The Portland daily press., 1896-07-15

Boston, July 13-Miss Abbie B. Child,
hcfao secretary of the Congregational
Wuman's Board Eof Missions, Boston,
has returned from missionary tour in
many lands. She sailed from New York,
Sepuasn Der Is tn, 1896, in the Saale, her
pareysarrived in Genoa October 9Th, and
after stay of ten days in Italy. proceed
ed via Brindisi for Bombay, arriving
there early in November.
She says that it was intresting to rsee
Gibraltsr which SO often threatened
Moor, and Moslem. and Christian-onoe
tho ksy OF Spain, now the "Gate of In
dia.'' held by "a Christian queen. SO that
ismay always be possible to carry the
blessings of civilization and true relig-
ieaa 10 her Orient people.
In Rome Miss Child visited girls or
phanRge under the charge of Methodist
missionary. The building, once an old
monastery, built on the traditional site
of the oruciflxion of St. Peter, is finely
situated not far from the tomb of Tasso
and in sight Of the Vatican. About forty
orphan girls find there good education,
industrial training, and happy Chris
tian home.
Miss Child arrived in Port Said on the
a8a OF October, and met there her first
glimpse of unadorned heathenism. She
says thai the coal barges came up with
coal for the ship, and in them such look
ing oreaturesl Men dressed in one gar
Dient which came to their knees, and
ragged cloths on their heads, all in such
filth as she had never imagined.
Miss Child arrived in Bombay early In
November. She went to the school OF
Pupdita Ranabai, to Wal where she was
the guest of Mrs. Sibley and miss Cor
don. She visited Sthe saRev. H. J. Bruce
and wife of Springfield. Mass, at Satara,
Western India, and the Rev. Richard
Winsor and wife at Sirur. She says that
rs languages are spoken at Bombay, and
each language represents company Of
people, or caste with special dress, or
flaRgelv undress, or color. or cap, or tur-
ban. The American Mission High school
In Bonn bay, conducted by the Rev. e. S.
Hume and wife. of New EHaven Conn.,,
under the auspices of the American Board
and the Woman's Board, is the only high
school in India where co-education exists.
Nearly 200 boys and girls are in the COM
pound each day.
During the larger part of December
and the early days Of January, Miss
Child and her sister, with. Mrs. E. S.
Hume as guide, visited some of the
cities of Northern India, famous in song
and history. They went to Allabahad,
Calcutta, up among the Himalayas at
DarJeellng, to Benares. to Lucknow and
Cawnpore. full of memories and memo
rails Of the Sepoy rebellion, to Agra With
Its Tai Mahal, and to Delhi, where they
had two days. In Mahar. village just
uatsiae Ahmednaagr, Miss Child found
school house built by the gift of the
Rev. B. e. Clark, .. D., founder of the
Enaeavof Society, just after his visit
there on his tour around the world.
In the city OF Madura Miss Child found
esyhrsen Bible women and twelve STU
dents in the training school. who had in
1885. 1885 regular pupils, and read and
explained the Bible to AZ. 774 women. In
the villages just outside, there were six
tsoa Bible women at work, with 1928
punlss and 81, 0S5 hearers. No missionary
OF Bible woman in Madura, India, will
easfsens TO receive pupils in any house ex-
ecps for the svowed purpose of reading or
tsaeAing the Bible.
OF the deep religious interest in Foo
chsw, Miss Child says that there has
hasn wonderful turning to christianity
ia all that region. 1t is something mar
vellous, aolneth ing never known before,
and the missionaries are at their wits
end to know how to take care Of all the
inquirsrs. 1t is very wonderful oppor-
tuDity-one that may never come again.
They need workers ten times more than
any of the places shess saw in India. The
woman's work there is far behind that
for men. Seventy mine united with the
churches in February, and not more
than six of them were women. Other
societies are alive to the situation.
Eleven new young lady workers arrived
from England.
Miss Child was in Tung-cho April
q bh. She was in Japan May 18th, sailed
from Yokohama for Vancouver June 10Th
returning from there to Boston.