and officers in New York, the teachers and pupils in the various schools, the pastors and the people of their charge, might all assemble, each in the midst of their own responsibilities, and pray for a blessing on the work begun and to be prosecuted through the year. It was pleasant to feel that we were mingling the incense of our petition and praise with the great cloud which was ascending from all parts of Protestant Christendom during this week of prayer.

We came from this still hour, in the midst of the busy, bustling city, realizing more than we are wont, that after all it is not the drive and tear of eager human life on which we depend for success, but the loving heart of God, which moves with unseen arm the doors of opportunity which swing on noiseless hinges at His touch; that it is He alone who gives the wisdom to direct and the strength to achieve; that He turns the hearts of men as the rivers of water are turned.

We have been accustomed to make our pleas for help to those whom we believed the Lord's heart had touched, that there might not fail us a supply of men and means; and our requests have not been in vain, but have been answered with generous liberality. But, brethren, when we have come to you to ask your help, we have followed the example of the good governor of Jerusalem, and have first prayed to the God of heaven; and when you have responded, we have recognized, as he did, that you have "granted us according to the good hand of our God upon us." Perplexing questions come up from week to week for settlement and wise decision. Thank God we may go to Him and plead His promise to give us light on the way.

With all our need of men and means to carry on the work which the Lord has entrusted to this agency, we recognize still more our constant need of that Divine help which alone can never fail us. Dear fellow-workers in this special field, let the spirit and the practice of this week of prayer go with us through the year. Let those who manage, those who do the detail work, and those who furnish the supplies, all pray for themselves, each other and the work. We shall work better if we pray. We shall give more graciously as well as generously if we pray. We shall pray such prayers as God most willingly will hear and answer, if we give and work for the things for which we ask.

Our dependence for the year to come may well be expressed in the words of the good man, to whom we have referred already, "The God of heaven He will prosper us; therefore, we His servants will arise and build."

THE MISSIONS IN CENTRAL AFRICA.

When Livingstone entered upon his life work in Africa, not quite forty years ago, Kuruman was the farthest inland station; since then great things have been done for Africa. Dividing that part of Africa which lies south of the equator into three equal parts of twelve degrees each, we find that Kuruman falls within the southernmost division, or South Africa. In the second division, or South-Central Africa, lie Lake Ngami and most of Lake Nyassa, both of which were discovered by Dr. Livingstone. In the third division, Central Africa, extending from 9 degrees to 3 degrees south latitude, lies Lake Tanganyika, discovered by Burton and Speke in 1858. To the north of Tanganyika are several lakes, the largest of which is the Victoria Nyanza. The Victoria Nyanza was discovered by Speke in 1858, and circumnavigated by Stanley in 1875. It lies between the 32d and 35th parallels of longitude from Greenwich, and extends from 2½ degrees south latitude to the north of the equator by the fraction of a degree. Its superficial area is 21,500 square miles, being nearly as large as Lake Michigan, and 100 fathoms will not measure its deepest waters. The lake is in a direct line about 520 miles from the east coast, and about 1,600 miles from the west coast. Ujiji, on the eastern shore of Tanganyika, is 625 miles from the east coast, in a direct line.

These great lakes, Nyassa, Tanganyika and Nyanza, afford excellent facilities for missionary operations. They make the torrid heat of the equatorial sun tolerable; they cause rains which produce a luxuriant vegetation; and their broad, deep waters enable the missionaries to travel swiftly from point to point by steamer, bringing them within easy communication with various and distant tribes.

The first of these great inland missions was established by the Free Church of Scotland. The discoveries of Livingstone had drawn the attention of the Church to interior Africa as early as 1861, and some correspondence was had with the great traveller, who recommended the shores of Lake Nyassa as affording an excellent site for a new mission. It was not until 1875, however, when Livingstone's "Last Journals" had been published, and had created a great enthusiasm for the redemption of Africa, that the Free Church definitely decided to undertake the enterprise. The money asked for, $50,000, was soon raised. The pioneer party left Scotland early in the Spring of 1875, and arrived at its destination in the following October. The route was up the Zambesi River to the Murchison Cataracts, the steamer and goods being carried around the cataracts by 800 porters, and launched again in the Shiré River, reaching the lake in two days from the cataracts. The whole distance is about 400 miles. Later in the year the second party, under Dr. Stewart, the head of the mission, started for the lake. The site of the mission station, Livingstonia, was chosen on Cape Maclear, at the southern end of the lake. Buildings were put up at once, and attempts made to secure the friendship of the natives, few of whom manifested any hostility. Trips were made to the northern and western shores of the lake, and no opposition was encountered anywhere. The missionaries say no real obstacle to the success of the mission presents itself. It has been found, however, that Livingstonia will have to be abandoned. It has a good harbor, but the soil is poor and the land lies low, and is too circumscribed to sustain a large population. Besides, the tsetse fly, that destroyer of cattle, has appeared. A new site is to be chosen, and an expedition is searching for one on the west coast, about 145 miles north of Livingstonia, among a people of Zulu origin, called the Maviti. The Maviti inhabit a high table land, and are quite numerous.

Of course, but little actual mission work has been performed thus far. The mission has no permanent home, and time is required for preparation. Sunday services have been held from the first, and a school with a fair attendance is carried on. A great deal has been accomplished, however, in suppressing the slave trade. Formerly thousands of slaves were sent across the lake from Jumbe's, who is a Mohammedan, but the Arab traders have now left the lake and gone inland to carry on their nefarious business. Two members of the mission, Dr. Laws and Capt. Elton, have died, and all have had the fever.

A short distance to the south of Livingstonia, and closely connected with it, is Blantyre, the mission of the church of Scotland. It has a very favorable location in the Shiré hills. It is high, cool, well wooded, a stream is near, it has good soil, and an iron mine. Until last year the evangelistic work was performed by a missionary from Livingstonia, but now an ordained missionary is in charge. The gardeners have a large tract under cultivation, and Blantyre is evidently to become the centre of a large population. The natives are gathering around it, they are very friendly, and they are giving more attention to the cultivation of the soil. The school has many promising scholars.

The second mission established in Central Africa was that of the Church Missionary Society on the Victoria Nyanza. November 15, 1875, a London paper printed a letter from Stanley calling for Christian missionaries to enter Mtesa's country, Uganda. Three days later the Church Missionary Society received a