The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-07-13
A MISSIONARY'S TOUR.
Miss Abbie D. Child Home From a Tour
In Many Lands.


BOSTON, Mass, July 1a Miss Abbje B.
Child, home secretary of the Congre-
gational Women's Board OF Missions, Bos-
ton, has returned from missionary tour
In many lands. She sailed from New
Y ork Sept. .3. 1895, in the Saale. Her
party arrived in Genoa Oct. o, and after
a stay of ten days In Italy proceeded via
Brindisi for Bombay, arriving there early
In November.
Miss Child says 1t was interesting to
see Gioralter, which SO Otter threatened
the Moor and Moslem and Christian--once
the key OF Spain; now the "Gate OF In
dia"-held by Christian Queen so that
1t may be always possible TO carry the
blessings of civilization and true re-
ligion to her Orient people.
In Rome Miss Child visited a girls
orphanage under the charge of q Method
ist missionary. The building, once an
old monastery built on the traditional
site of the crucifxion of st. Peter is
finely situated not far from the tomb OF
Tasso and in sight OF the Vatican. About
40 orphan girls 6nd there good educa-
tion, industrial training and happy,
Christian home.
Miss Child arrived at Port Said on the
23c OF October and met there her fret
glimpse OF heathenlsm unadorned. She
says that the coal barges came up with
coal for the ship, and in them such look-
ing creatures. Men dressed In one gar
ment, which came to their knees, and
tagged cloths on their heads, all in such
blth as she had never imagined. Miss
Child arrived In Bombay early in Novem-
Der. She went to Pocna, to the school of
Pundisa Rameba, to Wal, where she was
the guest OF Mrs. Sibley and Miss Cor
and wife OF Spr ngheld, Mass, at Satara,
Western India, and the Rev.
Richard winsur and wife. She says that
76 Languages are SPOKEN in Bombay and
that each language represents company
OF people, or caste, with special dress
lor. largely undress) or color, cap or
turban. The American Mission High
School in Bombay, conducted by the
Rev. T.. 8. Hume and wife, of New Ha-
ven, 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 compound
each day.
During the larger part OF December
and the early days OF January, Miss
Child and her sister, with Mrs. Hume as
guide, visited some of the cities of
Northern India, famous in song and his
tory. They went to Allhabad, Cal
cutta, up among the Himalayas at
Dareeling, TO Bernares, Lucknow and
rials of the sepoy rebellion; 10 Agra,
with Its Taj Mahai, and TO Delhi, where
they stayed two days. In Mahar, q vii
lage just outside Ahmeduagar. Miss
Child found a school house built by the
gift OF the Rev. Il. T.. Clarke, founder.of
the Endeavor Society, just after bis visit
there on his tour around the world.
No missionary or Bible woman in
Madura, India, will consent to receive
pupils In any house except for the avowed
purpose OF reading or teaching tho Bible.
In the city of Madura iss Child found
10 Dible women and ~ students in the
training school, who had in 1895, 1896
regular pupils and read and explained the
Bible to 42,,7l women. In the villages
just outside tn re were 16 Bible women
at WORK, with $50 pupils and "a, 035 hear
ers.
or the deep religious interest In Foo
chow Miss Child says that there has
been wonderful turning to Christianity
In all that region. IL Is something mar
velous; something never before known
and the missionaries are at their wits
end TO now how TO take care of all the
inquirers. III Is very wonderful oppor-
tunity'-one that many never come again.
They need work ten times more than any
OF the places she saw In India. The
womans work there is far behind that for
men Seventy nine united with the
churche' in February, and not more than
six OF tham were women. Other societies
are alive TO the situation. Eleven new
young lady workers arrived recently from
England
Miss Childs was in Tung-cho, China,
April IL. She was In Japan Nav IL, and
sailed from Yokohama for Vancouver
June l9 returning from there to Boston.