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This is a peculiar kind of shawl, made of cloth in the cold and of lighter material in the warmer climates. The peasants also use a coarse mantilla, and a hat is worn over it, giving a strange appearance to the women. The peasant men wear straw hats and a blanket called a mona. The same dress is worn by the better class in travelling, except that the hat is of a different shape. The people are thriftless and ignorant. They are papists, except the intelligent men, who are largely unbelievers. The gospel is needed here. The people go to mass, of which they understand nothing. Many never heard of the Bible, and few dare read it. All the errors of Rome bear their legitimate fruit here. The stoutest opponent of missions to papal lands could scarcely fail to be

converted by a visit to this country long enough to see its miserable condition.

The only mission station in this country is in Bogota, the capital. A church and school building are owned by the mission. Since their establishment a number of different ministers and teachers have preached and taught. At present the force consists of two ordained ministers, their wives, and one lady teacher. Of these three came from the United States last autumn, and soon after their arrival Miss Franks returned to the United States, compelled to leave her work or lose her health entirely.

By the help of God we yet hope to see this country dotted with mission stations, with numerous native preachers and thousands of gospel Christians.

WHAT CAME OF A DREAM. A TRUE STORY FOR THE CHILDREN.

Er-ko's mother was a heathen. A Christian school had been started in her neighborhood, and she allowed her little girl to attend, to get her out of the way as much as anything, for she knew little of what was taught, and seemed to care less. But she had caught the name of Jesus. Now she was ill; so very ill that even her old mother-in-law ceased her fault-finding, and was kind to her, for they thought she was going to die. One day, after tossing for hours upon her fevered couch, she fell asleep, and dreamed. She thought she was on the sea. Her frail barque was tossed hither and thither, and she was dying of thirst with water everywhere. When she reached for it it receded from her, and she was in despair. Then, in the distance, she saw a ship. It came nearer and nearer, and soon she distinguished the faces of the teacher and scholars of the Christian school. They were singing, and were happy, and she saw that they lacked nothing. In her distress she called to them, "Save me, give me water, I am dying of thirst!" And they shouted back, "Ask "Ask Jesus." Then she awoke. She found she was not on the sea, but in her own room, where she had been ill for weeks. She saw

her mother, who was moving quietly about the room, light a fresh stick of incense and place it before the image of Buddha, then begin to make the usual preparations for the evening meal. After she had watched her carefully place the little kettle over the fire, she spoke up louder than she had done for days, and said, "Mother, I want to see the girls' school-teacher." Her mother, willing to humor her now, said, "You shall if you want to, and Er-ko may run over and ask her to come." When the teacher came she rehearsed her dream, and asked, “What does it all mean?" She replied, "The dream is the product of your own fevered brain, but it is a good illustration of truth, for without the water of life,' which Jesus gives, you will perish. He gives freely to all who ask him; and moreover, he says, 'Whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give, shall never thirst.' So I would say to you, as you thought I said in your dream, 'Ask Jesus.' "But how shall I ask, and what?-tell me more." So she told her faithfully how we are lost without Christ, and how he is willing to save all who come unto him. Then, after teaching her a short prayer, she left, with a glad heart,

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promising to come again the next day.

So she taught her patiently and lovingly, and after a few days she felt repaid by hearing her say, "If I get well I will attend church." Gradually she regained strength, and a few weeks after, when able to ride out, no one of her family objected when she told them she was going to church, for the heathen have great regard for a vow, particularly one made in time of distress. So she went for the first time to a Christian service.

What made the preacher select the hymn,

"Jesus the water of life will give,
Freely, freely, freely"?

And what made him speak of the perishing coming to Jesus, and press home the invitation, "He that is athirst let him come; he that will let him take of the water of life

freely"? God knows. The soil was prepared, and the seed fell and took root, and she went home and told her friends, “It was all about my dream!"

A year later, Er-ko, with her mother and father and two little sisters, received the seal of God's covenant people, and we trust their names are written in the "book of life." And now, morning and evening, instead of incense before the dumb idol, there rises thanksgiving and praise from that happy household.

Is this all that came of the dream? If these are faithful-no; for this small circle, like that caused by the dropping of a pebble into the water, shall widen until only eternity

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THE LITTLE WELSH BOY.

Several pleasant answers have come, from our little readers, to the article about a little Welsh boy in our November number.

All the young writers agree that the picture is not a photograph, because the art of photographing was not invented so long ago. One of them mentions that a photograph would not be upon canvas. All agree that the wind on the Welsh mountain blew from east to west. They do not agree as to the number of stars on the flag seventy years ago. Most of them understand that the number of stars at first was thirteen, because there were thirteen states, and whenever a new state is admitted to the Union a new star is added to the flag. In 1817 Mississippi was admitted, and that made the number of states twenty. The number is now thirty-eight. Perhaps one or two more may be added soon. Let us pray that no state may ever be in our Union of which the laws will be contrary to the law of God. Let us watch for new bright stars coming into the pure blue of the star-spangled ban

ner. Long may it wave over the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Some of our little writers think that the little Welsh boy of seventy years ago is now an American. Others think that he is still Welsh. They agree as to his name and the name of the state in which he lives. It is Ohio. One little boy writes, "I think that he should be called a Welsh-American, and Rev. B. W. Chidlaw, for he is my grandfather."

That boy ought to know. No doubt he does. His name is the same as his grandfather's. Let us hope that he will be as much loved and honored seventy years hence as his grandfather is now. He says that his hair is as red as ever his grandfather's He is eight years old, and hopes to be a Presbyterian minister.

was.

In answer to the question about God's promises to widows and fatherless children, these texts are mentioned: Exodus 22:22, 23; Psalm 68:5; Jeremiah 49:11; Deuteronomy 10:18. Study them; trust them.

TEXAS A CHILD OF PROVIDENCE.

The Iroquois Indians were the key to Protestantism in the middle states. Except for them, France and not England would have had a title to the valley of the Ohio.

Napoleon's military exigencies made it necessary that France should have money. The Louisiana purchase was therefore possible. The wrath of man praised God. In 1804 all the land west of a line drawn from New Orleans to Minneapolis ceased to be French and became American.

The Mexican war dragged California, much of Nevada and Utah, also New Mexico, out of Romanism. Prior to this, in 1836, Texas declared itself free from Mexico.

No grander heroism has ever been displayed than was manifested by La Salle prior to 1685. He explored the northern lakes, pre-empting them for France and Rome. He came the whole length of the Mississippi river, and planted French and Romish rule in Texas. Then Spain supplanted France; and for one hundred and thirty-two years no dweller in Texas was allowed to think. The saintly Protestants who came to Texas in Austin's colony in 1820 were not permitted to hold services in their own private houses.

But better agencies than France or Spain were decreed to manage the affairs of this vast and wonderful region.

For nine years, after 1836, Texas was an independent state. In 1845 it became a part of the United States.

Those were pious men who came to Texas with Moses Austin in 1820. This may be a reason why one man in four has become a professor of religion in Texas. The average in the United States is one in five; in Oregon, one in eleven; Dakota, one in twelve; Washington Territory, one in sixteen; California and Colorado, one in twenty; Idaho, one in thirty-three; Montana, one in thirtysix; Nevada, one in forty-six; Wyoming, one in eighty-one; Utah, one in two hundred and twenty-four; New Mexico, one in six hundred and fifty-seven; Arizona, one in six hundred and eighty-five (vide "Our Country," by Rev. Josiah Strong, D.D., p. 125).

Or this fine showing for Texas may be largely due to such grand Presbyterian preachers as Daniel Baker. Multitudes heard the word from him. He organized our church in Austin in 1851. Had we pushed home mission work then, we might now be the strongest rather than the weakest of the churches in Texas. States have their childhood, when a little work secures what cannot be effected afterward without the largest outlay. The average church member in Texas now would no doubt be a more intelligent Christian if Daniel Baker had been duly sustained in 1851. One dollar then would have been worth ten now to home missions.

Or we may owe much of the exceptional church membership of Texas to the character of its early settlers. They were largely American. The Mexicans (says a high authority) "were supplemented by the immigration of the hardier, more intelligent races of Europe, of whom the Scotch, English, Irish, Germans and Scandinavians predominate; and if the Texas of the future, with such a mixture, is not a great state, it will not be because it has not the right blood whereof to make it such. Puritan, Huguenot, Covenanter and Cavalier blood is here intermingled." The necessities of life are secured here more easily than elsewhere in America. Corn planted after the middle of August last year made a good crop.

The very location of Texas makes it a centre of trade, like Palestine in the days of David and Solomon. There are six railway links with the North in active operation; two with the southern states; three with Mexico; three with New Mexico; one with California. The Indian Territory is on the north, Mexico on the west and the New South on the east. What a variety of interests! Did not God mean great things when he put such a state in such a place?

But there is another providential condition that has insured great things for Texas.

The great migrations in America have been preceded by revivals of religion in the states from which population was to move.

In 1740-50, fifty thousand were converted under Edwards, Whitfield and the Tennents. Then came the migration into the northern part of New England. Griffin and Nettle ton labored during the period between 1797 and 1805. A hundred and fifty New England towns were revived. Then followed the migration into New York.

The whole of central New York was stirred with religious interest between 1830 and 1835. Under the preaching of Finney, vast numbers of converted souls were gathered into the church; afterwards the interior states were rapidly settled. Then came the wonderful works of grace between 1850 and 1860, and then the settlement of the West and the Pacific slope.

It seems to be a plan of God to settle new localities of our country with people who have been lately under the influence of great revivals.

One hundred years ago only one in fourteen of the people of the United States was a church member; now the ratio is one to five. In 1826 there were but twenty-five in one hundred of the students of our colleges who were professors of religion; in 1880,

fifty in one hundred. What a time to settle a state! The people who come here bring spiritual impressions as at no other stage in the world's history. Their church treasuries have had means as never before, and, best of all, a better grade of men have poured into home mission work than at any previous time.

Another inviting feature is the singularly cosmopolitan character of our lands. We have pine forests as vast as Wisconsin and Michigan. We have the black land of Illinois. We have the fruit lands of Michigan and Ohio. We have the grazing lands of Kansas. We have the uplands of the best health resorts. We have mild winters without a debilitating climate, because the gulf breeze forbids hot nights. These conditions of health, comfort and economy make it possible for vast throngs to gather in attendance upon religious meetings.

History, locality and nature have conditioned Texas to receive a better religious development than the average in the United States. And all these combine in a cheering prophecy for the future.

HENRY S. LITTLE.

THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

As a member of the board of directors, it was recently my privilege to be present at the annual examinations and closing exercises of this young and promising institution. I desire to bear testimony to the thoroughness and efficiency of the instruction there imparted. May I not also hope to enlist for it the earnest efforts, hearty prayers and ready gifts of your readers? The oral examinations, extending over three days, six hours a day, were thorough and decisive, covered the entire three-years course of study, and afforded abundant opportunity to judge of the character of the instruction and the progress of the students. Twenty-six men-nine seniors, nine middlers and eight juniors-were present at the examinations. They represent all ages and castes and many parts of the country,beardless youth, gray-haired fathers, men

AT SAHARUNPUR, INDIA. in full vigor of manhood, converts from heathenism, boys from orphanages and from Christian homes, gathered from the Doab, Panjab, central India and Rajputana. Many are married, their wives and children with them; few are unmarried. Two laid it upon me as part of the Master's work to secure them each a good wife! Eighteen solid hours of examination proved quite sufficient to satisfy us as to the doctrines here inculcated as biblical, practical, rigidly orthodox and exhaustive. What less could we expect from the sons of Princeton and Allegheny? This young institution is certainly not a whit behind either of those comparatively hoary schools of the prophets in sound, wholesome doctrine. Professor Ewing's class in New Testament Greek was a happy surprise and a decided success. Some members of the class give promise

of becoming fair Greek scholars, and will doubtless find their knowledge of practical benefit, especially in dealing with the followers of the false prophet.

The closing day was spent in hearing short discourses from the graduating class; a sermon on Romans 1:16, from the firsthonor man; the presentation of diplomas by Rev. J. M. Alexander on behalf of the board of directors, followed by appropriate words of parting counsel from Drs. Wherry and Ewing, who on behalf of the seminary presented each member of the class with a copy of Rev. J. J. Caleb's translation of Dr. Hodge's "Outlines of Theology." The discourses of Ralla Rain and Durga Parshad on the "Triumphs of the Gospel" and "Martin Luther," as well as the sermon by Nabi Bakhsh, are worthy of special mention. We may look for good things from all the nine men who now go forth as the first representatives of our theological school. Some of them are men of much spiritual as well as mental power. A few appear before their presbyteries for licensure at an early date. We regret exceedingly to add that at this prosperous stage in the history of the insti

tution a complete change in the staff of instructors has been made necessary by failure of health and reasons connected with the education of children. Dr. Ewing is already under strict orders from his physician to proceed home at once for muchneeded rest and change, and Dr. Wherry must leave us in a few months; consequently the board of directors is casting about to fill the places of these dear brethren, who, we hope, will be able soon to return to their positions of high trust and marked usefulness. But with hardly sufficient force to hold our stations, the outlook is not bright. We need men and we need money-money for new buildings, scholarships, library, etc. The life of this institution is the life and growth of our India missions. It must be carried on vigorously. Other Presbyterian bodies are deeply interested in it, and ready to help us. We look to the great Head of the church to carry on through his servants and through the means he has given them. this work so auspiciously begun and so fraught with the highest welfare of our churches in this land.

GEORGE A. SEELEY.

A BUDGET OF LETTERS FROM JAPAN.

Of the book thus entitled, lately published by A. C. Armstrong & Co., 714 Broadway, New York, Rev. Dr. Happer writes as follows. Its author is Arthur Collins Maclay, formerly an instructor in the Ko-Gakho-Rio, Tokio, Japan.

The places described are the most interesting in the whole empire, as the two largest and most interesting cities; the one the former residence of the emperor and the other his present residence, Tokio; of natural scenery the most noted mountains and the Buddhist monasteries connected with them.

The temples connected with the tombs of the military or civil rulers who, under the title of Taikoon, so long prevented the em

peror from exercising his proper authority, restricting him to a merely nominal rule as the spiritual ruler, are given with lucid. descriptions. They are the most remarkable temples found in any country connected with funeral ceremonies.

Other chapters give discussions of the claims of Christianity as compared with Buddhism, and the need the heathen have of the gospel of salvation, and of the results effected by Christianity as compared with the results of Buddhism. This discussion is conducted with great ability and fairness.

The author gives a clear and concise account of the early efforts of Protestant Christianity and the results down to 1877, the time when he left Japan. But as the progress of Christianity has been so rapid

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