COMMUNICATED BY THE REV. A. E. MOULE. "THE dark places of the earth (says Asaph) are full of the habitations of cruelty." In China it may be said that every lovely spot in the country is filled with the habitations of idols. The religions of China are not cruel religions. Yet China is a dark land; gross darkness covers 14 : the people and benign and placid as the Buddhist idols and Buddhist priests appear, what cruelty is worse than that of spending one's life in rendering deeper the black cloud of error which shrouds the land, and in riveting more firmly the chains which Satan has bound round the millions of China. I have felt this very much while spending a few days during the hot and unhealthy season in this lovely spot, of which an idea is given in the illustration. The scenery here is most enchanting. Noble hills rise on either side of the monastery, which are covered with trees and brushwood to the very summit. Numbers of mountain streams flow down amongst the thick foliage, and the fresh, pure water is carried by bamboo pipes to every part of the monastery. Plantations of noble bamboos skirt the hills with a fringe of bright green. From the hill-tops the sea is visible, and from the highest point the whole Chusan Archipelago, with the long windings of the Ningpo river, a large inland freshwater lake, and the wavy ridges of beautiful hills rolling away into the distance, well repay the toil of a good stiff climb up the rugged paths. But a gloom hangs over this lovely spot. The monastery is there, picturesque indeed; but, to quote the words of Fortune, while gazing at a similar scene, "it is a temple to an unknown god, and therefore a cloud, darker than a thunderstorm, broods over the scene." God is speaking loudly by his beautiful works; but the priests and people look not to nature's God. The history of this monastery, which lies in the bosom of hills about fourteen miles south of Ningpo, is a curious one. In days gone by, when pirates ravaged the whole coastline, one of the hermits, who used to inhabit these hills, gave himself up to such intense devotion, that he omitted to provide for his daily food. He would have perished from hunger had not a heavenly messenger been sent, who supplied him with food and praised his devotion. The hermit asked how he could show his gratitude to his benefactor, and he was directed to build a temple to Buddha, and to call it after the name of the messenger, ("Tin Dong," "Heavenly Boy," or "Mepeuyu.") This establishment soon became very celebrated. An emperor visited it, and now more than one hundred priests reside here. Should not Christians offer up special prayer for these strongholds of idolatry, that light may penetrate the dark, self-satisfied minds of these teachers of error, of these deluded men, whose life is spent in doing that abominable thing which God hates? The name of Jesus is not unknown in T'in Dong, but "we natives," is the reply of the priests, "have a different religion from yours." It must seem strange to them, and it seems strange but gloriously certain to us, when we tell them that the time is hastening on when every knee shall bow at the blessed name of Jesus Christ our Lord. His love in dying in our place seems to strike one and another. Oh, pray, pray for China; and pray for those who, few in number and helpless in their own strength, are the messengers of the churches to China. God grant that they may be also the glory of Christ! Year after year the mountain brooks Run singing to the vale below; Year after year the gifts of God From heaven to earth unceasing flow. 1863.] ANNUAL MEETING AT COEDCWYNNWR, MONMOUTHSHIRE. 15 The priest and peasant drink and go, Their praise at even or hour of prime. Year after year the mountain trees Spread their green leaves beneath the sun; A golden, glittering carpet down. "Life from the dead," in springtide hours, And mutter prayers to senseless clay: And lift beyond these beautiful hills Their praises to Thy glorious throne; Year after year along the hills The white sea-mist hangs, the thunder-cloud lowers; The whole creation no more be curst, And Christ's beams shine o'er this world of ours? T'in Dong, Aug. 1862. ANNUAL MEETING AT COEDCWYNNWR, MONMOUTHSHIRE. THE following notice of a meeting in behalf of the Church Missionary Society is taken from the "Usk Observer" of November 28th last. "The Annual Meeting of the Church Missionary Society was held on Wednesday evening the 26th instant, in the chapel of the almshouse, at Coedcwynnwr, near this town (Usk), on which occasion the building was thronged with a most attentive audience. After some introductory remarks by the chaplain (Rev. W. H. Wrenford, who occupied the chair), Captain Waddington delivered a most interesting address on Mission-work in India, describing what he had himself witnessed during his residence in that country. The Rev. D. Cooper, of Bristol, afterwards, in a speech replete with Missionary information, brought before his hearers facts and arguments calculated to increase their interest in the operations of the Society. The collection amounted to 67. 14s. 13d." The place where the meeting was held is on one of the high and not very accessible hills of Monmouthshire, and it was cheering to see the number of persons who came from four or five different parishes around. They seemed to feel deeply the importance of the 16 ANNUAL MEETING AT COEDCWYNNWR, MONMOUTHSHIRE. [FEB. great work in which the Society is engaged. We have been favoured with the address which Captain Waddington delivered on the occasion, which our readers may be pleased to have an opportunity of perusing Mr. Wrenford has asked me to say a few words to you on the subject of Missionary work in India. Some of you are aware that I have been eighteen years in India, but you must not suppose that all that time I had any thing to do with Missionaries, for, 'until the year 1853, I never met one, and even then I had little opportunity of mixing with them, as my duties in the regiment kept me very much at home. In fact, it was not until the end of 1855 that I knew any thing about, or at all took an interest in, Missionary matters. I then had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of two zealous, good men, who worked hard to make known to the heathen the truths of the Gospel. But you will, perhaps, like to know what a Missionary has to do when he gets to India. In the first place, he has to study hard to learn the language of the natives, for very few of them understand English, and even they very imperfectly. It takes about two years to learn sufficient of the Indian language to enable an Englishman to talk to the Indians, and even then he cannot get on very fast: he must begin in a quiet way, and it is always better for him to go at first among the Indians in the company of an older hand, as the natives are very subtle in their arguments, and it would never do for a young Missionary to lose an argument for want of knowledge of their language. When he is able to argue well, he goes out early in the morning, and takes up his stand under a shady tree in a town or village, and commences to read a chapter of the Bible. By degrees a good number of people gather round him, and although they sometimes are very well-behaved, and ask questions in a quiet manner, at other times they get very excited, and do all they can to prevent the Missionary from reading. They very seldom strike or lay hands on European Missionaries, but very often abuse them, or perhaps jostle them in the crowd. I have, however, known of native Missionaries, men who have been converted to Christianity, having been beaten and shamefully ill-treated by their heathen brethren. A native preacher "often told me how the townspeople ill-treated him; some pulled away his book, others threw dirt and stones at him, but he meekly suffered in silence; nor would he let me go down with him into the town to keep the people quiet when he was preaching. I asked this good Christian what particular part of the Scriptures made the strongest impression on him when he first thought seriously of Christianity. He answered, "The greatest impression was made upon me after reading John x. 17th and 18th verses, "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." I may mention that this man was born in a very rich family, but, on his becoming a Christian, he had to leave all his riches and all his friends, for Christ's sake and the Gospel's. He died soon after I became acquainted with him, and I have every reason to believe that he died a good Christian. 1863.] THE SOUTH-SEA CONVERT. 17 You must not think that because a man is black he has no soul. If you only had such chances as I have, you would have found that, in this respect, there is no difference between the people of India and the people of England. As for the converted, they are, as Christians, as good as ourselves. And why should they not be? Did not the same God make both white and black men? And is not the blood of Christ able to make the black man's heart as clean as the white man's? Without doubt it is: if it were not so, there would be no use in Missionaries going out to India. There is nothing I dislike so much as to hear Indians called "niggers" and it is not only the name I dislike, but the contemptuous way in which it is used, very often with some other bad word added to it. For instance, I have often heard them called "cursed niggers,' ," "black brutes:" I can assure you that they are neither cursed, nor brutes, and that I left India and the Indians with sincere regret and sorrow. But I must tell you about Missionaries. After preaching in the town during the early morning, they are obliged to remain in the house during the heat of the day. You must not, however, think that they are idle all day; far from it; they have to teach in their schools, to attend inquirers (as they call people who come to ask for information regarding Christianity), to compose sermons, and to look after the Christian community. You may perhaps know that the inhabitants of heathen countries are sometimes very bitter against Christians; and for this reason, and also to enable the Missionaries to look after their flocks better, the native Christians in India generally live as close as they can to the Mission house; indeed, they often form a village of themselves, and, when able to do so, build a small church for their own especial use. This is necessary, because, not being able to understand English, they cannot attend the English church, and the Missionary reads and preaches to them in their own language. When the sun begins to set, the Missionary again sallies out into the town or village, and preaches, or reads the Bible, until it becomes quite dark. (To be continued.) THE SOUTH-SEA CONVERT. A MESSENGER (says a Missionary) came to say that Kaisara was drawing near to his end. I went directly to see him, and found him very weak, scarcely able to speak. "Well, brother," I said, "how is it now on the borders of Jordan?" "My ship," he replied, "is moored; the anchor is within the vail; all is well, there will be no shipwreck; all is calm." Calm, indeed, it was. Not a ruffle was on the surface of his soul; not a doubt of safety was expressed. We spoke together of the labours of past years, and talked of the great love of God to the South-Sca Islanders. It was a soul-cheering visit to one just entering the unseen state. "What shall I say to the church after you are gone?" |