A KOREAN REVIVAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 81

A KOREAN REVIVAL.

Lord W». Gtascoyne Cecil, a son: ©f the late Lord*Salisbury> has been to China and Korea investigating;, missionary prospects. He has "Contributed :seyeraL extremely in--teresting.'articles on bis:.:journey.:to_ The iTimes, ibrut tSe most dramatic is this-ac-count of .» Korean.>revivai«: — "There-is- inthe north oi>- Korea' a town* called Pyeng jsTang, in which, work tw.Oi bodies of Amen? -can missionaries, jwith, ordinary, ,if rather successful, miseions. They had a practice' of. suinmpnirig all their converts from the" country" round to come for 10" - days in the spring- to receive 'further instruction in tb.V; faith, for the ignorance of professing" Christians is at n all {imes a great difficulty to the missionaries. "The meetings held on the first seven days were oommonpla'ee. The usual syllabus of instruction was followed, and at the end of the week, to all appearance, the j meetings^ might be expected to go on aso they always had done till they closed on ! the tenth day. But just at the end, to

the surprise'^of^ the missionary who was conducting' the nfeeting, one of the Korean s men arose aaid expressed a desire to speak, as something was on his mind - which lay so heavily on his : conscience that" he could 'ho longer sit still. This caused a feeling of annoyahoe> '"to the conductor of the ser- . vice, for it was in the nature of an ' interruption; but' he thought it- wiser to give • the man leave to unburden 'his conscience. ; The sin turned out to be -merely a feeling of animosity and injury on account of a fancied slight which he had received a year ago "'from the missionary. To settle his doubt; • the missionary, assured "'him that he forgave him for- his ill-temper, and then -began to say -a prayer. ~ J "He reached only- the word, 'My Father,' when, with a rush, a power from without seemed to -take hold of the meeting. '-The Europeans described its manifestations as

terrifying. Nearly everybody present was seized with the most poignant sense of mental anguish, before each one his own sins seemed to 6e rising in- condemnation of his life- Some, w^re springing, to their feet pleading 'for an "opportunity to relieve their consciences by making their abasement known, others were silent but rent with agony, clenching their fists and striking their heads, against the ground, in the struggle to -resist the Power that would fence them- to" confess -their misdeeds. 'From 8 in evening to 2 in the morning did this scene gOiOn, and --then the missionaries, horror-struck at. some of the 6ias confessed, frightened by the presence of a Power which could work such • a wonder, - reduced to tears by sympathy with the mental agony of the Korean disciples whom they loved so dearly, stopped the meeting. "Some went home to sleep, but many of the Koreans spent the night awake ; some in prayer, others in terrible spiritual conflict. Next day the missionaries hoped that the storm was over, and that the comforting teaching of the Holy Word would bind up the wounds of yesternight, but again the same anguish, the Bame confession of sins, and so it went on for several days."