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MISSION DAYSPRING

W. B. M. I.

JUNIOR SOCIETIES OF CHRISTIAN
ENDEAVOR AND MISSION BANDS
OF W. B. M. I., JANUARY, 1901.

Topic for Study — Systematic Giving.

TWO TRUE STORIES ABOUT GIVING.

The facts for the following little story were
obtained from a leaflet, "Givers for Jesus," pub-
lished by the Woman's Union Missionary Society.

THE first Christian church in the beautiful island of Ceylon was built on land given by a poor orphan who was educated in the girls' school at Oodooville. An unknown person in America had named her Maria Peabody, and had sent twenty dollars every year for her support.

The native Christians had decided to
build a church for themselves; they had
never owned one, but had worshiped some
times in one place, sometimes in another.
All were eager to give towards the new
building, when Maria Pea-
body, the poor orphan girl,
"offered all she owned in
the world — the best site
in her native village upon
which to build." It was her
marriage portion and her
friends urged her not to
give it away — as without
a wedding dowry no one
would ever marry her. To
them all she replied, "I have
given it to Jesus. He has
accepted it, and so must
you." But her friends were
mistaken, for a young man
who was studying for the
ministry was so touched by
her noble self-sacrifice that
he asked her to become his
bride, and as the wife of a
native pastor the lovely
Christian girl became a still
greater power for good
among her people.

Dr. Poor, a missionary in
Ceylon, while on a visit to
America, learned that the
unknown friend, who had
supported the young orphan,
was a poor colored woman.
She had, out of her scanty

MR. ISHII, FOUNDER OF THE OKAYAMA ORPHANAGE.

MISSION DAYSPRING.

3

earnings, saved the money and sent it regularly as long as Maria needed it. Was not that a fine example of Systematic Giving?

By giving generously you *teach others to give, too*, and so help a great deal more than your own gift. There are many beautiful stories about this, but one of the best is about some people in Japan. A father and mother died and left a little boy five years old and a little girl of three. They had no one to care for them and had been almost starved while the parents were sick. The little girl was so nearly dead the people were going to put her in the grave with her mother. But an old man and woman, who were very poor, took pity on them and took them to their own home. They fed them and brought them up. "They saved two lives by giving a share of their scanty food to these orphans," you will say. Yes, they did much more than that, for Mr. Ishii, a young man who was a Christian, and who was studying medicine, said, "If such poor old people as these can save the lives of two children, how much more ought we to do!" So he took three little waifs into his home. Then more began to come, until it grew to be the great Okayama orphanage that has sheltered and fed and taught many, many little orphans who would have died. If the generous kindness of the old people had not touched Mr. Ishii's heart there would probably not have been an orphanage. So you see they were the means of saving children from all over Japan.

If we give even when it is hard to give, and ask Jesus to bless our gift, we may be sure it will bring forth much fruit.

KINDERGARTENS IN HAWAII.

BY MRS. O. H. GULICK, OF HONOLULU.

PRESUME the American readers of the *Dayspring* have visited kindergartens in their own land, where white children dressed in neat, pretty clothes, and speaking the English language, sing the kindergarten songs and go through their exercises.

Now, I would like to take you around to visit the kindergartens in Honolulu, as I saw them a few months ago, and see the Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese children. We will go first into this large, pleasant room in the center of a grassy yard. But who are these children? Some of them have brown skins and dark hair, and some of them are fair, with light hair. Oh, these are Portuguese children whose parents came from the Azores. They are full of life and activity, and go through the exercises and sing the familiar kindergarten songs as nicely as any children; and in English, too, for though the teacher is a Portuguese lady, the teaching is done mostly in English. The girls are dressed in frocks and the boys in jackets and trousers; and some of them are very pretty and cunning, but they are a restless little company, and we think the teachers must have a great deal of skill to keep their fifty children in order.

We will go next to a large, bright room under the Chinese church, where forty or more children are sitting in a large circle, playing games. You have seen Chinamen in their queer clothes, but little children look more queer still, dressed in the same fashion. The girls and boys dress so much alike that except for a greater mixture of colors in the girls' clothes, and a little

MISSION DAYSPRING.

5

the circle, or sing the kindergarten songs, clapping their hands with great earnestness. You think they are just a little the most interesting company of children you have seen, partly because there are some such wee little tots among them, who try to imitate what the older children are doing. They have a Japanese lady for their teacher who speaks to them in Japanese, but her assistants use English, so they have the benefit of both languages.

There is one more kindergarten to visit at some distance from the others, and in this there is a mixture of all nationalities. The little Hawaiian sits by the side of a child with a cue, and the little Japanese child puts its hand into that of a Portuguese or a Norwegian. All work and play together, and use the common language, English, though the little folks often mix the languages in a very amusing way. The teacher is very skillful, and manages her little flock admirably. In all the kindergartens a simple lunch of fruit or crackers is given by the teacher to the children in the middle of the forenoon.

We have seen the kindergartens as they were the last school year. At the opening this fall a change was made, and no school is restricted to one nationality. The children of any nationality go to the nearest school, so that there is a mixture of races in all of the schools. They do not seem quite so interesting for the change, but it is more convenient, and better suits the needs of the children.

Most of the children come from very poor homes, and many are poorly dressed, but the mothers usually take some pains to send them clean to school. Wash-bowls, soap, towels, and even a bath-tub, are provided in all the kindergartens for those who need them, and a lady doctor visits the schools at stated times to look after those who may be needing her attention. The children play the same games and sing the same

songs that children do in the homeland. Once or twice a term the government band plays for all the kindergartens, in the yard of one of the kindergartens or in one of the parks of the city, and then what a merry time the children have skipping around upon the green grass to the music of the band.

Besides these kindergartens in Honolulu, some of the plantation managers have started schools upon their plantations for the children of the laborers. Most of the teachers for the schools come from Chicago, though some have been trained here. All the kindergartens I have spoken of are free, supported by the benevolent people of the islands.

## TWINS ALLOWED TO LIVE.

A DELIGHTFUL story is given by an English missionary of a new church edifice at Akwukwu, in East Africa. The king of the place was present when thirty-five persons were received to the church. Among the children baptized were two twin girls. They were three months old and aroused the greatest interest among the people. Can anyone guess why this was so? Simply for the reason that they were the first twins in that whole region who had ever been allowed to live. The custom in that section has always been to destroy twins as soon as they were born, and even to kill the mother also. But the parents of these twins, being Christians, stood out against the bitter opposition of the heathen about them and insisted that their children should live. Nobody dared kill them. The names given these children were very interesting. Each had two names, but aside from Mary and Martha there is no use in your trying to pronounce the other names given them. The meaning of one of them was "Let the world talk and go on their way;" and the other means "God hath determined." Strange, is it not, that this superstition against twins has such hold upon the heathen Africans? They imagine that the whole village will be exposed to the wrath of evil spirits if twin children are allowed to live.

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MISSION DAYSPRING.

W. B. M.

PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN'S
MEETING.

BY MISS EMMA E. PORTER.

India.

I. Opening Exercises.

II. Geography of India.

A map talk on the following topics, which
may be looked up by some member of the
society.

1. Where is India? 2. How far from America? 3. How do missionaries reach England from America? 4. What mountains divide India from the Chinese and Tartars? 5. How large is India as compared with the United States? 6. What is the population as compared with the United States? 7. Where is the Ganges and what do you know about it?

III. Questions and Answers.

Distribute these in advance. Ask the
children to give the answers in their own
words and not to read them.

1. What is the climate of India?

There are three seasons: the cool, the hot,
and the rainy seasons. In the south it is
never cold, but in the north there are some
frosty nights.

2. What is the history and government of India?

India is a very old country. It belongs
to Great Britain, and the Queen of England
is called Empress of India.

3. What are some of the products of India?

Rice, cotton, sugar-cane, spices, coffee,
and tea.

4. What animals are found in India?

There are many animals in India which
we never see in this country except in cages.

Bears, wolves, and leopards live there. In
the north there are tiny wild horses, only
thirty inches high. The Bengal tiger is very
fierce and can spring a long distance. The
snakes are of all sizes from a few inches to
twenty feet in length. Some of these are
so poisonous that one bite will kill a man.
There are many crocodiles in the Ganges
River. Some animals, such as oxen and
cows, are considered sacred, and are wor-
shiped. Monkeys are holy, too, and there
are temples full of them where people go to
worship.

5. What is the appearance of the people?
They all have dark skins and black hair.

6. How many languages are spoken in India?

Ninety-eight different languages, besides
many dialects.

IV. Bible customs which are found in
India today.

Give out in advance the following facts
and ask one of the older members to com-
pare the customs with some Bible story.

Wells are outside the towns and the
women go out to draw water. Each woman
brings her own jar and lets it down into the
well by a rope. Travelers often sit at the
wells to rest.

Mills are made of two large round stones.
One is laid on the other, and the grain is
poured into a hole at the top. Two women
sit on the ground and turn the upper stone
by means of a wooden handle. It is very
slow and tiresome work.

Shepherds do not drive their sheep but
go before and call. Sheep know their shep-
herd's voice but are afraid of strangers.

V. Child Marriage.

VI. Caste.

VII. The Principal Religions.

Have three members of the society pre-
pare two-minute talks on these topics. If

MISSION DAY SPRING.

7

that is not advisable, prepare for them brief
and interesting descriptions which they may
give in their own words.

VIII. Dialogue between a City Girl and a Country Girl in India. (Costumes will make this more effective.)

A. I live in a little village in India where all the houses are made of mud with thatched

dirty. We have some mats on the floor, and
that is where we sleep.

B. What kind of furniture is there in your house?

A. Only a spinning-wheel and two or three wooden stools.

B. My house has a great many rooms. The gentlemen of the family live in the best

MONKEY TEMPLE IN BENARES. FEEDING THE MONKEYS.

roofs. There is a wall around the village,
and outside of the wall are the farms. They
are not divided by fences, but each man
knows his own land.

B. My home is in a large city. The streets are dirty and so narrow that in many places there is not room for two carriages to pass. I live in a house built round a court-yard. There are only a few windows in it, and they all look into the court so we can never see what is going on in the street.

A. The house I live in is very small and

ones, which are very nicely furnished, but
none of the ladies or girls can go into them.
We have to stay in our own part of the
house, and that isn't at all pleasant.

A. What kind of place is it?

B. It is what we call a "zenana," and is up a dark flight of stairs, all hidden away, where no one can see us. Each of us has a little room, but there isn't any furniture in it—only a bedstead and a box for our clothes.

A. You can't be very rich if you live in that kind of place.

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MISSION DAYSPRING.

B. Indeed we are, but all the rich women in the cities of India live in the same way. What do you do all day?

A. The men of our village work on the farms. They have two crops every year, so they are busy all the time. We women go to the well for water, grind the grain, and spin and weave the garments. I suppose you do the same things.

B. No, indeed. We never go out, but we cook the meals, and when the men have eaten all they want we have what is left. They eat in their rooms and we in our rooms. Then we count our jewels, do embroidery, and talk to each other. There are so many of us in such a little place that we often get into a quarrel. Once in a while the servants bring us some news from the street, but we can't go out of the house, for if any man except our relatives should see us we would be disgraced forever.

A. Don't you ever go to see the other girls?

B. Yes, sometimes, but it is a great deal of bother. First, we have to get permission from the oldest lady in the house, and then we go in our carriage.

A. That must be fun. What is your carriage like?

B. It is a sort of box painted black. One side opens like a door, and after we get in it is shut tight again. There are no windows, and the carriage is so small that it is very uncomfortable. Two servants carry it by long handles, and it is a very tiresome way to travel.

A. I thought I should like to be a rich lady in a city, but I have changed my mind. We don't have a very pleasant life in our little village, but it is much better than being shut up all day the way you are.

B. Yes, indeed; and I would give all my jewels to be as free as you. Our life isn't

quite as bad as it used to be, for there is a white-faced lady, called a missionary, who comes to see us once in a while. She tells us beautiful stories and brings us pictures to look at, and if we are sick she cures us. We try to do what she tells us, and whenever she comes we are much happier than before.

A. I wonder if it is the same lady who comes to our little village. There is a man who comes with her and talks to the men and has a school for the boys, but she comes to our little mud houses on purpose to see us. No one was ever as kind to us before, and we don't know what we should do without her.

B. The white lady has taught me a song. I wish we could sing it together. (Both join in singing "Jesus Loves Me," or some other appropriate hymn.)

IX. Closing Exercises.

## A LITTLE GIRL'S STORY OF THE SIEGE OF PEKING.

BY RUTH INGRAM.

VINELAND, N. J., Dec. 1, 1900.

### EAR READERS OF THE DAYSPRING:

I have been asked to tell you what we did in Peking during the siege. I will first speak about our going there. It was very hard to leave my home in Tung-cho. I think most of all I hated to leave my books, for I had a great many of them. I had a bookcase of my own in my room and it was nearly filled. I spent most of my savings for books. On Christmas and on my birthday my papa and mamma always gave me books, and so did my missionary friends. Uncle George sent me a great many nice

MISSION DAYSPRING.

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ones from America, among them two beautiful, illustrated copies of Pilgrim's Progress, which I had read through two or three times. I would liked to have saved these, but we did not have room for them in our trunk. I have made a list of the books I lost; mamma gave me the prices and it amounted to over seventy-five dollars. I did not think of my

that same evening. We were crowded here, though not as bad as in the Legation. We were in danger every night of the Boxers attacking us, so we slept in the large church which had been made into a fort; all the mothers and children slept there, while the gentlemen and ladies slept in the houses. Mamma said it would not be easy to take us into the church at night if we were attacked. During the day we played games and had a nice time. Grace Goodrich, Esther Walker, and I were near of an age and we were together most of the time. We girls played hide and seek and jumped rope; the boys played soldiers. We were very fond of the marines who came to guard us; the first week we had ten and after that twenty. Mr. Hall was our special friend; he told us stories. We expected Captain McCalla and his soldiers every day, but they did not come.

One morning we received word from Minister Conger to come to the Legation quickly. We could only take a few things with us. We all marched together, native Christians, schoolgirls, missionaries, and marines. The sun was very hot. We were afraid the Chinese soldiers might shoot us on the way, for we saw lots of them with their guns, but they did not fire. We were glad to get safely into the British Legation. That same evening the Boxers and soldiers began shooting at us. We could not play out of doors much after we went into the Legation; it was too dangerous. Esther Walker, whose home was in Peking, was able to save her dolls; she had just returned from America and had some very nice ones, among them a Japanese doll. I liked this one because her hair was straight and I could comb and brush it all I wanted to. We would go off in a corner of the chapel and screen ourselves from the small children

RUTH INGRAM.

dolls when we left. I was sorry after reaching Peking that I had not carried my best one in my arms. She was a lovely doll. Mamma gave her to me one Christmas. Miss Miner had dressed her in light blue Chinese silk.

We left our home at night and did not have much time to get ready. We got to Peking just in time for breakfast. We went to the Methodist Mission because Dr. Ament told us that all the other missionaries were coming there. They did come

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MISSION DAYSPRING.

who always wanted them when they saw them; the babies would cry for them. I forgot to tell you that all the American missionaries had their home in a little chapel; there were seventy in all, fifteen children, five of them babies. But we did not play dolls all the time. We helped take care of the babies. I took care of my little sister every time it came mamma's turn to help with the housekeeping, which was every fifth day. One of our dear babies took sick and died. We all loved little Elizabeth Inglis very much. We also helped to make sand bags. I have forgotten how many I made. The pieces of silk that were too short for sand bags we used for making dolls' dresses. I have some samples of the cloth we made sand bags of which I would like to show you. We did not have very nice food. I did not like to eat more than I had to of the horse and mule meat, mouldy rice, and sour bread. Donald Tewksbury asked his mother once "if he had to eat the stones, too, that were in the rice." Once in a while we had some pudding, but toward the last we did not have enough milk; it grew so scarce that only the sick and little babies could have it.

After the Chinese stopped firing so much we could go out more; we liked to go down to the hospital and see the wounded men; those who were well enough were carried on their cots to the front door of the hospital. Mr. Hall was one of the wounded. Our soldiers held a place on the city wall, and we had to fortify it against the Chinese; he was helping when one of the Chinese sharpshooters saw him and fired at him, but at that minute he happened to lose his balance and fell backward, and the bullet cut his leg at the knee, just scraped the bone, and through his coat close to his chest. We were thankful that he happened to be falling or he would have been killed. His leg was

stiff. He often came up to the chapel, after he could walk, and talked with us; we invited him to eat with us sometimes, which he did. We all wanted to sit next to him at the table. Mr. Sylvia, who was a friend of ours, was shot in the arm; he will never be able to use his arm again. It was very sad to see all the sick and wounded soldiers. I knew Mr. Fischer who was killed. Sometimes we wrote letters to the soldiers who were on duty on the wall. We prayed for them very often, for they were at a very dangerous place, and might be killed any minute. Only a few of them were Christians, but two or three others decided to become Christians while we were in siege. I hope you will pray for the soldiers, too; a soldier may be called upon any time to give up his life. After the troops came to our relief, I went with papa up on the wall. I could see for miles around Peking.

After the troops had been there a week, we left in army wagons for Tung-cho, where we expected to take a boat to Tientsin; when we passed the college we saw nothing but ruins; there had been rows of trees to border the walks, but there was not a tree to be seen. Papa went to see our compound, and had difficulty in finding the place where our house stood. We went to Tientsin in grain boats, which were large, flat boats with matting overhead for protection, but it was not much protection. It was very hot during the day, and one night it rained hard and I got soaking wet and had to lie that way until morning, as we had no dry bed clothing. From Tientsin we took an English transport for Japan. I am very glad to be in America, but I will go back to China when God wants me to.

MISSION DAYSPRING.

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DEAR LIGHT BEARERS:
This is a Merry Christmas and a Happy
New Year to you; both good wishes rolled into
one.

And do you realize that with this New Year
we are also entering on a new century? Do you
know that long before the new century begins to
be old you little Light Bearers of today will be
the grown-up workers; that we older ones will
be passing away, and you will be taking our
places? Are you preparing yourselves faithfully
for the service? There is going to be
joyful reaping by-and-by for all the seed-sowing
that has been done in tears. Are you getting
ready to join with rejoicing in the glad harvest
song?

Lovingly,

COUSIN DELIGHT.

SUPPOSE.

MATTIE LONG was always supposing. "Suppose I lived where there was no Sunday school?" she said to her mother, looking up from her *Kind Words*.

"Well," said Mrs. Long, without pausing in
her sewing.

"And suppose," went on Mattie, "that we
were so poor that we had no Bible in the house."

"Yes," her mother said, encouragingly.

"And suppose some one would start a Sunday
school and give me a Bible, what do you suppose
I would feel, mother?"

"You ought to be very glad and thankful,"
answered her mother.

"Oh! I would," said Mattie, quickly. "But suppose, mother, that a good man wanted to start a Sunday school, but he didn't have money enough to buy the Bibles. What then?"

"The Sunday school Board would give them
to him," replied Mrs. Long.

"But suppose so many should send that the
Board couldn't send to all. What then?"

"Why, I suppose that every boy and girl who
heard of it would want to send eight cents to
buy a Bible for some one."

"Just eight cents! Would that do it?" ex-
claimed Mattie. "Suppose I should do that
this minute, mother?"

"Yes, do," replied her mother, cheerfully.

In a few minutes Mattie came back with a
letter in one hand and four stamps in the other.

"Mother," she said, as she folded the letter,
"suppose on a certain day all the children would
send just eight cents apiece. Don't you suppose
the secretary would be glad?"

"I don't suppose — I know he would," her
mother answered.

"And suppose, mother —" but Mrs. Long
was gone, and I do not know what Mattie would
have supposed. Perhaps it was to wonder how
many hundred new schools could be started if
each Sunday school scholar sent just eight cents.
How many do you suppose? — *Foreign Mission
Journal*.

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MISSION DAYSPRING.

## OHrysANTHeMUM ReOPErTION.

Our young missionary workers will find de-
lightful entertainment in a chrysanthemum re-
ception; at the same time they may net a nice
sum for missions. Decorate the room, or
rooms, with banks and clusters of chrysanth-
emums, filling every available place with white
and red and yellow flowers, against settings of
palms and wild or cultivated smilax.

The chrysanthemum being the national flower of Japan, have four or five young ladies in Japanese costume to assist with the papers and to pass the refreshments.

Have the questions written on sheets of stiff
paper, with spaces left for the answers. Two
are given below as examples:

1. What pungent plant grew in our grand-mothers' gardens?

Answer: Thyme.

2. Who was the heroine of a Bible love story?

Answer: Ruth.

As will be seen, the answers are words that
can be spelled from the word "chrysanth-
mum." Two prizes may be offered: one for
the list containing the greatest number of correct
answers, and the other for the list containing the
next largest number. One may be a "booby"
prize if desired.

Refreshments may consist of salads, bonbons, and nuts, especially almonds.

If real chrysanthemums are not available,
beautiful imitations can be made from tissue
paper; and at the close of the entertainment
these might be sold for enough to amply cover
expense of making. — Selected.

## WHAT CAN LITTLE CHILDREN DO?

### FIRST CHILD.

O, WHAT can little children do to make the great
world glad?

For pain and sin are everywhere, and many a
life is sad.

### SECOND CHILD.

Our hearts must bloom with charity wherever
sorrow lowers,

For how could summer days be sweet without
the little flowers?

### FIRST CHILD.

O, what can little children do to make the dark
world bright?

For many a soul in shadow sits and longs to see
the light.

### SECOND CHILD.

O, we must lift our lamps of love and let them
gleam afar;

For how should night be beautiful without each
little star?

### FIRST CHILD.

O, what can little children do to bring some
comfort sweet

For rugged roads where men must climb with
weary, wayworn feet?

### SECOND CHILD.

Our lives must ripple clear and fresh, that thirsty
souls may sing;

Could robin pipe so merrily without the little
spring?

### TOGETHER.

All this may little children do the saddened
world to bless,

For God sends forth all loving souls to deeds of
tenderness,

That this poor earth may bloom and sing like
His dear home above;

But all the work would fail and cease without
the children's love. — From the Wellspring.

The motto for January is,
"EVER ONWARD AND UPWARD."