Sketches from Formosa.

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SKETCHES FROM FORMOSA
attend classes five hours a day, but their voices may
often be heard reading aloud, as the Chinese do, far on
into the night.
Of course, the missionaries take general
superintendence of their studies, giving short simple
lectures on Scriptural and other subjects, and conducting
the examinations which are held from time to time. For
example, they are busy at present in trying to find out
everything they can about the origin and contents of the
Epistle to the Philippians, and it falls to me to examine
them on the last day of this month, both orally and in
writing.
The young men are sometimes invited to accompany
us on visits to our more distant stations. The exercise
is a very bracing one for them, for, during such intervals
away from the class-room, they have capital opportunities
for getting acquainted with the practical side of the work
to which they are looking forward. I was greatly pleased
with the little sermon delivered by one of them who
came with me on a recent journey. We arrived on
Saturday at the Taw-kun-eng chapel, and Mr. Toh Lauseng
was asked to conduct our forenoon service on the
following day. He is a Pi-po-hwan aboriginal from
Poah-be, and has been under training during the past
three years, but is still a mere lad. His words were
addressed to a company of about sixty Christian wor-
shippers, and it was in something like the following
strain he spoke on " The race that is set before us " :
" Now," said he, " I am very inexperienced, and you
must be all asking God to use my weak words for instruction
and stimulus, so that every one present may be
brought to follow the Lord Jesus more faithfully than
ever he has done.
" The Preparation for this race is what I wish to say a
few words about in the first place ; because, in order to
be a runner here, we are told to lay aside every weight