194      LAND FOR MISSION BUILDINGS.
Mr. Lear. We will commence work clearing off the brush and draining it at once.  We shall proceed only as we have the funds, therefore we hope the friends of the mission will be prompt with their contributions.
" I have not yet figured on the cost of a Home for Girls. It depends entirely on the number of girls the Ladies' Societies will support. You see the needs of the work have no limit, save the probability of support.
"We could in a year or two gather into the Home a large number of interesting girls who will otherwise be lost. I do hope that this enterprise of all the institutions upon this coast will receive the support of the Christian world. It is essential to the enlightenment of the people. Unless these girls are sheltered and saved, our preaching will largely be in vain. Mrs. McFarland has acted wisely in founding this protectorate. It was absolutely necessary. We were compelled by the urgency of the cases of several girls to open it before their support was guaranteed.  We could not help it. And now we trust the Presbyterian Church will not let it fail for want of funds. We have received many encouraging promises, but are now in pressing need of the money. Oh, if some Christian would endow this institution, what a noble work he would do for this people !
" Mrs. McFarland is exactly fitted to be the matron of such a home. The women of the place love her as a mother. She.has been offered large salaries and easy positions elsewhere, but remains here, spending her time, great energies, and private funds to help