Foreign Mission J oubnal
£»uMInIic<1 Monthly l»y She Foreign MIhnIoh Uoairtl ot the Southern UiiSiti*t Convention.
“ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. GO YE , THEREFORE , AND TEACH ALL NATIONS .”
Vol. 12. — Now Series.
RICHMOND, VA., AUGUST, 1880.
No. 5.— Whole No. 125.
Г
Entered ut tlio l’ost-Olllco nt ltlclunonil, Vn.,
пн
second-
1 duns matter.]
FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL.
BATES PER ANNUM :
One copy . . . . . cle-
Pour copies null over, to one iiildroee, encli . 25 cl».
4S-I‘le»ee remit by Draft, Postal Order, or ill Heclstereil
I.etler. itud notify ns fuOMi-n.v of liny clmnco in nddress.
Address, FOUKIQN MISSION JOURNAL.
ItlClIMONO, YA.
FOREIGN MISSION BOARD
OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION,
I.OOATKU at RICHMOND, YIltOINIA.
l’UKKiDKNT — .T. I.. M. OUKHY.
Viok-I’kksiiikntk. — Hiram Woods, Aid., J. A. Hackett,
I,n„ W. II. Kiri!, Vn., H. II. McCiillnin, Fill,, T. II. Prlteli-
nrd, N. O.. J. b. llurrows, Ky., S. Henderson, Alabama,
W. l’ono Yeamnii, Mo., J. B. I.inlc, Texas, W. I.. Kilpatrick,
(la., J. U. Furman, S. O.. Malt. Hlilsmnu, Teun., T. 1*.
ВерУ,
Ark., M. I*. Dowry, Miss.
COlUIKfil-ONIII.VO SKCIIKTAUY— II. A. TUI’I’EK.
TuKAHimicu— .1, O. WILLIAMS-
Kkcoiiiiinu .SKCIIKTAUY— W.
И.
OWATHMEY.
AuniTOii— JOSEPH F. COTTRELL.
Волин
ok Mam.uikiik,— J. B. Hawthorne, J. H. Watkins, H.
K. Ellyson, W. K. Hatcher. E. Wortham, llenry McDonald,
W.doddln.H. H. Harris, .1. Bollard, Jr., J. W. Jones,
Л,
B.
Clarke, J. B. Winston, T. J. Evans, U. H. Winston, S. O.
Ulopton. _
£3
ТА
It communication s in reference to the business
of this hoard should be addressed to II. A.
Тиггкп,
Corresponding Secretary, Richmond, Pa.
РОНЫ
OP BEQUEST.
“I hereby give tintl bequeath unlo the Southern
Baptist Convention, funned In Augusta, Georgia,
in the month of May, IS-lo, ami chartered by the
Legislature of tile State of Georgia, by an act
passed and approved December 20th, 1S-15, (here,
insert the amount , if in money, or ‘ subject if
other projierly, either real or personal,) for Foreign
Missions.”
VISIT OF MISSIONARIES.
Richmond, with other places, has been favored
by visits of Mrs. M. T. Yates and Iter daughter,
Mrs. .). F. Seaman, and of Rev. RoseweU 11.
Graves. Of the former two let it be said that, of tlio
many delightful visits which ladles connected with
our missions have made to Richmond, none will he
remembered with more gratification titan that of
these noble women. In looking into the face of
Mrs. Yates the idea rises instinctively : “A
mother in Israel.” Otto remarked with regard to
her daughter, so natural, so easy, so intelligent :
“What a pity that all onr young women lmd not
lieen horn and retired In China ! ” Mrs. Yates
met the Women’s Missionary Society of Rich¬
mond, and recommended a medical missionary
woman for Shanghai. Where shall we find the
young woman doctor? What competent young
huly will enter upon the study of medicine for tills
Held? The Baptist women are expecting, after
the return of onr people to tlm city, the
pleasure of a visit from Mrs. Graves, who
was detained In Baltimore by sudden and do¬
mestic allllction, on the eve of starling with her
husband for Richmond. Brother Graves was
gladly received by the Board of Foreign Missions,
although tlic meeting fell on a national holiday,
and lie was appointed to represent the Board and
collect funds in several of our States. May Ills
greeting every where he as cordial as It was by the
llaptists of Richmond. The following is taken
from the Religious Herald of July Sth :
“A meeting of the Baptists of this city to wel¬
come our returned missionaries wus held Sunday
night at the Grace-Street Baptist church. Rev.
W. E. Ilatcher, D. D., presided. After reading
of the scriptures by Rev. E. Harrison and prayer
by Rev. .1. B. Hutson, Dr. II. A. Topper delivered
a touching and appropriate address of welcome,
to which brother Graves made a lltting responso.
lie reviewed tlic work in China during the twenty-
four years of his labors there, and mentioned many
Stirl ing incidents ol the power of the gospel upon
tlio hearts of the heathen. When lie began ills
work In Canton, there were in all China only GOO
converts to Christianity. Now they number more
than 18,000. He spoke in terms of highest praise
of tlio devotion of the Chinese Christian to the
cause of Christ. Great religious destitution still
exists among that people, there being only one
prenchor to every million of inhabitants. Dr.
Graves’ recital of the events ot Ills missionary life
aroused many hearts to a deeper interest in the
work of evangelizing China.
“At the conclusion of tlic remarks of brother
Graves, Drs. J. B. Hawthorne and
И.
McDonald
delivered eloquent addresses expressive of their
Interest in this great missionary enterprise of con¬
verting China to Christ. Dr. Ilatcher, before dis¬
missing tlic congregation, expressed the hope that
sonic hoy or girl present would give himself or
herself to the work of laboring for the conversion
of the three hundred millions of perishing Chi¬
nese.”
Should the visit of the wife and daughter of Dr.
Yates to our country stimulate some brother or
brethren to grant to this devoted man of God, who
lias done so much for our missions in China, the
desire of his heart, as expressed in the ensuing
petition to our Board, the visit will he blessed
Indeed.
“I have translated the gospel by John into the
dialect of this province, and carefully reviewed my
translation of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, which
is now ready for the press, but I have no Bible
money. I have written to the American Foreign
Bible Society and to the Bible Union, hut, although
L wrote more than a year ago, 1 have received
neither answer nor funds. Is it possible for you
to get me an appropriation— say $500 gold — for tlio
sacred scriptures, in which baptize is translated
immerse? If not, then I will have to sell some ol
my little property—; for I must have it. It is my
intention to continue devoting the forenoon of each
day to translations, till I complete the New Testa¬
ment in this dialect, for it will he long before the
Board can have another tnnn here who will have
sufllclcnt knowledge of the spoken language to do
such work.”
THREE CHINESE GIRLS.
Tlio following communication from the “Better
Half" of the venerable shepherd of the First Bap¬
tist church of Baltimore, receives new interest
from the presence in this country of Mrs. R. II.
Graves, our missionary to Canton, China:
A few years ago the Sunday-school of the First
Baptist chinch of tills city assumed the support
and education of throe Chinese girls, under tlic
tuition of Mrs. Dr. Graves, in Canton. One was
named Mary Wilson for that princess in Isreal,
Sirs. James Wilson ; one Lucrotla Clark, for the
beloved, generous Mrs. Nelson Clark, and the
other for one who is still living.
Mrs. Graves lias regularly given us Interesting
accounts of them— beautiful delineations of their
characters, most satisfactory evidence that they
had been renewed by the Holy Spirit, and en¬
couraging reports of their progress In study. Last
year one of them had learned nearly tlio whole
of the New Testament by rote, and a great num¬
ber of hymns. I quoto from a letter recently re¬
ceived from her :
“San Ling, by your kind cure, is ready to go
to work as soon as she Is married, and is betrothed
to one of our own members (“and educated in Dr.
Graves’ school,”) a bright young brother, who is
under training at Dr. Kerr’s hospital for a doctor.
It will he a blessing to have new stations opened,
and these young Christians prepared to go to work
intelligently to help and henetit both the bodies
and souls of their heathen neighbors.”
One, “Touil,” was married last November. I
think your readers will he Interested in Mrs.
Graves’ description of a Chinese wedding. “When
a Chinese girl leaves her home on the morning of
her marriage, it is to all intents and purposes leav¬
ing her family entirely, and becoming wholly
Identified with that of her husband. A heathen
women is not allowed even to mourn for her
father when he dies, because she is considered as
altogether the property of her husband and his
family. There is a decided change in this respect
in a Christian marriage.
Her husband is a member of the Lutheran con¬
gregation, and she was brought from her father’s
house to the German Mission chapel In a very gay,
grand looking chair, all covered with fine work in
klug-flshcr’s feathers and gold tinsel. Tills custom
of going in this elegantly decorated chair to the
husband’s home is the distinguishing feature be¬
tween the marriage of a wife and the taking of a
concubine, so that nt all respectable marriages, no
matter how poor the people, it seems to he an
essential for the hrldo to be taken to her husband
in such a chair. The bridal garments, which are
hired for the occasion, are entirely unlike onr
ideas of beauty or fitness.
She lias a silk skirt plaited in folds, falling quite
down so as just to show the embroidered border of
her full silk drawers. At intervals tlio skirt is cover¬
ed with stripes of embroidery. The color of the skirt
is a dark plum, embroidered in blue and white,
sometimes with yellow. Tlio upper dress, which
is loose and has Immensely wide sleeves, is of
scarlet, and handsomely trimmed with bands of
embroidery. The head gear is so extraordinary
and elaborate that I llnu it almost impossible to
give a correct idea of it. The hair was glided at
the hack and made to set out like wings partly
folded. On top of this was a brass frame or
mitre-shaped head dress, from which depended
strings of small pearls which hung over tlic face.
My pity was excited for the poor girl, thinking
how trying it must he to have such a weight upon
one’s head for so many hours.
After a simple religious ceremony, just like a
marriage ut home, we (the guests) were invited to
the house where the feast was celebrated. There
the Chinese customs began. First, the bride takes
round a waiter of tea and cakes, and bowing to
each guest, holding her largo sleeves so as to Wile
her face, presents each guest with a cup of tea,
making a low obeisance each time.- Then a num¬
ber of small round tables are brought out and
spread with dainties of all kinds, principally dif¬
ferent sorts of meat, in bright colored Chinn
howls. The meat is cut lip so that each person
can help themselves with chop-sticks without the
trouble of catting the food. There was goose,
chicken, duck, liam, pork, salt oysters, beclie do
mer, (something like mushroom in taste), and vari¬
ous sorts of vegetables, pickles, and sauces, wind¬
ing up with howls of rice. They have no sweets
at these feasts, and l suppose to people who most
of tlieir lives live mainly upon rice and vegetables,
this feast of meat is a great treat.
When this girl was betrothed her Intended hus¬
band promised that whenever we needed her to
teach a school, he Is bound to allow her to do It.
Miss Wlillden thinks of having her as teacher for
her Ilonam school across the river from Canton.
Shq will probably begin her work as teacher ut the
