Obrázky na stránke
PDF
ePub
[blocks in formation]

The students laughed and told him he was a baby miser, and even the great surgeon smiled when he held up a threepenny-piece and said: "Will you have this or a big penny, Mike?"

And Mike cried eagerly, "Thruppence, please." "There's a keen eye to business," laughed the students as they left the ward.

Mike lay all day clasping the coin in his little hot hand under his pillow.

Dr. Harley ran in during the afternoon to spend a spare half hour playing with the children, and just as he was leaving, in answer to an urgent summons from the accident ward, a shrill little voice whispered, eagerly and shyly, "Dr. Harley, Dr. Harley, tum here a minute."

"Well, youngster ?" turning back good naturedly. "Stoop down, there!" pressing the treasured coin into his hand. "Go and buy yourself some baccy."

"But I don't "--Smoke--he was going to say-but he feared to wound the child's generous impulses. "I don't like to take your threepenny-Mike-the boss gave it for yourself to buy something with."

"He said I could do what I liked with it-I wanted to buy you some baccy: that 'll buy most a pound won't it?" anxiously.

66

'Oh, yes, most a pound," and then a second sunimons came and the doctor had to run.

Mikey lay back with a sigh of content and a pleased smile on his round face. He had provided his dear doctor with what he had always believed was the height of happiness for grown up men-" lots of baccy," and it never entered his dear little head that the doctor might think differently.

Dr. Harley winked his eyes very hard and swallowed something lumpy in his throat two or three times. On his way down the long stone stairs and along the dusky ccrridors he felt the little coin in his hand.

Dr. Harley wears that threepenny piece always on his watch chain; and many a time when he is sorely tempted to withhold something, time or money, or patience from the Master's service, the sight of the little coin has prompted him to yet one more generous deed or act of self-denial.

Sunday Afternoons in the

Sick-room.

PRIZE COMPETITION FOR INVALIDS.

(A) BUNYAN SEARCH QUESTIONS.

(JANUARY.)

1. Who used to spoil young pilgrims with sophistry? 2. What three soldiers of fortune, listing first under Captain Boanerges, were taken prisoners by, and then served under, the enemy? How were they then promoted ?

3. Whose wealth was given to Mr. Meditation, "to improve for the common good?”

4. Who called the bread of God husks, and the comforts of His children, fancies?"

5. Four pupils were so ably taught by a schoolmaster in the county of Coveting, "that they could each of them have kept such a school themselves." Name the master, the pupils, and what they learnt?

6. When did the pilgrims say one to another, “We had need to cry to the Strong for strength?"

7. Of what enemy did Mr. Self-denial say, " If such villains as these may be winked at in Mansoul, I will lay down my commission?"

8. Of what pilgrim, and when, was it said, "each

minute was to her as long as an hour?"

9. Who "dwelt next door to one Turnback?" 10. Who sent "a summons as hot as a red-hot iron, to Mansoul, to yield to their demands?"

[blocks in formation]

6. Of what does Thomas à Kempis say that "Nothing is sweeter, nothing more courageous, nothing higher, wider, more pleasant, nothing fuller nor better in heaven and earth," and why?

7. Longfellow wrote,—

"Lives of great men oft remind us

We can make our lives sublime." Choose and quote a passage (not to exceed 200 words) from the life of any good man or woman, from which ordinary people may learn to act greatly in everyday opportunities. Give chapter and book.

Two prizes will be given each month in each class, consisting of books to be chosen by winners, from the Religious Tract Society's lists, to the value of-first prizes, 20s., second prizes, 10s.

Rules that must be observed:

I-Write very distinctly on one side of paper only. Neatness will be considered in making awards.

II. – Invalids only to compete (enclosing name and address of clergyman as reference). Competitors may have aid in research from friends.

III-Every Paper must be posted by the 20th day of the month, and addressed to the Editor, having "Sunday Afternoon Class A," or "B" in the corner, according to subject.

Prize-winners' names will appear in due course under NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS. Limited space forbids the printing of answers.

Search and See.

THE STORY OF THE FAITH.

THE MISSION OF THE DISCIPLES.

1. The disciples were sent forth two and two. Quote from the Old Testament a text giving the reason.

2. They were not to waste their time in idle talk. 3. Mention a similar injunction in the Old Testament. 4. Why were they to take no money with them? 5. Quote the Apostle Paul's words on this point. 6. From what animals does Jesus tell them to take example?

7. Where is a minister of Christ taught to be gentle? 8. Show that they were not to attempt to set up a worldly kingdom.

9. How did Jesus show this by His actions as well as by His words?

10. How did Jesus teach them not to be ambitious? 11. Show that Christ came not to pull down, but to build up.

12. Give instances in which Christ's teaching rises higher than that of the Pharisees.

A BIBLE VERSE.

In a certain verse in one of the epistles several Christian virtues are mentioned. The first was remarkably

displayed by two young men under trying circumstances, but was sadly lacking in a large family of brothers. The second and third are specially mentioned by Christ as gifts to His people. The fourth requires the exercise of another virtue mentioned in the early verses of the epistle of James. Timothy is exhorted by Paul to practise the fifth as "the servant of the Lord," and David tries on one occasion to instil it into his stern warcaptains. Hezekiah is said to have practised the sixth, and the last is Paul's subject in a chapter in Romans, in which a patriarch is mentioned several times. These virtues are compared, in the verse, to something mentioned eight times in John xv. The verse contains fourteen words.

SCENES BY A RIVERSIDE.

L. T.

1. A general of an army, who has just given an illustration of the truth of the first words in Prov. xv. 1, comes to a riverside. He asks for food for his wearied soldiers from the inhabitants of two places visited by Jacob on his homeward journey; but he is refused, and afterwards punishes the refusal, for he fails to obey the precept in Rom. xii. 19-21.

2. Two young men, the sons of priests, bring news to a large company of people who immediately hurry across a river by night. The next morning a king's councillor hangs himself.

3. Some builders enter a wood by a riverside. One of them gets into trouble, and asks help of a friend who has already worked three miracles in connection with water. Who are the characters appearing in these scenes, and what is the name of the river?

KEY TO STORY OF THE FAITH.—p. 133.

(1) John i. 40; (2) i. 35, 36; (3) i. 41; (4) i. 42; (5) Mark i. 16, 17; (6) John i. 43, 44; (7) Mark i. 19, 20; (8) iii. 17; (9) and (10) Luke v. 27; (11) v. 28, 29; (12) vi. 14-16; (13) Rom. i. 1; 1 Cor. i. 1; (14) xv. 8, 9; (15) Acts ix. 17.

ANSWERS TO EXERCISES.

GAL. vi. 22.-PAGE 133.

(1) Love, Ruth: Ruth i. 14-16; iv. 15; (2) Joy, David: 1 Chron. xxix. 9; (3) Peace, Solomon: 1 Kings iv. 24, 25; (4) Long-suffering, Moses: Ex. xv. 24; xvi. 2, 8; xvii. 3; (5) Gentleness, Joseph: Gen. xlv. 4, 5; (6) Goodness, Josiah : 2 Chron. xxxv. 25, 27; (7) Faith, Jairus: Luke viii. 41, 42, 49-56.

PAGE 133.

(1) Lev. xxv. 19; xxvi. 4, 5; (2) Num. xviii. 12, 13; Deut. xxvi. 2; (3) Psa. i. 3; Jer. xvii. 7, 8; (4) Prov. viii. 19; xi. 30; (5) i. 31; Isa. iii. 10; Rom. vi. 22; Jas. ifi. 17; (6) Jud. ix. 11; Matt. xiii. 8; xxi. 34; Luke xii. 17; xiii. 6; John xv. 1-8; 7) 1 Cor. xv. 23; Rom. xi. 16; Jas. i. 18; Rev. xiv. 4.

Things New and Old.

THE NAPIER TABLET AT BELFAST.

[graphic][ocr errors]

AMONG the pleasant incidents of last year was the

unveiling of the Napier tablet at Belfast. The monument, of Carrara marble, in the Renaissance style of architecture, and of very chaste design, has been placed by members of the Church of Ireland Young Men's Society in the Clarence Place Hall, Belfast.

The Belfast branch of the Church of Ireland Young Men's Society is one of the most prosperous of such institutions in our country. It has a large roll of members, and it occupies premises which have cost over £23,000. One of its first patrons was Sir Joseph (then Mr.) Napier. He was himself born and educated in Belfast, and in 1850 he delivered the first public lecture on behalf of the Society. The occasion of this lecture was doubly interesting, because at the same gathering a resolution was subsequently proposed that fitting premises should be obtained for the Society, and the mover was Mr. Hugh McCalmont Cairns, afterwards Lord Chancellor of England. Lord Cairns was also a Belfast man, and it is certainly remarkable that both these fellow citizens,

who were the prominent speakers on that occasion, should rise to the highest legal dignity, the one in England, the other in Ireland. Indeed, Sir Joseph Napier and Lord Cairns had much in common beyond the possession of singular gifts of eloquence and consummate legal knowledge. Both of them were men of intense personal piety and of strictly evangelical views; both of them, amid the pressing and absorbing calls of professional life, found time to advocate publicly the cause of righteousness and truth, and both of them were specially noted for the interest they took in the best welfare of young men. At the Young Men's Christian Association in Dublin, Sir Joseph was also a frequent lecturer, and some of these lectures are included in a valuable volume of Essays and Lectures published by Longmans, Green & Co., after his death in 1888.

It may be well to add the full text of the memorial inscription:

"Erected by the Members of the Church of
Ireland Young Men's Society, Belfast,
In Memory of the

RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR JOSEPH NAPIER, BART.,

One of the patrons of the Society, and by whom the first public lecture in its interest was delivered. As a lawyer, trusted implicitly and successful; a staunch friend, an honoured Irishman, one of whose history Belfast may well congratulate itself. His public career was marked by most sterling qualities, honourable, upright, consistent, and of the very highest principle; in Parliament, a skilful and able debater, and a wise counsellor; in the general synod of the Church of Ireland, a constant and most helpful member for many years; a firm, uncompromising, evangelical Protestant, adhering faithfully all his life to the principles of the Reformation. Born at Belfast, 26th December, 1801; educated at Belfast Academy under James Sheridan Knowles, and afterwards in Trinity College, Dublin. Elected M.P. for Dublin University, of which he was eventually ViceChancellor, 1847; Attorney-General of Ireland, 1852; D.C.L. of Oxford, 1853; Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 1858; created a baronet, 1867; his coat-of-arms placed in Gray's Inn, 1868; appointed a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, 1868; Chief Commissioner of the Great Seal, 1871; died at St. Leonard's, 9th December, 1882. Aged 78 years. "Thou hast brought me to great honour and comforted me on every side.'-Psalm lxxi. 19. This monument is to one of the noblest of the sons of the United Kingdom."

Sir Joseph's example is valuable to all who are entering upon the stress and strain of life, and the young

men of Belfast do well to commemorate it. As the Marquis of Dufferin and Ava has aptly remarked, "To preserve amongst future generations the memory of those who have done good service to their country is always a noble endeavour, and in the case of Sir Joseph Napier, every private virtue was superadded to his public merits."

The following quotation from a speech of Sir Joseph, delivered in the eventide of his life before the Church Missionary Society, may help to show what was the

keynote of his influence:-"I have served a very gracious Master. He has brought me to great honour and comforted me on every side. I have reached the highest point to which my ambition could have aspired, far beyond what I ever contemplated. I have had the calm of leisure and reflection; I have had my day of science; I still relish the refreshment of literature; but let me bear the humble testimony that after all there is only one thing worth living for, and that is to love and serve the Lord Jesus,"

S. C. LOWRY.

Monthly Record.

THE triumph of French arms in the great African island is complete, and Madagascar Madagascar. is under French domination. For many

France as Mistress of

years this has been inevitable. The Franco-Malagasy treaty of 1885, on the one hand, and the corruption, selfishness, and ineptitude of the Hova government and officials on the other, pointed to this as the only solution of the protracted struggle for mastery. The expedition by which this issue was secured involved great sacrifices on the part of the French Republic; but General Duchesne and his men were equal to all demands, and with a patience, loyalty and ultimate success, that merit unstinted admiration, carried out to the letter the instructions they had received. Then the General was as humane as he was brave. Sinister rumours as to the behaviour of his troops, especially the black troops, and gloomy forebodings as to what would happen when they reached the capital, happily proved groundless, and in his courteous demeanour towards European residents, and in his magnanimous treatment of the unfortunate queen and all law-abiding natives, General Duchesne at once gained the confidence and esteem of the people. Newspaper correspondents, merchants, missionaries, were equally enthusiastic in his praise. Trade immediately began to revive, and, reassured by the encouragement he gave them, the missionaries and native pastors resumed their work and did their utmost to allay excitement.

For this good beginning we are deeply thankful. May it prove a happy augury. British Christians have great interests at stake in Madagascar. Still, those interests have no connection with political affairs, and, unless we entirely misconceive the spirit and aims of the missionary societies working there, they will be prepared frankly to accept the fact of French domination and to carry on their work under the new conditions which that fact involves. French Protestant missionaries do this with the happiest results under British rule in Basutoland. Why should not British missionaries do the same under French rule in Madagascar? The debate in the Chamber of Deputies on November 27th gave satisfactory evidence of the good faith of the government of the Republic. It will be faithful to the Anglo-French Convention of 1890. The Roman Catholic hierarchy wish to exploit Madagascar in the interests of Romanism, and even such a distinguished diplomatist as M. Le Myre

de Vilers urged the abrogation of treaties and a hostile attitude to the missionaries of the London Missionary Society. But we trust that the good sense of the French nation will quickly perceive that, in the interests of civilisation and the development of the resources of Madagascar, the presence of missionaries, intent solely on securing the educational, moral and spiritual progress of the nation, and prepared freely to devote time and money for this purpose, will be a source of strength to them in the difficult task that awaits them of wisely and successfully administering their newly-acquired possession.

The Christianity of the Hovas.

THE special correspondent of the Times who, reaching Antananarivo some months before the French expedition, remained there until its fall, and by his full and graphic record enabled English readers to comprehend the situation, formed a very low estimate of the Hovas. Their inaction and cowardice, combined as he found it to be with overweening conceit and braggadocio, filled him with contempt, and, we have good reason for thinking, perverted and embittered his judgment. In one of his latest letters he spoke in most disparaging terms of the Christianity of the Hovas. This was in striking contrast to his earlier communications. As he travelled from the southern coast to the interior, the Hova evangelists and their work impressed him favourably, and he did not hesitate to commend them. But for some reason he subsequently changed his views, and the Hova Christian like the Hova soldier became a synonym for hypocrisy and cant. Now let it be frankly confessed that nominal Christianity is terribly common in Imerina. Many who attend Christian churches are still ignorant heathen. Missionaries have stated this times without number. Let it be further acknowledged that one of the results of recent events-many of the Christian leaders being absent on military duty-has been a revival of heathenism. Charms have reappeared; one of the chief idols, though burnt to ashes in 1869, is said to be alive again; and many Hovas are saying that a return to the old customs is desirable. Still, after all, is this very surprising? The missionaries were quite prepared for such a recrudescence of former superstitions. At the same time they are confident that the backward movement in this

particular direction will be but temporary. What has surprised them is not the backsliding of semi-heathen converts, but the remarkable absence of outbreak against foreigners. To the credit of the Hovas it must be recorded that at a time of intense excitement, when the French troops were only a few miles off, European houses protected solely by native servants, their occupants being assembled in public buildings, not a stick of property was injured! Nor is that all. One missionary, living alone at a country station forty miles to the west of Antananarivo, quietly carried on his work at the very time that the French were taking that city. As he journeyed to one united gathering in his district, he saw at a distance the French columns advancing towards the capital, but he and his native friends having gazed for a time at the unusual spectacle went on to their meeting In the capital as if it were an every-day occurrence. also, and in many of the villages near, the ordinary. services and school work were continued almost to the very last, and was quickly resumed after the French occupation. Best of all is the testimony borne by the missionaries to the fidelity, earnestness, and chastened humility of spirit shown by a goodly number of Hova pastors and church members. Never, say they, had they heard such prayers as they heard during those weeks of exceptional stress and strain. Unhappily, in striking contrast to these more hopeful signs, later news of a serious and painful nature is to hand. As in China, so in Madagascar the cessation of war has been followed by incidents of violence and murder. It is with profound regret that we hear of a marauding band of Malagasy attacking the Friends' Mission Station, at a place about thirty miles south-west of Antananarivo, and of the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, the missionaries stationed there, and their little daughter, a child of five years. This is deplorable. Other troubles may follow. A sifting will undoubtedly come." There may be extensive declensions; but the entire history of Christianity in Madagascar would be falsified, did the Hovas now generally prove faithless.

Missions in

For upwards of sixty years the American The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign MisTurkey. sions, a society almost identical in constitution and history with the London Missionary Society, has carried on a difficult, but a growingly successful, work in the Turkish Empire. Gradually the Board's Missions have been developed on broad and permanent lines until to-day they occupy a position of unique power and influence. So thoroughly and so ably, indeed, are our American brethren doing their work, that by general consent the field is left almost exclusively in their hands. In Western, Central, and Eastern Turkey alike, both in Europe and in Asia, a staff of missionaries, numbering in all about one hundred and seventy (including wives and single women) are carrying on most varied operations from eighteen different centres. They are assisted by nearly a hundred ordained natives, and they minister to congregations amounting in the aggregate to 40,000, with a churchmembership of 12,000. Five theological schools, thirty high schools for boys, twenty-two for girls, and four hundred common schools, are conducted with marked efficiency. These statistics will suffice to show the wide-reaching work that is being done, and will also

explain how it is that our newspapers, in their harrowing chronicles of anarchy, misrule and atrocity, contain such frequent references to the American missions. It is upon American representatives of Christian missions that the burden of trouble now falls, and for them our earnest petitions should ascend. Happily, up to the time of going to press no lives have been lost, but the panic has been great, and much valuable property destroyed. Mission buildings have been burnt to the ground and others savagely attacked and pillaged; while at severai stations the missionaries are practically prisoners. The break-up of the Ottoman Empire seems to be drawing near; the day of reckoning coming.

Khama's visit.

KHAMA and his brother chieftains have

66

Besides

come and seen and conquered," and before these pages are published will be back in their Bechuanaland home. The decision to cross the seas and appear at the very centre of the British Empire was characteristic of Khama. Quiet, self-possessed, marvellously patient, this remarkable man is as bold as a lion. Having made up his own mind as to the right course to pursue, he had little difficulty in persuading Sebele and Bathoen to join him. They resolved to make a direct appeal to the Queen and her Ministers against the tremendous pressure to which they were subjected in South Africa. Khama's courage met with the reward it merited. In all essential respects his appeal was successful. Concessions were wisely and rightly made to the Chartered Company; but the Imperial connection was maintained intact, the different territories were definitely fixed, and the chiefs left free to exclude liquor from their country, and to exercise the rights of chieftainship. being successful, the chiefs were decidedly popular. Khama especially won the hearts of the people wherever he went. His brethren, and even their attendants, were also heartily received in all parts of the country, and the farewell meeting in the Queen's Hall, Langham Place, was one of the finest and most enthusiastic gatherings ever held in London. As they journeyed to and fro, these Bechuana visitors saw many things that greatly impressed them. Their visit to Westminster Abbey, where they were courteously received by the Dean, was marked by one pathetic and suggestive incident. The grave of David Livingstone (whose heart lies buried in the centre of Africa, but whose bones are entombed where England lays her most distinguished sons) was pointed out to them. They were much impressed as they looked upon that sacred spot. Sebele, in particular, who in his boyhood was one of Livingstone's pupils, must have felt the solemnity of the moment.

Looking back upon this visit and its results, one feels somewhat reassured as to the fair-mindedness of the British nation in its dealings with the weaker races. Mr. Chamberlain's settlement of the question secured the almost unanimous approval of the country. A few interested organs excepted, the tone of the press was eminently satisfactory, and the chiefs carried away with them the pleasantest impressions of our Sovereign, of the Colonial Secretary, and of the people generally, while we on our side shall think of them and watch their future career with the kindliest interest. May they prove fully equal to the enlarged responsibilities that are inseparable from the new arrangement!

« PredošláPokračovať »