The American Missionary — Volume 39, No. 03, March, 1885
Chapter 1
The American Missionary
MARCH, 1885.
VOL. XXXIX. NO. 3.
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CONTENTS
PAGE.
EDITORIAL.
THE FIGURES--FINANCIAL 67 DEATH OF REV. G. D. PIKE, D. D. 68 PARAGRAPHS 69 TILLOTSON CHURCH--WORD TO MINISTERS 70 THE TEST APPLIED 71 RELIGIOUS CULTURE OF THE SLAVES BEFORE THE WAR 74 A TEACHER'S APPEAL 75
ADDRESS AT ANNUAL MEETING.
PREACHING THE MAIN FEATURE IN MISSIONARY WORK 76
THE SOUTH.
ITINERARY FROM AUSTIN TO CORPUS CHRISTI 79 VIEWS IN TEXAS 81 WEEK OF PRAYER 82 LETTER FROM STUDENT 84
THE CHINESE.
LOU QUONG AT HIS HOME IN CHINA 84 BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM WORSHIPING ANCESTORS (cut) 86
BUREAU OF WOMAN'S WORK.
WOMAN'S SOCIETIES 86 LETTER FROM LADY MISSIONARY 87 MONTHLY REPORT OF A TEACHER 88
CHILDREN'S PAGE.
VIC'S LILIES 88
RECEIPTS 89
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NEW YORK:
PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION.
Rooms, 56 Reade Street.
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Price 50 Cents a Year, in Advance.
Entered at the Post-Office at New York, N. Y., as second-class matter.
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American Missionary Association.
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PRESIDENT, Hon. WM. B. WASHBURN, LL. D., Mass.
_Vice-Presidents._
Rev. C. L. GOODELL, D. D., Mo. Rev. F. A. NOBLE, D. D., Ill. Rev. A. J. F. BEHRENDS, D. D., N. Y. Rev. ALEX. McKENZIE, D. D., Mass. Rev. D. O. MEARS, D. D., Mass.
_Corresponding Secretary._
Rev. M. E. STRIEBY, D. D., _56 Reade Street, N. Y._
_Assistant Corresponding Secretary._
Rev. JAMES POWELL, D. D., _56 Reade Street, N. Y._
_Treasurer._
H. W. HUBBARD, Esq., _56 Reade Street, N. Y._
_Auditors._
W. H. ROGERS, PETER McCARTEE.
_Executive Committee._
JOHN H. WASHBURN, Chairman. A. P. FOSTER, Secretary.
_For Three Years._
LYMAN ABBOTT. A. S. BARNES. J. R. DANFORTH. CLINTON B. FISK. A. P. FOSTER.
_For Two Years._
S. B. HALLIDAY. SAMUEL HOLMES. SAMUEL S. MARPLES. CHARLES L. MEAD. ELBERT B. MONROE.
_For One Year._
J. E. RANKIN. WM. H. WARD. J. L. WITHROW. JOHN H. WASHBURN. EDMUND L. CHAMPLIN.
_District Secretaries._
Rev. C. L. WOODWORTH, D. D., _21 Cong'l House, Boston_. Rev. CHARLES W. SHELTON, _112 West Washington Street, Chicago_.
_Field Officers._
Rev. J. E. ROY, D. D., _Field Superintendent_. Prof. ALBERT SALISBURY, _Superintendent of Education_.
_Bureau of Woman's Work._
_Secretary_, Miss D. E. EMERSON, _56 Reade Street, N. Y._
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COMMUNICATIONS
Relating to the work of the Association may be addressed to the Corresponding Secretary; those relating to the collecting fields, to the District Secretaries; letters for the "American Missionary," to the Editor, at the New York Office.
DONATIONS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
May be sent to H. W. Hubbard, Treasurer, 56 Reade Street, New York, or, when more convenient, to either of the Branch Offices, 21 Congregational House, Boston, Mass., or 113 West Washington Street, Chicago, Ill. A payment of thirty dollars at one time constitutes a Life Member.
FORM OF A BEQUEST.
"I BEQUEATH to my executor (or executors) the sum of ---- dollars, in trust, to pay the same in ---- days after my decease to the person who, when the same is payable, shall act as Treasurer of the 'American Missionary Association,' of New York City, to be applied, under the direction of the Executive Committee of the Association, to its charitable uses and purposes." The Will should be attested by three witnesses.
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_Advertisements._
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Below is a fac-simile of the Bottle of
THE GENUINE
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(SIZE REDUCED ONE FOURTH.)
SEE THAT THE STRIP OVER CORK IS UNBROKEN.
Frederick Brown, Philadelphia----Established 1822.
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CRAMPS, COLIC, STOMACH-ACHE, INDIGESTION, ETC.
* * * * *
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Found
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At Home
without it. As a liver medicine and general purifier of the blood, it has no equal." Mrs. A. B. Allen, Winterpock, Va., writes: "My youngest child, two years of age, was taken with Bowel Complaint, which we could not cure. We tried many remedies, but he continued to grow worse, and finally became so reduced in flesh that we could only move him upon a pillow. It was suggested by one of the doctors that Scrofula might be the cause of the trouble. We procured a bottle of
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Sold by all Druggists. Price $1; Six bottles, $5.
Prepared by Dr. J. C. Ayer & Co., Lowell, Mass., U. S. A.
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THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY.
VOL. XXXIX. MARCH, 1885. NO. 3.
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American Missionary Association.
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$365,000
NEEDED FOR THE CURRENT YEAR.
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Your Committee are convinced that not less than a THOUSAND DOLLARS a day are imperatively demanded to perfect the admirably organized plans of the Association, even for the present, to say nothing of the pressing needs of the early future.--
[FINANCE COMMITTEE'S REPORT ADOPTED BY ANNUAL MEETING AT SALEM.]
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THE FIGURES.
_Receipts:_ Col. & Don. Estates. Total.
Oct. 1, 1884, to Jan. 31, 1885 $66,078.97 $9,605.91 $75,684.88 Oct. 1, 1883, to Jan. 31, 1884 69,941.52 9,809.35 79,750.87 --------- --------- --------- Decrease $3,862.55 $203.44 $4,065.99
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Where the color-sergeant plants the standard, there the soldiers are expected to rally. The Finance Committee at the Salem meeting inscribed on the A. M. A. standard $365,000 needed for 1884-5, and called upon the churches to advance to the support. _The Figures_ showing receipts of our treasury indicate just how far the churches have come up in response to the call. Had we received the $1,000 a day recommended, our total receipts would be $123,000, as against the $75,684.88 now reported. Will not the captains of our church hosts rally the forces to an immediate advance? One-third of our fiscal year has already passed. The showing is not what we had hoped, but time enough remains to make up for the deficiency.
Will our friends please bear these things in mind?
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DEATH OF REV. G. D. PIKE, D. D.
In the death of Dr. Pike, which occurred in Hartford, Conn., Jan. 29, the American Missionary Association has lost a most earnest and successful worker. Repeated and protracted attacks of throat and lung troubles during the last two or three years, terminating in an illness that confined him to his room for three months, gave warning to his friends of the approach of death. But with the hopefulness peculiar to the disease, and especially characteristic of himself, he entertained almost to the last the expectation of recovery. Yet death had no terror; on the contrary, while he wished to live for the sake of his family and the Association, he personally welcomed death with the most joyful feelings.
Dr. Pike was born in Topsfield, Mass., Aug. 6, 1831, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1858, and from Andover Theological Seminary in 1861. He was ordained associate pastor with Rev. Austin Richards, D. D., of the Olive Street Congregational Church, Nashua, N. H., April 23, 1862, and remained in that position till May 1, 1865. He was acting pastor at East Hampton, Conn., from 1865 to 1867, and during the latter year he entered the service of the Association as agent, residing in Rochester, N. Y. In 1870 he became District Secretary, a position which he filled till his death, and to which he devoted the best energies of his life. His peculiar gifts fitted him for some special services. During the years 1872-4 he accompanied the Jubilee Singers in a tour through the United States and Great Britain. They were welcomed by the royal family and by the nobility, and by large and enthusiastic popular audiences. Their success, in its pecuniary results, finds a fitting monument in the substantial and commodious Jubilee Hall, at Nashville, Tenn.; and the untiring industry, the skill and tact and energy of Mr. Pike as business manager contributed in a large measure to this gratifying result. Before returning to America he made a rapid trip through Egypt and Palestine. In 1881 he assumed the editorship of the _American Missionary_, and brought to that service a degree of variety and breadth that gave a new impulse to the usefulness of the magazine. He devoted much thought and research to the condition of Africa, and became so well acquainted with it that editors of leading journals in this city and pastors of churches sometimes sought information from him in regard to it. He wrote two volumes on the History of the Jubilee Singers, which have had a very wide circulation.
Dr. Pike was eminently social and was blessed with unusual conversational powers, and gave to others and won from them to himself strong personal friendships. As a public speaker he was earnest, animated and eloquent, and was gladly welcomed in the pulpit and in the meetings of Associations and Conferences. His leading characteristic was that of an organizer. He was perpetually devising plans for active work and was diligent and untiring in his efforts to carry them out. He was a man of prayer and of faith in God, which sustained him in his constant labors, in his days of trial and in his sickness and death. At his own request his mortal remains rest in Nashua, the scene of his first pastorate, and his long sleep will be with those whom he loved. By the generosity of Mrs. O. A. Woodbury a portion of a cemetery lot was given for his burial, on which an expensive monument is erected, and on one face of which will be inscribed his name.
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Since writing the above we have learned that a special memorial service was held Sunday evening, February 1st, in the Chapel of Fisk University. This was in every way appropriate, in consequence of the intimate relations of Dr. Pike's life to the upbuilding of that institution. With considerable feeling, President Cravath referred to the fact that twenty years ago E. P. Smith, Dr. Pike and himself entered upon the work of the American Missionary Association, and that he was now left alone, adding that in the death of Brother Pike, Fisk University had lost one of its warmest friends.
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We notice the death of Mrs. Dr. L. B. Lane, of St. Charles, Ill. She died on the 14th of January last, at the age of sixty-two years. Mrs. Lane and her husband were ordained missionaries of the Am. Miss. Assoc. to Siam in 1848. They returned in 1855, since which time they have resided in this country. She was a good and true servant of Christ when in the foreign field and no less so in her own land. Her death came suddenly, but found her thoroughly prepared to go.
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Few men in this country have had more experience in addressing children, or greater success in winning them to Christ, than Rev. E. P. Hammond. The result of this experience he has condensed in an interesting and instructive little volume, entitled "Conversion of Children." It will prove helpful and encouraging to parents and interesting to children. We thank Mr. Hammond for the gift of fifty copies of his book, which we have distributed among our missionaries in the South, by whom they are appreciated and found useful in their work.
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Some time ago a Southern paper, in speaking of Dr. Roy, referred to him as a colored man. At the time we thought the writer was mistaken, but since looking over his itinerary, which our readers will find in another part of the magazine, we have been led to feel that we shall have to modify somewhat our opinion. The doctor himself explicitly declares that at one point in their journey he and his companions were all of the same color. At any rate he is not ashamed to call them _brethren_, and we may also add that they are not ashamed of him.
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The Tillotson, at Austin, Texas, has taken to itself a church organization. This was effected on the first Sabbath of the year--a very interesting occasion. Superintendent Roy and Rev. Jeremiah Porter, spending his second winter in Austin, were present to assist the pastor, Rev. J. H. Parr, who, with his wife, united in the organization. It consisted of twenty members, half of them teachers and half students. Principal W. L. Gordon and wife presented their two little children, born in the Institute, for baptism. Mr. Gordon and Mr. R. F. Ferrell, a student, were ordained as deacons by prayer and the laying on of hands. Mr. Porter offered the prayer of institution, and broke the bread at the communion table. This venerable servant of God had just passed his 80th birthday. His golden wedding will come next June. His multitude of friends will be glad to know that the United States Government, having put him upon the retired list as chaplain, is continuing his salary. Mrs. Porter is assisting the special missionary, Miss M. J. Adams, Professor Dean, and other teachers and scholars, in supporting two mission schools contiguous to the Institute. Miss Rose M. Kinney, a veteran in the service, is matron and preceptress. The Tillotson is moving on this year smoothly and successfully. A church in connection with these main chartered institutions is essential to their best Christian result.
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Just a word with our ministerial readers. The heavy mail that daily comes to this office brings us occasionally a letter with some such words as these: "I preached to my people last Sunday an A. M. A. sermon, and as a result I send you a contribution which is larger than the church ever gave this cause before." Exactly, brother; let the people know what is wanted and why it is wanted, and then let them have a chance to give and they will meet the responsibility every time. Another letter brings us this: "A few weeks ago I preached a sermon on the work of the A. M. A. My congregation were so deeply interested in what I said they requested my manuscript for publication. Thinking you might be interested I send you a copy of the published sermon." Exactly, again. We were interested, and long before we had finished reading the discourse we understood full well why the people were interested. Another letter: "The Missions of the A. M. A. occupied our attention last monthly concert. I gave a bird's eye view of the whole field and then selections were read from the papers and addresses given at Salem. By this time the brethren were quite ready to turn on the streams of their own thought. We found it difficult to bring the meeting to an end. It was a great success. I propose to follow it up." Again, exactly. Missionary information when properly brought forward will make a meeting that for interest cannot be surpassed. It is one of the strangest things in the world that so many people have gotten the impression that a missionary meeting must be dull, and that a missionary discourse must be uninteresting. It is an impression that ought not to exist. Let sermons be preached. Let the thrilling, soul-inspiring facts that go to make up the history of missions be made known and the impression will soon be driven out of existence.
Brethren, we invite you to glean in the great field of the American Missionary Association. There will be rich returns for you and your people and golden returns for us.
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THE TEST APPLIED.
When Berea College was started, in 1858, its students were all white. The following year the question was raised, "What if colored students should apply?" One teacher voiced the sentiment of all when he said, "If any one made in God's image comes to get knowledge which will enable him to understand the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, he cannot be rejected." The simple declaration of that sentiment had the effect to make most of the students leave at the end of the term, never to return. The John Brown raid, happening soon after, rendered the school still more unpopular, and the war following a little later, the school had to suspend altogether. But when the war ended and, in 1865, the college opened its doors again, there being no longer slavery, the question of color soon came up for consideration.
In one of the by-laws to the constitution of the college was this statement: "The object of this college shall be to furnish the facilities for a thorough education to all persons of good moral character." Three colored youths applied for admission. On examination they were found to be "persons of good moral character." There was only one thing to do. They were promptly admitted. What followed? There were at the time seventy-five students in the college, and we are told, "the morning that those three harmless youths walked in, half the school walked out."
But some one will say: "That was at the close of the war, when the feelings of our white brethren at the South were naturally very sensitive; that time, however, has passed away. We can now plant schools and churches on an anti-caste basis, with open doors and welcome hands for colored people, _if they choose to come_. No such exhibition of race prejudice would now be made." _Well, let us see._
For several years past we have had our attention turned to the terrible destitution of the people in the mountain region of Kentucky and places adjacent. Two years ago we sent a special missionary to labor among these people. He made his headquarters at Williamsburg, the county seat of Whitley County, Kentucky. The town was sixty-seven years old, yet it never had a church edifice; nor had the county, with a population of fourteen thousand, ever had a church edifice finished and dedicated to the worship of Almighty God. There were very few schools, and what few there were could not be considered schools by intelligent people. Our missionary went to work. The people heard him gladly. A new life came into their famished souls. They rallied round him. They built a beautiful church edifice. An academy, too, was erected; able and skilled teachers were put in charge. The missionary did not confine himself to the town merely. For miles up and down the valley he traveled, preaching as he went. Wherever he came the people were roused and steps taken to have churches and schools planted.
But the church and the academy above referred to must be dedicated. At the dedication this Association was represented by Assistant Corresponding Secretary Powell, by Field Superintendent Roy and by Rev. Dr. Wm. H. Ward, of the Executive Committee. And dedicated they were to the glory of God for the maintenance and spread of a _free_ gospel and Christian learning. Special emphasis was placed upon the fact that over the entrance to these temples was written, _Whosoever will may come_. Does some one ask why that was specially emphasized? Because we were in a country where popular sentiment said, Into white churches and white schools there was a certain class who, on account of the color of their skin, would not be admitted. When you are in a community that publicly indorses a wrong, silence regarding that wrong is complicity. Under such circumstances, to say nothing about it is the same thing as to sign your name to a document affirming the thing to be right. To dedicate a Christian church in New York City and say nothing about the evils of Mormonism would be nothing strange, but to dedicate a Christian church in Salt Lake City and be silent as to what the teaching and the practice of that church was to be in regard to polygamy would be _treason_ to the Gospel. We therefore made specially prominent at the dedication the broad principles on which our mission rested. Some said they were sorry to hear such things proclaimed; others said nothing, but feared; while a few said, That is right. It is just as it ought to be.