AFRICA.

CAFFRARIA.

A Church-opening among the Caffres.

By the blessing of God, our missions in South Africa are greatly prospering. An interesting account has lately been received of the opening of a new mission church at Renfrew Gaga, a small native village two or three miles from Lovedale Seminary. The letter from Gaga says:

"There is just one European residenter in Gaga-the active, thrifty, managing, female teacher. She is busy teaching the livelong day; and when the vacation sets her free, busy again buying cloth-stuffs, shaping jackets, trousers, shirts, and what not, and teaching the native women to make them; teaching them also the European habits of everyday life.

The former Gaga church was a small wattle-anddab' structure, in size about nine feet by twenty, erected as a school-room, and regularly used for divine service on Sabbaths. The poor old tenement is, however, highly honoured, being the mother of the present handsome and commodious stone building, which accommodates about three hundred people, and has cost about £352. The greater part of this sum has been gathered by the natives in i-halafa (half-pennies), i-dobultiyie (pennies), and i-tiki (three-pennies). It has taken four years to gather the money, it being fully that time since the movement was set agoing.

"For some months past, the glad tidings of salvation have been proclaimed from Sabbath to Sabbath within the walls of the new church, to the Caffres and Fingoes of the locality. But Tuesday, 16th September, was appointed for the formal opening, and specially to endeavour, as far as possible, to clear off the then remaining debt on the building. In this respect it proved quite a success, the back of the debt being fairly broken, besides the price of a goodly number of i-gusha (sheep), i-bokwe (goats), i-hangu (pigs), and i-nkuku (cocks and hens), that were put into the plate in the native fashion.

"When we arrived at Gaga, the opening sermon was going on. The church was crowded to excess. The doors were open, and the windows all thrown up, so that the multitude congregated around the church could listen with ease to the thrilling eloquence of the preacher-the Rev. Bryce Ross of Pirie-whose tongue, in Caffre, truly goes like the pen of a ready writer.' Mr. Ross is the editor of our periodical, the Indaba.

"You may think that a multitude of Caffres must be rather gloomy and dismal to look at; but when clean and tidily dressed, they are quite the opposite. Although dark, they are comely. I scarcely think you could find a more varied display, either in dress or features, in the great International Exhibition itself, than was to be seen at the opening of Gaga Church. Here are all the colours of the rainbow. The gay native servants of the European families, with their mauve and magenta polkas, already nearly approaching the Garibaldi fashion, contrast with the red, half-dressed females, whose grandeur is displayed in having their arms, from the wrist to the elbow, and their legs, from ankle to calf, entirely covered with thick shining brass rings, with strings of beads or large teeth about the neck. Here are decent working men and women, and here are sprightly young artizans-artizans only in the humblest meaning of the word. Here are dresses, unique in their oddity, topped with a large fur hat made from the skin of some wild animal. Yonder are heads whose hair is dressed off with clay, hanging in tassels, and suggesting a caricature of the ancient Egyptian style, which one has seen in books. And there is the common Caffre, a tight, firmly built fellow, with his blanket over his shoulder, and a large skin bag hanging by his side like a beggar-man's 'meal-pock,' out of which he carefully takes his contribution to the Church.

"Public worship over, the congregation dispersed for a little while, but soon re-assembled in congregational meeting. The Rev. Mr. Govan, with his shrewd, grave, face, and searching dark eye, presided. There were a few speeches both from natives and whites, and a collection was taken in the 'ladle' way. The chairman said that though something had been done, much more must yet be done. All those with money in their pockets would now have an opportunity of emptying them, if so

inclined. No sooner said than done. Up sprang half a dozen natives with loud exclamations of Yo, Tyu!' These were probably half heathens, for the natives, under the influence of the gospel, are generally much more sedate, both in speech and behaviour. Mr. Ross told them just to wait a little, and he would receive all their money. Down they sat on the floor to wait his timeall but one, who continues his speech, with his eyes fixed on a man who had made a speech before. Approaching him, he says, 'You give i-sheleni ezimbini (two); but I will give i-sheleni ezisixenxe (seven).' Although the language of these wild natives is double Dutch to you, they will rivet your attention. Not only the tongue goes, but everything goes; and they suit the action to the word in a way that I never saw, except when I listened to Gavazzi in the City Hall of Glasgow. The speechifying and contributing went on for some hours. Each contribution was accompanied with a short speech.

"The collection of the day amounted to £93 in monoy, an extraordinary sum when all things are considered. The price of the sheep, and other live stock, raised the whole collection to £109-enough to pay off the entire debt, except some £12 or £15. The Gaga church is the third building of a similar kind erected at out-stations of Lovedale within little more than two years.

"All this is very cheering. Another token of progress is, that our monthly periodical in Caffre, the Indaba, or News, published at Lovedale, has reached a circulation of 550 copies. Yet another fact of a most encouraging kind may be mentioned. On Sabbath, 5th October, no fewer than twenty adults and twelve children were baptized at Lovedale."

INDIA.
CALCUTTA.

Sufferings of a Convert.-Beaten for Christ.

"THE poor youth from Mahanad," writes Dr. Duff, "about whom I wrote to you, is still under medical treatment, and far from well. The dreadful violence of his friends, who are all Brahmins, as he himself is,

seemed to give a shock to his whole system, both body and mind. With the convulsion-fits was interblended a wandering or derangement of mind. It was affecting to hear him, for hours together, giving vent to his excited feelings in continued but incoherent prayer. The youth is now, however, calmer and better, and to all appearance will gradually recover. His friends have happily given up their violent persecution of him.”

THE JEWS.

Mission School at Pesth.

MR. VAN ANDEL writes from Pesth, dated November:"It is truly marvellous to see how well everything goes on. The school is again as much filled with children as we can well do with, even in our new class-rooms, so as to teach them with any good effect. And still parents keep coming continually to beg and entreat us to take more children in. Again and again in our teachers' conferences the question arises what to do, and then heart and reason are invariably pleading against each other, because we would fain admit still greater numbers,-nay, receive them all if it were possible."

TIME AND ETERNITY.

THE following was written by a dear girl, who died in the Lord at the early age of fourteen:—

"Time, how short!

Eternity, how long!

"May my soul learn the forcible meaning of this short lesson in her contracted space of time, and all eternity will not be too long to rejoice in having learned it."

CHRIST AND YOU.

THE Saviour can do without you, but you cannot do without him.-Asahel Nettleton.