THE following Services, at which Sermons will be preached, or Addresses given, to the young, will be held, in connection with the Missionary Anniversaries, on Lord's-day afternoon, April 26. The Services will commence at three o'clock, and close at a quarter past four. The hymns to be sung are printed in another part of this Magazine. HENRY KEEN, Secretaries of the Young Men's Association in THE ANNUAL PUBLIC MEETING of the Young Men's Association will be held at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, on Thursday evening, April 30. The Revs. W. Brock, jun., Š. Coley, A. Hannay, and N. Haycroft, M.A., will address the Meeting. **The Committee of the Young Men's Association beg to thank the young friends at the undermentioned schools for their kind exertions in collecting the sums named on behalf of the Native Preachers' Fund 1 A FERNANDIAN CHIEF. BY MRS. SAKER. THE photograph, from which the engraving on the other side is copied, was taken by a Spaniard at Fernando Po. The natives of Fernando Po are, a very intelligent tribe of Africans, more industrious and independent in spirit than the tribes on the continent, owing most likely to their being a free people. Slavery is not known among them; I do not think they even purchase wives as do most other Africans; but an engagement is entered into by the parents while the children are young. Of this I am not sure, as some of the chiefs have a number of wives. The men and women generally wear nothing but a skin tied round the loins, as represented in the engraving, with the skin of snakes, or monkeys' tails, round the waist. The chiefs wear a covering on the legs, arms, and neck, composed of cowries (small shells), and palm oil, and clay; they have a band made of plaited grass round the arm to carry their knife; others have a quantity of chains made of grass by the women. It is made in very small links joined together, each link neatly plaited. It looks almost impossible to have been done with the fingers. The hat is of plaited grass, round and flat, pinned to the hair with porcupines' quills, and adorned with birds' feathers of various colours. The hair, after being drawn out in small pieces, is rolled into two or three rows resembling curls, with a mixture of palm oil and clay, giving it the appearance of an enormous wig: the country name is Busipa. They do not wash their bodies, but rub themselves also with palm oil and clay. During the time our missionaries were at Fernando Po, we had several interesting converts from among them. One man became a teacher among his countrymen. He was married by Dr. Prince, built a house in Clarence, and although his life was at first threatened, he travelled from village to village, telling of a Saviour's love. During one of these tours, in which he was often absent from his home three or four weeks, he was taken sick, returned home, and died in a few days, rejoicing in the Saviour, and in hope of a happy eternity. "NOT GOING TO THE FEAST." THE day appointed for the marriage of Hester Wynn was an orphan who had for several months been the occasion of much anxiety to the managers of this school. Many attempts had been made to win her confidence, and for a time, success had appeared to attend the efforts of some who had laboured much and prayed much for her spiritual welfare; but her goodness had been as the morning cloud, and as the early dew it had gone away. Words about Jesus had passed her lips; "I do wish to be saved!" bad been her cry, but still she had never sought Him after whom she professed to long, and a short time had sufficed for her return to carelessness and indifference. Her anxiety to sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the marriage supper of the Lamb was of the past, and she cared much more for earthly than heavenly joys. The festivities which were to celebrate the marriage of the Prince of Wales were of greater importance, she thought, than the joys that are eternal! But there was no hope for Hester in regard to that eventful day. Scarcely more than a week had gone by since a great wrong had by her been committed secretly, a dishonourable action against one who had been very kind to her, and as this fault was still unrepented, a prolonged punishment had been inflicted upon the offender. Under these circumstances it was clearly impossible to permit the unhappy child to unite in the various pleasures of the season. Processions, bonfires, feastings, illuminations, were not for her. Had Hester been sorry for her sin she would never have resisted a sentence so just and wise, but her heart was still proud, and I fear that the devil had it all his own way with her on that 10th of March, as she awaited in sullen silence the return of her companions. They were long in coming, for they had much to do, much to see, and much to hear, ere night. Public schools of all kinds had been invited to express their loyalty by uniting in a demonstration, and our friends from S-D- were amongst those who had accepted the invitation. As they went down one hill and up another, the sound of the merry bells of D—, and P—, and S―, met their strained ears, and made their young hearts bound with joy and pleasure. In a village through which they passed rows of flags hung across the street, and there was a grand display of evergreens encircling gas-pipes twisted into double "A's," and all that sort of thing. In the large open ground, half field, half park, to which they hastened, thousands of smiling folks were watching the formation of a procession-or, as the children would have called it, the procession. Six thousand young people were that day to march through D-, and, at the close of their march, sing the 100th Psalm, and the National Anthem, with the following additional verses : "God bless her royal son, From every snare. Smile on the young Princess, Earth's purest pleasures share, In heaven above!" Copies of these lines, with a Prince of Wales' plume at the top, were given to all who united in this procession, and it was regarded as a point of honour that each voice of the six thousand should be thus raised in prayer for our beloved Queen and her family. And they did sing, those boys and girls, that day! With banners flying, and hearts beating, and crowds listening, they poured forth the noble strains of the grand old anthem, and implored God's blessing on the good Queen and her children. Then there were "huzzas" enough to last a year; three cheers for her Majesty, three for the Prince, three for the Princess, three for the Mayor of D, who had helped to get up the demonstration, and three more for friends in general and nobody in particular. After this great exertion, which, of course, made people hungry, the six thousand went off in groups to partake of refreshments, and I can assure you that Hester's schoolfellows liked this part of the business as well as any. Then the March twilight deepened, and the street lamps were lighted, and everybody sallied forth to see the illuminations, which were really fine. In the port were two ships of war; these were very beautiful. From each port-hole gleamed a brilliant light, and from mast and rigging hung a thousand lamps which, the night being dark, marked the outline with exquisite clearness. One of "the stately homes of England," on the opposite side of the river looked like a fiery castle in the air, so dazzling was its radiance and so deep the surrounding gloom. To describe all that the children saw that night in one short story is impossible. I pass over the rest of the illuminations, and the fireworks, and hasten to the crowning pleasure of the night, the gigantic bonfire. What fun it was to watch the lighting up of that great mound of tar-barrels, and to see how the flames leaped and curled and roared above and around them! Poor Hester! |