INDIA. THANK OFFERINGS. BY MRS. EDWARD S. HUME. "WITH thanksgiving," the requests are to be made! Offerings of thanks to God every time we pray. These from our hearts and lips! But, as a dear Christian girl in India once said, “What is the use of saying and praying these things unless we do something?" Let us send our money to show that we are thankful to give something when we pray! The rules for the Israelites in their thank offerings were,-first, that they must be mixed with fine oil, or leavened; and second, that they must immediately be put to use. The prophet Amos, in giving the above laws when urging the Jews to return to their duty, tries to persuade them to bring their sacrifices "every morning," "tithes every three days,"" and an offering of thanksgiving?" Were the Jews, then, if they lived up to their privi leges, to do all these things, with less multiplied "benefits" and mercies than we have to-day? Christ had not come. The blessings of his kingdom as they must abound to every Christian since his coming, were not theirs. And yet it was to them a rule and a law that they were to give and to bring, besides their customary sacrifices and tithes, "offerings of first fruits” and voluntary offerings of thanks unto God! A converted Jew in Bombay, after being received to the native Christian Church there, brought two dear little lads, his sons Joseph and Benjamin, to place them in the Mission School. We noticed that the elder boy had long hair, as gracefully knotted at the back as a woman's could have been. It was abundant, and plainly had never been cut. When we remarked it, the father replied, "That is for God; I must now give it to the Christian church instead of to the synagogue.” "How?" we asked. "Why," replied Isaac, "do you not know the custom of the Jews? When a son is given us, we are so happy and thankful that we give his hair to God. We take the boy to the synagogue and vow not to cut his hair until after he is seven years of age. The mother takes great pains to make the hair grow long and beautiful, and always takes the best of care of it, so that it shall weigh much. Then when the boy is seven years of age, if well, he is taken to the synagogue; the hair is cut and weighed, with silver coins in the opposite balance. The weight of the hair in these coins is given to the priest as an offering of thanks.” And when the right time came Isaac fulfilled his pledge to the Bombay Christian church; giving the weight of little Joseph's hair, about four dollars in silver, to God's work. A native in Southern India gave vent to his overpowering gratitude at the coming of an American minister to his village on a tour, by giving him a bright silver rupee (a forty-cent coin). This was fully one half of what that man could earn as a day laborer in a month! But he "gave of necessity"; for the feeling of God's goodness in letting an American Christian, a very "Messenger of God," go so far and in safety to see Christ's work in his out-of-the-way home, seemed to demand giving as the only appropriate action in return. It seems to be of necessity that when the heart is full of gratitude spontaneous thanks come "with" giving! A native ayah (nurse), also a member of the Bombay church, once came to the missionary with a large chandelier as a gift for the church. Inquiry revealed the following facts. The woman, since becoming a Christian, had been terribly abused by her cruel husband, who was himself a nominal Christian. Later on she had the opportunity of going to England with a lady. The offer was a remunerative one, and would help her to educate her one boy, if she accepted of it. Her dread of the ocean and the return voyage without her mistress, made her hesitate for a little, but gratitude to God for opening up a new path before her enabled her to brave all danger; and, with her thankful heart, she made a pledge to give to God a thank offering, should she be permitted safely to return to India. The voyages to England and back had been accomplished, when she came with the beautiful large, crystal chandelier, to be hung in the center of the church, a grateful testimony to God's unfailing goodness to her for two whole months. Another woman was laid low with fever. For months it seemed as though no nursing would restore her. One day, however, as strength seemed returning, she called her husband and said that her gratitude to God for his great and wonderful care of her must prove itself by giving something valuable to the Lord. She then reminded her husband of an expensive pair of gold bracelets which a wealthy Hindu relative had given her when she was married. She thought that she, as a Christian, had better not wear them, and as they were rare and heavy, they would bring in a goodly sum. And the dear woman persuaded her husband to go and sell the pair. The money was equally divided, and the price of one bracelet went for the erection of a small dormitory for the Theological Seminary in Ahmednagar; that of the other was given toward the needy work in distant Lalitpur. The gratitude, the thanks, to be coupled with giving! Giving of our substance because we love to show our remembrance of Him who "giveth us all things richly." In Bandora, in Western India, there is a large following of Roman Catholics, who have an immense cathedral there. In this cathe dral there is a large image of the Bambino (the Holy Child). This image is said by the priests to be possessed of great healing power, so that miserable ones of every race come annually before it and vow certain offerings of thanks, provided their diseased children or relatives are restored to health. One incident connected with a low-caste servant became known to us. The poor man had an only son, an infant, who was taken very ill. He thought of one device and another by which the boy might be restored to health. At length some one suggested the taking of the child to the Bambino It was done. The little boy soon became well; so much to the delight of his father that he felt impelled to take an offering of thanks to the image who had heard his prayer. He soon decided that he must make it a hen,—every year son. an annual hen,-to show his gratitude to the image for the restored life of his Year by year that poor servant takes his gift, and at all costs goes to the Roman Catholic Cathedral,-although a Hindu,-in order that the God who blessed him shall, through the offering, be assured of his thanks. It seems to be the impulse of every devout mind to give thanks, and with the thanks to give an offering. The psalmist frequently pledges himself, to "sacrifice," or to "offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto God." The heathen do it. If an idol is supposed to have helped them, the day never passes on which that idol is not honored with offerings of grateful adoration, and with sacrifices which vary from the smallest coin to the giving of sheep and oxen, yea, even to the sacrifice of their girls. Love instills the thoughts of giving and of doing. Can anyone conceive of a newly betrothed couple, happy in each other's love, without the longing desire in each to give to the other all that it is possible to bring? Not only things small and large are one's offerings then,-yet how gladly these follow each other, but all one has and all one is seem nothing in return for the earnest love of a true and noble man or woman! The gratitude for it must make itself known in the one way of giving, and in always giving. Is it any marvel, then, that the apostle would have us recognize the same principle in connection with our love to Christ? Will it not be our first impulse, then, to bring an offering of thanks with giving of such as we have, yea, even of all we have, to Him who hath loved us? The bringing of gifts to Him will be an easy task if we can only truly love him, and remember "how he loves." THERE are those who can say :— God's thought for me held, "waiting for the coming of my feet, PERILS BY SEA IN MICRONESIA. PERILS BY SEA IN MICRONESIA. 355 The following extract from Mrs. Rand's journal will give an idea of some of the difficulties of missionary work in Micronesia. Mrs. Rand had been visiting Mwot, on the Island of Kusaie, and describes her return to the Morning Star from the Island. JANUARY 30, 1891. ABOUT five o'clock in the evening we left the friends to return to the Star. She was expected to sail the next day, and we wanted to get settled that night. Mr. Channon's boys were to take us out in his large canoe ; but when we reached the beach we found the tide was too low for the canoe to float. Mr. C. had a small canoe which held only two: one of us could go in that ; but what about the other? (Ida had returned to Lela in the morning.) While thinking what was best to do, a Kusaian was seen passing in a canoe. One of the boys called, and asked him if he would take Mr. Rand or me off to the Star. He replied that he was on his way there, and would be glad to do so. It was decided that I should go with him, and Mr. Rand with Mr. Channon's boy. Well, we got started finally, and for awhile we had no trouble; but the water was getting more and more shallow, and at last the man was obliged to jump out and drag the canoe along. I think he must have walked a mile and a half; occasionally we would reach a place where the water was deeper; then he would get back into the canoe. As darkness came on he found it difficult to pick his way. I felt sorry, and told him I would not have come if I had known how hard it was going to be for him. "Oh," he said, "I am very glad you came; this is what Christians should do for one another." We thought the worst part of our journey was over when we got away from the reef, and into deep water; but the wind commenced to blow hard, and the canoe began to leak: it had evidently been injured by the coral stones. With only one man to paddle and bail the canoe we gained but little. "You must sit very still," my man said, "or the canoe he capsize." I knew this, and had been sitting perfectly still. I was now afraid to breathe. It seemed to me that the wind was taking us out toward the breakers, and I begged the man to go back to the reef; but it was so dark he could not find it. I was getting a little nervous, and called to Mr. Rand, whose canoe we saw way behind us at sunset. There was no answer. I waited a little and called again; this time came back the answer, "I am coming." We found the flats at last, and soon Mr. Rand was along side of us, and then we held a council of war. The Kusaian said it was not safe for me to go any farther in his canoe,-I had come to that conclusion long before,—and Mr. Rand's canoe would not hold another. The only thing to be done was for me to stay where I was, and for Mr. Rand to push on to the Star and get the captain to send the boat for me. As long as we were not in deep water I was willing to wait hours if necessary; so off they started. The time did not drag we talked and we sang. I think an hour or so passed, when we heard some one call, "Where are you?" and we knew that they were coming. We could see nothing in the darkness, and it was quite a little while before we could make them understand where we were; the wind brought what they said to us, but did not take our answers back to them. We had just seen a little dark object coming toward us, when we heard some one say, "We can go no farther; we're aground." My man tried to move our canoe, but found that we, too, were stuck fast. I was thinking about jumping into the water and walking to the boat, when Mr. Rand appeared; he and the native carried me to the boat, where were the captain and two sailors. In the course of time we reached the Star. EUROPEAN TURKEY. REPORT OF THE BIBLE WOMEN. BY MISS E. M. STONE. Miss Stone, although temporarily stationed at the school at Samokov the past year, has also a measure of superintendence of the Bible women. We make the following extracts from the report just received: EMERSON says truly, "The world is all gates; all opportunities; strings of tension, waiting to be struck." Such during the past year has seemed life as viewed from the position afforded to one looking in upon young lives in the Samokov Girls' School, in preparation for their life work; looking out also upon the lives of those who, prepared more or less fully in that school, have entered upon their life work. The self-sustaining, and to a great extent the self-directing, power of the Bible work has been illustrated the past year. School cares proved so engrossing that we found opportunity for but two short tours, so that the present report consists in the main of references to the letters of the workers themselves, or of the testimony of others who have visited among them of late. . . . In Merichleri there is a young teacher who only last June graduated from the Samokov Girls' School. Her spirit of consecration reminds us of the pledge of a young Indiana Christian Endeavorer, who wrote: "I will go where you want me to go, Lord, I will say what you want me to say, Lord; A few days since, this young teacher wrote that, although at the beginning of the school year the trustees of the large village school, of which she is the |