Stimulated by the provision of the American Friends for the education of girls, the native Greek Church also has opened a school for the village girls. We are reminded here of a story of the American scholar and missionary, Dr. Van Dyck, who, while on his way to a village in the Lebanon, was accosted by a Moslem, who asked after his errand. Dr. Van Dyck replied, “I am going to the village of A—— to introduce three schools.” “Three schools,” said the surprised questioner; “why, that is a good many for so small a village.” “Well,” said Dr. Van Dyck, “I am to open a school, but if I do that the Greeks will open one and the Roman Catholics another, so that I consider that I shall really be responsible for three schools.” At Schneller’s school for orphan children in Jerusalem are some hundreds of boys. They are divided into _families_ of from twenty to thirty, with a monitor or group-father over each. The forenoons are taken up with schoolroom exercises and most of the afternoons are devoted to learning trades. Shoemaking, carpentry, pottery, printing, wood-carving and dairying are taught. Blind boys are taught to seat chairs and weave straw mats. The chief hindrances in the promotion of school enterprises in Palestine are all reducible to legal disabilities, which are the occasion and encouragement for many other petty annoyances. It is at times very difficult to secure valid titles to purchased property and more difficult to accomplish safely the erection of suitable buildings. Of foreign tongues there are many to be heard in the country. Some friends in Jerusalem were one day discussing the numerous tongues and dialects used in a conversational way in and about the city. They began to count them up and reached something over fifty. Not all of these are heard by the country people, but many of them are heard occasionally as pilgrims and other travelers pass. Until comparatively recently the leading foreign tongue was French, but lately its influence has been lessened in favor of English and German. The language of the people is Arabic. It is a virile tongue and destined to increase in use rather than diminish, though it may never again have the ascendency enjoyed in the days of the caliphates. One is tempted to say that the Syrian finds his nationality in his faith and his politics in his church only. But it would also be true to say that, to many, their clearest bond of national feeling is in their boasted language and in the masters of their old literature. The Arabic classics hold an equal sway over Christian and Moslem natives. If there is any possible place or condition in which the bitterness of the rival faiths can be assuaged it is in the discussion of Arabic lore. The language and its masterpieces are the source of much intellectual and esthetic delight to the people. In these they must find all the gratification that in Western societies is realized in the pursuit of the liberal sciences and arts.