As the roots of the banyan reaching down To the soil that moulds beneath its shade Take life and grow to the light o’ erhead, So the Word of the Master told afar In lands that are dark in error’s power Sets free new life in souls once dead. NATIONAL BOARD OF THE YOUNG WOMENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 600 Lexington Avenue, New York City 1914 WITH MISS RADFORD IN SINGAPORE MISS RADFORD To sail along the coast of Malaysia, inhal- ing the spicy odors from the countless palm- crested islands; to steam slowly past Malay huts as one approaches Singapore, built on piles afar out into the water; to watch the lazy dweller in the hut cast his line from his own window sill and draw up his evening meal from waters teeming with purple and amethyst jelly fish; to see the shore line rising green and scarlet over the hills, with rows of squatty houses painted light blue, contrasting with the palatial residences of Chinese, British and other residents set deep in luxuriant verdure; to breathe deeply the damp, warm air, inhaling no life therefrom; to move leisurely and feel exhaustion sapping the life forces of one’s being—these are surface impressions of Sin- gapore. The very mixture of races in Singapore, with their variety of moral and social standards, makes for a relaxation of the social code, which is terribly deadening to spiritual life. ‘The docks swarm with men in scanty clothing and few needs. They live in the light blue cottages, row on row, or in black weathered board houses, where the segregation of families is impossible. The wealthy, some Brit- ish and more Chinese, live in mansions set in tropical gardens rich in blossom, in foliageandinoutlook. A ‘‘middleclass’’ of small tradesmen, many Anglo-Indians or Eurasians, live in rooms above the shops or in rows of brick houses along the yellow roadways. The gulf between the ruling class and the Malay, Chinese and mixed races, is so great that social laws are hard to enforce and there exists a mutual indif- ference to some of the vital issues of life for both classes. Night, the only cool A SOCIAL HOUR BENEATH THE PALMS time of the daily round, becomes a time of pleasure, often a time for the drowning of care. Carriages with liveried servants drive along the splendid roads; the brilliant moonlight and the dense shadows of the tropical night both reveal and conceal a social life to which the West is happily a stranger. Splendid western women under the influence of the tropics lose their grip on the essentials of life. The Chinese and Indian population living in luxury unknown to their own countries, are apt to lose the excellences of their races. Those engaged in business are subject to the demoralization of luxury seen in those above them socially, and drawn down by the degradation of those mor- ally beneath them. Initiative, mental alertness, spiritual aspiration are sub- ject to deadly peril, but all the depression and relaxation of the tropical climate does not release womanhood from the pains and anguish and worse than death of the evil that follows disregard and ignorance of the laws of God. Christ and the power of his resurrection alone keeps those who are his, and the teaching of Christ is all that can help those to whom Miss Radford has gone. The daily routine of Miss Radford holds much of duty, much of burden- bearing. Singapore is within two degrees of the equator, so the variation of days is not so great as it is in the temperate zones. Dawn comes witha freshness that is soon succeeded by the blazing sun except in the rainy sea- son, and the heat and dampness produce a “‘steamy climate.’’ When she rides out she goes ina jinrikisha, under a sun helmet, carrying a double umbrella, for the sun is dangerous to westerners. The way is uphill and down, along roads bordered with giant ferns and wild ageratum, great shrubs of len- tina, clambering convolvulus and always giant flowering trees. Her first visit is to a shop in the level portion along the sea front, where the buildings of two and three stories have deep verandas and heavy bamboo shades. Her callis on some Anglo-Indian girls, to give them invitations to a Bible class held for them after business hours at the Association or ‘“‘Institute.’’ After a little ride she passes through a great iron gateway, guarded by a stalwart Indian policeman, who salutes her as she passes, and up an avenue of giant betel palms. The perspiring jinrikisha man dries his dripping form in the shade of a banyan tree, while she seeks the screened veranda of a beautiful Chinese mansion. A servant meets her and conducts her to the apartments of one of the ladies of the family. This woman was once a pupil in the Christian mis- sion school where the Association had its beginnings. She and Miss Radford talk about a class for Bible study among Chinese ladies. In this mansion are many other Chinese women, but it is only with this branch of the family that Christianity has had any influence. Some of the women of the household have been to England for study; others have scarcely been beyond their own gar- den limits. Taking leave of them, Miss Radford’s next stop is in a row of small houses near the Institute. She is made welcome in the homes of the poorer Chinese with a beautiful courtesy. The women here are regular attendants at the Sunday-school, coming with their children and receiving at least a little from the instruction which the children take so readily. Their husbands are away earning money, caring little what the women think or what their children are taught. The noon meal at the Institute is called ‘‘tiffin.’’ Miss Radford sits down to an American meal beneath the ‘‘punkah,’’ or swinging fan, which is pulled by a Malay boy outside the room. After tiffin she has a quiet hour of rest in the privacy of herown room. There is little privacy, such as we know in the west, in the houses in the tropics, because the doors are only half-doors of woven bamboo on frames, allow- ing the air sev- eral feet of space above and _ be- neath the doors for circulation. In the same way, manve of) the houses are with- out windows, only the blinds on Mem ved a TG a keeping out the storms. Late in the afternoon Miss Radford again calls her jinrikisha and on ABOUT THE DAILY ROUTINE her way to a meeting of ladies in a church on the lower levels, she stops to call on a family whose two daughters have been taken away by typhoid. Then she looks in on a class that is studying Malay. This language and Canton- ese are the two most common languages spoken in Singapore. Miss Rad- ford’s duties also take her to the home of a lady who has promised to teach a class in needlework. The meeting she reaches at five-fifteen, put thus late in the day to avoid the heat and to secure the attendance of the ladies of the committee. Tea is served on the wide veranda overlooking the harbor. Plans are made to further the building campaign which began in January of 1914. The meeting closes in time for Miss Radford to take a tram, or street car, out along the shore to the docks. She watches the mail ship from Europe make fast and hasa hearty greeting fora Frenchwoman who was preceded by a let- ter to Miss Radford, asking her to take her in and care for her until her ship should proceed to the French port in South China. With her guest she returns to the Institute that houses several boarders, young women who have no other home in Singapore. After dinner Miss Radford has her Bible class for business girls, who are learning what friendship means with a woman who isGod’s. The Institute girls gather for prayers and long after they seek their rest the secretary remains in intercesssion for them and for those whom God has put on her heart. Her retiring hour is the hour we of the West are aris- ing to our tasks. We have but one language, one or two races to meet; our women are free; our prejudices fewer; our opportunities—how infinitely greater! It is our privilege to share through Miss Radford the work for the women of the tropics—to take onto our hearts in prayer their burdens, their sorrows, their needs.