The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-02-09
COREA AND chill
Discussed at Semi Annual
Meeting Foreign. Mis-
sionary Society at
Emory Church
Yesterday.
HATS OFF IN CHURCH
Rules Permit of No Head
Gear for Women at Wor-
ship in Chill, Says
Miss Corbin.
HATS OFF IN CHURCH

M1dWlnter is the time set loi 'SN
annual meeting of the Jersey City DIS
trict Association of the Woman's Foreign
Missionary Society, Newar Conference.
Yesterday the leaders met in Emory M. II.
| Church., Belmont avenue. While the
church was by 10 means crowded, there
was, considering the weather, a very
| good audience. The meeting opened az
| half-past two in the afternoon and cioseu
about half past nine at night.
The afternoon session included a Blpie
| reading by Mrs. r. A. Chamberlain VINO
presided, followed by reports from the
various auxiliaries, which showed the So
ciety was not only working, but max
ing good progress, a number OF Blpies
and any amount of clothing, good wishes
and even money having been sent TO the
heather abroad, some directly, ana some
through the Board. of Foreign Missions
| in New York. Mrs. C. NJ. Purdy rendered
a vocal solo, and Miss Gertrude NC
| Cowan a reading, 1.-THE Gift OF God, in
verse.
AS Mrs. J. H. Knowles, the conference
| secretary, was absent, Our work mao
to be omitted, and the programme passed
on to Mrs. S. L. Baldwin's address inns
lady spoke principally of her work among
the Chinese in Corea. She said at present,
and for the past three years, there were
but forty-two girls in the school under
her charge, because there was no room
for any more, nor money for enlargement
of the present quarters. She gave a
graphic description of the condition OF
these girls when first brought to the mis-
~sionaries and of their subsequent CONVEX
sion, and touched upon the life of the
missionaries themselves, and the comfort
less manner in which they were compelled
to live, saying: Il do not think we should
send women across the ocean to work UNI
less we can give them a place to live in
She also told of the work accomplished
by the Bible women who travelled on foot
from house to house preaching the Cos
pei" often going over a route of fifty
miles, resting oyer night. at intervals Of
five miles, and described what is known
as the Scranton chapel, where the cell
ings is so low the men cannot rise to
sing" This, she said, was not unusual IN
all the houses, and the people sat, Orien-
tai fashion, on the floor.
Mrs. A. E.. Weeks read a paper on
ssWoman,s Missionary Friend" giving a
history of the magazine from the first
copy published to the present time. with
a list of the various editors. In 1893. she
said, it's form of publication was changed
from that of a pamphlet to that OF a
magazine. She spoke of it's great edu-
c~ational advantages and value as a means
of communication with the foreign mis-
| sionaries. and ended by advising those
who had not already done so to become
| subscribers at once.
After the collection and Doxology, the
| meeting adjourned to an adjoining room,
| where a basket luncheon was served and
a social hour enjoyed.
A fifteen minute organ prelude-by Mrs.
| w. S. MCGOWAN opened the evening ses-
| sion. wherein, after devotional exercises
by Mrs. Chamberlain, the girls of the
Junior League gave a recitation called
s.Wen Shun Exercise" describing the life
| of a Chinese girl before and after enter
ing the missionary school,, and Miss Ger
trude MCGOWAN read an article from the
current number of the "Woman's Mis-
sionary Friend also bearing on the Chi
nese question.
In the absence of Mrs. Mary Knox
Robinson, who was i'll, Miss Corbin, from
the Deaconness' Home, gave the address
Of the evening. II annot remember
said she, 1.-The time when | did not want
to be a missionary. Like everyone else
| I looked forward to a trip to China or
Japan, but the call came for me to go
| lsewhere, and in 1883 I sailed for South
America. When I got to Chill I was
asked to stop and take charge of a
| school of three hundred Spanish girls
Miss Corbin then described her
work among these girls. dwelling upon
the superstition of the people in general
and the use the priests made of this SUI
perstition. She told of an image, Santa
Maria, the people worshipped, and how
when as penance these heathens were
made to dance before this image until
she should nod her head, the priests by
means Of strings or wires managed the
| nodding of that head themselves. BY an-
| other ingenious method this same statue
was made to shed tears. For another tain
money was collected for shoes, because
she wore out so many pair walking on
the shore with the angels"
During Good Friday. or Holy Week,
Miss Corbin said, the churches were all
darkened, and no vehicle was allowed to
pass the building, mot even a railroad
train.', In these churches the people
\ NtJl JUG vi Z v ~ CT q tt4iAOt
not sitting, as there were no seats. but
kneeling on rugs. The women wear no
hats, not merely from custom, but be-
cause 1t is against the church law. In
stead they HAYES mantles thrown over
their heads. At the end of the week Judas
is burned in effigy, and then begins the
celebration. Bands play, and the people
rejoice, even to the extent of intoxication
an tha mart of the men.
Thu speaker also described the houses
which were built of earth with very
thick walls, on account of earthquakes,
and usually only one story high. The
national dish Of Chilli she said, lis
beans. The people fairly live on beans,
and wine flows like water. | lave seen
mothers feed wine to their babies with
a SPOON and Miss Corbin ended her
addrasu urifb d shorf talk IN farnner-