Three Christian Boys and their Letters.

REV. MYRON EELLS, S’KOKOMISH

Our hearts were gladdened, last Sabbath, by receiving into our Church three of the Indian school-boys, each of them supposed to be about thirteen years of age. We had kept them on a virtual probation for nearly a year, until I began to feel that to do so any longer would be an injury both to themselves and to others. Their conduct, especially towards their school-teacher, although not perfect, has been so uniformly Christian that those who were best acquainted with them felt the best satisfied in regard to their change of heart. Said a member of our Church of about fifty years’ Christian experience—who was not here much during the summer, and hence knew comparatively little about them—after hearing a full statement, “I wish that some of the white children whom we have received into the Church had given one half as good evidence of being Christians as these boys give.” And yet the Church was satisfied in regard to them. On religious subjects, they have been most free in communicating both to their teacher and myself by letter. I have thought that you might be interested in extracts from some of them, and hence send the following:

He wrote to his father the following, which I read to him:

The letter of another, to his Indian friends:

The letter of the other to me:

To his Indian friends:

DR. I. L. MAHAN, RED CLIFF, WIS.

The payment recently made to the Bois Forte Indians was one of the most pleasant and agreeable I have ever made. The Indians received me with a salute (of blank cartridges) fired from their guns. On each side of the team, as I passed through their camp, the Indian men, women and children were in line on each side of the road for a quarter of a mile, and such hurrahs and rejoicings I have seldom witnessed.

“CALIFORNIA CHINESE MISSION.”

Auxiliary to the American Missionary Association.

President: Rev. J. K. McLean, D. D. Vice-Presidents: Rev. A. L Stone, D. D., Thomas O. Wedderspoon, Esq., Rev. T. K. Noble, Hon. F. F. Low, Rev. I. E. Dwinell, D. D., Hon. Samuel Cross, Rev. S. H. Willey, D. D., Edward P. Flint, Esq., Rev. J. W. Hough, D. D., Jacob S. Taber, Esq.

Directors: Rev. George Moor, D. D., Hon. E. D. Sawyer, Rev. W. E. Ijams, James M. Haven, Esq., Rev. Joseph Rowell, E. P. Sanford, Esq., H. W. Severance, Esq.

Secretary: Rev. W. C. Pound. Treasurer: E. Palache, Esq.

The Chinese New Year—Mob Denunciations—The Great Commission Lessened—Conversions.

REV. W. C. POND, SAN FRANCISCO.

The Chinese New Year festival began Feb. 1st. It was observed for five days, the first three being “the great days of the feast.” As the Chinese excuse themselves from manual labor during those days, worship and business, and sociality absorb the time. At this festival, accounts must be squared, or, at any rate, brought to some settlement. Votive offerings, with the smoke of incense, abound in the temples—bribes with which good luck is purchased from their gods. The city authorities had forbidden the use of fire-crackers, greatly to the chagrin of the Joss-worshippers, but the din of the gongs was such that even an idol, it would seem, might almost be made to hear. For our Christian Chinese it was, first of all, a week of prayer. Not to be out-done even by their own former-selves, they began their meetings at eleven o’clock on the last night of the old year, and welcomed the new one in its first hours, with worship to Jesus, their new friend and Saviour. They say that it would be a shame, if they were not willing to give hours to Him, which, but for Him, they would still have been giving to senseless blocks of wood, or to pictures hung upon the wall. Each day there was more or less of time devoted to social worship, and the rest to friendly calls among the brethren of different missions, and the reception of calls from American friends, or else to the transaction of the annual business of their Association. The carefulness with which they attend to this business, might well be emulated by many a strong church. The amounts involved are small, of course, while the talk might seem superabundant to taciturn people like us; but the exactitude in accounts, the watchfulness against debts, the punctuality in their mutual settlements, if grafted into the working of many a church that I have known, would greatly help its peace and growth, and even its good name.

Santa Barbara, January 12th.

Mr. Pond:

Dear Sir—How is your health? I should be glad to have you to write me another report about you school. If you find any interest chapter I shall enjoy it if you will let me know. I cannot explain it which is the best of all [i.e. cannot tell which chapters are the best]. It seems to me very hard to understood the Bible. I wish I had more leisure for my study, or to follow you while I shall learn a great deal. I was very much troubled when I stayed on board ship; she had four Chinese besides me. There was nobody instructed in anything like the gospel. They thought it was dreadful to believe in Christ. It makes them swear, grumble, and smoke opium. They are walking in the way of destruction. I felt very sorry for them. I told them several times what we ought to do in this world while we live. They said they would never be afraid when they die where the soul would go. I presume they will do all things as they please. I left my place, and came on shore two weeks since. But I cannot find any situation yet, because it is very dull. Perhaps I will go to the city next year, and then I shall see you again. We do remember you when we pray; we would like you pray for us, too, if you please. Your sincerely,

Ah Jam, and the others.

A SICK BOY’S LETTER TO HIS TEACHER.

I thank you for the beautiful papers that you sent me. I read a piece in one they call “Glad Tidings.” It was about the dissipated father and the dying child. He was a bad man, and used bad languish, and cause his whole family to be miserable; and his little son would go to him and crawl up on his knee and tell him about the good God, and the tears would gush from his eye. The little boy said to his father: “Father, you are crying; what is the matter?” “I am afraid, my son, I am going to lose you—you are going to die.” “Well, father, I know I am going to die, but I am not afraid to die, for I will go to Jesus.”

I read that piece, and my little heart did feel so warm. I am trying to be a good boy, and pray to God that I may be a good boy. I am trying to be a better boy every day.

From your dear scholar,

M.T.

Montgomery, Ala.

LIVE IN GOD’S SUNSHINE.

“Well, Aunt Polly, here you are again on the doorsteps. It seems to me you almost live on them.”

Old Polly raised her faded eyes to the face of her friend, and, laughing, said:

“Yes, dear, dat’s jus’ so! Jim says ‘We mought build a house all doo’ steps and nothin’ else, fo’ granny, ’cause she lives dar an’ nowhar else.’”

“I suppose you like to see the people, and to hear the children prattle as they go by to school,” said the lady.

“Well, yes, I likes to see folks, ’cause my Fader up dar made ’em all; but it’s most fo’ de sunshine dat I stays out here. O, God’s sunshine’s a powerful blessin’, dear. When I’s cold I comes out and sits in it, and I grows warm; when I’s hungry, and Jim’s wife’s got nothin’ to eat, I comes out here and ’pears like I’d had my dinner; when I’s in pain, and ’scruciated all over wid de rheumatiz, I comes out into the sunshine, and de pain skulks off; when Jim don’t be good and ’pears like he was goin’ to ’struction, and my heart is bustin’ like, I comes out and sits in God’s sunshine, and peace comes through His beam into my soul; when old Death comes an’ star’s in my face, and say, ‘I comin’ arter ye soon, to take ye into de dark grave,’ den I comes out into God’s sunshine, and dares him to frighten my soul! Says I to him, ‘Ye hasn’t power in ye to throw one shadow on to my pillow; for my blessed Jesus, de Sun of Righteousness, He been down dar before me, and He left it full, heaped up and runnin’ over wid God’s sunshine. I shall rest sweet in dat warm place, for de eternal sunshine dat shall magnify and glorify all as loves de shinin’ Jesus.”

“Auntie,” said her friend, who always felt that she could sit at the feet of this humble saint and learn of Jesus, “that is very lovely. But there come days when there is no sunshine—when the clouds gather, and the rains fall, and the snows come, and the winds blow. What do you do then?”

“O la, honey, by de time de storms come, I’ve got my soul so full ob sunshine dat it lasts a heap o’ time. Dem times Jim scolds, and his poor wife’s ’scouraged, and de child’n are cross, and de stove smokes and de kittle won’t bile; but I never knows it. God’s sunshine is in my soul, and I tries to spread it round, and sometimes Jim’s wife feels it, and she says—oh, she’s a good daughter-in-law—‘Long’s I keeps close to granny, ’pears like my heart’s held up.’

“Well, well, dear, you can teach me somethin’, and ye can fetch me nice things to make mo’ sunshine; but I can teach you what ye never thought on—dat God’s sunshine’s ’nough for rich and poor, and dem dat thank Him for it, and sit in it, or work in it, and let it into dar heart, will soon go whar it’s all sunshine. Try to make folks live in God’s sunshine, and get it into dar hearts, honey.”—Intelligencer.

FOR FEBRUARY, 1878.

H. W. HUBBARD,

Ass’t Treas.