ADDITIONAL DONATIONS FOR SPECIAL OBJECTS. MAINE. Castine, The Desert Palm Soc., for pupil, care of Miss Seymour, 25; Gorham, 1st Cong. ch., for Jaffna College, 15; Portland, In memory of Hattie D. Liscomb, by her parents, for work of Mrs. S. W. Howland, Ceylon, 40; Rockland, "Golden Sands," Cong. ch., for boy Hohannes, in Bardezag High sch., care of Rev. Robert Chambers, 25, NEW HAMPSHIRE.- Littleton, Y. P.-S. C. E., for work of Rev. E. P. Holton, Madura, 40; Peterboro, Y. P. S. C. E., per Miss J. M. Buckminster, for free distribution of Tamil Gospels in Ceylon, care of Rev. W. W. Howland, 3, VERMONT.Chelsea, Friends, for work of Rev. J. H. Pettee, 14.60; New Haven, Cong.ch., for Tung-cho College, 3.17; Royalton, A. W. Kenney, for scholarship in Anatolia College, 25; Sharon, E. K. Baxter, for do., 25: Waterbury, Y. P. S. C. E., for work of Rev. A. W. Clark, Austria, 10; Wells River, "Busy Bees," for support of pupil in Bitlis, care of Miss Ely, 30, MASSACHUSETTS. — Auburndale, Cong. Sab. sch., for machinery for self-help dep't of Bardezag High sch., 42; Boston, ExtraCent-a-Day Band of Cong. House, for Wagolie school, India, 12; Charlemont, Y. P. S. C. E., for pupil at Kalgan, care of Rev. W. P. Sprague, 6.25; Easthampton, Children in 1st Cong. ch., for use of Rev. and Mrs. R. M. Cole, 10; Fitchburg, Calvinistic Cong. ch., for Harpoot College, 1.18; Lowell, Mrs. É. A. Bigelow, for scholarship, care of Rev. C. H. Wheeler, 25; do., for do., care of Mrs. A. M. Knapp, 15; Maplewood, Y. P. S. C. E. of Cong. ch., for machinery for self-help dep't, Bardezag High school, 25; Medway, Cong. Sab, sch. and Y. P. S. Č. E., for do., 20; Newton, Y. P. S. C. E. of Eliot ch., for work of Miss C. A. Stone, 50; North Adams, Mrs. Putnam's infant class in Cong. Sab. sch., for work of Zoropopel, Erzroom, 50; Northampton, A friend, for chapel repairs, care of Rev. W. O. Ballantine, 4; Northboro, Cong. Sab. sch., for Mission school, Harpoot, care of Rev. C. H. Wheeler, 11.11; Peabody, Friends, for pupil, care of Mrs. Dr. Dodd, Cesarea, 26.40; South Cong. Sab. sch., for do., 30: S. Edson Casino, for do., 26.40; Pittsfield, 1st Cong. Sab. sch, for Rev. E. S. Hume's schools, Bombay, 55: Princeton, Josiah D. Gregory, for lantern and slides for Rev. E. P. Holton, Madura, 50; Somerville, Sab, sch. of Prospect Hill ch., for boy, care of Rev. W. A. Farnsworth, 22; Springfield, North Cong. ch., for Pasumalai, 85.79; do., Olivet ch., for do., 40; Stoneham, "What next ten," for Miss Shattuck's Kindergarten work, 14; Worcester, Plymouth Cong. Sab. sch,, for Miss Burrage's kindergarten work, 16; do., Miss H. Lamb's Sab. sch. class in do., for girl, care of Mrs. W. O. Ballantine, 10, CONNECTICUT.-Milford, 1st Cong. ch., for use of Dr. De Forest, Japan, 7.50; New London, A friend in 2d church, for education of Japanese girl, in care Mrs. D. W. Learned, 50, NEW YORK. Aquebogue, Y. P. S. C. E., for Babijian, 5; Fairport, Cong. Sab. sch., for work of Rev. R. Chambers, 10; New York, Friends, by Mrs. George W. Moore, 105 00 43.00 107 77 647 13 for Hospital at Samokov, care of Dr. Kingsbury, 167; Sherburne, 1st Cong. Sab. sch., for use of Miss Nellie Bartlett, 28; do., Friends, for present need of Anatolia College, 150; Suspension Bridge, King's Daughters, for Yenook, Erzroom, 15, NEW JERSEY. Newark, Charles and Wilbur Price, for New Testaments, care of Rev. J. E. Tracy, VIRGINIA. - - Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Orr, for work of Mr. Ainslee, MISSOURI. Parkville, Arthur S. Cooley, for work of Rev. H. N. Barnum, 5; for Euphrates College, 5; for the Doshisha, 5, OHIO. Springfield, Y. P. S. C. E. of 1st Cong. ch., for work of Rev. G. E. Albrecht, ILLINOIS.Chicago, Rev J. S. Hanna, for pupils, care of Dr. Washburn, 100: do., Mary A. Bland, for Miss Shattuck's kindergarten work, 5; Sandwich, Young Ladies' Soc'y, for work of Miss Zimmer, 75, IOWA. Charles City, Y. P. S. C. E. of 75, Cong. ch., for student at Anatolia College, 25; Ridgeland, Cong. ch., for church site, Chihuahua, 60, MICHIGAN.Hancock, Woman's Miss'y Soc., for Sciopticon for Rev. E. P. Holton, MINNESOTA. - Minneapolis, Members of Plymouth ch., for use of Mrs. Thom, 3; do., for Miss Mary Stanley, 3: Northfield, Extra-cent-a-day Band, for work of Rev. G. A. Wilder, 30; do., Y. W. C. A. and Y. M. C. A. of Carleton Coll., toward salary of Mr. Wingate, Marsovan, 100; St. Cloud, Sab. sch. of 1st Cong. ch., for education of Royuppom, care of Rev. J. S. Chandler. 15, KANSAS.-Council Grove, 1st Cong. Sab. sch., for education of "Minos," care of Rev. J. L. Fowle, 5.42; Manhattan, Miss Phoebe Haines, for pupil at Anatolia College, 14, 375 00 2 00 10 00 15.00 20 00 180 00 85 00 15.00 151 00 19 42 57 50 Total from September 1 to December 31, 1891: Donations, $143,509.27; Legacies, $67,552.26= $211,061.53. FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. THE FESTIVAL OF THE GRANDMOTHER GODDESS. BY REV. H. P. PERKINS, OF LIN CHING, CHINA. ON the first of May, 1891, it was announced at our station of Lin Ching that the goddess from the mountain of T'ai an had arrived, and tom-toming in her praise was heard on every side. We got ourselves in readiness to do what Christian work we could during the great festival which was upon us. This was originally, I suppose, simply a religious festival; but the Chinese have a genius for carrying their business into their religion, and now the fair quite overshadows the festival. There may be gatherings of this sort as large as this one in other parts of North China, but I know of none. There is no means of enumerating the visitors. I should guess at something like 60,000 as a reasonable figure. They come from all the points of the compass and from places 100 miles distant. Goods for trade pour in, especially from the south, all customs duties being remitted for ten days, in honor of the goddess called "Grandmother," who comes from her temple on T'ai an Mountain, over 100 miles away, to visit her temple here and bless her worshipers. On the last night of the third moon a chair is sent out to meet her. Sometimes, as this year, there are two, the second belonging to another temple. But this seems to be an irregular proceeding, and the chief interest centres around the regular and original number one. The wooden image of the goddess is put into the chair, which is carried out on the road from the temple, in the direction from which the goddess' spirit comes. Crowds of people have already come from near and far to escort her; probably over 10,000 people have gathered with lanterns, paper money, incense, and firecrackers. Sooner or later, perhaps at a gust of wind, the chair-bearers cry out: "She has come! It is heavy!" at which the multitude falls down, prostrating and lighting their incense and offerings of gold money. Before the chair is a company of musicians, most of whom are scholars with degrees and official buttons, showing how Confucianism has given away before popular superstitions. The goddess is thus escorted to her temple; that is, to this particular one of her temples, for she has here some ten others. After this the outside villages and towns send in their companies of worshipers; twenty, fifty, perhaps a hundred men and women. They are led by the "head," who carries the flag and leads them first to the temple of the goddess. Who she was, or when or where she lived, no one knows, and no one, except perhaps here and there a priest, pretends to know. She may have been a bad woman or a good one: no one cares. "What thousands have done from no one knows when, there can be no harm in our doing; there may be some good: who knows?" So the people say, Whatever be the reason, they worship. One of the gentlemen of the Canadian mission timed them, and found them to be going through the ceremony at the rate of 3,000 an hour. Over in the temple the crowd goes the rounds, worshiping some dozen of gods as they are directed by the priests, who with bamboo poles drive them like a flock of sheep. CHINESE TO A A PAI-LAU, ENTRANCE CITY. After this the visitors may repair to other temples, perhaps to the one to which number two has been carried. Probably in the minds of nearly all the worshipers she is not distinguished from the one first visited. It is not a characteristic of heathenism to produce clear thinking. Often the people fall down before the image of the "Grandmother" and call out: "Amida Buddha! Amida Buddha !" His temples and images are common enough, but the heathen knows not what he worships. His soul is so befogged that it cannot make out anything clearly. It cannot even find itself. A woman in our compound heard the preacher say something about the soul. She came to me and said: "Teacher, my son has a disease in his soul;" and then described the symptoms of dyspepsia. “We are all a confused people,” was said again and again by the people as we talked to them. Of course the geds got roughly handled by our preaching force. One would suppose that some of the hearers would have got angry over it, but no one seemed to. If the people of Lin Ching fancied that our preaching would have the effect of lessening the numbers of people who came to worship and trade, I suppose we would be less popular than we are, for there are few who do not reap quite a harvest of cash at this time; but such a result seems, no doubt, too remote for consideration. They hope to see a little for over a week probably Not a few of the women The people are not averse to coming to our place. of our houses, and hear the foreigner talk. We had not less than 2,000 daily. We sold 1,500 small books. bought these to carry home and have the matter read and explained. Whatever we may or may not have done, we have done a good deal of gospel advertising, and we hope for deeper results. Certainly much seed is thus scattered on the great waters. May the Lord of the harvest prosper it! In connection with this account by Mr. Perkins of the mountain goddess who was worshiped at Lin Ching, we copy the account given by Dr. S. Wells Williams, in his great work, "The Middle Kingdom," concerning the sacred mountain Tai Shan, in the province of Shantung, in which Lin Ching is situated : "This peak is mentioned in the Shu King as that where Shun sacrificed to Heaven (B.C. 2254); it is accordingly celebrated for its historical as well as religious associations. It towers high above all other peaks in the range, as if keeping solitary watch over the country round about, and is the great rendezvous of devotees; every sect has there its temples and idols, scattered up and down its sides, in which priests chant their prayers and practise a thousand superstitions to attract pilgrims to their shrines. During the spring the roads leading to the Tai Shan are obstructed with long caravans of people coming to accomplish their vows, to supplicate the deities for health or riches, or to solicit the joys of heaven in exchange for the woes of earth. A French missionary mentions having met with pilgrims going to it, one party of whom consisted of old dames, who had with infinite fatigue and discomfort come from the south of Honan, about 300 miles, to remind their god of the long abstinence from flesh and fish they had observed during the course of their lives, and solicit, as a recompense, a happy transmigration for their souls.' The youngest of this party was seventyeight, and the oldest ninety, years. Another traveler says that the pilgrims resort there during the spring, when there are fairs to attract them; high and low, official and commoner, men and women, old and young, all sorts gather to worship and traffic. A great temple lies outside the town, whose grounds furnish a large and secure area for the tents where the devotees amuse themselves after they have finished their devotions. The road to the summit is about five miles, well paved, and furnished with rest-houses, tea-stalls, and stairways for the convenience of the pilgrims, and shaded with cypresses. It is beset with beggars, men and women, with all kinds of sores and diseases, crippled and injured, besieging travelers with cries and self-imposed sufferings, frequently lying across the path so as to be stepped upon. A vast number of them live on alms thus collected, and have scooped themselves holes in the side of the way, where they live; their numbers indicate the great crowds whose offerings support such a wretched throng on the hill." |