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* DEC 15 1908 *

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THE FORWARD
MISSION STUDY COURSES

Anywhere, provided it be FORWARD." — David Livingstone.

EDITED BY

S. EARL TAYLOR and AMOS R. WELLS,

As a committee of the inter dominational Young
People's Missionary Movement .

The following comprehensive series of text-books has been
arranged for, each by a writer especially qualified to treat the
topic assigned him. For the more important countries two
books will be written, one a general survey of missionary his-
tory in the land, together with an account of the people and
their surroundings ; the second a series of biographies of five
or six leading missionaries to that country.

INTRODUCTION. Into All the World. A First Book of Foreign
Missions ; a General Survey of Mission Fields and Missionary
History. By Amos R. Wells. Ptiblished.

CHINA. General Survey. By Rev. Arthur II. Smith, D.D.,
missionary in Peking and well-known author. To be published
soon.

Biographical. Princely Men in the Heavenly Kingdom. By
Harlan P. Beach, M.A., F.R.G.S., Educational Secretary
of the Student Volunteer Movement and author of a number of
most valuable books ; a former missionary in China. Published.

AFRICA. General Survey. By Bishop Hartzell, in charge of
the Methodist missions in Africa.

Biographical. The Price of Africa. By S. Earl Taylor, Chair-
man of the General Missionary Committee of the Epworth
League. Published.

INDIA. General Survey. By Bishop Thoburn, the distinguished
missionary to India.
Biographical. By William Carey, English Baptist missionary
to India, great-grandson of the famous missionary pioneer.

THE ISLANDS. General Survey. By Assistant-Secretary
HiCKS, of the American Board.

Biographical. By S. Earl Taylor.

JAPAN. General Survey and Biographical. By Rev. J. H
Deforest, D.D., a well-known missionary to Japan.

PERSIA. General Survey and Biographical. By Robert E.
Speer, Presbyterian Foreign Mission Secretary and author oi
many valuable books.

SOUTH AMERICA. General Survey and Biographical. An-
nouncement later.

KOREA. General Survey and Biographical. By Rev. H. G.
Underwood, D.D., missionary pioneer in Korea.

TURKEY. General Survey and Biographical. By Rev, E. E.
Strong, D.D., Editorial Secretary of the American Board.

EUROPE. General Survey and Biographical. By Bishop Vin-
cent, at the head of Methodist missions in Europe.

EGYPT. General Survey and Biographical. Announcement later.

BURMA AND SIAM. General Survey and Biographical By

Rev. Edward Judson, D.D., son of the great pioneer mis-
sionary to Burma.

HOME MISSIONS will not be in the least neglected. A full and
elaborate set of text-books is proposed, covering in successive
volumes by specialists the Indians, Negroes, Mormons, Moun-
taineers, Chinese, and other foreigners among us, and our Island
Possessions. Dr. J. M. Buckley will write one of the volumes.
Detailed announcement will soon be made.

A JUNIOR COURSE is also proposed, and one or two text-books
will soon be announced.

These books are published by mutual arrangement among
the denominational publishing houses involved. They are
bound uniformly, and are sold for 50 cents, in cloth, and 35 cents,
in paper.

Study classes desiring more elaborate text-books are referred
to the admirable series published by the interdenominational
committee of the Woman's Boards. The volumes already pub-
lished are :

Via Christi, by Louise Manning Hodgkins. A study of missions
before Carey.

Lux Christi, by Caroline Atwater Mason. A study of missions
in India.

Rex Christi, a text-book on missions in China, by Dr. Arthur H.
Smith, — a more difficult volume than the one he is preparing
for the Forward Mission Study Courses.

Dr. Morrison and his Chinese Assistants.

The Forward Mission Study Courses

EDITED BY AMOS R. WELLS AND S. EARL TAYLOR

Editorial Committee of the Young People's Missionary Movement

Princely Men

in the

Heavenly Kingdom

HARLAN P. BEACH, M.A., F.R.G.S.

Author of ^* A Geography and Atlas of Protestant
Missions V etc.

^^■.

?^^4:-^

THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S
MISSIONARY MOVEMENT

NEW YORK

PREFACE

Life always has a deep interest for the reader.
It pervades the otherwise uninteresting details
of achievement, and converts missionary annals
into modern Acts of the Apostles. An experi-
ence of many years in connection with mission
study classes shows that biography, or life done
in ink and paper, is one of the best methods
of imparting missionary information. It is all-
inclusive in its scope. Missionary geography is
transformed into the necessary background of a
life which otherwise would not be understood.
Methods and problems, customs and religions,
which by themselves are interesting, are most
attractive when they serve as the scenery of
lives full of activities and at times of dramatic
interest.

This little volume contains the fragmentary
record of a few of the heroes who have contri-
buted to the uplifting of the world's greatest
empire. They have been chosen to illustrate
different phases of missionary endeavor in China,
from the first entry of Protestantism to those
tragic months of 1900 when a worse than Dio-

Preface

cletian persecution sowed the Church's most
proUfic seed in the blood of her faithful martyrs.
The pages of the text have not been burdened
with dates ; the most important of these the
reader will find on the page preceding the first
one of each chapter.

It is not supposed that the reader will rest
content with the meager details found here;
color must come from the fuller biographies
mentioned in 'the Bibliography following Chapter
VI. Those who use the volume as a study class
text-book will find in the Appendixes material
that will prove helpful for such a purpose. It
is suggested that every reader be on the alert
for suggestions from these sketches, some of
which are as worthy of being incorporated into
personal living as are the lessons of early Church
History, or even of the apostoUc age.

CONTENTS

■pagh
I. Robert Morrison, China's Protestant

Pioneer . ^

II. John Kenneth Mackenzie, "The Beloved

Physician " 45

III. James Gilmour, the Apostle to the

Mongols 77

IV. John Livingston "^evius, the Christian

Organizer 107

V. George Leslie Mackay, Formosa's Preacher

AND Teacher 145

VI. Princely Martyrs of China's Spiritual

Renaissance 185

Appendix. A — Bibliography . . . . .223

B — Organization and Leadership . .226

C — Questions and Hints on the Chapters 231

Map of China Facing page 244

ILLUSTRATIONS

Dr. Morrison and His Chinese Assistants, Frontispiece

Morrison and Milne's Chinese Bible Facing page 31

Morrison's Chinese Dictionary

John Kenneth Mackenzie

James Gilmour ....

A Mongol Camp

John Livingston Nevius .

Dr. Nevius in His Wheelbarrow

Dr. Mackay and Students

Armed Head-Hunters

Rev. Horace Tracy Pitkin .

Meng, a Martyr of Pao-ting Fu

i. u

( «

( ((

C ((

107
125

145

( «

159

( n

185

(( «

207

Map of China

244

ROBERT MORRISON

CHINA'S PROTESTANT PIONEER

Born in Morpeth, England, January 5, 1782
Died in Canton, China, August i, 1854

THE DESPAIRING CRY

" O rock, rock ! when wilt thou open? " — Exclamation of Catholicism's
great Apostle, Xavier, as he lay dying of fever off the forbidden coasts of
China.

" O mighty fortress ! when shall these impenetrable brazen gates of thine
be broken through?" — Lament of Valignani, Xavier's successor, as he
gazed in sadness at the same inaccessible mountains.

THE PROPHETIC ANSWER

" I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to
pluck up and to break down, and to destroy and to overthrow; to build
and to plant. . . . For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city,
and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against the whole land. . . . And
they shall fight against thee ; but they shall not prevail against thee : for
I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee. ... Is not my word Hke
as fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in
pieces? " — Jeremiah, the prophet of the brazen wall.

PROPHECY BEING FULFILLED

"To have Moses, David, and the prophets, Jesus Christ and His apos-
tles, using their own words and thereby declaring to the inhabitants of this
land the wonderful works of God, indicates, I hope, the speedy introduc-
tion of a happier era in these parts of the world ; and I trust that the
gloomy darkness of pagan scepticism will be dispelled by the Day-spring
from on high, and that the gilded idols of Budh and the numberless images
which fill the land will one day assuredly fall to the ground before the force
of God's Word, as the idol Dagon fell before the ark. These are my an-
ticipations, although there appears not the least opening at present. A
bitter aversion to the name of our blessed Saviour and to any book which
contains His name or His doctrine is felt and cherished. However, that
does not induce me to despair." — Words of Morrison, when, in 1819, the
translation of the Chinese Bible was completed.

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF EVENTS IN
MORRISON^S LIFE

1782. Born in Morpeth, England, January 5.

1803. Entered Hoxton Academy, January 7.

1804. Offered himself to the London Missionary Society, May 27.
Goes to Gosport for special training. May 30.

1805-06. Studies in London and Greenwich,
1807. Ordination, January 8.

Voyage from England to New York, January 31-April 20.

Voyage from New York to China, May 12-September 4.
1809. Marries Mary Morton, February 20.

Appointed translator to East India Company, February 20.

1813. William Milne reaches Macao, July 4.

1814. Baptizes Tsae A-ko, the first Protestant convert, July 16.

1815. Wife and two children obliged to return to England, January 21.

1816. Accompanies Embassy to Peking, July is-January i, 1817.

1817. Provisional Committee of Ultra Ganges Mission reports, November.
Granted the degree of Doctor of Divinity by Glasgow University.

i8i8. Foundation of Anglo-Chinese College laid at Malacca, November.

1819. Translation of Bible completed, November 25.

1820. Family returns from England, August 23.

1821. Death of his first wife, June 9.

1822. Finishes writing his Dictionary, April 9.

1823. Visit to Malacca and Singapore, January 17-August 8.
Appointed vice-president of the " Singapore Institution," April.
Voyage to England, December 6-March 23, 1824.

1824. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

1825. Second marriage — to Eliza Armstrong, November.

1826. He and his family return to China, May i-September 19.
1828. Morrison's Dictionary translated into Japanese.

1830. America's first China missionaries, Bridgman and Abeel, drrfve,
February 25.

1833. Company forbid further publication by Morrison, June 22.

1834. Appointed Chinese interpreter to the Crown, July 16.
Died at Canton, August i.

ROBERT MORRISON

China's Protestant Pioneer

A GREAT man will be great anywhere and Heroes of
under all conditions; yet his life and the forms ^'^^^
of his activity will necessarily vary with his en-
vironment and with his underlying aims. Hence
it happens that a missionary hero of Africa will
exhibit his greatness in deeds of daring or of
patient effort to enlighten a savage or barbarous
people, while in India, China, or Japan an
equally great man will live for years without en-
countering serious peril, and in quietness will lay
foundations upon which the future Church in
those countries will rise to be a blessing to un-
told millions. In general, one must expect to
find the picturesque and the exciting in lands
inhabited by undeveloped races, while in civil-
ized, or semi- civilized empires, life will be more
commonplace. Though China belongs to the lat-
ter class of countries, there are, nevertheless, con-
stant points of interest in the land itself, in its
customs which have come down from a period
antedating the birth of Abraham^ in the charac-

12 Princely Men

ter of its remarkable people, and in the attrac-
tions of missionary work which, under God, can
produce such heroes of the faith as were brought
before the world in the summer of 1900.
"Princely The beau-ideal of Chinese literature is known

Men in the ^^ ^j^^ c/iwt tzujeUy or c/iwi tzii, commonly trans-

Heavenly
Kinadom " ^^^ed ** the superior man," but more literally "the

princely man." As the Empire itself has as one
of its designations T'ien Kuo, " Heaven King-
dom," it is appropriate, both from the Chinese
and the Christian viewpoints, to regard as princely
men of the Heavenly Kingdom those noble rep-
resentatives of Jesus Christ who have lived con-
secrated and consistent lives in the midst of those
who are Celestials in God's desire, but who are
so far from being true citizens of the -Kingdom
of Heaven.
Unconscious Robert Morrison, who was born January 5,
Preparation. ^^§2, enjoyed few of the advantages which one
would have chosen for a man who was destined
to be the foremost Chinese scholar of his time
and the leader of the forces of the Church against
the acknowledged Gibraltar of the non-Christian
world. Though not the child of poverty, he was
the son of a farm laborer who, in Robert's third
year, left Morpeth, in Northumberland, to be-
come the proprietor of a last and boot-tree shop
in Newcastle, sixteen miles away. Yet the lim-
ited opportunities for schooling, the necessity
laid upon him to work diligently and steal his

Robert Morrison 13

cime for study from the darkness or from his
work, as he looked for a moment at his open
book upon the bench, and the religious training
that one expects to find in the home of a Scotch
elder, were perhaps the best preparation for the
pioneer in a most difficult enterprise. It meant
something to have lived his boyhood through in
England's northernmost county, with its tradi-
tions of border warfare and of that older Roman
period which has left its memorial in the lesser
Chinese wall which stretches across the southern
border. Flodden Field, where an English army
had so nearly exterminated their northern foes
that there ''was not a worshipful Scots family
that did not own a grave on Brankstone Moor,"
spoke of heroic warfare with carnal weapons.
And not far distant, just off the Northumberland
coast, was Lindisfarne, the Holy Island, which
Columban monks had made an abode of piety
and the home of learning in a dark and heathen-
ish age. Morrison's was a county, too, whose
boys could count as a fellow shireman brave old
Bishop Ridley, who was slowly roasted to death
for Christ's sake over against Baliol College in
Oxford. Nor did young Morrison need to look
to the past for incentives to great endeavor
against overwhelming odds; for had he not
worked shoulder to shoulder with the father of
modern railroads, George Stevenson, who could
say 'I have fought for the locomotive single-

14 Princely Men

handed tor nearly twenty years ; I put up with
every rebuff, determined not to be put down."
Spiritual A godly father and a praying mother were his
Preparation, ^arly object lessons, and though he sowed to the
wind for a brief period, during which profanity
and intemperance gained temporary mastery,
God's spirit conquered the strong youth when
he was about fifteen years of age. "Conversion
meant for Morrison a new Hfe. Old things had
passed away, and the one business in life was to
cultivate his own spiritual nature and aid every
one near him to reach a higher plane. In the
family circle and shop and church, among the
poor and sick of Newcastle, he was constantly
on the alert to save or to build others up in the
Christian life. To accomplish this he gave him-
self to prayer and to Bible study, making sacri-
fices in order to find the time and the necessary
seclusion. Good books, like Romaine's Letters,
Marshall on Sanctification, and above all, Mat-
thew Henry's quaint and helpful Commentary,
entered into the bone and sinew of his Christian
Hfe.
Vision and The more Morrison studied his Bible, the
Action, surer he became that God needed his entire time
for a wider ministry than was possible for an
artisan. Hence we hear him saying on June 19,
1801 : "This day I entered with Mr. Laidler to
learn Latin ... I know not what may be the
end ; God only knows. It is my desire, if He

Robert Morrison i 5

please to spare me in the world, to serve the Gos-
pel of Christ as He shall give me opportunity."
He had left school at an early age in order to
earn his daily bread; henceforth he must feed his
body and mind at the same time, even if much
of the night needed to be spent in the process.
He did not excuse himself from personal effort
for others because of this extra strain; instead
he redoubled his efforts for the salvation of those
who were in need of a Christian friend.

So faithful was Morrison in his studies, that Missionary
two days after he had attained his majority he ^^^i^'^"-
entered Hoxton Academy, the theological semi-
nary of the CongregationaHsts, in order to fit
himself for the ministry. Here he soon found
himself face to face with the all-important ques-
tion of the field of his future activity, and the
following quotation reveals his solution of the
problem: "Jesus, I have given myself to Thy
service. The question with me is. Where shall I ^
serve? I learn from Thy Word that it is Thy
holy pleasure that the Gospel should be preached
* in all the world, for a witness unto all nations.'
And hence Thou hast given commandment to
Thy servants unto 'the end of the world' to
'preach the Gospel to every creature,' promising
them Thy presence. I consider 'the world' as
' the field ' where Thy servants must labor. When
I view the field, O Lord, my Master, I perceive
that by far the greater part is entirely without

1 6 Princely Men

laborers, or at best has but here and there one
or two, whilst there are thousands crowded up
in one corner. My desire is, O Lord, to engage
where laborers are most wanted." In the line
of his last sentence may be quoted a statement
with regard to difficulties. His desire was "that
God would station him in that part of the mis-
sionary field where the difficulties were the
greatest and to all human appearance, the most
insurmountable," — a wish that was gratified,
surely, in China.
Obstacles. The decision cost him much. Prospects of
being sent up to the university for further study,
visions of large opportunities at home for a man
of unusual strength, the changed circumstances
of his family which, had he not been one of eight
children, might have necessitated his heeding his
father's appeal to return home and assume the
burdens of the shop and of the family, and an
engagement which was broken off when a for-
eign mission was decided upon, — these were
some of the obstacles which God sent into his
life to fit him for an enterprise which was beset
with difficulties.
Special Having overcome them all and been accepted
Preparation, ^^y ^]^^ London Missionary Society, in 1804 he
went to its training institution at Gosport for
special preparation, and the next year he was
called to London for work in medicine, astron-
omy, and Chinese. Two laymen on the Board

Robert Morrison 17

)f Directors had felt a special burden for un-
reached China, and finally they had prevailed.
So Morrison was turned aside from Timbuctoo,
his first love, to go to China, — just as Living-
stone, desiring to go to China, was later sent by
the same Society to Africa. To learn Chinese in
the heart of London was not an easy task; but a
manuscript copy of most of the New Testament,
translated by an unknown Cathohc missionary,
a Latin-Chinese Lexicon, also in manuscript, and
an irascible native of South China, Yong Sam-
tak, were the means of initiating him into the
mysteries of the most difficult language in the
world, and were also a splendid training in pa-
tient endurance.

Just after he had entered his twenty-sixth year Farewell
Morrison's preparation was completed, the last ^^ ^i^gland,
sermons were preached, and the heart-breaking
adieus were said to friends who were dear as hfe
itself. He could not sail directly to China, since
the East India Company's ships would not carry
such despicable cargoes as missionaries were con-
sidered to be. Hence we see him and two famihes
destined for India, bidding farewell to England
on January 31, 1807, en route for New York.

Having reached our metropolis after a voyage In America.
of almost eighty days, he succeeded in securing
passage for China, and armed with a letter
from James Madison, then Secretary of State,
he turned his face toward the land of desire.

1 8 Princely Men

This was not done, however, until he had won
a host of friends and awakened much inter-
est in a cause which had still to wait three years
for its first organized society, the American
Board. He had also returned to a sneering ship-
owner his classical reply to the question, "And
so, Mr. Morrison, you really expect you will
make an impression on the idolatry of the great
Chinese Empire?" "No, sir; I expect God will."
After a journey of 113 days from New York, the
shores of China came into view, and shortly
thereafter he landed at Canton on September 7,
1807, a day long to be remembered in Protestant
Church history.
The What was the situation confronting Protest-
Situat/on. a^ntism's pioneer as he landed amid the heats
and odors and perils of Canton? The English,
who were almost wholly connected with the hos-
tile East India Company, were so opposed to
missions that he had been obliged to sail on an
American ship in order to reach there. Indeed,
for some time it was not deemed expedient for
him to be openly known as an Englishman, and
hence he was regarded as an American. The
Catholics, who were numerous down on the
coast at Macao, were bitterly opposed to the
coming of Protestants, and from the beginning
to the end of his career in China were covertly
or openly dogging his footsteps and organizing
opposition to his efforts. The Chinese officials

Robert Morrison 19

were even more opposed to anything except trade
relations with the despised ''ocean men." For
any native to teach a foreigner was a very grave
offence, and as for openly holding religious meet-
ings, that could not be thought of for years to
come. The Chinese merchants could not under-
stand why a foreigner was there who was never
seen to enter into trade, and for months he was
a suspicious enigma to them. While he had a
few friends from the outset, notably Sir George
Staunton and Mr. Roberts among the" English
and a few among the American merchants, the
two nationalities were rivals and not at peace
among themselves. The British were quite will-
ing, when Morrison's missionary character began
to be known, to call him the American mission-
ary, but his American acquaintances were ex-
tremely uneasy lest this story should offend their
commercial friends and the Chinese officials. In
the anxieties which the situation occasioned dur-
ing those early days, he wrote: ''In my father's
house and by my father's example, I was taught
at morning, noon, and night, to cast my care on
God. This has been, and still is, the way in
which I seek peace to my troubled mind and
comfort when disconsolate. I do not boast my-
self of to-morrow, or make myself unhappy
about it. In the morning I seek the blessing of
my God and His protection until noon; at noon
I seek it until night; and when I seek for the

20 Princely Men

body repose at night, into the Lord's hands I
commend my spirit. If at any time I take a
different course, I shght my own mercy and rob
myself of that peace and joy which is to be ex-
perienced in believing prayer to God."
Canton. The Canton of 1807 in jts native section did
not differ materially from what it is to-day. The
name, by a strange persistence of an early error,
is strictly that of the province of which it is the
capital and means "Broad East." The natives
call it ''Capital City of Broad East," or simply
"Capital City," while two other names, founded
on legends, are "City of Rams" and "City of
Genii." It is near the southeastern shore of the
Empire, seventy miles north of Macao in a direct
line, and lies at the foot of the White Cloud
Hills. Between it and the sea is one of the most
extensive and fertile river estuaries of the world,
and its outlying territory is the home of almost
all of the Chinese who come to America. While
its walls are not more than six or seven miles in
circuit, there is as large a population without as
within them. Its twelve gates, called Great
Peace, Eternal Rest, etc., were closed at night.
A view of the city from a distant eminence re-
vealed "an expanse of reddish roofs, often con-
cealed by frames for drying or dyeing clothes, or
shaded and relieved" by a few large trees and in-
terspersed with high red poles used for flagstaffs.
Two pagodas shoot up within the walls, far above

Robert Morrison 21 \

the watch-towers on them, and with the five- I

storied tower on Kwanyin Shan [Hill], near the
northern gate, form the most conspicuous objects
in the prospect. To a spectator at this eleva- j

tion, the river is a prominent feature in the land- i

scape, as it shines out covered with a great di- j

versity of boats of different colors and sizes, i

some stationary, others moving, and all resound- !

ing with the mingled hum of laborers, sailors, |

musicians, hucksters, children, and boatwomen, j

pursuing their several sports and occupations .... j

The hills on the north rise twelve hundred feet, i

their acclivities . for miles being covered with '

graves and tombs, the necropolis of this vast city." l

We must not stop to look at its more than six j

hundred streets, glorying in the names Martial \

Dragon, Pearl, Golden Flower, New Green j

Pea, Physic, Old Clothes, etc. Pagoda, temple, 1

shrine, and the thousand curious sights which *

met Morrison's eye must be imagined, as also 1

Canton's interesting inhabitants. ;

In 1807 foreigners were not permitted to live The Nearer
at will throughout the city, but were confined to ^"vironment. ^
certain houses along the river side, known as :

The Thirteen Factories. The number being
limited, rent was exorbitant and the cost of living
so great that Morrison, in order to economize,
reduced his expenses to the point of endangering
his health. Moreov^er, the fear lest he and his \

teachers should be noticed, if he were seen often ']

22 Princely Men

in the streets, prevented his taking exercise in
his early hfe in China. The Canton of the for-
eigners of that time is thus described by Dr.
Medhurst, Morrison's successor: "The Factories
comprise a pile of buildings about a quarter of a
mile square, through which they may range with-
out molestation. In front of these is an open
space, not more than a hundred yards long and
fifty wide, where they may take the air; but this
esplanade is generally so choked up with barbers
and fortune-tellers, vendors of dogs and cats,
quack medicines, and trinkets, with a host of
strangers come to gaze at the foreigners, that it
is difficult to move. Adjoining the factories are
two rows of native houses, called New and Old
China Street, where foreigners may ramble and
purchase trinkets; and if they can endure crowds
and confusion, with the chance of being pushed
down, they may stroll through the narrow streets
of the suburbs, but never without offence to the
olfactory nerves, or the finer feelings. Another
mode of recreation is the pleasure of rowing Eu-
ropean boats up and down a crowded river,
where the stranger is in continual danger of being
upset by large Chinese barges, bearing down
upon him without warning, while no one makes
the slightest effort to save those who may be
precipitated into the water. Should he land at
any given spot up or down the river, he is always
liable to be stoned or bambooed bv the natives,

Robert Morrison 23

when they are strong or mischievous enough to
attempt it. The Government does, indeed, allow
foreigners to take a trip in parties of eight or ten
about once a month to the flower gardens, which
lie three miles up the river; but this indulgence
is so pompously given and of such httle worth
that few avail themselves of it." In such a spot
Morrison spent his early months, wearing the
Chinese garb and queue, permitting his finger-
nails to grow long hke the native scholar's, and
eating Chinese food with the native chopsticks.
Later he abandoned this mode of living, but it
proved his desire to become one with his adopted
countrymen; while even his private prayers were
offered in faltering Chinese, that he might the
sooner acquire their language. All this time, it
should be remembered, he was under the closest
espionage of men who were his security to the
Government, and who duly reported the minut-
est acts of the new comer.

The London Missionary Society, in view of the Morrison's
conditions existing in China, had sent him out ^^o^rm/n.
with instructions to prepare a dictionary and, if
possible, a translation of the Bible, either within
the Empire, or at a settlement near China where
he might be allowed to live. This program was
practically the only one open to him, and it proved
in the end the best one that could have been de-
cided upon.

Two factors were necessary in order to carry

24 Princely Men

Two Essen- out these instructions, he must have competent
tia/ Factors, native assistance and he must be suppHed with
native books and writing materials. But what
Chinese would incur the risk of teaching him
with the probabihty confronting him of being
branded with the characters meaning traitor?
Through the kindness of Sir George and of the
head of the Enghsh factory, Mr. Roberts, Abel
Yun, a Catholic convert from Peking, came to
his assistance. Morrison still needed paper, ink
and books, but within a few months his Chinese
library grew to a collection of 500 thin volumes.
These wxre procured at great expense, because
furnished to a foreigner and also because of most
exorbitant' " squeezes " taken from him as an in-
voluntary commission by those who made the
purchases. Yun had been taught by the Cath-
ohc Fathers, so that he could speak Latin flu-
ently, and through this medium and what Mor-
rison already knew of Chinese, together with the
two manuscripts which he had copied in London,
new acquisitions were rapidly made. Lee, his
other teacher, was a literary graduate and hence
was not as timorous as one would be without
that safeguard. Both held in contempt the
knowledge of the West. ''My two people,"
• Morrison writes, "agreed in considering it alto-
gether useless to be at any trouble to know any-
thing of foreigners. The Celestial Empire has
everything in itself that it is desirable either to

Robert Morrison 25

possess or to know. As the most learned never
acquire the whole of the literature of China, why
then concern themselves about that which is
exotic? With regard to religion and morahty,
the depths of the knowledge contained in the
Four Books have never beefi fatho^aed; and till
that be done it is folly to attend to any" other."

As the weary months of that first year wore Anxieties.
away, Morrison's constant apphcation to study
without sufficient exercise and nourishing food,
on the ground floor of a storehouse, led to illness
that threatened to be most serious. He was ac-
cordingly obliged to secure better quarters, pre-
viously occupied by a French missionary, whom
the Chinese Government now ordered to be de-
ported, while Morrison was permitted to remain.
He feared lest he, too, might be "required to go
to Penang or elsewhere; but the kindly offices of
his London tutor, Yong, who had secured an
excellent position on his return to China, enabled
him to remain. As time went on Morrison's
sterhng worth had won friends for him among
the English; so that when serious ill-health made
it necessary for him to remove to Macao, he was
provided not only with a place in which to Hve,
but, better still, their influence preserved him
from the enmity of the Cathohc clergy, who had
an increasing fear and hatred of the zealous and
successful Protestant emissary. When later a
disagreement with the Chinese Government drove

iG Princely Men

all Englishmen out of Canton, his powerful fellow
countrymen furnished him with protection.
Spiritual The great sorrow of these early months had
°'' ' been his inability to do any open religious work.
An attempt to conduct a service for the few
Americans in Canton was not appreciated, though
the first meeting was attended by one of their
number. Long residence in a Sabbathless land
had made all the foreigners indifferent to reli-
gion, and though later a few English and Amer-
icans attended services conducted by Morrison,
he never saw any large fruitage from such en-
deavors. He used the English liturgy, but even
this concession did not allure Churchmen to his
rooms. From the outset his program for Sunday
was arranged to benefit the Chinese. The Gos-
pel Harmony, copied in London, enabled him to
present to his teachers and servant the great
truths of Christianity; and as his knowledge of
Chinese grew, his ministrations became increas-
ingly helpful. To the end of his life these Sun-
day meetings were continued, though he was
never permitted to conduct an open service for all
Chinese. On the contrary, it was necessary to
hold the meetings behind closed or locked doors
for fear lest the few attending might be arrested
for their interest in Christianity. Their attitude
toward the truth taught was that of indifference;
our Lord's words were right words, but they
claimed to have similar teachings that were

• \
J

Robert Morrison 27 |

equally good. A life-time of most faithful per- |
sonal dealings with the few whom he was able to j
approach, as well as the regular services on Sun-
day and in family prayers, resulted in very little '
manifest fruitage. If as many as ten were pres- ^
ent on the Sabbath, it was a good attendance.
Though Morrison yearned for their salvation and ]
endured the scorn of his Chinese friends, as well
as the open violence of his assistants, — one of
them tore his coat from his back, while his Lon- j
don tutor turned against him, — all was seem- :
ingly in vain. Only the profoundest convictions :
of duty and the deepest longing of a Christian
heart made him willing to continue these self- \
denying efforts. j
Not until he had prayed and taught and ag- First j
onized in prayer for the conversion of the Chinese Pfofestant \
for nearly seven years was he rewarded by seeing
even one of them give himself to God. In
his journal for July 16, 18 14, he writes: "At a j
spring of water issuing from the foot of a lofty |
hill by the seaside, away from human observa- ]
tion, I baptized in the name of the Father, Son, -
and Holy Spirit, the person whose name and
character have been oriven above. Oh, that the !
Lord may cleanse him from all sin by the blood
of Jesus and purify his heart by the influences of '
the Holy Spirit! May he be the first fruits of a ;
great harvest — one of millions who shall come !
and be saved." Until his death five years later i

28 Princely Men

this earliest Protestant convert, Tsae A-ko, re-
tained his faith, though how imperfect it was is
indicated by Morrison's account of him. He
had heard the Gospel in the missionary's home
during his first year in China. Three years later,
when he was working on the New Testament
which was being prepared for the press, he came
to know the truth more fully. Yet even then
Morrison says of him: "His natural temper is
not good. He often disagreed with his brother
and other domestics, and I thought it better that
he should retire from my service. He, however,
continued, whenever he was within a few miles,
to come to worship on the Sabbath day. He
prayed earnestly morning and evening and read
the Decalogue as contained in the Catechism.
He says that from the Decalogue and instruction
of friends he saw his great and manifold errors,
— that his nature was wrong, that he had been
unjust, and that he had not fulfilled his duty to
his friends, or brothers, or other men. His
knowledge, of course, is very limited and his
views perhaps obscure; but I hope that his faith
in Jesus is sincere. I took for my guide what
Philip said to the eunuch, ' If thou behevest with
all thine heart, thou mayest be baptized.' " Had
this convert been like Leang A-fa, the first Chi-
nese baptized by Milne, who became a shining
light in the Church, Morrison's faith would not
have been so sorely tried; yet our hero endured

Robert Morrison 29 ^

as seeing the invisible, and patiently labored on

until death, without receiving into the Church ]

more than two or three others of his own con- J

verts. ]

In November of the year following his arrival, Morrison's \

he became acquainted at Macao with the family ^'^'^^ ' \

of Dr. Morton and invited them to his rooms for i

worship. The son, William, was his pupil in j

language and science and through IMorrison's in- \

fluence he became a Christian. His father de- 1

sired that he should prepare himself to become a i

missionary and had the young man lived, this i

wish would probably have been realized. The i

year brought to Morrison an even greater bless- :

ing ; for an acquaintance with Miss Morton soon ■

led to her conversion and later to their engage- \

ment, and in February, 1809, they were married. i

The days preceding this event were most anxious I

ones for him. The jealousy of the Chinese and \

the enmity of the Catholic Church, together with ;

opposition from the leading employees of the |

Factories, so harassed him that he determined to i

flee to Penang in the hope of there pursuing his \

labors unmolested. i

It so happened, however, that on the very day Translator to
of his marriage an invitation from the East India ^^^ 5"^^

Company came to him to become its official company. \

translator at a salary of £500. This offer, which \
he accepted as did the officers of the London

Missionary Society, assured him of freedom from j

JO Princely Men

molestation in language study, furnished him
with an excuse for being in China that would
satisfy the Chinese, protected him from Catholic
persecution, and provided the large sum needed
in order to print his monumental Dictionary. His
salary, which was later largely increased, relieved
the Missionary Society of his support and made
it possible for him to subscribe thousands of dol-
lars toward the publication of his religious works
and the educational schemes which he later set
on foot. While most of his time must now be
given to his secular duties, — a great sorrow to
him, — there was little else possible for a mis-
sionary living within the Empire to do except to
lay the foundations of the Protestant missionary
enterprise by furnishing the means of acquiring
the language and providing a translation of the
Scriptures.
The The key that was to unlock one of the most
Dictionary, difficult languages in the world to Occidentals,
may be said to have been begun in London when
Morrison laboriously copied with a camel's hair
pencil the strange hieroglyphs taught him by
Yong, after which he transcribed the Latin-
English Dictionary. From that day until 1823,
when the six quarto volumes, each equal in size
to a family Bible, were given to the world by
the munificent assistance of the East India Com-
pany, it had been the constant burden of his life,
though he was directly engaged upon the work

Morrison and Milne's Chinese Bible.

The verse enclosed within black lines is John 3 : 16.

Morrison's Chinese Dictionary.

The last large character on the left-hand open page is the Heo, meaning to learn.

Robert Morrison 3 i

for seven years only. Based upon the standard
Chinese Dictionary of the Emperor Kang Hsi,
which required for its production the time of
thirty of the best scholars in the Empire for five
years, it is far more than its name suggests.
''The work is indeed almost as much an encyclo-
pedia as a dictionary. Biographies, histories, and
notices of national customs, ceremonies and sys-
tems abound, making it a repertory of informa-
tion on all matters touching Chinese life and lit-
erature."

Brief extracts from the account given of a ^ Sample
single character or word, will show the intrinsic ^"^'^^^f^'^-
interest of this Dictionary. After explaining the
symbol Hco, "learning," Morrison describes
most interestingly the Chinese educational sys-
tem and then quotes 100 of the rules for the
regulation of schools and their pupils. Here are
a few of them. ''When the scholars enter the
school, they must bow to Confucius, the Sage,
and next bow to the master." "Every evening,
when about to break up school, there shall be an
ode recited, or a piece of ancient or modern his-
tory narrated, a piece the most easily understood,
the most affecting, or one connected with im-
portant consequences being selected. All frothy
talk and lewd expressions are forbidden; and
when the school is broken up, the scholars must
bow to Confucius and the master the same as in
the morning; even the very oldest must not omit

32 Princely Men

doing so." "When they reach home, let them
first bow to the household gods, then to their
ancestors, next to their fathers and mothers and
uncles and aunts." Rule twenty commands
those who desire to memorize to bring three
things to the work — their eyes, mind, and
mouth — and carefully to avoid repeating with
the mouth while the heart is thinking about
something else. Drawing lots as to the order in
which each scholar is to recite, the personal ap-
plication of what is studied to the life, etc., are
other rules found under this character, as well as
a full account of China's unique examination sys-
tem, occupying tw^enty-four pages. One can
readily see that Morrison really needed the 10,000
volumes of his Chinese library to enrich the pages
of the only interesting Chinese Dictionary ever
published.
The Chinese Even more important in the early history of
Bible. Protestant missions in China was his work as
Bible translator. Here, however, he made large
use of w^hat had been done by the unknown Cath-
ohc translator of most of the New Testament,
and he was also aided in the Old Testament by
Dr. Milne, so that this work was not as largely
his as was the Dictionary. Thirty-nine of the
sixty-six books were of his own translation, how-
ever. The primary difficulty which he had to
overcome was that of finding terms for the cor-
rect representation of spiritual and theological

Robert Morrison 33

ideas. The manuscript of part of the New Tes-
tament and other CathoHc writings, as well as
the famous controversy waged between different
parties in that Church as to the proper term for
God, and the usage of Chinese Mohammedans,
cast some light upon the subject; yet Morrison
carefully studied anew the whole matter of ter-
minology. This question is too technical to be
discussed here; suffice it to say that the terms
chosen by him differed in some cases from those
used by the Cathohcs, and that to-day few of
them are retained. As for his translation, the
historical portions are more smoothly rendered
than is the remainder of the Bible. Here is a
literal translation of the first part of Genesis:
"God in the beginning made at first heaven and
earth, and the earth without form and empty,
and darkness upon the abyss's surface; and God's
spirit vibrated over the water's surface. God
said, Let obtain light, and immediately have
light; and God saw the light to be good." The
Psalms occasioned more difficulty. The 139th,
beginning at the seventh verse, reads: "I to what
place may escape from thy Spirit? I to what
place may escape from thy presence? I, if as-
cend to heaven, thou in that place. I, if myself
make bed in hell, behold thou art there. I, if
take the m_orning's wings and dwell in the sea's
remote places, there thy hand still shall lead me,
thy right hand shall guard me." In India, Marsh-

34 Princely Men

man, with the help of an Armenian from Macao,
named Lassar, had translated the Bible into
Chinese, and it was issued from the Serampore
press in 1820. It was thus the first entire Chi-
nese Bible to be printed, though Morrison and
Milne completed their work of translation on
November 25, 18 19. Their version was far su-
perior to the Marshman-Lassar translation, and
except among the Baptists it had a longer life
and a much wider circulation. Apart from its
great value as an evangelical agency in China, it
awakened a great desire on the part of Occidental
Christians to forward a work which had hitherto
seemed hopeless; while learned bodies and Eu-
ropean scholars lauded the man who had pro-
duced a translation of the Bible and a Diction-
ary incomparably superior to anything hitherto '
known.
Other Morrison's Chinese Grammar, like every sub-
Uterary sequent attempt in that line, was practically use-
' less. ''A View of China for Philological Pur-
poses" was more successful and is interesting to-
day for any reader, and so are his "Chinese
Miscellany" and ''Horae Sinicae." In all Dr.
Morrison published in English nineteen separate
works, including some minor pamphlets, while
twelve Chinese works of his were also printed.
All of these attest his industry, care, and learning.
Morrison, the The work already mentioned was most fun-
Strategist. damental to the cause of Chinese missions; yet

Robert Morrison

Morrison did not content himself with transla-
tion and such evangelistic effort as the narrow
restrictions already mentioned permitted. The
coming of his only colleague, William Milne, in
1813 and his own liberal salary enabled him to
plan larger things than could be accomplished in
the Empire itself. Milne was a man of great
ability but was so rustic and unpromising in his
youth that a member of the Society's Committee
proposed that he be sent out as a servant to a
missionary. When asked if he would go in that
capacity, he replied with joy: ''Yes, Sir, most
certainly; I am willing to be anything, so that I
am in the work. To be a hewer of wood and a
drawer of water is too great an honor for me,
when the Lord's house is building." This half-
orphan, who had been converted from a life of
notorious wickedness to one in which before he
had decided to become a missionary he spent
hours every day in prayer for the conversion of
the world, was a royal assistant to China's pio-
neer. The bitter animosity of Catholics and the
opposition of Protestant merchants made it im-
possible, however, for Milne to remain in China;
and hence his brief but fruitful Hfe of ten years
was spent in Malaysia, mainly in Malacca.

Morrison's scheme called for an educational Ang/o-
institution outside the limits of the Empire and ^^'"^^^
in that part of Asia whei*e there were many Chi-
nese colonists, so that missionaries might be free

^6 Princely Men

to educate workers for the Chinese, as well as
prepare an abundant hterature, which Morrison
clearly foresaw would always be one of the most
important factors in China's evangelization. In-
struction in Chinese and EngHsh, later in Malay
also, was given; and from its foundation in 1818
to its removal to Hong-kong in 1845 it did a
valuable work, though it never rose beyond the
grammar grade. The Hterary part of Morri-
son's program was more successfully carried out.
Aside from Milne's valuable aid in translating
the Bible, he edited a periodical in Chinese and
issued most helpful tracts, particularly one of the
best and most useful in China at the present time,
his ''Two Friends." Like William Burns and
Griffith John, he had the happy faculty of speak-
ing to the heart of the Chinese in the very ac-
cents of their native tongue.
Other Soon after Morrison's arrival, he began a cor-
Activities. respondence with missionaries in other parts of the
world, feeling that much was to be gained by keep-
ing in touch with those engaged in the same work
the world over. "The Ultra Ganges Missionary
Union," intended to unite all the members of the
London Society in Southeastern Asia, was a
wiser attempt in that direction. Its objects were
''to cultivate mutual fellowship among the m.em-
bers; to strengthen and perpetuate the Missions
connected with the Union; and to promote the
diffusion of divine truth in Pagan and Moham-

Robert Morrison 37

medan countries." As a part of Morrison's
other duties he was called upon to be a purchas-
ing agent and general adviser to all the mission-
aries in that part of the world. He was the first
to be invited to contribute to periodicals which
sprang up, such as the Canton Register and the
Chinese Repository, the latter a missionary jour-
nal. The first work for medical missions in
China was the result of his investigations into the
needs of the poor. As no medical missionary-
was at hand and as the Company physician
could aid him but little in his philanthropic en-
deavor, he opened a dispensary under a native
practitioner, in which were treated multitudes of
poor patients according to the prevalent methods.
For the use of the dispensary, he purchased a
library of 800 Chinese medical works and a com-
plete assortment of native medicines. Meetings
at his rooms for religious conference and worship,
and others to which were invited those interested
in the study of Chinese or of subjects relating to
China, constituted no small part of his labors.
The correspondence with missionary societies,
which finally brought to China such men of
might as Dr. Bridgman and David Abeel, and
increased to six the force sent by his own So-
ciety to Southeastern Asia, was an important
contribution to China's redemption. Work for
sailors, for whom he held meetings and estab-
lished a coffee house, should also be mentioned.

38 Princely Men

Journey to Morrison's only journey in the Empire, beyond
e ing, j^^^ shuttle trips between Canton, his official resi-
dence, and Macao, his home and city of refuge
when driven out of Canton, or in need of change,
was to Peking as one of the official suite of Lord
Amherst, sent as ambassador to the Emperor.
The journey by water to Peking, and by the
Grand Canal and other waterways so far as pos-
sible through six of the provinces, occupied about
six months of 1816. The embassy was a fail-
ure, owing to Britain's rightful refusal to permit
her representative to make the "three prostra-
tions and nine head knockings" to the Emperor;
but the journey gave Morrison the opportunity
to enlarge his knowledge of the language in dif-
ferent sections of the Empire. It also furnished
much needed relaxation in visiting places of his-
toric interest, such as the White Deer College,
older than Oxford and sacred to its most illustri-
ous graduate, Chu Fu-tzii, the maker of modern
Confucianism. Few traces of Catholic Christian-
ity were found on the journey, but he held
illuminating conversations with Mohammedans,
made inquiries about the Jews of Kai-feng Fu,
etc.

The Wider The Chinese Scriptures and tracts, prepared
Parish, i^y j)j.^ Morrison, as also his ''Domestic In-
structor" and "Scripture Lessons," were quite
widely circulated, some of them penetrating into
Korea and Japan and the far interior of China

Robert Morrison

itself. He even had the joy of hearing that a
young Chinese from Macao, who was hving in
New York, had been converted through reading
his Chinese New Testament and was hving an
earnest, consistent hfe. Leaving China early in
1823, Morrison spent some time in Malacca and
Singapore in advancing the interests of the Anglo-
Chinese College and in establishing a Malay
branch of the same in the latter place, the two
henceforth being called the Singapore Institu-
tion.. He had also raised his voice in protest
a^;ainst the licensed gambling and the slave trade
which cursed the two settlements.

His first and only furlough to England oc- Home
curred during the years 1824-26, after he had ^"'''°"9^^'
been absent sixteen years. After returning from
Singapore, he sailed in December for England,
reaching there in 1824. His wife's ill health had
forced her to go home in 181 5, and returning to
China, she had died in 182 1, so that in England
he had no stated home until his second marriage
to Eliza Armstrong in 1825. Hardly had he
landed when his troubles began. A fine library
of 10,000 volumes which had cost him ;g2,ooo,
and which he intended to donate to a public in-
stitution for the furtherance of Chinese study,
were held for some time before they could be ad-
mitted duty free. Otherwise he was most cor-
dially greeted, and his stay in England, Ireland,
Scotland, and France was a constant ovation and

40 Princely Men

a wearisome series of addresses and sermons.
Often his day began at five in the morning and
closed at eleven at night. Even royalty granted
him an audience and some of the foremost schol-
ars of the Continent greeted him with enthusiasm,
— men like Humboldt, Remusat and Klaproth.
Sir Walter Scott desired to have him as guest at
Abbotsford; but this and many other alluring in-
vitations must be declined that he might interest
a larger number in China's evangelization and
in his college scheme as an aid to it. Among
more direct efforts for China and other missicn
lands was the establishment of a Universal Phil-
ological Society, whose objects should be to "af-
ford to those benevolent persons who leave their
native country, with the view of imparting to the
heathen the knowledge of Christianity, every de-
gree of assistance before they quit their native
shores." It also included the collection of in-
formation as to customs and opinions of the
peoples of mission lands, instruction in languages
by returned missionaries and other competent
persons, and the collection of a suitable library.
His ambitious scheme eventuated in a ''Lan-
guage Institution," toward the development of
which he devoted an extra year at home at his
own expense. The Institution was short lived,
but so far as China was concerned, it was a help
to those who availed themselves of its advan-
tages. In addition to the thirteen studying under

Robert Morrison 41

him was a small class of ladies who wished to
prepare for foreign missionary service.

In 1826 Dr. Morrison returned with his fam- The End.
ily to China. The closing years of his life there
were clouded by increasing difficulties with the
Company and the uncertainty as to his future,
when its dissolution should be followed by reg-
ular British trade under Government care. In-
creasing weakness also added to his anxieties.
When the Company finally ceased to exist, Mor-
rison's fears were dispelled by his appointment
as Chinese secretary and interpreter with a sal
ary of over $6,000. Had his wife's health per-
mitted her to remain in China he might have
rallied after being thus relieved of financial anx-
ieties; but his intense affection for her and for all
the members of his family was an occasion of
deepest uneasiness during her long journey to
England. This sorrow and some vexatious ne-
gotiations at the very beginning of his new work
aggravated his weakness, so that he finally passed
away on the first of August, 1834. Probably no
Englishman has ever died in China whose de-
parture has been so widely known and deplored.
Friends of missions the world over, as well as all
interested in the Chinese, united in tributes of
highest esteem and sorrow. He had given to the
heralds of salvation in China a dictionary and
other linguistic helps that for decades smoothed
the way for a speedier entrance into active work.

42 Princely Men

He had bequeathed to the Chinese the Scrip-
tures and other rehgious hterature which had
led many into the light; and the power of his
Christian example was even more helpful to a
people whose obscurest scholars daily strive to
reproduce in outward ways the hfe of their great
Teacher, Confucius. To the world Dr. Mor-
rison furnished an illustration of hfc-long endur-
ance of petty persecution and hydra-headed op-
position, which were more than overcome by a
firm trust in God and undying devotion to the
supreme end of bringing China to the Savior.
A Testimony. S. Wells Williams, one of the two Protestant
missionaries, who with three native Christians
constituted the entire Protestant Church in China
at Dr. Morrison's death, thus summarizes the
results of his life: ''The dawn of China's regen-
eration was breaking as his eyes closed on the
scene of his labors, and these labors contributed
to advance the new era, and his example to in-
spirit his successors to more and greater triumphs.
His name, like those of Carey, Marshman, Jud-
son, and Martyn, belongs to the heroic age of
missions. Each of them was fitted for a pecuhar
field. Morrison was able to work alone, un-
cheered by congenial companions and sustained
by his energy and sense of duty, presenting to
foreigners and natives ahke an instance of a man
diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the
Lord. His life was mostly passed in the midst

Robert Morrison 43

of those who had no sympathy with his pursuits,
but his zeal never abated, nor did he compro-
mise his principles to advance his cause. His
translations and his Dictionary have been indeed
superseded by better ones, built up on his foun-
dations and guided by his experience; but his
was the work of a wise master-builder, and fu-
ture generations in the Church of God in China
will ever find reason to bless Him for the labors
and example of Robert Morrison."

John Kenneth Mackenzie, M.R.O.S. : L.R.O.R.

JOHN KENNETH
MACKENZIE

^'THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN"

Born in Yarmouth, England, August 25, 1850

Died in Tientsin, China, April i, 1888

THE DIVINE COMMISSION

_ " As ye go, preach, saying, Tlie kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the
sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils : freely ye received,
freely give."

OUR LORD'S EXAMPLE

" And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were
sick, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was
gathered together at the door. And he healed many that were sick with
divers diseases, and tast out many devils. . . . And in" the morning, a
great while before day, he rose up and went out, and departed into a desert
place, and there prayed. . . . And Jesus went about all the cities and the
villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the
kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness."

«*THE IMITATION OF CHRIST"

"Should we not seek to imitate the Lord's method, even though the re-
sult be but a very feeble copy of the great original ? What is it that we
have to impart? Let us be definite with ourselves. Is it some new dogma?
a system of doctrine from the West ? If so, by all means leave the religious
element in the hands of the evangelist ; he will expound your doctrines
better than you can. But we reject such an idea. The Chinese already
have more than enough of mere empty doctrine. What we bring them is
no lifeless form, but a living, personal Saviour, whom it is our privilege to
represent to the Chinese ; and this glorious privilege of representing our
Saviour King and witnessing for Him, we dare not commit to any second

larty." — From Dr. Mackenzie's editorial in the Medical Missionary

ournal, written shortly before his death.

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF EVENTS IN
MACKENZIE'S LIFE

1850. Born in Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, August 25.

1867. First strong religious impression from Mr. Moody's address, May 10.

1868. Decides to follow Christ, May 10.

1870. Enters Bristol Medical School to prepare for his medical mission,
October.

1874. At London receives the diploma of M.R.C.S., — Member of the

Royal College of Surgeons,— and at Edinburgh that of L. R.
C. P., — Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians.
Accepted for China by the London Missionary Society, December 15.

1875. Works in Moody's evangeUstic meetings, March.
Sails for China, April 10.

Reaches Hankow, China, June 8.
1877. Marries Miss Travers in Shanghai, January 9.

1879. Reaches Tientsin, — having been transferred from Hankow,—

March 13.
Hospital memorial presented to Viceroy Li Hung-chang, May.
Viceroy Li invites Mackenzie to attend his wife, August i.
The Viceroy's temporary " Free Hospital " opened.

1880. The permanent hospital of the Viceroy opened, December 2.
i88i. Mackenzie's wife and daughter return to England, March.

China's first Medical .School opened, Dec. 15.

1882. Wife and daughter return to China, November. Mrs. Mackenzie

again invalided home, her husband accompanying her, December
7.

1883. Spends a few months in England and on the Continent, February

i8-July 31.

1884. First six students graduate from the Medical School, October.

1885. Emperor confers upon Dr. Mackenzie " The Star of the Order of

the Double Dragon.''
Coming to Tientsin of the Cambridge Band and accompanying re-
vival, April.

1886. "Medical Missionary Association of China" formed, Mackenzie

being one of the prime movers and an editor of its journal,
Autumn.
1888. Dr. Mackenzie dies after a six days' illness, April i.

JOHN KENNETH MACKENZIE

^'The Beloved Physician"

On August 25, 1850, an infant opened its eyes Early Home,
in the fen-begirt town of Yarmouth, England,
who was destined to become one of the princely
physicians of a great Empire. From this place,
so much resembling the Tientsin plain, — in
which he should close his labors, — in its absence
of rising ground and the presence of straggling
willows and abundant harvests of reeds, Mac-
kenzie's parents removed to Bristol, before he
had any consciousness of Yarmouth's quaint
"rows" or interesting traditions. Most of his
life was spent in this city that "seems to swim
on the waters." It is the port whence Sebastian
Cabot sailed forth to be the first Enghshrian to
land in America and to discover the United
States; and to it was brought later from Juan
Fernandez the real Robinson Crusoe. Here, too,
the doctrines of the Reformation were preached
by Tyndale, Cranmer, and Latimer, — and here,
alas! the peaceful Quakers suffered persecution,
103 of them being in Bristol prisons at the acces-
.'iion of Charles 11.

48 Princely Men

Mackenzie's Providence blessed Mackenzie's boyhood with
Parents. ^ North of Scotland father of strong Presbyte-
rian instincts, as became an elder in that Church,
while his mother was a Welsh lady from Brecon-
shire. Mrs. Bryson, the wife of his Tientsin col-
league, remarks that "to his Highland blood he
doubtless owed a certain reticence of manner,
combined with an intensity of feehng, which in
a marked degree characterized his likes and dis-
likes." To his mother, perhaps, may be attrib-
uted the strain which gave to him that unusual
facility in language acquisition which marks most
Welsh missionaries. While their influence was
helpful, Kenneth was not a model in all respects.
He had a hasty temper and disliked study more
than do most boys, who are fond of outdoor sports.
Not until his fifteenth year, when he entered a
merchant's office as clerk, did he appreciate op-
portunities for study; but from that time he used
his spare time for reading.
His The Young Men's Christian Association was

Conversion. £^j. j^-^^^ what it has been to so many other young
men, the awakener of the spiritual hfe and an
excellent training school for Christian service.
On a May Sunday in 1867, after an impressive
discussion of the Bible class topic for the day,
"A Good Conscience," Mr. Moody spoke to the
men, and the first strong spiritual impression of
his hfe was received. Not until the anniversary
of. that day, however, was he led to give liimself

John Kenneth Mackenzie 49

unreservedly to God and to His service. The

warmth of those early years of discipleship were

prophetic of the rare spirituahty and delight in

evangelistic effort of every sort, which marked

his labors as a missionary.

He did not come to this life of devotion to Preparing for

others without much self- crucifixion, as well as ^^^^'^^'^^

Work,
through a course of preparation for it. The

prayer-meeting, held by him and three compan-
ions on a hilltop as they returned from the Asso-
ciation after they had witnessed a good confes-
sion, was a fundamental method of gaining essen-
tial equipment for spiritual service. More unique
was a preparatory school, held by a little group
of congenial workers in a cow- shed, two miles
out of town. It meant self-denial for this band
of young men to go there at five o'clock in the
morning to discuss and criticise sermons and ad-
dresses which they had carefully prepared, and
which they subsequently used at Association and
street services, or at theater meetings. Note-
books of Mackenzie's are filled with illustrations,
which he had jotted down to serve as feathers
for evangelistic arrows. His leisure time was
occupied with preparation for meetings and active
participation in open air services, lodging-house
visitation, ragged-school teaching, and the deli-
cate and almost dangerous work of the INIidnight
Mission. Desperate thieves and shameless women
found in him one who sought them out and con-

50 Princely Men

sorted with them, as did another young man
centuries before, the Savior cf thieves and the
friend of pubhcans and sinners.
Two One of Mackenzie's staunchest friends was
Biographies Colonel Duncan, with whom he was associated
Decision ^^ niuch of his religious work. He had been
greatly moved by the memoirs of two Chinese
missionaries, William Burns and Dr. Henderson,
and he had been led to desire for himself a simi-
lar life. Returning one night from a theater
meeting of unusual interest, he confided to Col-
onel Duncan his new desire. The Colonel's re-
sponse, ''You are still very young; would it not
be well to go in for the study of medicine and in
the course of time go out to China as a medical
missionary?" was to Mackenzie the voice of God.
Not understanding very clearly the nature of the
work, however, he sought for further light, and
after reading Mrs. Gordon's "The Double Cure:
or. What is a Medical Mission?" his duty seemed
to be perfectly plain.
Overcoming When he sought to gain his parents' consent to
Difficulties. \fQ allowed to give up business and enter a medi-
cal school to prepare for China, the young man
met a most serious obstacle. Argument did not
change their position, and hence Mackenzie was
forced to look up. A triumvirate of friends
mighty in prayer. Colonel Duncan, Mrs. Gor-
don's husband, and a Bristol surgeon, Dr. Steele,
joined him in definitely pleading with God for a

John Kenneth Mackenzie 51

change of mind on the parents' part. This com-
pact wrought two valuable results: it led his father
and mother to withdraw their objections on the
very night that it went into effect; and it was a
proof to him ever after, that united prayer for a
desired object would bring an answer, if it was
according to the will of God. It was the war-
rant for a conviction which Dr. Mackenzie ex-
pressed near the close of his Hfe in these words:
"I do indeed believe in prayer. I am forced to
believe in it, and say, from practical experience,
I am sure that God does hear and answer our
prayers."

The four years following October, 1870, were Student Life.
spent in the diligent study of medicine at the
Bristol Medical School, and at the end of that
period he very successfully passed examination
both at London and Edinburgh, at which places
he received respectively the diploma of M.R.C.S.
and L.R.C.P. Realizing the prevalence of eye-
diseases in his chosen field, he afterward took
work at the Royal Ophthalmic Hospital in Lon-
don. Meanwhile he had been looking about for
advice as to the next step. Dr. Lowe of the Ed-
inburgh Medical Missionary Society gave him
especially helpful counsel; and China's mission-
ary Nestor, Griffith John, as well as Messrs. Bry-
son and Cullen of the same Empire, finally de-
termined him to apply to the London Missionary
Society.

52 Princely Men

Enl/sfs and Though a Presbyterian, he wilHngly enlisted in
Sa//s. ^^ organization which is still largely interdenomi-
national, and which has behind it so noteworthy
a history. Other appointments allured him only
momentarily, and his natural impetuosity drove
him hastily on. The necessary carefulness of the
Society to which he had offered himself and the
consequent delay nearly caused a cessation of
negotiations, but finally he was accepted. And
now he must be off. ■ Sailing so as to arrive in
the heat of a China summer and leaving his
betrothed behind to follow him when he should
have gotten into his new work, he reached Shang-
hai on June 4, 1875. He did not leave dear old
England without being first moved by the strong
spiritual life of a Httle group of men at Trinity
College, Cambridge, and by a final interview with
Mr. Moody. Life on shipboard was a delight
and an opportunity. He read, he entered into
the social life of the ship, he alternately listened
to the stirring yarns of the sailors and recipro-
cated with most affectionate heart talks, and he
preached occasionally.
Mackenzie's Mackenzie was not a pioneer in his depart-
Forerunners. ^lent, as was Morrison. We have already seen
that the latter had enlisted the good offices of
the East India Company's physician in the medi-
cal missionary enterprise and had carried on a
still larger work through a native practitioner.
But it was Peter Parker of America who had the

John Kenneth Mackenzie ^^

honor of "opening China to the Gospel at the
point of a lancet." He had been followed by a
number of others in the Empire, one of whom,
Dr. Henderson, had so interested Mackenzie at
the beginning of his missionary investigations.
Yet thus far no one had won for the cause strong
official endorsement, which was very desirable in
a country where foreign doctors are acknowledged
to be superior to native practitioners mainly be-
cause of their rumored use of medicines made of
good Chinese eyes and hearts. Dr. Mackenzie
was to do more than any other man toward de-
mohshing this foolish belief.

And surely Western medicine was sorely needed Medicine
in this most populous empire of the world. Of ^^®^^^-
physicians there was no lack; indeed, any scholar
who could read the voluminous medical litera-
ture and who had been unable to secure a more
desirable position, was thereby created an ^Escu-
lapius. But what did he know and how did he
practice? China was no worse than many other
enlightened nations of antiquity; for in Greece,
"the mother- land of rational medicine," the "tem-
ple sleep" and its dreams were the basis of pre-
scriptions; and even Hippocrates and Galen held
views about the elements and the moon that are
not outdone by their Chinese brothers of to-day.
This is what Dr. Mackenzie says of his native
confreres: "Chinese doctors profess to be able to
diagnose disease by the state of the pulse only.

54 Princely Men

Their knowledge of anatomy and physiology is
almost nil; yet in the place of exact knowledge,
they substitute the most absurd theories. The
nature of disease being unknown, they attribute
to the influence of the ' five elements' the onset
of disease. To a large extent the physiological
action of drugs is unknown, and most wonder-
ful healing properties are attributed to such sub-
stances as dragons' teeth, fossils, tiger bones,
pearls, etc.
^ Pro- ''A Chinese doctor examines the pulse of each

fessional ^^Y\?>t of his patient with much solemnity, the sick
Visit , 1 1 . . , .

person s hand restmg meantime upon a cushion,

while the friends stand round watching the opera-
tion with much awe. The tongue is then exam-
ined and a prescription written out. The doctor
then departs, after giving his diagnosis and going
into long explanations of what is taking place in
his patient's interior. Many of the Chinese won-
der much that foreign physicians should make so
many inquiries of their patients; they think that
they should be able to find out all about such
matters from the condition of the pulse.
Medical "Superstitious notions and practices control
Super- g^j^^j pervert medicine. In almost every case of
sickness, idols, astrologers, and fortune-tellers are
consulted. Disease is generally attributed to the
«• anger of the gods, or to a visitation of evil spirits ;

the priests, indeed, teach this for their own ends.
Charms are in general use to expel evil spirits

John Kenneth Mackenzie ^^

and pacify offended gods, and many idolatrous
rites are employed. The noise of gongs and fire-
crackers, used in these observances, is constantly
heard and of necessity proves very injurious to a
patient whose nervous system is weakened by dis-
ease. The charms are written out and pasted
about the sick-room. Sometimes these marvel-
ous pieces of paper are burned and the ashes
used to make a decoction, which the patient is
ordered to drink. It is not wonderful, therefore,
that, medical science being in so unsatisfactory
a state in China, the cures wrought by foreign
doctors seem to the people httle short of miracu-
lous; and in many cases the difficulty is not to
get the people to beheve in the foreign medical
man, but rather for them to understand that
there is a limit to his heahng power." This
is especially true of surgical cases; since native
practitioners confine their surgery to remov-
ing a tooth, puncturing sores and tumors, at-
tempting to reduce dislocations, and reuniting
fractures.

Mackenzie's destination was Hankow, a great Beginning at
port almost in the geographical center of the Em- ^^^f^f^ow.
pire and located at the confluence of China's
girdle, the Yang-tzu, and the Han River, so fa-
mous in history that it and the dynasty of the
same name furnish one of the proudest designa-
tions of the Chinese to-day, "men of Han." A
royal welcome from Mr. and Mrs. John and Mr.

56 Princely Men

Foster awaited the Doctor as he stepped from the
gang-plank at Hankow, and almost immediately
he is at work. His first Sunday morning there
was spent in the city chapel, endeavoring to catch
a few words and wondering whether he could
possibly acquire so complicated a language, with
its accompanying tones. In the afternoon of
the same day he was once more in his element ;
for among the thousands of native craft on the
broad bosom of the Yang-tzu were some foreign
tea-steamers, and here was his opportunity for
evangehstic effort in his own tongue. From that
time onward, both here and later at Tientsin,
work for sailors was his avocation.
Language The following afternoon he was closeted with
Study. ^ language teacher for his first Chinese lesson.
"We sit down together with the same book,"
writes Mackenzie. "He calls over a word and I
^ try to imitate him; my mouth is twisted into all
sorts of shapes, and I struggle on. The idea is
first to get the proper sound, the meaning after-
ward, and then — probably the most difficult —
to learn the characters. We go on for about
three hours, until I am tired of repeating sounds
after him." The Doctor's native abihty and his
desire to master the language enabled him to
gain an unusual command of Chinese, an ac-
complishment that many physicians can not boast
of, since they become so early burdened with pro-
fessional duties.

John Kenneth Mackenzie ry

Medical work had already been begun at his Mackenzie's
station, so that Dr. Mackenzie built on excellent ^PP''^"*'^^'
foundations, having at his command convenient
premises and the prestige already won by West-
ern medicine. As the hospital had been built
partly by the foreign community, it had accom-
modations for them, and so does not need to be
described, as it was not wholly indigenous. Yet
the people needed to be understood in order to
be reached, and this study was a most fascinat-
ing one. Under the guidance of Griffith John or
another of his colleagues, he watched the bus-
tling crowd in streets so narrow that the widest
of them could not accommodate more than four
or five people standing abreast. Their customs
and feasts, their temples and the gruesome Bud-
dhist representations of hell which they contained,
were intensely interesting to the Doctor. As he
came to know the people better, they learned to
admire him more; and owing to some successful
surgical operations, his fame soon traveled far
and wide, his practice proportionately increasing.

No one in China, unless it were the late Dr. Learning

Nevius, could better have initiated Dr. Macken- ^^^ ^^

Pre ac/i
7AQ into evangehstic work, than did Griffith John.

As often as he could do so, the Doctor attended
his chapel. He thus describes this work in Han-
kow: "Very frequently a shop in the middle of
a crowded street is rented and fitted up with
benches as a 'Glad Tidings Hall,' where the for-

58 Princely Men

eign missionary and his native assistant for many
hours every day proclaim the way of salvation
through Jesus to those who come into the build-
ing. No regular service is held, but as the coohes
resting from their burdens, the countryman with
his basket by his side, or the pedler with his case
of cord and tapes, come in for awhile, the preacher
in colloquial fashion addresses questions to indi-
viduals and tries by patient repetition to implant
in his hearers' minds some ideas about the love
of God as manifested in His Son, Jesus Christ.
This new ' doctrine,' as they call it, is very novel
and strangely unHke anything the hearers have
ever listened to before. It is with great diffi-
culty that they grasp any thoughts relating to the
unseen and eternal. . . . Mr. John spoke in the
chapel for about two hours. It was half an hour
before he could get one idea thoroughly home to
the people, showing, it seems to me, how useless
are ordinary sermons to teach these people. Wan-
dering through the country and simply preaching
is pure waste of time, I think. Men must settle
down to patient, persevering w^ork; and if ac-
companied by the Spirit of God, one may expect
to see great results from it. Mr. John has anx-
ious inquirers at the end of these patient, hard-
working services, which greatly cheer his heart."
Mackenzie It was the Doctor's delight to get out among
the people, and with Griffith John, who knew no
fear, even the most dangerous trips were enjoyed.

Afield.

John Kenneth Mackenzie 59

On one occasion; however, he would have been
glad to be at home. The two men went into a
new section to aid a native Christian, named Wei.
He had been so earnest in preaching the truth,
that hostility to Christianity had arisen with the
result that the rabble proceeded to drive out the
foreign devils. A paragraph from the Doctor's
description of the attack gives one an idea of
what a Chinese mob is like. "Presently pelting
began. There were, fortunately, no stones at
hand; but the earth being dry, the plowed fields
were covered with hard clods, and these soon be-
gan to fly about our heads. At this stage I took
off my spectacles and pulled my soft felt hat well
over my ears, which protected me a good deal.
Mr. John was struck on the mouth with a hard
lump of clay, which made the blood flow freely
and almost caused him to faint; and soon after
another piece cut his scalp at the back of the
head. I guarded my face with my arms, my hat
well protected my head, and I received most of
the blows about my head and body. We still
went on, following Wei, who walked like a prince,
calm and fearless with his head up, just his nat-
ural self and apparently not a bit troubled. . . .
At this time we might have been killed at any
moment; for we were the center of a howhng,
infuriated mob of about one thousand men and
boys bent on mischief and dragging us about in
every direction. We were several times sepa-

6o Princely Men

rated. I was pushed down once, but Mr. John
and the native Christians kept the crowd off me."
They finally succeeded in escaping from the mob,
and soon reached a place, of safety. During this
encounter neither they nor the Christians used
any force, and Mackenzie could testify: "I felt
perfectly calm. No feeling of anger entered my
mind; Christ was a very precious companion
then."
The Outcome. The two missionaries felt that for the sake of
the native Christians they must complain of the
action of the Hiau-kan rabble, and this enabled
them to return to the place and show their for-
giving spirit and their desire to benefit the people.
As an ultimate result, there were in connection
with the Hiau-kan station just before the Boxer
Uprising three foreign missionaries laboring there,
one being a physician having in his charge a hos-
pital and leper asylum. A force of eleven native
helpers were co-operating with the missionaries
at Hiau-kan and its two out-stations.
' Higher During his Hankow apprenticeship Mackenzie
Lessons, learned also of God Himself. The deepening of
his spiritual life was aided by fellowship with
helpful friends, by special meetings held for that
purpose, and by unceasing efforts to save others.
On one steamer the meetings held resulted in
the conversion of about fourteen men. As for
his inner life, he says: ''I have been thinking and
praying about a more complete trust in Jesus. I

John Kenneth Mackenzie 6i

am weary with struggling against temptation and
feel very many failures are caused by my trying
to do these things with God." And later he
adds: "I have placed myself and all my concerns
in His hands, looking to Him for dehverance
from temptations. I have been so happy to-day
in simply looking up. May my faith fail not!
I feel so helpless and weak and yet so safe. The
hfe of simple trust in Jesus is so delightful —
such perfect safety!" Later, meetings for the
foreigners and native Christians resulted in even
greater blessing.

Having learned much of the language and got- Mackenzie's
ten his medical work under way, the Doctor fek Marriage.
that he was justified in having his fiancee come
out to China. She did so, and they were mar-
ried January 9, 1877, at Shanghai. The early
years of their married life were ideal. Home was
a perpetual joy to the Doctor and a haven of rest
from the weariness and worries of a life in which
a single physician with no adequate assistance
was obliged to take charge of the most difficult
cases. His wife was a direct aid to him in his
work both here and at his later home; for he
makes repeated references to her prayers as be-
ing united with his own for the successful issue
of difficult operations, and the two labored to-
gether for foreign sailors and marines. In Han-
kow, too, their only child was born. His work
was likewise growing, especially on the surgical

62 Princely Men

side, — a work of which he writes, "I* am pas-
sionately fond of surgery and never happier than
when I am about to undertake some big opera-
tion."
Transferred Yet here, also, he experienced trials. He had
to Tientsin, j^^gj^ attacked once and again by malaria; his
wife's health was a source of sohcitude; and fin-
ally, after three and a half years of most fruitful
service, family complications and personal mat-
ters caused the Doctor to request the Society to
transfer him to another station. It was charac-
teristic of him that he should ask to be sent into
the far interior of China's greatest western prov-
ince; but the perils of such a place for Mrs.
Mackenzie led the Directors to send him instead
to Tientsin, the steamer port of Peking, which is
eighty-three miles to the northwest.
A New Wholly different from the majestic Son of the
Beginning. Q^^^in upon which Hankow lies was the narrow
and sinuous Pei Ho, or North River, on whose
muddy banks Mackenzie was henceforth to live
and achieve a national, instead of a provincial,
reputation. Though he already had an excellent
command of Chinese, the variations of the North-
ern Mandarin over the speech of Central China
gave him a new task, especially in adjusting him-
self to the changed tones. A more serious diffi-
culty, however, was the lack of a suitable plant
for his work and the greater indifference to Chris-
tianity and to the benefits of Western medicine.

John Kenneth Mackenzie 63

As there seemed to be no human method of over-
coming this apathy, and as Mackenzie felt that
there was a loss of power in leaving a city in
which he had had as many as 1,137 hospital and
11,859 o^t patients in a single year to come to a
station where he had only about one-fifth as
many, he and his colleagues had recourse to
prayer. This was not a spasmodic and formal
exercise; but unitedly both the foreigners and
native Christians of the station prayed, continu-
ing their supplications for weeks. As an offset
to this comparative cessation from practice, he
gave himself anew to language study, including
much work on the Classics, and a re-reading of
William B urns' s incomparable colloquial render-
ing of Bunyan's immortal allegory.

Mackenzie and one of his colleagues, Mr. Prayer
Lees, had drawn up a memorial and presented ^"^^^'^^ ■
it to the famous Viceroy Li Hung-chang, who
was for years the virtual ruler of the Empire.
From the middle of May until the first day of
August prayer was unceasing that the Viceroy
might realize the value of Western medicine and
endorse Mackenzie's plan for a hospital. At the
weekly prayer-meeting on that momentous Aug-
ust evening the subject was our Lord's words,
"Ask, and it shall be given you," and once more
the little church pleaded with God for an answer
to the memorial. In the evening a member of
the English Legation, who was calHng on the

64 Princely Men

Viceroy, noted an unusual sadness and learned
that his wife was dying. The visitor suggested
that foreign physicians be called in, and after
much urging he sent for Mackenzie and a com-
munity physician. Dr. Irwin. The summons
came just as the prayer-meeting was breaking
up, and here was the long delayed answer to
their petitions. The two physicians, assisted later
by Miss Dr. Howard from Peking, were used to
bring the patient back to health. Even more
important was the issue of that cure; for it had
given Western medicine an advertisement which
nothing short of an Imperial endorsement could
have equaled, and it led the Viceroy to person-
ally investigate Occidental methods of surgery
and to appreciate the value of foreign medicines.
The result was the establishment of a hospital
and dispensary, which were carried on with Li
Hung-chang's sanction and with money contrib-
uted by him and other wealthy Chinese. This
in turn was the entering wedge that opened to
the army and navy the blessings of modern medi-
cine.
Mackenzie's The building which "God gave to us" is thus
Hospital, described by Dr. Mackenzie: ''It is erected in
the best style of Chinese architecture and has an
extremely picturesque and attractive appearance.
The front building, standing in its own court-
yard, is ascended by broad stone steps, which
lead from a covered gateway to a verandah with

John Kenneth Mackenzie 65

massive wooden pillars running along its whole
length. A hall divides it into two portions. On
ihe right side and in front is a spacious dispen-
sary, which, thanks to the liberahty of the Vice-
roy, is wanting in nothing, rivaHng any EngHsh
dispensary in the abundance and variety of the
drugs, apphances, etc.; behind this is a roomy
drug-store. On the left of the hall is a large
waiting-room with benches for the convenience
of patients, and used on Sundays and other days
as a preaching hall. Behind and to one side is
the Chinese reception-room, always to be found
in a native building. The rooms are very lofty,
without ceihngs, leaving exposed the huge, painted «

beams, many times larger than foreigners deem
necessary, but the pride of the Chinese builder.
Running off in two parallel wings at the back
are the surgery and the wards, the latter able to
accommodate thirty-six patients. The wards in
the right wing, four in number, are small, in-
tended each to receive only three patients. Here
we can isolate dangerous cases, and also receive
persons, such as officials and others, who require
greater privacy. The wards are all furnished with
kangs instead of beds, as is the custom in North
China. They are built of bricks, with flues run-
ning underneath, so that in winter they can be
heated; the bedding is spread out over the bricks."

The breadth and depth of Mackenzie's Hfe Mis Time
and activities may be judged from the following ^ ^'

66 Princely Men

account which he gives of his daily and weekly
program. "My hour to rise in the morning is
half past six for winter; breakfast at a quarter
to eight. At a quarter past eight I conduct a
sort of Bible class in the hospital among the pa-
tients — those who are able to come — and the
dispensers and servants. This lasts for three
quarters of an hour and is, of course, in Chinese.
From half past nine till eleven o'clock I study
Chinese; at eleven o'clock dispensary work be-
gins, and here and in the hospital I spend two
hours, until one o'clock. At one I take dinner;
at two prepare my medical class work; at three
I take the senior class in the medical school in
medicine or surgery; at four or half past four I
am free, and I try to get away for a walk; but
there is constantly something coming up to be
attended to — perhaps an operation, or a Chi-
nese letter to answer, or some case of discipline
in the Medical School to be dealt with. On
Tuesday evenings at seven we have a Chinese
prayer-meeting, with a review of the week's work
in the Bible; this I conduct. On Monday eve-
ning we have a Mission prayer-meeting, when
we all meet for consultation and prayer. On
Wednesday evening there is the Union Church
prayer-meeting,, which is practically a united mis-
sionary prayer-meeting, and which I always at-
tend. Sunday is also a very busy day. Sunday-
school class at half past nine; Chinese service at

John Kenneth Mackenzie 67

half past ten; medical school Bible class at three-
evening service at six; meeting for Blue-jackets'
from English and American navv after the eve-
ning service in the church." Let us look more
Jn detail at some of the activities just named.

A pen-picture from the Doctor's letters gives "The Doutle
one an excellent idea of the average company of Cure "-the
lame, halt, and bhnd, who are found in Chinese ^''''"■
mission hospitals. ''The hour is nine o'clock,
and the gong is sounding for morning prayers!
Already groups of men are collected from the
city and villages around, some having their bed-
ding by their side done up in bundles. There
is a man nearly bhnd — his Httle son has led
him here this morning; here sits a lame man
with his crutches in his hand. That pale, hollow-
cheeked, feeble man has probabiy dysentery, or
phthisis. The sallow, emaciated opium' smoker
is also there; and one who is suffering from a
horrible tumor ha^ come up for operation. As
the gong beats, the in-patients who are suffi-
ciently convalescent come trooping in; a strange
spectacle indeed, with their bandages and dress-
ings on. Here come the assistants, and now we
all take our seats. A hymn is given out, — per-
haps it is one from Sankey's collection, — then
a portion of Scripture is read, verse about. The
subject is probably a Gospel one, — very likely
a case of healing. It is explained and lessons
are drawn from it. The patients, who continue

68 Princely Men

to drop in, are generally very quiet and atten-
tive. The meeting closes at the end of half an
hour with prayer. Then the medical mission-
ary crosses to the dispensary, while the native
evangelist continues to talk to the patients as
they wait for their turn.
Healing the "And now the work of healing begins; one by
Multitudes. Qj^g |-j^g patients come into the dispensary. This
is a large room with two sides occupied with
shelves and drawers, containing our stock in
trade. In front is a counter, at which the dis-
pensers are at work putting up medicines. At
the table sits the Chinese writer, taking down the
particulars of each case and making out the tick-
ets." It would be tedious to describe the patients
thus treated. An analysis of his work at Tien-
tsin for a year shows that diseases of the eye are
most common, and then follow those of the- di-
gestive system, of the bones and joints, of the
respiratory and nervous systems. The common-
est surgical operations are those performed on
the eye, after which come amputations, disloca-
tions, and .fractures. Dr. Mackenzie emphasized
the work for opium patients, especially when in
Hankow. Concerning this generally hopeless
class of men he writes: "There is no medical
specific guaranteed to cure; the object aimed at
is to relieve symptoms as they arise and so to
help the patient back to health and freedom. I
always tell them the medicine given them is to re-

John Kenneth Mackenzie 69

lieve the pain and craving, but they are to pray
to God and beheve in Jesus to get the desire
taken away from their hearts and new hearts
given them. They thus carry back a knowledge
of the Gospel north, south, east, and west."

The cure of souls was so emphatically Dr. Mac- Spiritual
kenzie's great object in life that an additional '"^''^~
paragraph is needed to show how the deeper
work was accomplished. In addition to the
morning prayers already described, he regarded
it of prime importance to have a staff of assist-
ants who were more than nominal Christians,
and to that end he and others offered most earn-
est prayer. Daily meetings for prayer, a special
one on Tuesday night to gather up the results,
a Bible class on Sunday for more careful study,
were the agencies mainly used; but above all
meetings and study was the holy life of Dr. Mac-
kenzie himself and the spiritual atmosphere which
always haloed him. A single illustration will
show the object and effect of the agencies used
by Dr. Mackenzie for deepening the spiritual
life of his Chinese assistants. "We were reading
of how Jesus while preaching by the Lake of
Gennesaret, being troubled by the crowds which
pressed upon Him, sought refuge in a fishing-
boat belonging to Simon Peter, and it is stated
that at the time the fishermen were engaged in
washing their nets. ' Ah ! ' remarked young Mao,
one of our Cliristian dispensers, ' we want to imi-

70 Princely Men

tate Peter in this. He and his fellow disciples
had toiled all night and caught nothing, and here
they were found washing their nets. We, who
are fishers of men, need to attend to this; we
should be washing our nets oftener. Are we not
succeeding in our work as we should like ? Per-
haps our communion with the Savior is broken.
Perhaps we are not constantly feeding upon God's
Word. Then are our nets foul, and we had bet-
ter give up fishing until we have washed our
nets." What wonder that the spiritual fruitage
was large, with such preparation and a praying
band organized for work among all the patients,
especially those in the wards!
The Medical Dr. Mackenzie was engaged in an undertak-
School. -j^g ^jiich was at once most thoroughly Christian,
and yet it was being carried on at the expense of
Viceroy Li and other Chinese, many of whom
were officials. An obligation was thus laid upon
him to prepare men to extend his own work,
both for the benefit of the Empire and for Chris-
tianity's sake. The army and navy were with-
out a medical staff, and his first thought was to
furnish competent men and thorough going
Christians for this need. He realized that an
ideal thing would be to have such men get their
education abroad at the best Occidental medical
collegeSo That, however, was impracticable; and
had it been done, the Christian training of the
students would have been nil. Hence, with the

John Kenneth Mackenzie 71

Viceroy's approval, he secured some of the stu-
dents who had been sent to America by the Chi-
nese Educational Commission, and assisted by
doctors and surgeons of the community, or on
the war vessels in port, he undertook the train-
ing of China's first modern practitioners. This
added imm.ensely to his labors, since he had to
be a whole medical faculty in himself; yet the
examinations proved that the students were re-
markably well prepared for their work. Being
in a sense a government institution, there was at
first some difficulty about compulsory instruction
in the Bible; but a slight mutiny and an appeal
to native officials in the hope of release, brought
the men back to the regular regime with permis-
sion to spend Sundays in medical study, if they
objected to Bible work. The writer recalls aow
Sunday was spent at the Medical School, and
testifies to the living treatment of the Bible
which Dr. Mackenzie always gave. The Bible
class especially was full of life. He aimed to
make it as conversational as possible and to en-
list every one in taking part. "People enjoy a
meeting much more when they have some part
in it, however small. Above all things, the leader
should avoid preaching, if the meeting is to be
interesting and profitable." This was his theory
and practice ; and as the prayers were always short
and definite, as well as remarkably spiritual in
tone, the class was both interesting and profitable.

72 Princely Men

its During his lifetime, Dr. Mackenzie was dis-
Graduates. appointed in the reception accorded his students.
The army and navy being under official control
and the prevalent corruption making it impossi-
ble to secure the money appropriated, because
it clung to the hands of superior officers, these
young men fared ill in the attempt to further a
work which was essentially Western and hence
hated. Some were driven from the field, while
others remained at their posts under the heaviest
opposition. A few of the men were permitted
to remain in Tientsin and teach in the Medical
School, and this was a great relief to the over-
burdened Doctor. After his death, three of his
students were placed in charge of the new Vice-
roy's Hospital; others took a similar position in
the naval and military hospital at Port Arthur;
and still others were appointed to Wei-hai-wei, a
naval station. Dr. Chang became house-surgeon
of a hospital in Hongkong, and Dr. Mai for
some time successfully treated the father of the
Emperor in Peking.
Mackenzie's Having briefly noted the main facts in Dr.
Family. Mackenzie's career, a few personal items must
be given. His affection for his wife was very
deep, but in February, 1881, her health became
so broken that she and their httle daughter wxre
ordered to England. In November of the fol-
lowing year they returned and the Doctor was
delighted at the prospect of a reunited family.

John Kenneth Mackenzie 73

But almost immediately Mrs. Mackenzie's health
so completely gave way again, that he was obliged
to return home with her. After five months in
England and on the Continent, he bade his wife
adieu for the last time, and the remaining five
years of his Hfe were spent in a lonely home.
Their separation and the nature of his wife's
disease were such that most men would have
been crushed. Yet one who saw him constantly
during those years writes: "The chastisement
yielded afterwards the peaceable fruits of right-
eousness, and did much towards the develop-
ment and making of his spiritual life, while his
personal griefs only made him the better able to
enter into the sorrows of others." Each trial
drove him closer to his Heavenly Father.
"Though one of the Lord's chosen people," he
writes, "I was previously so ignorant of Him!
Now, through His great mercy, I have been
learning what it is in some measure to walk with
Him and to hold close communion with Him.
Oh, He has been so good to me in filling up my
life With such unutterable joy and peace!"

Mackenzie was so exceedingly busy that he His Friends,
could scarcely stir from Tientsin; though during
the Week of Prayer he visited Peking, and he
also ran away for a brief health-change at other
times. Hence he made no wide acquaintance
outside of his own city. His chief joy was to
find those whose spiritual yearnings coincided

74 Princely Men

with his own deep longings for a higher life.
The brilliant prize-winner among English and
Continental medical students, R. Harold A.
Schofield, who had studied medicine in London,
Paris, Vienna, and Berlin, and who could preach
in French, German, and English, and at the end
of three months in China knew more of the lan-
guage than the ordinary man after a year's study,
brought an oasis into his Tientsin life. Even
more pronounced was the effect upon him of his
acquaintance with Chinese Gordon, who was
later the martyr of Khartum. ''I was struck
with one thing about him," says Mackenzie,
"and that was that religion had become a part
of his life. Not that he used religious phrases; I
fancy he has an abomination of cant, or any-
thing approaching to it; but it is natural to him
to refer to spiritual things. You can't help recog-
nizing the sort of man he is." The brief visit in
Tientsin of Stanley Smith and others of the Cam-
bridge Band was another mighty uplift in his
life, to which he owed much. But it was in
James Gilmour that his soul seemed to delight
most. The two congenial spirits knew no
greater joy than that of sitting together with open
Bibles and bowing in fervent prayer.
His Books. And those silent friends that speak to us when
we turn to them in our need, good books, were a
large factor in the Doctor's growth. He espe-
cially enjoyed such compilations as " Daily Light

John Kenneth Mackenzie 75

on the Daily Path," and Andrew Murray's writ-
ings, particularly his "Abide in Christ," as well
as stirring biographies like those of Finney and
Bishop Patteson. As his character ripened, how-
ever, the range of his reading grew narrower, and ' I
he found in The Book the quintessence of them .
all. How greatly he loved it, may be seen from 1
the fact that a Bible received but three months \
before his death was marked in every part, while 1
whole books had been carefully studied during
that period.

Before Dr. Mackenzie had completed his The
thirty-eighth year the end came. In the midst of Comp/et/on.
his strength he was smitten down with a fever
which threatened to become small-pox. Less
than six days he suffered, and then the last fare-
wells were said, the most affecting being the final
interview with his chief native assistant, formerly
a student at Phillips Academy, whose questionable
life led him to utter this final appeal, "Whether
we shall meet again or not is for you to decide."
And then on Easter morning, April i, 1888,
"early, while it was yet dark," the beloved phy-
sician left the cheerless plain of Chih-li to join
Him whom not having seen, he so deeply loved.
The funeral of the "most important man of
Tientsin" occurred the following day, when the
last words which he had marked in his Bible
previous to being smitten down were fulfilled,
"And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusa-

76 Princely Men

lem did him honor at his death." Missionaries
and other members of the foreign community,
the Chinese Christians and official representatives
of Viceroy Li Hung-chang and his wife, and his
devoted hospital assistants, followed the body to
the grave amid demonstrations which are most
unusual among the Chinese. With the strains of
"Rock of Ages" rising from the graveside in
Chinese they left him there to await the trump
of earth's final Easter Sabbath.

JAMES GILMOUR

THE APOSTLE TO THE MONGOLS

Born in Cathkin, Scotland, June 12, 1843
Died in Tientsin, China, May 21, 1891

A PROPHETIC FORESHADOWING

" I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought
and vanity : yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my recompense
with my God. . . . Thus saith the Lord, the redeemer of Israel, and his
Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth,
to a servant of rulers : Kings shall see and arise ; princes, and they shall
worship ; because of the Lord that is faithful, even the Holy One of
Israel, who hath chosen thee." — Isaiah, 49 : 4, 7.

THE ASPIRATION

" The ten days we passed there [at Ta Cheng Tzu], we were the song of
the drunkard and the jest of the abjects ; but the peace of God passes all
understanding;, and that kept my heart and mind. We put a calm front
on, put out our stand daily, and carried ourselves as if nothing had hap-
pened. The great thought of my mind in these days, — and the great ob-
ject of my life, —is to be like Christ. As He was in the world, so we are
to be. He was in the world to manifest God ; we are in the world to mani-
fest Christ." — Gilmour's words, written in 1888.

A TESTIMONY

" James Gilmour, in season and out of season, in almost constant soli-
tude, in superabounding physicial labors that often overburdened him and
once nearly broke him down, in the long disappointment of the most cher-
ished hopes, and under the constant strain of what would have crushed any
but a giant in faith, lived a life which, if taught no other lesson, was yet
well worth living to teach this — that Jesus Christ can and does give His
servants the victory over apparent non-success, after the most vehement
and long-sustained effort to secure success, and that is the greatest victory
possible to renewed and sanctified human nature." —Gilmour's friend,
Richard Lovett.

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF EVENTS IN
GILMOUR'S LIFE

1843. Born at Cathkin, near Glasgow, Scotland, June 12.
1862. Enters Glasgow University, where he received his M.A.

Is converted early in his college course.
1867. Applies to London Missionary Society and is accepted.

Enters Cheshunt (Iheological) College, near London, September.

1869. Enters Highgate missionary training institution, September.

1870. Ordained as missionary at St. Augustine's Chapel, Edinburgh

February 10.
Journey from Liverpool to Peking, February 22-I\Iay 18.
Massacre of foreigners at Tientsin, June 21.
First Mongolian trip — from Peking to Kiachta, August 5-Septem-

ber 28.

1871. Visits scene of first Mongolian Missions (1S17-1 841), March.
1872-3. Spends winter in Yellow Temple, Peking, working for Mongols.
1874. Marries Emily Prankard at Peking, Decembers.

1874-5. Time mainly spent in Peking, substituting for furloughed colleague.
1877. Tours in Shantung, baptizing many converts.

1882. (jilmour and his family start for furlough in Great Britain, Spring.

1883. They return to Cliina, September i-November 14.

1884. Boyinto, his only convert among the nomadic Mongols, witnesses a

good confession in a lama tent, March i.

1885. Mrs. Gilmour dies, September 19.

Gilmour starts for Eastern Mongolia, the scene of his later labors,
December 14.
1889. Second furlough in Great Britain, May 25- January 9, 1890.
1891. Died of typhus fever at Tientsin, China, May 21.

Ill

JAMES GILMOUR

The Apostle to the Mongols

Matthew Gilmour, mason and wright, and Giimour's
his good wife, whose piety was such that they ^"^^^^'^y-
gladly walked five miles to church, returning by
lantern-light, were fitting grandparents for one
who was a strict Sabbatarian like James Gil-
mour. In his paternal grandmother, also, was
the prototype of the future amateur physician of
Mongolia; for she had a great local reputation as
lay doctor and nurse, and in those early days
she procured vaccine lymph direct from the cow.
Was John Pettigrew, his mother's father, so
scrupulously honest that, though only a farmer-
miller, he compelled the minister to retract his
charge of scant measure after grinding the par-
son's oatmeal? What wonder, then, that his fa-
mous grandson should be blunt and honest to
the point of eccentricity!

James Gilmour was born June 12, 1843, at Home
Cathkin; but in a short time the family removed ^''^/''^/zces.
to Glasgow, five miles away, though a few years
later they returned to the country. The third
79

8o Princely Men

son of a family of six boys, of whom all but
one lived to manhood, he naturally saw plenty of
life, and he was a prominent factor in all sorts of
pranks and outdoor activities. Chaffing the men
in the workshop and mill, — his father and uncle
were partners for a time in the lumber business,

— devising plans for mechanically increasing his
stroke in swimming, tramping over mountain and
through glen to secure geological specimens, row-
ing and dragging his skiff over shallows to a
point on the Clyde rarely reached — these are
some of the feats and activities of his boyhood
and youth. But the indoor Hfe of the home
made a more lasting impression upon the boy.
Family prayers of a prolonged and helpful type,
though rather hard on ilhterate apprentices, were
a marked feature of the home training. So were
the meetings around their mother's knee, when
she read to the boys stories or told them of her
hopes for their future. As one reads Gilmour's
"Among the Mongols," one cannot but believe
that these stories were the remote cause of its
fascinating style and racy descriptions — a De
Foe, the London Spectator called Gilmour. Nor
was the mother the only hero of those never-to-
be-forgotten Sabbaths; for the father made the
evenings memorable by placing upon the table
the ''big Bible" — Scott and Matthew Henry's

— and reading therefrom interesting passages
with pithy or quaint comments. In a word, the

James Gilmour 8i

future apostle to the Mongols found in the home
of this Scotch Congregationalist the most impor-
tant foundation of his future usefulness.

Four years in a subscription school, followed Gilmour's
by a successful period of study at Gorbals Youths' ^^'''^
School in Glasgow, proved to his father that he ' ^'

was deserving of higher opportunities; hence he
was sent to the Glasgow High School, where
he won prizes and thereby convinced his parents
that he ought to give up all thought of entering
a trade. Few boys have been more conscien-
tious scholars than he. No slighting of work
was tolerated, and to make the five miles to his
school, he often went without his breakfast.

At Glasgow University he exhibited the same Further
traits: an ambition which did not rest satisfied Education.
until his best had been done and prizes in Greek,
Latin, and English literature were won; a studi-
ousness which could not rest in summer time,
but which drove him to the library for loads of
books; and a sense of justice which led him to
join others in a revolt against an inefficient pro-
fessor of moral philosophy. His most intimate
college friend says of those days: "Throughout
his college career Gilmour was a very hard-
working student; his patient perseverance and
powers of application were marvelous; and yet
as a rule he was bright and cheerful, able in a
twinkhng to throw off the cares of work and
enter with zest into the topics of the day. He

82 Princely Men

had a keen appreciation of the humorous side of
things, and his merry laugh did one good. Al-
together he was a delightful companion and was
held in universal esteem. One of Gilmour's
leading thoughts was unquestionably the un-
speakable value of time, and this intensified with
years. There was not a shred of indolence in
his nature; it may be truthfully said that he never
wilfully lost an hour." This testimony would
hold good with regard to his later studies and
life at the Theological Hall of the Congregational
Church of Scotland, located at Edinburgh, and
at Cheshunt and Highgate in England.
The Gilmour's conversion had been a gradual one,
Missionary though in the process he had sometimes been in
deep darkness. "I can remember the time," he
writes, "when the pains of hell got such a ter-
rible hold upon me, that I would gladly have
changed places in the world with anyone who
had the hope of salvation. Death, life, prospects,
honor, shame, seemed nothing compared with the
hope of salvation, which I was then without.
Could I ever be saved ? was the question. Would
I ever have the hope that I knew others had?"
But the light came full and clear in his first year
at the University, and he developed into a hope-
ful, active Christian. Not until the first session
in the Theological Hall did he decide upon his
hfe work. The ministry was first chosen on the
ground that, as one saved by grace, he was under

James Gilmour 83

obligations to do what he could to extend Christ's
Kingdom, and the ministry was the vocation
looking most directly to that end. When it came
to the question of the place of his ministry his
course of reasoning was almost identical with
that of Robert Morrison, though Gilmour added
a stronger conclusion: "He who said 'preach,'
said also, 'go ye into and preach,' and what
Christ hath joined together let not man put •
asunder. This command seemed to me to be
strictly a missionary injunction, and, as far as I
can see, those to whom it was first delivered
regarded it in that hght; so that, apart altogether
from choice and other lower reasons, my going
forth is a matter of obedience to a plain com-
mand; and in place of assigning a reason for
going abroad, I would prefer to say that I have
failed to discover any reason why I should stay
at home."

Near the close of the session of 1867, Gilmour Appointment

applied for appointment to the London Mission- ^"^

c^ . 11- 11 Preparation.

ary Society, and, bemg accepted, he was sent to

Cheshunt College, fourteen miles north of Lon-
don. The new life of a dormitory institution
was not an easy one to become accustomed to,
but apart from that he owed much to Cheshunt
and to the books read there. Those which ^
made the most abiding impression were even
then out of ordinary use, — such volumes as
James's "Earnest Ministry," Baxter's "Reformed

84 Princely Men

Pastor," and some of Bunyan's works. Here,
too, he gained the victory over his lust for prizes.
"So now I made a stand," he says, "threw am-
bition to the winds, and set to reading my Bible
in good earnest. I made it my chief study dur-
ing the last three months of my residence at
Cheshunt, and I look back upon that period of
my stay there as the most profitable I had." In
September, 1869, he entered the missionary sem-
inary at Highgate, and also studied Chinese in
London with Professor Summers. His prepara-
tion was not without its more practical aspects.
Going out in the evening alone, he would con-
duct open-air services near the railway station,
or else would invite those on the streets to special
meetings, in a way which stirred all who heard
him, as well as called forth many sneers. Through
correspondence he reached many at a distance.
He was also working for China even before he
set sail for the Middle Kingdom. A friend
writes: "When he knew what was to be his field
of labor after his college course was over, how
solicitous he was to go out fully prepared and
fitted in spiritual equipment! The needs of the
perishing heathen were very real and weighed
heavily upon his heart, and he was very anxious
to win volunteers among his college friends for
this all-important work. How he longed and
prayed for China's perishing millions, only his
most intimate friends know."

James Gilmour 85

While in Edinburgh in 1869, Gilmour had At Pek/ng.
those interviews with Mrs. Swan, a survivor of
the first Protestant mission to the Mongols,
which led to his appointment to Mongolia. But
the ocean and North China lay between him and
his goal. The former was a place in which he
could labor for those who needed his aid almost
as much as his future parishioners; and so we
see the canny Scot winning the respect of the
crew in the silent night-watches and in manly
fashion testifying to them of the power of Christ
to save. A small but critical and sceptical audi-
ence in the cabin soon came to value the minis-
trations of "the only parson on board," even if
he was a Dissenter. The unique experience of
the world- traveler, that of seeing the great walls
of Peking rise from the horizon of the flat plain
and a little later of passing through them by a
cavernous portal, was our hero's on May 18,
1870, a little before he had reached his twenty-
seventh birthday. While no awful calamity, hke
that which visited the capital thirty years later,
was impending, foreigners were in great fear of
being exterminated. It was just before the san-
guinary massacre of their fellow-countrymen in
Tientsin, and men's hearts were failing them
with fear. "Keep me, O God, in perfect peace,"
was the burden of his prayer for himself, and
for the multitudes he felt that there was no other
refuge. "While others are writing to the papers

86 Princely Men

and trying to stir up the feelings of the people,
so that they may take action in the matter, per-
haps I may do some good moving heaven. My
creed leads me to think that prayer is efficacious,
and surely a day's asking God to overrule ail
these events for good is not lost. Still, there is a
great feehng that when a man is praying he is
doing nothing; and this feeling, I am sure, makes
us give undue importance to work, sometimes to
the hurrying over, or even to the neglect of
prayer."
On to the A- smattering of Chinese in London, and only
Plateau. ^ ^^^^^^ beginning made in that language during
less than three months at Peking was a meager
preparation for a sohtary plunge into the work
which was before him. Moreover, the mission-
aries disapproved and the recent disturbances
made his start somewhat hazardous. Yet he
was of heroic mold, and so he creeps over the
northern part of the Great Plain and up through
the age-old stairway, known as Nan-kou, or
South Pass. For days he is among pack camels,
numbering into the thousands, while the silvery
tinkle of the mule bells mingles with the deep
bass of those suspended about the leading camels
of each caravan of seven. And then those great
cross walls, plunging down into the pass, fol-
lowed at its northern end by the Great Wall
itself, came into view and impressed him with
the ancient greatness of a wonderful Empire.

James Gllmour 87

Kalgan, on the threshold of the Mongohan plat-
eau, was reached at last, and the home of the
American missionaries there was a House Beau-
tiful in his weary pilgrimage. Eighteen da3^s
later Gilmour moves onward, up the famous pass
where the great Khans had been centuries be-
fore; indeed to his right, far, far above the high-
way, is an arched rock through which one of
them is said to have shot an arrow from the
path below. Quaint caravans of soda carts,
made without a single scrap of iron and drawn
by recalcitrant oxen, come down the steep in-
cline in akernate leaps and balks. But finally
the summit is gained and here at last is grass-
land, — miles of it rolHng away to the horizon,
— and in the fleckless blue are thousands of
skylarks, that have sung themselves out of sight
but not out of hearing.

Who were these Mongols to whom Gilmour Mongolia.
was giving his life, and what was their country?
They are the descendants of those hordes which
under Genghis and Kublai, the two greatest
Khans, swept westward and southward until
Kublai's sway extended during the latter half of
the thirteenth century ''from the Arctic Ocean
to the Strait of Malacca, and from Korea to Asia
Minor and the confines of Hungary — an extent
of territory the like of which had never before,
and has never since, been governed by any one
monarch in Asia.'' The land which they in-

88 Princely .Men

habit is only a scrap of their former realm. The
traveler in the region of the nomad Mongols,
where Gilmour spent most of his missionary life,
sees scattered here and there over the rolling
plateau, clusters of circular felt tents, flanked
with stacks of argol — dried dung used as fuel.
The superfluity of dogs is the first impression
that is made upon the visitor, and children in
swarms are equally omnipresent. Prayer-flags
fluttering over the encampment, horsemen watch-
ing the widely scattered flocks and herds, lazy
lamas going on pilgrimage, — all setting off a
land blue with myriads of forget-me-nots, make
the scene one long to be remembered. The
agricultural Mongols, who live in settled habita-
tions along the Chinese border and who speak
Chinese, differ but little from their neighbors in
North China, and their land is simply a northern
extension of the Imperial Province.
Learning Gilmour's first trip was to Kiachta, on the
Mongolian. Siberian frontier, which he reached in fifty-four
days from Peking. Here his' troubles began.
Though a trader, named Grant, received him,
he soon left his host because of the taunt that
any one spending as much time as he on the
language ought to make more rapid progress.
He had experienced difficulty in securing a
teacher, and that fact with Grant's sneer deter-
mined him to commit himself to the people and
learn the language as does-' a child. He was

James Gilmour 89

providentially led to a tent whose occupant was
friendly and who agreed to teach him the mys-
teries of the language. What happened during
the next three months he thus describes: ''He
was only temporarily located there and had no
dog, so I could go out and in as I liked. He
was rich, so could afford to keep a good fire
burning, — a luxury which could not have been
enjoyed in the tent of a poor man. His business
required him to keep two or three menservants
about him; and as a man of his position could
not but have good tea always on hand, — a great
attraction in the desert, — the tent was seldom
without conversation going on in it between two
or three Mongols. This last — conversation car-
ried on by Mongols, just as if no one had been
listening — was exactly what I wanted ; and I
used to sit, pencil and notebook in hand, and
take down such phrases as I could catch. . . .
In the quiet intervals of the day or evening I
would con over again and again what I had
caught. Learning the language in this way, I
could soon speak a good deal more than I could
understand, or my teacher explain to me. Though
I could not parse the phrases, nor even separate
out the words of which they were composed,
much less tlnderstand the meaning of what I
said, I knew when and how to use them and
could hardly help having the accent correct, and
I could not avoid learning first those words and
phrases which were in most common use."

90 Princely Men

The This sort of life, which was more or less con-
ongo lans. ^[^^^^^^ f^P years, gave Gilmour unsurpassed op-
portunities for studying the Mongolians them.-
selves and their customs. A ride of 600 miles
across the Desert of Gobi taught him the art of
riding a Mongol horse, his knees well drawn up,
and the power to endure thirst for long periods.
The gentle art of dickering, which in the Orient
is an accomplishment absolutely essential to hap-
piness; the unwisdom of being too obliging to
menials; how to camp out on the wilds; the
proper forms of receiving and enduring Mongol
hospitality; these and other items which made
the people call him "Our Gilmour," were the
basis of his influence with them. He also
learned the power of the lamas, the priests of
Mongolia's form of Buddnism. As the eldest
son in every family is set apart to religion, the
country swarms with lazy men, who are cehbates
in name, but in reality libertines. Gilmour as-
serts that "the great sinners in Mongolia are the
lamas; the great centers of wickedness are the
temples." Of the blackmen, or laity, he writes:
"The influence of the wickedness of the lamas is
most hurtful. It is well known. The lamas sin,
not among themselves, but sow their evil among
the people. The people look upon the lamas as
sacred and of course think they may do what
the lamas do. Thus the corrupting influence
spreads, and the state of Mongolia to-day, as re-

James Gilmour oi

gards uprightness and morality, is such as makes
the heart more sick the more one knows of it."

Like the Japanese and Hindus, the Mongols Mongol
are externally devoted to their religion as an- f^^l'Qiosity
other extract from Gilmour picturesquely shows.
"One of the first things that the missionary no-
tices in coming in contact with the Mongols is
the completeness of the sway exercised over them
by their religion. Meet a Mongol on the^ road,
and the probability is that he is saying his prayers
and counting his beads as he rides along. Ask
him where he is going and on what errand, as
the custom is, and likely he will tell you he is
going to some shrine to worship. Follow him to
the temple, and there you will find him one of a
company with dust-marked foreheads, moving
his lips and the never absent beads, going the
rounds of the sacred place, prostrating himself at
every shrine, bowing before every idol, and strik-
ing pious attitudes at every new object of rever-
ence that meets his eye. Go to the quarters
where Mongols congregate in towns, and you
will find that quite a number of the shops and a
large part of the trade there are dependant upon
images, pictures, and other articles used in worship.

''Approach tents, and the prominent object is Home
a flagstaff with prayer-flags fluttering at the top. ^ef'9'O"
Enter a tent, and there right opposite you as you
put your head in at the door is the family altar,
with its gods, its hangings, its offerings, and its

92 Princely Men

brass cups. Let them make tea for you, and
before you are asked to drink it a portion is
thrown out by a hole in the roof of the tent by
way of offering. Have them make dinner for
you, and you will see a portion of it offered to
the god of the fire, and after that perhaps you
may be asked to eat. Wait till evening, and
then you will see the little butter lamp lighted
and set upon the altar as a pure offering. When
bedtime comes, you will notice as they disrobe
that each and all wear at their breast charms
sewn up in cloth, or pictures of gods in metal
cases with glass fronts. In the act of disrobing,
prayers are said most industriously; and not till
all are stretched on their felts does the sound of
devotion cease. Among the first things in the
morning you will hear them at their prayer again;
and when your host comes with you to set you
on your way, he will most likely give you as your
landmark some cairn, sacred for the threefold
reason that its every stone was gathered and laid
in prayer, that prayer- flags flutter over the sacred
pile, and that it is the supposed residence of the
deity that presides over the neighborhood." It
is not surprising among a people so devoted to
their religion and with such hostility to other
faiths, that one accepting Christianity should be-
come worse than an outcast. For these reasons
Gilmour made little religious impression upon
the Mongols.

James Gilmour 03

Being now in a position to work effectively, Gilmour at
and having experimented as to the best method ^°'''^'
of reaching his man, how does he do his work?
He must keep near the people and to him this
meant living as nearly like them as possible.
Thus he went about from tent to tent as do they
when on their travels. He also shared their fare,
which consisted in the morning and at noonday
of a tea made of meal fried in cracklings with tea
poured over it, and at sunset of beef, mutton, or
tripe, boiled and then fished out with the fire-
tongs and placed in a basin or on a board. It
was then eaten by taking it between the teeth
and cutting off the bite with a knife, thus en-
dangering the lips. Millet boiled in soup was a
second and more palatable dish. His great dif-
ficulty was to find privacy for personal prayer
and for personal conversation with any who
showed an interest in Christianity. As there is
no such thing as privacy in Mongolia, he must
arrange to have the person with whom he was
working serve as an attendant on long walks or
rides.

Approaching -a tent-hamlet, he shouts out Tent
hanoi, ''dog," which brings out all the old Visitation.
women and children, whose business it is to hold
in check the fierce beasts. After entering the
tent and partaking of snuff and removing the
reserve by friendly sips of tea, he shows the com-
pany a set of Scripture pictures, which are enter-

94 Princely Men

tainingly described. Next he produces tracts,
catechisms, and a Gospel of St. Matthew which
are also briefly explained. Very likely some
lama will ask questions. He does not believe in
a Bible which is so insignificant in bulk in com-
parison with his own Canon, which it may take
a string of camels to transport. God's omni-
presence is unbelievable to him. The Christian
view of the hereafter and our theory of salvation
are real problems to most Mongols. Gilmour's
notorious love of argument made such questions
a genuine pleasure, much as he deplored their
opposition. It was exceedingly difficult to make
the people understand spiritual truths; but it was
easy to show what the Christian life was like
through his own godly walk and conversation.
The First Though often disappointed and of the ''con-
Convert. yiction that any one Mongol coming out of Bud-
dhism and entering Christianity would lead a
very precarious existence on the plain, if in fact
he could exist there at all," Gilmour was over-
joyed to win his first and only convert among
the nomad tribes, one Boyinto by name. The
long story of the heroic confession of the young
man amid the dense smoke of a lama's tent, and
of his twenty-three mile walk, with feet causing
him excruciating pain, that he might have pri-
vate conversation and prayer with the young
confessor, is one of the classics of missionary
hterature. Yet even this one convert was bap-

James Gilmour gc

tized by a missionary of the American Board and
received into the Kalgan church.

The writer well remembers the sensation made
at a service in Peking when Gilmour, shortly
after his wife's death, preached her funeral ser-
mon. The funeral of this true heroine of China
w^as no more unconventional than their courtship
and marriage had been. Refused at home when
he had proposed to a Scotch lassie, he fell a vic-
tim to a London young woman whom he had
never seen and whom he knew only through mu-
tual friends and correspondence. Here is the
chronicle of the romance, dated Peking, January
31, 1875. "I proposed in January, went up to
Mongolia in spring, rode about on my camels till
July, and came down to Kalgan to find that I
was an accepted man! I went to Tientsin to
meet her; we arrived here on Thursday, and
were married on Tuesday morning. We had a
quiet week; then I went to the country on a nine
days' tour and came back two days before Christ-
mas. We have been at home ever since. Such
is the romance of a matter of fact man." Miss
Prankard's first view of her future husband is
thus pictured by her brother-in-law: "The morn-
ing was cold, and Gilmour was clad in an old
overcoat which had seen much service in Siberia,
and had a woolen comforter around his neck,
having more regard for warmth than appearance.
We had to follow back to Tientsin, Gilmour

g6 Princely Men

being thought by those on board the steamer to
be the engineer!" Yet beating beneath the
rough exterior was a most affectionate heart, and
their home Hfe was most dehghtful.
Their Mongol The brave woman longed to relieve the loneli-

Home, j^ggg q£ j^gj. husband and to share in its burdens;
hence in the summer of 1876 they were in Mon-
golia for over four months, during which time
his wife suffered unspeakably from lack of pri-
vacy, the rough fare of the plain, and a cataclysm
of woes, — ice even in May, a furious tempest
lasting thirty-six hours and threatening to sweep
tents and occupants away, the summer rains
. "pouring and lashing and roaring, the great drops
bursting through the rent cloth and looking like
pepper shaken from a box" and the most trying
of their "meteorological experiences," the fierce
heat of a Mongolian summer. Yet with all

• these discomforts there was the joy of getting

close to the people, and proving their love by
their works. A corpulent mandarin was one of
their visitors, on which occasion their ''tent was
crammed with eager hsteners, and we reasoned
together from the Creation to the finish, includ-
ing all manner of side-issues and important ques-
tions. It was a long time before he could be
convinced that our Jesus was not spoken of in
the Buddhist classics. When he was as length
satisfied on that point, he wanted to know about
the Trinity; how men could get good; how it was

James Gilmour 97

right that men should escape punishment due to
their misdeeds by praying to Jesus; why God al-
lowed animals, such as starving dogs, to lead a
life of suffering; why God did not keep sin from
entering the world; and how about the souls that
died before Jesus came." In one of their two
later sojourns in Mongoha they almost lost their
lives in a fearful storm and flood. With a great
swift- flowing river on both sides of their frail
tent and the crash of thunder and the louder
roar of the waters, they faced death for a time,
but at last were saved.

His marriage and the loneliness of both be- In China,
cause of the necessitated absence in Mongoha of
the husband made httle difference with Gil-
mour's scheme of Mongol evangelization. Yet it
so happened that he spent considerable time in
China, either substituting for his Peking col-
leagues when they were on furlough, or else aid-
ing the Tientsin members of his mission when
they were left alone. On one of his trips to the
sacred land of China, the Province of Shantung
where Confucius and Mencius were born, he and
his companion baptized a large number of Chi-
nese. The circumstance raised grave questions
in Gilmour's mind as to the advisability of ad-
ministering the rite to those who had had so
little instruction and oversight. His most con-
tinuous work in China was done in its capital
not far from the palace grounds. A most vivid

98 Princely Men

account of street chapel work was given before an
enchained audience at the annual meeting of the
London Missionary Society when he was home
on his first furlough.
Hunting That work, however, was not as distinctively

Mongols in ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^ds labors for Mongols in Peking,
Peking. . ^ ^

many of whom spend the winters there. Part of

. the time he followed the plan of residing in the
Yellow Temple, outside the city walls. Living

. here, he was constantly meeting among the wor-
shippers, those whom he could converse with
about Christianity. A more fruitful work was
done, however, at the two Mongol encampments
of Peking. "I followed the example of the ped-
lers," he writes, '^and, hanging two bags of
books from my shoulders, hunted the Mongols
out, going not only to the trading places, but in
and out among the lanes where they lodged,
visiting the Outside Lodging first and the Inside
Lodging later in the day. The number of Mon-
gols outside the city became latterly so small
that it was not visited very often. ... In many
cases the Mongols before buying, and not infre-
quently after buying, would insist on having the
book read, supposing that they got more for
their money when they not only had the book,
but had me let them hear its contents. ... As
the purchasers of these books hailed from all
parts of Mongolia, the tracts thus put into their
hands will reach to even remote localities in the

James Gilmour 99

west, north, and east; and my prayer is that the
reading of them may be the beginning of what
shall lead to a saving knowledge of the truth in
some minds. Hoping for some good result, I had
my address stamped on many of the books, to
enable such as might wish to learn more to know
where to come. In some cases, Mongols wish-
ing to buy books had no money, but were wiUing
to give goods instead; and thus it happened that
I sometimes made my way home at night with a
miscellaneous collection of cheese, sour- curd, but-
ter and millet cake and sheep's fat, representing
the produce of part of the day's sale."

Twice in his missionary career, this rough hero Gilmour's
of the desert revisited Great Britain. The first '^"''loughs.
visit was due to his wife's ill-health, which began
to break during the first summer in Mongolia.
Aside from the charm of his vivid word-pictures
which held his audiences spell-bound, he had
pubHshed while at home his unique record of the
early years in Mongolia, entitled ''Among the
Mongols." This missionary "Robinson Crusoe"
awakened both interest and enthusiasm, and re-
quests to write books and articles for periodicals
were a temptation to devote his Hfe to literary
work, or at least to give much time to such
pursuits. Both visits were a tonic to the recluse
of MongoHa, their chief delight being the oppor-
tunity of quickening his spiritual life through
contact with earnest Christians at home. The

lOO Princely Men

hearty abandon to religion in the Salvation Army,
and the deeper current of spirituality found in a
Httle circle of friends, restored naturalness to a
rehgious life which tended to become morbid in
his Mongohan loneliness.
His Wife's Though Mrs. Gilmour returned to China with
Deatti. j^gj. husband, she was spared to her family
only a little more than two years longer. Her
departure, leaving him with two boys and baby
Alick, and the departure later of the two eldest
to Great Britain, constitute one of the semi-
tragedies of missions which finds its record in
"James Gilmour and His Boys." These pa-
thetic epistles to his children reveal the tenderer
side of his nature better than anything else writ-
ten by him.
7/?e In 1872 Gilmour had visited the settled Mon-
Agricultural ^^^^ -^^ ^j^^ eastern part of Monerolia, but he then

Mongols. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ .^

reported that the nomad tribes were more needy
and also more open to personal w^ork. His
wife's death and the failure of his Society to
send out a colleague for work among the nomads,
caused him to change his position, and during
the last six years of his life the bulk of his work
was done for them. Here he appears in a new
role, that of lay doctor. Though he had done
considerable of this on the plain and had had
charge of the lay affairs of the London Hospital
in Peking, thus gaining valuable experience, the
work was never pushed as in Eastern Mongolia.

James Gilmour loi

Had he consulted his own preferences, this would
not have been undertaken; since he had had no
medical training, and to fail in a case might re-
sult disastrously. Indeed, the loss of an eye,
operated on at the Peking hospital at Gilmour's
suggestion, nearly occasioned the death of him-
self and his wife when they were on the plain.
Yet everywhere he saw suffering which the
wretched lama doctors regarded as the pathway
to the' sufferer's pocket, they spending their time
in days of prayer for the patient, since in their
opinion "work without prayer is of no avail."
It was for such reasons and because his appeals
for a colleague who was a physician were in vain,
that he so emphasized this branch of the work.
The character of his labor among these tribes
may be gathered from this report of eight months
spent among them: Patients seen, about 5,717;
hearers preached to, 23,755; books sold, 3,067;
tracts distributed, 4,500; miles traveled, 1,860;
money spent, 120.92 taels — about $150. Dur-
ing nine months of 1887 he attended between
twelve and thirteen thousand cases.

Early in the morning Gilmour would sally out Lay Medicine.
to the market place with his httle cloth tent, and
after pitching it would stand there all day nearly,
preaching and healing diseases with his well-tried
specifics. Itch, rheumatism, eye difficulties,
spring diseases due to the damp of the thaw,
ague, narry, — occasioned by whiskey which so

I02 Princely Men

burns the stomach that many die of the disease,
— and the chronic maladies of women, affecting
nearly every one of those beyond girlhood,
pass in motley order before him, and all are
treated by the lay doctor. So successful was he
that nothing was regarded as too hard for the
foreign healer, and hence many cases must be
turned away. "One man wants to be made
clever, another to be made fat, another to be
cured of insanity, another of tobacco, another of
tea, another wants to be made strong so as to
conquer in gymnastic exercises; most men want
medicines to make their beards grow, while al-
most every man, woman and child wants to have
his or her skin made as white as that of the
foreigner."
The Nomad In constant activity, except for his second
at Rest ^j-jgf furlough in Great Britain necessitated by
ill-health, the remaining years of Gilmour's ser-
vice were spent. It is true that he here saw oc-
casional conversions and the nuclei of three na-
tive churches started; but over against these
signs of promise were constant opposition from a
people to whom he was giving his hfe, and the
perils of a section abounding in thieves, who
even stole his much prized Revised Version of
the Bible. His hopes would be once and again
raised by the tidings of re-enforcements, but the
two physicians who had been sent out, were
speedily called away and by contrast his last

James Gilmour 103

state was worse than the first. He decided that
he must be at the annual meeting of his mission
which was to be held in Tientsin in 189 1. In
glad anticipation he made special preparation
through prayer and a correspondence looking
toward their first conference of native workers.
The journey down, particularly that part of it
over the newly constructed railroad, was thor-
oughly enjoyed. Gilmour was made chairman
of the gathering; and in the meetings held every
evening for the deepening of the spiritual life,
also conducted by him, he was at his best. It
was afterward recalled that the songs which he
most delighted in at the meetings were such as
^'O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found," ''In
the shadow of His wings there is rest, sweet rest,"
"God holds the key of all unknown," and "Some
one at last will his cross lay down." Less than
a fortnight before the end he wrote his last letter
to a Kalgan missionary, in which occurs this
sentence, "Lately I am becoming more and more
impressed with the idea that what is wanted in
China is not new 'lightning methods,' so much
as good, honest, quiet, earnest, persistent work
in old lines and ways." The unusual burdens
which Gilmour was bearing, added to heart
weakness, finally culminated in an eleven days'
attack of typhus fever. In his delirium he was
again on the Mongohan plain, Hving out his old
heroic role; or else he was addressing most

I04 Princely Men

earnestly his fellow-workers, urging them to a
hfe of constant waiting on God, that their labors
might become more fruitful. And then the strug-
gle ceased and on Thursday, May 21, 1891, the
lonely wanderer of the Mongolian plateau passed
through the gates into the city. The future life
had been so real to him, especially since his
wife's death, that heaven was not so great a
surprise to him as to those who have not been
living in heaven from day to day.
The Funeral, Like Mackenzie's passing, the departure of
Gilmour was an event worthily lamented. A
lovely afternoon; a hymn sheet with Bunyan's
words printed on it, "The pilgrim they laid in
an upper chamber whose window opened toward
the sunrising"; the coffin borne by relays of
bearers, both foreigners and native friends;
singing by the Chinese of their version of "In
the Christians home in glory"; and casting into
the open grave by Chinese boys of the flowers
which Gilmour so loved: these are some of the
features of an occasion which meant to many a
new inspiration to arise and fulfill the works
which a man of heroic mold had set before
them, both by word and example.
A Wasted The reader cannot but feel inclined to say that
Life? gQ strenuous a life, lived for those who were so
nearly hopeless from a spiritual point of view,
was a waste of force. Even his own associates
and his Society questioned the wisdom of his

James Gilmour 105

continuing in a field so sparsely settled and so
abounding in difficulties. But if success is not
measured by actual conversions and is viewed
from the standpoint of the builder of massive
foundations and the inspirer of others with apos-
tolic ideals, the years were gloriously spent. He
had, like his Master, trodden the wine press
alone, and of the people there were very few with
him. And also like Jesus, he preached and
lived ideals which even his associates could not
accept. His periods of fasting, his intense rever-
ence for the Sabbath which, however, always in-
cluded its right use, his strong position with refer-
ence to the use of tobacco and liquor, and his
gradual rise from asceticism to a life singular in
its imitation of Christ, constitute a legacy to
every missionary and a stimulus to higher living
for all Christians.

His friend and biographer, Richard Lovett, Still Living.
writes: "Love, self- crucifixion, Jesus Christ fol-
lowed in adversity, in loneliness, in manifold
perils, under almost every form of trial and hin-
drance and resistance, both active and passive,
— these are the seeds James Gilmour has sown
so richly on the hard Mongohan plain, and over
its eastern mountains and valleys. 'In due time
we shall reap, if we faint not.' His work goes
on. . . . Upon us who yet remain rests the
responsibility of carrying forward the work he
began, of re-enforcing the workers, of bearing

io6 Princely Men

Mongolia upon our prayers, until Buddhism shall
fade away before the pure truth and the perfect
love of Jesus Christ, and even the hard and un-
responsive Mongols come to recognize the truths
James Gilmour so long and faithfully tried to
teach them — that they need the Great Physician
even more than they need the earthly doctor, and
that He is more able and willing to heal the hurt
of their souls than the earthly physician is to
remove the disease of their bodies." And the
work is literally going on. While the London
Missionary Society has continued the enterprise,
it has been more largely cared for by other bodies
of Christians, especially on the grass land. The
Boxer Uprising scattered the workers and Chris-
tians, but the field is slowly being covered again.
Except for the Chinese settlers, Mongolian mis-
sions will always be difficult to carry on; but the
Church is never without heroic souls who will be
the lineal successors of this pioneer and of that
goodly fellowship of old, who "died in faith, not
having received the promises, but having seen
them and greeted them from afar, and having
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth."

aCs yri^^-^tn^^^^

JOHN LIVINGSTON
NEVIUS

THE CHRISTIAN ORGANIZER

Born between Ovid and Lodi, N. Y., March 4, 1829

Died at Chefoo, China, October 19, 1893

THE MISSIONARY'S REWARD

" For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of gloryuig? Are not even ye,
before our Lord Jesus at his coming ? For ye are our glory and our joy."
— I Thessalonians 2 : ig, 20 ; last verses read and commented upon by Dr.
Nevius on the morning of his death.

METHODS AND GOD

" Let us bear in mind that the best methods can not do away with the diffi-
culties in our work, which come from the world, the flesh, and the devil ; but
bad methods may multiply and intensify them. For unavoidable difficul-
ties we are not responsible ; for those which arise from disregard of the
teachings of Scripture and experience we are. Let us also remember that,
while in undertaking the momentous task committed to us. we should by
the study of the Scriptures, prayer for divine guidance, and comparison of
our varied views and experiences, seek to know what is the best method of
work, still the best method without the presence of our Master and the
Spirit of all truth will be unavailing." — Dr. Nevius in " Methods of
Mission Work."

"THAT THEY MAY ALL BE ONE"

" In our present position of missionaries representing different branches
of the Church, closely related to one another in a common work, our meth-^
ods simple and presenting many points of agreement, and our different sys-
tems of organization in a rudimental, undeveloped state, sliould we not
make use of our opportunity to avoid as far as possible in the future the
divergences which impair the unity and efficiency of the Church at home,
retaining and perpetuating a degree of uniformity and co-operation which
in Western lands seems impracticable ? Is it not our duty to do this ?
Would it not be in accordance with the express teaching of our Savior and
also with the wishes of most of those whom we represent? Would it not
have a decided influence for good on the home churches?" — Dr. Nevius
m " Methods of Mission Work."

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF EVENTS IN '

NEVIUS'S LIFE ;

1829. Born between Ovid and I.odi, New York, March 4.

1845. Entered Union College as sophomore, September. '

1848. Graduated from Union College.

1849. Went to Georgia to teach, October.

His conversion. ;
1850-53. Studied theology at Princeton Seminary.
1853. Decides to become a foreign missionary, March. _ ■ I

Appointed to China under the Presbyterian Board, April 18.

Marries Helen S. Coan, June 15.

Sailed from Boston for China, September 19.
1857. Powerful revivalin Nevius's station of San-poh.

1859. The Neviuses go to Hang-chow as pioneers, February. i

Obliged to leave the city, August. <

i860. Transferred to Kanagawa, Japan, June (?) ■

1861. Returned to China, February. !

Transferred to the Province of Shantung, May. "
1863. Visits Amoy, Hongkong, Canton.
1864-68. Furlough in Europe and the United States.

1848. First edition of " China and the Chinese " mainly written. j

1869. Union College confers the degree of Doctor of Divinity. '

1877. Engages in the work of famine relief, February to June. ]

1881. Second furlough, spent in the United States, March, to August, 1S82. ■

1890. Chosen American Chairman of Second General Missionary Confer- j

ence, Shanghai. i

Last furlough in the United States, August, to September, 1892. j

1893. Died at Chefoo, China, October 19. '

JOHN LIVINGSTON NEVIUS

The Christian Organizer

Whether the Neviuses were descended from A Dutch
the Latin poet Cn. Naevius may be doubtful, Ancestry,
despite confirming legends ; yet there is no
question as to the Dutch ancestry of John Liv-
ingston Nevius. His first American progenitor,
Johannes Nevius, migrated from Holland before
1652, and became a schepen, or alderman, of New-
Amsterdam in 1654. Later, as Clerk of the
Court of Burgomasters, he received permission,
as his "spoils," to sow grain on the unappropri-
ated fields about the City Hall, in which he
lived, and to pasture his cows on the State
House lawn. Genealogical tables of succeeding
generations are monotonous iterations of John,
Peter (or Petrus), John P., Peter P., until in the
eighth generation the original Johannes became
John Livingston for the benefit of the subject of
this sketch.

Our missionary did not inherit the ancestral Early Years.
acres on Wall Street, New York, but instead he
first saw the light in the beautiful " Lake Coun-
109

no Princely Men

try " of the Empire State. Between the towns
of Ovid and Lodi, on March 4, 1829, Benjamin
Nevius and Mary Denton, his wife, rejoiced over
the advent of a babe who was destined to become
one of the foremost missionaries in a great
Oriental empire. Though his father was a
splendid horseman, a martial officer of militia,
and above all a very genuine fighter in the ranks
of temperance reform and a champion and active
promoter of Sunday-schools, his early death de-
prived the boy of a father's helpful influence.
His mother, however, was a veritable Monica to
him, and until their conversion she never ceased
to labor and pray for the salvation of her two
sons. Her second marriage to Mr. Eastman
broke up the family life for a time, and hence his
grandfather's home and his example as a worthy
Dutch Reformed elder were potent factors in
answering his mother's prayers. A precocious
boy at school, willful and envious, and always
ready for a quarrel with his brother Reuben,
giving religion serious thought at seven only to
decide not to embrace it until fourteen, delight-
ing enough in a horse to be a centaur, glorying
in the prospect of some day owning a real gun,
and rambling and roving by the banks of Seneca
Lake, the boy grew into the youth, with little to
suggest his later career.
Nevius's Ovid Academy gave John and his inseparable
Education, brother that outlook into life and the world of

John Livingston Nevius m

knowledge that was typified by the view over
nine counties that one could get who took the
trouble to climb the Academy belfry. Those
far-away prospects also ministered to that love of
scenery and of the beautiful in nature which was
a marked characteristic of the man. Entering
Union College as a sophomore in 1845, he grad-
uated three years later, after having diversified
his college work with teaching and engaging in
the social life of the young people in a way that
would suggest that " good times " were an im.
portant object in life, and that his words to his
brother soon after graduation were a true record
of much of his past : "We have thus far fooled
away our time. If we ever do anything in this
world, we must begin living on a new system."

Nevius 's mother was deeply disappointed that In the
neither of her sons had become Christians, and ^°"*^'
that a favorite desire of hers could not be real-
ized, she having hoped that they would enter the
ministry. As John thought he was too young
to decide upon a profession, he determined to go
to the South, as did many Northern graduates
before the Rebellion, and there try his powers
in the work of teaching. In this he succeeded
admirably ; moreover, that year in Georgia was
the turning-point in his religious life. Before
leaving home his thoughts had been directed
toward his relations to God, and in the lone-
liness of a far-away land he was led into the

112 Princely Men

light. A happier mother can not be imagined
than John's when she received the glad news,
especially as almost at the same time Reuben
Nevius also gave himself to God. The two
brothers and their mother were ever after very
helpful to one another in the Christian life,
though Reuben's devotion to Episcopacy was a
damper to John's Presbyterian enthusiasm.
At the Leaving his Southern friends and a successful
Seminary, ^qj-]^ ^g teacher, Nevius turned away from the
law to which he inclined, and from dreams of
wealth and distinction, in order to prepare for
the ministry. Entering Princeton Seminary in
December, 1850, the work of preparation for
his chosen calling was energetically undertaken.
The resolutions which he formed, after the
fashion of his day, reveal a conscientiousness and
realization of his need that account for much in
his later career. He was a faithful student, a
fairly active worker in churches and communi-
ties to which he ministered as a supply, and he
had an ear ever open to God's call.
Life Princeton has always emphasized the work of
Decision, niissions, and his letters and diary abound in
references to missionary meetings, missionaries,
the visits of a missionary secretary, and his own
attitude toward missionary service. The logic
of facts finally drove him to give his life to
foreign missions, a decision reached in March of
his senior year in the Seminary. He writes to

John Livingston Nevius 113

his fiancee: "I am sure that my motives are
not mercenary or selfish, for I should have pre-
ferred the most humble place at home; nor
ambitious, for I do feel that I am so poorly
prepared for the work before me that, among
such men as we have in the foreign field, I shall
fall far short of ever being * distinguished.' I
do not think, either, that the ' credit ' of the
world had anything to do with forming my
decision. I beheve I have been driven to the
determination to be a missionary by a solemn
and increasingly oppressive sense of duty taught
me by God's Word and the call of Providence
and the Church and God's Spirit. I feel that
few have been so much blessed and are so much
indebted to God as I am, and I desire to con-
secrate my all to Him. I think I have been
able, without any regard to plans and prefer-
ences of my own, to say, ' Lord, where wilt Thou
have me to go .? ' " The following month,
Nevius was appointed a missionary of the
Presbyterian Board, and was designated to
China.

A quiet home wedding united Nevius to Marriage
Helen S. Coan, whom he had known and ad- and Voyage
mired from her girlhood, and who still carries *° ^^'"^'
on his work in China. A wretched sailing-ship,
the ''Bombay," carried the happy pair to their
new home in a palatial stateroom six feet long
and three and a half feet wide! Head winds,

114 Princely Men

storms, calms, when the old East India trader
was "a painted ship upon a painted ocean," and
finally, after six months of discomfort, a dan-
gerous landing among the men-of-war and rebels
who had closed in upon Shanghai, were experi-
ences which prepared the young missionaries
for those early years when the T'ai P'ing Re-
bellion kept them always on the alert.
Early Life at This '* City of the Peaceful Wave " is a large
N/ngpo Fu. ^^^ important place on about the same parallel
of latitude as New Orleans, and its population
is only a little larger than that of its American
counterpart. The Neviuses took up their abode
for a time with resident members of their Board ;
for already this place had been occupied by such
well-known missionaries as Dr. McCartee, one
of the pioneers in Japan and China, Matthew
Culbertson, the talented West Pointer and one
of the translators of the Bible into the Classical,
and Walter Lowrie, the victim of Chinese
pirates. While Nevius did not regard himself
as having any genius for language study, which
at first occupied his time, he atoned for that
lack by laborious and persistent application.
For ten years he did not read one English book
except theological works and commentaries, so
determined was he to gain adequate mastery of
Chinese. The simple style, ample vocabulary,
and absorption of the " flavor " of the language,
which marked his later speech and writings, go

John Livingston Nevius 115

to prove that linguistic genius is largely made
up of hard work and persistent strivings after
perfection in minor details. At the end of nine
months Nevius was able to do considerable
work in the street chapel, while at the expiration
of a year h<^ traveled about and preached as
circumstances required. But the Neviuses did
something besides study. There was little ad-
vantage in continuous work on the language, as
six or eight hours a day suffice to exhaust the
brain. Walking and riding in the neighborhood,
thus enabling them to enjoy Ningpo's beautiful
hill scenery and to get glimpses of Chinese life,
visiting neighboring sacred places, and early
attempts at touring, gave variety and interest to
life. If adventure was desired, they found it in
the feud between the Portuguese and Cantonese
colonies of the city, which led to the bombard-
ment of the place by the former and their san-
guinary massacre by the Chinese a few years
later. Christian union between the missionaries
of different societies laboring in Ningpo, and
delightful fellowship in various tours and trips,
revealed to Nevius the meaning of the creed
article, "I believe in the communion of saints."

During the second year in China, Nevius was A Church
chosen pastor of the Ningpo church. He also '" Pi^'^on.
itinerated considerably, though the San-poh field
was the one upon which he spent most time.
It was in connection with it that a company of

Ii6 Princely Men

prisoners became deeply interested, one of whom
he baptized. The work began through the
efforts of a carpenter who imparted the Gospel
to the head prisoner, a man who was there
through no crime of his own, but because he
had consented to expiate the guilt of another.
This baptism administered in " hell," as these
places are sometimes called, created a strong
impression on the other prisoners, ten of whom
became inquirers. The result was a reformation
in the prison, and the passing of gambling, curs-
ing, and idleness. When later the rebels cap-
tured the city, the prisoners were freed, and
their converted leader was made an officer in
the rebel army. Later still, he became a re-
spected and useful member of the San-poh dis-
trict.
Transferred During part of the period just mentioned,
*° Mrs. Nevius had been in the United States, her
° health, which was always frail, having demanded
a furlough. Returning to China, they were soon
sent to Hang-chow to open up a work for their
church in the capital of this important province.
So delightful is this place that it is inwrought
into the well-known proverb, " Above is heaven ;
below are Su-chow and Hang-chow.'* But it
^ was not a heavenly place to reside in, as the
*' red-haired devil " missionaries soon found.
Rooms were easily secured at a monastery some
distance outside the city, a place which was

John Livingston Ncvms 117

famous because its monster pagoda was supposed
to preserve the city from the ravages of Hang-
chow's famous tidal-bore. Soon this place was
abandoned for rooms- in a dilapidated Taoist
monastery quite within the walls and near the
populous section of the town, yet on a beautiful
hill with charming outlook. For a time all went
well, as Dr. Nevius was wise in his cultivation of
the officials through an interchange of calls and
presents. But soon disaffection was noticeable,
and their landlord was maltreated. Officials
desired the missionaries to leave the city. As
the root difficulty seemed to be the defeat of
the allied forces at the Taku forts, and as Amer-
ican ships were not in the engagement, they
declined to go. Such firmness on the part of
one foreigner gave rise to the rumor that Nevius
had a regiment of soldiers drilling on the hills
near their temple. Finally, at the request of
the United States consul, they reluctantly de-
parted. Their stay had not been fruitless.
Several persons gave evidence of true faith in
Jesus, among them a most interesting woman
named Su. For years she had been longing for
just such a religion as ours, and her conversion
opened up a world of beauty and light hitherto
unimagined. At the final interview, she asked
Mrs. Nevius two typical questions : " Do tell
me, when I get to heaven, shall I meet my
ancestors there, and my little children who died

Ii8 Princely Men

•

years ago ? You know my ancestors never
heard of Jesus, and so they could not beUeve in
Him ; but will He not save them, notwithstand-
ing?" Their sorrow over their enforced with-
drawal was alleviated by the fact that later the
T'ai-P'ing rebels captured the city and some
twenty thousand people were butchered most
inhumanly, while the Taoist temple was burned
to the ground, with the exception of their rooms,
which were occupied by the insurgent com-
mander.

In Japan. Dr. Nevius returned to Ningpo and remained
there, resuming charge of the boys' boarding-
school, untilin June of i860 he and his wife
were sent to Japan by the Presbyterian Board,
in order to aid the Hepburns in opening a work
for their Church. In a renovated temple at
Kanagawa, seventeen miles from Tokyo, the
Neviuses spent some seven months. Their
permanent appointment was so problematical
that Httle strength was given to studying
Japanese. Dr. Nevius thus writes of these
months : " Much of my time has been spent in
committing to memory parts of the Chinese
Classics and learning to form with a camel's-hair
pen a few thousand characters. I have, besides,
written out in Chinese a good-sized manual for
the direction and encouragement of our native
preachers, to be called *The Disciples' Guide.*
I am also working up the material for a ' Com-

John Livingston Nevius 119

pend of Systematic Theology,' a book which is

now much wanted. I wish to get back to China

as soon as possible to superintend the printing

of these books and take advantage of openings

which may occur in these eventful times." As

the war between China and the Western Powers

was over, and as the claims of that great Empire

seemed paramount, they sailed back to Shanghai

in February, 1861.

The three months following Nevius' s return Teng-Chovt

to Ningpo were spent in a revision of his books. ^" ^"^
^, . , , , Chefoo.

1 hree native teachers were kept constantly at

work, either copying or reading under his direc-
tion. As the T'ai P'ing insurgents had made a
return to Hang-chow impossible for the time,
and as the Board desired to occupy stations in
Shantung, China's Holy Land, the Neviuses
were sent thither, at first to Teng-chow Fu.
This city is located at the apex of Shantung's
camel-headed promontory, and had less than 100,-
000 inhabitants. Yet for ten years it was Dr.
Nevius's headquarters, except for a home fur-
lough, a winter in Ningpo devoted to literary
work, seven months at Hang-chow teaching a
theological class, and some time spent in tours to
the five open ports, and up the Yang-tzu River.
During the last twenty-two years of his life. Dr.
Nevius made his home at the port of Chefoo,
his house being a well-known landmark, as well
as a haven of refuge for missionaries and others.

I20 Princely M

His most effective work was thus done from
these two centers, and the remainder of this
sketch will have Shantung as its background.
The Tai At the outset of his life in North China Dr.
P'ings. Nevius gained an intimate knowledge of one of
the most remarkable rebellions in history;
though, as we have seen, the T'ai-P'ing rebels had
already once and again interfered with his plans.
Within a year or two of Dr. Morrison's death,
Milne's first convert, Liang A-fa, had given to a
young aspirant for a literary degree, named
Hung, portions of Morrison's Chinese Bible
and also some Christian tracts. The perusal of
these and an attack of sickness caused Hung to
believe that he had personal interviews with God
and Jesus ; and in 1 844 he and a friend, named
Fung, started out to propagate the religion
which they had evolved from the Bible and
native belfefs. Subsequently Hung studied
Christianity under Mr. Roberts, an American
Baptist missionary, and desired baptism and
employment as preacher. As his request was
regarded as mercenary, it was not granted ; and
the poor country school-teacher went away to
organize in time the " God-worshipers," and, later,
to set up the T'ai P'ing T'ien Kuo, or Great
Peace Heavenly Kingdom. In the days of its
early prosperity, the rebel camp was as religious
as that of Cromwell or Gustavus Adolphus. Dr.
Nevius writes of it : " Religious worship was

John Livingston Nevius 121

kept up in the camp. The Sabbath was ob-
served, the day chosen by them being our Satur-
day, or the Jewish Sabbath. The Scriptures
were read and expounded according to their
understanding of them ; prayers were offered ;
hymns and doxologies were sung in honor of the
Triune God ; and eloquent preachers exhorted
the multitude, urging them to honor and obey
God, to be faithful to His vicegerent, the new
Emperor, and to fight bravely for the establish-
ment of the Heavenly Dynasty, promising posi-
tions of honor and influence in the new state, as
well as eternal blessedness in heaven. It is
said that before battle they often knelt down
under the open heaven and invoked the protec-
tion and assistance of the Heavenly Father, and
then charged upon their enemies with the assur-
ance of success." Mr. Roberts accepted a
position under his former disciple, but as he
could not prevent the excesses and rank heresies
into which the movement speedily ran, he left
the T'ai P'ings in disgust. For a time it seemed
as if the reigning dynasty would be overthrown
by the rebels and the Empire become nominally
Christian. After almost reaching the capital it-
self, the rebellion was quelled, thanks to the
assistance of foreigners, especially Ward, the
Massachusetts man, who raised up for the
imperialists the " Ever- Victorious Army," and
Chinese Gordon, who led it on to ultimate victory.

il2 Princely Men

Teng-Chow Before the Neviuses were fully settled in
Threatened. Xeng-chow Fu, they found themselves shut in
by the T'ai P'ings. The people so greatly feared
an attack upon the city that the gates were shut
and barricaded, though thousands fleeing from
the rebels were drawn up the city wall by ropes
and so were saved from awful death. Thousands
of ownerless mules and donkeys, unable to
enter this place of refuge, ran wildly about, per-
plexed at their unwonted freedom. At night
the red glare of the clouds told of villages burnt,
while the sights that Dr. Nevius witnessed in a
run outside during the temporary raising of the
siege told of the horrors of the time. In one
place he saw half a dozen well-dressed women
dead by the roadside, having been dragged over
the ground by ropes noosed about their necks,
while nestling close by their sides were several
children, who had starved to death. Some vic-
tims had been hacked to pieces, others were
burned, and multitudes who succeeded in reach-
ing Teng-chow walked the streets with heads
apparently half-severed from their bodies, while
wounds and bruises made them revolting specta-
cles. Although two missionaries at Chefoo lost
their lives at the hands of the rebels, the Nevi-
uses escaped, greatly as they suffered from the
gruesome sights and sounds.
The Nevius As Dr. Nevius is chiefly noted for his plan of
Plan, i^-jission work, which has been variously modified

John Livingston Nevius 123

in other mission lands, it should precede an ac-
count of his labors in organizing and founding
groups of believers. For a full account of it,
his *' Methods of Mission Work " must be read.
The main differences between what he calls the
" old system " and his scheme he thus states :
" These two systems may be distinguished in
general by the former depending largely on
paid native agency, while the latter deprecates
and seeks to minimize such agency. Perhaps
an equally correct and more generally acceptable
statement of the difference would be that, while
both alike seek ultimately the estabUshment of
independent, self-reliant, and aggressive native
churches, the old system strives by the use of
foreign funds to foster and stimulate the growth
of the native churches in the first stage of their
development, and then gradually to discontinue
the use of such funds ; while those who adopt
the new system think that the desired object
may be best attained by applying principles of
independence and self-reliance from the begin-
ning. • The difference between these two theories
may be more clearly seen in their outward prac-
tical working. The old uses freely and as far
as practicable the more advanced and intelligent
of the native church members in the capacity
of paid colporteurs, Bible agents, evangelists, or
heads of stations ; while the new proceeds on
the assumption that the persons employed in

114 Princely Men

these various capacities would be more useful in
the end by being left in their original homes and
employments. The relative advantages of these
two systems may be determined by two tests, — >
adaptability to the end in view, and Scripture
authority." Both of these tests in Dr. Nevius's
opinion proved the desirability of the new sys-
tem, and a long and painful experience under
the old method caused him to remain ever after
the advocate of the new. •
Touring In noting how the plan worked, let us accom-
Outfit pany the Doctor on an initial tour. Unlike
Mackay, he usually went without helpers, other
than those necessary for caring for his physical
wants, though much of the time in his later
years he was accompanied by an associate mis-
sionary. He rides on horseback, or else he and
his colleague occupy each one-half of his famous
spring wheelbarrow, a vehicle which he thus de-
scribes: "My barrow is a platform about six
feet long and four wide, with a wheel in the
middle and handles at both ends. I have in it
now four large bundles of books for distribution,
a few foreign stores, and my little portable
kitchen, which weighs, with its kettles, dishes,
etc., about fifty-five pounds. All together, my-
self, my clothes and bedding, etc., weigh about
500 pounds." A horse or mule attached in
front, with two barrow-men, one supporting the
handles and the other to steady it and drive the

o
H

John Livingston Nevius 125

animal, make up his outfit and force. A foreign
carriage, which he had had made to order, proved
a mirth-provoking failure and had to be given up.

Arrived at the town to be evangelized, the Reaching
advent of a "red-haired man" or a ''white devil" " T(>^"-
is loudly proclaimed, and the whole town is
thrown into excitement. "Women forget the
proprieties of social life, and mingle in the jos-
tling crowd to catch sight of the strange appari-
tion. Schools are emptied at once of pupils
and teacher, and business is suspended for a
time in the shops. A few of the more staid and
respectable citizens look on and smile at the
excited multitudes. We take our stand in some
open z"^'^, or on the theatrical stage in the court
of a temple, and are soon surrounded by an
immense crowd, the boys shouting, and the men
making more noise than the boys in their vain
efforts to keep them still. Everything con-
nected with us is an object of curiosity, — the
color of our eyes and hair, the material of which
our clothes are made ; and those who can get
near enough are examining with their eyes and
fingers, boots, coats, buttons, shirt -bosoms, etc.
After a few moments, by the uplifting of the
hand and the utterance of a few familiar words,
the audience is in a measure quieted, and all are
intent on hearing what the unexpected visitor
has to say." After speaking of the difficulty of
making Christian truth clear through the medium

126 Princely Men

of an unspiritual or Buddhistic vocabulary, Dr.
Nevius adds: "We feel that we have accom-
plished much if we can leave behind us the
thought of the unity, or the omnipresence, or
the love of God, or of salvation by a Redeemer ;
for these ideas, once lodged in the human mind,
are vital germs which will develop and grow,
and, in process of time, bring forth their appro-
• priate fruit.'* It may be that in a single day
Nevius would visit twenty villages or towns,
preaching to the people from horseback, and
then need to spend an hour in the evening at
his stopping-place, before the curiosity of the
people would be sufficiently satisfied to permit
him to enter the inn for food and rest.
The Station. Having repeatedly visited a town or village
some two or more persons become interested,
and finally conversions occur. Immediately sys-
tematic training begins. A very small force
of paid helpers itinerate through a group of such
places, instructing the people as far as is pos-
sible during the week he is at a place. The
strongest person in a given village becomes the
leader of its converts and inquirers. A valuable
book prepared by Dr. Nevius for the purpose,
and entitled " Manual for Inquirers," enables
these leaders to conduct the work with consider-
able efficiency,
Sunday at On Sunday some such scene as he thus de-
a Station, scribes might be witnessed in most of his sixty

John Livingston Nevius 127

stations : " The form of exercise, both morning
and afternoon, consists of four parts : First, a
kind of informal Sunday-school, in which every
person present is expected, with the superinten-
dence of the leader and those mider him, to
prosecute his individual studies, whether learn-
ing the Chinese character, committing to memory
passages of Scripture, telHng Scripture stories,
or studying the catechism or Scripture question-
books. Second, we have the more formal
service of worship, consisting of singing, read-
ing of the Scriptures, with a few explanations or
exhortations, and prayer, the whole occupying
not more than three-quarters of an hour. Third,
we have the Scripture-story exercise. Some
one previously appointed tells the story; the
leader of the meeting then calls on different
persons, one after another, to reproduce it in
consecutive parts, and afterward, all present take
part in drawing practical lessons and duties from
it. There is never time for more than one
story, and often that one has to be divided, and
has two Sundays given to it. Fourth, if there
is time, a catechetical exercise follows in which
all unite, designed to bring out more clearly the
meaning of what they have already learned, —
as the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments,
select passages of Scripture, or some special
subject, such as the duty of benevolence, etc.
This general order of exercises is modified or

•ia8 Princely Men

varied when the circumstances of a station make
it advisable that it should be." The chapels
where these exercises are held are provided by
the people themselves, often being part of an
ordinary dwelling, thus illustrating the Pauline
phrase, *'the church in the house."
Training It is evident that station leaders need further
Classes, instruction ; hence a select number of them
came to Chefoo for six weeks or so in the sum-
mer, and again in the winter, when touring was
omitted. During this time they were the guests
of Dr. Nevius. The studies pursued are mainly
scriptural, with elementary instruction in astron-
omy, geography, history, and general knowledge.
The instruction is mainly catechetical, and
reviews were emphasized. Music was made
prominent, Mrs. Nevius doing most of this work.
Members of these classes understood that the
instruction thus freely given constituted an obli-
gation to impart it as freely to others.
Higher As the policy was to have the same persons
Training j-eturn to Chefoo again and again, they event-
ually gained such familiarity with the Scriptures
that they could carry on their studies at home
with the aid of commentaries, etc. They were
thus ready to enter upon a theological course,
probably such a one as Dr. Nevius advocated
before he gave himself fully to the new system.
He had already, in his earlier life, taught in such
a class, and for years he had given much time

John Livingston Nevius 129 |

to the preparation of a " Compendium of Theol-
ogy/' which would have served admirably for !
theological work. Perhaps one strong criticism ■
of his new scheme, namely, that his stations
never got beyond the rudiments of Christianity,
as it is claimed would have been the case with
properly trained helpers appointed over them,
would have been met, had he lived long enough
to organize a modified theological seminary,
more practical in its character than the one I
argued for in 1862. ]

The Nevius plan not only provided for carry- Station
ing on work at a given station with a minimum f'f'op^9(^*'on. j
of oversight and aid from without, but it also |

included a provision for extending the work.
The new offshoot is a natural growth. " When
a man becomes a Christian," Dr. Nevius writes, |

** the fact is known through the whole circle of j

his acquaintance, male and female, far and wide. j

It is generally believed that his mind has lost 1

its balance. He is shunned for a time, but ■

before long his friends visit him, either from j

sympathy or curiosity. They find him in appar- j

ently a normal condition and working quietly in j

his shop or on his farm, and are curious to know J

what this new departure means. An opportu- \

nity is thus afforded of presenting the claims of j

Christianity as, not the religion of the foreigner, \

but the true religion of all mankind. The
visitor goes home and thinks about the matter

I JO Princely Men

and comes again, attends service on Sunday, is
interested in the truth, makes a profession of
Christianity, and, in process of time, his home
becomes a new propagating center. Stations
started in this manner have the advantage of a
natural connection v^ith the parent station, and
they are nourished and supported by it until
they are strong enough to have the connection
severed and live and grow independently."
Foreign One great object which the Nevius plan had
Money. -^^ contemplation was to avoid the evils so com-
monly attendant upon the use of foreign money.
His objections to its use may be thus summa-
rized: (i) Making paid agents of new converts
affects injuriously the stations with which they
are connected, since it removes the leading spirit
of a new station oftentimes. Moreover, it makes
other Christians in the station dissatisfied. (2)
New converts are often injured by being made
paid agents, since they find themselves advanced
to a position for which they are ill-fitted, or else
become puffed up by this promotion. (3) Among
people who are adepts in dissembling, the temp-
tation to hypocrisy for the sake of gain is too
great for many, and it becomes difficult to judge
between the false and the true. (4) The em-
ployment system tends to excite a mercenary
spirit and to increase the number of mercenary
Christians. (5) It also tends to stop the vol-
untary work of unpaid agents. If money is

John Livingston Nevius 131

given others for this service, why not pay me,
and if I am not paid, why should I continue to
labor ? (6) The use of foreign money likewise
tends to lower the missionary enterprise, both
in the eyes of foreigners and natives. "The
general opinion of the Chinaman as to the
motive of one of his countrymen in propagating
a foreign religion is that it is a mercenary one.
When he learns that the native preacher is, in
fact, paid by foreigners, he is confirmed in his
judgment. What the motive is which actuates
the foreign missionary, — a motive so strong
that he is willing to waste life and money in
what seems a fruitless enterprise, — he is left to
imagine. The most common explanation is that
it is a covert scheme for buying adherents with
a view to political movements inimical to the
state." While Dr. Nevius admits that mis-
understandings can not be obviated even by his
own scheme, he regards them as reduced to a
minimum by it.

At the opposite pole from the employment Self-support
scheme is absolute self-support, — at least so far
as the native force and provision for the ordinary
needs of the native church are concerned. Dr.
Nevius attempted to provide something for con-
verts to do, to enable them to better their finan-
cial condition, and hence to aid a station to come
to a position of self-support. As the Catholic
fathers of North China had taught their con-

132 Princely Men

verts to repair watches, do silver-plating and
cloisonne-work, raise potatoes, etc., so in Shan-
tung, Dr. Nevius introduced small fruits, espe-
cially strawberries, and various fruit-trees. He
also imported Jersey cows to improve the
wretched milk supply of the country, the native
cows being essentially heathen in their unwilling-
ness to contribute to aliens the product of their
rumination. The setting of full tires on wheels
was also introduced for the first time into this
section of China by Dr. Nevius. All these at-
tempts contributed very little to directly aid in
the solution of the problem of self-support ; yet
his management of the sixty stations under his
care, and his constant advocacy of financial in-
dependence of the native church, effected much
in his own field. In the matter of direct money
contribution for church work, the scheme never
yielded large results.
Criticisms. While the plan of these sketches does not
permit of a criticism of the lives portrayed, it
would be an injustice to the majority of mission-
aries in China, who onl/ partially agreed with
Dr. Nevius, not to add a single word. It is de-
sirable that any who are especially interested in
this phase of mission economics should consult
not only the book from which we have been
quoting, but they should also carefully read a
reply to it written by Rev. C. M. Mateer, D.D.,
a fellow-worker of Dr. Nevius in the same prov-

John Livingston Nevius 133

ince. The general feehng of the missionary
body is that the scheme did not accompHsh all that
it promised, even under so magnetic and able
a man as its author ; that while it might be a
good plan during the initial stages of a work, it ^

did not make provision for the early transition
from that position to the ideal which is aimed
at, when each church has over it a native pastor
who has been fully prepared for leadership in
developing the spiritual life ; and-^hat in argu-
ing for his scheme he failed to do justice to
advocates of the so-called old method, especially
in that he does not appear to see the remedy for
some of its difficulties in the old system itself,
if cared for by a missionary of ordinary intelli-
gence.

Just as Confucianism, the most perfect of the /ts
non-Christian ethical systems, finds its fairest ^^''''^e.
fruitage, not in China, its home, but in the Jap-
anese men of the educated classes who are now
passing off the stage, so this system has been '

most successful outside the Middle Kingdom.
Northern Korea's miraculous work is very
largely due to the modification of the Nevius
plan, which his presence in that Empire inspired i

the missionaries to take up ; so, too, the Laos
workers are reaping the fruits of his methods,
not to speak of less conspicuous cases of its suc-
cessful application. And there is no question
that Dr. Nevius's insistence on reducing the risks

134 Princely Men

of the use of foreign money and forces to a mini-
mum, and the consequent necessity of laying
much of the burden on the infant churches, to-
gether with the admirable provision which he
made for the development of the Christian life
and activities in the early stages of discipleship,
are contributions to the progress of missions
that should rank with the Karen work of the
Baptists, Dr. Wheeler's scheme worked out on
the Harpoot plain, and the system which Mackay
and his colleagues in Uganda initiated for the
later development of the Church Missionary
Society's missionaries.
Famine But Dr. Nevius had a far wider view of mis-
sions than is indicated in this brief account of
his methods of mission work. His labors in
famine rehef will make his name known to the
descendants of those who, in their childhood,
found in him the saver of life in the awful fam-
ines of North China, particularly that of 1877
and 1878. Dr. Nevius went alone to a cen-
ter of direst destitution, 200 miles southwest
from Chefoo. After making investigations he
wrote: "On an average about fifteen per cent
have died of starvation within the last six
months. In many sections the proportion is
much larger. Good land is offered for one-tenth
of its value. In fact, land can not be sold at
any price. The people have eaten all the grain
and almost all the millet-chaff, sweet-potato stalks.

John Livingston Nevius 13 r

and beans, and are now living on the buds
and bark of trees, roots of wild plants, and grass-
seed, carefully swept from the ground. Nine
out of ten of the persons you meet have pinched
faces and sunken eyes, and some are tottering
skeletons. Being hungry is their chronic con-
dition. They do not ask to be filled, but only
for enough to support life. Many, as a last re-
sort, sell their wives and daughters. Girls of
from six to seven years of age sell from one to
two dollars ; those from ten to twelve for three,
four, or five dollars." With beseeching skele-
tons always about him, who might on occasion
seize his horse's bridle as he was riding along
and refuse to let him go, while repeating over
and over, " You don't know how hungry I am,"
and with the constant sight of awful forms on
the verge of the grave, his lot was almost un-
endurable. Happily, God preserved him from
famine fever, from which one member of his
mission died, as did a number of other mission-
aries. When his work was over, he could report
that with the ^10,000 which he had distributed,
he had aided 32,539 persons residing in 383
villages. As the most remote of these was only
fifteen miles from his headquarters, one can
readily imagine the density of the Shantung pop-
ulation.

Not only did this work open the door of A Typical
many a heart and furnish a most excellent ^^^^//-

136 Princely Men

opportunity for preaching the Gospel, but it
also strongly impressed the communities bene-
fited thereby. From the many honorary scrolls
presented him by the villages, an extract is
quoted from a single one, written in blue upon
a piece of satin nine feet long and three and a
half wide : " We, inhabitants of Ching-chiu, for
three years have been visited by a prolonged
famine. Cries of distress, like those of the wild
swans, filled the whole plain, and persons about
to die stared at one another on the roads.
When the teacher looked upon this specatcle,
his heart was grieved within him. Heaven-
inspired pity was aroused, and he at once desired
to institute extensive plans for saving the mul-
titudes from calamity, only fearing j:hat his
ability was not equal to the task before him. . . .
It is because the teacher is an investigator of
true doctrine and a propagator of the mysterious
truths of Christianity that he is thus accustomed
to regard all under heaven as one family. There-
fore, when he looked upon this widespread and
extreme distress, his heart could not rest." It
is little wonder that one result of this noble
philanthropy was to remove hostility to his work
and make it difficult to prevent some from desir-
ing to enter the church because of gratitude to
their human deliverer, or in order to be sure of
the loaves and fishes at some future hour of
need.

John Livingston Nevius 137

Not merely in the florid periods of Chinese Held in
scrolls did Dr. Nevius appear among the Em- "°"o'''
pire's benefactors, but the entire missionary
body regarded him as one of the strongest
representatives of the Protestant enterprise.
His own Church honored him in the councils
of its China Presbyteries and its Synod, which
owed its existence largely to his advocacy of it.
It is true that his new method was an occasion
of differences during the latter part of his life ;
yet Nevius was so fair to his opponents that
friction was reduced to a minimum. He and
three or four other missionaries formed the plan
for the first great conference of all the Protes-
tant missionary societies in China, and had he
not been in the midst of famine relief work in
1877, when its sessions were held in Shanghai,
he would undoubtedly have been a leading spirit
in its deliberations. At the second General
Conference, held in the same city in 1890, Dr.
Nevius was the unanimous choice for the
American chairman of the meetings, an English
chairman alternating in the work of presiding.
The Conference lasted about a fortnight and
was the most significant gathering of the mis-
sionary forces of the Empire ever held. Dr.
Nevius presented a strong paper entitled "A
Historical Review of Missionary Methods, Past
and Present, in China," and was a most helpful
participant in the discussion of the topics, ''The

138 Princely Men

Annotated Scriptures," "Bible Distribution in
General," " Woman's Work," " Medical Work,"
"Loans to the Poor," "Self-support," and "Na-
tive Agency."
Literary References have been made to the literary
Labors. ^Qj-j^g q{ j^^. Nevius. They occupied no small
part of his time and thought, but as they were
mainly in Chinese and intended for native use,
they are little known to Occidentals. Probably
his " Compendium of Theology " — a work left
unfinished — and his "Manual for Inquirers"
will be of the most lasting benefit to the Chinese
Church at large. An indication of his practi-
cality is seen in the contents of this latter book :
General directions for prosecuting Scripture
studies ; forms of prayer ; the Apostles' Creed
and select passages of Scripture, to be committed
to memory. Then follow a large number of
selected Scripture stories and parables, with
directions as to how they are to be studied ; rules
for the organization and direction of stations ;
duties of station leaders, and rules for their
guidance ; a system of forms for keeping station
records of attendance, studies, etc.; form of
church covenant ; Scripture lessons for preparing
for baptism and others for preparing for Com-
munion ; order of exercises for church service ;
suggestions for the best spending of the Sabbath;
a short Scripture catechism ; questions on the
foregoing to aid in examining learners ; and

John Livingston Nevius 139

sometimes an additional section, containing the
commonest hymns. In Enghsh, Dr. Nevius
also did much to forward the interests of
China. Denominational and missionary periodi-
cals of his own Church and Board were always
kept informed in an interesting way of the situa-
tion in China and of the progress of Christian
work there. His little book for Sunday schools,
" San-poh," gives an idea of how the Gospel gets
into a Chinese community, while a larger vol-
ume for the general pubhc, "China and the
Chinese," is still one of the best general accounts
of the Empire, its peoples and religions.

The frail health of his wife and her frequent Furloughs.
absence from China, either in Europe or in the
United States, made Dr. Nevius always anxious,
and to one who was so devoted a husband these
anxieties undoubtedly weakened his work. In «

order to meet her need, he spent a number of '

months in Great Britain and on the Continent.
His prolonged furloughs in the United States j

were made fruitful by the number and high *

character of his addresses on missions, espe- j

cially those in China. Strength rather than
novelty was characteristic of his platform work ; i

and whether he was addressing missionary board ■]

meetings, or audiences in the most important j

churches of his denomination, whether his hear- j

ers belonged to the higher ranks in society, — |

he had the pleasure of seeing in his audience in ■

140 Princely Men

Washington the President of the United States,
— or were Sunday-school scholars to the number
of 1,500, he always left the impression of mastery
of his subject and utter devotion to the cause of
missions. Korea and Japan, which he visited, as
also various parts of China, felt the influence of
his personality ; and, as we have seen, his visit
to the Hermit Kingdom was most fruitful in
results.
Hom9 Life. Though the Nevius home was not made glad
with children, and while his wife's health was
always a problem, the tenderness of early es-
pousals was never absent. The writer was
impressed, as have been so many other guests
of the Neviuses at their inviting Nan Lou, or
South Loft, with the entire devotion of the pair
to each other. Music, literature, the beautiful
in nature, — witness his lines after visiting
Japan's heavenly Nikko, — a kindliness which
actually beamed from his face and made the
Chinese sure that he was their loving friend, his
devotional life, reminding one of the relation
between Moses and Jehovah, — see Exodus 33 :
II, — the oasis which Dr. Nevius had created
in the barren life of his neighbors, typified by
his yard and garden abounding in the fruits and
flowers of a far-away land, were other memories
which his foreign friends were sure to carry
away with them from the Nevius home. And
as for the Chinese leaders of distant stations

John Livingston Nevius 141

who came thither for weeks of close intercourse
and instruction, Nan Lou was a veritable house
of God, a gate of heaven.

The last months of Dr. Nevius's life were Beulah and
quiet ones. The Shanghai Conference of 1890 ^^y^"^-
had appointed him on the committee to revise
the Mandarin version of the Bible. The portion
of the New Testament assigned to him had been
completed, and he was criticising the work of
another reviser. His brother Reuben, whom he
had seen but little for forty years, came out to
visit him, and the Episcopal rector and the Pres-
byterian missionary renewed their youth once
more. Dr. Reuben would read Tennyson or
the Brownings, and then Dr. John would respond
with recitations from Shakespeare or Byron,
after which Reuben would reveal God to his
brother through the microscope, and in turn
would be shown the geological and botanical
wonders of the Celestial Kingdom. His brother
having returned home, a tour was in contempla-
tion in October, and the arrangements were
almost completed. Dr. Nevius had been busy
the day before in looking after the establishment
of the local post-office in Chefoo, and at night
had slept unusually well. He awoke on the
morning of October 19th feeling weary, but he
went on with the work of the day. At Chinese
prayers he read and commented on the last half
of the second chapter of First Thessalonians, a

142 Princely Men

most appropriate passage from which to address
his last words to Chinese Christians, who were
his *' glory" and ''joy." Noticing that his
pulse was very intermittent, his physician was
called. Dr. Nevius met him at the gate, but
scarcely had the two men entered the study
before his head fell forward and, like Moses, he
died of '' the kiss of Jehovah." The shock to his
wife and friends, the Chefoo community, and
the native Christians was great, and general
mourning ensued. The Chinese requested
that one of their number be permitted to go
around to all the distant stations to tell them
the particulars of their pastor's removal and to
show the photographs which had been made of
the lifeless body lying on a sofa among his be-
loved flowers. They all shared in the feeling of
the poor wheelbarrow man who slept on the floor
beside his revered friend's body the night before
burial and who kept fresh flowers on the grave
long thereafter. Trying to comfort Mrs. Nevius,
he said : " You think too little of your husband's
happiness. Our Savior said, ' Come unto me,
ye weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you
rest,' Dr. Nevius had worked very, very hard,
harder than most men, and he was weary, and
now the Lord has given him rest. The pastor
used to say to us Christians in the country :
*This is a beautifvil world, very beautiful indeed ;
but heaven is more beautiful still.' And that

John Livingston Nevius 143

is where Dr. Nevius has gone ; you ought not
to be so sad."

A Chinese service of great solemnity was The Funeral.
held; and then the body was committed to the
grave, after a touching ^ tribute by a colleague
and the reading of the Church of England ser-
vice by two members of the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel, one of them his dear
friend, Bishop Scott. The feelings of those
present found fitting expression in the stanza of
one of Dr. Nevius's favorite hymns, sung at the
grave :

" Now the laborer's task is o'er ;
Now the battle-day is past;
Now upon the farther shore
Lands the voyager at last.
Father, in Thy gracious keeping
Leave we now Thy servant sleeping."

Dr. Mackay and Students Descending a Mountain.

GEORGE LESLIE
MACKAY

FORMOSA'S PREACHER AND TEACHER

Born in Zorra, Canada, March 21, 1844

Died in Tamsui, Formosa, June 2, 1901

THE WAITING ISLES

■ Behold my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul
deHghteth: I have put my spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to
the Gentiles. . , . He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judg-
ment in the earth ; and the isles shall wait for his law." — Isaiah 42: i, 4.

THE TRAINING OF THE TWELVE

"And he goeth up into the mountain, and calleth unto him whom he
himself would : and they went unto him. And he appointed twelve, that
they might be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and
to have authority to cast out devils." — St. Mark 3: 13, 14.

MACKAY'S THEORY AND METHOD

" Mission work in North Formosa is dominated by the idea of a native
ministry. The purpose is to evangelize the people, to enlighten their dark-
ness by the power of divine truth, and to drive back the mists of error and
the black clouds of sin that have through all the past obscured their vision
of the City of God. ... I invariably had from one to twenty students
as my daily companions. We began each day's work with a hymn of
praise. When weather permitted we sat under a tree — usually the banian
or a cluster of bamboos — and spent the day reading, studying, examining.
In the evening we retired to some slieltered spot, and I explained a passage
of Scripture to the students and others gathered with them. ... By no
means the least profitable part of their training was on the road in our
traveling together. All manner of subjects were then discussed — the
Gospel, the people, the way to present the truth, and God, the Author of
all." — " From Far Formosa," pages 285, 287, 288.

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF EVENTS IN
MACKAY'S LIFE

1844. Bom at Zorra, Ontario, Canada, March 21.

(?) Teaches school at Maplewood and Maitlandville.

(?) Studies at Woodstock and Omemee grammar schools.

(?) Takes " Preparatory Literary Course " in Knox College, Toronto
1867-70. Studies Theology at Princeton Seminary.

1870. Offers himself to his Church for missionary service, October,
1870-i.Goes to Scotland, studying mainly at Edinburgh.

1871. Receives appointment as foreign missionary, April 14.
Visits Canadian churches in the interest of missions summer.
Ordained as foreign missionary, September 19

Leaves home fcr his field, October ig.

First sermon after reaching Formosa, December 31.
X872. Reaches Tamsui, North Formosa, March.

First convert, A-hoa, May.
X873. Baptism of first five converts, March (?)

1877. Bang-kah is taken for Christianity, December.

1878. At Tamsui marries a Chinese lady, Tui Chang-mia, May.
1881. First furlough in Canada.

Granted degree of Doctor of Divinity by Queen's Univeisit
■ Kingston.
1884. French invasion of Formosa.
1884-5. Mackay's trip to Amoy and Hongkong.
1893-5. Mackay's second furlough home.

1895-6. Disturbances and persecutions due to Japanese occupation.
1901. Dies at Tamsui, Formosa, June 2.

V
GEORGE LESLIE MACKAY

Formosa's Preacher and Teacher

While the life of a Formosan missionary Formosa
does not strictly come within the range of this ^"^ China.
little volume, because of present relations of the
island to Japan, Mackay is rightly classed among
Chinese workers. The accident of Formosa's
recent transfer to the Sunrise Kingdom did not
materially affect his relations to its people, and
from the day of his arrival his work was done
through the Chinese language and very largely
for emigrants from China and their descendants.
Society was dominated by Chinese law, customs,
and religions, except among the savages ; and
Mackay regarded his work as part and parcel of
that wider enterprise which has for its ultimate
goal the redemption of the most populous and
interesting empire in the world.

Mackay gloried in an ancestry that had en- Exiled
dured hardness, and in a fatherland which had Highlanders.
sent into the non-Christian world men of might.
Duff, Livingstone, Mackay of Uganda, William
Burns, and many others had sprung from the
147

148 Princely Men

soil of a land which was Mackay's by only a
single remove. His parents had been forced, by
the evictions that in 1830 darkened the gloomy
days of the '' Sutherlandshire Clearances/' to
leave Scotland and make for themselves a new
home in what were then the wilds of Upper Can-
ada, in the town of Zorra. Here on March 21,
1844, George Leslie was born, the youngest of
six children ; and in God's acre beside the " old
log church" his parents sleep among "the rude
forefathers of the hamlet." Zorah would be
an unknown name shrouded in Old Testament
darkness, had it not been that one of its sons,
the mighty Samson, began to be moved by the
Spirit of God between Zorah and Eshtaol. From
the one log church in Canada's Zorra "at least
thirty-eight * young men have gone forth to be
the heralds of the cross in the ministry of the
Presbyterian Church," one of the greatest of
whom is our hero.
Mackay's How account for such a record 1 This is
Eulogy. Mackay's explanation : " Peace to the honored
dust of those brave pioneers ! They were cast
in nature's sternest mold, but were men of heroic
soul. Little of this world's goods did they pos-
sess. Ail day long their axes rang in the forests,
and at night the smoke of burning log-heaps

* These are Mackay's words in " From Far Formosa." Rev.
R. P. Mackay, D.D., gives the number as about fifty. See " Effec-
tive Workers in Needy Fields," page 2,7-

George Leslie Mackay 149

hung over their humble homes But they over-
came. The wilderness and the solitary place
have indeed been made glad. And more. They
did more than hew down forests, construct roads,
erect homes, and transform sluggish swamps
into helds of brown and gold. They worshiped
and served the eternal God, taught their children
to read the Bible and believe it, listen to con-
science and obey it, observe the Sabbath and
love it, and to honor and reverence the office of
the Gospel ministry. Their theology may have
been narrow, but it was deep and high. They
left a heritage of truth, and their memory is still
an inspiration. . . . The type of religious life
was distinctly Highland. Men believed and felt,
but seldom spoke about their own deeper per-
sonal and spiritual experiences. There were no
Sabbath-schools and Christian Endeavor Societies
in Zorra fifty years ago. Children were taught
the Bible and the Shorter Catechism in the
home, and on the Sabbath the great doctrines
of grace were preached with faithfulness and
power. Men may talk slightingly to-day about
that stern old Calvinism. They would do well
to pause and ask about its fruits. What other
creed has so swept the whole field of Hfe with
dread artillery of truth, and made men unflinch-
ingly loyal to conscience and tremorless save in
the presence of God ? The iron of Calvinism
is needed to-day in the blood of the Church. It

150 Princely Men

may be we heard much about sin and law in
those olden days, but love and grace were not
obscured. It may be the children were reticent
and backward in the church ; but they knew
what secret sorrow for sin meant, and they
found comfort at the cross."
The Another paragraph, quoted from the record
Missionary ^^ Mackay's youth, shows how early the boy
heard the call to his future work and how domi-
nant a chord it became in his entire life. " Be-
fore I reached the age of ten, the ever-blessed
Name was sweet and sacred in my ear. The
paraphrase, beginning with the words,

'While humble shepherds watched their flocks
In Bethlehem's plains by night,'

repeated at my mother's knee in the quiet of
the Sabbath evening, early made a deep impres-
sion on my soul. It was then that the thought
of being a missionary first came. William C.
Burns [afterwards China's famous evangelist]
had visited Woodstock and Zorra on his tours
through Canada and poured a new stream into
the current of religious life. His name was
cherished in the home, and something of his
spirit touched my boyish heart. My grand-
father fought at Waterloo; his martial soul went
into my blood; and when once I owned the
Savior King, the command, * Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature,'

George Leslie Mackay 151

made me a soldier of the cross. To be a mis-
sionary became the dominant idea through all
the years during which I served as school-teacher
at Maple wood and Haitian dville, as scholar at
Woodstock and Omemee grammar schools, as
student of arts in Toronto, and as student-
missionary during summer vacations at Blue
Mountain, Port Burwell and Vienna, Lincoln
and Biddulph, Forest and Mackay."

His testimony, that no part of his preparatory Princeton
training proved more practically helpful than ^nd Scotland
the medical studies pursued at Toronto and in
New York, does not imply that the years spent
at Princeton Theological Seminary and in study
at Edinburgh, " Scotia's darling seat," were any
less helpful in his later career. In Scotland, a
great personality, the Nestor of Scottish mis-
sions, Alexander Duff, meant more to Mackay
than did the strong lectures of Blackie, Blaikie,
and Rainy, or the pulpit utterances of Candlish,
Guthrie, Cairns, and Whyte. From Edinburgh
to Aberdeen he followed the intellectual father
of new India, and Duff's interest in him was
scarcely less than that felt so strongly by the
young Canadian. Though Mackay was finally
sent to Formosa, thus rendering his study of
Brahmanism and Buddhism under Duff of little
value, he never lost the inspiration that comes
from a supreme personality. Another valuable
asset derived from his Scotch novitiate came

152 Princely Men

from mission work among the outcasts of Cow-
gate and Grassmarket in Edinburgh. Having
gained from his stay in Scotland what he had
longed for, Mackay was considering the advisa-
bility of applying to be sent abroad under one
of the Scotch or American missionary societies,
when, on April 14, 1871, he received news of
his appointment as the first missionary to the
heathen world of the western division of the
Presbyterian Church of Canada. Four days
later he was sailing homeward, and after a tour
of the churches and the necessary preparations,
he left his home for China on October 19th, of
the same year.
Ma^kay's What he calls his Gethsemane encountered
Gethsemane. Mackay when he bade civilization adieu and
sailed out of the Golden Gate into an unknow^n
future. " But it was not for long," he writes.
" The Word brought light. The psalm marked
by the Committee on the fly-leaf of the Book
began, ' I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills ; '
and the promise was, ' Lo, I am with you alway.'
And then the forty-sixth psalm ! Oh, how often
it has brought comfort and peace ! When the
waves dashed in fury I read it. Aye, and when
storms arose wilder, more relentless and deathful
than ever vexed the broad Pacific, when heathen
hate and savage cruelty rose like a hungry sea,
the blessed words, *God is our refuge and
strength,' opened wide the door into the secret

George Leslie Mackay 153

of His presence. On that day, in my stateroom,
I read it again and again, — precious truth ;
glorious refuge ; God, the eternal God. Hark,
my soul ! He speaks : * Certainly, I will be
with thee.' Begone, unbelief ! God in heaven
is the keeper of my soul. The glorified Jesus
says, ' Lo, I am with you alway.'"

Yokohama, with its first revelation of the Reaches
Orient ; the spacious harbor of Hongkong, with ^°''"^^^^-
its fringe of houses rising tier above tier up the
granite hills, and over all "the flag of a thou-
sand years ; " Swatow and Amoy, scenes of the
triumphs of the English Presbyterians and Con-
gregationalists, and of the American Baptists
and the Reformed Church ; and then " a night
of thick darkness, howling blasts, and a plung-
ing sea," — these were the steps which led from
yearning anticipation to the realization of child-
hood's vision. One of the English Presbyterians
at Ta-kow greeted the new recruit to a work
which sorely needed laborers, and on the follow-
ing Sabbath, the last day of the dying 1871,
Mackay preached in English his first sermon in
Formosa. It was the gospel of a crucified Savior
which he then pressed home to the consciences
of a company of captains, officers, engineers, and
merchants, and which, later, was the staple of
his preaching to Chinese and savages alike.

It is not surprising that the Portuguese mari- Formosa the
ners of 1590, after sailing along the island's

154 Princely Men

eastern coast and " sighting the green-clad
mountains, with peaks piercing the scattered
clouds, cascades glimmering like silver in the
tropical sunlight, and terraced plains waving
with feathery bamboo," should exclaim with
rapture, " Ilha formosa ! ilha formosa ! " thus
christening anew the " beautiful isle." In round
numbers, Formosa is 250 miles from north to
south, with an average breadth of about fifty
miles. Mackay writes of the island, particularly
of the northern portion of it, which was his
parish : " Forest-clad mountain ranges, attaining
the height of from seven thousand to fifteen
thousand feet, run through the center from
north to south, and from their bases extends a
broad stretch of lowlands, plateaux, and ravines.
This plain is drained by three large streams
which run into the Tamsui River. Precipitous
cliffs of from three thousand to six thousand
feet, clothed with vegetation except on the sea-
face, with two large and many small plains
which are silted inlets, compose the eastern side
of North Formosa." As the southern half of
the island lies within the tropics, the climate is
excessively trying, particularly after a few years
have been spent there without the invigorating
atmosphere of the temperate zone. Flowers in
January and the absence of frost and snow
charm the tourist, but the missionary yearns, z\s
does the hart for the water-brooks, for "ovr

George Leslie Mackay 15^

breath of the clear, crisp air of a frosty winter
morning." As for the rainy season, Mackay
writes : " It is rain, rain, rain, to-day, to-morrow,
and the next day ; this week, next week, and
the week after ; wet and wind without, damp
and mold within. Often for weeks together
we rarely get a glimpse of the sun. All the
year around we have to fight against depression
of spirits." But rain and heat produce a prodi-
gal vegetation to delight the beholder, while at
the same time they hasten a decay that gives
birth to the missionary's deadliest foe, malarial
fever.

As Mackay 's headquarters were at Tamsui, Tamsui
we must glance at this cathedral city of Canadian
Presbyter ianism. The picture which so thrilled
him on his arrival in March, 1872, grew upon
his affections with the years. Let him describe
it : " From the upper deck of our steamer lying
at anchor we get a bird's-eye view of Tamsui.
Before us, looking eastward in the background,
stretching north and south, and rising tier above
tier in its stately grandeur, are those massive
mountain ranges left by tremendous volcanic
upheavals of past ages and now clad in perennial
verdure. Here and there on their sloping sides
are seen patches of tea plantations. Farther
down, and interspersed with trees and grasses,
lie the rich green rice terraces. No fences, no
straight lines, no precise measurements, but

156 Princely Men

leveled fields of every size and shape, edged
with green and forming a regular descent, each
distinct and lower than the other, down through
the valley almost to the seashore. At last out
swings the signal ; up comes the anchor ; and
with leisurely dignity our vessel heads forward
into the mouth of the Tamsui River. On the
south, at our right as we enter, lies Quan-yin
Mountain, 1,700 feet high, covered with tall
grass, groves of bamboo, banian, and fir trees.
Nestling at its feet are villages and farmhouses,
almost concealed under ancient spreading banians,
swaying willows, and prickly screw-pine hedges.
... To the left is a ^low stretch of sea-sand
bounded by black volcanic rocks and broken
coral, where women and children are gathering
oysters and seaweed. There among the drift of
the sand stands the black beacon, and a little
farther on, the white beacon ; then a fishing-
village, with boats drawn up on the beach and
rows of nets hanging out to dry. There is a
battered Chinese fort, and up the hill just behind
it another fort with modern massive earthworks,
concealing guns and soldiers." The conspicuous
buildings in this town of more than six thousand
inhabitants are the customs office, the consulates,
the buildings of Oxford College and the mission
hospital and of its staff of missionaries and
teachers, — which later came into being, — and
a conspicuous Chinese graveyard.

George Leslie Mackay i jy

What was Mackay' s purpose as he entered Mackay' s
upon his field ? It was not to study geology, Puf'pose.
botany, or zoology, fascinating as these branches
were to him ; nor was it to investigate the
customs and anthropological aspects of his
chosen people. " Not for that did the Church
ordain me and send me out," he writes. "My
commission is clear ; I hold it from the King
and Head of the Church : ' Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature.'
Whatever else may be done, that commission
must be fulfilled. More than that ; whatever
else may be done must have a real and positive
bearing on the fulfillment of that commission.
Whatever of history, geology, ethnology, sociol-
ogy, or of any other subject, may engage the
missionary's attention, must be regarded in its
relation to the Gospel. To get the gospel of
the grace of God into the minds and hearts of
the heathen, and, when converted, to build them
up in their faith — that was my purpose in
going to Formosa."

With only a few weeks among his English co- First Home.
workers in the south end of the island and a brief
tour with two of them in his own field, Mackay
was thrown upon his own resources and was
obliged to work out his own problems. His first
home was not much better than a stable. " It
was a filthy place. A steep hill being dug out
furnished the site, and the road around sepa-

158 Princely Men

rated it from the river. Situated as it was, it
could not be healthy at any time. In the dry
season the atmosphere was hot and oppressive ;
and when the rains came, the water streamed
down the sloping hill and ran through the build-
ing across the floor into the river in front. One
room was floored with unplaned boards, another
with tiles, and the other with nature's black soil.
I moved into my new home with all my furni-
ture, — two pine boxes. The British consul lent
me a chair and bed, a Chinese gave me an old
pewter lamp ; and I employed a mason to white-
wash the whole establishment. It was thor-
oughly cleaned, portions of the walls hidden
with newspapers, and openings covered with red
cotton. In full possession of this retreat, here
is the record entered in my diary under the date
of April 10, 1872 : *Here I am in this house,
having been led all the way from the old home-
stead in Zorra by Jesus, as direct as though my
boxes were labeled, Tamsui, Formosa, China.
O the glorious privilege to lay the foundation
of Christ's Church in unbroken heathenism !
God help me to do this with the open Bible.
Again I swear allegiance to Thee, O King
Jesus, my Captain. So help me God.' "
Early Mackay had acquired the eight tones of the
Teachers. ^\^\qq^ spoken in Formosa while on the south
end of the island. His attempts to master the
Chinese in his permanent home were aided at

George Leslie Mackay. 159

first by his servant, who, however, regarded his
master as daft, so insistent and constant was he
in his efforts to enlarge his vocabulary. Turn-
ing in despair from him, Mackay next made
love to the poor herdboys out on the wilds. " As
soon as I went near," he writes, *'they yelled,
* Foreign devil ! foreign devil ! ' jumped on the
ground, waved their l^rge sun-hats, and disap-
peared behind bowlders. The next day I tried
again. They looked at me in silence, but on the
alert, and ready to run at the first sign of danger.
The third day I spoke to them, and as I had
carefully practiced my words they exclaimed in
utter astonishment, ' He knows our language ! '
That the barbarian could speak even a few of
their words interested them very much. I took
out my watch and held it up for them to see.
They were around me instantly, feeling my
hands, fingers, buttons, and clothes. The herd-
boys and I became friends that day, and ever
after they would await my coming with eager
interest. I was out there on the plateau with
them every day for four or five hours, talking to
them, hearing them talk, noting down new words
and phrases, until my vocabulary began to grow
with a rapidity that quite amazed my servant. I
learned more of the spoken dialect from those
herdboys than "in any other way, and years after,
when they grew to manhood, they continued
friendly, and were always delighted to recall tne

i6o Princely Men

first days on the buffalo pasture. Several of
them became converts to Christianity, one a
student and preacher. All this time I was
working away at the written characters with my
English-Chinese dictionary. It was slow and
vexatious. Without a teacher or helper, and
having none of the improved dictionaries, it
sometimes took me hours^to find the meaning of
one character. . . . These exercises were not
in vain, however, and as I shunned all Europeans
and English-speaking Chinese, and spoke to every
other man who would listen to me, within five
months I had so far mastered the language that
I was able to preach, my first sermon." His
later knowledge of the language was such that
he prepared a useful dictionary of some ten
thousand characters.
Mackay's The first convert and throughout Mackay's
First lifetiuie the greatest leader of the native church
was Giam Chheng-hoa, better known as A-hoa.
Some two months after the missionary's arrival,
a prepossessing young man called and questioned
him on all sorts of subjects. At a second inter-
view, Mackay's always ready weapon, the hymn-
book, was brought into requisition and a copy
was given him. Long before reaching his field,
Mackay had pleaded with God that the first con-
vert given him might be an intelligent, active
voung man, and that night he so firmly believed
that his prayer was about to be answered that

George Leslie Mackay i6i

he slept little for gratitude to God. A suc-
cession of interviews quickly followed, A-hoa
bringing with him detachments of literary grad-
uates, who plied the missionary with questions.
Their spokesman finally becoming hopelessly
entangled, they left the field, and after A-hoa
had heard the hymn, '' A Day's March Nearer
Home," he exclaimed: "What you now read
suits me. I love those words, and I am con-
vinced that the doctrines you teach are true. I
brought all those graduates and teachers to
silence you or to be silenced. I have thought a
great deal about these things of late, and I am
determined to be a Christian, even though I
suffer death for it. The Book you have has the
true doctrine, and I should Hke to study it with
you."

The days succeeding A-hoa's conversion were Training
heavenly ones for Mackay. He now had a '^-^^«'
teacher and a helper, as well as an enthusiastic
disciple. Language study was a joy. " When
in the house, we read, sang, studied, drilled, the
whole day long. A neighbor entered one day
to see if we had both become altogether crazy.
He meant well, but was a little afraid of us.
He brought us two cups of tea as a specific, and
suggested a visit to the nearest temple as a
good thing for people affected as we were.
There may have been some humor in the scene,
but we started a hymn, and, fearing another out-

1 62 Princely Men

break, the man bolted out of the door, dropping
the teacups on the floor in his frightened haste.
He would not come back, but in about an hour
a little boy came in for the fragments of the
dishes." The map of the world was a revelation
to A-hoa, and so was the opening of the young
man's eyes at that early morning hour on the
summit of Quan-yin Mountain, when for the first
time Mackay pointed out to the astonished Chi-
nese the beauties of nature. *' Standing there
together, we sang the One Hundredth Psalm,
and before the last verse was finished the Great
Spirit, who makes all things beautiful in earth
and sea and sky, touched A-hoa' s soul. His
nature was stirred to its very depths. It was
the birth-hour of the beautiful. His new-born
soul had now an eye and ear for God's message
in creation, and from that hour he became a
devoted student and ardent lover of nature."
A quarter of a century of constant association
with Mackay in study, work, and prayer made
A-hoa the worthy leader of sixty chlirches ; it
was Jesus' method applied for a longer period to
Formosa's St. Peter.
First A little more than a year after Mackay's
Baptisms, arrival at Tamsui, five trophies of grace were
received into the Church of God, the first-fruits
of North Formosa. The list includes, besides
A-hoa, the scholar, aged twenty-two, the names
of a painter, a writer, a carpenter, and a farmer,

George Leslie Mackay 163

having an average age of twenty-nine years. As
Mackay was twenty-eight, one is reminded of the
first group of five men, of about the same age,
whom the young Teacher of GaUlee gathered
about him in "Bethany beyond Jordan, where
John was baptizing." The painter's conversion
is a sample of many others. At first a disturber
of meetings and an open persecutor of A-hoa,
he gradually became ashamed of his conduct,
then a hearer of the doctrine, and next a convert,
when he in turn suffered bitter persecution from
his own household. Saved from the attack of
his mother by Mackay, sickness in the family,
which was relieved by the missionary's medi-
cine, led the mother to hear and believe, and ulti-
mately she served as a Bible woman. The
other members of the household became earnest
Christians, and the painter himself labored
under Mackay as one of his most faithful preach-
ers for more than a score of years. Jeers and
taunts and threats of violence did not deter these
first confessors from boldly acknowledging their
Lord, nor did it prevent them later from daily
witnessing to the power of God.

The first woman convert, the widow Thah-so, Widow
was a modern Lydia, who carried the Gospel to Thah-so.
her home ten miles up the river from Tamsui,
and who prepared the way for building the first
chapel in North Formosa. The truth preached
in Mackay's room so touched her heart that

164 Princely Men

week by week she brought down a boat-load of
women to hear the " Happy-sound." This led
to visits at her village. On the occasion of the
first of these, the head-man of the place pasted
on his walls the Ten Commandments and told
the people that he had lost confidence in idols
and was determined to live by the Command-
ments. He gave a plot of ground for building,
and, with great enthusiasm, stones and sun-dried
bricks were collected, and the chapel was begun.
When the walls were three feet from the ground,
a company of soldiers armed with spears, knives,
and guns arrived, and by yelling and threaten-
ing they thought to stop the work. The head-
man, pointing to the Commandments, declared
his intention to live according to their teaching.
Surprised at his attitude, they proceeded to the
widow's house, only to see her boldly hold up
her hymn-book and to hear her declare her reso-
lution to worship the only true God. Such
determination cowed the soldiers, and, to save
their "face," they reported that the missionary
had bewitched the people. Their superior offi-
cers then petitioned the British consul not to
permit Mackay to build a fort in that village,
nor to take guns thither by night.
Early Chapel Despite these and other obstacles, the chapel
Preaching, ^y^g finished, and in it more than one hundred
and fifty declared their rejection of idols and
their desire for Christian instruction. Preaching

George Leslie Mackay 165

there during the early days was not according
to conventional Occidental ideas. << Sometimes
when we had sung a hymn and I began to ad-
dress them," Mackay writes, "one or two would
take out their pieces of steel, strike a flint, Hght
their long pipes, and when the smoke ascended
I would pause, and remind them that they
wanted Christian instruction and should keep
quiet. ' O yes, yes, we must keep quiet ; ' and
with that they would nod their heads with great
politeness. No sooner would I get fairly started
again than some one would spring to his feet
and shout, ' Buffaloes in the rice-fields, buffaloes
in the rice-fields ! ' Another reminder of their
duty would bring another reply, 'O yes, yes,
we must keep quiet.' And for a few minutes
all do keep quiet, and I go on with my address.
Then an old woman with her little feet hobbles
to the door and shouts out, ' Pig has gone ! pig
has gone ! pig has gone ! ' One interruption
follows another ; but we never blame those rest-
less people, for such services are strange and
new to them. Within two months, however, the
congregation assembled in the chapel at Go-ki-
khi was just as attentive as any I ever addressed
anywhere in Christendom."

Other churches and chapels were similarly Storming
established, though usually with less difficulty G'f>''affar.
than attended the building of the first chapel.
One city, however, — the largest and most im-

1 66 Princely Men

portant in the northern part of the island, as
well as the most thoroughly Chinese and anti-
foreign, — stood out stoutly against the new
religion, and was a veritable Gibraltar of oppos
ing hate. It was from this Bang-kah that the
soldiers were sent who tried to prevent the
building of the first chapel, and in other ways it
was the center of opposition to Mackay's work.
He wrote of it in 1875 : "At every visit, when
passing through their streets, we are maligned,
jeered at, and abused. Hundreds of children
run ahead, yelHng with derisive shouts ; others
follow, pelting us with orange-peel, mud, and
rotten eggs. For hatred to foreigners, for pride,
swaggering ignorance, and conceit, for super-
stitious, sensual, haughty, double-faced wicked-
ness, Bang-kah takes the palm." The city
authorities had issued a proclamation warning the
inhabitants, on pain of imprisonment or death,
not to rent, lease, or sell houses or property to
the barbarian missionary. As foreign firms had
failed to gain an entrance even through Chinese
agents, it seemed hopeless to attack this citadel.
In December, 1877, however, Mackay felt that
the attempt must be made. A wretched hovel
was rented, and the inscription, "Jesus' Holy
Temple," was placed above the door. Soldiers
noticing it, threatened the missionary with vio-
lence, and reported it to their general. He sent
officers ordering Mackay to depart, and claiming

George Leslie Mackay 167

that the site belonged to the military authorities.
As the claim seemed to be correct, he decided
to leave, but declined to do so that night. Dur-
ing the hours of darkness, the turbulence of the
soldiers made him feel that his end had come.
Leaving the next morning for his boat, the jos-
tling of the crowd and the dodging of filth and
missiles hurled from housetops on the barbarian,
made it a task of many hours to reach it. Es-
caping down the river to the place where his
students were, he spent the rest of the day there,
and in the evening they besought God to open
Bang-kah to them. Rising from their knees,
they went back to the city, and in the darkness
found an old man who secured a place for them.
Before midnight the contracts were signed and
stamped, and the Christians were in full posses-
sion. The inscription, "Jesus' Holy Temple,"
stared the populace in the face the following
morning, and during that day and the next the
city was in an uproar, the noise of thousands of
voices sounding ominous indeed.

Mackay still moved about among them, The Critical
extracting teeth from time to time. On the ^°"''-
third day, at four or five o'clock, the excite-
ment had reached a white heat. " Hundreds
had their queues tied around their necks and
blue cloth about their loins to signify that they
were ready for the fray. One stooped down,
picked up a stone, and hurled it against the

1 68 Princely Men

building. in a moment their screams were
deafening. They were on the roof, within
and without, and the house was literally torn
to pieces and carried away. No material was
left. They actually dug up the stones of the
foundation with their hands and stood spitting
on the site. We moved right across the street
into an inn. No sooner had we done this than
scores were on the roof and many more climb-
ino: the walls. The crash of tiles could be
heard as they attempted to force an entrance.
By this time the shouts and yells were inhuman.
One who has never heard the fiendish yells of a
murderous Chinese mob can have no conception
of their hideousness. The innkeeper came to us
with the key of the door in his hand, and begged
us to leave, lest his house be destroyed." Then
followed a lull, owing to the fact that a manda-
rin and his soldiers had arrived to quell the riot,
and also the British consul from Tamsui. The
mandarin wished the consul to order Mackay
away, but this he would not do. The official
then fell on his knees, begging Mackay to
depart. This he declined to do, but holding
up his forceps and Bible, he declared that he
would remain and extract teeth and preach
the Gospel. Long negotiations followed and
other sites were offered, but the Canadian was
as firm as a rock. A new chapel was erected
on the site of the one torn down, and though

George Leslie Mackay 169

the former owner was forced to flee for his life
and hearers were boycotted and soldiers were on
guard part of the time, our hero did not retreat.
It was finally destroyed during the invasion of
the French in 1884; but within three months
of their departure a solid stone church, with a
spire seventy feet high, pointed former, persecu-
tors heavenward.

The power of love and of pure religion had The
time to do its blessed work, and in 1893, ^'"'"'^P^^^f
before Mackay's return to Canada, he had this
to say of Bang-kak: "The head- men of the
city sent their visiting-cards with a message
to ask if I would be willing to sit in a sedan-
chair and be carried in honor through the
streets of the city. I begged some time to
consider, and decided that, as in the past they
had acted toward me as they chose, so now I
would allow them to do the same. A proces-
sion was formed on the same level ground
near the same old temple. Eight bands of
music, with cymbals, drums, gongs, pipes, gui-
tars, mandolins, tambourines, and clarionets,
took the lead. Men and boys with flags,
streamers, and banners followed ; scores with
squibs and fire-crackers set off after the man-
ner of Chinese celebrations. Five head-men,
a magistrate, a military official, and two civil
officials, came next in order ; and then three
large umbrellas of honor with three flounces

I70 Princely Men

each, presented by the people with their names
inscribed, were carried in front of me, as I
sat in a handsome silk-lined sedan-chair. Fol-
lowing the chair were six men on horseback,
twenty-six sedan-chairs, three hundred footmen
in regular order, and various other parties behind.
Thus we passed through the streets of Bang-
kah, and on all hands received tokens of respect
and honor. On arriving at the jetty, where the
steam-launch was waiting, our Christians stood
and sang, * I'm not ashamed to own my Lord.'
Heathen and Christian alike cheered us as we
boarded the launch. Two bands of music
accompanied us all the way to Tamsui and
from the launch right up to our dwelling-house.
In front of the door was the climax of the dem-
onstration. And all this was from the head-men
and citizens of Bang-kah, the erstwhile Gibraltar
of heathenism. And thus was Bang-kah taken.
* Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto
thy holy name, be the glory ! ' "
The French In some respects the disturbances which
Invasion. ^^^osQ in connection with the French invasion
of 1884 were the greatest obstacle which
Mackay had to confront. The boundary dis-
pute between P'rance and China not only
affected Tonquin, but the French sent a fleet
into the China Sea, bombarding the Foochow
forts and deploying eastward into North Formo-
san waters. The people were greatly enrage:!.

George Leslie Mackay 171

and charged the missionary with being in
league with France. They threatened con-
verts with torture and death, and swore that
their children would be cut to pieces as soon
as the first shot should be fired, emphasizing
their words with sharpened swords and knives
which were brandished over their heads.
Attacks were made by the French with some
little success. This set loose bands of looters
who carried black flags, butchered swine, and
drank liquor to excess. " The Christians were
the first and special objects of attack," writes
Mackay. " Seven of the best of our churches
were utterly destroyed and others were greatly
impaired. At Toa-liong-pong the mob tore
down the chapel, and, having made on the
site a huge mound, they erected beside it,
out of the bricks of the ruined chapel, a pile
eight feet high, and, after plastering it over
with black mud, they inscribed on the side
facing the road in large Chinese characters
the epitaph : ' Mackay, the black-bearded devil,
lies here. His work is ended.' " As for con-
verts, they suffered torture and death in vari-
ous forms. They were drowned ; fingers were
pinched between bamboo slips until the blood
trickled from them ; they were hung by the
queue ; they lost their property and their
churches ; and yet few deserted their Lord.
The anxiety of Mackay for the Christians and

172 Princely Men

the churches was such that after many sleep-
less days an awful fever came on and his life
was despaired of. Before this, when a Brit-
ish man-of-war offered to take his family and
valuables on board, he replied : " Valuables !
The men who were my children in the Lord,
journeyed with me, ministering to me in sick-
-ness, wading streams, scaling mountains, facing
danger by sea and by land, never once flinch-
ing before any foe — they were my valuables !
While they were on shore I would not go on
board. If they were to suffer, we would suffer
together,"
The After the worst was over, Mackay and his
Aftermath, f^^jjy ^gj^^- ^q Hongkong for a brief furlough.
Returning, he encountered further perils from
the French ; but finally he secured indemnity
for losses, and the work of restoration began.
Church property was his chief care, since so few
had recanted that discipline was not a serious
problem. Instead of building twenty-four frail
structures with the indemnity money, Mackay
decided to erect six substantial, commodious
buildings. He immediately drew the plans, mak-
ing models out of turnips, brick and mortar, etc.
In twelve weeks three splendid edifices were
finished, with their seventy or eighty feet of
tower and spire of solid masonry. His main
defense of such a use of money was that these
spires would do more to discredit the omnipo-

George Leslie Mackay 173

tent superstition of feng-shui — wind and water,
or geomancy — than anything that could be
devised. Finding that the equilibrium of nature
was not apparently disturbed by these defiant
fingers of stone, the beholders began seriously
to question*the truth of this superstitious but
powerful foe to progress. Mackay's speedy res-
toration of the churches made the people feel
that it was useless to combat Christianity, and
that opposition only resulted in a strengthening
of the Christian forces. The forty chapels of
ante-French days became forty-five immediately
thereafter, and soon grew to be sixty.

Missionary touring in Formosa is anything but Touring.
alluring, if one is unaccustomed to hardship.
The few inns that sheltered the missionary at
night were inferior to what he calls "Queen's
Hotel," where he stayed on his first tour after
arriving at Tamsui with his two English co-
workers from the south. Its plank beds with
legs of brick ; the damp earth floor and smeared
walls, alive with mukitudinous and sundry small
cattle ; the stupefying smell of opium-smoking ;
the odor of pigs wallowing in filth at the door, —
these are some of the features of itineration that
are not inviting. In the regions where aboriginal
races lived, the life was more hazardous and yet
more attractive to a man like Mackay. The in-
trepid missionary could even witness the horri-
ble orgies that accompanied the head-hunting

174 Princely Men

expeditions of savages with the same calmness
that he displayed when he was among the
Chinese.
4 Christmas A Christmas experience among the savages
Scene, j^^ ^j^^^^ describes: "The chief's house was one
large room fully thirty feet long, with a fire
blazing at either end. Men stood around one
fire ; women squatted beside the other. There
were five beds on poles along the walls. The
highest was given to me and one close by to the
students. . . . The men smoked, told stories,
and discussed the chase and an expedition to the
border-land to be undertaken soon. The women
were busy threadmaking on the spinning-jenny ;
and as they wound the rliea they laughed,
twitted one another, and chatted as their sisters
do in Christian countries. * Yes, sisters ! for He
made them, died for them, and from the glory
bends on them a brother's eye. We proposed
a song, — 'one of the songs of Zion.' They all
looked and Hstened with evident interest. The
aborigines are much more musical than the
Chinese. We sang several hymns, and, through
the chief's son, who once visited me at Tamsui;
I told them of the far-away home and of God's
love for the world. It was Christmas night, and
away there in a wild place where no white man
had ever been and in the company of men and
women and little children who never before
heard of His coming, it sent a thrill to the heart

George Leslie Mackay T75

to tell of the Babe of Bethlehem, the Man of
Nazareth and Calvary."

What a contrast to that story of the Prince A Contrast
of Peace is this paragraph, descriptive of the
triumphal return of successful head-hunters !
"The heads having been secured, the hunters
return with all haste to the village. When on
the peak of the nearest mountain they shout
their wild whoop of victory. The villagers have
been waiting, and when that yell is heard a
party is sent out to meet the braves and escort
them home. All the village is out of doors.
Old men and women, youths and maidens, the
youngest child in the settlement, even the very
dogs, all know the meaning of the yell and go
wild with excitement. They are all on the way
to welcome home the heroes Such shouting,
shrieking, and demon-like howls ! The dogs
seem as though they were made for nothing but
yelping on that one occasion. The hunters
recite their experiences, — how they escaped
detection, how they did the deed, perhaps what
wounds they got in the fray. Everything is
told with many gesticulations, and every point
is greeted with fresh demonstrations of delight."
The dance of triumph around the captured
Chinese heads, the wild bacchanalian revel of the
night, the eating of the boiled brain with evident
relish, — some of which was offered to Mackay
as a rare treat, — fill out the hellish picture.

176 Princely Men

This will indicate the task before the missionary
who strives to subdue such demons " to the use-
ful and the good."
A Peripatetic These few glimpses show us the field and the
University. ^^^^ What were the means which Mackay
employed to subdue Chinese, the conquered
aborigines, and the mountain savages ? The
Gospel taught by word and example was his
main weapon ; but he felt that it was absolutely
essential to inspire every convert with ideas of
the necessity and privilege of testifying for his
Lord, and that the leaders of the regenerated
communities should be as fully educated and
trained for their work as was possible. Most of
this training of leaders was done as Mackay
traveled with them from place to place. Begin-
ning with A-hoa, he usually had with him from
one to tM'enty students every day. If they were
inland, a banian or clump of bamboos was the
classroom ; the Bible was the great textbook ;
specimens of every sort gathered by the stu-
dents — geological, botanical, zoological — were
auxiliary volumes which proved the power and
wisdom and glory of God. If the university
happened to be by the seashore, its students were
happy schoolboys, diving in the waves to bring
up rare specimens, feeding on oysters opened
with a nail, and fishing with a missionary Walton
as their Mentor. This study-play lasted until
four o'clock, after which time they put to prac-

George Leslie Mackay 177

tical use their training in debate and public
address and personal dealing with inquirers,
either in some near-by chapel, or at the homes
visited. No wonder that with such an enthusi-
astic preceptor, always sharing their life with
them, these young men became efficient workers.

So deeply interested did the people of Ox- Oxford
ford, Mackay 's native county, become, that they ^^"^9^-
raised money to establish a college bearing the
Canadian county's name. That institution, with
its botanical garden, lawn, and its museum, both
stocked largely by the students, became a center
of light and learning to all North Formosa.
Mackay addressed the students from one to five
times daily, they taking copious notes. Western
sciences, history, theology of a biblical sort, and
homiletics practically applied, were all illumin-
ated by a born teacher brimming with enthusiasm.
And Mackay was literally an educator, a drawer-
out of those who soon caught the spirit of their
master and responded splendidly to his questions
and suggestions. Always the Bible, the Shorter
Catechism, and the hymn-book were freely em-
ployed, while prayer was the heavenly diapa-
son which ran through the entire college life.
Nor were the advantages of education confined
to men alone. Side by side with Oxford College,
and with proportionate provision for efficient
work, was the Girls' School, in which future
wives of leaders and useful Bibe women were

lyS Princely Men

taught reading, writing, singing, Bible history
and geography, the Scripture catechisms, etc. In
the evening these young women gathered in
the college hall to listen, and to some extent
to participate in those matchless programs of
Mackay's, a sort of Formosan Chautauqua and
Welsh or Scotch catechising combined.
Doctor and Medicine and dentistry were invaluable ad-
Dentist juncts in Mackay's initial work, especially among
the savages. Probably no medical missionary
has extracted so many teeth as did he. His first
tooth, pried out of a soldier's jaw with a bit of
hard wood in 1873, was followed during the
next twenty years by over twenty thousand
others, while his students pulled nearly half as
many more. It is surprising to note how many
persons became Christians because of cures in
hospital or dispensary ; and once and again these
and other ex-patients came to his relief in the
midst of perils where a friend was greatly
needed.
Mackay's Only incidental mention has been made of
ramily. Mackay's family. Further reference to the
matter is called for, since his views on the
subject are partly the secret of his phenome-
nal success, as well as the occasion of some criti-
cism. An early Dutch missionary to Formosa,
Rev. G. Candidius, had advocated the policy of
marrying native women. While this historic
argument did not decide Mackay's course, some

George Leslie Mackay 179

of the reasons behind it had weight with him. -
Formosan women are a strategic portion of the
community, as being more rehgiously inclined
than the men, and as having in their care the
children of the community, not to speak of their
influence over their husbands. It is evident
that women can best teach their own sisters ;
while if a man attempts to do the work, rumors
may arise which would blight his reputation.
Unfortunately, the climate of the island is very
unhealthful, and Mackay felt that it was not
wise to ask Occidental women to come to a
land of death. Moreover, even if they could
live there in comparative health, they could
never understand the language or the people
as do native women. These were some of the
reasons why Mackay decided to marry a most
estimable Chinese lady ; and the result shows
that from the standpoint of effective service, as
well as from that of family fehcity, the experi-
ment was successful, unfortunate as it might be
in the majority of cases. His wife was able to
accompany him, and she accompHshed what no
white woman could have done, while his children
inherited the characteristics of the two most
virile races of the world.

Nothing has been said of Mackay 's colleagues, His
and little need be recorded of their services. Colleagues,
From 1875 onward he usually had a single
co-worker at a time ; but scarcely would he get

i8o Princely Men

into the harness, when his own ill health or that
of his wife would ccmpel withdrawal. However
helpful they were, Mackay was always the prom-
inent figure, and the native assistants trained
by him were the pillars of the native Church.
His example and precedents made the work of
his successors comparatively easy, and for years
to come his personality will mark the mission.

Furloughs. Twice Mackay visited the home-land, and
each time the Canadian churches were stirred
by the apostolic zeal of the tamer of human
beasts, their St. Paul who had been in deaths
oft. The presence of his Chinese wife and his
children, as well as of a native assistant, were
added stimuli that created deep interest in far
Formosa. Perhaps no man in Canada has done
so much to awaken missionary enthusiasm and
to impart strong convictions as did this Httle
black-bearded man of Zorra. A divine daring,
Pentecostal power, which God had imparted to
him to such an extent that in one revival in
eastern Formosa Mackay saw more than two
thousand idolaters forsake their deities and
devote their temples to God's service, and an
eloquence which, clothed in poetical prose and
biblical phrase, swayed vast audiences, made
Mackay Canada's typical missionary hero.
Japanese Japan's war with China in 1895-96 and the

Occupation, consequent Japanese occupation of the island
resulted in a second testing of the Formosan

George Leslie Mackay i8i

Church. Because of Chinese misrepresentation,
many Christians suffered martydom, some seven
hundred members being lost by death and re-
moval. Dr. Mackay was in Canada during most
of this period, his colleague, Mr. Gauld, being
in charge of the mission. The introduction
of the Japanese language into schools and the
new Government's stringent medical regula-
tions temporarily closed both college and hos-
pital ; but, on the whole, the work of missions
was the gainer by this fiery trial. The Jap-
anese had a greater appreciation of Christianity
than the Chinese, while the latter transferred
their dislike for Occidentals to their new Ori-
ental masters, thus making the missionaries and '
their cause more acceptable than they had pre-
viously been.

Engaged in the work of restoration and in The End.
making those modifications necessitated by the
new order introduced by Japan, Mackay's last
years were spent. In September, 1900, he
went to Hongkong for the treatment of what
was supposed to be ulceration of the throat.
Though there was relief for a time, the disease
developed, and on June 2, 1901, the hero of the
Beautiful Isle passed through the gates into
the city of supernal beauty. Very appropriately
he died in the work, even though it was in
delirium that he rose in the night and went to
the College, where he sat in his chair and con-

1 82 Princely Men

ducted an imaginary examination. The news
of his departure brought to the native Chris-
tians an unaffected sorrow which was pathetic,
while, flashed beneath the ocean by the light-
ning, it struck something akin to consternation
into the Church which had commissioned him
and which he so dearly loved. His last mes-
sage to them was the paean of ultimate victory :
" Will Formosa be won for Christ ? No matter
what may come in the way, the final victory is
as sure as the existence of God. With that
thought firmly fixed, there will be but one
shout, 'And blessed be his glorious name for-
ever ; and let the whole earth be filled with his
glory. Amen, and Amen.' "
A Missionary Mackay's example was also a most valuable
Idea iQg^Qy^ Sq anxious to increase the range of his
knowledge that he burned the midnight oil,
often catching only three hours of sleep ; so
desirous of seeing his work advance along all
lines that, "while superintending the work of
two hundred men employed in the erection of
churches, he dispensed medicines to hundreds,
preached daily, taught the students at night,
and in the three months traveled i,6oo miles
on foot," besides repairing two other chapels
and opening a new station ; so childlike in his
faith that the Bible was the indubitable revela-
tion of God and Jesus a yoke-fellow always at
his side ; so tender that the martyrdom or

George Leslie Mackay 183

suffering of his people moved him to indigna-
tion or to a sympathy like that of a loving
mother; so Paulike that his theology might
have been learned from the great apostle's
lips, while the rapid increase of native churches
was not excelled in Greece or Asia Minor ; — such
a man was the exemplar for his later Canadian
followers, and an illustration of what God will
enable those to do who fully consecrate them-
selves to His service in His neglected harvest-
fields.

Rev. Horace Tracy Pitkin

PRINCELY MARTYRS OF

CHINA'S SPIRITUAL

RENAISSANCE

Crowned during the Boxer Uprising in China

IN THE year 1900

AN EXTRACT FROM THE MISSIONARY
COMMISSION

" And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father his child :
and children shall rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to
death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake : but he that
endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. But when they persecute
you in this city, flee into the next : for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not
have gone through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come." — St.
Matthew 10 : 21-23.

THE AGONY, — *' NOT MY WILL, BUT
THINE, BE DONE"

" Women received their dead by a resurrection : and others were tor-
tured, not accepting their deliverance, that they might obtain a better
resurrection : and others had trials of mockings and scourgings, yea, more-
over of bonds and imprisonment : they were stoned, they were sawn asun-
der, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword: they went about
in sheepskins, in goatskins ; being destitute, afflicted, evil entreated (of
whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and
caves, and the holes of the earth." — Hebrews 11 : 35-38.

THE CORONATION OF THE MARTYRS

'.'And one of the elders answered, saying unto me. These which are
arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and whence came they? And I
say unto him, My lord, thou knowest. And "he said to me. These are
they which come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes,
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before
the throne of God ; and they serve him day and night in his temple : and
he that sitteth on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them. They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun strike
upon them, nor any heat : for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne
shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of
life: and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes." — Revelation

SOME DATES AND EVENTS IN CONNEC-
TION WITH THE BOXER UPRISING
OF 1900

British Minister denounces Yii Hsien for aiding the Boxers.

He reports Yii Hsien's appointment as Shansi's Governor.

Destruction of Catholic villages and converts reported.

Destruction of London Missionary Society's chapel.

Railway between Peking and Tientsin torn up.

Legation guards reach Peking.

Imperial decree justifying action of the Boxers.

Massacre of T'ung Chow Christians.

Vice-admiral Seymour and troops start for Peking.

Chancellor of Japanese Legation in Peking murdered.

Tientsin native city in hands of the Boxers.

War determined upon by Grand Council ; Peking completely
isolated.

Taku forts taken.

German Minister murdered ; siege of legation begins,

Yang-tzii Viceroys promise protection to foreigners.

Imperial decree praises Boxers and orders their support.

Tientsin native city captured by Allies ; Presbyterians of Pao-
ting Fu burned.

American Board and China Inland missionaries slain at Pao-
ting Fu.
2. Imperial edict ordering expulsion of foreigners and persecution

of native Christians.
9. Great massacre of missionaries at T'ai-yiian Fu.
Aug. 2. Edict issued disclaiming responsibility of mis3ionaries and mer-
chants for the war.
14. Allies enter Peking and relieve legationers and missionaries.

Jan.

17.

Mar

• 15.

May

■ 17-

18.

29.

31-

June

' 7.

10.

II.

15-

16.

17-

20.

26.

28.

30.

July

PRINCELY MARTYRS OF

CHINA'S SPIRITUAL

RENAISSANCE

The closing year of the most remarkable The Year
century in history saw no event that began to '^ '
compare in painful interest and in international
significance with the Boxer Uprising in China,
with its awful sufferings and aftermath. So
far as Christianity is concerned, the persecution
and martyrdoms witnessed during that year are
hardly exceeded by the record of any twelve
months of the nineteen Christian centuries. As
"the curse that is causeless lighteth not," and
as the present status of Chinese missionaries
and their converts can not be fully appreciated
without a knowledge of conditions leading to
the sanguinary uprising, some of these will be
indicated.

Those of the people who were most active in Causes of the

the Boxer cause were actuated by an industrial ^°^^S.

, . Uprising.

grievance. China's dense populations and the

consequent intense competition make it im-

187

1 88 Princely Men

possible to introduce the manufactured products
of the West, its labor-saving machines, its appli-
cations of steam and electricity to manufacture
and transportation, without threatening the ex-
istence of millions of persons who can not but be
affected thereby. Thus the tearing up of the
railway in the summer of 1900 was largely due
to boatmen and carters of T'ung Chow, who
had been deprived of the means of livelihood
through the Peking-Tientsin railway. The en-
croachment of foreign powers had the same
effect upon the Chinese government that man-
ufactured goods and improved means of com-
munication exerted upon the common people.
Great Britain had long ago gained a foothold at
Hongkong, and shortly before Japan had taken
possession of Formosa, Russia of Port Arthur,
Germany of Kiao-chow, and Great Britain of
Wei-hai-wei, while France was clamoring for a
large slice of southern China, and even Italy
wanted San-men Bay. England's relation to the
great Yang-tzu valley and America's open-door
policy also looked like a very real possession of
Chinese assets. Apparently, China would soon
lose everything, and now was the time to take a
stand against unrighteous aggression, especially
as Western syndicates were harpies who shel-
tered themselves under Occidental patronage
and battened on concessions extorted by the
consuls and ministers of their nations. The

Princely Martyrs 189

new reform movement within the Empire itself
and the chronic unrest under a foreign dynasty
added to the troubles of the Throne. The
Manchu rulers seemed doomed if reformers,
aided and abetted by the foreign press of the
Empire, which did not scruple to print treason-
able utterances, were not speedily repressed.
As their common hatred of foreign encroach-
ment was a point upon which the Chinese
people, their Manchu rulers, and most of the
reformers could unite, now was the hour for
concerted and decisive action. Religion was
more a pretense than a reality in the move-
ment ; yet it served an excellent purpose under
the guidance of Buddhist priests, while Taoist
teachings for centuries had caused many of the
people to believe such impossible stories as the
Boxers made their stock in trade, — the invul-
nerability of their followers to bullets of the
enemy, the assistance of maidens riding in the
air and of hosts of demon and spirit auxiliaries,
and other equally baseless assertions.

Unthinking and hostile writers have blamed Missions and
the missionaries for this cataclysm of woes. It ^oxensm.
is undoubtedly true that they had something
to do with the outbreak. The Catholics, espe-
cially after March 15, 1899, when they secured
the edict granting official rank to every order of
their hierarchy, were more than ever active in
rendering their converts aid in lawsuits. This

190 Princely Men

only increased the friction between officials and
Catholics, particularly as it encouraged many law-
less men to feign conversion in order to promote
their wicked schemes. As the Protestant mis-
sionaries refused to a.vail themselves of the same
right to official rank that the Roman Church
had extorted from the government, it placed
them at a disadvantage in some respects ; and
friction between their Christians and CathoHc
converts became more serious. All disturbances
among converts were indiscriminately spoken of
as due to our religion, so that the Protestants
suffered from the evils of Catholic wrong-doing.
Moreover, Protestants took stronger grounds
than the Romanists against the evils of ancestral
worship ; and in the matter of contributing to
theatrical exhibitions and idolatrous ceremonies
they were more conscientious, thus provoking the
ill will of their neighbors. Then the inevitable
antagonism between a religion that is from above
and systems that are merely human entered into
the field, and light and darkness were pitted
against each other. While these are facts that
must be acknowledged, it is wrong to say
that Christianity is responsible for the Boxer
outbreak. The movement was directed against
everything foreign, and the chief sin of the
Christian was that he was a professor of a for-
eign religion and a friend of foreigners. A hun-
dred merchants in the far interior would have

Princely Martyrs 191

been as ruthlessly slain as were the same num-
ber of missionaries. The reason why the latter
were practically the only ones massacred was
that they alone had the right by treaty to reside
in the interior, and both missionaries and mer-
chants on the coast and in the ports were pro-
tected by Western arms.

Providentially, the martyrdoms of 1900 did Chines^e
not extend throughout the Empire. The mis- ^^^f^^^^^s
sionaries and their children who suffered death
met their fate in the following provinces : in
Shantung, i; in Chekiang, 1 1 ; in Chihli, 17;
in Shansi and over the Mongolian border, 159.
The imperial province of Chihli — which means
*' Direct Rule," as it is the one in which the
Emperor lives and hence rules with greatest
strictness — permitted to be slain in its capital,
Pao-ting Fu, eleven adult missionaries and four
children ; while at the capital of Shansi, T'ai-yiian
Fu, forty-five missionaries and their children,
including twelve Catholics, were put to death
in front of the governor's yamen. That some
eighty-four per cent of the missionaries massa-
cred suffered in this province is due to the fact
that Governor Yu Hsien had been the official
indorser and abettor of the Boxers. The central
and southern provinces we^e saved from the sin of
slaying missionaries largely because of the facts
that three of the most powerful viceroys entered
into an agreement that order should be pre-

Persecutors

192 Princely Men

served, if foreigners granted certain favoring
conditions, and that, being farther from the
source of authority, they could more easily devi-
ate from the letter of decrees, while their more
intimate knowledge of foreign nations enabled
them better to deal with such complications.
The Though the Empress Dowager and the Court
were at the head of the general movement
against the foreigners, the immediate agents
were almost always the Boxers themselves.
This body, known as I Ho Ch'iian, — " Righteous
Harmony Fists," — was largely made up of young
men, and even boys, who went through certain
exercises and submitted to a crude sort of hyp-
notism, many of them in the belief that they
were thereby made invulnerable, and became
allies of demons and deities of earth and heaven.
The activity and rapid spread of these bands,
armed with great swords and glorying 'in blood,
were increased by the long-continued drought.
" Repeated fasts were proclaimed ; sacrifices
were made at all the famous temples and shrines ;
live frogs were buried at the various springs ;
the south gate of the cities were closed ; but all
in vain." The iterated suggestion that the
impending famine was due to the << foreign
devils " would have been sufficient to fire the
train and precipitate the inevitable explosion,
even if there had been no supposedly inspired
placards to inflame the frenzied Boxers.

Princely Martyrs 193

How greatly these moved the people may be A Boxer
judged by extracts from a single one ; " In a ^^"^"''^•
certain street in Peking some worshipers of the
I Ho Ch'iian at midnight saw a spirit descend
in their midst. The spirit was silent for a long
time, and all the congregation fell upon their
knees and prayed. Then a terrible voice was
heard, saying :

"*I am none other than the Great Yii Ti
[God of the unseen world] come down to you
in person. Well knowing that ye are all of
devout mind, I have just now descended to
make known to you that these are times of
trouble in the world, and that it is impossible
to set aside the decrees of fate. Disturbances
are to be dreaded from the foreign devils;
everywhere they are starting missions, erecting
telegraphs, and building railways ; they do not
believe in the sacred doctrine, and they speak
evil of the gods. Their sins are numberless as
the hairs of the head. Therefore am I wroth,
and my thunders have pealed forth. By night
and by day have I thought of these things.
Should I command my generals to come down
to earth, even they would not have strength to
change the course of fate. For this reason I
have given forth my decree that I shall descend
to earth at the head of all the saints and spirits ;
and that wherever the I Ho Ch'iian are gathered
together, there shall the gods be in the midst of

194 Princely Men

them. I have also to make known to all the
righteous in the thr-^e worlds that they must be
of one mind and all practice the cult of the
I Ho Ch'iian, that so the wrath of heaven may
be appeased.

" ' So soon as the practice of the I Ho Ch'iian
has been brought to perfection, — wait for three
times three or nine times nine, nine times nine
or three times three, — then shall the devils
meet their doom. The will of heaven is that
the telegraph wires be first cut, then the rail-
ways torn up, and then shall the foreign devils
be decapitated. In that day shall the hour of
their calamities come. The time for rain to fall
is yet afar off, and all on account of the devils.

" ' I hereby make known these commands to
all you righteous folk, that ye may strive with
one accord to exterminate all foreign devils, and
so turn aside the wrath of heaven. This shall
be accounted unto you for well doing ; and on
the day when it is done, the wind and rain shall
be according to your desire. Therefore I ex-
pressly command you to make this known in
every place. * '*
The It is manifestly impossible to sketch fully the

rai-yuan suffering's of martyrs, both Chinese and foreign.

Martyrs, r^. , ^ u r • • • ^ ^

ihe largest number of missionaries suffered

martyrdom in the capital of Shansi, T'ai-yiian

Fu, and of that scene a Baptist convert's account,

in " China in Convulsion," gives a graphic picture.

Princely Martyrs 195

"The first to be led forth was Mr. Farthing.
His wife clung to him, but he gently put her
aside, and going in front of the soldiers knelt
down without saying a word, and his head was
struck off by one blow of the executioner's
knife. He was quickly followed by Mr. Hoddle
and Mr. Beynon, Drs. Lovitt and Wilson, each
of whom was beheaded by one blow of the exe-
cutioner. Then the Governor, Yii Hsien, grew
impatient and told his body-guard, all of whom
carried heavy swords with long handles, to help
kill the others. Mr. Stokes, Mr. Simpson, and
Mr. Whitehouse were next killed, the last by
one blow only, the other two by several.

" When the men were finished the ladies were l^omen and
taken. Mrs. Farthing had hold of the hands of ^^'^'^''e"-
her children, who clung to her ; but the soldiers
parted them and with one blow beheaded their
mother. The executioner beheaded all the chil-
dren and did it skillfully, needing but one blow ;
but the soldiers were clumsy, and some of the
ladies suffered several cuts before death. Mrs.
Lovitt was wearing her spectacles, and held the
hand of her little boy even when she was killed.
She spoke to the people, saying, ' We all came
to China to bring you the good news of the sal-
vation by Jesus Christ ; we have done you no
harm, only good ; why do you treat us so .? ' A
soldier took off her spectacles before beheading
her, which needed two blows.

196 Princely Men

Catholic ''When the Protestants had been killed,
Deaths, ^.j^g Roman Catholics were led forward. The
bishop, an old man with a long white beard,
asked the Governor why he was doing this
wicked deed. I did not hear the Governor give
him any answer, but he drew his sword and cut
the bishop across the face one heavy stroke;
blood poured down his white beard, and he was
beheaded. The priests and nuns quickly fol-
lowed him in death.

The Pigott " Then Mr. Pigott and his party were led
Family. £j.qj^ ^j^^ district jail, which is close by. He
was still handcuffed, and so was Mr. Robinson.
He preached to the people till the very last,
when he was beheaded with one blow. Mr.
Robinson suffered death very calmly. Mrs.
Pigott held the hand of her son even when she
was beheaded, and he was killed immediately
after her. The ladies and two girls were also
quickly killed.

Summary. " On that day forty-five foreigners were be-
headed in all, — thirty-three Protestants and
twelve Roman Catholics. A number of native
Christians were killed also. The bodies of all
were left where they fell till the next morning,
as it was evening before the work was finished.
During the night they had been stripped of
their clothing, rings, and watches. The next
day they were removed to a place inside the
great south gate, except some of the heads.

Princely Martyrs 197

which were placed in cages on the gates of the
city wall. All were surprised at the firmness
and quietness of the foreigners, none of whom,
except two or three of the children, cried or
made any noise." One of these boys, Wellesley
Pigott, had said before returning from England
to China two years before, " You can't be mar-
tyrs in England, but my father and mother and
I might be martyrs in China."

Far harder to bear than the brief moment of Living
suffering which befell the martyrs of T'ai-yiian Martyrdom.
were the prolonged agonies and anxieties of
many missionaries who escaped. Another ex-
tract from the volume just quoted will abun-
dantly prove this statement : " The stories of
the tragedies connected with those who at last
escaped from their tormentors, yet so as by fire,
are among the most touching memorials of the
Christian Church in any age. Men, women,
and children were besieged in their own dwell-
ings, and when these had been fired, were
speared and stabbed as they endeavored to es-
cape, or were thrust back into the flames. They
were driven forth from their homes as outcasts
unfit to live, robbed of their scanty possessions
at every turn, until, in the blistering heats of
June, July, and August, they were bareheaded,
barefooted, and in many cases possessed of only
the clothing upon their bodies. In repeated
instances ladies were left but a single garment,

198 Princely Men

and on more than one occasion a missionary was
deprived of every stitch of clothing, standing
naked upon the streets of the most inhospitable .
villages of Shansi. One Catholic priest escaped
only by being carried a long distance in a coffin.

Hunted. "They were continually not only under
that observation without sympathy, which Mrs.
Browning calls torture, but were everywhere,
for days and weeks in succession, confronted
by mobs, chased from villages into mountains
and swamps, obliged to take refuge in aban-
doned huts, in graveyards, and often in caves
of the earth. They were hunted by armed
bands like wild beasts, and when caught were
beaten, dragged on the ground, — one of the
ladies was purposely run over by a cart to
kill her, — were tied hand and foot and carried
to Boxer altars, that it might be decided by the
spirits when, where, and how they should be
murdered. Sometimes they were saved because
the villagers were afraid to have them killed in
their village, sometimes by a timely fall of rain,
and again by the instinctive pity of Chinese for
the suffering children and the agony of their
mothers.

Light in « Repeated efforts were made to poison them ;

Gloom, ^^gy were often almost starved, and compelled

to subsist on roots and leaves. Some of them

were delirious from uncared-for wounds, and all

were subjected to the continued nervous strain

Princely Martyrs 199

of incessant alarms by day and by night. They
were the victims of repeated and deUberate
treachery on the part of officials, soldiers, and
professed guides. Yet amid the almost all-per-
vading gloom some act of human kindness would
lighten their sky. Some officials were most
friendly, and would have been still more so had
they dared." Surely such experiences go to
prove that the heroes of the eleventh chapter
of Hebrews have their successors in our own
time.

Before describing in fuller detail individual Chinese
cases of missionary martyrdom, some account ^^''^
must be given of a few of the noble lives, out ^'' ^''^
of an aggregate of some tens of thousands,
which were gladly offered unto God by the
Chinese Church. Even children did not shrink
from the awful pains of cruel deaths. Thus
two boys, aged thirteen and fourteen, were mak-
ing their escape from T'ung Chow, near Peking,
when the Boxers seized them and began their
examination. The boys boldly confessed that
they were of the Jesus Church, and when their
captors were about to bind them and carry
them to the place of execution, they said :
**You need not bind us. We will not try to
get away. Every step we take to your altar
is one step nearer heaven." And soon they
joined the blood-bought throng above. A little
fellow of ten, belonging to a Christian family

200 Princely Men

in the K'ai P'ing circuit and baptized in infancy,
was caught, and asked if he were a Christian.
Answering in the affirmative, he was again
asked if he would forsake Jesus. He boldly
refused and was immediately cut down.
Two School The young women of the Church, instead of
Teachers, bgjj^g j^gs courageous than older women and
men, were often the bravest confessors, as
witness these two cases of former students
at the Peking Girls' High-school. Hsii Hui-
fang had been teaching for some years at
Tsun-hua, but when the trouble began she
was in Peking. Her friends tried to persuade
her not to risk returning to the post, but her
reply was, " Miss Croucher has made me
responsible for the girls, and I must go."
The Boxers soon came to Tsun-hua and car-
ried the girls away as prisoners. They were
finally liberated and Miss Hsii was taken by
a Christian to the mountains. Here the Box-
ers followed her and shot her in the face. It
was not a fatal wound, and she returned to
the plain for food, where she was twice caught,
and offered life and wealth, either as the con-
cubine of a high official or as the second
wife of a wealthy farmer. Through thirty
days of dreadful trial she refused all their
offers and persisted in clinging to her faith.
She was finally carried to a neighboring city,
and an attempt to behead her was made ; but

Princely Martyrs aoi

the executioner's sword broke in twain on her
neck, whereupon the rabble rushed upon her,
piercing her with spears, after which she was
sliced and burned.

Another woman teacher in the same city, Liu Wen-Ian.
named Liu Wen-Ian, was captured with sev-
enteen of the school girls and others. "As
they were being led to a place of execution,
she reminded them how the Master was perse-
cuted and killed and afterwards ascended into
heaven ; how the disciples one after another
had met death because of their faith, and she
continued, 'Though we are not worthy to die
for Him, we are ready and willing to do so and
will depend upon His grace to save us. ' " A
young man, formerly a student at the Peking
University, whose faith had grown cokl, was
with them, and she exhorted him in English
to repent and prepare for death. So angered
were the Boxers by her zeal that they threat-
ened to kill her at once. At her desire they
waited long enough for her to testify to the
people of her Christian faith ; and then she
said, after covering her head with a handker-
chief, " We shall soon be in heaven ; kill me
now." Her fearless death nerved her compan-
ions for the coming trial.

Shortly before the outbreak, a marvelous Men
revival swept over the region about to suffer Students.
most. The power of the Holy Spirit was

2oa Princely Men

especially manifest in the College of the Ameri-
can Board at T'ung Chow and in the Peking
University of the Methodists, thus preparing
the students and Christians for the fearful
persecutions soon to come. Tou Lien-ming, a
senior in the Peking University, was especially
moved during those days of blessing, and when
the Boxers caught him at his distant home, he
was ordered to burn incense and knock his head
on the ground before the idols. Refusing, the
mob cried out, " He is a devil of the second
class." Denying the charge, they asked, "What
are you then } " Straightening himself to his
full height, he calmly replied, " I am a Christian ;"
and then, in answer to questions, he explained
what it meant to be a follower of Jesus. The
mob desired to kill him on the spot, but others
said, " No, no, not here ; it is not proper to kill
him in front of the temple. Take him to the
street which has been set apart for the slaughter
of devils." This gave him a further opportunity
to explain Christianity and to exhort them to ac-
cept it. Many of his hearers were so pricked at
heart that they desired to save him, but it was
impossible. As they were about to give him
the death-blow, he said, "Though you kill our
bodies, you can not kill our souls ; hereafter we
will live forever." And then they hacked him
to pieces. His death made a profound impres-
sion, not only on the crowd of witnesses, but

shen.

Princely Martyrs 203

also upon his fellow-students, who, when the
story was told them, said, ''Think what a glory
it was to die like a man, bearing witness to Christ,
rather than to be killed like a dog in the street.
We would all be glad, if our death could be like
that of Tou Lien-ming."

Another member of the same class, named Wang Chih-
Wang, was similarly anointed for his burial by
the Spirit of God during the revival. Professor
Headland thus writes of his martyrdom : '' A
few days before the outbreak at the close of the
college year, he went to his home two hundred
miles distant from Peking. When the storm
approached he was urged by all his friends to
escape, as he was a marked man ; but he refused
to desert his family. He was taken by the
Boxers and was offered the choice of recantation
or death. To make it easier for him to deny his
Master, it was proposed by the village elders
that some of his friends be allowed to worship
the idols in his stead, in which case they could
secure his release. 'No,' said he, 'I will neither
burn incense to idols myself, nor allow any one
to do it for me ; not to mention the fact that it
would be denying my Lord, I should never dare
to look my teachers in the face again.' He then
exhorted his persecutors to personal repentance
and an acceptance of Christianity. They ordered
him to cease his preaching, which he refused to
do, whereupon they cut off his lips to stop his

204 Princely Men

exhortations." His tongue was next cut out,
and after his limbs had been severed from his
body it was hacked to pieces.
Li Shu-Chih. Men in every walk of life were equally faith-
ful. Thus a Christian named Li, living at Yung-
p'ing Fu, was caught by his persecutors and
tried in the English Methodist chapel in that
city. He boldly confessed Christ, and though
given many opportunities to recant, he refused
to do so. He was beaten with five hundred
stripes, — a punishment far harder to bear than
many deaths, — when he was thrown into the
city prison. After some two months of awful
sufferings, he died in the hope of the Gospel.
The Youth A young Chinese of seventeen was a very
Wang, earnest member of the same mission. So
bravely did he resist all temptation to recant,
that his captors chopped his body in pieces,
nailed them to the wall, and then offered them
for sale at about three hundred dollars per piece.
A Druggist Professor Headland tells the story of a drug-
gist, named Liu, who, after his conversion, be-
came a most useful chapel-keeper. "He was
taken by the Boxers and led to the temple of
Yii Huang, their headquarters, where he was
bound to a stake. All the way to the temple
and after he was bound, he continued to exhort
them, when, angered by his exhortations or
condemned by their own consciences, one slapped
him i.n the face. Still he ceased not, until a

Princely Martyrs 205

brute, exclaiming * You still preach, do you ? '
slit his mouth from ear to ear. Even this did
not silence him ; and they finally cut out his
tongue, smoked him with incense, and cut off
his hands and feet. Even while he was dying,
we are told, his face wore a look of happiness
and peace, so much so as to cause the Boxers to
wonder and remark, and their only way of ac-
counting for it was, ' He has eaten the medicine
of the foreigner until he does not fear to die.' "

The triumphant deaths of women will be an Mrs. Wu.
example to their sisters in China for all time.
Mrs. Wu was a whole-souled Christian Bible
woman who was early captured. Taken to a
temple and bound to a pillar, they beat her
across the breast, but no cry was uttered. As
she refused to sacrifice lighted incense to the
idols, a bunch of these sticks was held to her
face until the flesh was burned off. Then as
the Boxers were especially incensed against
those who, in accordance with the beneficent
teachings of Christianity, had, like Mrs. Wu,
unbound their feet, they first cut off her feet
and hands and hung them to a tree. As she
still continued to praise God, they beheaded her
and then hacked her body to pieces.

Meng, Latinized with the characters fn-tzu Mencius's
— philosopher — into Mencius, is the Plato to Descendant
Confucius, who has been compared with the
Greek Socrates. A direct descendant of this

2o6 Princely Men

honored sage was Meng Ch'ang-ch'un, the first
ordained native pastor of the American Board.
Just before the final outburst, he was at the
annual meeting of the mission at T'ung Chow,
when news came that the railroad had been
destroyed and communication with his station
at Pao-ting Fu had been cut off. It would have
been easy for him to remain and flee a few days
later to Peking, thus preserving his life, as did
so many other Christians in the siege of the
legations. But he remembered Mr. Pitkin,
whom he had left with the ladies of his mission,
and he bravely faced certain death, that he
might be with them to the inevitable end. He
accordingly walked back some four days' journey
through the Boxer hordes. Arrived at the city,
he went about the work of the station, preach-
ing as usual and sending the church members
away to places of safety. Meng himself would
not flee ; but he and a few of the preachers and
Bible women deliberately stayed at ' their posts,
saying, " Our missionaries have remained with
us ; we will stand by them, and live or die to-
gether." He finally sent his fifteen -year son
away, but only after the boy's determination to
die with his father had been changed by the
consideration that if he were killed there would
be no one of his family left to preach and testify
for Jesus. On Friday, June 29, the father was
seized by the Boxers and carried to their altar,

Pastor Meng, A Martyr of Pao Ting Fu.

Princely Martyrs 207

where he was beheaded. Like a gross criminars,
his head was exposed, while the body was buried i

in a ditch back of the temple. In December, -j.

the body was disinterred, the bound hands re- ;

leased, and the dissevered head replaced for ;

burial. i

"Nine months later to a day," writes Dr. Meng's \

Smith, " a great memorial service for the mar- ""^^^ i

tyred missionaries and Christians was held at ,

Pao-ting Fu, attended by the chief officials of ."

the city and witnessed by thousands of silent j

spectators. In the stately funeral procession !

were banners and flags, embroidered catafalques,
native musicians, a long line of carts filled with i

mourning friends, and ahead of all, above thirty
memorial banners, more than half of which were
to the memory of this noble man. They were
no empty show, but gave the last true estimate
of the best men of the city, officials and mer- j

chants, guilds and citizens, of the life and char-
acter that had been lived in their midst."

The foreign martyrs of the Presbyterian The

Church all met their fate at Pao-ting Fu. The roll Presbyter/an ,

Holocaust.
includes the names of Dr. George Yardley Taylor, \

Dr. and Mrs. C. Van Rensselaer Hodge, Rev. and

Mrs. Frank Edson Simcox, and their three

children. From the conflicting testimony of

many witnesses, their associate, Rev. J. Walter

Lowrie, sent home later the brief story of their

coronation : "On Saturday afternoon, June 30, ,

2o8 Princely Men

a company of about twenty Boxers, accompanied
by a large crowd of other city ruffians, attacked
the west gate of the city mission compound
and set fire to it, following it up by setting fire
to the hospital and Mr. Miller's dwelling. They
set fire to the east gate of the compound, and
after looting Mrs. Lowrie's house burnt it also.
Dr. and Mrs. Hodge and Dr. Taylor * repaired
to the house of Mr. Simcox, where the little
babe in its mother's arms was the helpless cen-
ter around which all naturally gathered. The
demon crowd were held off by the discharging
of firearms, by which a few of their number
were slain. The foreigners possessed only one
rifle, a fowling-piece, and one or two revolvers.
Stories differ as to the details of the very last
moment of the attack. The Christians in the
compound were soon killed, none surviving to
tell the sad tale. The most probable account
is that of a coolie of Mr. Simcox, who says
that he stood on a grave-mound some distance
away and saw the house of Mr. Simcox finally
enveloped in flames, and through the smoke and
flames in the upper story the fond father was
seen pacing the floor, leading the two boys by

* A later story, and apparently the correct one, states that Dr.
Taylor did not join the others, but from the Lowrie house showed
the Boxers his gun and told them of the harm it could do. Unable
to check them, and unwilling to shoot, he threw the weapon into the
fire and was himself consumed by the flames. This is more in
accord with the saintly physician's life.

Princely Martyrs 209

the hand. Soon after they disappeared from
view. . . . The dear ones passed up to their
home on high in the fire and did not fall into
the hands of the Boxers. This was a merciful
mitigation of their sufferings and our sorrow,
for which we thank the Heavenly Father. Their
remains did not receive a proper burial, being
very much charred and disfigured by the fire.
After much searching and inquiry, we have not
been able to recover them. But God will bring
them all in glorified body at His own great day."
The last letters from these beleaguered saints
show a calm resignation that is truly remark-
able. Mrs. Sim cox took her two little boys
aside daily and knelt with them in special prayer
to God, to prepare them for the hour of fiery
trial. Their father's last sermon to the native
Christians, preached six days before the end,
was from the text, " We are pilgrims and stran-
gers in the earth."

Fuller particulars are obtainable concerning Horace Tracy
the group of three missionaries who were slain P'^^'"-
the following day, Sunday, July i, at the Con-
gregational compound in Pao-ting Fu's south
suburb. The son of wealthy parents, Horace
Pitkin, the only male member of the group, was
reared and educated under conditions which
would seem ill-fitted to make him a hero.
While a student at Yale University, he heard
the message of the Student Volunteer Move-

2IO Princely Men

ment for Foreign Missions, deeply pondered
the call, and enrolled himself as a volunteer for
foreign fields. His life in college was a perpet-
ual evidence of the power of a great idea ; and
soon after his graduation he and two friends
became a trio who did a most important work
in agitating for the foreign mission cause, both
as secretaries of the Movement and in the or-
ganization of young people of the churches.
When the time came for Pitkin to go to the
field, he and his wife journeyed thither via the
Levant, India, and South China, that they
might personally investigate other mission lands
and methods. Language study had occupied
most of his time, so that when the Boxer
troubles began he was only fairly launched
upon his life's work, with promise of becoming
a strong practical and spiritual power.
His At this time the only members of his mission
Associates. ^^ Pao-ting Fu were himself and the Misses
Morrill and Gould. The latter was a Mt. Hol-
yoke graduate of high standing, while Miss Mor-
rill had behind her theoretical and practical
training as a teacher. When the troubles began,
the ladies did not think that they would develop
into anything serious, and hence they refused to
leave the field when it would have been possible
to do so. Their sense of duty was very strong,
and their love for the Chinese women and girls
held them at their posts. Mrs. Pitkin and her

Princely Martyrs 211

little boy had been obliged to return to Amer-
ica that spring; and had it not been that the
ladies felt so strongly their duty to remain, her
husband would have followed his own feelings
of prudence and would have withdrawn before
it had become too late.

The story of the massacre of their Presby- July 1, 1900.
terian friends in the north suburb came to the
trio when their hearts were overborne with grief
for the death the day before of their noble
friend Meng. There evidently were only a few
hours between them and the arduous path of
martyrdom. Pitkin spent that last night in
quiet preparation for the end. Again we must
rely upon the report sent to Mrs. Pitkin by the
St. John of North China, Rev. J. W. Lowrie :
" That evening Mr. Pitkin wrote three letters,
one to you, one to the foreign soldiers who
might arrive, and one to the Mission. These he
buried separately. The one to you he placed
deep in a pit in the floor of one of the outhouses
in the rear, the faithful Lao Man remaining
with him and assisting him when all others had
fled. They buried the communion plate in the
same place, but all were dug up by the robber
crowd, who dug up every conceivable spot where
treasures might be hid. The other letters were
dug up and lost also. . . . Paster Meng's sis-
ter had come up from the ladies' house to ask
what could be done. He prayed with her and

212 Princely Men

said, ' Nothing can be done ; we must prepare
for the worst.' After she had gone, he called
Lao Man — good Lao Man — to him and told
him there was no hope, but that he had a mes-
sage to little Horace, through his mother, which
he would now give to Lao Man as his last wish
and words. Said he, *Tell Horace's mother
to tell my boy Horace that his father's last
wish is that when he is twenty-five years of age
he may come to China as a missionary.' . . . He
then gave Lao Man some money and told him
to save his life by escaping through the night.
It was raining hard, and Lao Man then climbed
the wall and fled. What your hero did that
night only the Heavenly Father knows ; but
probably he experienced a lesser Getlisemane,
where he, too, was able to look up and into the
Father's face and say, * Not my will, but thine
be done.'
The "At dawn the next morning, the rain still
Conquered pouring, the rabble throng attacked the com-
pound at both ends. Miss Morrill and Miss
Gould fled up to the church building, and Mr.
Pitkin, revolver in hand, went out upon the
steps to intimidate the crowd. There he held
them at bay for a time. Some say that he was
wounded and slain there ; but I think a more
reliable account states that he too retreated to
the church, to be with the ladies, and defended
them through the windows of the church until

Princely Martyrs 213

his ammunition was exhausted, when they
leaped out of the northwest window into the
schoolyard and took refuge in a small room
there. Out of this they were soon taken, and
there he was slain, but without prolonged suffer-
ing. In one moment he passed into the presence
of the martyred Stephen's Lord. Only the
past few days the Christians lifted his form from
the pit where it had been placed with the bodies,
of nine others on that cruel day, — seven were
children of the Meng brothers and of their sis-
ter, one a Shansi pupil, and the ninth Ming's
sister herself. His hands were not bound but
uplifted as if in prayer, in which position they
had become rigid. Reverently tl>e form was
placed in the coffin which the Christians had
neatly lined, and over it was spread a red flan-
nel covering. Then we sang * Precious name,
O how sweet ! ' and * When He cometh to make
up His jewels/ I spoke to them from Jesus'
words to those on his right hand, * Inasmuch as
ye have done it unto one of the least of these,*
referring to his interest in the native Christian
children and others. The younger Meng led in
prayer. There were no dry eyes. Even the
hardened old policeman wept ; but the tears of
the Christians were not of those who have no
hope. . . .

" Miss Morrill and Miss Gould were dragged Virgin
a short distance, the former by her hair, and the ^«''0'^«-

214 Princely Men

latter, soon becoming powerless to walk through
terror, was bound hand and foot and borne on a
beam thrust between the bound hands and the
body. Their clothing was not removed, as
some have reported. Miss Morrill exhorted
the people as she walked, and even gave a
piece of silver to a poor person by the wayside.
They were taken to the Boxer temple in the
southeast corner of the city and there were joined
later by Mr. and Mrs. Bagnall, Gladys, and Mr.
Cooper [these were of the China Inland Mis-
sion], who had been treacherously arrested in
the flight to the camp of Wang Chan-k'uei, the
cruel colonel who has since been beheaded for
his crime. In the afternoon all of them, with
four or five Chinese, were led out of the city
by a rope passed around the uplifted hands and
thence around the neck of each of the party.
Miss Gould had recovered herself and walked
with the others. Little Gladys walked free by
her mother's side, but was speared to death first,
notwithstanding her mother's entreaties for her
life. They were all slain without torture at the
southeast corner of the wall, — outside the city
and within the moat, — and buried there, but in
so shallow a grave that their remains have been
frequently disturbed and buried near by. The
whole deed baffles the human heart to under-
stand, but our King can do no wrong. As we
used to sing on Sunday summer evenings at

Princely Martyrs 215

Pei-ta-ho, — how he enjoyed those song parties !
— * Sometime, sometime we'll understand.' It is
enough if the servant be as his master, and the
disciple as his Lord."

And what shall we more say ? The time All Martyrs.
would fail us to tell of the more than 130
Chinese members of the writer's own church at
T'ung Chow who gladly laid down their lives
for their Savior. How vividly there rises before
him the picture of Deacon Li, an official who
reminded one of the saints of Caesar's house-
hold, and who so holily lived in the midst of
corrupt fellow-officials, that in the final hour
they did their utmost to protect him from
Boxer violence ! After his execution and burial
the story was circulated that so zealous a Chris-
tian would rise shortly from the dead, to pre-
vent which his body was exhumed and burned
to ashes. And then his dear friend, Helper Li,
in charge of the church in a town called Eternal
Joy — what a story of lifelong self-sacrifice and
earnest devotion to his Master the name recalls !
Standing by his little flock when others had
fled to places of safety, he at last was leading
them to a place of refuge, when the party was
overtaken and were brutally murdered. No
wonder that one who had been a blessing to
thousands who had never had the courage to
confess Christ should have been treated with
special deference after his death. He was ac-

2i6 Princely Men

cordingly buried much deeper than the rest, so
that months later, when the martyrs were dis-
interred for Christian burial, his body was in
a fair state of preservation. And when the
long cortege of T'ung Chow martyrs wended
its way to their last resting-place, Li Te-kuei's
led the van, as it did in the honorary tablets of
the occasion. As for others of the glorious
company of witnesses, the reader must turn
for their story to such proofs of the virility of
the Christian religion as are found in Broomhall's
" Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mis-
sion,'* Professor Headland's "Chinese Heroes,"
and Miss Miner's "Two Heroes of Cathay"
and "China's Book of Martyrs."
The Harvest If the oft-quoted saying of the early Church
is true, where is the harvest from China's bap-
tism in Christian blood .? Surely much blood-
steeped seed was freely sown ; what are the
results } The difficulties of political re-adjust-
ment are well known, and one of the most
unfortunate results of the Uprising was the man-
ifest animus of most of the so-called Christian
powers. Their soldiers had proven as lustful
and almost as cruel as China's heathen warriors,
and this was a damning blot on the Christian
escutcheon. The negotiations which followed
were further exhibitions of Occidental greed, out
of which Japan, England, and the United States
came with the best record, and yet not with a

Princely Martyrs a 17

wholly unsullied reputation. Had the collection
of indemnities been made by an uncorrupt body
of Chinese officials, little harm would have been
done ; but with the prevalent venality, the ne-
cessarily heavy burden was vastly increased, and
to Christianity was charged the responsibility for
such evils. With these facts to contend against,
it was to be expected that missions would not
prosper, especially when it is remembered that
the awful consequences of associating with for-
eigners and accepting -their religion had been so
dire. Yet with this incubus, so true is the old
maxim that even in the proyinces most affected
by the outbreak there has never been such wil-
lingness to hear the Gospel, nor so prevalent
a desire to learn of the missionaries. Not only
are accessions to the churches unexpectedly
great, but the number of inquirers and hearers
is unprecedented. From an official of one of the
Boards most affected the writer has just received
this personal word : " In North China, where
three years ago all was ruin, hundreds of new
preaching-places have been opened, and larger
accessions than ever are being made this year
to the churches." "The blood of the martyrs
IS the seed of the Church" still.

Such fruitage as this is a sufficient answer The Real
to the Judas-like question, "To what purpose ^^cfo/y.
is this waste .? " But there is a better answer:
these men and women of our race and that far

21 8 Princely Men

larger company of unknown martyrs were vic-
tors in a very real warfare. There was, first of
all, victory over the lower self. As one of the
native survivors of the Shansi massacre, the
only lineal descendant of China's Throneless
King to enlist under the banner of Jesus, said
to the students at the Lakeside Student Con-
ference : " There is one great enemy to service
for others and to the evangelization of the world.
Do you ask who that enemy is ? Look in the
mirror ; your own great enemy, the greatest
enemy of the cause of Christ in the world, is
yourself — your selfish self." This word of our
modern Confucius is the truth which he has
learned of Christ ; and the martyrs had over-
come to the uttermost that great enemy to
China's evangelization. On the day when they
laid down their lives, they put out of the fight
another great foe of the missionary enterprise, —
the assertion that all religions are practically
alike, that we are not called upon to carry
to China Christianity when she already has so
excellent an ethical system, better adapted to her
people, perhaps, than our own religion. Tens of
thousands of native Christians voluntarily fac-
ing torture, outrage, death in a thousand horrid
forms, in most cases because after more than
two thousand years of faithful espousal of the
country's native religion it had been found want-
ing, while in the religion and life of the hated

Princely Martyrs 219

Nazarene they had discovered the salvation and
light and joy of life,- — these living and dying
witnesses to the power of Jesus' love have
won the case for all time to come. Confucian-
ists had done their worst, from the Emperor
upon the throne to the servant that sat behind
the mill ; true Christians — learned missionaries
and humble converts alike — had done their
best to glorify God by triumphant deaths. And
this victory also is prophetic of the final issue,
so graphically set forth in Carlyle's quaint trans-
lation of Luther's Battle Hymn of the Reforma-
tion,— a hymn whose strains sounded out over
the Pao-ting Fu plain at the time of the martyrs'
burial.

" God's word, for all their craft and force,
One moment shall not linger,
But spite of hell shall have its course;
'Tis written by His finger.
And though they take our life,
Goods, honor, children, wife,
Yet is their profit small ;
These things shall vanish all ;
The city of God remaineth."

The voice of our brethren's blood crieth unto The
us from the ground. Morrison was a prisoner ^^^'^^"9^^
with a chain reaching from Canton to Macao ;
yet he Hved his prison life heroically, and he has
proved to us what a consecrated man can do
with a life hidden with Christ in God. Dr.
Mackenzie was not a brilliant man, but he so

220 Princely Men

related himself to God through the communion
of prayer and the Word, that God made him the
saver of life unto life to officials and common
people alike. Gilmour lived his lonely years
amid Mongol tents and saw apparent defeat so
far as statistics were concerned ; but he served
his generation according to the will of God and
fell asleep, while others awoke to build on his
foundation, or to reap where he had sown.
Nevius lived a quiet life among his books and
fruits and flowers ; he went in and out among
groups of simple-minded peasants, and fulfilled
the duty of the parson according to Chaucer :

"But Cristes lore and his apostles twelve,
He taughte, but first he folwede it himselve."

The eagle-eyed scientist, educator, and Christian,
Formosa's Mackay, faced farmer, tradesman,
and head-hunter with patience and fortitude ; and
many souls were his hire. And the noble com-
pany of martyrs watered China's soil with their
life's blood. Yet "these all, having had wit-
ness borne to them through their faith, re-
ceived not the promise, God having provided
some better thing concerning us, that apart
from us they should not be made perfect."
Every Christian man and woman may well ask
the momentous question, "To what purpose is
this waste ?" The gates are wide open ; the
pioneering stage is past; "the harvest truly is

Princely Martyrs 221

plenteous ; but the laborers are few," and the
ascended Savior is still ntoved with compassion
because the multitudes are distressed and scat-
tered, as sheep not having a shepherd ; yet we
wait passively for some one else to enter into
this rich heritage, instead of joyfully looking
into the face of our Redeemer with the glad
words of commitment on our lips, " Here am I,
send me."

APPENDIX A.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

The volumes which are recommended for use in comiec-
tion with this text -book should be owned by the class so far
as this is possible. When it is impracticable, they should be
secured from the public library, from the homes of the class
members, or from the library of the pastor or some friend of
missions. The brevity of the text-book makes it essential
that additional readings be assigned in connection with each
study. The order of the works given is that of their prac-
tical value or accessibility, placing the most desirable first.
Most of the volumes mentioned can be obtained from the
publishers of this br '^k.

Robert Morrison.

Townsend, W. J. Robert Morrison, the Pioneer of Chinese

Missions. (75 cents.)
Morrison^ Mrs. R. Memoirs of the Life and Labours of

Robert Morrison. 2 vols.
Maccracken and Piper. Lives of the Leaders of Our Church

Universal, pages 819-837.
Milne^ W. Retrospect of the First Ten Years of the China

Mission.

John Kenneth Mackenzie,

Bryson, M. I. John Kenneth Mackenzie, Medical Mission-
ary to China. (^1.50.)

224 Princely Men

Beach^ H. P. Knights of ^the Labarum, Chapters V., VI.

(Paper, 25 cents.)
Creegan and Goodnow. Great Missionaries of the Church.

James Gilmour.

Lovett, R. James Gilmour of Mongolia. {^1.75.)
Gilmour,/. Among the Mongols. ($1.25.)
Bryson, M. /. The Story of James Gilmour, and the Mon-
gol Mission. (50 cents.)
Lovetty R. James Gilmour and His Boys. (^1.25.)
Gilmour,/. More about the Mongols, (I2.00.)
Thompson, A. C, and others. Modern Apostles of Mission-
ary Byways, Chapter IV. (40 cents.)

John Livingston Nevius.

Nevitis, H. S. C. The Life of John Livingston Nevius.

(^2.00.)
JVevius, H. S. Co Our Life in China.
Nevius, / L. Methods of Mission Work (same as The

Planting and Development of Missionary Churches). (25

cents ; 15 cents.)
Nevius, / Z. China and the Chinese, especially Chapters

XXI.-XXVIIL (75 cents.)
Nevius, /. L. San-poh.

George Leslie Mackay.

Mackay, G. L. From Far Formosa. (^1.25.)

McDowell, W. F., and others. Effective Workers in Needy

Fields, pages 35-81.
Piersoji, A. T. Miracles of Missions, Second Series, pages

17-42. (^i.oo; paper, 35 cents.)
/ohnston,/. China and Formosa, Chapters IX., XVI., XVII.

(^i-75-)
Campbell, W. Missionary Success in Formosa.

Princely Martyrs.

Ketler, I. C. The Tragedy of Paotingfu. (^2.00.)
Miner, L. China's Book of Martyrs.

Appendix 225

Headland, I. 7. Chinese Heroes.

Broomhall^ M. Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland

Mission. (^$1.50.)
Smithy A. H. China in Convulsion, especially Chapters

XXXII.-XXXVI. (^5.00.)
Miner^ L. Two Heroes of Cathay.

APPENDIX B.

ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP.

Hints as to Organizing the Class,

Presenting One or more persons interested in mission study may
the Plan, bring the matter before the missionary committee of the
organization which would naturally care for the class. If no
such committee exists, the pastor or prominent members of
the organization may be consulted. The class having been
approved of, the plan decided upon may be brought before
the young people's society or other organization caring for
it. A special meeting need not be called, unless experienced
persons can assist in the presentation. Let the plans be
fully stated, and if the work is just being initiated, accom-
pany the statement by some reasons for undertaking the
study. When a new class is being enrolled after a previous
course has been completed, a series of testimonies from
those who have been in that class constitutes a strong argu-
ment for others' joining, and so will a bright resume of the
book just completed.
Enrolling. Having made the plan clear and shown the value of the
work, let the audience know just what is expected of class
members. It is far better to enlist a small number of per-
sons who are in earnest than a larger number, many of whom
will take no interest in the class after the first two or three
lessons. Quality rather than quantity should be sought.
Names should then be taken, — with street addresses in
cities. At least one copy of the text-book to be used should
be at hand that it may be examined, and every one enrolling
should order and pay in advance for a copy, though two or

Appendix 227

more persons in the same family can use a single text-book.
It may be well to take a vote of those enrolled as to the most
convenient day and hour of meeting, if there is any alter-
native date.

If the number enrolled is unexpectedly large, — more than Study
, twenty-five,— and if the variations in age and intellectual Groups.
ability are quite marked, it may be well to discuss the ques-
tion of forming two or more study groups. This will secure
better grading, will accommodate some of the members in
the time for holding the sessions, and above all will make
each individual feel a greater responsibility for preparation
than when large numbers weaken the sense of personal
responsibility. In some cases it has the further advantage
of choice of text -book, as a number are now available, and
individual preferences can thus be satisfied.

The best time and place for meeting should be carefully Time and
considered. Consult local and church conditions and accom- Place.
modate the greatest number. Do not hold a small class in a
large or uninviting room in the church. A private home
centrally located is often the best place for meeting, especially
if it is understood that the hosts are not to furnish even light
refreshments at ordinary sessions of the class.

Hints as to Leadership.

The leader should have read far more widely than the class. Leader's
using some of the material suggested in the Bibliography of Preparation.
Appendix A. He should decide upon the points that need '

most to be emphasized in his particular class ; and, in view of
the material available, he should plan for making special
features of three or four facts or truths. He should also
make out a question plan, with illustrative material introduced
at its proper place, rather than have it massed at the end or '

elsewhere. Any special papers, reports, or readings, must |

also be planned and assigned at least two weeks in advance, \

if their preparation is hkely to require much time. Be sure to ^

indicate by chapter, article title, pages, or paragraphs, the ma-
terial to be used in preparing these. If the persons responsi- ,
ble for these special parts are inexperienced, it may be wise to ■

22 8 Princely Men

indicate briefly the way in which preparation should be
made.

Promptness. In announcing the first session, emphasize the importance
of beginning and closing on time, and then be sure, especially
at the first two or three sessions, to open and close on the
minute. Another aspect of promptness should be aimed at.
Try to secure prompt answers to questions, and be as prompt
in proceeding to the next question or feature. The class should
always be kept thoroughly awake and interested.
Devotional. No study class should be without the devotional element.
Prayer should be always a part of the program, though not ne-
cessarily coming first. Let it be spontaneous and unexpected,
if the nature of the class permits. The devotional spirit
should be cultivated apart from the singing and prayer and
Bible-reading of the hour, with the caution that the sessions
should be entirely free and without any suggestion of the
funereal.

Informality. Aim to keep the class session as informal as possible.
Arrange the seats about a table in a semicircle, or in any other
way that is most horneUke. Do not follow a set order in ques-
tioning; have the class rise to look at pictures on a table near;
do a thousand things that will suggest themselves to make the
hour perfectly natural, and as far removed as possible from
the formality of the schoolroom or Sunday-school class.
Outlines. The leader will find it a great help to make out, for use at
each session, a teaching outline, a sample of which is found in
Appendix C, under Chapter I. It should include an orderly
presentation of the main heads and sub-heads to be used in
the class, and should not only draw upon information in the
text-book, but also upon material in auxiliary books used for
papers, reports, etc. Let this outline be written upon a black-
board or whiteboard, and be constantly referred to during the
class hour.

Questioning. The amount of quizzing done will depend upon the age of
the members and the extent of their preparation. In general,
avoid lecturing as much as possible, and question the class
enough at every session to insure careful preparation of the
lesson and to make the facts remembered. Questions
answered by *' Yes " or *' No," and those whose answers are

Appendix 229

self-evident, are to be sparingly used, if at all. Be sure to j

include some questions that will require thought, comparison, ■ !

etc. Do not forget that much may be gained by encouraging ;

the members to ask questions of the leader. As before sug- I

gested, a question plan, carefully written out in advance, is ',
often a help to the leader.

It is very essential that the studies should be illustrated, either Illustrating. \

by pictures in books, photographs, stereoscopic views, curios, !

and other subjects, or by selections from books or periodicals. j

This latter source of illustration will be most easily used, and j

it should be freely employed at each session. These illustra- i
tions of the text -book will need to be assigned to persons in

advance, and they should be introduced at just the right point. j

Be sure that the persons preparing these parts confine them- j

selves to the time that you assign to them. ;

The leader should aim to make three or four points stand Emphasis. \

out with special clearness at each session. It may be some i

characteristic of the missionary, some feature of his work, j

some phase of the native life or belief, some striking lesson \

taught by the character studied ; but whatever the leader de- 1

cides upon, let those features be made the leading ones of the |

hour. I

It is desirable, for the good of those assisting, as w^ell as a Assistants. ]

reUef for the leader, to call to one's aid as many members of |
the class as possible, though not more than one or two at a

given session. Maps are to be prepared, diagrams or charts ;

made, books secured and examined for material to be used, I

etc., and those who assist the leader in this work are thereby j
made interested members of the firm, so to speak, and better

still, they are prepared for work as leaders in the future. i

The leader should carefully examine the material in Appendix C. \

Appendix C, and urge the members to use the questions there j

found as a test of knowledge gained. These may also be used j

in the class, if desired ; though usually the leader can better |

prepare questions himself, knowing as he does the peculiarities i

and abilities of his class. He will note that topics for special ]

discussion and suggestions as to illustration are entered j

among the questions. The class members will not regard j

these in preparing the lesson. They are inserted in the places j

230 Princely Men

found, in order to indicate the point at which they would
better be introduced. The class should be told that para-
graphs enclosed within parenthetical marks are not to be used
by them in preparation.

No leader should regard these questions and suggestions of
topics for illustration^ discussion, etc., as anything more than
hints, to be freely departed from if thought desirable.

APPENDIX C.

QUESTIONS AND HINTS ON THE
CHAPTERS.

Class members should use these questions to test their
knowledge of the lesson studied. They bring before the
user the main topics of each chapter in consecutive order.
Interspersed among the questions are hints intended for the
leader, rather than for the class as a whole. They are en-
closed within parenthetical marks and may be passed over by
the members. A few of the questions are prefixed by an
asterisk (*) ; as they require more thought than some others
they may also be omitted in class preparation, if the leadei
thinks it desirable.

CHAPTER I.

Robert Morrison,

Teaching Outlined for Leaders.*

I. Christianity's pioneers in China.

1. Nestorians: tablet, 630-781, A.D.

2. First Catholic entrance: John of Monte Corvino,

Peking, 1293.

3. Second Catholic entrance: Ricci, Canton, 1581.

1 This teaching outline is only suggestive, intended as an illustration of
what most teachers will find it wise to follow in all the studies.. The out-
line should cover only the main heads that the leader proposes to bring
before the class, including not only points in the text-book, but material
from outside Hterature consulted in preparing the lesson. This outline
should be placed on a board, and the class should be frequently referred to
it that its facts may be often brought before the eye. If abundant material

232 Princely Men

II. The pioneer in the making.

1. Persons affecting his youth.

(a) Parents, (d) Stevenson, (c) An apprentice
lad.

2. The value of daily toil as a preparative.

3. Educational factors in Morrison's making.

(a) His uncle ; Morrison " an illustrous dunce."
(d) Laidler: Latin, (c) Hoxton Academy:
theology. {d) Gosport : special missionary
work. (e) London: astronomy, medicine,
Chinese.

4. Spiritual preparation.

(a) Godly home. (3) Church work, (c) Books.
{d) Bible study, (e) Prayer meetings, private
devotions.

5. Testing of the pioneer,

(a) Study and work. (3) Father's needs and
request, {c) His fiancee, {d) Chinese tutor
and study.

III. Obstacles confronting the pioneer in China.

1. Well-founded prejudice against foreigners.

2. Territorial limitations.

3. Espionage of Chinese.

4. Inability to freely study language.

5. Laws against Christianity and public preaching.

6. Hostility of other foreigners.

7. Financial limitations at first.

IV. The pioneer at work.

1. Studying the language.

2. Collecting literary apparatus.

3. Secular work for the East India Company.

4. Dictionary-making.

5. Bible-translation and religious literature.

6. Religious teaching.

7. Work for Occidentals in China.

is available and the class is givfn to discussion, this outline will be found
too long for a single hour. The teacher will find it convenient to mark
some of the items of the outlines that can best be omitted, if time does not
permit of taking up all of them.

Appendix 233

8. Work for Chinese and Malays outside China,

9. Unifying the missionary forces.

10. Work for interior China, Korea, and Japan.
V. The pioneer's influence in the Occident.

1. In America.

2. In Great Britain.

3. On the Continent.

4. Upon the Christian Church.

VI. Morrison's life an illustration of Providence in mis-
sions (a special paper).

Questions and Hints.

1. Name some of the events and persons connected v^^ith

Northumberland.

2. What factors entered into Morrison's spiritual prepara-

tion ?

3. In what ways was Latin helpful to him ?

4. State the considerations which led him to become a

missionary.
(Discuss Morrison's attitude toward his father's request

to remain at home instead of going as a missionary.)
(HJve some one read the paragraph beginning on line 6

of "page 31 in Townsend's •' Robert Morrison.")

5. * Give further reasons why the East India Company de-

clined to encourage missionary work.

6. What facts mark Morrison's visit to America ?

7. Give an account of the situation which confronted Mor-

rison on his arrival in Canton.

8. How did he meet these obstacles ?

9. Describe Canton as it appeared in that day. (A sketch

map of the city may be placed on the board, using for
it the map found under the article "Canton" in the
" Encyclopedia Britannica," Ninth Edition.)

10. Give an account of the " Factories."

11. Morrison's mode of Uving during his first months.

12. What was his program as laid down by the Society >

13. Tell something about his first two teachers.

(Have a five-minute paper prepared on the Chinese char-
acters, using the material found in the " Encyclopedia

234 Princely Men

Britannica," Ninth Edition, article " China," the section
on language).

14. "What anxieties were felt by him during the early months

in China?

15. Describe the religious work which was done.

16. Who was the first Protestant convert? Give an account

of him and the date of his conversion.

17. * What idea of the character of Morrison's instructions do

you derive from page 28 of the text -boo!

18. Give an account of his acquaintance with Miss Morton

and of their marriage.

19. * What were the advantages and disadvantages of Morri-

son's connection with the East India Company ?

20. The date of the publication of his dictionary and some

idea of its character,
ii^ 21. What is said of Chinese education under the character
"Heo"?

22. Who translated the Bible into Chinese? Which of the

versions was the earlier ? Which the better ?

23. Mention other literary works of Morrison.

24. Name Morrison's only colleague, and give some account

of his early life.
(Call for a five-minute report on the Anglo-Chinese Col-
lege, using Chapter VI. of Townsend's life of Mor-
rison, or the fuller life by his wife.)

25. Name some of the other ways in which Morrison labored

for the cause in China and southeastern Asia.

26. What did he do for medical missions?

27. His only extended journey in China.

28. How did his work benefit other parts of eastern Asia?

29. Mention the leading events in his only furlough.

30. Give the story of his last illness and death.

31. What does Dr. Williams say of his life and work ?

32. * What quahties for success as a pioneer did Morrison

possess ?

33. Name the three or four points in the chapter which have

most strongly impressed you.
(Present a brief resume of those facts in Morrison's life
which clearly show the hand of God.)

Appendix 235

CHAPTER II.
John Kenneth Mackenzie.

1. Where was Mackenzie bom, and where brought up?

Name some events connected with Bristol.

2. What did heredity do for the future missionary ?

3. The date and cause of his conversion ?

4 * In what respects is the Christian Association an excellent
training-school for any missionary ?

5. In what ways did Mackenzie fit himself for future spirit-

ual work ?

6. What led him to decide for the foreign missionary field ?

7. What striking event illustrates his estimate of the power

of prayer ?

8. Where did he study medicine, and what degrees did he

obtain ?

9. The spiritual impulses of the last days in England.

10. Who had pioneered in China as medical men before

Mackenzie ?

11. What does Dr. Mackenzie say of Chinese practitioners?

12. Describe the professional visit of a Chinese physician.

13. Tell of some of the prevalent mtdical superstitions.
(Introduce a paper on Chinese medicine, giving additional

facts not found in the book, and mentioning some of
the good points in their work. Wilhams's "Middle
Kingdom" and Lowe's " Medical Missions " will furnish
material.)

14. Give the name of Mackenzie's first station and his use of

the first Sunday there.

15. Whom and what did the doctor make it his business to

study ?

16. Chapel preaching as done by Griffith John.

17. Describe the adventure in the Hiau-kan district.

18. How was he spiritually prepared for his Tientsin work at

Hankow ?

19. Mackenzie's engagement and marriage.

20. Why was he transferred, and to what place =" Describe

it briefly.

2^6 Princely Men

21. Give an account of the causes leading to the Viceroy's

indorsement of medical missions.
22.* Why was this indorsement an important factor in the

history of medical missions in China ?

23. Describe the Viceroy's hospital. (Ask some one in

advance to be prepared to place on the board a plan of
it, making the sketch from the information on pages 64
and 65 of the text-book.)

24. How did the doctor spend his day and how his week ?

(This time-table may be made more impressive if written
out on the board by hours and days, each item being
on a line by itself in tabular form.)

25. What are the main points of Mackenzie's pen-picture of

his hospital work, both on its professional and its spirit-
ual side ?

26. His plans for preparing his assistants for spiritual work.

27. Tell of the Medical School and its graduates.

28. Family trials and their influence upon him.

29. What friends were most helpful to him, and how ?

30. His favorite books.

(Let pages 361 and 362 of Mrs. Bryson's " John Kenneth

Mackenzie " be read to the class, and the leading facts

of his death and funeral be added from pages 365-371

of the same volume.)
31.* In what respects are medical missionaries, if thoroughly

Christian, able to do a better work than preaching

missionaries ?
32.* What disadvantages do they labor under ?
2;^. What hints from Mackenzie's youth can be gathered for

our own Christian living ?
34.* State the characteristic in his life which in your opinion

accounts for most of his success.

CHAPTER III.
James Gilmour.'

1. What traits of his parents and ancestors appear in Gil-

mour's work ?

2. Mention home influences helpful later.

Appendix 237

3. Characteristics of Gilmour as a schoolboy.

4. Testimony of a college friend as to Gilmour, the student.

5. State the argument which led him to become a missionary.

6. How did he prepare himself by missionary work at home ?
(Have a brief statement prepared concerning Mrs. Swan

and the first Mongol mission, using pages 46, 283, and
284 of Lovett's " James Gilmour of Mongolia.")

7. Describe the cause of anxiety of Gilmour upon his

arrival at Peking. (A two-minute report of the
massacre may be made up from Williams's " Mid-
dle Kingdom." Consult index, as editions vary.)

8. * How far are we wrong in our own relation to the senti-

ment of page 86 of the text-book, lines 6 to 1 1 ?

9. Describe the scene that greets the traveler just as he

enters upon the plateau.

10. What were the dimensions of the old realm of the

Khans ?

11. Mention the facts concerning Gilmour's language study.

12. The character of the Lamas.

13. That of the blackmen or laity.

14. How does a Mongol exhibit his religion away from

home ?

15. How is it seen in the home ?

(Have a five-minute paper on Lamaism as seen in
Mongolia, using Chapter XVIII. of Gilmour's
" Among the Mongols," or encyclopaedia articles on
MongoUa.)

16. Tell the story of Boyinto. (Read part of pages 162

and 163 of Lovett's "James Gilmour of Mongolia,"
in order to give further facts.)

17. Gilmour's summary of his one romance.

18. Describe the home of the Gilmours in Mongolia and

relate some of their experiences.

19. Tell of his Mongol hunts in Peking.

20. Incidents marking his home furloughs.

21. What facts illustrate his deep affection for his family?

(Have some one read the letter in Lovett's *' James
Gilmour and His Boys," pages 151 to 155. Show
ih.e facsimile to the class.)

238 Princely Men

22. How did his work among the agricultural Mongols dif-

fer from that on the grass-land ?

23. How extensive was his practice as reported on page

1 01 ?

24. What facts show the need of medical work there ?

(Read to the class the paragraphs on pages 93 and 94
of Lovett's "James Gilmour of Mongolia" in justifi-
cation of his lay medical workj

25. Describe the closing days of his life.

26. Give an account of the funeral.

(Read extracts from Gilmour's letter on total absti-
nence, found on pages 191 and 192 of Lovett's life
of him, and discuss the question of the correctness of
his position in missionary work.)

27. In what respects does his life seem to have been a

failure ?

28. In what particulars was it a pronounced success ?

29. * What answer has the future life to give concerning the

apparent f ruitlessness of Gilmour's efforts ?

30. * Name two or three lessons that mission boards might

learn from Gilmo,ur's life.

31. What single fact or characteristic in this study has most

impressed you?

CHAPTER IV.

John Livingston Nevius.

1. How was an early Dutch ancestor of Nevius connected

with New York ?

2. Incidents of his boyhood.

3. Where was he educated ?

4. What was the most important fact connected with his

experience in the South ?

5. * In what respects is teaching a help in the preparation of

every missionaiy ?

6. Characteristics appearing in Nevius's seminary life.

7. Give the reasons leading him to go as a missionary.

8. Incidents in the Neviuses' bridal trip to China.

Appendix 239

9. In what city was he first stationed ? Mention some of

the facts that marked his early years there.
ID. What is said of the church in the prison ?

11. What proverb shows the Chinese estimation of his sec-

ond station ?

12. His early success there and its causes.

1 3. Circumstances connected with leaving Hang-chow.

14. Give some account of his brief service in Japan.

1 5. * What province and what two cities were the scene of

the most fruitful years of Nevius's missionary life ?

16. State the leading facts concerning the T'ai P'ing Rebel-

lion.
17.* What might have been the present religious condition
of China had the Rebellion not been subdued by the
aid of foreigners ?

18. Dr. Nevius's account of the rebels near Teng-chow Fu?

19. What are the main points of difference between the

Nevius plan and ordinary methods of missionary
work?

20. Describe Nevius's touring outfit.

21. Describe a street-preaching scene.

22. How was the work conducted at a new station ?

23. How were leaders trained ?

(Introduce here the main points of his letter concern-
ing the theological training of the native church lead-
ers, as found on pages 231 to 239 of Mrs. Nevius's
" John Livingston Nevius." )

24. How were stations to be increased through ordinary

means ?

25. State the objections to the use of foreign money.

* How could some of these objections be removed in the

old system?
What criticisms of his method are mentioned ?
How did his plan prove its value, and where ?
Describe the famine of 1878 and his relief work.
How did both natives and foreigners show their esteem

for Dr. Nevius ?
What were his chief literary works ?
Describe his home life.

240 Princely Men

33. Give an account of his closing days and of the funeral.

34. * What points in the Nevius scheme of missions most

commend themselves to you, and why ?

35. The chief lesson of his life for you.

CHAPTER V.
George Leslie Mackay,

1. To what country does Formosa now belong? Why,

then, include Mackay's life in this volume ?

2. State some facts concerning his ancestry.

3. * What points in his eulogy are most important from the

missionary viewpoint ?

4. * Would you take exception to any of Mackay's state-

ments in this eulogy ?

5. What led him to decide for missions in his boyhood ?

6. What man in Scotland most impressed himself on

Mackay? (Give some further facts concerning this
famous India missionary, using the " Encyclopaedia of
Missions " and general encyclopaedias for material.)

7. What psalm was especially helpful to Mackay on his

voyage out and later ? (Read two or three of the
most striking verses to the class.)

8. On what date did he preach his first sermon in Formosa ?

9. Describe Formosa and its chmate.

10. Mention some of the points of interest concerning

Tamsui.

11. What was Mackay's purpose as he entered on his work ?

(Give some of the salient facts in the work of previous
missionaries in Formosa, using " Effective Workers in
Needy Fields," pages 48 to 51, or the "Encyclopaedia
of Missions." )

12. Describe his first home in Formosa.

13. Who were his early language teachers ?

14.* Comparing what has been said of language study in the
book thus far, what plan of study most commends
itself ?

1 5. Tell the story of Mackay's first convert.

Appendix 241

16. How was he trained ?

17.* To what extent is a love of the beautiful a product of
Christianity ?

18. Describe the steps in the painter's conversion.

19. Who was the tirst woman convert ? What was the

result of her conversion?

20. Early chapel preaching experiences.

21. Tell how the Gibraltar of Formosan heathenism was

captured.

22. Describe the triumphal procession of 1893.

23. The causes and consequences of the French invasion.

24. What of Mackay, the itinerant ?

25. Give the main facts of his Christmas evening among the

savages.

26. How do the head-hunters celebrate their captures ?

(Let a brief report be made concerning the head-
hunters, giving a partial justification of their cruelty.
Chapter XXVIII. of Mackay's " From Far Formosa"
gives details.)
27.* Show the essential unity of Mackay's plan and that of
Jesus, in his " peripatetic university."

28. Give the main facts concerning Oxford College and the

Girls' School. (Add points concerning them from
pages 294-296 of " From Far Formosa.")

29. Describe Mackay's work as doctor and dentist.

(Have a class member read from page 314, bottom, to
316, middle, in " From Far Formosa.")

30. What of his family ?

31.* What further arguments, /r^ and con, can be given for
Mackay's course in marrying a Chinese lady?

32. What Canadians aided him in his Formosan work, and
to what extent ?

■^T^. The effect of his visits to Canada.

34, Describe his last days.

35.* In what respects does Mackay surpass the other mis-
sionaries named in this book ?

36.* How do you account for a seeming superiority ?

(Have a five-minute paper prepared, showing the hero-
ism and holy boldness of Mackay.)

242 Princely Men

CHAPTER VI.

Princely Martyrs.

(Let the session begin with the reading in concert of the
first two sections of page 185, and after the work has
been gone over, let the class read the last section of
the same page.)

I. Name some of the causes which led to the Boxer Upris-
ing.

2.* What parallelisms do you see between this uprising and
the action of our forefathers in the Revolution ?

3. To what extent were missionaries the cause of the

troubles ?

4. In what provinces were the missionaries martyred in

1900 ? (It would make this information more vivid, if
the members should write in on the text-book map the
number of those massacred in each province.)

5. Who were the responsible, and who the immediate, agents

in these atrocities ?

6. Mention two or three of the points made in the Boxer

placard.

(Have a resume of the article on the evolution of a
Boxer read. An excellent source of information is
The Missionary Review of the World, February, 1902,
pages 126-128.)

7. State some of the facts concerning the T'ai-yiian Fu

massacres.

8. What most affected you in the paragraphs on " Living

Martyrdoms " ?

9. To what extent did the love of Jesus influence even chil-

dren at this time ?

10. How did women school-teachers show their Christian

heroism ?

11. Would American students be likely to endure martyrdom

more bravely than the Chinese students spoken of .?

12. What one feature in the martyrdoms of Li Shu-chih,

Wang, Liu, and Mrs. Wu most moved you?

Appendix 243

13. Give the story of the heroic descendant of Mencius, in-

cluding the funeral honors paid him.

14. Tell of the Presbyterian holocaust.

15. What of Pitkin and his women associates?

16. His last night and the message sent to his little son.

17. The death of Misses Morrill and Gould.

18. What were the results of these many martyrdoms ?

19. In what did the real victory of the martyrs consist ?

20. In what respects do these heroes of the faith challenge ufi ?

21. What lessons does this chapter teach us?

A Backward Glance.

Either as part of the above session, or as a feature of the
meeting at which the next course of study is exploited, a brief
review of the book may be provided for. It should include
some of the points which were made special features at each
study, together with some new material. The following are
merely suggested topics which may or may not be useful.

I. Robert Morrison, a pioneer in chains.

1. Mastering a most difficult tongue.

2. The dictionary-maker.

3. Giving the Bible to one-fourth the race.

4. The hand of God revealing itself through the

pioneer.
II. John Kenneth Mackenzie, an epoch-maker in medi-
cal missions.

1. China's need of Western medicine.

2. Prayer, the key of Mackenzie's life and of his

success.

3. The power of a Christlike life when combined

with healing power.

III. James Gilmour, who trod the winepress alone.

1. A Mongolian picture-gallery.

(a) Dangers threatening Gilmour. (d) Heroism
of his life, (c) Its lessons.

2. The life of loneliness and its inward supports.

IV. John Livingston Nevius, an upbuilder of the native

Church.

244 Princely Men

1. What he did through books.

2. The itinerant at work.

3. The organizer of Chinese church Hfe.

4. What would you do with the same problems?
V. George LesHe Mackay, and the training of his disci-
ples.

1. A savage environment.

2. Pictures of his disciples.

3. The educator and trainer of Formosans.
VI. Martyrdoms and victories.

1. Rationale of the Uprising.

2. Missionary martyrs.

3. Native witnesses.

4. Victories through death.

VII. What these studies have done for me.

1. In the way of imparting interesting information.

2. In evidencing the truth and power of Christian-

ity.

3. In suggesting ways of working here at home.

4. In inspiring me to follow the example of these

imitators of Christ.

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Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Library

1 1012 01085 1782

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