dence that we succeeded in attracting considerable attention. Preaching on the street here has not been attempted since when missionaries first arrived here.

"Bread cast upon the Waters.-Yesterday Mr. Mills baptized two women and an old man from Tsi Hea. This old man came once to be Mr. Nevius' teacher, but got greatly offended at Mr. Nevius for saying something against Confucius, and went off in a passion. The truth stuck to him however, and now, after four years, has brought forth fruit. Brother Nevius felt grieved for the man, and prayed for him, and his prayers have been answered. He is quite old, but still strong and hale. He has a literary degree, and is greatly respected throughout the region. He goes home just at the Chinese new year, and will meet strong persecution, but I trust he will be found faithful. Two young men were baptized a few weeks ago, and there is still a number of inquirers, and some of them decidedly hopeful. One old broken-down opiumsmoker is trying to break off and learn the doctrine. He has been a man of very quick mind, and if restored to health and really converted, will be a useful man. One old man was yesterday excluded from the church for complicity in worshipping ancestors, and for Sabbathbreaking. On the main, however, we are much encouraged, and are both hoping and praying that a far greater blessing may be given. A few of us have set down before this city to besiege it, and in the name of the Lord we shall yet take it. All we need is a sufficient measure of faith, that so we may use the weapons that are already in our hands. increase our faith.'"

Ningpo Mission-China.

Ah-Yuing.

'Lord

Dr. McCartee has sent of late several notices of the removal to another world of the earlier native Christians of Ningpo. Ahyuing was the last of the three most prom.

ising girls in the school at the time she was a scholar. However sad such an early death is in itself, as a confirmation of our faith, and as a testimony of the power of grace, it is of precious worth. Writing under date of January 7th, Dr. McCartee says:

"AGAIN the hand of the Lord has been laid upon us, and removed from our midst one of the choice plants in His vineyard here, from whom we expected much, and whose loss we feel to be a sad and mysterious dispensation. Ah-yuing, wife of Tsiang Vong-kweng, (formerly catechist at San-poh, now stationed at Ningpo,) was originally a pupil in Miss Aldersey's Boarding-school, and came into our school when Miss A. transferred her school to our mission. She, her mother and grandmother, were all baptized by Mr. Nevius in February, 1859. The mother is still with us, but the grandmother went to her rest three or four years since. Previous to her marriage, Ah-yuing acted for some time as assistant teacher in our Female Boarding-school, and after her marriage exercised a very happy influence upon the families around her in the part of San-poh where her husband was stationed.

"Her Accomplishments.-She was the most accomplished woman ever educated in our school,and had read quite an unusual amount of the ordinary Chinese literature. When her husband was taken under the care of presbytery and commenced his studies as a student of theology, she studied with him, and was as thoroughly prepared, and could have stood the examinations, as well as he. The pastor and elders at San-poh highly respected her for her accomplishments and learning. After the meeting of Presbytery in October, they called to make her a parting visit, and when they rose to take leave, she burst into tears, and told them she should never see their faces again. They all showed a good deal of feeling, and kneeling down, commended her to God and to the power of His grace.

"Her feelings in the prospect of Death.About a month before her death, I told her candidly that there were no hopes of her recovery, and asked her how she felt in the prospect of death. She said that when she thought of her sins, she felt afraid. I told her that Jesus came not to save the righteous, but sinners. She said that was a thought that gave her comfort. She told her husband that she felt troubled that she had done so little for Christ when she had health and youth, and said: 'What if I should turn out an Ignorance at last,' (referring to that character in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress). Her husband exhorted her to examine herself as to whether she had sincerely given herself to Jesus or not. After awhile, and after he had prayed with her, she told him she could not think she had been a hypocrite; and soon commenced to comfort herself by calling to mind the promises of God, and particularly delighted in repeating the 90th Psalm. She said one day: 'All the books in the world are not worth one sentence of the Bible.' One day during a fainting fit, her mother and her husband commenced to weep aloud, thinking she was expiring. As soon as she could speak, she gently rebuked them saying: 'I am passing through the river of death; you ought to be comforting and upholding me, but I am obliged to comfort you.' She felt wearied with the conversation of those who talked of worldly things, but expressed herself refreshed and grateful when any one talked to her of spiritual things. To all her unconverted friends, when they visited her, she gave warnings and exhortations to flee from the wrath to come; and to her Christian friends, she expressed the hope that we should meet her in heaven. She told her hus

band that she was surprised at herself that the fear of death was all gone, and that she felt that Jesus was with her as her helper and upholder, and that the Holy Spirit was in her heart. On Monday, December 24th, I saw her for the last time, but she was so feeble that I

only spoke a few words of comfort to her, and left the room. Her husband came after to me to say that his wife wished him to ask if I thought she would die that night. I told him that I thought she would not die that night, but probably before that time the next day. She replied: 'Oh, that is good news!' She then told her husband to give her dying thanks to those friends who had visited her and sent her little tokens of love during her illness, mentioning them by name, and told him that to go and be with Jesus was better than even to stay with him. Very soon after this she became unconscious, and about noon on Christmas day, she fell asleep, aged twentythree years.

"The Confirmation of our Faith.-I have written thus minutely for the confirmation of your faith, as it has been of mine, in seeing an intelligent, clear-minded, Christian woman give such comforting evidence of the power of Jesus to make a dying-bed feel soft as downy pillows are,' and to show that among those who are indeed born of God, there is no difference, we are no more Barbarian and Scythian, bond and free-but all fellowsaints, fellow-citizens of the better country, having one Lord, one faith, one hope, one home in glory."

Gwalior, North India.

Gwalior, like other native states in India, is subsidiary in some form to the British Government. The Territory lies south of Agra and west of the Jumna and Chumbul rivers. It has an area of 33,119 square miles, and a population of 3,200,000. The southern portion from its elevation has a

mild and healthful climate.

No missionaries labour in this district.

Being near to some of our stations, the brethren in India have long desired to establish a mission among them. At the last Annual Meeting of the Furrukhabad Mission, it was proposed that three of the missionaries should visit Gwalior and see if the way was open for such a purpose. Of

this visit the Rev. A. Broadhead, sends the following account under date of March 6th.

"Scindia.-The present Maharaja, is accounted loyal to the British Government, and yet his loyalty is not of a kind that is above suspicion, and while he is kept in undisturbed possession of his kingdom, and honored as a powerful feudatory, he is also watched with never ceasing vigilance, for should he take up arms against the Government it would be brought in conflict with the whole Mahratta power, a power which though often humbled, could still make itself felt.

"In accordance with the proposal mentioned, Mr. Johnson and myself left Futtehgurh on the 17th of January, for Gwalior, the capital, and met there Mr. Sayre and his family, from Etawah. The chief object of interest at the Capital is Scindia's famous fortress, now by treaty in the possession of the British. We were told by one of the officers stationed there that the Maharaja had the privilege accorded to him of having his flag wave over the fort one day in each year, at which time he received a royal salute. My impres

sion is that the fortress was made over to the British in consideration of the services of a park of artillery, required by Scindia as a safeguard against the plots of his own subjects, many of whom are quite disaffected. How empty is earthly fame and grandeur! Embodying the traditions of a powerful and warlike nation, and the possessor of a revenue which may be counted by millions of dollars, this great king or Maharaja, must consent to be dispossessed of the chief defence of his territory, and to receive the flatteries of his courtiers, with the consciousness that the guns of a far stronger power are brought to bear upon his palace from his own fortress, and that they could at any moment send him and his army to destruction.

"The Fortress.-Is considered almost im pregnable. It consists of a solid rock, one and a half miles in length, of irregular

breadth, nowhere, perhaps, more than fifty yards, and from two to three hundred feet high. One of the most interesting objects on its top-otherwise quite devoid of interest-is a Buddhist temple, which is supposed to be twelve hundred years old. It is a huge mass of carved stones, placed together without mortar or cement of any kind, and so firm that it may see the anniversary of its two thousandth birthday. For miles before reaching Gwalior its hill-fortress may be seen, the only object breaking the evenness of its surface being this ancient ruin, which having survived the religion in whose honor it was built, may yet outlast the system which supplanted the faith of its founders.

"Trip to Gwalior.—Our road lay across the country from the Chumbul, and we made our arrangements accordingly. We were so fortunate as to procure from one of the native Christians the use of a conveyance, which, barring the fact of the gauge of the wheels being greater than that of the wood (if wood it might be called), was admirably adapted to our purpose. It was a spring wagon, with a fixed top, something like a home “rockaway," with seats extending along each side; by placing boards between the seats we secured a good foundation for our beds, and underneath sufficient, if not ample room for stores, books, etc. Our 'gari' was drawn by oxen, by the help of which we could travel from fifteen to twenty miles a day. The question as to what is the best mode of itinerating is one that is not settled here, where so much of the cold season is spent in this nomadic fashion. If, however, the solution of the problem depends upon the attaining of the maximum of of convenience and facility of movement combined with the minimum of delay and of servants, we think we reached the solution in this trip. Besides the driver of the oxen, we took with us two servants; one would have sufficed; but where wood, water and milk had sometimes to be obtained from a distance, time was gained

by having two men. As far as the river Chumbul, seventy miles from Futtehgurh, and six miles beyond Etawah, we had the excellent metalled roads of the country, but a few miles beyond the Chumbul, the recollection of wood-roads at home was sensibly, and sometimes painfully revived. But it was at night and in the early morning that the advantages of our 'itinerator,' became most apparent. Having made our day's march, we would outspan' underneath some wide-spreading tamarind or mangoe tree, and lighting our fire, would soon have a meal prepared, after which it would not be long before we had stowed ourselves away in our wagon-bed, which afforded most refreshing sleep. Early in the morning again, before the stars had disappeared from the sky, we would take our cup of tea, and be off on our march; here crossing the bed of a stream, or now clambering some steep acclivity where every man's shoulder must be at the wheel; again halting at a village where the wondering peasants would hear for the first time of a Saviour crucified and risen; then crossing a broad plateau, where the cye looked off for miles over waving fields of grain, and little hamlets, and pleasant groves.

"No Door Open.-And now how I wish I could say that it was ours to take pos

session of all this land in the name of Christ our King! But this privilege was denied us. Reaching Gwalior we found no door open to these Gentiles. True, we were permitted to preach in the villages by the way, and in the crowded streets of the city, but when we approached the Political Resident, through whom alone the ear of the Maharaja can be reached, he gave us no encouragement to prosecute our endeavours. He represented to us that Scindia was exceedingly jealous of the occupancy by Europeans of any part of his territory, and that he was a bigoted Hindoo, proof of which we had on our way in seeing long trains of oxen, laden with vessels, and going to sacred Gunga, one hundred and thirty miles distant, to bring water for his majesty's bath. It was with sad hearts that we turned away from this goodly though godless land. But if we may not enter in and possess it, shall not our faith lay stronger hold upon the promise that all the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Him? This king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, who knows whether to remain hardened, or to be subdued. Shall not our prayers ascend that he may be made wise, and that his people may become a people chosen of the Lord ?"

express a far greater willingness to belong to a man with six wives than a man with only one.

This at once discloses to us a very discouraging aspect of affairs; because, where we cannot find a little natural affection between husband and wife to act upon, we feel that the strong and beautiful simile, with all its instructive lessons and deep consolations, is lost-it can have no effect. I refer to the union of Christ and the Church, and also Christ with his individual followers, compared to the marriage bond.

To give you some idea of the mode of reasoning adopted by these people, as well as to show you how differently they live from all civilized nations, I will tell you of a little conversation I had on this subject with one of the headmen. I had always found him a pleasant man to talk to, and having pressed upon him many religious truths, to all of which he had given his assent, I urged him strongly to put away all his old heathen customs, and become a Christian. He said, I have given up my old ways and all my gree-grees, but Bishop Payne won't baptize me." "Why not?" I asked. "Because," he replied, "I have more than one wife." 'Oh, but you are willing to give up your wives, are you not?" I inquired. His eyes fell to the ground for a few moments, and then, without answering my question, he laid his hand on me, and said: "Look here; s'pose I have only one wife, and she gets sick, who will cook my chop" (dinner)? I could not but laugh at the serious manner in which this was said, and thought it could very easily be answered. You, doubtless, will think the same; but remember that everything has to be done for every meal; there is nothing cooked and kept from one meal to another (in this part of the country), but before every meal the wife has to go and dig her cassada root, or beat out her rice, get her palm oil, grind her pepper, &c., &c., which the husband could never think of doing. I spoke about his friends or

neighbours doing it for him, but there came out his fear of witchcraft. Of course, in a country like America, and with our ideas, we can suggest many ways of getting over such a difficulty, but you cannot get the same into them. He gave me many reasons like the above, which I have forgotten, and then said: "I can give up everything but my wives." The women are the labourers, and seem to be contented with their low position. The men are lazy, and so cling to their country fashion,” as they say.

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The evils of the system they acknowledge, and pretend to deplore, but never try to improve. In the presence of such a system, neither love nor respect can exist, consequently you can imagine how hard it is for the missionary to influence these people, either by his personal character, or by presenting the love of Jesus. Brethren, pray for us; pray that the Holy Spirit will melt these stony hearts, and so "shed abroad a Saviour's love," that such love may be enkindled in their hearts as will bring forth fruit to God's glory.— Spirit of Missions.

Zulu Mission.

"THE year 1866 has passed and we do not see the millennium exactly, out here; neither, as many expected, a second coming of Christ in person; but the working of ocean telegraphs and laying more, the softening down of sin, the removal of obstacles to the spread of the gospel, and much else, indicate a wonderful change in many things for the better since I came to Africa in 1835. Standing up in a good, spacious chapel last Sunday, in preaching and praying 'Thy kingdom come,' running back in my thought to 1835, when not one of the goodly number before me-all clothed and in their right mind, sitting in a good church, with the old, first missionary preaching to them— knew of a God, I felt indeed a good deal of millennium inside of me. Indeed it would not have required much more to call out from me,-'Now lettest thou thy