ies and villages which are inland, again the first foreign
residence which meets the eye is the residence of missionaries. We are in
a part of the city where the Gospel has not yet been preached."

In the same letter he refers to the Opium habit--and to the initiatory
steps toward the formation of a Romanized alphabet for the Amoy Vernacular.
The Chinese character is learned with great difficulty. It requires years
of close application. In Southern Fukien not more than one man in a
hundred can read intelligently. It is doubtful whether one woman in ten
thousand can.

Protestant Christianity wants men to be able to give a reason for the hope
that is in them. It urges our Lord's command, "Search the Scriptures." It
demands not only the hearing ear, but the reading eye.

Hence this early effort on the part of the missionaries to prepare a
version of the Scriptures and a Christian literature in a form more readily
learned by the people. Those early efforts were doubtful experiments even
to some of the missionaries. The Chinese converts at first looked quite
askance at what appeared to them an effort to supersede their highly
venerated Chinese character.

The Romanized system was gradually perfected. The Chinese were gradually
disabused of their prejudices. To-day the most ardent advocates of the
system are Chinese pastors and elders. The whole Bible has been translated
into Amoy Romanized colloquial. An extensive literature adapted to
Christian homes and Christian schools has grown up through the years and is
contributing to the strength and progress of the Chinese Church to-day.

OPIUM.

"Independent of the reproach which the opium traffic casts on the Christian
religion, we find it a great barrier in the way of evangelizing this
people. We cannot put confidence in an opium smoker. A man who smokes it
in even the smallest degree we should not dare to admit into the Christian
church. More than one-half of the men at Amoy are more or less addicted to
the habit. Of this half of the population the missionary can have
comparatively but little hope. We know the grace of God can deliver from
every vice and there have been examples of reformation even from this. Yet
from experience when talking to an opium smoker we always feel discouraged.
Although this be a discouraging feature in our operations here, it should
only be a stimulus to the Church to send more laborers and put forth
greater efforts to stem the tide of destruc