One way a Wife is provided in China.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Issue 14, 25 March 1899, Page 4

One way a Wife is provided in China.

In a lo\ely mountain laune in China theio s\eic ,i gioup ot neat Chinese houses. Tho inhabitants of the wee village would not n umbei niOie than about, 800 peisons, poiJiaps. Tno houses woie of buck, with Rood, lolty, wide dooiwius, closed Uy stout wooden doois, no windows appeared m the outer walls; tho ioo's w pi e high-pitched and tiled. The enhance to the village was by A winding path loading np thiough the mountains up a bioeid flight (H stejK, thiough an imposing atchway. All the houses opened upon a sqnaie, sometimes with cemented flnoi, m tins case only eaith, of which this gateway was the enhance, it wis lav go- \mt nothing but a goodsized tiee giew within it. Just opposite the gieat enhance was a commodious hall, enclosed only on thiee sides, and open to the squaie, in which woiship was paid to the gieat led and gilt idols enthionedtheiem ; in which also all beuothals, weddings, bun.il and baby naming ntes weie poifoimed by the whole village upon such occasions. All dusty cobwebs and littei, idols and all ; pigs and chikhen plajing aiound them, m fiont of them a dust\ Üble, with dusfy led candles sometimes bninmq, and a coil of incense drooping fiom its smallest eenhe cucle hanging fiom a beam bv a thiead, always burning and wan anted to continue to bum night and d<\\ foy a year betoie it wis consumed. In this Temple Hall weie also plajed many implements which the faunei tolk weie suie wonld not be stolen fiom the \eiy piesence of the idols. Ileie too the caipenter, tinker, or any other woikman may be seen to ply his hade upon any job which it may not be convenient to woik upon in his home. In the squaie, always overlooked by then gods m that hall, gods for whom they have no love or leveience. only an inteimittent feai, aie placed huge lound trays made of bamboo, suppoited oi> hessels ; these were full of gtain winch is always sunned on an? fine day to pi event it being destioved br insects or mildew. Cottondown, nee, millet, maize, wheat, bailey, and another pioduce is olten being sunned all at the same time in one such enclosme. Fowls and babies swaimed all around, and all the women sat out in the sun enjoying the ■SNaimth white they loAed aftei things gener-

ally, and mile shoe* for husband or child, o • embioideie I their own dainiy wee shoes. 1 L was .1 lovely spot commanding a wondeifu 1 mow ot the nvei. city, Like, fields, and mountain steeps on cithci bide. The au was busk and keen , the sun veiy hot toi some horns of the da> . " Do yon know that Golden Gloiy went oIT with a wife last night'" said one woman to another. " Yes," said the other, " poor thing 1 the widow ot third-son has had a haul time to pi ovule foi hei foui childien, their land in the Hats has been Hooded these thiee jeaispisfc; now they have all left and have gone to Kien teb to tiv to get woik in the tea mountains at tea-picking. Golden Gloiy may get some woik at his lia'le ot bncklaymg too" "Alas," lephed hei neighbom. "she is, tiuly to be pitied so hai-l a time she has with hei late opium-smoking sot of a husband, it, killed him, now this one takes just one mouthful of smoke pei day, but we know what that means, he will go tho same \\,iy too no doubt." " You don't mean to say that '" exclaimed thoothei, " and his paients such nice people too, pool woman she would nevei base mamed him it she had known, and with her nice boys too." The mother and her thiee boys and \eiy small girl-baby left the old home, and with the new stepfaf,hei tiamped many a weaiy mile befoie they leached Kien-teb. In such a case — that of a man mai lying a widow — theie is no wedding, he is said to have stolen a wife. He takes hei at evening, s,he and hei fi lends make some hho\> ot leuotance, which is gpneially only a sham, and the man conducts his eaptuie m a covered sedan chan to his home; theieaftei they aie le'i,alij known as husband and wife. Many ye.MS of stiuggle tollowed Golden - Gloiy's anival in Kien-teb; aboutayeai after anotheiboy was bom and named Song; hewAu about two 3 eais youngei than the baby-gnl. As yeais passed, the btep-iathei died a victim to the habit of opium smoking ; each of the thiee elder sons had been piovidpd Vtith & wile, and had letuined to the aneoshal home and fields. The neighbours had often asked the mothei to give her daughtei. or to srLL hei, to be the daughter m-lftw of one or another who had likely &ons not yet provided with a wife, but the -woman refused to hear ot paiting with her gul. Others begged her to get a wife for Song, the youngest son, but she was equally unwilling to do that.

As the young p^T^e grew o! W wY"n thov weie one about nmufe?n. a vl the of,'iei about twerrtv-one, their mother decided that they should be?ime husband itiul wifp This is' peifeefclv legal in China seeing th it; th* smname of raoh is diffeient Had both beon the child] en ol one father by different 7notheis they could not have manje r l, but as they weiG the chilchon of one mother bv diifeienf fathers it was legal, yet such strong feeling exists acrain&t a mauiage of this kin 1 that it it is felt bettei not to attiact too mnt.li notice to it. They ha-1 been mauicJ about hvehc wrs when I fTtst knew them. The old lady w,is pan nt and giev, stiong, boney, and liaidwoifcinff; n good old heathen woman. 11. r son declined from a stion<i, bright, lehah'e man, fond of horn? and chilchon, to a selfish onium sof,, bis fathoi'g ciaving having pon,? upon him, he left his mother and his wife to iced fhemsplves and the chilrlien n,s best they cnnld. Hovv oft Q n hns this old woman ami others asked me wondeiinglv how it could )>othsit the land of snch wondcful reh'gion ,is that of Je«us could send to China such ,m awful cmse as flip civ so of opium One cannot e\pi ess all the ho\iov one has soon this di hit wn-,k. It hns not done one fi action of crond in China, except under the hands of missionaiv doetois. Seeing the ?nls"rv o? ihe whom fairdv we found woik in the Mission Hous» foi tho daucrhfer— Chi cm-sao or Song sao «ao as fhe was geneuilly cnllel (I p , the wife of Ron?) As the days v\pnt hv she became an earnest ChiNtian, and helped to make otheis hear the tiuth t^o ; and, in time, we glad of hei help a<s a TSible woman. Poor woman, she has often told mp of tho mi&eiv she hns gono ttnonah with this hilfbiother husband towaid whom she hn I er.vdinlly come to base abittei hnhed sinrr h" had taken to opium ; he has made it very hm d for her to ina?<e a mofession of Cluisfianii^ . The old mother likes to heai the Gosnri, sio:hs n f ter its benefits, but a 1 ways ]mU it away with the remmk that she is too po^i to lepp the Sabbnth. Chi-sa^ <-aYs el-iest dnuq;htei-in-law is fiv^ -seai" oldei than Kmltioh, oi Golden Wood, the b-^v she is hetiothed to, she lords tt over him as "i elder sisfei can sometimes lord it, in tins land, nevei the Jess she 'nves bmi deailv in qui f e a motheilv wsvv. This lirHe boy anrl his 1 fom-veai-old hi other, Licn-moh 01 Added Wood, arc both in our day school ; both find Kipni (Teliirht in leainiacr hvinns and Rp'- n) . ture, and would not be absent fiom worship on any amount. When L'en-moh was about thie a yenis o^l a little sister came to the home In vain did the mother plead to be peimitted to keep her litt'e tieusuie. Husband and crrandmothe', neinhbouis and fi iends all insisted that she must efthei be killed 01 given away. My pool Chi-sao-sa) came to me wth % bni sting heaif, laid hei baby in mv arms and thiew hei sol f down before me civincr heai vbiokenlv, " Oh tea"her, do take my bnbv, do save it ; they wPI let me give it to yon. but otherwise I must let it an into a heathen family t.o bo hi ought un without evprl:nowin»? about the Loid Jesus." A^.s, it was utteily impossible, ncthei time means, noi onnoitnnitv were om sto ado-it the r>i ettv. soft, ho'n'es-^ little one Only a few days latei the fuends had hi ought a woman who also poss^sq^d a girl baby whom she \vi=hp-l to be lid of. it hxl been auan™d that sbp sliould leave her baby gn) to he wfe to wee L'en m ii and Chi-sai-sao's baby was to go to be wite to this woma i's little boy It was ,\ day of Tieat perenonies when tho exohanee tcHr place. The hous° wxs de-T-afed with led lamps, le'ative \\eie diessad rt their best, and the litt'e boy look°l on wi f \ laige wondering eyes at the pienaia+ions for a modest feast. Neithoi baby hal bs' 111 1 n.i'necl before this day. N)\v a siVn!.\i v/, 1 . paid and feasted to name the ertrls as ih pleased him, he wifing the nane down on i led slip of nancr, whK-h is paicfallv nies^rve 1 For days Chi-^a^-sao li-td b-^en making picM f dainty cap, «hoes, coat and other crarmeit". while hot blinding feii s fell nnon hei ole* er hands Veiv nretfv did the wee net look m this ff.iv clothing, but while otheis fpi-. 1 "'! th^ heait&oie mother sat fondling the darhn? so soon to be taken from he 1 . She si id. and rlt* believed it, that she should n<n>pr be the sunpacrnin, but soon the littlp helnless bnn He of wants which lav in hei bieist instead of hei own claimed hei cue and r,o\rc too Ye- 1 she learned to l^vp the wee dan {hre 1 in-lay, who very soon lorded it over pvervon" in her lealm of Babvdom, fiom her babr throne in home love; quite as cva^fiii^ and domineering as any pet lubv in this lanij. Nneithpless, I have oftea hptirl the mothei-in-lnw piavmg for the wee ri.Ti'ihtpv thit she vwr some flay hear tlie tiuth. and leim to lo\o Jesus too. Foui vem-old Lien-moli dies to cany his baby-wife when lie eets the chance ; but genei.illv manages to 1 oil ovei with her to her g'eat indignatim-" when they unite in ,\ howl. Not pool ci,r-> ini;j'S not nooi \\ r rr%rs, not poor thinss ; but men and women hkf omselves, and little ehilrLen lovable as tlir dailincs you love Poi'owin", h ipintj, featin?, suifeiing. and passincr out of Ibis umiit without ore chance of heaiing aboni God and Hi= wr>ndei ful love aie thon nndji nnon thousands of Chinese this \eiv day Yfhn will heai ken io G^d's command and go to fell them of Jesus' Who will give fll tint G>d sees they can gfvo that others imtv go ° Who will be p'irnest in pi aver for the^e fellow soit?s? Who will daie to lefnse to help thrLord in this iroik 9