eep us little children in remembrance. Therefore, on
the 28th day of the seventh month (August 21, 1854) the brethren with
united heart have prayed earnestly beseeching God that this our general
letter may be conveyed to the great Public Society, that you may certainly
know these our affairs, and pray God, in behalf of us, that this our
request may be granted. Please give our salutation to the brethren.

KONG-BIAU,
TEK-IAM,
TEK-EIAN,
U-JU,
SI_BU,
JIT-SOM,
KI-AN,
LAM-SAN,
KIM KOA,
"The disciples of Jesus at Peh-chui-ia.

"Presented to the Public Society that all the disciples may read it."

Mr. Talmage concludes a letter speaking of the "times of refreshing" in
these words:

"This remarkable work may well fill our hearts with gratitude and
encouragement. Heretofore, we have always been obliged to wait a long time
before we were permitted to see much fruit of our labor; and we were almost
led to the conclusion that such must always be the case, in carrying the
Gospel to a heathen people. Now we see that such need not be the course of
events. We should preach the Gospel with larger expectations, and in the
hope of more immediate fruit. He who commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, can shine into the darkest minds, 'to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus' on the first
announcement of the truth as it is in Jesus. When the proper time comes,
and His Church is made ready for the great accession, it will be an easy
thing for Him to accomplish the expectation that a nation shall be born at
once."

VIII. CHURCH UNION.

Missionary work in its initial stage has only to do with first principles.

Given shelter, food, power of utterance in a foreign tongue, a preaching
spot, a company of hearers, and you have bounded the horizon for the
present.

No sooner, however, is a goodly company of believers gathered, but
problems, numerous and weighty, confront the missionary.

How shall the company of believers be organized and governed? Shall it be
exactly on the model of the church which the missionary represents? If
not, what modifications shall be made? Shall the seedling ten thousand
miles away be roped to the mother tree or shall it be encouraged to stand
alone? What advantages in independence? What perils? What shall be the
status of the foreign missionary before the native church just organizing?
What relation shall he sustain to the