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The Christian Teacher and His Work.

By Mary Hayward.

(Concluded from page 71.)

He must be patient.-Many and many are the disappointments he will meet; some will be difficult to reach, others difficult to retain when reached: they will forget much, and seem to forget more; they will need line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; just as the plant growing requires constant attention, so will the teacher need often to remind himself of the words of the Lord God Almighty, "I will water it every moment," and remember that in this particular he must be a follower of Him.

He must never be discouraged.-Taking his work from God, and with a single eye to His glory, he must rely with a full and hearty confidence upon Him who hath said, "My word shall not return unto Me void, but shall accomplish that whereunto I sent it." Discouragement is of the devil, says one, and no truer word was ever spoken it must be watched against with all diligence. One glance at the many commands in Holy Writ to "Fear not, be of good courage," will bear us out in this assertion; while an hour's study of human nature as revealed by history will prove how dependent the success of an enterprise is upon the courage and faith of its leader.

Difficulties drive us to the mercy-seat, therefore they are good for us; difficulties can be conquered, then away with want of heart, for God hath given to us "power over all the power of the enemy," in fact, they are an honour. If we believe in God, we know that every child is sent to us for some special purpose, and that purpose will be accomplished if we are faithful; let us then take each difficulty as a special mark of trust, for we ourselves ever give the tasks requiring most thought and care to those most capable of doing them.

Let us only learn, in spite of feelings, to regard each perplexity as a sign of confidence from our heavenly Father, and we shall find ourselves more able to exercise that charity which suffereth long, beareth all things, and endureth all things.

Then the teacher must not be discouraged with himself, It is just as wrong, says some one, to be out of temper with oneself as with other people, and if his ideal be one iota what it should be, the probability is that he will never reach it, for "those who fain would serve Thee best, are conscious most of wrong within ; but since he who aims at the sky shoots higher than he whose mark is a hedge, so he who strives with all his might to reach the highest level of his work will do more than he who is more easily satisfied.

Humble he may, nay must be, but discouraged never, never. Does God condescend to use him, to call him to His vineyard? and is it for him to say practically, I fear the All Wise One has made a mistake in giving me this work to do, I am not fitted for it? Ah! if we could only see that half the time our discouragements arise from nothing but pride and unbelief, we should be more evenly zealous, more restfully trustful than we are. Clothed with humility will the true teacher ever live; deeply conscious of his own shortcomings, his own inconsistencies; so deeply conscious. that he will be driven from sheer sense of necessity to go to the Strong for strength; but discouraged-let the word be blotted out of his dictionary.

But he must be prayerful, and his prayer must be the prayer of faith. It is in the holy hush of communion with God, in the sacred Bethel, where earthly things seem to merge into heavenly; where time and space are lost in the realised presence of God, and the still small voice of the Eternal One is heard, speaking, as it ever does, peace to the anxious, labouring, and weary soul; it is there that the difficulties of teaching are best thought out; the needs of

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each child realised; the strength and wisdom gained to say the right thing at the right time; the power to sympathise imparted, and the glorious faith given; that, strong in the strength which God supplies, we shall at last be able to say, “Here am I, and the children whom Thou hast given me.”

What a glorious work is the teacher's! To set in motion chords that will vibrate through eternity; to point the opening eye of childhood, with such power and directness, to the glories of the heavenly world, that the things of this life, so apt to become hindrances to spirituality, shall take their right place and appear but as stepping stones to something far higher and nobler beyond.

The future of the world depends to a great extent upon the teachers of to-day. The children will go farther on the road that we start them than we shall ever do; let us see to it that, by the help of God, we start them rightly; let us strive by a pure, noble, and earnest living to give them large and grand views of life; and above all let us lead them, by precept and example, to Jesus, that great God-Man, whose life, through difficulties and trials, temptations and sorrows, went steadily onwards, as the sun breaks through the clouds, until, in the full burst of Godhead, revealed through the atmosphere of sinless, because sin-conquering, humanity made perfect by suffering, He cried, "It is finished;" and as He overcame, so shall we. Our lives shall not be in vain; the work He has given us not unfinished; but we shall hear His "Well done! good and faithful servant," and shall know throughout eternity the joy of having been co-workers with God, in the salvation of the world.

God grant us all that we, walking in humility and the fear of God, may see at last, with and through our Lord Jesus Christ, of the travail of his soul and be satisfied.

[This paper may be had for distribution from the writer, Miss Hayward, Trion House, Liskeard. Price 1d.]

A Voice from India.

By the Rev. Hector Macduff.*

INDIA, with its teeming millions, is full of interest, equally to the politician and to the believer in the Lord Jesus. The one desires to preserve it intact as a bright jewel in the crown of the Queen-Empress, the other desires to win it over for HIM whose "kingdom is not of this world."

To accomplish this latter object, and to obey the "King's Marching Orders," a noble band of devoted men and women have from time to time come out to this interesting land. Swartz, in Southern India, Henry Martyn, Thomason, Carey, Marshman, Ward, and others, whose names are in "the Book of Life;" the mild and gentle Heber, Calcutta's second Bishop, who threw over India the charm of poetry, piety, and a loving spirit; Bishop Daniel Wilson, India's first Metropolitan, who stamped upon this country the impress of evangelical truth.

These holy men have been succeeded by others, some resting from their labours, and others still witnessing for Christ in the crowded bazaar, the country village, and in the Indian Zenana. They are obeying the Lord's command, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature," and are doing a work very near to the Redeemer's heart. Who will not follow them? Will not some of the readers of this Magazine reply to the Lord's call, "Here am I, send me ?"

But from Christ's main work in India, I turn to a branch of His work here which derives much of its importance from its indirect bearing upon Missionary work, viz., work amongst the Europeans and Eurasians.

There is a large and increasing European population here. The railroads and other modern inventions render their presence a necessity. They come out with their wives and families, in many cases never to return to England. They are often placed in lonely stations—no church, no means of

* This Paper is from one of our Members working in India, and will be read with interest by all his fellow-members. Some may like to send him a token of fellowship in the shape of a contribution to his work, and all, we are sure, will pray for him as he requests.

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grace. The result is, that they often become worse than the heathen around them, and sometimes, alas, drink themselves to death.

Then there is a large Eurasian population, i.e., those of mixed descent from Europeans and Natives. They are despised by the Natives, and looked down upon by the Europeans a thoroughly neglected class.

What spiritual provision has been made for these two classes? For Europeans, wherever there are European troops stationed, the Government sends a chaplain. But there are many stations where there are Europeans, but no European troops-here there are no chaplains. Then THE ADDITIONAL CLERGY SOCIETY steps in and provides a chaplain to work amongst the Europeans and Eurasians. This is the only Society which endeavours to supply the spiritual wants of the poor Eurasians.

The history of its origin is interesting. In 1840, whilst visiting Agra, Bishop Daniel Wilson went to view the spotless purity of the Faj Mahal by moonlight; but this beautiful scene could not long engross his mind, nor drive out daily duties. Whilst walking up and down with the Governor, he spoke about the destitution of chaplains, and enquired if a society like the Church Pastoral Aid Society might not be formed, having the Eurasian population particularly in view. The Bishop's biographer says-"This proved the germ of the Calcutta Additional Clergy Society." In 1841 it was in full working order.

In 1877, the diocese of Lahore was formed; the Punjâb being taken from the diocese of Calcutta, and Sindh from the Bombay diocese-so it became necessary to form the Lahore Additional Clergy Society. This was done in 1879. It has now four chaplains; the brother of the writer is chaplain of the Railway Church at Lahore; there is a chaplain at Thelum, another has charge of the Railway Church at Rawal Pindi, and the writer is chaplain of Upper Sindh, a large district over 500 miles long, from the camp of Baba Catch (where this paper is being written in a tent), in Afghanistan, to Khanpur in the Punjâb.

Now will you not help us?

First by prayer. Pray for the chaplains of this Society, that they may be consecrated men, men of power, and men used of God.