobrious epithets is given by Mr. Stimson, while on a visit at Fen Chow. As he was passing along the street a young man called out: Heigh-ho, there goes our Chieh Hsieu foreign devil!" It seems that he had met Mr. Stimson at Chieh Hsieu, and seeing him in another city he claimed him as a fellow-citizen. When pleasantly remonstrated with for using the epithet, he answered: "Why, you are a devil, are you not?" The term is evidently, among the Chinese, applied to foreigners without any thought of insult or special reproach.

STATISTICS of Christian work accomplished in the Sandwich Islands have been heretofore given in various places, but the following facts brought together by Rev. Mr. Forbes, Secretary of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association, will be of interest. The first Hawaiian pastor was ordained in 1849. Since that time, ninety-five Hawaiians have been ordained, of whom thirty-eight are at present pastors in the home field and nine are in foreign service, making forty-seven native Hawaiians who are now either pastors or missionaries in active service. Since 1852, when the first Hawaiians went to Micronesia in company with Messrs. Snow, Gulick, and Sturges, not less than seventy-five Sandwich Islanders have gone as foreign missionaries, thirty-nine of them males, thirty-six females. The total sum contributed at the islands for foreign missions has been $170,149.44. Of this amount, $133,015.86 were contributed by native Hawaiian churches, the remainder by foreign churches and individuals at the islands. The contributions of the Hawaiian churches for all purposes from the beginning, so far as can be ascertained, amount to $818.270-35. This record should awaken our gratitude and stimulate our faith.

THE CITY OF CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO.

BY SECRETARY N. G. CLARK, D.D.

CHIHUAHUA, the capital of a State of the same name, is on the line of the Mexican Central Railway, 220 miles south of El Paso on the frontier of Texas. It has a population variously estimated at from 20,000 to 25,000. It is on high tableland, nearly 5,000 feet above the sea-level, girt about with ranges of hills and mountains, rising from a few hundred to thousands of feet, their bare and desolate forms standing out boldly against the sky as seen through the clear atmosphere. The whole region at this season of the year, both plain and mountain, seems like a barren waste, save where a few trees line the scanty streams, or where irrigation has been attempted. The mountains to the west, separating the state of Chihuahua from Sonora and Sinaloa, are believed to abound in silver, waiting mining enterprises, but hitherto the haunt of hostile Indians, the retreat of Geronimo and his band, of whom we have heard of late a good deal.

The city of Chihuahua stands on a gentle slope, extending a mile or more from the level of the tableland down to the bed of a small stream which becomes a torrent in the rainy season. From the upper part of the town a rather uneven plain stretches away to the mountains. All trees and garden fruits and flowers depend on irrigation. To this end there is an abundance of pure water brought into the city from miles away by a good and substantial aqueduct. The water is distributed in clear, flowing rills along the streets, and from the streets it is easily diverted into the adjoining gardens. There is one broad street, the Alameda, quite in the style of a Paris boulevard, along which are rows of cottonwood-trees. On the Plaza and in the gardens may be seen other trees and shrubs. By the first of April the gardens are fragrant with peach, pear, and quince blossoms. Fig-trees also are just leaving out and showing their young figs.

The houses are almost all of one story, built of adobe, or sun-dried bricks. These bricks are usually from twelve to eighteen inches long, twelve inches broad, and four to five inches thick. They are very easily made from the soil at almost any point. The houses stand flush on the streets, with open courts behind, built usually on two or three sides of a square. Many of the houses have only heavy doors on the streets, the windows opening into the courts. The better houses have of late windows closed on the inside by wooden shutters and protected without by iron gratings. Within a few years better and more substantial buildings are being erected, as at present for a bank and a state-house, of two or more stories. The prevailing style, however, is to build of adobe; and, when plastered so as to afford a smooth surface, and whitewashed, or sometimes. lined to imitate stone, the houses present a very pleasant sight to the eye. Plastering and whitewashing are essential to their preservation. An order from the governor prescribes this to all house-owners, occasionally, on a penalty of $25 for each failure. This secures neatness to the exterior of the houses. As the walls are from two to two and a half feet in thickness, the houses are warm in

the life of a clergyman. Here, says one of his friends, who has given his recollections in The Church Missionary Intelligencer, "he frolicked, colt-like, across the green pastures of undergraduate life. When he laughed, the spirit of laughter took full possession of him. It was contagious, he so evidently enjoyed it: it came welling up with such wild, uncontrollable waves." At this time he was a

tall young fellow of twenty-one, of pliable figure, with clear gray eyes which twinkled with latent fun under deep-set, projecting brows, and with a mouth the pouting lips of which seemed half-humorously to protest against life in general. "Jim," as he was called, became at once the fashion. He was the most popular freshman of his year, and was received into the best set. He became captain of the "Eight," and president of the "Red Club." He had such personal courage that danger offered a positive attraction to him. In riding he would select the most break-neck places, and in canoeing a flooded country he always sought the most dangerous rapids. Those who knew him would not be at all incredulous as to the extraordinary lion story he told after his first missionary journey in Central Africa. It is given, with other facts as follows, in The Church Missionary Intelligencer for April, 1886

"At about a mile from camp he saw some animal moving through the dense mimosa scrub, and, firing, killed it. His prey proved to be a large lion's cub. The gun-bearer, seeing this, fled with every sign of terror, and shouted to him to do the same. It was time indeed to do so. The cries of 'Run, Bwana, run!' were accentuated by a double roar, and, looking round, Hannington saw the bereaved parents, a fine lion and lioness, coming toward him with long, bounding leaps over the scrub. An ordinary man, encountering lions for the first time, would probably have lost all presence of mind, and, turning to run, have been inevitably destroyed. He deliberately faced round upon his enemy. The enraged lions were distant but a few paces, but they suddenly checked, and both stood as though transfixed, glaring upon him. So they remained for some time, till Hannington, placing one foot behind the other, and still keeping his eyes fixed upon the yellow orbs before him, gradually increased his distance, and having placed about a hundred yards between himself and the monsters, quietly walked away. But the indomitable nature of the man comes out more strongly in what followed. Most men would have concluded that they had had enough of such an adventure, and have accepted their escape from the jaws of death, or at least would not have renewed the contest without assistance. Hannington was formed of quite another metal. He determined that he would return and secure the skin of the cub he had killed. So he retraced his steps. When near enough to observe their motions, he could see that the lion and lioness were walking round about their cub, licking its body, and filling the air with low growlings. At this moment an unknown flower caught his eye. He plucked

it, took out his note-book, pressed it between the leaves, and classified it as far as he was able; then, with coolness perfectly restored, he ran forward a few paces, threw up his arms, and shouted! Was it that the lions had never encountered so strange an antagonist before? At all events, they looked up, then turned tail, and bounded away. He dragged the cub for some distance, till having left the dangerous vicinity, he shouldered and brought it into camp."

In addition to this absence of fear, Mr. Hannington had a strong will. After his days of preparatory study were over, he took charge of St. George's Church in Hurstpierpoint, the place of his birth. He set himself against intemperance, and became a total abstainer; conceiving himself bound everywhere by this resolve, years after, while seeking health in Switzerland, he was making the ascent of Monte Rosa. He was not well, and suffered from "snow-sickness." The usual remedy is a mouthful of brandy, and it would, no doubt, have been effectual. The guides repeatedly urged him to take it, but he resolutely refused, and, conquering by sheer effort of will, he reached the summit. This same strength of will and power of endurance saved his life more than once in Africa. At one time he was left for dead by his bearers, but found strength to crawl after them into camp.

During his earlier years Mr. Hannington had no very earnest religious life. The conversion of a friend was the means of deepening his convictions and purposes. He became the humblest of learners, and received the kingdom of God as a little child. He was soon a helper to others, and especially to young men. There was no stiffness or reserve in his manner with them. A mill-worker in his parish said: "We all like Mr. Hannington, and no mistake. He is so free like. He just comes into your house and sticks his hands down into the bottom of his pockets, and talks to you like a man."

It will be seen how well fitted he was for a missionary life. His Oxford friends were delighted when they heard that he had been chosen as the leader of a mission party going into Central Africa. He conducted that mission with so

much success that the Church Missionary Society proposed that he should be made Bishop of the Christian churches of Eastern Equatorial Africa, which region he had been exploring. But his health had broken down. Thirty-seven times in one year he had been stricken with fever. He recruited at home in England, accepted the bishopric and entered upon its duties with entire self-devotion. He sailed for Africa in October, 1884, going wholly at his own expense, also taking out two workingmen as assistants at his own cost. On the threshold of his work he has met a martyr's death. July 5, 1885, he wrote home, where his wife and friends were anxiously waiting, these touching words: "Starvation, desertion, treachery, and a few other nightmares and furies hover over one's head in ghastly forms, and yet, in spite of all, I feel in capital spirits, and feel sure of results, though perhaps they may not come in exactly the way we expect. In the midst of the storm I can say:

'Peace, perfect peace, the future all unknown;
Jesus we know and He is on the throne.""

In conclusion he wrote: "If this is the last chapter of earthly history, then the next will be the first page of the heavenly. no blots and smudges, no incoherence, but sweet converse in the presence of the Lamb."

Does the news of the death of this noble man check the ardor of his countrymen for the service of their King? No; Englishmen are not so daunted. Within four weeks after the rumor of this great sorrow came, fifty-three persons offered themselves as missionaries to the very society with which Bishop Hannington was connected. Men fall, but the great work goes on.