There was a gathering of the old chiefs, and the king was advised by them that the missionaries had come to take possession of the country, and were laboring to change its customs as a preliminary step to conquering them altogether. Evidently the king was afraid of the chiefs. The missionaries were at length summoned to court, where were gathered the chiefs and a vast concourse of people. At length the king announced the result of the council: “We shall now have nothing more to do with either the Arabs’ or the white men’s religion; but we shall return to the religion of our fathers.” Every one assented with a simultaneous motion of hands. The next day, the beating of drums announced the great procession which accompanied the Mokassa to the palace. The pupils have all ceased to come to the mission; a time of persecution is anticipated by those who have inclined to Christianity; and everything looks dark for the mission, which had been planted at great expense, with so much hope. It is emphatically Satan’s hour of triumph; but we feel assured that the hour of the Son of Man also draweth near, and this darkest is the hour before the dawning of the day. * * * * * BEGGING LETTER. [We give a prominent place in our pages to Mrs. Chase’s letter, hoping it may meet with speedy and abundant answers. These calls, dear friends, are frequent, and they are urgent; but they are the calls of our Divine Lord in the person of His poor children, that we give them a fair chance to rise up from the degradation into which they have been thrust, and in which wicked prejudice and selfishness would keep them. We earnestly hope Mrs. C.’s experience of ten years ago will be by as much more blessed in your responses, as our encouragement in this work, and apprehensions of its value, are enlarged.—ED. MISS.] ATLANTA, GA. Begging letters! How you hate them! so do we! How often have we been deluded with the hope that there was to be no more need of this unpleasant duty. Friends unexpectedly come to the rescue of needy students. Often since 1869 large donations have set our feet upon mountain tops when we had expected to remain years in the valleys. But every little while we have to meet our old bug-bear. After one year’s absence we had been back but a few days when President Ware said, “These twenty-six new rooms are to be furnished; you’ll write some letters for us, won’t you, Mrs. Chase?” Now that means begging; but those of you who know anything of the type of President Ware’s devotion to Atlanta University, know that the only reply possible for his friends to make would be, “Certainly, sir.” So here I am doing the thing you and I hate. This begging money to furnish rooms brings up so many memories, I must ask you to indulge me in a few reminiscences. * * * * *