News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1902-03-26
LETTER FROM INDIA.
Interesting Account of a MissiOnary's Life
in That Parkway Land.
I SHoLAPUR, India,
/ Feb ID 1900

More than six months have passed
by since | wrote a general letter to
my friends in America, giving some
account of my experiences as Mis-
-sionary up to that time. | do not
wish to let too long a period go by
without telling you again of the
work and myself, so much as you
may care to hear. 1t is not easy, |
find, to write interesting letters, with
sufficient description of details to
make things appear vivid to those
who have never seen them. cannot
say that l found anything in this
country as | expected to find it; in
fact, my expectations must have been
of a very vague character, since nearly
everything l have seen has been a
surprise.
When l wrote before, spoke of
progress toward acquaintance with
the language, and of the beginning of
work in school; for the last six
months, have gone on steadily,
though slowly, with the language
study, finding that multitude of
other tasks appear, which make it
hard to give the attention to Marathi
that it needs. To a certain extent,
the language "soaks in," as one is
immersed in it all the time, and learns
words by hearing them, learns to
speak by speaking. Beginning work
in small way, with some occasion
for using the language, the ability to
understand and express oneself grows
with the necessity for it.
My school work has grown as l
have been able to perform it, in fact,
keeping considerably in advance of
the time and strength needed. From
going into school daily to inspect, l
went on to advise and direct, and
grasped one by one the details of
school management. At the same
time, have found more and more to
do with the boys at home, and in the
other parts of the work. Now Mr..
Gates has turned over to me the
charge of the boys boarding, and l
overlook to some extent also the in
,dustrial work. All this means that
L have to pay about fifteen teachers,
besides various workmen and women.
l handle the money which is used to
buy food and clothes for the boys,
and it amounts to gOodly sum.
On the first day of the present month,
L paid out about $50 rupees ($180)
for salaries and other bills for the
month of January, and other sums
were paid out from time to time dur
ing the month. Part of this money
comes from the Board in it's regular
appropriation for the work of this
station, the boarding school for boys
being a regular item in the estimates
each year. But the boarding school
has been greatly enlarged by the TAX
ing of a hundred and fifty and more
orphans, and for these the Board has
been unwilling to be responsible,
hence their support must be provided
for as we are able. Sums of money
sent from America for famine relief
were applied to this, after the call for
general relief was over. Sums have
been received from English and Indian
charitable funds and from Govern
ment, and the Christian Herald has
taken up the support of a large num-
Der of famine children, while individ-
ual friends have sent gifts that have
been, and will still be, most welcome
We hope, however, that no one will
let such special gifts take the place of
regular contributions to the general
funds of the Board, from which the
for our work are
made. Special gifts are most wei
come for supplementing the appro-
ipriations, but if the latter are cut
short because of the Boards INSULT
cient income, the work suffers. We
received about the first of January
the appropriations for the year 1902,
and found that they were about 55
per cent of the amount which the
Mission had estimated as necessary.
Consequently, special meeting was
called to assign the sum appropriated
to the work of the different stations.
We do not suffer personally by these
reductions, as our own support is
fully provided; but it is trying to
to have the amount needed for work
cut short when the time is so favor
able for advance.
But must tell you few of the de-
tails Of the work here. Do you ever
try to imagine what the work of
is like? l have seen Mis-
sionaries engaged innearly every sort |
of work, manual and mental, and one
soon feels the demand for every facul- |
ty he possesses. The habit of the
native is to depend on the "sahib"
for everything, and there is nothing |
which does not go on better with the
frequent personal attention of the
from the building of |
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