After the reading, I presented each one with a copy of the _Charge_, as it was in little book form, with which they seemed to be much gratified. * * * * * NORTH CAROLINA. Facts About the Taught and the Teachers. MRS. ALFRED CONNET, McLEANSVILLE. We have been here seventeen months. During this time I have refrained from expressing myself in regard to the negroes and our work among them. Every day we are more and more convinced of their deep degradation; in fact, it is entirely beyond anything we had imagined. They seem to be guilty of the whole category of sins, but, perhaps, their untruthfulness is most prominent. We cannot have a self-reporting system in school, but there are some noble exceptions to the general rule. The most pitiable objects are those women who have families, but never had husbands. One such woman last fall told me that she was going to gather “shoemake” (shumac) leaves that week, and get her a pair of shoes. Saturday afternoon, she stopped on her way home from the store. “Well, Aunty, did you get your shoes?” “No; Mr. F. showed me so much purty caliker that I bought me a dress.” She already had about a dozen calico dresses. “But what will you do for shoes?” “I don’t know; but I prays to the good Lord to keep me from getting sick when I get my feet wet.” I guess He heard her, for she is well. In contrast with this, the woman who washes for us saves up her wages and buys just what she and her child really need. The women have not made as much advancement as the men; but there is good reason for this. They have gone to the field as regularly as the men, and have had their cooking and housework to do; and, in addition to this, they have borne a child every year or two. When they come to church they have these small children to care for. They were pleased when they learned that the “new minister” was glad to see them and their babies. It is hard to hold their attention, they are so tired, and have so much to think about what they shall eat and wear. We wish we could do them more good; but we must turn our energies principally to the young. Sin and temptation beset the young girls on every side, and, alas! too many of them yield. One asked me in regard to that terrible, nameless crime. I told her that the life of the child was just as sacred before birth as after birth. She said that the crime was quite common here. Mr. C. has since preached against it. Faith in God is very strong in some of them. One dear Aunty, who has a very large family, and much to do, said: “When I feels so tired, I just ask the Lord to give me strength to finish this washing, or whatever I am doing, and he does it.” Her husband is our Sunday-school Superintendent, and their children are the best educated of any in the neighborhood. This family belongs to three races—white, black and red—the latter predominating.