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The Cave Temple of Tourane in Cochin China.

the best part. But God asserted his superior ownership and took them for his service. Doubtless the Christians sent along a missionary collection to take care of them.

The same spirit works by the same methods for the same ends to-day. Blessed are they who give the same obedience.

The keynote of the magnificent outbreak of missionary effort of which the most of the New Testament is the record, and the best civilization of our time the outcome, is the word of the Holy Ghost, "I have called them."

Religion is a necessity of human nature. If we have not the true we will have the false. We prefer Paul the apostle for a leader, to Elymas, the son of the devil. We are sure to take cne or the other.-Sunday School Times.

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HIS temple is situated in a range of limestone mountains, the lower slopes of which reach the ocean near Tourane Bay. The cavern is about fifty feet long, forty wide, and forty-five in height. Colossal statues at the entrance represent fabulous creatures. The pathway in the center is of brick. The colors of the surrounding rocks and crystals are various and beautiful.

The image on the elevation at the end of the cavern is meant for Buddha, and before it the people bow and pray. The principal characteristics of temples constructed for the Buddhists are the dagobas and the images of Buddha. The dagoba is a hemispherical, or sometimes a pyramidal, structure containing some supposed relic of Buddha close by, or forming part of the temple. A number of small cells is often connected with the dagoba as shelter to pilgrims, or to ascetics and priests permanently resident near the sanctuary. Wild recesses of the mountains with dens and caves of the earth, as in the cut now presented to our readers, are also used by the representatives of Sâkyasinha, to deepen the superstitious awe of the deluded worshipers.

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A missionary party in Burma, near Dong Yahn, had reached the shore of a small still lake at the base of a limestone cliff which loomed up perpendicularly several hundred feet. Here an old ferryman took them into a skiff, and they glided over to an aperture low and narrow in the base of a mountain opposite. On they went "through the mountain," until they came upon a large rotunda with deep green waters lying still as the Sea of Sodom. Emerging from the apparently haunted precincts, they still heard the echoes growling after them. Next they "glided. round to a cave-temple, over slippery heights and dismal hollows, with torches and ladders. On, on, on! the dark recesses resounding with ten thousand bats rushing, chasing, soaring, chattering, until they came to a halt in a grand pantheon-like chamber with an arched columnless portico sixty feet in height. Here a curious throne-like stalagmite shoots up fifteen or twenty feet, quite in the center, with natural steps leading up to the top, as pulpit-like as possible. The audience, too, are provided with semicircular seats one above the other, and the rotunda lighted by an aperture right over the pulpit or throne-seat, while the roof is jeweled with pendant stalactites, some of them clear as crystal." The Tailings say Gaudama preached here and consecrated the temple from this quaint, self-made pulpit.

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REV. CHARLES CHINIQUY.

EV. C. CHINIQUY, the celebrated convert from Roman Catholicism, was born in Canada on July 30, 1809, and was ordained a priest of the Church of Rome in 1833, and for twenty-five years labored in behalf of the French Roman Catholics in Canada and in Illinois. He finally became satisfied that many of the doctrines of his Church were false, and he became a Presbyterian. For more than thirty years he

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has in many places attacked the errors of Roman Catholicism and led large numbers of his countrymen to see their error and seek salvation through Protestantism. His work has met with great opposition and persecution. In July last, in the Presbyterian church in Saint Anne, Canada, there was celebrated his eighty-third birthday. At that meeting it was well said: "The whole of the French Canadian population is indebted to him as to temperance; many have been benefited in being helped and encouraged in gaining an education, and all the French evangelical churches in Canada and in the United States look to him either as their founder or as the man to whom they owe their greatest progress."

MISSIONARY QUALIFICATIONS.

BY REV. JUDSON SMITH, D.D.

(A paper read at the Annual Meeting of the American Board at Chicago, October 5, 1892.)

IN a great and difficult undertaking it is quality which counts, not numbers. The three hundred of Gideon's band achieved what the thirty-two thousand from whom they were chosen could never have accomplished. Without the faith and persistence of Columbus, that expedition across unknown seas, which just four centuries since broke the path to this New World and gave a shape to all later history, had never been begun, or had paused midway. Garibaldi's call to those who were in love with famine and cold and wounds and death allied an invincible band for Italy's deliverance. It is thus most natural that in the great enterprise of foreign missions the qualifications of those who conduct it should be matter of constant and most careful inquiry.

I. The importance of the question is obvious. In such an undertaking, where the office of the foreign laborer is so largely that of leadership and organization, the force and significance of the work depend mainly on the character and capacity of those who conduct it. History abounds in illustrations of the point. The beginnings of New England, so full of interest and momentous consequences, were shaped by a very small number of men and women who came hither from England during the reigns of the first two Stuarts. The swift collapse of the Second French Empire and the equally marvelous victory of the German force were due not so much to the superior numbers as to the superior quality of those who marched with the Prussian king. The patriot armies of the Revolution won victories from the mercenary troops opposed to them out of all proportion to their numbers or equipment. It has been well said: "When bayonets think they become irresistible." And Joshua kindles the courage of Israel by the same thought when he says: "One man of you shall chase a thousand." Now the small number of men and women who compose the missionary force on any of the fields where this work is in progress hold a like position of advantage, and in a plastic way lay their hands to movements of wide reach and lasting influence. It makes all the difference between success and failure whether they are wisely or carelessly chosen.

1. This question touches the central factor of Christian missions. It is usually the missionary that makes the mission, and not the reverse. The missionary comes before the society which supports him. This is the historical order; and it is the natural order. Paul and Barnabas, moved by the common impulse that stirred the church at Antioch, and designated thereto by the Holy Ghost, went forth to Cyprus and Pisidia and Lycaonia and Cilicia with the message of the Gospel. Patrick labored in Ireland without society, without associate, and determined the fortunes of a kingdom for centuries. The missionary purposes of Hall, Newell, and Judson, preceded the American Board and Missionary Union which assumed their support. When we think of the great missionary operations of these later years there rise to our thoughts the names and deeds of Morrison and Moffat, of Williams and Patteson, of Riggs and Schauffler and Dwight, of Bagster and Pinkerton and Logan, and the noble army of godly men and women who have wrought with them. They are the ones who have given character to the missionary cause, who have vindicated its dignity, who have won to it the instinctive praise and reverence of the Christian world. We do not forget the wise and able men who have directed the great mission boards of Europe and America; we do not overlook the great army of ministers and people, men and women, whose prayers and gifts have brought to this cause increasing strength and success. But it is none of these, it is not all these combined, that have created the foreign missions of our day and that have given to them their character and efficiency. That service we owe to the choice heroic souls who broke the path to pagan lands and set the example of a noble service and kindled the enthusiasm of the Christian world to the burning point.

"O small beginuings, ye are great and strong,
Based on a faithful heart and tireless brain;

Ye build the future fair, ye conquer wrong,

Ye earn the crown and wear it not in vain."

2. It must not be inferred from all this that a missionary society is a matter of no special importance. The relations of things ought to be clearly stated. The individual missionary goes to a

Missionary Qualifications.

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service to which he feels himself impelled by the sentiment of Christian loyalty. He acts in obedience to the direct command of Christ, and discharges his own personal duty in that service. But this duty is a general one and rests upon the whole body of Christian believers. It belongs to the Church to preach the Gospel to every creature. The service must be rendered by individuals; and yet the responsibility rests upon all. Hence there is the most obvious propriety in the cooperation of the whole body of believers in this great work. Part of this duty may be performed by gifts, by sympathy, by prayers, and by counsel. And here is exactly the point where the call for the mission board emerges. It is the Church cooperating with the individual missionary, helping to the common end, bringing whatever it can to reinforce the common cause. And the missionary is materially aided by these means. His call to the service is judged and approved by his brethren. His hands are set free from other calls for effective service by the supply of others' gifts. His plans are more wisely laid and more successfully wrought out through the counsel and suggestions of his brethren. And thus the whole body of believers, with all its diverse gifts and resources and mutually stimulating faith and zeal, moves to the work as one man, a sacred army, an invincible host. Naturally, as the work advances and new fields are occupied and new activities are developed, the significance of the individual diminishes while that of the sympathizing, cooperating, and counseling body increases. But it never ceases to be a question of radical and primary importance who shall carry on this great work, and how their number shall be reinforced.

The relation of these two forces is sometimes misconceived, and the function of the society spoken of as an impertinence, or even as a tyranny. The natural and the customary relation is that of sympathy and helpfulness. The missionary and his work are the gainers by all the counsel and affectionate care of the society, as the individual soldier is more effective for the organization of the army to which he belongs, for the sympathy and support of the nation that reinforces and controls the army. The wisdom of many is greater than the wisdom of one. It is the weight of the whole head that drives the ax's edge to the mark.

II. Let us now proceed to the main question: What qualifications are to be sought in those who engage in this service? A momentous question, not here to be answered exhaustively. Light may be gathered from the nature and aim of the work, while the history of the movement makes many things certain and plain.

It might at first be thought that since this service is one to which Christ summons his people, and since the individual missionary obeys a personal call, this fact of a special divine call constitutes the one single and sufficient qualification. If one hears this call, that proves that he is to engage in the service, and no further inquiry is to be made. But a little thought will modify this view. We are considering the qualifications for missionary service which a mission board may seek and expect to find. No one can restrain the individual from following out his convictions and serving God and his generation according to his own purpose. But when a society cooper

ates, and the missionary desires and asks the approval and support of the society, the situation is materially changed. It then becomes necessary that the supposed divine call be substantiated, laid before the brethren for their approval, and subjected to reasonable and sufficient tests. It is possible that one may mistake his own wishes for the voice of God; and we must try the spirits. The service attempted is one in which many share, and it is needful to consider how different laborers will work together. It is also a varied service, calling for diversity of gifts; and it must be considered how this man will fit this place, in this station, and in this field. Some qualities are found in truly regenerated men and women which, as experience proves, totally unfit them for a share in a common enterprise. Physical conditions also need attention, since the demands of missionary service in most foreign lands are more severe than in the same sort of service at home. Mental equipment and religious faith and spiritual discernment must be considered, so that disappointments may be avoided and the common aims of those concerned in the enterprise be secured.

1. The first qualification we name is a clear and unquestioning conviction of the fundamental and characteristic doctrines of the Gospel and of their competency to bring life and salvation to the pagan world. This is indispensable. The very object of missionary work is to preach the Gospel and to aid in establishing the institutions of the Gospel among those who have lost it or who never possessed it. There can be no genuine missionary work which does not look to these ends. The evangelization of a land and people has never been effected by education or deeds of

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Missionary Qualifications.

philanthropy, by industrial arts or measures of government. It is wrought by the Spirit of God through the preaching of the Gospel and the personal influence of the Christian life. No man can hopefully attempt this work who does not both know and love the Gospel, who does not see and profoundly feel the danger and ruin of men without the Gospel. And the Gospel is not a mere phrase or a sentiment, that may take any shape. It is the truth about Jesus Christ, the story of his august person, his marvelous birth and life and teachings, his death and glorious resurrection and everlasting reign. And this story is in the pages of Scripture and can be found nowhere else. What the pagan world needs, what the pagan nations do not know and are perishing in darkness and despair because they do not have it, is this Gospel as it is preserved to us in the word of God. This is what Christ bids his disciples preach to every creature, and this is the only message he has ever blessed. And at the sound of this good tidings the dead in every age have waked to life, and the lost nations have been redeemed.

Now, the true missionary must clearly know and firmly believe this Gospel and be ready to teach it as the very truth of God come down from heaven, or he will not reach the hearts of men or move their wills. He may teach all other things with great skill; but that is of no avail; the pagan needs a new heart rather than new light. It is not merely an ignorant or undeveloped world to which the missionary goes; it is a lost world. And his one errand is to announce a divine Redeemer to men who are dying in their sins. If he wavers on this point, if he attempts to preach this glorious truth with mental reserves and exceptions, he will be but sounding brass and a clanging cymbal, and his efforts will be worse than in vain. If there is any reality in this work, if it is not all a great mistake, the missionary is dealing with the truth of God and with the eter nal destinies of men; and he must be in solemn earnest, as one who stands between the living and the dead, whose words are freighted with eternal issues and with whom a mistake is fatal. In any teacher it is demanded that he be in clear possession of the subject he teaches; in the missionary the practical nature and bearing of the truths concerned give double emphasis to this demand. Let no one mistake the point. It is not reasonable to expect that young men, fresh from their studies, with little experience, will know all that they will come to know after years of service and spiritual growth. But it is reasonable to demand that they know the message they are to deliver, and that they believe it with all their hearts and preach it as the truth of the living God.

2. The missionary spirit is an indispensable qualification. This is a simple thing, a very real fact; not some intangible sentiment or fancy. Undoubtedly the first great missionary possessed and revealed this spirit. And what is more characteristic of Paul's life and labors than the zeal and uncalculating eagerness with which he threw himself into the work of preaching the Gospel in Asia and in Greece, and at Rome also? Of splendid natural gifts, with the best training his times could afford, he counted "all things as loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus," and determined to know nothing among the intellectual and haughty Greeks save Jesus Christ ånd him crucified.

This qualification is as needful now as in that age, in the last missionary as in the first. He must love his work and believe in it, and throw himself into it without reserve, and find all his satisfaction in seeing it thrive. And he must love his work for that which is central and characteristic in it, because it is a work of saving men from their sins and building a kingdom of faith on the ruins of Satan's power. This is the supreme quality in all really effective work. This drove St. Francis Xavier out through the East to India and Ceylon and China, and, in spite of frowning danger and inevitable death, made each onward step brighter and more glorious than the last. This fed the hope and nerved the strength and inspired the mind of Judson through the long night of waiting and imprisonment and the loss of his dearest ones, until the morning broke and Burma's salvation was begun.

This is more than intellectual gifts, important as they are; more than mental breadth and largeness of view, valuable as all must deem them. It is the conquering and crowning element in all successful missionary work. Livingstone is great in many respects, but the zeal for Christ's kingdom, the desire to see that blest dominion spread and fill the dark places of the earth and all the habitations of cruelty which shone through every day and every step of his eventful life-this is his highest crown, the secret of the unwasting reverence in which his memory is held by multitudes of Africa's sons as well as by the whole civilized world. This spirit is akin to that martyr spirit by which through two centuries of storm and night, of dread and death, the early Church

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