The evening times., 1899-07-19
The Fate of some bibles.

The statistician loves to quote his figures
as an irresistible argument in support OF
his pet theories, but there are cases IN
which these figures are somewhat decep-
tive. One came to light the other day, and
it is calculated to bring sorrow to the
hearts of the American Bible Society.
The statistics furnished by this society
have filled the minds of many good people
with an innocent and solemn joy. When
they read that several thousand Bibles
have been exported TO the Micronesian ISL
ands they picture TO themselves communi-
ties of brown skinned savages, whose
grandfathers ate tropical fruit, and some
times missionaries beneath the shade of
spreading palms, in peaceful, but iniqui-
tous ignorance-and they think of these
people clothed in European raiment and
sitting in the door of neat though humble
dwellings, attentively reading the Bible.
Counting one Bible to a family, it will be
seen that under this regime community
could be converted quite swiftly. These
gentle dreamers do not think of the num-
erous people in our land who own Bibles,
bought with money not given to them by
A4AoolOAdlltSs anu WIN diiOn hhS DipiS ~
lie on the table in the parlor almost from
one years end to another, without being
opened. Ii is seldom that you can see peo-
pie sitting at the doors of their dwellings
in this civilized and Christian land, en-
gagged in reading the Scriptures. They are
more likely TO be perusing the story of the
army beef scandal in their town newspaper
httc ha indQipp from the
general tendencies of human nature, the
dreams of these good folk in regard to the
South Sea Islands and other remote parts
of the earth are probably not justified by
the facts.
But ii has remained for a missionary
from China to tell OF the use to which GER
tain heather once did put Il consignment
of Bibles. 1t seems that there was quite
demand for the Scriptures among the Chi
nese converts of a certain district, and
when it was made known in the United
States the Bible Society rejciced, and said,
Surely we will attend 10 the wants of these
benighted but earnest and right-thinking
people. So they sent consignment OF
eighty-four thousand copies of the Old and
New Testament TO that community of Mon
golians, and Bibles were as thick in that
vicinity as the leaves in Vallombrosa.
AS everyone knows, il is a trait of hu-
man nature to enjoy getting things free.
II an emissary of the Grand Lama were 20
travel in the most enlightened part of this
country, and distribute copies of some work
| explaining his religion, written in the Ti-
betan tongue, he would probably have no
trouble in getting rid of as many copies
as there were people on his route. So it is
not unreasonable to suppose that some of
! the Chinese took the Bibles without any
| definite intention of reading them. Subse-
quent events seem to point that way.
Firecrackers- are made in China by
the poorer class of Chinese in their homes.
| The employer supplies certain amount Of
powder, which must be made into given
number of crackers. The workman is ex-
pected to buy the paper, and paper is not
cheap in China. That is why the people
were so glad to get the Bibles. 1t is a
quaint thing TO think of, but when the
secretary of the Bible Society gave his
little boy money to buy fireworks for the
Fourth of July, some of the crackers which
I that little boy bought and fired in innocent
childish glee may have been made out Of
| the leaves of the Testament which his ia
| ther, in innocent adult glee, forwarded TO
the disciple of Confucius the year before,
that the latter might turn from his evil
ways and become '-alle samee Melican
man"