The field of education is so vast, and my opportunities for exploring so. limited, so far as personal observation. is concerned, I have therefore availed myself of the use of published reports, histories, etc., for my information in some of these notes. You will see I have browsed rather freely in Lord Cromer's annual report. According to the census of 1897, 91.2 per cent of the male and 99.3 per cent. of the female population of Egypt were unable to read and write. The Government is striving to lessen this high per cent. by establishing village schools (Kuttabs), where reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught. No foreign language is allowed to be taught in these schools. These "kuttabs," which are attached to the mosques and Churches all over the country, have existed in Egypt from time immemorial, but until recently the instruction afforded at them was of little value. "The Government is gradually gaining control of them, though progress is slow. In 1902, 39,135 pupils (boys and girls) were under Government inspection, in the village schools. It is the intention of the Government, as funds become available, and a competent staff of teachers and inspectors is formed, to bring a larger number of village schools under Government control." In 1902 there were 1,329 Moslem and 17 Coptic kuttabs" under Government inspection. The total number of "kuttabs" in the country, including those not under Government control is about 10,000. Of these, 500 are Coptic, and the remainder are Mohammedan. Lord Cromer, in his annual report, emphasizes the point that the advance of education in Egypt is not by any means wholly a question of money. The want of qualified native teachers constitutes also an insuperable obstacle to very rapid progress. In the Primary Schools 58 per cent. of the teaching staff as a whole consists of what are technically termed" untrained" teachers, whilst 33 per cent. of the native teachers of English have no professional diplomas. In 1902 the total enrolment in the Government schools, excluding "kuttabs," was 7,717, about 96 per cent. of which were boys. As to the education of the girls, progress is very slow on account of the deep-rooted fanaticism and the circumscribed opinions respecting the social position of women in Egypt. This will certainly be overcome in great measure by the diffusion of education; but opinions, like everything else Oriental, change slowly. Even now the opposition is not hostile, but is rather in a passive state. The development therefore is slowly but surely gaining the place it deserves, and which it will ultimately reach. During the last five years the number of girls in attendance at village schools under the control of the Government has more than trebled. It has grown from 1,404 in 1898 to 3,837 in 1902. The interest in "Besides female education varies remarkably in different localities. Thus at Damietta, with a native population of 31,000, no less than 326 girls are in attendance at "kuttabs under Government inspection. In Alexandria, on the other hand, with a native population of 272,000, only 142 girls attended a similar class of schools; whilst in the province of Gharbieh, with a native population of 1,250,000, the attendance only numbered 144. There are two Higher Primary Schools for girls and a Training College for female teachers. The branches taught in the Government schools are the usual subjects taught in schools of similar grade in England and in America, with the addition of Arabic. Some subjects are taught in both Arabic and English. Grammar and reading is generally taught by English teachers, in order to acquire an accurate pronunciation. It is a peculiar fact that often in the Government examinations the candidates take higher marks in English than in Arabic. The religious teaching is, of course, Mohammedan. The Copts who attend the "kuttabs" are given other work during the time devoted to the teaching of the Koran and the principles of Islam. In the purely Coptic schools the Koran is not taught. The famous mosque of El-Ashar, at Cairo, was a University and centre of Eastern culture long before the oldest European Universities were founded. It was founded in 969 A.D. It is still the great seat of learning(?) in the Moslem world. To-day its teaching is almost entirely confined to the Arabic language, and especially the principles of Islam. But so far as knowledge and education goes it is a dormant if not a dead institution. Lord Milner says: the study of the Arabic language there is nothing but a decrepit theology, and a still more decrepit jurisprudence, both based entirely on the Koran and the commentaries of the old Arab doctors, both products of the scholastic method in its last stage of degeneracy. This fossil University is the breeding place of the grossest kind of fanaticism. However, converts have been received from among them. The European schools are for the most part distinctly Christian institutions, and have been founded with the direct aim of proselytism. Of these, the French Catholics are the most prominent and persistent. They have abundant means, and offer inducements which other Mission schools cannot offer, hence their schools are generally well attended. The American Mission has 170 schools, employing 347 teachers; 135 of these schools are for boys and for girls. 9,730 of the 12,942 pupils were boys, and 3,212 were girls. A far greater per cent. of girls attend our schools than any other schools in Egypt. 2,670 of these pupils were Protestants, 6,370 were Copts, 2,968 were Moslems, and the others were Jews, Europeans, etc. These schools are distinctly evangelistic agencies. Many of them are supported entirely by the native communities where they are located. I shall close by quoting a paragraph from our annual educational report. "The importance of the school work of the Mission is seen from a conversation held with one of our oldest and most influential elders. He is the main supporter of the congregation, and has shown great interest in the school of the Church. When asked about the school, he said: 'There are several rival schools which keep down the income of ours, and not only so, but this necessitates higher grade teachers, which adds to the expense of the school.' To meet this expense he was paying from $12 to $15 a month to keep the school going, although he had no children of his own in it. In regard to the expense, he said: 'The school must live, or the Church will die.' In saying this Remembrances of Dr. A. C. Ball, C T is with the deepest regret that we have to annou of our most valued Medical Missionaries has been death. Dr. A. Chorley Hall passed away at H riday, October 9th. He was trained at Edinburgh Condon Hospital, taking the degrees of M.B., C.M. e diploma of the London Colleges the following yea perintendent of the St. Pancras Medical Mission f 892, and then took charge of the one at Islington cepted by the C.M.S. in June, 1896; he sailed in nuary. He worked for a time with Dr. Harpur at O ace January, 1900, he has been in charge of what 1 One friend, who had known him well, said a few words which were felt to be very expressive of the passing away of Dr. Hall. They are from the "Pilgrim's Progress": "A message came for Mr. Standfast that he was to prepare for a change of life, for his Master was not willing that he should be so far from Him any longer." The following letter has reached us from Dr. Harpur :- DEAR MISS VAN SOMMER, December 11th, 1903. It gives me great pleasure to comply with your request to write some account of Dr. A. C. Hall's life in Egypt. He joined the Mission in 1897, and for two years we worked together. Before he arrived I had a postcard from Dr. Maxwell, of Medical Missions at Home and Abroad, in which he described Dr. Hall exactly, "the best fellow in the world, and an able surgeon." He stayed with us most of the time until his marriage to Miss Eva Jackson, and it was a great privilege to watch his consistent life from day to day. He was always most careful to secure his quiet time alone with God the first thing in the morning, and when we talked about the subject he used to say, "If you don't secure your quiet time at the beginning of the day, the opportunity is gone.' I have seen Dr. Hall calm and firm where another would have lost his temper, and since his death a Moslem gentleman (in whom Dr. Hall took a great interest), said to me, "The Christ was in his face." Yes, he showed us all something of what it is to abide in Christ. He worked very hard, indeed, we all thought too hard, but he never would spare himself whenever anyone wanted his advice, and that advice was greatly valued and often sought by his European, Egyptian, and Syrian fellow-workers, as well as by the ordinary patients of the Medical Mission. His name, pronounced by the Felaheen "Holl," became widely known all over the country, and well it might, for besides being a most fearless surgeon, who was ready to undertake any operation to relieve pain or arrest disease, he took the greatest interest in the after treatment of all his cases, indeed, thoroughness was a marked characteristic in all he did. When he first came out, he set himself most steadily to acquire the language, and I remember him once saying, "You will find always that the Missionaries who have really made a mark have been men who have mastered the language.' I don't think Arabic came to him easily, but in the end he did master it, notwithstanding the fact that he had to take over the entire charge of the Medical Mission before he could get through the course for the second examination, and he had to give up the study of the book Arabic, only, however, until he could get more time for it, and this was impossible until he got to Omdurman, where he passed the second examination. He had not a very strong constitution, but his anxiety to study the language made his stay in Cairo all through his first summer without any holiday, and this was a mistake, for shortly after his eyes began to trouble him, and he suffered frequently from catarrhal ophthalmia. In speaking about his professional work, I should have mentioned his success in the treatment of children. He never would give up hope, even when things seemed desperate, and I can think of more than one where this perseverance was made the |