Sketches from Formosa.

PLEASANT BANISHMENT TO AMOY 163
with the few encouraging remarks I made about his
really good address.
The latter part of the afternoon was occupied in visiting
a number of brethren who are under Church discipline
for neglect of ordinances ; some of them for conduct even
much more unbecoming. It should be remembered that
such lapsed members are exposed to very great temptation,
the wonder being that their spiritual life should hold
out much longer than a day amid the adverse influences
which surround them. One thing is certain that, when
they do begin to absent themselves from public worship,
their downward course is usually only a question of time.
Few of them are able to read the Scriptures for themselves,
by far the greater number being wholly dependent on
the discourses of the preacher for their knowledge of
Christian truth. It is thus very evident that, besides
faithfulness, one requires to have a very tender, loving
and oh the need of
heart in dealing with such brethren ;
God's own Spirit of grace to impart life, and bring back
those poor erring ones to the love and service of our Lord !
The whole of Tuesday the I7th was spent by us in
itinerating among a number of villages to the north-west
of Aw-sai. We returned in the evening with hoarse voices
and tired limbs, but feeling glad and grateful that the
Lord had opened for us so wide a door of entrance. The
people everywhere were most friendly, and seemed to
think themselves highly honoured in being visited by a
deputation consisting of one foreigner and five well-dressed
fellow-countrymen. At nearly every halting-place they
brought out chairs and forms for use ; and in one village,
the kindly simple-hearted people had a table placed
outside, on which were provided for us little dishes
containing tea, and the choicest collection of sweetmeats
that could be had. I suppose that our audience of
Whiteleaf Grove must have numbered about two hundred.