A HOUSE IN A TREE! "AND what is that for?" asks some little boy or girl. Wait a moment, and you shall know. Have you never read about the wild beasts of India, how fierce and terrible they are in some places? Suppose now you were to spend a night in one of those dark jungles, would you not think it very nice to sleep in such a hut as this, twentyfive feet above the ground, where no tiger could reach you? "But who is that man, who sits alone in this strange dwelling?" He is a missionary. Some of the people who live among the hills of Travancore wish to be instructed; and they have sent for a minister of Christ. On going to see them, he found about five hundred ready to put themselves under his care; and they wanted him to live among them. So much in earnest were they, that they pulled down their idol-house; and they undertook to keep the Sabbath. He did not agree to live with them, however; but he makes them frequent visits; and at such times he must have a place to stay in. And they are so glad to see him, that they are willing to build a hut for him, where no beast of prey can reach him. If he will take care not to fall out of his airy dwelling, he can be very comfortable.-The Youth's Day-Spring: published by the American Board of Missions. 7 LETTER TO OUR READERS. ORPHAN REFUGE, CALCUTTA. THE many young readers of the "Juvenile Record," who collect money to support children in the Orphanage for female orphans in Calcutta, will be delighted to get the following letter, addressed to them, which has just arrived from India, from a kind correspondent in Calcutta, whom, in name of our young readers, we heartily thank for the communication: "My dear Children,-I was at the opening of the new Orphanage here on Tuesday the 11th of February, and I thought while there how delighted some of the children of Scotland would have been if they could have witnessed the whole scene. Now I would like to interest you in the children of India, and I am going to give you a little sketch of our Tuesday's meeting : "The house which was the Orphanage before was sold lately, and Mr. and Mrs. Yule were obliged to look out for another; they got one not far from the old one, and, after they got all settled, it was proposed to have a meeting of the friends of female education here in the new school. We assembled in the hall, and one side was arranged for the girls. Between fifty and sixty were there, all sitting with bright happy faces, clothed in the native costume, with a white chudohe over their head and shoulders. Mr. Yule gave out a Bengalese hymn, and how sweetly did these poor children sing, and then how earnestly did they join in prayer; and, dear children, remember these girls would mostly all have been bowing down to stocks and stones but for the kind help of Christian friends in Scotland, who loved the souls of these poor neglected ones, and established a home for them. After praise and prayer, Mr. Yule read the report for last year, and he told us his encouragements and his discouragements. He told us, four of his children, as he calls them, had died; two of these had died in faith, and by their deaths they had gladdened the hearts of Mr and Mrs Yule, who had been like parents to them. One of these, although in extreme agony before her death, told them she trusted alone in Jesus. They have no doubt gone to heaven, and are helping to praise their Saviour, 'singing, Worthy is the Lamb that died.' They have gone where there is no difference between black and white children, they are all one in Christ. Think for a moment, dear children in Scotland, who have loving Christian parents who tell them of Jesus, who have Bibles and Sabbath schools, many of whom even send Bibles and teachers to the heathen children, if I have all these blessings and am not in Christ, how will I look upon these poor children who had none of these, but just what strangers brought them, but who accepted them, and treasured them more than gold, who took Christ for their own while they lived, and when they came to die they were not afraid, for Christ was theirs? One other thing would I mention. Mr and Mrs Yule have gone home for a season, and when it drew near the time, oh! how broken-hearted these poor orphan children were; for days before their faces were quite melancholy. The people say here, the Bengalee has no feelings of gratitude; oh! who could say so, and look upon these streaming eyes, and such embraces, they well nigh broke kind Mrs Yule's heart. One little thing in particular was quite pining away; she followed Mrs Yule wherever she went while in the house. She has no father or mother, and was brought to the Orphanage while quite an infant. You may ask, what has changed their hearts so? I will tell you, dear children. Just what changed the heart of the jailor of old; they are taught the knowledge of Jesus; it is that, and that alone, that can make a good child, both in India and in Scotland. I hope I have not wearied you. Go on in your work of collecting means to send to the heathen, you cannot do too much in that way; but you must not neglect another duty; when you give your halfpenny, that is but half what you can give; dear children, give us your prayers, pray often for the Orphanage children, and for all the poor neglected children of India, that they may soon be all the lambs of Christ." We have had sent to us the following extract from a letter from the Rev. J. W. Yule, dated Calcutta, 13th February 1856:-"I have NEWS FOR ST. STEPHEN'S BOYS' SABBATH SCHOOL, but whether good or bad I can hardly say. Their protegee, Diljohn, was married on the second of this month, and for herself, I daresay, it is good: but she was so very useful in the Orphanage, and such a help in every department, and withal so trustworthy, that her absence is a great loss to the Institution, and that is the bad of it. "Her husband is a member of the English Church Mission, and is our teacher at Kidderpore. I have great hopes of Diljohn in her new sphere of labour-it is an important one, but one which requires peculiar wisdom and grace." THE PATAGONIAN MISSION. MORE MISSIONARIES GOING OUT. Ar a recent meeting in Dublin in support of missions to South America, and especially to Patagonia, Mr. Despard gave a lengthened account of some natives who were brought to England in 1834 by Captain Fitzroy, and went on to say, that in the course of Captain Snow's voyage about Terra del Fuego, some years afterwards, he found one of them who still spoke English; and, having taught many English words to some of the natives, made a favourable impression on them with reference to white men. This he considered a most remarkable circumstance, and one which seemed specially ordained by God to prove that the missionary work should be carried on there. He hoped to be permitted to go forth himself in April to carry on this work, in which for many years he had most heartily engaged, and he hoped to be so occupied as long as he lived. Mr. William Jones, of the firm of Palmer & Jones, of Liverpool, had placed a ship of 600 tons at their disposal, in which he and his family, a party of fifteen in all, would start from Plymouth. This year they had £1000 in hand, and he trusted friends such as he saw before him would consider whether it was not their duty to assist in carrying on the work of the Society,-which was of the Church of England, by forming an auxiliary society, which would, by God's blessing, lead to the conversion of many souls. Mr. Despard concluded by moving the following resolution:-"That this meeting, feeling that the obligation of the command to preach the Gospel to every creature' admits of no limitation, hereby offer the assurance of their hearty good-will to the South American and Patagonian Missionary Society, and pledge themselves to use their zealous efforts in aid of the operations of the Society." Referring to the new efforts for Patagonia in contrast with the sad failures of plans formerly attempted by the devoted Captain Gardiner and his noble fellow-martyrs, the Archbishop of Dublin said : "I will only remark on the very interesting account Mr. Despard has given us, that the description of the lamentable failure of Captain Gardiner's expedition, whose zeal and devotedness of course we all admire, ought to be one of the greatest encouragements in the present case, because it is manifest the whole scheme was unwisely contrived, and the mode which is now being adopted is altogether contrasted with it-it is completely on a different footing. I may make use of the kind of argument which was used once by Demosthenes to the Athenians, on an occasion of their defeat owing to very ill-conducted arrangements. He told them he congratulated them on the very great errors committed, because if they had used the proper means, and nevertheless had been defeated, there would have been no hope left; but now that they ought rather to be encouraged than disheartened, for, finding all the errors committed pointed out, they could see and avoid them in future. I believe the plan of Captain Gardiner's expedition was extremely ill-concerted, and met with corresponding failure; but the present plan seems to have avoided all the errors which led to the disastrous failure, and I trust, therefore, with God's blessing, it will meet with opposite results." 58 OUR LAST YEAR'S COLLECTIONS. THE following sums have been acknowledged on our Cover as received by us during the year ending 15th April 1856, and have been paid over to the Treasurers of the various funds for which they have been designed. Mission to Irish Roman Catholics For Books and Tracts to Hospitals in the East 0 15 6 0 10 0 11 11 10 7 19 2 Glasgow Mission to the Crimea Soldiers' Friend Society, Sebastopol For Bibles to China Gaelic Schools Gaelic Female Industrial Schools Original Ragged Schools Edinburgh Bible Society British and Foreign Bible Society Home in the East, London Deaf and Dumb Institution, Edinburgh . 2 12 1 050 0 10 0 050 1 11 6 070 0.10 0 050 070 0 3.0 Total received and paid over by our Treasurer, £128 18 4 The following sums have also been acknowledged on our Cover, according to request, as paid directly to the Treasurers of their respective Funds. |