OUR FOREIGN MISSION.

Mr. ANDERSON sends home the gratifying information that, after some years of labour, constant prayer, and patient waiting, he has had the satisfaction of admitting five adult Gonds to the Christian Church by baptism. The ordinance was dispensed on Sabbath, the 23rd December last, on which occasion the little meeting-place was crowded, although no public intimation had been given of what was to take place. The audience listened with reverence and attention to what was said. The religious services were conducted in the vernacular, Mr. Anderson preaching from Mark xvi. 16. After baptism, the converts, who appeared calm and deeply impressed, were briefly addressed in Gondi. All the persons baptized belonged to the Pardhan or priestly caste. One of them is a resident of Seoni, and the leading Gond of the place. He has been in the habit of officiating regularly as a priest whenever any rite or ceremony had to be performed, not only in Seoni, but in the villages around. It seems that while none but members of this caste can be employed as priests, it is not customary for many of them to officiate in any religious rite, hence the position and influence of this convert may be inferred from the fact that he had been an officiating priest. Another of the converts is a man of considerable influence, and apparently very earnest, sensible, and upright. He first heard the Gospel about three years ago, and never forgot what was then told him. Some time since he heard our Agents singing in Urdu the 42nd Psalm-"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." Soon thereafter, when conversing with Mr. Anderson, he quoted these words, saying that they expressed his state of mind. Before that, he had spoken of himself as hungering and thirsting to hear about Christ. This person resides at a distance of 15 or 20 miles from Seoni; but arrangements will probably be made to enable him to stay near the Mission-station. The third convert is in the prime of life, and cultivates some land about 8 miles distant from Seoni. The other two converts are between 20 and 30 years of age and married, but have no children alive. The first three mentioned are married and have children, some of whom are grown up. All the wives bitterly lamented the change which their husbands had made, and supposing them to have become degraded, refused at first to allow them to enter their houses. Mrs. Anderson and the wife of Imdad Masih have been conversing with them, and explaining to them the nature of the position which their husbands now occupy, and they now seem more reconciled to their lot. Our desire and prayer is that they may not only become reconciled, but be thoroughly convinced of the propriety and advantage of the step taken by their husbands, and become truly converted to the faith of the Gospel.

Mr. Anderson states that several others are anxiously inquiring into the truth of the Christian religion, and he is hopeful that others will feel emboldened to come forward and profess their faith in Christ. Meanwhile he designs employing the first convert referred to, in assisting him to reach and converse with the Gonds, and particularly

with the better class of them, his influence and knowledge of the people fitting him specially for such work. We can only express the hope that many more of the Gonds will be led to renounce their idols and debasing practices, and become the followers of the Lord Jesus. For the results flowing from the labours of His servants in that distant land, we should praise our God, and we should take encouragement therefrom to abound in prayer, so that many more may be constrained to separate themselves from the degraded heathen and become the worshippers of the true God.

When referring to the erection of the Church which the Foreign Mission Committee recently sanctioned, Mr. Anderson mentions that the extent of the Christian community at Seoni is as follows :-34 native Christians and 18 Europeans and East Indians,-children included. Our Missionary would esteem it a great boon if some friend of the Mission would provide him with the necessary utensils for the dispensation of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, such as a basin, a flagon, and two cups-all electro-plate, so as not to become tarnished with the climate. As there will be a favourable opportunity soon of sending out such articles, the Convener will be glad to hear from any one who may feel disposed to assist the Mission in this

way.

It appears that the Chief Commissioner has intimated that he considers the time has not yet come for making over the Zillah School to the superintendence of the Missionary. This will doubtless prove rather disappointing to Mr. Anderson, Mr. Bose, and the teachers; but they must not be discouraged, for already a great door of usefulness has been opened up for them among the young. Regarding this refusal, Mr. Anderson writes, "It is the old story, 'the time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built.' A counter petition was got up and signed by a number of the leading men, some of them without knowing more of its contents than that it was for the advancement of education. This time no objection was made to religious instruction; but it was urged that the existence of two schools would, by keeping up competition, tend to the progress of education. If we had had a Christian Government, there would have been no difficulty in the way at all. While we cannot approve of the opposition of men, still I doubt not that things are ordered all for the best." One of the Mahometan teachers has been discharged. He is a married man, but was taking steps to marry the wife of another man, of whom he had become enamoured. "This is quite a common thing," says the Missionary, "among Mahommetans here; but it could not be allowed among our teachers. This case is all the sadder that this teacher pnce seemed hopefully impressed." We regret to learn that small-pox has recently broken out among inmates of the Orphanage. The attack, however, seems to have been mild, and in no case had it terminated fatally. May the Good Shepherd keep these orphans ander His loving care, and shield them from all evil and danger.

the

To indicate the class of persons who sometimes visit the Missionstation, and appear to be anxious about their souls, the following

case is related by Mr. Anderson :- "Yesterday (Dec. 27th) a Mahommetan called on me declaring himself convinced of the truth of Christianity, and his desire to profess it. In the course of conversation, however, it seemed probable to me that he came chiefly in the hope of getting employment or assistance in the way of being employed. I told him that if he wished to speak on the subject of religion he might come, and I would be happy to speak to him, but I would have nothing to do with his temporal affairs. There is special need to be careful in dealing with Mahommetans, they are so fickle and deceitful. I said nothing whatever to discourage his religious inquiries, but the reverse; and if he is really desirous to know the truth he will come back."

In a former Magazine an appeal was made to young men to consider the call presently addressed to them to dedicate themselves to Foreign Mission work. The demand for additional labourers becomes more and more urgent as time rolls on, Will no one offer his services to labour among the Gonds? "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal." After the above was in type, another letter from Mr. Anderson, under date 24th January, has brought the following additional cheering intelligence :

I

And he that

"On Sabbath last, three men of the same caste-Baisaku, Basori, and Durga -were baptized in similar circumstances. Their ages are from 27 to about 40. may mention that on both occasions I preached in the vernacular, and after baptizing the converts, exhorted them briefly in Gondi in regard to the obligation which they had taken upon themselves. On this occasion, too, a man was pre vented by his friends from coming forward, and two or three others who expressed a desire to be baptized were kept back, as they had not received sufficient instruction, and had not shown that earnestness which we think requisite. "It would be premature to say much about the converts. "By their fruits we shall know them." There is, however, one ground of satisfaction, apart from their professions of earnestness-viz., that they are all men of more than average intel lectual capacity, as compared with Gonds in general. Meanwhile I have as many of them as can come every evening at the bungalow, to receive instruction in the knowledge of the gospel.

"In these circumstances, we are compelled to set about the erection of a place of worship, as sanctioned by the Foreign Mission Committee. It will, however, be necessary to erect a larger building than was thought of when I first proposed to build. Our Christian community, young and old, exclusive of the converts' wives and children, numbers, I think 50 persons. Besides these, we have generally non-Christian hearers from the town every Lord's day; and sometimes we have European officers who come to worship w with us. The amount sanctioned by the Committee will not now be sufficient for the work; and we are trying to collect subscriptions here and elsewhere to make up the deficiency.

"We earnestly beg the prayers of God's people on behalf of the work carried on here, that the converts may be established in the faith, and that there may be added daily to the Church such as shall be saved. Our hearts are filled with gratitude to the great Head of the Church for this token of His favour; and we desire that it may only stimulate us all the more to labour faithfully in the sphere which He has allotted to us.

The following account of the annual distribution of prizes in the Mission School at Seoni, taken from the Indian Railway Servic Gazette, will, we are sure, be read with much interest:—

SEONI, 12th January, 1878.—Those of your readers who are interested in the

cause of education, and especially those of them who are friendly to Missions and Mission Schools, will be glad to hear of the existence in this, one of the smallest districts of the Central Provinces, of a Mission School established by the "Original Secession Church of Scotland” Mission, conducted here by the Rev. G. Anderson, its first Missionary to India.

The mission was begun in January, 1872; the school opened in the beginning of 1876, and is now two years old, yet contains about 165 pupils; this number is large, considering that the school has to compete with a rival institution of long standing. I refer to the Government Zilla School.

I was present at the annual distribution of prizes to the pupils of the School, which interesting ceremony came off on Saturday, the 5th instant. The European and native gentlemen in the station were invited; the civil surgeon, Dr. S. H. Browne, presiding.

Mr. Anderson opened with prayer in the vernacular, after which the Chairman rose and briefly stated that he had been asked to preside, and was glad to do so on this occasion; that he had frequently been present at similar gatherings, though not in the capacity of chairman; not as a distributor, but as a receiver of prizes. He wished the boys a happy New Year, and many more of them.

Mr. Vasudeo Bullal Khare, extra Assistant Commissioner, next stood up and addressed the assembly. He endeavoured to disabuse their minds of any prejudices they may have contracted against Mission Schools, and condemned in emphatic language, as erroneous, the notion held by most native communities, that the pupils of Mission Schools are made molens volens to embrace Christianity. He thought that the rivalry, which must result from the existence in one station of two opposite schools, would conduce to the well-being of both institutions. He, however, seemed to think that both schools might very well continue to be kept up. Mr. Cowasjee, a Parsee gentleman, next spoke a few words in favour of the school, and one native gentleman gave a donation in cash, to be spent in sweetmeats for the boys.

Mr. H. C. Bose, the head master of the school, speaking from a missionary point of view, alluded to the necessity which existed for the amalgamation of the Government School with that of the Mission. For, as he justly remarked, merely imparting secular education was like putting a weapon into the hands of a rustic, who would, in all likelihood, hurt himself sooner with it than use it with advantage to himself; while in Mission Schools, secular instruction was accompanied with the teaching of moral rectitude, which can alone develop the moral faculties, "give colour to life," and is "of greater importance than laws."

For my own part, I should like to hear less of the infidelity which characterizes the teaching of some of our professedly Christian teachers.

The result of such

conduct on the part of teachers is, that those taught by them are landed on the dreary shores of scepticism; for after having lost faith in idolatry, through secular knowledge, they are not brought into contact with a purer faith, so drift away into rank infidelity. All honour, then, to Mission Schools, for the work they are accomplishing in imparting a moral education to the youth of India. Every district in benighted India should have a Mission School.

After distribution of the prizes, Mr. Anderson exhorted the boys to be diligent in studying their lessons, pointing out to them that diligence was genius, for diligence could accomplish what mere cleverness could not.

instances of the truth of this theory in his own country.

He had witnessed

A vote of thanks to Mr. Browne for kindly presiding was proposed by Mr. Anderson. Sweetmeats and oranges were then distributed to the boys.

Literature.

Nine Lectures on Preaching. Delivered at Yale, New Haven, Connecticut. By Rev. R. W. Dale, Birmingham. Crown 8vo., pp. 302. Hodder & Stoughton, London.

THE President and Theological Faculty of Yale College, America, invited Mr. Dale of Birmingham to deliver, towards the end of last

year, the last series of the Lyman Beecher Lectures. This is contained in the present volume, which was issued by the enterprising publishers about the time of the author's return to England. The series consists of nine Lectures, on such important subjects as the following:-Introductory; Perils of Young Preachers; The Intellect in relation to Preaching; Reading; The Preparation of Sermons; Extemporaneous Preaching and Style; Evangelistic Preaching; Pastoral Preaching; The Conduct of Public Worship. On all these topics, Mr Dale has advanced much that is calculated to interest and edify, and that if duly considered cannot fail to be of permanent benefit to young preachers and pastors of the Church. There are few public men in the Nonconformist ministry in England, who are better fitted to handle such themes, and to give solid instruction respecting the different parts of ministerial work. To a high measure of mental culture, he has joined extensive reading and habits of close and sustained study; he is widely known as an able and eloquent preacher of the Gospel; and his frequent appearance on the platform on great ecclesiastical and political questions has given him a large acquaintance with men and things, and has trained him to the efficient handling of difficult subjects before public audiences. Mr. Dale has brought a mature and diversified experience to the discussion of the task assigned him, and throughout he has acquitted himself in the ablest and most satisfactory manner. His style is lucid, occasionally piquant and humorous, and often eloquent. He deals with the attacks of scientists against revelation and theologians, and ably vindicates the evange lical pulpit against the charges of want of power made by certain portions of the current literature of the day; and in all the Lectures contained in this volume, he offers hints and counsels to theological students and preachers of the word concerning habits of study, preparation, and the matter and manner of preaching, that are invaluable. The criticisms and expositions of passages of Scripture that are given throughout the Lectures discover the exact scholarship of the lecturer, and are characterised by profound reverence for Divine revelation and enlarged views of the glorious design of the plan of human redemption. He manifests a high appreciation of theology as a science; strongly urges preachers and ministers to keep up their acquaintance with science and classical literature; and above all, to seek to be familiar with the sacred tongues, and to study constantly Bible texts in connection with the context. There are offered suitable directions for conducting the different parts of public worship in a proper and effective manner. Speaking of the preacher throwing his heart into his subject, and varying his style of address, Mr. Dale remarks in weighty words :

:

"There are hours when the true minister of Christ is conscious that the celestial splendours are shining and glowing around him. When they come

you will preach as if the fate of every irreligious man in your congregation were to be determined at once, determined by a single sermon, determined by the vehemence with which you denounce sin; the tenderness with which you speak of the infinite mercy of God. But those great and critical times can come to us only occasionally. Every sermon that we preach should have a relation more or less to the rescue of the world from sin, and its restoration to God.

We