A STRANGE MISSIONARY LESSON.

OME missionaries went to a part of India, not long since, where no white man had ever before been. The people looked upon them as if they had come from another world. Generally, they were treated with kindness; but there was one place, where many Brahmins lived, and these men saw that if the poor Hindoos believed what the strangers taught them, their own gains would be destroyed. They therefore persuaded their people not to listen to their preaching. "But if," write the missionaries, "they would not hear our words, they were compelled to take a lesson from our boots." This you will think was a very strange way of teaching the truth; but it answered the purpose as you shall hear.

The Brahmins had made the people believe that their temple, and the large open court around it, were so holy, that if any person went in with shoes or sandals upon his feet, the blood would instantly stream from his nose and mouth, and he would drop down dead. No one, therefore, entered into the sacred place, or thought of doing so,

without first putting off his shoes. As the missionaries had not been there, they knew nothing of all this; and being curious to see the temple, walked boldly into it. But no sooner had they entered than a number of Brahmins ran quickly towards the spot, and began to threaten and curse them in a very violent manner. The Missionaries were not to be driven away by angry looks and empty words; they remained, therefore, and tried to show the Brahmins the falsehood and folly of their superstitions.

While this was going on, the people gathered together, and came as near as they dared. There they stood, with their necks stretched out, and their eyes fixed upon the Missionaries; for they all believed what the Brahmins had told them; and they expected every moment to see the men who had been so bold as to walk, with their shoes on, into the holy place, fall bleeding and dead to the ground. But they looked in vain. At first they wondered; and then, one after another, they began to doubt; until at length, when they became sure that no harm would happen to the strangers, they cried out, "Our Brahmins are all liars! They have fed us with nothing but lies! These men wear boots of cow leather. They have entered the court with them on, and they have suffered no harm!" Soon the whole of the large village was in an uproar, everybody was thinking and talking about the lies of the Brahmins. The Missionaries knew that this was the time for them to show the people the way of truth; the same evening, therefore, they met a great crowd of them, and preached to them the Gospel.

WANT OF MISSIONARIES IN AFRICA.

AT the recent annual meeting of the Church Missionary Society in London, the Rev. H. Townsend, missionary from Abbeokuta, thus describes the strong desire that is felt in these districts of Africa for missionary labourers :

We have, at the present time, vast openings for missionary exertion, and I must endeavour to bring these before your minds, that you may give us the help that we require. You are aware that we have several stations already formed-formed, we hope, upon a right basiscarried on, we hope, in a right manner, looking to our Saviour alone for aid. Beyond us there are vast towns; but let me first draw your attention to a small town that is nearer to us than Abbeokuta, one of those that were

destroyed by the slave wars, but was being rebuilt when I visited it with the late Dr. Irving. When we went there the chief said to us, "Sirs, I want to bring my people back again that are scattered about. They are coming back, but they are afraid; they are afraid that the Dahomies will again send them away; but if you white people will only come among us-if one of you will only come and dwell in the town, they will be assured of peace and safety; they will all return with confidence, knowing the protection that you can afford." Now, that town has never seen the face of a missionary since, that I am aware of. They are still waiting for that white man; they are still waiting for the messenger of peace, that is to bring peace and safety to their place. There is, again, beyond Abbeokuta, a town of about 20,000 people, called Tsein. I have been there twice. On my first visit, I was received by the chief with great pleasure; he showed me great kindness and attention, and all the hospitality and honour that a native chief can afford; and he said, "White man, I wish you to come and dwell in my place; I wish you to come and be my teacher, and the teacher of my people." I left him, and returned about twelve months after, and then I found that the Mohammedans of his town had threatened rebellion, because the chief had dared to receive a white Christian in his place; but the chief said, "You Mohammedans may rebel, but I will suppress the rebellion, and I will receive a white man whenever a white man will come to me." I asked from him a token that he really desired our presence. I asked him for a piece of land, on which to build a church and missionary premises, and he immediately said that I might choose what land I pleased, and he would grant it to me for that purpose, as an earnest that he desired us to come and teach his people. Again, there is a town called Agooja, or, as it is sometimes called, Oyo-the capital of the Yoruba country, and the residence of the King of the Yorubas. I visited the king, and earnestly entreated him to form a station in his place. Of late he has sent to the British Consul for a missionary, and our brethren there have been obliged to go to him a second time; and the king compelled Mr. Hinderer, who went, to leave behind one of his attendants as an earnest that a white man should be sent to him to teach him. also gave Mr. Hinderer one of the houses in the town, and a piece of ground on which to build another, whenever a person should come there. Again, there is a large country that has not been visited by any missionary, called Ijesha,

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away to the southward of Ibaden, containing 100,000, or, perhaps, 200,000 people. The King of Ijesha sent to my. self, and to my companion, Mr. Gollmer, a number of messengers with this message: "We beg you, in all kindness, to come to us; we desire to see you; we desire to receive you." We sent him back a message, to tell him that we really desired to come whenever an opportunity should be afforded us. But here a hindrance was placed in our way, in a manner that we scarcely contemplated. Some of the native chiefs, jealous that this distant chief should send to us, kidnapped the messengers on their way home. But while they thus attempted to mar our work, they gave us a push onwards; they gave us admission to the heart of the chief in a manner in which we could not otherwise have obtained it. They allowed us the privilege of liberating the messengers of purehasing the ransom of one, and sending him back to his own country, with this testimony, that though they would enslave, we would set free. At the same time I received a testimony of the goodwill of another chief, the chief of the town of Ijaye. One of the messengers broke out of prison, and ran to this chief of Ijaye, who, understanding that he was a messenger, sent him immediately to me, stating that he could not possibly detain a messenger that was sent to a white man; thus testifying his kindness and goodwill to us. But that distant country has not to this time been visited by any Christian instructor. There is, again, a town called Shaki, about one hundred and fifty miles, I suppose, from the coast, that we suppose to contain from thirty to forty thousand people. I went there, and was received by the people with the greatest joy. Thousands of people gathered around me, and whenever I opened my mouth to preach the Word to them, they seemed to listen with much attention and respect. I asked, "Do you want white men to come and teach you that which white men are delegated to teach ?" and their answer was, "Yes, we have heard of your doings at Abbeokuta, and we desire that you should come among us, and teach us as you have taught the people of Abbeokuta." I told them that I was about to return to this country, and they asked me to take this message with me. And now, dear Christian friends, the question rests with you. Shall I go back to Africa, and tell them that the people of England will not send them missionaries? Shall I tell them that in this vast country there are no young men able and willing to undertake the work? Shall I tell them that in this country, which is known throughout the

world as the richest country, there is not wealth enough to support missionaries. Oh! let not this be said; but rather let us go back full-full with the blessing God has given us. The more we go forward in our work, we shall have the way opened. We shall not only go through the Yoruba country, but across the Niger. There the people are waiting for the Gospel, which was promised them by missionaries that were in the expedition commanded by Captain Trotter, but the promise has not been fulfilled. You know that Mr Crowther, when he went with a subsequent expedition, was reminded of that promise by the natives themselves. Where," they said, "are the missionaries you promised us? Our eyes ache with looking, our hopes become faint with disappointed expectation of the promised blessing." And now, Christian friends, shall it be so, that the Niger, the Yoruba country, and the countries beyond, shall stretch out their hands to us for a blessing, and we deny it to them? Let it not be so; but let us go forward in the name of the Lord our God."

66

THE COLLIER BOY. '

"You all know," said an English gentleman, addressing some children who worked in the Yorkshire mines, "what it is to work down in the coal pits, for many of you spend your days in them. A short time since, a little fellow, not more than five or six years old, was brought before some gentlemen to be questioned about his work. They asked him his age; then what he had to do. He answered, that every day, from five in the morning till five in the evening, he sat without a light beside a little door in the dark coal passage, and when he heard one of the boxes come rumbling along, he opened the door by a piece of string which he held in his hand. He was asked whether he had any way of amusing himself. Once he had caught a mouse, and this was quite an event in his life. But his chief way of amusing himself, was by begging of every one who came through the door a piece of candle-end; and then when he had collected a sufficient number of pieces he lighted them all. 'Well,' said the gentlemen, and when you have got a light, what do you do?' 'Oh!' said the little fellow, 'when I gets a light I sings.'

"Now this is a simple story; but I want you to learn a lesson from it. We are met to day to think, hear, and learn, about the poor heathen in distant lands; and they are like this poor child in the coal pit. They live in dark