Stations in the Soudan. 35 500 men and 500 boys were Moslems. Besides these, in the churches on Sunday, at least another 250 men, 500 women and 300 girls heard the Gospel.’ The visits to Minieh were repeated by Mr. Gairdner in 1909 with much evident success.

CHAPTER YV.

STATIONS IN THE SOUDAN.

1. KHARTOUM.

KuHaArtroum, which means in Arabic an ‘elephant’s trunk,’ derives its name from a tongue of land which runs into a point at the juriction of the Blue and White Niles. It contains a population of 14,000, of whom more than one-third, slaves who were liberated when the British captured the town after the battle of Omdurman, live outside the city in the slave settlements.

Advantage was promptly taken of the permission given by the Government in 1902* to admit Moslem children to a school which the Copts had handed over to the Mission when the independent support which had previously maintained it failed, and by the spring of 1904 the attendance had risen to sixtyeight, most of the girls being Moslems. The school at that time was under the management of a Syrian teacher, who did admirable work, but scon an English lady was placed in charge. A large proportion of the children are now Mohammedans, and very few of them are withdrawn by their parents from the religious instruction which is given daily.

Striking proof of the value of the school was given in 1908 when Bishop Gwynne returned to Khartoum after his consecration as Bishop-Suffragan for the Soudan. He was then presented with an address, originated and written by the Moslem girls in the school, which concluded with a remarkable prayer.

It ran as follows :— ‘ Almighty and Everlasting God, we beseech Thee to hear us, and bless us; for Thou art the Creator of the world, and all that is in the world. Arm us, O Lord, with piety, that we might not go astray from Thy way, and might always be uninjured by all the attempts of evil. We beseech Thee, good Lord, to * See p. 20,