MANY Christians have to endure the solitude of unnoticed labour. They are serving God in a way which is exceedingly useful, but not at all noticeable. How very sweet to many workers are those little corners of the newspapers and magazines which describe their labours and successes; yet some who are doing what God will think a great deal more of at the last, never saw their names in print. Yonder beloved brother is plodding away in a little country village; nobody knows anything about him, but he is bringing souls to God. Unknown to fame, the angels are acquainted with him, and a few precious ones whom he has led to Jesus, know him well. Perhaps yonder sister has a little class in the Sunday-school; there is nothing striking in her or in her class; nobody thinks of her as a very remarkable worker; she is a flower that blooms almost unseen, but she is none the less fragrant. There is a Bible-woman; she is mentioned in the report as making so many visits a week, but nobody discovers all that she is doing for the poor and needy, and how many are saved in the Lord through her instrumentality. Hundreds of God's dear servants are serving Him without the encouragement of men's approving eye, yet they are not alone-the Father is with them. Never mind where you work; care more about how you work. Never mind who sees, if God approves. If He smiles, be content. We cannot be always sure when we are most useful. It is not the acreage you sow, it is the multiplication which God gives to the seed, which will make us the harvest. You have less to do with being successful than being faithful. Your main comfort is that in your labour you are not alone; for God, the Eternal One, who guides the

marches of the stars, is with you.— C. H. Spurgeon.

DID you never see a person whose coming into a room was like the bringing of a lamp there? Did you never see a person whose mere presence made the whole room shine, as it were? You cannot analyze nor understand the power which such a person exerts on you. It is not intellectual. It is a mysterious influence which emanates from him, so to speak. There are persons the

mention of whose names awakens in you feelings which nothing else does. Their lives are so radiant, so genial, so kind, so pleasure-bearing, that you instinctively feel, in their presence, that they do you good. It seems to you wholesome to breathe the atmosphere where they are. Their influence seems to you like the perfume of flowers in a garden. There are persons who are so genial, so gentle, so forth-putting in the direction of purity and gentleness and love, that you have not the slightest doubt of their being Christians. Have you never known per sons of whom you have said, "I do not want any other definition of a Christian than that which I see in him" ? He is an orphan who, having lived forty years, cannot lay his finger on any one, and say, "He gives me my idea of goodness." Blessed be God, I know a great many!"-Beecher.

I was in the act of kneeling down before the Lord my God, when a little bird, in the lightest freest humour, came and perched near my window, and thus preached to me, all the while hopping about from spray to spray: "O thou look on me, and learn something; if not the deepest lesson, then a true one. Thy God made me; and if

grave

man!

thou canst conceive it, loves me and cares for me. Thou studiest Him in great problems which oppress and confound thee; thou losest sight of one-half of His ways. Learn to

see thy God, not in great mysteries only, but in me also. His burden on me is light, His yoke on me is easy; but thou makest burdens and yokes for thyself which are very grievous to be borne. I advise thee, not only to see God in little things; but to see little, cheerful, sportive things in God, as well as great, solemn, awful things. Things deep as

hell and high as heaven thou considerest overmuch; but thou dost not consider the lilies sufficiently; Every priest should put by his awful robes, etc., sometimes, and go free. If thou couldst be as a lily before God for at least one hour in the twenty-four, it would do thee good; I mean, if thou couldst cease to will and to think, and be only. Consider, the lily is as really from God as thou art, and is a figure of something in Him, the like of which should also be in thee.-John Pulsford.

WE do not think we can do better this month than present our readers withthe following incidents from the recently received reports of two of our missionaries in Ceylon, viz., Messrs. Waldock and Pigott, labouring in what is called the Colombo district. Mr. Waldock reports that in Welgama, a station under native preachers, the congregations are good, and a girls' school is about to be opened, which, it is hoped, will prove a blessing. One candidate for baptism attributes her conversion to the preaching of the native evangelist.

Mr. Waldock says, "At a conversation I lately had with her, she so simply and feelingly described how under one of his sermons she had been overpowered by a sense of the sinfulness of sin and the love of Christ, that I could not doubt the reality of her change of heart; and I believe we shall shortly have the joy of witnessing her baptism at a spot made sacred by frequent administration of the rite by Mr. Daniels, whom the people still never weary of speaking about."

Of Makawitte, where Mr. C. Pieris, a native preacher, is at work, Mr. Waldock says: "In Makawitte itself we have had some cause for en

couragement; but in the sub-stations many of the members are wanting in consistency and activity. A new schoolroom has been built, and the school has passed the Government examination very creditably. Some of the boys, we have reason to believe, though their parents are stolid Buddhists, have become convinced of the truth of Christianity, and are beginning to show its influence on their lives. The teacher is a simple-hearted pious man, ever ready to lend a hand in evangelistic work. He has lately been engaged in a controversy with some of the Buddhists in the neighbourhood." Of this, Mr. Pieris says: "In the month of September, Alwis Gurenause, the teacher of the Makawitte school, was called by four priests to Gallipansale (Buddhist temple), on a festival day, and asked: 'What made you give up Buddhism, since the majority in the village are Buddhists?' Gurenause answered: 'A few years ago I felt that I was a sinner, and sought salvation in Buddhism, but did not succeed; but I sought it in Christianity, and there I found it to my satisfaction, and surrendered my heart to Jesus Christ; and am now enjoying that peace of God which passes all un

derstanding. Sirs, if you also will believe that Jesus to be your only Saviour, you will enjoy the same as I do.' When I was at Makawitte, I found that the discussion was being continued in writing. Let us trust that it may lead some to that seeking which is sure to end in finding."

Mr. Pieris also mentions a case in which, a few months back, a woman who had been a Buddhist having begun to attend the chapel, the priest on discovering it went to dissuade her from doing so, and reviled Christianity right and left. The poor woman answered him more acutely than he had anticipated; so, turning to a man who stood by, he exclaimed, "My dear man, this woman argues with me after hearing a few sermons preached! If she attends some days more, to what end will she come ?" She continues to attend the services,

At Walpold, the girls' school, which is a light amidst gross Buddhist darkness, is getting on well, and has passed the Government examination. A new schoolroom is being put up on an eligible piece of ground given by one of the parents of the children, the present place being far too small.

Mr. Pieris says that a young woman at this village who belongs to a most thoroughly Buddhist and benighted family, and who does not even know how to read, happened to hear, a few months ago, of the absurdity of believing Buddhism, and that salvation is to be received only from Jesus Christ; and ever since has rejected everything that she had been doing in connection with her former faith, and is very happy to hear the gospel preached. "Notwithstanding her parents threatened to beat her if she set a foot towards a Christian service, she takes opportunities to come and hear me preach at Makawitte, which is four miles distant from her village. The other

day, on a visit of mine to Walpold, I asked her if she knew Jesus Christ; she readily answered me, 'Yes, I do; He is my Saviour.'

Gonawala. This has been a year of severe trial to the Church here. "About the middle of the year, discoveries were made which led us to the painful conclusion that the preacher was unworthy of our con fidence. He was therefore sus pended, and by the direction of the Committee at home, dismissed. Though such a circumstance could but grieve and agitate the Church, there was a unanimity and prudence displayed which, by God's blessing, have averted the serious consequences which were to be feared. I removed S. G. Ratmayeke from Welgama to this place; and in ac cordance with the wish of the people, undertook myself for a time their chief pastoral oversight. I am thankful to say that present appear ances warrant hope of extension and prosperity. The present chapel being altogether unsuitable for a Church which now numbers more than one hundred members, we have begun the erection of a new one, which I hope will be finished long before our next annual report has to be given. The people have subscribed liberally towards this object, two giving £25 each, and those who are too poor to give money, are to give in labour. I have seldom seen a more cheering sight than that displayed when we laid the foundation-stone a few weeks ago. More than thirty of the members, young and old, met together and soon completed with enthusiastic energy the task, which was evidently a very joyous one. The sight inspired hope for the future. The people themselves are responsible for more than £100, and the balance required, I confidently hope to get without asking help from home.

"The boys' school which, through the energy of the teachers, stands high among vernacular schools,

assed the Government examination most creditably. At the beginning of the year the teacher put up a schoolroom on land of his at Syambalape, a village several miles distant, among a heathen population; and though at the commencement most of the boys knew absolutely nothing, their improvement has been so satisfactory that in December the school passed the Government examinations well. Since the establishment of the girls' and boys' school at Gonawala, more than seventy of the scholars have become members of the Church.

"The total number of baptisms at these stations during the year has been ten. The total sum contributed to the Missionary Society has been £40 08. 7 d., this being nearly onehalf more than the receipts from the same places in 1870.

"Of the nine schools under my supervision, seven have been presented for examination by the Government Inspector, and have gained the number of 96 per cent. of passes; while 90 per cent. is all that is required to constitute them very good schools. This result is the more pleasing, as it evinces considerable improvement as well as efficiency; and is enhanced

by the fact that many of our scholars receive little or no encouragement from their parents to attend school, and are often kept away to engage in field labour.

"I confess to a very strong and growing conviction of the importance of schools if we would Christianize the masses of the people, and of the imperative duty of availing ourselves to the utmost extent of the pecuniary aid now offered by Government, which, while it facilitates our operations, in no way embarrasses them. In particular, good schools for girls are needed. Here, the difficulty has been to secure efficient teachers; but this we are trying to remove by making our boarding-school as far as possible a training institution.

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"With teachers of real piety we shall have Sunday-schools all the week; and though they will by no means supersede direct evangelistic work, they will greatly help to 'prepare the way of the Lord." But on all hands we need more spiritual power and blessing. May our brethren at home ever remember that according to their faith it will be done to us who are their agents and their care."

C. B.

NEWS OF THE

It may be interesting to some of our readers to be informed that, at the thanksgiving service, which was held in St. Paul's Cathedral on the 27th of February, the following representatives of the Baptist Union were present:-Rev. C. M. Birrell, chairman; Revs. Dr. Steane and J. H. Millard, B.A., secretaries; Dr. E. B. Underhill; Revs. J. H. Hinton, M.A.; J. P. Mursell, Leicester; C. Stovel; Dr. Price, Aberdare; S.H. Booth; T.M. Morris, Ipswich; J.T. Wigner; W. Sampson, Folkestone; W. Walters, Birmingham:

CHURCHES.

Evan Edwards, Torquay; F. Tucker, B.A.; W. G. Lewis; Dr. Brock; D. Jones, B.A.; J. Benham, Esq.; R. Grace, Esq.; J. Templeton, Esq. The Rev. Dr. Angus and others went in other capacities; and, in addition to these brethren, the officers and committee of the London Baptist Board, and delegates from the Protestant Dissenting Deputies were also present. We believe that this is the first time that, on the occasion of such a service, the representatives of Nonconformity have been recognised.

We have pleasure in calling attention to the formation of a society in Birmingham, consisting of the young men of the Baptist congregations there, for the extension of the missionary spirit, and for the support of missionary enterprise. For some time it has been felt that the interest which young men take in this branch of Christian work is not so great as as it should be, and that the pecuniary support they afford is very small. To endeavour to remedy this state of things in Birmingham, a society has been formed whose commitee consists of five representative members from each Baptist congregation in the town. Members of the society are enrolled upon payment of one shilling annually; and it is proposed to hold frequent meetings of the members and to publish a small magazine quarterly; and by Sundayschool addresses and other means to endeavour to arouse a greater enthusiasm for the work. It will be seen that the scheme is intended to be auxiliary to the Baptist Missionary Society, but it is proposed to take up some special work and carry it through. The society has already a subscription list of £120, and the first work taken in hand will be the education of children of native Christian parents in India, upon the plan now in operation at the Bungalow school at Serampore, the large extension of which was so warmly advocated by Mr. Goolzar Shah during his recent visit to this country. We commend this example to young men in other towns; and any information they may want in order to start similar societies in their own districts may be obtained from the secretary, Mr. J. Morgan, 37, Waterloo Street, Birmingham.

A new chapel has been opened at Enfield Highway, London, for the ministry of the Rev. C. Walsh.-The

old chapel at Broadmead, Br under the ministry of the Rev. Gange, has been re-opened, considerable alteration and enl ment.-A new chapel, called East London Tabernacle, has opened at Stepney, near Lor for the ministry of the Rev.. Brown. It contains sitting 1 for nearly two thousand five hun persons, and has been erected cost of about twelve thous pounds.

The Rev. H. E. Stone has publicly recognised as the pasto the church at Arthur Street, Ki Cross, London.-The Rev. H. D has been recognised as the past the church at Milnsbridge, E dersfield. The Rev. B. Dickens, of Edenbridge, has been recogn as the pastor of the church at N ton and Guiting, Gloucestershir

The following reports of MINIST IAL CHANGES have reached us si our last issue:-The Rev. W. Dr of King Street, Wigan, to Bratt Wilts; the Rev. T. Whatley, of Metropolitan Tabernacle College Weston-super-Mare, Somerset; Rev. J. Charter, of West Hartlep Durham, to Brough, Great As and Winton, Westmoreland; the R E. Evans, of Pontypool College, Hirwain, Glamorganshire; the R J. Williams, Pennar, Pembroke Do to Evanjobb, New Radnor, Glastry, Radnorshire. The Rev. J Hagen has resigned the pastorate the church in Soho Street, Liverp The Rev. F. B. Meyer, B.A., has signed his position as assoc pastor with the Rev. C. M. Bir at Pembroke chapel, Liverpool. Rev. J. Manning has resigned pastorate at St. John's Hill, Shre bury. The Rev. G. Whitehead announced his intention of resign the pastorate of the church at R erham.