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Now all is a terrible blank; we cannot rejoice over these departed ones, neither can we ever again help and bless them; but millions remain, millions who are not ready, millions whom we might reach, who can listen, who can be taught, who can be led to Christ, who can believe in His love, be saved by His grace, and never come into condemnation. We who are among them, who meet them day by day, who see their unsatisfied cravings for something good and happy, who witness their helplessness and hopelessness in the hour of sickness and death, we pray and long for more fellow-labourers, we entreat those who can to 'come over and help us,' to enter with us into the homes of those now dead in ignorance and sin, and to be the instruments in God's hands of bringing to them a hope full of immortality, a hope that will carry them triumphantly through such seasons of desolation and sadness as this which we have now seen, and give them joyful participation in our blessed assurance. 'We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.'

AMRITSAR, Nov. 1881.

S. S. H.

R

Sowing and Reaping, or Labour in the Field.

Look on the Fields.-JOHN IV. 35.

EMEMBER the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said—' Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest.'

Yes, the injunction is His, and the following records show how white already to harvest are the fields He has given to us to sow and till for Him. Let us obediently follow the advice of our Lord, and, Look well into the details of the work, that we may know His further will, and do it.

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CENTRAL SCHOOL.

Government Grants for Normal School, Native Training Class, and Central

School,

Average yearly roll,.

MISS CONDON'S REPORT.

£252

90

'We closed last year with eleven pupils, two of whom passed out and began work-one at Jabalpur, the other at Chinsurah. The annual examinations, both Government and private, took place as usual in December. They were most satisfactory, and showed that good work had been done during the year. The Director of Public Instruction, who himself had examined the pupils in the English subjects, wrote to the head-mistress a very complimentary letter on their proficiency. This year we had eleven pupils in this class, but last month one of these had to leave in consequence of weak health. She was one of the senior girls, and would have gone in for her final examination in December Of our present number, five will (D.V.) pass out at the close of the year, and begin work in the Mission.'

next.

THE NATIVE TRAINING CLASS.

'This class also did very well at the annual examination, particularly in Scripture, and showed that good steady progress in the other subjects had been made during the year. Five passed the required standard, and are working at Jabalpur, Barrackpore, Calcutta, and Arndul. All these are converts, and, I am glad to say, are giving satisfaction in their work, walking steadily in the Christian life, and witnessing for Christ amongst their heathen country-women. One other convert left us for the Converts' Home at Barrackpore. She had been in the class for some months, but did not show much aptitude for study. There are at present ten in this class, four of whom can pass out at the end of the year if required for the work. They are nearly all the daughters of native Christians. We received one nice woman from the Converts' Home, who is studying very diligently, and will, I hope, be a very useful teacher.'

CENTRAL SCHOOL.

'This most interesting school for little native girls did very well last year. The roll average was over eighty, with good daily attendance; it has further increased this year; we have now up to ninety on the roll, with good daily attendance. They are making steady progress in the several classes, and I look forward to their passing as good an examination this year as they did last.'

These are scraps of information truly, but interesting to all, and especially so to those who realise that our Calcutta Normal School is our oldest established Institution, and that therefore a steady ongoing is its best report. 'The chances and changes' incident to all human and temporal affairs make themselves felt here as elsewhere, but so long as we can look up with assurance that the direction is in the Lord's keeping, and that He arranges and disarranges for the good of the work, so long all is well.

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For Zenanas: Hindu, 8. Names: Mary (1), Ujjallo, Fanny, Emily,

Shorno, Shoshi, Shunderi, Mary (2).
Mohammedan, 2: Koruna and Maryam.

For Schools: Hindu, 8. Names: Lokhimoni, Shurjamoni, Shodamini,
Carmini, Darmini, Khanto, Sarah, Ruth.

Native Female Hindu Teachers, 2: Anno and Nistarini.

Hindu Pundit, 1 : P. P. Mookerjee.

Bible-woman for Arndul, 1: Rachel.

ZENANAS. HINDU BRANCH.

Number of houses on roll, August 31st, 1881,

Average monthly roll number of houses for year,

Number of houses in which instruction has been given at all during the

year,

PUPILS.

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Number of pupils on roll, August 31st, 1881,

Average monthly roll number of pupils for year,

Number of pupils who have received instruction at all during the year,
Zenana fees received during year,

Number,

SCHOOLS.

Number of pupils on roll, August 31st, 1881,
Average monthly roll number for year,

Average daily attendance for year,

Fees from 3 schools (3 village schools free),
Government Grants for Zenanas and 4 schools,

III

116

182

Rs.789: 8, i.e. £78

6

259

256

164

Rs.160: 13, i.e.£16

Rs.1902, i.e. £190

N.B.-The schools are- Dirzieparah, Howrah, Barahnagur, Kashariparah, Arndul, and Bon-Hughli. Of these, Bon Hughli came under our care from the end of last year, before that time having been superintended from Agurparah; it was not included in the Calcutta report.

The C. M. S. Amherst Street Girls' School, which was included last year, is now left out, as it is now under the superintendence of Mrs. Blackett, C. M. S. Neither is the Central School included in the above, as it is superintended by Miss Condon.

1 Miss Gore has joined the staff for the Hindu work.
2 Miss Clara Fairbanks for the Mohammedan work.

In addition to the six schools mentioned above, Carmini's School at Howrah and one in Chorebagan, Calcutta, are visited once or twice a week, when Bible instruction is given, and needlework; these do not, however, belong to the C. E. Z. M. S. The average roll number of the two would be 75, with an average daily attendance of 50.

MISS HIGHTON'S REPORT.

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My word

'On considering the portion of work God has committed into our charge, one thing among others strikes me with special force, and the thought brings sadness with it for the present; but remembering promises such as shall not return unto me void," ," "Cast thy bread upon the waters, and thou shalt find it after many days," "The words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life," etc., the same thought cannot but be one of hope and joy for the future.

'The thought is this-How large a number of Bengali women and children know the great truths of the Bible; know of sin and the punishment for sin, of a just God, of a loving Father, of the Lord Jesus the Saviour from sin, of the Holy Spirit promised to those who ask; that is to say, they know all this intellectually in so far as, by God's grace, we have been enabled to teach faithfully. This thought brings sadness, because among these many, the hearts of apparently so few are so influenced by the knowledge as to believe in it, and to accept it, and to confess the Lord Christ as their own Saviour for time and for eternity. The thought brings hope and joy, because our God is faithful. He has given promise upon promise. His word cannot fail, and therefore the sower who goes forth bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. We do, however, earnestly and again yet more earnestly ask the believing, persevering prayers of God's people that many among those who know may be led by the Almighty Spirit to the foot of the Cross, there to hear the blessed words, "Go in peace, thy sins be forgiven thee," and there to receive grace and strength humbly to confess and joyfully to serve our Saviour God unto their lives' end. For all workers also earnest, believing, persevering prayer is needed, that we may be made faithful and wise to win souls to Christ.

We have had a solemn reminder during this year to do good unto all men while we have time, through one, and she the youngest, of our band of workers, having been called, after a very short illness, to enter into the presence of our Lord. Her time for service down here was short, but we trust that fruit may be found in That Day, and that hers may not be a starless crown. Miss B. Roy, who had before worked for us both in Calcutta and in Agurparah, was appointed to take up Miss E. Hubbard's work when she had passed away.

'Miss Roy has four days of Zenana teaching in Calcutta, and her fifth day is devoted to Bon-Hughli, where there are some Zenana pupils and the little school. I am sorry that, as last year so again now, I cannot speak of much progress in the latter, the teaching having been irregular on account of Sarah's (the native teacher) constant illness. There has also been a little opposition from some connected with two Brahmo schools in the neighbourhood, some of our children having been stopped in the road, and told that they would be taken forcibly to the Brahmo school if they persisted in attending ours. I do not, however, suppose that this interference was authorised by any one in authority, but was probably on account of some private quarrel, or it may have had something to do with the servants employed to take the girls to and from school, who are often paid according to the number of children they bring.

'The school at Bon-Hughli is held in the tiny church kindly lent us by the native Christians there, and they also give a small house rent-free for our teacher to live in. It is not desirable for several reasons that the children of a day-school should meet in a church, and Dr. Baumann, the C.M.S. superintending missionary of the station, is trying to raise money to build a sufficiently good room for a small village school; the Bishop of Calcutta has most kindly promised him Rs.100, and I have given Rs.25 from the Census Offering Fund. It is hoped that the remainder may be made up without any very long delay, as the building is so much needed.

'We were most grateful for the Rs.200 sent to us from the Census Offering Fund. With a portion of it we have bought several Bengali books suitable for lending to our pupils, and these we hope may prove to be useful to some. I will send a full account of the various ways in which this money has been used when the whole amount has been spent.

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In a severe storm we had last May the little room, lent us for so many years by Luchhey Babu for our school at Howrah, was entirely destroyed, and thus the new school, which was about beginning at that time, became a greater necessity than ever. From May until the middle of September we have been obliged to rent a room in a house near, which, fortunately for us, has been standing empty. Sufficient progress had been made with our new building for us to use it for a few days before our October holidays began. I am sorry, however, to have to report that it is not yet finished, though we hope that during this month (October 1881) it may be completed as far as it can be for the present. The grant from home of Rs.250 was a very great help to us, and it has been a disappointment to find that the estimated sum of Rs.800. will not, owing to a great rise in the price of materials and other causes, be nearly sufficient to finish the school properly. If, however, the parts left undone are really necessary we need not doubt but that the funds will be sent in some way or another, and if not really necessary, there is no reason why we should wish to have them. We are most thankful for the airy, roomy building which, through the kindness of many friends, both here and at home, we now can use in the place of that in which the children had to sit quite close to one another, with no space whatever for divisions into, much less for spaces between, classes.

'The school itself is, I feel sure, now likely to improve, as the two teachers, who have for so many years taught the children alone, have now the younger ones only under their charge, and the first and second classes are taught by a Pundit whose employment was sanctioned by our Local Committee on our getting a Government grant of Rs.12 per month for the school. The Pundit, being a Hindu, attends for a part of the day only, and the Scripture instruction is given to the whole school by the Christian teachers as before, and they also teach knitting, etc., to those who are old enough to learn.

'At Barahnagore, where Miss Humphreys and Mary visit once a week, the work both in the school and in the Zenanas has gone on steadily, and three or four pupils from the former, having attained the mature and marriageable age of ten or eleven, have been in consequence withdrawn from the school, and are now learning in their own homes. We are always thankful when we are thus able to follow up school children, for too often they move to far-off out-of-theway places; or, if they remain in the same place, are no longer allowed to be taught.

At Arndul the elder children are making good progress, and though the number of the school-roll has not been large (about 33), the average attendance has been better (in proportion to the roll number) than in most of our schools.

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