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Osaka, June 30th, 1881. There has been no period in the history of this Mission in which we have had so many proofs of the Lord's presence and blessing as during the six months that have elapsed since my return from Europe.

1. Since my return I have seen thirteen adults and two children admitted to the visible flock of Christ.+ It was no little joy to me on Christmas Day to stand at the font and see my colleague Evington baptize two men; one the fruit of his country itinerating work, the other an inquirer of much longer standing, whom, after a long probation, we finally decided to admit to the congregation of Christ's flock.

It was a still greater joy to me on Easter Day to receive two more, both of whom were preparing for baptism when Mr. Evington left us in February; and on Trinity Sunday eight more of longer or shorter standing as catechumens; and a fortnight later still another, more recent in his connexion with us, but we trust none the less sincere and earnest than the rest.

Of those baptized on Easter Day, one is the mother of Mr. Evington's domestic servant, who received the name of Martha. Her daughter was baptized in August last year, and now

+ Since this was written four more children have been baptized. They are all the children of those recently baptized.

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the mother, perhaps in some respect the spiritual daughter of her own child, has been received. The other is Mr. Yamashita, baptized Paul, custom-house officer, a part of whose duty is to patrol a defined district to prevent smuggling, in much the same way as the members of our coast-guard service at home. The Foreign Concession is within the limits of the district patrolled by such officers, and Yamashita was not unfrequently brought near our chapel, at the door of which he began to listen to that Word which was to bring light, joy, and even food to his soul. At that time his case was a very sorrowful one. His wife, to whom he had been married some ten years, and by whom he has three children, had been unfaithful to him, and had had to be divorced, though not before he had given her time and opportunity for repentance and amendment. It was in the bitterness of soul which this trial caused him, that the Gospel came to him as a message of hope and peace. His earthly hopes blasted, himself worse than a widower, and his children worse than motherless, he drank in with earnestness those truths which were for his true consolation. His New Testament, well worn and marked from reading and searching, shows how he has striven to know the way of the Lord. His love for the house and ordinances of God has been very marked. His duty does not leave him every Lord's Day free, but he

almost invariably contrives SO to arrange his hours of duty with his fellow-officers as to be present at every service and class. He was with me only last night, when we spent an hour together talking on portions of the Word of God in reference to which he sought instruction. May the Lord make him to grow and to become fruitful in every good work!

Of the eight baptized on Trinity Sunday, two are the wife and youngest son of Mr. Mikami, who was baptized by Mr. Evington last Christmas Day. Both have an intelligent acquaintance with the Gospel, the son a lad of nearly fourteen years, having been baptized on his own profession. He has shown the greatest earnestness and diligence in learning the truth. His young heart seems to have been moved to seek the Lord during a serious illness last year, when his life was despaired of. With such a clear knowledge of the Gospel, and such an earnest desire to profess the faith of Christ as he manifested, I felt it best to admit him on his own profession with the other seven. He received the name of Benjamin and his mother that of Rachel.

Two more of the number are Mr. Fukuyama and his wife, who were baptized as Matthias and Mary. They had long been desirous of baptism, and most likely would have been received on Easter Day, but as the husband had formerly been a great sake-drinker, and was said occasionally to manifest signs of excess, I felt it better to keep them waiting. I subsequently spoke to him. faithfully and lovingly about this his peculiar temptation, and the result was that he resolved, in God's strength, to give up even the moderate use of sake, and so remove himself, as far as possible, from his besetting sin. This man is a cow-keeper, and has a very good milk business.

Miss Oxlad's domestic servants, Mr. and Mrs. Kawasaki, baptized as Peter and Lydia, were another married pair of the party. They have come on slowly, but manifest an honest desire to learn of Christ and to follow Him.

Another man, Mr. Tanaka, who was baptized Philip, is a police constable on the Foreign Concession. He first heard the Gospel at Asada, a village frequently visited by Mr. Evington in former days, and he may be looked

upon as one of the fruits of Mr. Evington's country work. He has come on slowly, but is, I trust, truly on the Lord's side. He manifests much more earnestness than formerly, and will I trust, prove a true disciple of the Master.

The last of the eight baptized on Trinity Sunday is a young man who has shown much earnestness and diligence in learning the truth. He first came to us several months ago, when he was waiting for official employment. His great desire was to give almost all his time to the study of the Scriptures, as he felt that once in office his opportunities of learning would be much diminished. For some time he was almost a daily visitor, and after advancing to the point to ask for baptism, was introduced to the catechumens' class. The Lord has led him on both in knowledge and grace, and he will in time, we hope, make a useful man. His official duty in connexion with the police department in this city leaves him every other day free, and on these days he has been teaching for Mr. Pole, an arrangement which was made about the time that he obtained his official appointment. Mr. Pole likes him very much as a teacher, and will take him on altogether in a few days. He has taken the name of Barnabas. May he prove to be a large-hearted, good man, and full of the Holy Ghost!

I must not omit to mention the case of the young man baptized on Sunday last. He has been a somewhat wild and reckless youth, but the Lord has, we trust, laid hold of him, and he now seeks to walk in the footsteps of his Saviour. His case was before us when the eight were baptized on Trinity Sunday. So far as his knowledge was concerned he was ready for baptism then; nor did I doubt the sincerity of his motives in seeking to be united to the Lord's people; the great difficulty was the observance of the Lord's Day. His own mind was made up on the subject, but he was in a situation where he could not be sure of the Lord's Day rest. He was ready to throw up his situation with a view of removing the only obstacle that remained; but I urged him, as a first step, to confer with his employer, and seeking God's guidance in prayer to await the result. He acted upon my advice, and the Lord

granted him the desire of his heart. This employer, as I learned from another party, had been so impressed by the change wrought in him, and was so sensible of his value in the position he occupies, that he gladly consented to give him Sunday as a day of rest.

A knowledge of the antecedents of some of those recently baptized shows that the Native Church we gather is composed of elements very similar to some of the infant churches of apostolic times. How much more meaning does the mis

Then he refers to the ordinary work 2. The general aspect of the work looks more encouraging than at any former period. Our Sunday congregations are larger. We now look upon fifty as an average morning congregation; the average attendance for the past three months having been fifty-two. The afternoon Litany service followed by Bible-class and Sunday-school has been attended during the same period by an average of forty-four.

Preaching-place No. 1 shows least signs of improvement. The people do not seem to care to come right in; yet we often preach to as many as fifty who crowd inside the doorway and round the shop-front.

Preaching-place No. 2, which is rented by the Native Church from their own Missionary Fund, is progressing satis

factorily. Mr. and Mrs. Takayama, who were baptized by Mr. Evington last year, are now living there. Hearers are on the increase. Last Wednesday evening there were about thirty present, of whom about half were outsiders. When it is remembered that this place stands back from the street, and that most of the attendants come right in and sit down on the mats, we have every reason to be encouraged. No doubt the fact that Takayama and his wife are living there, has somewhat influenced the neighbours. Both in attendance at these meetings with a view to encouraging others to come in, as well as in other respects, our people show more signs of zeal and earnestness than at any previous time. Let us have your prayers that we may go forward.

3. I must say a few words in reference to work in the island of Shikoku, whither, as we humbly trust, the Lord has directed our steps, for the furtherance of His Kingdom. Shikoku is the smallest of the four principal islands of Japan. On its north-eastern coast, about sixty or seventy miles south-west of Osaka, is the large and important town of Tokushima-the capital of the prefecture of that name-which has a population of about 60,000. Mr. Evington went there last year, and had some opportunities of preaching the Word, and of conversing with many who came to him. The Greek Church has been working in the place for some time, and

has some adherents. It appears that those who are working in connexion with that Mission as Native agents are not altogether ordering their conversation as becometh the Gospel of Christ. This, coupled with what Mr. Evington must have said during his visit, led two men to break their connexion with the Greek Church, and to seek intercourse with us. Just before Mr. Evington left for England, about four months ago, one of these men came to ask us to go down and commence work there, promising to render us any assistance in their power. As there was evidently a desire to know more of the truth in its simplicity, I determined to send down

Aratani to spy out the land, and to do what he could towards commencing work there, if there appeared to be an opening. It so happened that Mr. Thomson, one of the agents of the National Bible Society of Scotland, came to Osaka at the very time, and he, too, was wishing to go across to Shikoku. They went together, and Aratani had the benefit of his counsel and advice. The result was that a room was rented for preaching, and work regularly commenced. In March I went down, and being satisfied with what I saw determined to continue the effort. On Monday the 13th inst. I started for a second visit. I spent six days there, and was much cheered by the evident signs of progress. Open preaching services were held on the evenings of Thursday the 16th and Saturday the 18th. The congregations were good and attentive. On the latter evening Aratani and myself had the privilege of addressing about fifty persons who came together. On the evenings of Wednesday the 15th and Friday the 17th, and again twice on Sunday the 19th, we met in the usual place for quiet services. A dozen came together on each occasion. The same number also met me, at the hotel where I was staying, on the Sunday evening for conversation, exhortation, and prayer. All that I saw at these gatherings showed that considerable progress had been made since my visit in March. Not only had I these opportunities of meeting the catechumens, and inquirers collectively, but amongst the most pleasant reminis cences of my short stay are the visits I paid at the homes of the people. Inouye, a photographer, and his wife, especially the latter, appear to be in good earnest in learning the way of God. They have each a New Testament and other Christian books which they have purchased, and there is no doubt that they are carefully read and thought over. Fukui, also a photographer, is another earnest and intelli

gent inquirer. He is married, and his father and mother and one of his sisters live in the same house. The elder Fukui has not advanced so far as his son, but light seems to be breaking in upon his mind. Mrs. Fukui, senior, seems to be quite at one with her son, and considerably in advance of her husband. I paid more than one visit to this family, and was privileged to direct their attention to many things in the written Word. All that passed on these occasions showed a deep thoughtfulness and earnest spirit of inquiry on the part of the younger Fukui, and a gradual advance towards the truth on the part of his parents.

My visit to Tokushima left a very favourable impression on my mind. There were, I felt, evident tokens of the grace of God, and I could not but be glad. The careful study of the Word of God in their homes, the interest they manifested in turning over their New Testaments as I spoke to them individually or addressed them collectively, and their unwillingness to allow me to proceed until they had found and verified a text quoted were amongst the encouraging signs of an earnest desire to know the truth on the part of the inquirers there. Souls brought in direct contact with God through His Word, and earnestly praying for the gift of the enlightening Spirit, cannot but be led on to know Him and the Saviour He has sent. Several have asked for baptism, and if they go on satisfactorily, as I trust and believe they will, I hope to visit them again soon and to admit them into the congregation of Christ's flock. For a time, at any rate, Aratani will be located there, and thus Tokushima may be regarded as the first Osaka out-station. The effort has been commenced with much prayer, and the whole Church here constantly intercede for our brother and those for whom he labours. I trust that those who are interested in this Mission will remember this work in their prayers.

4. Beyond the sphere of our own immediate work, there is much in the general progress of the Gospel in this

neighbourhood to make us thankful. Recently there have been several large meetings in theatres for the express