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EVANGELISTIC WORK. 171clergyman to be appointed to a missionary bishopricbeyond the dominion.The year 1908 brought with it many trials to theChristians in some parts of the Fuhkien province.Plague and pestilence broke out and carried off a numberof them, and here and there they experienced the forceof the apostle s warning that all that would live godlyin Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Especially wasthis the case at Guaboi, an out-station in the Siengiudistrict, where a difficulty about building a new churcharose through the action of an unfriendly mandarin.The pastor and two other converts were set upon by amob, knocked down, beaten with stones and guns, andstripped and robbed.The need of agents to shepherd the scattered converts, as well as to evangelize the non-Christians, ispressing, but unhappily the Divinity School at Foochowonly had fourteen students in 1908, almost the lowestnumber since the institution was thoroughly established.The reason for the falling off in applications for admission is said to be the smalluess of the salary andinsecurity of tenure of catechists in the employment ofthe native church.Advantage was taken as far as possible of theincreased accessibility of the educated classes. AtFoochow the North Fnkien Religious Tract Societyopened a large reading-room for the better-class merchants and scholars, in which two Christian teachersmet the guests and used such opportunities as offered ofinfluencing them in favour of Christianity at Hokchiangalso a book-shop was opened, with good results ;;and at Siengiu English classes were set on foot, andsome of their members began to attend the services.The adult converts of the year 369 in numberincludeda woman in an almshouse, eighty-four years ofage, a member of the station class at Dusung, fourblind women at Kienyang (three of them inmates ofthe C. E. Z. M. S. school for the blind at Kienning),