OCR Text |
Show 1916 Balkan Mission 43 of one of our own servants had the dread disease. She died last Saturday (October 30), and we have had to quarantine ourselves as much as possible. I have sent word that the boys' school will not open until the quarantine is off. There are over a hundred deaths from plague every day. There are infected areas on four sides of our compound. We were especially anxious about the case in our compound, for the woman who died had been caretaker for the four or five orphan children." * CEYLON A Rising Tide of Religion The evangelistic campaign of the South India United Church, to which we have repeatedly referred, takes in Ceylon also. Rev. J. H. Dickson, of Tellippallai, writing on October 21, sends cheering word concerning the outlook there: - "I am glad to report a rising tide of desire for deeper things of the spiritual life among our Christians. A convention in August, followed by a week of evangelism in September, gave many a new impulse. Last week we had Mr. G. S. Eddy with us, and the three missions here decided to continue the good work and aim at a special campaign next June after several months of preparatory work. A special man has been set apart-a layman who pays his own salary and expenses -to give his whole time to arousing the church. Oh! it is good to see our people reaching out after better things." BALKAN MISSION A Part of Monastir Which Stands Firm Stories of the falling, the rising, or the standing fast of Monastir appear with every issue of the daily papers -in fact, enterprising papers frequently have two differing stories in one issue; so it is good to be.able to report the quiet, steadfast industry of our missionaries in that distracted city. A letter from Rev. W. P. Clarke, dated October 29, reports the safe arrival in Monastir of Miss Mary L. Matthews, and says: "Miss Matthews has written you of school matters, of the order received to clos^ the schools (as also the French and Jewish schools), of our telegraphing through Mr. Grieg, the British vice-consul here, to Mr. Young, our American vice-consul at Nish, and of the order received one week after the first that the schools were to continue. Miss Spi-rova and I are carrying on the boys' school, she having the four preparatory classes and I the three regular classes. In all the varying conditions here and about us we believe that we are safe." * A Censored View of Bulgaria Rev. Edward B. Haskell, of Philip-popolis, managed to get through the censors this reassuring word concerning the missionary situation in Bulgaria up to November 1: - "You would like to have me write you fully about the situation here, the feelings of the people, the financial and economic conditions, the progress of the war, and the like. But you must remember that if a letter succeeds in going from here to America at present, it must run a perfect gauntlet of censorships. It must first be approved by the Bulgarian censor, and if it passes through the territory of Bulgaria's allies, by their censors. When it reaches the sea it is almost sure to pass through the hands of an Italian, French, or British censor- and there you are. Since one can scarcely hope to write in a way that will please both sides, the only thing to do is to avoid political and military subjects, and to let you get such information as the newspapers may brmg-to you. "Perhaps you have been told that our Protestant representative in Sofia, Pastor Fournadjieff, succeeded in getting all the ordained evangelical pastors freed from military service. |