MOHAMMED.

The nomadic habits of this wild people favor the cultivation of a sort of rude morality. This is principally noticeable in the status of their women. Polygamy is virtually unknown among them, and women are treated with more consideration and respect than among their more pretentious Turkish neighbors. They mingle freely in conversation and social gatherings with the men, and do not so persistently veil their faces.

The religion of the Koords, so far as concerns external appearance and profession, is that of Mohammed; but it requires only a slight acquaintance with their habits and feelings to perceive that this is but a thin pretense. At heart they cling to the ancient traditions of their idolatrous ancestors. Even where settled in permanent villages they have almost no regular mosques, and they make but little pretence at regularity in devotional exercises, such as are characteristic of the faithful Musselman. They have, however, an entire religious system in secret, to which they are devotedly attached; secret meetings at dead of night, at which it is said that no intruder ever dare to be present, or, if so bold as to enter, never comes out alive-and mystic rites, which suspicion and prejudice have exaggerated to horrid orgies. They profess to accept the truth of the Bible, but also claim to have another mysterious book, hidden from the eyes of

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ordinary mortality. A priesthood of great power among the people preside over these mysteries, and perform many sorceries similar to those of the Western "medicine men."

In the doctrinal basis of this strange religion, many of the beliefs of the Shuto Mohammedan heretics find a place. Chief among these is the deifying of the prophet's successor, Ali, whom they also indentify with "the angel" and with Christ. One doctrine they hold which might, perhaps, be more emphasized to advantage in some more cultivated creeds, namely, that each individual person is possessed and inhabited by either God or Satan, and hence is wholly under the influence of the indwelling spirit, either good or bad. They believe also in the transmigration of souls, and incline to a mystic sort of pantheism. Their mysterious secret rites include one ceremony which bears a probably more than accidental resemblance to the most sacred of Christian forms. A cup of wine is passed about, each one taking a sip. But scrupulous care is taken to exclude from this privilege any individual guilty of heinous crimes or of unfaithfulness to the order.

The most interesting fact in the religious condition. of the Koordish people is the well known inclination of large numbers of them toward the Christian faith. The tyranny of a bigoted Mohammedan government alone. prevents considerable bodies of these people from declaring their adhesion to the Christian belief. This has been true, at least in scattered instances, for many years, but the presence and labors of evangelical missionaries have developed this desire in some remarkable demonstrations.-Herald and Presbyter.

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Devil Possession in India.

BY REV. J. P. JONES.

Is there such a thing as being possessed of a devil? They who say "No" are very few in India. The bulk of the people here strongly believe it because they think they almost daily see instances of it. The long-debated question as to whether those cases which came under the notice of our Savior in Palestine were or were not real possessions admits of but one answer to the Hindu student of the Bible. "For," says he, “have I not seen scores of cases of real possession myself?" It is not strange in a land where devil-worship is so universal as it is in India that it should be accompanied by the belief that some of these beings do make their personal abode in certain men and women and control their actions. The result which we witness here is a large body of human beings in every district who are "possessed," and who, while in that state, are regarded as irresponsible agents.

The other day began an annual festival in this city. It continues nine days, and is the special season of exorcism-the time when the family of every afflicted one hopes to appease the greater deity by offerings and other means and thereby drive out the imp or imps from their dear one. During this festival I visited our great heathen temple and had an opportunity of witnessing some of the victims of this evil. I was informed that no fewer than 500 women thus afflicted were brought to this temple during this present festival for cure! I saw only a few of them-enough, however, to fill me with sadness and disgust. Almost all the subjects are women, it being a rare sight to witness a man in this state.

If it be asked what are the evidences and causes of this trouble, I would say that they are numerous. If a woman is of a specially vicious disposition, abusing her husband and in her rage destroying his property, they will charitably say that she is possessed, and will take her to the temple for exorcism!

A childless woman is considered by her husband as being the abode of a devil which must be cast out. A woman goes to the bazaar at night and imagines she sees a ghost on the way! She faints away on her return, by which she is henceforth regarded as a slave to the evil one which she saw until he is cast out of her! Indeed, I might say generally that almost all nervous affections are liable to be regarded as indications of the presence of a devil, as are many other diseases also.

The relatives having decided that the individual is possessed, they take her to the temple for cure. She may remonstrate and proclaim her freedom from a devil, but they insist upon her going. After she enters the temple she is expected to go through the "devil dance," which is a rapid swinging of the head (with dishevelled hair) in a circle whose radius is about one foot. If she goes through this performance it is to them a sure sign of possession. Sometimes the poor woman persists in proclaiming her innocence and will not dance, until they finally tell her that this is a clear indication that

she is possessed of a "dumb devil," which is considered the worst kind. This frightens the poor woman, who thereupon yields in her terror, and begins to move her head around with the hundreds of others similarly afflicted about her. The poor creatures that I witnessed were indeed a most pitiful sight. They swung their heads rapidly, with their hair flying in the air and with glaring eyes, crying in the meanwhile to the temple goddess to save them. It is curious that only the goddesses, so far as I know, are prayed to in these emergencies. Probably the gods are indifferent to their troubles! After swinging thus for a few minutes the poor creatures grow dizzy and tumble over helplessly. But none of the relations who sit around move a hand to help them. After recovering they sit up and resume their sad task, and continue it at intervals for two or three hours. If the devil has not come out they return the next day to the temple and go through the same performance. Those that I saw had been there for seven successive days.

I had the privilege of witnessing the evil ones (for there were said to be two) go out of one of them. The priest stood near by and took a lock of her hair and raised it up to see whether it would stand on end. Upon its refusal to do so he told her to "dance" more. After doing so for a few minutes he tried the lock of hair again, and lo, it stood on end! Whether it was done by wax or by electrical friction I do not know. To me its standing was curious enough, to them it was a certain indication that the devils were passing out through this individual lock. The priest thereupon tied the lock of hair into a few knots so as to be sure which it was. The woman then arose, put up her hair, and seemed at the end of the agony and in her right mind. The two devils in passing out gave instructions that the lock of hair should be cut off in two parts and buried in two separate places then specified. With the cutting of the hair the evil one is supposed to pass out entirely, and after the further duty of making offerings to the patron goddess the trouble is supposed to be at an end.

They claim that many are cured and that some leave only to return the next annual festival. Certainly the excitement of the occasion, with the whirling agonies, may be enough to do anything. Add to this the credulity of the poor creatures and their yearning to be freed from what their priests have taught them to be nothing else than the indwelling of an evil spirit. It is also true that when the devil will not reply to the questions of the priest, or, in other words, that the woman won't, the priest cruelly beats her with a big stick until, as he says, the devil submits. One common thing which they do with the lock of hair is to nail it to a tree, into which the devil enters with the nail. Some trees have scores of such locks nailed to them.

It must not be supposed that all who are afflicted thus go to the temples for relief. In villages there are soothsayers, one of whose chief sources of revenue is in casting out devils, and they use the stick very freely.

Their favorite trick is to ask a certain sum in advance for casting out the evil one. Having gone half through the work of exorcism they claim that the devil is very obstinate, for which reason they must have more money before they proceed. Upon the appearance of any nervous affection these soothsayers declare it is possession, and thereby frighten the people into believing it.— Christian Weekly.

A Trip in Korea by a Missionary.

BY REV. H. C. APPENZELLER.

(The following is a report read to the Monthly Meeting of the Methodist Episcopal Mission at Seoul, Korea, June 2, 1887.)

I left for Ping Yang city April 13 last in company with J. H. Hunt, Esq., of the customs service. Ping Yang city is 550 li from Seoul. Our route lay over the famous Peking road. This is a good road with but a few places where to my mind it is impassable for carts. Carts, however, do pass those places, but how they do it is more than I can see.

The first day we traveled forty li stopping at Koyang, a small village of 130 houses, so we were told by the people, but this is a mere guess. From this place there are two students in our mission school. Villages of this size and larger ones contain an official's house, a few tiled houses generally in a dilapidated condition; the rest are straw-thatched. The streets are narrow and filthy as a rule, though not always, with an abundance. of idle men, dirty children and a few women, who seem to do most of the work.

Sunto, the capital of Korea during the last or Wang dynasty, is a walled city, with a population inside and outside the walls of say 80,000. About one-third of the city is cultivated. The ancient palace was in the northern part of the city, beautifully situated at the foot of the mountains, but nothing of the buildings is seen now. The ginseng farms are interesting and give em ployment to many people. There are no other industries; the business part centers around the South Gate; most of the shops are on the outside.

As a mission station Sunto can easily be worked from Seoul. Medical work could, I suppose, be begun there by a doctor visiting the place monthly or even oftener.

Leaving Sunto one feels he is beyond the direct influence of Seoul and is truly plunging into the interior. The country becomes more hilly and of course poorer, until the An mountains, a series of rolling knolls, are reached. It was in this neighborhood that Mr. Hunt's teacher made his humorous remark: "Here they have good hills, good stones, good water-and nothing else." Seventy li from Sunto, where we stopped over night, we noticed for the first time stones or slates used for roofing. The country is poorer, nothing but dry grains are raised; in fact but comparatively few rice fields are seen after leaving Sunto. Wang Hai is not a fertile province.

Gold mountain is a hill said by the inhabitants to contain the precious metal; it has, as far as we could judge, every indication of possessing some kind of min

eral wealth. We remember it especially because of its strong springs of splendidly cold water.

Se Hung is a village of 3,000 inhabitants or more. Pong San is another thriving (for Korea) village, after leaving which we crossed the highest hill-less than a thousand feet-between here and Ping Yang.

We reached Whang Chow April 20. This is a walled town of 4,000 houses, situated on the south side of a hill and on a large creek. The town itself has every appearance of poverty, though the surrounding country is not barren. A few foreign articles, such as cotton cloth, paints and watches, were exposed in the shops. We asked a dealer how the trade was and he replied, very good. But this was so indefinite, for from the stock he had on hand then one is inclined to think he would regard selling one or two pieces of cloth a year as doing a very brisk business. Foreigners are rarely seen here, and their presence is as much a source of fear to some as of curiosity to others.

Leaving this town we also leave the steep hills and narrow valleys so characteristic of Korea. A splendid road leads through a plain with just enough gentle knoils and a sprinkling of trees to keep it from being the equal of a small prairie. The soil is neither very good nor very bad, I should say; entirely useless for rice, but good for dry grains.

On Saturday afternoon, April 23, as our train came to the top of a small knoll we first saw the city of Ping Yang in the distance. The city is situated on the west side of the Tai Tong river. It does not lie "four square" by any means; one could hardly conceive of a more irregular wall. Its length, however, is north and south; the lowest places are most thickly settled, a characteristic of Korean cities and villages.

The city wall is not as strong as that of Seoul, and the same may be said of the gates, except the east gate, which, facing the river, is indeed imposing. The city contains considerably over a population of 100,000, beside those in the suburbs. It is the capital of the province of the same name and will always be the center of trade and political influence.

The people are more independent than in some parts of Korea. There is a large field here and I believe, should a port be opened, we ought to establish a station at once. A doctor and a teacher should enter at the same time. While in the city I was asked by one of my former pupils to open a school, saying there were many who desired to study English. School and medical work are undoubtedly the entering wedges to our work in Korea. Teaching and healing are very acceptable.

The mineral wealth of Ping Yang Do is believed to be great. We saw the coal mine, rather quarry, for it is nothing more as yet. The coal is brittle because so near the surface, but has great heating qualities. The gold mines we started to visit, but because of the swollen stream and broken bridges did not succeed, to our regret.

The General Sherman affair is remembered by the people, but they refuse to be questioned about it.

Ceylon Scenes.

BY MRS. J. L. PHILLIPS.

As our vessel entered the harbor in Ceylon, catamarans-trough-like boats with wide out. rigging-were cutting the surf in every direction, bringing us tropical fruits. Though many years have slipped away, those bright Cingalese faces, their merry voices, and even the delicious flavor of fruits, come to us with to-day's freshness. We have seen many people in many lands, but none so universally light-hearted and gay. From the mountain fastnesses, cocoanut shades, cinnamon gardens, and ocean's pearly banks they came to us laughing, they went away laughing, and we laugh at their spontaneous merriment as we remember it today..

From their little sea-girt home they send out some of earth's rarest products. Cocoanut-palms, indeed, palms of every variety, whose uses are equal to the number of days in the year, grow in great luxuriance. Before the Portuguese reached Ceylon the Arabs brought the coffee-plant, whose tender leaves the Cingalese used for

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curry and its delicate jessamine flowers to adorn the shrines of Buddha until the English Viceroy himself laid out coffee plantations for them and made it an article of commerce. Cocoa and chocolate that give our breakfast tables their aroma flourish here. Lovely pearls are found off Ceylon's coasts, and she sends rubber from the caoutchouc-tree, ivory from her wild elephants, malarial healing from the cinchona. plant, and finest spices to every quarter of the globe. Her cinnamon and spice gardens are extremely beautiful, and the nutmeg, with its rosy pulp opening when ripe so as to disclose an ebony shell entwined with a scarlet lacework of mace, beneath which lies the real spice, is queen of all.

Nature has given Ceylon a sheltered nook just south of the wild cyclones that sweep Madras and Calcutta. It is too far west for the Java earthquakes and a little east of the Madagascar and Mauritius hurricanes.

Colombo, one of its capitals, has become the great central mail and commercial steamer port in the East. All the magnificent steamers of the Peninsula and Oriental Company and many lines from Europe, China, and Australia stop here regularly. It is a delightful entrance to the mountains beyond, which European invalids and tourists visit very frequently. The sons of the Prince of Wales went to remote haunts to see some wild elephants kraaled or driven into an inclosure.

But the monarchs of the jungle proposed no such entertainment for foreign royalty, and remained on their own thrones till the day after the princes left, when they walked into the kraal with elephantine majesty, much to the chagrin of the captors whose frantic efforts were so untimely.

The other capital, Kandy, nestled among the hills like Benares, Mecca and Jerusalem, has its shrine sacred to a large portion of the human family. Maligáwa, or most sacred Buddhist temple in the world, contains the Dalada, or Buddha's tooth, to which kings. of Burma, India, Tibet, China, and Japan send offerings.

The Buddhist feast in honor of the Dalada is marked with Oriental brilliancy. The sactuary which holds the tooth is in one corner of the temple attached to the palace of the kings. The six cases which enshrine it are of silver, gold and precious stones. On the festal day the three inner cases are placed on the back of an elephant, richly caparisoned. As he passes through the temple gate two lines of magnificent elephants, forming a double line in front of the entrance, kneel while the people join the points of their fingers above their heads, and the vast multitude burst into a chorus of solemn adoration. The elephant then passes on to a temporary temple surpassing Corinthian architecture in beauty and grace. Here the cases are removed, ard on a gold lotus flower in the center of a silver table the tooth, a bit of discolored curved ivory, two inches long, appears, an object of intense veneration to the Buddh