St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-01-24
Our Boston Letter.
Meeting of the Woman's Board of Missions.
Boston, Jan. 81.

! y
BOSTON, Jan. 81.
Editor CaledOnian
The 18th Annual Meeting of tn
Woman's Board of Missions was hell
in Mt. Vernon Church upon Tuesda.
and Wednesday, Jan. IA and Is. Th
morning session opened at 10 OclOcl
with reports from the Recording Secre
tarv and Treasurer, singing by Mis-
Susie d. Gould, the hymn, commencing
ITO the work! To the work we are servants O
God"
[ On account of recent illness, Miss Mar.
Ely was unable to be present, and
substitute gave quite a sketch OF TIT
two sisters: their early education
struggles, desire to go out as forelgl
missionaries, their departure and de-
spondency at first, and final success IL
their labors. She was followed by Mrs
De Riemer, of the Ceylon mission. The
President, Mrs BOwker, in introducing
her. stated that she was unexpectedly
called upon and had not prepared her
self for the occasion, yet she always
found that the Lord will provide.
Mrs. De Riemer spoke in very
earnest and interesting manner. She
had found it her experience in life to
fill up inches made vacant 10y young
ladies: three different ladies have dis
appointed her as fellowlabOrers in her
missionary work: one from sickness,
another by death and the third by mar
rage; so she had become somewhat
familiar with filling others vacancies.
She was born, educated and expert
enced all her early joys and SORROWS in
Boston not only started in life here,
but started for the mission field in In
dia, followed by the farewell words and
tears of friends. One memory delighted
her to recall ~ or 13 years since, when
detained over the Sabbath, she listened
to sermon preached by Rev. Newman
Hall ut Park st. Church, upon the text,
Jehovah jereh: The Lord will pro-
vide" And as it was then Il peculiar
time of trial and perplexity, it came
home to her heart and it has followed
her in her travels round the world.
When out on the Indian ocean, rocking
aud surging upon its pillows. with five
praying and beseeching God
TO bring them safely to land, an inner
voice seemed to say, 1.-The Lord will
provide" 1t seemed as if some one in
Boston was praying for them.
She desired to speak especially of
Bible and Christian women in Northern
Ccylon. The people in the island are
IL superior people. Travellers have
called it the Paris of India. Tier" is ii
strong resemblance to the people ut
home except in color. There are the
high aud low class, but they have been
most successful among the high class.
The children in the schools appreciate
the Old, old story. The prayers of
Christians there were wonderful, not
set sentences, but they prayed for per-
prayed that when mamma sails for
the Red Sea, let it divide as it did for
Israel of old: the captain laughed
saying, "he hoped it would not. if it
did, they would certainly be stranded"
She described the women of the lower
class, who often come in companies to
bring kindling wood, with their tangled
hair, dirty faces, and clothed in rags,
IFS resembling bruteS more than human
beings: and when they tried to preach
to them, they would say, "telI us seven
times and then we will remember"
She also related the great difficulties ex-
perienced i'll establishing a day school,
and of the persecution endured by the
native teacher, but how time, faith and
prayer conquered. At the close a strong
appeal was made to the ladies at home
while the missionary goes out to meet
and do disagreeable work, you stay ut
home to pay and give. Mrs. Snow
said III Vermont last summer, we only
wish one thing, prayer: but in India we
need two things, prayer and money.
DIR. Scudder once asked Il lady how she
so much she replied,
"When | have anything to do, | do it,
In the afternoon after the reelection
of the old board of officers, reports fol-
lowed from the various branch organ
izations throughout New England. The
most OF them were of an interesting
character, but it was quite difficult for
any one in the rear of the church to
hear many of them as it requires a
powerful voice to fill the church. Mrs.
Horace Fairbanks of St. Johnsbury, VT,
requested any lady who was unable to
hear her report to raise her hand
which request was followed by an al
most breathless silence. The report
was very encouraging one in which
she stated that there was an increase
of 20 organizations over the year pre-
vlous, and in one county, there is an
auxiliary in every church. This branch
had raised during the year $4,357.59.
1t numbers l13 auxiliary societies and
10 mission circles.
Miss Knight of N. H., reported for
that branch, and stated that the OBJ
lection made by many that Home and
Foreign Missions conflict with each
others interest, was now removed by
the gift of $4,000 to State Home
Missionary Society. The New Haven
branch supports seven foreign mission
aries aud several Bible readers. Sew