Untitled

EVANGELISATION IN THE CITIES. 175111 the larger cities there are always hotels frequented by merchants from different parts of the empire.rExcellent work is often done b} a colporteur visitingthese houses. It is especially effective if a Hunanesecolporteur can go to a Hunan hotel, a Szechueii6.se to aSzechuen hotel and so on, but given grace and tact aman of any province may go to an inn of any province andusually make a good sale of books. Years ago whenHunan was a closed province the Christian colporteurwas always welcomed in the large Hunan inns at Hankowand found his books purchased with avidity. Hunaneseaway from home were keen to see and possess thewicked Christian books of which they had heardso much evil, and in many cases took them backto villages and cities that otherwise would neverhave had an opportunity of learning the message ofChristianity.In a similar way the boats from a distance thatcrowd the river marts should be regularly visited andespecial attention be given to the Chinese and foreignsteamers that are so largely used by nalive travellers, and to railway passengers wherever they canbe reached. Formerly the steamer passenger beguiledthe tedium of the journey with the opium pipe, today he provides himself with cheap literature, whichoften means the translation of an undesirable Frenchnovel. When Christian books are attractively gotUp, as they usually are to-day, the colporteur can takehis place among the other booksellers and be sure ofmaking sales.To make colportage work really effective more timeshould be given to the training of the colporteur let at;least a year s instruction be given him at the commencement of his career and a special school be arranged forsuch workers at least once a year. There is at presenttoo little touch between the colporteurs of differentsocieties working from one centre, yet they are men ofsimilar type and with similar difficulties and temptations,