p. 12 | Review and Herald, Vol. 80, No. 46. (11/19/1903)

Earlier text: Brief Outline of the Sabbath Question

The Blind Neglected

By L. M. Muck

L. M. MUCK

“AND, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22:12.

We are told that “the message of the last days is going to the world.” The third angel’s message is to be proclaimed to the world in this generation. We are not to keep silent, but we must unite our voices in warning the perishing world that Jesus is soon coming. That Jesus is coming in this generation, is the great theme of to-day. The fact that Jesus is soon coming ought to stir every one to quick action.

While the call is being sounded throughout the great harvest field for means to carry forward the work of the third angel, we desire to call your attention briefly to a few facts relative to the blind in our own country. There are thousands of hungry souls among us who have never heard the glad tidings that Jesus is soon coming. This may seem almost incredible, but notice the following:—

Statistics show that there are at the present time about two hundred thousand blind persons in the United States. Just think of it,—two hundred thousand! This number is small compared with the thousands in other countries. These facts may astonish you, but the sad part of it is that only a very small per cent of these unfortunate beings have heard the truths of the third angel’s message. Hundreds of these persons are capable of taking an active part in sounding the gospel message to a dying world. The soul of the blind person is as dear to Heaven as is the soul of one who is blessed with the sense of sight. Dear reader, can we not plainly see that there is a great harvest ready for the sickle right at our door?

We are publishing a paper especially for the blind, entitled The Christian Record. We also publish a limited supply of tracts on the most vital subjects. By means of the literature we enable the blind to become acquainted with the message. In the printing we use various characters, therefore the blind can read for themselves by the sense of touch.

We are hampered in this work, and are unable to accomplish as much as we desire, because of the lack of means with which to carry on this noble work for the blind.

We beseech you, brethren, in Christ’s stead, to aid us in the prosecution of this work. You can have a part in this work by subscribing for the paper in behalf of the blind. The regular subscription price, which is the actual cost of the magazine, is $1.50 a year. This magazine is a monthly.

We believe that the time has come for us to send literature, to our blind friends in other countries. Several requests have come already from across the waters.

Let every union conference, State conference, tract society, and every church and individual give liberally to sustain this particular work. We shall be pleased to receive any amount from five dollars to one hundred dollars.

Remember that our literature is published in two systems, the American Braille and the New York Point. Make it your business to get acquainted with all the blind people you meet, tell them of the Record, find out the system they use, and report to this office. Scores have been benefited by reading our literature. Many have found Jesus, and are keeping the Sabbath. We have just received a letter from one of our readers, from which we quote the following:—

“Dear Editor, the little Record has just been received, for which I have so anxiously waited. I wish that the paper might go to every home. It brings sunshine to my home, and I know that God will reward you for sending it to me.”

We are commanded by the Commander-in-chief to go forward, conquering the world for King Emmanuel.

Send your donations to the Treasurer of the General Conference, 222 North Capitol St., Washington, D. C. At present we have our offices in Battle Creek, but they will be transferred later to Washington.

The Blessing of Song

“WHAT a friend we have in Jesus,” Sang a little child one day; And a weary woman listened To the darling’s happy lay.

All her life seemed dark and gloomy, And her heart was sad with care; Sweetly rang the baby’s treble— “All our sins and griefs to bear.”

She was pointing out the Saviour, Who could carry every woe; And the one who sadly listened, Needed that dear Helper so.

Sin and grief were heavy burdens For a fainting soul to bear; But the baby, singing, bade her “Take it to the Lord in prayer.”

With a simple, trusting spirit, Weak and worn, she turned to God, Asking Christ to take her burden, As he was the sinner’s Lord.

Jesus was the only refuge, He could take her sin and care, And he blessed the weary woman When she came to him in prayer.

And the happy child, still singing, Little knew she had a part In God’s wondrous work of bringing Peace unto a troubled heart.

—Christian Observer.

Seeing Things Rightly

By Theodore Cuyler

THERE is a right way and a wrong way of looking at almost everything. Spiritual discernment is a very important grace; for many of our joys and many of our sorrows proceed from our method of looking at those things which concern our peace. Salvation depends upon a right view of Jesus Christ. The difference between the impenitent sinner and the same person after he is regenerated is that he looks at Christ with a new eye, and has discovered him to be the very Saviour and Guide that he needs.

But there is no direction in which we are apt to make more egregious mistakes than when we look to our Heavenly Father’s providential dealings. Some Christians are betrayed into a heathenish habit of talking about “good luck” and the “bad fortune,” and using other expressions that convey the idea that human life is a mere game of chance. Blind unbelief may be expected to err, and to scan God’s work as either a riddle or a muddle. A Christian who has had his eyes opened ought to know better than to make such mistakes. Yet how prone we are to regard many of God’s dealings in a wrong light, and to call them by wrong names. We speak of things as afflictions, which are really great blessings under a dark disguise. We often congratulate people on getting what turns out to be a dangerous snare or a lamentable loss. Quite as often we condole with them over occurrences which are about to yield to them blessings more precious than gold.

Be careful how you condole with a man who has lost his money and saved his character, and be equally careful how you congratulate a man who has made a million dollars at the expense of his religion. A severe sickness has often brought recovery to a sinner’s soul, and suffering often works out for a Christian an exceeding weight of glory. Let us learn to see things rightly, and call them by their right names. Then we shall not put funeral palls over rich blessings, or decorate temptations with garlands of roses. Let us all ask God to open our eyes and give us spiritual discernment. Then we shall discover that this life is only a training school for a higher and better one; then we shall see a Father’s smile behind the darkest cloud, and at the end of the pilgrimage of duty it will be one of the raptures of heaven to behold the King in his beauty, and know all things even as we have been known.

If we possessed clearer discernment, we should not so often torment ourselves with sinful anxieties about the future. Our loving Lord knew what was in man when he reiterated his remonstrances against borrowing trouble in advance, and when he said, “Be not, therefore, anxious for the morrow; sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Worry is not only a sin against God, it is a sin against our health and peace. It sometimes amounts to slow suicide. Honest work, however hard, seldom hurts us; it is worry that corrodes and kills. There is only one practical remedy for the sin of anxiety. Let us not climb the high wall until we get to it, or fight the battle until it opens, or shed tears over sorrows that may never come, or lose the joys of present blessings by the sinful fear that God will take them away from us. We need all our strength and all the grace that God can give us for to-day’s burdens and to-day’s battles. To-morrow belongs to our Heavenly Father. I would not know its secrets if I could. It is far better to know whom we trust, and that he is able to keep all that we commit to him.

“Why forecast the trials of life With such sad and grave persistence, And look and watch for a crowd of ills That as yet have no existence?”

“Strength for to-day is all that we need, For we never will see to-morrow; When it comes, the morrow will be to-day, With its measures of joy or sorrow.”

Theodore Cuyler, in Northwestern Christian Advocate.

Religion in the Face

A BEAUTIFUL story is told of a young lady missionary in Japan whose peaceful face witnessed for Jesus.

Miss — was traveling by steamer from one Japanese seaport to another. On the same boat was a Japanese merchant whose business anxieties had so worried and annoyed him that he was seriously contemplating suicide. He noticed Miss — sitting quietly by, looking over the waters with such an expression of peace upon her face that he found himself turning to look at her again and again.

He did not know her, but he said to himself: “It must be she is one of the foreign Christians. Perhaps it is something in her religion which makes her face so calm and bright.”

Addressing her with profound respect, he made known his strange request and sorrowful reason for asking the way that gave the heart a peace so great that the face spoke it in every look. He listened to Miss — as she told him the gospel story, and it made such a deep impression upon him that he resolved to accept as his own the Saviour whose gift is peace.

Do your face and mine bear testimony that we have “been with Jesus”? — Western Christian Advocate.

Prayer for Missionaries

WHOEVER goes to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ among the heathen goes on a warfare which requires all prayer and supplication to keep his armor bright.— Dr. Moffat.

The Conflagration

By Ellen Hamlin Butler

It started in the garden ground, And no one was to blame. We only filled a little mound With dancing tulip-flame.

We thought it quenched in June, but O, Just where the roses grew, A tiny ember smoldered low, And when the south winds blew,

They scattered petals full of coals; The mischief had begun, Nor might we then, to save our souls, Undo what had been done.

Nasturtium fires crept out, and flared Along the garden walk. The hollyhocks like torches glared, A light on every stalk.

The scotch-mist puffed its clouds of smoke, The hills were dim with haze, And goldenrod and sumac broke Into a mighty blaze.

Across the fields the fire-tide turned, O’erleaping stream and road. The hillside like a furnace burned, The forest gleamed and glowed.

We watched the conflagration grow Till, one November night, A tempest blast of sleet and snow Put out its splendid light.

Now we have no excuse to bring. There’s nothing to be said, But every one of us, next spring, Will guard his tulip bed!

— Ellen Hamlin Butler, in Youth’s Companion.

Let in the Light

By T. B. Terry

ALL rooms to be used for working, sitting, eating, and sleeping should be freely accessible to sunlight. For the best results one should not work or sit down in a room during the daytime which has not the full light of day in it. Dampness and darkness are not healthful conditions. A perfectly healthful room should be as light as it is under a tree, at least. Dark rooms favor ill health; so do rooms into which the sun never shines. Where house plants dwindle along, weak and puny, human beings can not be at their best. The glare of the sun may be excluded during the heat of the day in summer, but there should be full light from the side opposite the sun, as far as possible.

Many Americans are making a great mistake in using blinds, shades, and curtains to exclude so much of the light of day. Light, and particularly sunshine, is healthful, as long as we are shaded from the sun during the middle of the day, when it is overhot. In hot weather let the sun shine in early in the day, and again toward night, with its healthful influence. Better that carpets should fade than lives.

Let the sun shine into every bedroom, in particular, for a time, every day it shows its face. Hence, I would have no trees near enough to the house to shade any windows. Trees are grand, in their place, but do not let them shut any sunlight out of any room. Shade means more or less dampness, as well as absence of light, and both are unhealthful conditions. The same windows and doors that let in the light will also allow fresh air to enter, during warm weather, if they are open—and they should be, every one of them. Fresh air is a necessity, too, for the highest degree of health.

Our own house was built, after much study, with the intention of having it as healthful a home as possible. The sun can shine into every room in our home used for working, sitting, eating, and sleeping, freely, either in the morning or afternoon. The north windows open into bathroom and storeroom only. Into our three sitting and living-rooms—all open together as one, by having large double doors—the sun can shine morning and afternoon both, and about all day in winter. And there are nine large windows about seven feet long, besides two outside glass doors, in this practically one room. The kitchen and dining room are about the same as one room, although partly separated, and into them comes the light and air from three large windows, and the same number of doors, with a draught through east and west. The sun can shine in both morning and afternoon. The room up-stairs where I am writing now, and where I often stay sixteen or eighteen hours out of the twenty-four, has four large windows, and the sun can shine in almost every hour of the day, as the windows face east, west, and south. No tree keeps the full light out of any window in the house. All this has not come about without much study and planning.

Do not think from what has been said about blinds that they are not a good thing. They are, when properly used. We have them, outside ones. I never use them to keep an occupied room dark. For example, just now, 9 A. M., the east blinds of my room are shut, and the other three pairs are wide open. From sunrise until about nine o'clock the east ones are open, to let in the morning sunshine. In the afternoon I will shut the west ones until about five o'clock. The shades are taken off of three windows, and each one lets in all the light that can come through an opening two and a half by six feet. It is as light as under a large tree, surely, and the air about as pure.

Now, my dear friends, I do hope these words may not be simply read and no more thought about. I believe them to be absolutely true, and not overdrawn in the least. Study over them, and see if you can not make the lives of the women in particular a little more cheerful and healthful by making some slight changes, if no more. Perhaps one may be to cut down a tree which you know ought not to be where it is. Perhaps you can put in an extra window or two, or a door. Perhaps you can change around a little in the home, and use the most sunny and most pleasant rooms, and the largest and best, to live in yourselves, and sleep in, instead of having them closed, practically, under the old title of “parlor” and “guest-chamber.” “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (and sunshine in all the homes of the people). May the words in parentheses come true in all homes sometime!—T. B. Terry, in Practical Farmer.

Taking Cold

THE old adage, “Stuff a cold and starve a fever,” is simply nonsense; for a cold is a fever. If it is necessary to starve a fever, it is necessary to starve a cold. Most people who have taken cold keep right on eating beefsteak, mutton-chops, and roast pork. This is like adding fuel to the flame, or pouring gasoline, kerosene, or some other inflammable stuff on the fire. Such food stimulates the morbid processes at work in the body, thus making worse the very condition that must be remedied; for

colds are the result of an accumulation of poisons in the body.

Drinking cold water is one of the best remedies for a cold coming on. The cold water stimulates the system, and helps to wash out the poisons. Drink all the water you can. Another excellent remedy is to live on fruit for two or three days, fruit exclusively, drinking hot or cold water freely, and perhaps buttermilk for nourishment. This course will cure an ordinary cold, if taken in time.—Good Health.

A Health Decalogue

1. Rise early, retire early, and fill your day with work.

2. Water and bread maintain life; pure air and sunshine are indispensable to health.

3. Frugality and sobriety form the best elixir of longevity.

4. Cleanliness prevents rust: the best-cared-for machines last the longest.

5. Enough sleep repairs waste and strengthens; too much sleep softens and enfeebles.

6. To be sensibly dressed is to give freedom to one’s movements, and enough warmth to be protected from sudden changes of temperature.

7. A clean and cheerful house makes a happy home.

8. The mind is refreshed and invigorated by distractions and amusements, but abuse of them leads to dissipation, and dissipation to vice.

9. Cheerfulness makes love of life, and love of life is half of health. On the contrary, sadness and discouragement hasten old age.

10. Do you gain your living by your intellect? Then do not allow your arms and legs to grow stiff. Do you earn your bread by your pickax? Do not forget to cultivate your mind and to enlarge your thought.—Selected.

Why His Marriage Failed

By O. S. Marden

He regarded children as a nuisance.

He did all his courting before marriage.

He never talked over his affairs with his wife.

He never had time to go anywhere with his wife.

He doled out money to his wife as to a beggar.

He looked down upon his wife as an inferior being.

He never took time to get acquainted with his family.

He thought of his wife only for what she could bring to him.

He never dreamed that there were two sides to marriage.

He never dreamed that a wife needs praise or compliments.

He had one set of manners for home and another for society.

He paid no attention to his personal appearance after marriage.

He married an ideal, and was disappointed to find it had flaws.

He thought his wife should spend all her time doing housework.

He treated his wife as he would not have dared to treat another woman.

He never dreamed that his wife needed a vacation, recreation, or change.

He never made concessions to his wife’s judgment, even in unimportant matters.

He thought the marriage vow had made him his wife’s master, instead of her partner.

He took all the little attentions lavished on him by his wife as his by “divine right,” and not as favors.

He always carried his business troubles home with him, instead of locking them in his store or office when he closed.—O. S. Marden.

A Brightening-up Day

By Ada M. Shaw

HAVE you ever thought what shine-principle there is in nature? Make a hurried list of the things that shine, from the great sun down to the wee twinkle in a baby’s eyes. The glisten of the snow, the sparkle of the dew, the gleam of perfect teeth, the iridescence of a fish’s scales or a bird’s plumage, and the jolly polish of a sunflower’s petals—they all shine, and they were made to shine for man’s sake and service.

In our spirits we are dependent more than we may realize upon this shine-principle, and the woman who keeps home bright—to use a much-worn phrase in an emphasized way—does a greater thing than “he who taketh a city.” But to get down to practicalities and to detail, have you ever included a brightening-up day in your housekeepers’ and homemakers’ calendar? No? Then just try it, on this wise:—

Provide yourself with chamois skin, old bits of flannel, soft cheesecloth, an old toothbrush, some old-fashioned bath-brick, some whiting, ammonia, and benzine or gasoline. Now begin with the parlor. What things are there in that room that were made to shine and have lost luster? (Mark you, I do not mean for you to “clean house.” This task is a light one that you may do on some rainy day when you are not “up to” great things, and are free from callers.) Let us see: There’s the brass rod at the back of the Morris chair, the piano pedals, the brass rim of the big lamp, the ornamental handles of the bookcase drawer, the small bit of beveled glass in that wee corner cupboard, the brass rod at the grate, the andirons, a clear glass vase, and some other ornaments that are dulled by the ever-accumulating film of dust and smoke. Shine ’em up!

Go through the house in this way. Your task may multiply on your hands so that it will take two days instead of one. You may give the silver a surprise, the tops of the salts and peppers, and the copper rim of the faithful old kettle. The bath will take some strength, and the faucets a great deal of patience. Then you may see a shelf-paper that needs to be renewed, a shabby ribbon in a tidy that should be ironed or replaced, a row of books straightened and set in better arrangement—all these things that insensibly get out of order, and, taken as a whole, make a home less bright than it might be. Try it, and the result will amaze you in more ways than one.—Ada M. Shaw, in the Farm and Fireside.

Gifts

By Frank Dempster Sherman

LABOR and rest, These are the best Blessings that Heaven gives; And happy he Who makes them be His gladness while he lives.

With every day To wake and say: Thank God for work and light! And when at last The day is past: Thank God for rest and night!

This is to find Sweet peace of mind; To know life's precious worth; God's gifts to take, And with them make A paradise of earth! — Frank Dempster Sherman.

Why He Quit Drinking

A PROFESSIONAL gentleman, who was accustomed to take his morning glass, stepped into a saloon, and, going up to the bar, called for whisky. A seedy-looking individual stepped up to him and said:

“I say, squire, can’t you ask an unfortunate fellow to join you?”

He was annoyed by the man’s familiarity, and roughly told him: “I am not in the habit of drinking with tramps.”

The tramp replied: “You need not be so cranky and high-minded, my friend. I venture to say that I am of just as good a family as you are, have just as good an education, and, before I took to drink, was just as respectable as you are. What is more, I always knew how to act the gentleman. Take my word for it, you stick to John Barleycorn, and he will bring you to just the same place that I am in.”

Struck with his words, the gentleman set down his glass, and turned to look at him. His eyes were bloodshot, his face bloated, his boots mismated, his clothing filthy.

“Then was it drinking that made you like this?”

“Yes, it was, and it will bring you to the same if you stick to it.”

Picking up his untouched glass, he poured its contents on the floor, and said: “Then it’s time I quit,” and left the saloon, never to enter it again.—Selected.

How to Stand Straight

One of the most admirable points in military discipline is the erectness of figure given by the drill exercise. A “soldierly” bearing is proverbially a fine one. The following rules, if strictly carried out, will give the civilian the benefit of such a carriage. Try them and see:—

Make it a rule to keep the back of the neck close to the back of the collar. Roll the shoulders backward and downward. Try to squeeze the shoulder-blades together many times a day. Stand erect at short intervals during the day—“head up, chin in, chest out, shoulders back.”

Walk or stand with the hands clasped behind the head, and the elbows wide apart. Walk about, or even run upstairs, with from ten to forty pounds on top of the head. Try to look at the top of your high-cut vest or necktie, using the swimming stroke while standing or walking. Fold the arms behind the back. Carry a cane or umbrella behind the small of the back or behind the neck.

Put the hands on the hips, and elbows back and fingers forward. Walk with the thumbs in the armholes of the vest. When walking, swing the arms and shoulders strongly backward. Stand now and then during the day with all the posterior part of the body, so far as possible, touching a vertical wall.

Look upward as you walk on the sunny side of the street.—*Selected.

Feeding One Another

By Lucy Larcom

We need, each and all, to be needed, To feel we have something to give Toward soothing the moan of earth’s hunger; And we know that then only we live When we feed one another, as we have been fed From the Hand that gives body and spirit their bread. — Lucy Larcom.

Tidings From the Guianas

By D. C. Babcock

D. C. BABCOCK

Our tent effort in Albuoystown closed on Tuesday, September 29, just eight weeks from the time it began.

Although there was some confusion at the opening of our meeting, the Lord intervened, and from the very beginning gave the victory each evening.

After the first few nights, we could not say that the interest diminished or increased. All who could well get in good hearing distance were there. Even in the streets, chairs, boxes, and stools were placed, and many sat on the ground.

At no time during the entire eight weeks, did we ever speak to a person because of bad behavior. This is more remarkable when we consider the mixed multitude, of almost all nationalities.

When the time came for our tent to be taken down, there was quite a touching scene. Several came and asked that the tent remain for a time, but it was necessary to take it down for repairs. Our meetings are now held in a room thirty by thirty feet, a short distance from where the tent stood.

A deep interest is taken by the people in a church building, and liberal donations were made at the first meeting held for the purpose of collecting money for a church building. Among the donors are several Chinese ladies, and yesterday I learned that a Chinese gentleman, whose shop is on the opposite corner from where our tent was located, has kindly offered us, free, a lot for our church building. Our second meeting to consider the church building will be held this evening, October 12, and there is good prospects of soon erecting a house in which to worship the Creator of heaven and earth.

Last Sunday morning, at 4:30, a company of believers met on the seashore, to witness the burial of fourteen precious souls with their Lord in baptism. This was the first baptism as the result of the tent work at Albuoystown. Others will soon be ready to follow their Lord in this ordinance. Including those who lived in Albuoystown, and kept the Sabbath before the tent was pitched, we now have fully thirty walking in the truth.

Among many other interesting experiences was that of a lady living near the tent, who was very sick. Her brother told me that they expected her to die in a short time; in fact, he said they did not think she could live until morning.

While we feel burdened many times for means and laborers to meet the demands, we do not get discouraged, but

My wife and I called to see her that afternoon, and found her very weak. We told her of the Great Physician, of his precious promises, and what he had done for others, and what he was able to do for her. She believed. We prayed for her, and the Lord heard. The next day she sent a message for us to return. We did so, continuing our supplications to God, and one week ago she was able to return to her home, over two hundred miles in the interior, feeling quite strong, and with a determination to help us in our work, which she is fully able to do, financially.

We now have the church at Kitty ready for the shingles, and we are pushing the work as rapidly as we can, in order to go to another field with our tent.

We press on to answer as many calls as possible.

I can not speak as encouragingly of our canvassing work as I would like to, yet some are doing a little work. Through one of our canvassers an earnest call was made from a village six miles from Georgetown. Brother Miller, a canvasser, returned from the Pomeroon district, in the northwest, bringing a good report. Two are now obeying the truth from reading books sold them, and others are deeply interested. The work in that field must largely be done by the canvasser and the colporteur, as it is impossible to hold meetings after 4 P. M., on account of the mosquitoes, which come each day at about that hour, in large swarms. The people seek the shelter of their mosquito nets. Brother Miller tells me that business of all kinds stops at from four to five in the afternoon. A sister at Morawhanna is disposing of many of our books, and is

conducting an interesting Sabbath-school. We are using seven hundred copies of the Watchman, now published in Trinidad. While we have seen no immediate results from this paper, yet we believe that it will be the means of bringing to many a knowledge of the message for this time.

East Indian Work

Our most perplexing question in this colony is the work among the coolies. Brother Hyder is much encouraged. A young colored man who is well versed in the Hindu language, and has had some experience in laboring among this people, has recently accepted the message. He has been employed for some time by one of the city churches as a teacher among the East Indian children, and some interest has attended his efforts. After considering the question carefully with this young man and Brother Hyder, it seems to me that the best results can be obtained by school work among the children. There is a much stronger inclination toward education with the East Indian children than with the creoles.

In the East Indian section of the city the streets are fairly swarming with coolie children from six to ten years of age. By a vigilant effort the majority could be brought into the schoolroom, and correct principles taught them. They are apt, and soon make bright students. When you win the hearts of the coolie children, then you can get near the parents. Hindu parents dearly love their children, and he who treats their children kindly can reach the heart of the father and mother.

To carry on this work properly about twenty dollars a month will be required. The young brother whom I have mentioned is anxious to begin the work soon, and is willing to sacrifice much to carry it forward. Twenty dollars a month will rent a schoolroom, pay the teacher, and provide the necessary books for the school. We are seeking the Lord earnestly, that the way may open for this work.

Last Sabbath we had the largest gathering of Sabbath-keepers we ever had in this city. It was the quarterly meeting occasion, and the companies at Kitty and Albuoystown met with the Georgetown church. It was a time of refreshing. To many it was the first opportunity for such an occasion, and many said it was the best experience of their lives. And why not? We have reached the time for brighter experiences.

At Legnan we enjoyed a like occasion. A new power and light has come to this company. Instead of expecting one of our ministers to look after them, they said they wanted the workers to go to

the front, and they would labor and pray for the progress of the Lord’s work.

Georgetown, British Guiana.

A Visit to Matabeleland

By W. S. Hyatt

W. S. HYATT

JUNE 10 I started on a trip to Matabeleland. As Mrs. Hyatt was with me, we went directly to Gwelo, and then to the Somobula Mission. This mission is fifteen hundred miles north from Cape Town. It requires five days by rail, and one day by wagon to reach the mission. We found all well, and the work prospering. This mission is about one hundred and forty miles from the Mission Farm. Two years ago Brother Armitage went there and began work. He started with nothing, and has built comfortable buildings and opened a school. The school is prospering quite well, there being about forty in attendance. He has several of the children who were adopted at the time of the famine seven years ago, and these are a great help to him in the work. Two of the older boys are able to teach the native children, and assist in the work of caring for the mission. As this was the first time that any of our people have visited them since they have been located there, it was a real treat to them to see a fellow laborer again.

Last February two young natives came to the mission. They were looking for a school where the students were taught not to drink beer nor to smoke. They were delighted when they found the mission. After being there a few days they went to see some of their friends, three of whom accompanied them on their return to the mission. These boys had never been to school, and could not read at all. In four months they were able to read their native Bibles, and write letters home to their people. When I left the mission, they were reading the English so well that they were soon to be given the English Bible in which to read, and their writing was very good. I wish to tell our people who have donated for this school work, that there are many encouraging experiences in connection with it. We do not see how it is possible for those native young men to learn so fast: surely the Holy Spirit teaches them.

While there, we had baptism, and eight of the oldest boys were buried with their Lord. It was a good day for the mission. The natives never witnessed such a scene before, and during the services we saw tears flowing down over many dark cheeks. God is working there for the young people, and a goodly number have given their hearts to the Lord. Ten more desire baptism, and are being prepared for it. The workers at that mission are of good courage, and willing to labor on for the Master.

I then went to the Mission Farm. Here we saw many encouraging omens. They have a school of about seventy-five. Fifty of these are living in the school home, and the remainder come in from the native villages about them. Three schools are being conducted in native villages by their boys. As far as I can learn, they are doing good work. At the mission Elder Sturdevant has charge of the school at the present time, and we can say that he is doing well. Some of the boys assist in the teaching, taking the native classes. They began to teach English to their most advanced students early this year. Some of them had had some instruction in English before. These classes are making rapid progress, and are deeply interested in their studies. Brother Sturdevant is much encouraged in this work.

Brother Anderson has been on a trip to Basutoland to secure a location for a mission, which we hope may be opened some day. The last word we had from him stated that he had been quite successful so far, the authorities having granted him every favor they could, and he had hope of finding the right spot soon.

During my stay there Brother C. R. Sparrow took his mules and an American spring wagon, and Brother Armitage and I went with him for a three weeks' trip to spy out the country. We enjoyed this trip very much. At first it was a little hard to spread out our blankets and sleep on the ground, but we soon learned to enjoy it, and could sleep as soundly as at home. There are wild beasts about, but we trusted in the Lord to care for us, and we had no trouble. The last night out two lions killed several cattle a few miles from us. We found a good location for a mission, and saw many openings for work.

We saw many natives who absolutely know nothing about Christ or God. In fact, they have no terms in their language to name them. Spiritualism reigns among them in all its power. I did not expect to find such conditions, as there have been missions scattered over Rhodesia for many years. Here are people who are as blind as those living in the heart of Africa, and there is need of many men, filled with the Holy Spirit, to go to them with the gospel. We must have native men who know the people and their language, to meet them and work for them under the direction of white men. I am glad that the Lord is giving us several young men who long to go to their people and impart the light that has shone upon them.

They say that their hearts were all dark before the mission came there, and now God has given them light. I assure you that they are thankful for what has been done for them. I wish that all our people could have the privilege of attending some of their social meetings, and could hear the young men tell what the Lord has done for them. I am sure there would be greater interest in this part of the Lord's work. Every cent given to this work is to the glory of God, and it will be spent as wisely as it is possible to do. In some of these places the work is languishing for the necessary means to advance it. May the Lord help us to push the triumphs of the message into darkest Africa.

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