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JOHN INNOCENT
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JOHN INNOCENT:
A STORY OF MISSION WORK
IN NORTH CHINA.
By
&/ T. CANDLIN.
IConion:
THE UNITED METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE.
13 Farringdon Avenue, E.C.


W7
.15*
CP2
The Magnet Press
Peckham,
S.E.


CONTENTS.
FOREWORD.
Value of life lies in achievement; With very eminent may be
otherwise, xi. For ordinary Biography this the test; John
Innocent full right to remembrance, xii. His story the story of
the Mission; Chief among its makers, xiii. One of the first two
to arrive on field; Work he did permanent in its effects, xiv.
PART I.
From Birth to the Commencement of Missionary Work in
Tientsin, 1829 to 1861.
CHAPTER I.
Birth and Early Life.
Birth; Hall born; New Connexion family; Grandfather a
cutler; Grandmother pious, 1. Uncle William N.C. minister;
Parents attended Allen Street Sunday School; 1845, Member at
Scotland Street; Education meagre, 2. Thirst for knowledge;
Conversion; P. T. Gilton; Night class study of Latin, 3.
Dream, 5. Teacher and tract distributor; Began to preach at
nineteen, 6. Grandparents' home; Remarkable grandmother, 7.
Met John Addyman, 8. General effect of youthful influences, 9.
CHAPTER II.
Apprenticeship in the English Ministry.
Apprenticeship in West considered desirable for business men
in the East; M.N.C. has acted on this principle, 10. First Mis-
sionary taken from home ranks; Innocent at twenty-one minister
at Stockport; Supply for Hall; 1851, Supply Burslem Circuit;
1852, Accepted as probationer; North Shields; Newcastle Dis-
trict, 11. Met Miss Tate, 12. Sent to Stockport; Mr. Ephraim
Hallam; Bilston Circuit—seriously ill; 1855, Went to Jersey, 13.
1856, Married at North Shields; Went to Jersey; Sent to Truro,
14. Experience of English ministry useful in Missionary life, 15.
CHAPTER HI.
The Call.
1859, Manchester Conference; Large Connexional increase j
Prosperous condition of Connexion; New Mission to China pro-
posed, 16. Treaty of peace with China signed by Lord Elgin
year before; John Angell James's Appeal; Interest of Conference
iii.


in Missions, 17. Mission to China not universally approved;
Resolution carried in the Conference; Missionary Committee en-
thusiastic; Previous discussions in the Church; Foreign Mission
decided on, 18. "God's Voice from China"; Opening of ports;
Other Missionary Societies active; China appears on list of
Stations, 1859 — "John Innocent and Another," 20. Hall's
appointment; His enthusiasm; Medical certificate, 21. Ways and
means; j£l,000 promised at Conference; Other funds forth-
coming, 22. Call to go to China; 'Favourable consideration,"
23. Accepted, 24. Greatness of the call to the Missionary
life, 25.
CHAPTER IV.
The Choice of the Field.
Chinese Empire; Geographical area larger than that of
Europe, 28. Fine climate; Rich in products, 29. Dense popu-
lation, 30. Characteristics of people, 31. China the country of
great non-Christian religions, 32. Conquest of great religions by
conciliation, not mere antagonism, 34.
CHAPTER V.
The Passage Out.
The passage out; Preparation; Leave-taking, 36. Valedictory,
Woodhouse Lane; Getting on board, 37. Length of passage;
Feelings at departure, 38. Accommodation, 39. Taking bath;
Stormy weather; Jonahs aboard; Landed at Portsmouth; Return
of Mrs. Hall and child, 40. And Mr. Innocent's son; List of
Passengers; Sea-sickness, 41. Flight of albatross; Pelew
Islanders; The baby, 42. Fishing smacks; Sight mainland of
China; Land at Shanghai; Welcome, 43. Rest, 44.
CHAPTER VI.
The Year at Shanghai. A Serious Change of Purpose.
Disturbed state on arrival; Allies in Pekin; New Treaty, 45.
Repulse at Taku Forts; American Envoy refused audience, 46.
Friendships formed in Shanghai; Wylie and Bible Society work,
47. Visit to Suchow; Threatened by rebels, 49. Two subse-
quent visits; Cause of Tai-ping insurrection, 51. Dangerously
ill, 52. Sent to Chefoo, 53. Return; Mrs. Innocent's joy, 55.
Determination to go North, 56. Mr. Hall reluctant, 57.
Innocent firm; His reasons, 59. Arrival at Tientsin; Suchow
occupied by Methodist Episcopal Mission, 60. Table showing
the date of foundation of the principal Protestant Missions in
China, with place where begun, 61.
It.


Contents
PART II.
From the Commencement of Missionary Work in Tientsin to
the Death of Mr. Hall, 1861 to 1878.
CHAPTER VII.
The Citv of Tientsin.
The "Heavenly fords"; Situated at junction of many streams;
Size of city, 62. Suburbs; Rampart; Electric trams, 63. Settle-
ments; Trade of port; population; Important official centre; Li
Hung Chang; Yuan Shih Kai, 64. Tientsin a modern city;
Ta Chih Ku and Hsiao Chih Ku; Destined to be great railway
centre, 65. Trunk line to Europe of future; Progressive city, 66.
Education; Newspapers; Leads Empire politically, 67. Choice
as Mission centre a wise choice, 68.
CHAPTER VIII.
At Tientsin. A Peep into the Domesticities of a
Missionary.
Dr. Blodget in Tientsin; His removal to Pekin, 69. April 6th;
Letter to Mrs. Innocent, 70. Words of comfort; Desires Mrs.
Innocent to join him; Choosing a house, 71. Preaching to
English soldiers; Cost of servants and provisions; Washing bill,
73. Dust storms; Summer heat; Fur garments, 75. Mr. Inno-
cent's affectionate nature; Skilful comforter, 77. Early riser;
List of residents, 78. Mrs. Innocent's arrival; Extract from
Mrs. Edkin's "Chinese Scenes and People," 79.
CHAPTER IX.
First Beginnings. The Early Years from 1861 to 1866.
Singing hymns in Mr. Blodget's church; Walks and talks, 81.
Founds a Boys' School, 83. Mr. Hall arrives, 85. Annie Inno-
cent born; Mrs. Hall arrives; Mrs. Hall's death, 88. Hu Ngen
Ti joins Mission, 89. Hu as a preacher, 90. Effect of preach-
ing on Tientsin people, 91. Girls' School opened, 94. Drum
Tower North Chapel, 95. First ten converts, 96. Arrival of Mr.
Stanley, 97. Lord's Supper first administered in Tientsin, 98.
Personal interest in members, 99. Excellence of first converts,
100. Tientsin Church firmly established, 102.
CHAPTER X.
The Study of the Language.
Study of Chinese a life-long task, 103. Literary language, 104.
Ideographic and monosyllabic, 105. Abounds in homophones,
106. Unique principle of agglutination, 108. Great difference


Contents
between Classic language and dialects, 109. Application, 111.
His simplicity and clearnness of speech, 114. Teacher Ting, 115.
CHAPTER XI.
The Founding of an English Church.
Union Church, Tientsin, 117. Its erection, 118. Opened, 119.
Tablets to Hall and Williamson, 120. Rapid growth from 1890
to 1900, 122. Innocent one of its most acceptable preachers;
appointed pastor, 123.
CHAPTER XII.
Exploring and Evangelistic Tours.
Northern China little known, 124. Great names of China
belong North; Travelling, 126. Evangelizing en route, 127.
Tact in addressing crowd, 128. List of tours, 129. Great Wall,
130. Lama Miao, 131.
CHAPTER XIII.
The Call to Lao Ling.
Story of the Dreamer, 134. Steps taken by Hall; First visits
of Hu, Hall and Innocent to Lao Ling, 135. Remarkable awaken-
ing, 136. Aspect of country; Chu Chia village; Chinese method
of naming, 138. Mr. Innocent's second visit, 141. True value
of movement, 142.
CHAPTER XIV.
Occupying the New Field. Persecution,
Bereavement and Peril.
Hodge and Thompson arrive, 145. Attempt at country resi-
dence; Growing success, 146. Assault on colporteur, 147. Loss
of infant son, 148. Many stations opened; The Nien Fei rebels,
150. Exciting adventures; In rebel hands, 151. Arrival of
Turnock, 154. Hodge takes charge of Lao Ling, 155.
CHAPTER XV.
On Furlough.
In England, 1869 to 1871; Furlough a busy rest, 156. Pleasure
at meeting old friends, 157. Deputation work, 158. Innocent as
advocate for Missions, 159. Letter to Dr. Stacey on return to
China, 160.
CHAPTER XVI.
Tientsin Church in Tribulation. Before and After the
Massacre.
Tientsin Church prosperous; Rung Pei Chapel opened, 162.
Wang Yi Hua, 165. Hodge and Williamson attacked, 168.
Ti.


Contents
Williamson killed, 169. Tientsin Massacre, 170. Description of
scene, 171. General alarm, 174. Innocent's return to China;
Floods in Tientsin, 175. Hall goes on furlough, 177. A dan-
gerous placard, 178.
CHAPTER XVII.
Founding the Training Institution.
Ideal of Foreign Missionary work, 181. Beginning of Training
Institution; Hall placed in charge, 183. Number of students in
various years, 184. Funds begged by Hall, 185. Innocent's
interest in work, 187. Chang Chih San tutor for forty-two
years, 188. Proposal from Methodist Episcopal Mission, 190.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Famine Scenes and Death of Mr. Hall.
Attempt to enter Ching Hai; Yang Hsin work opens, 191. Sun
Tzu Ch'un, 192. The Great Famine, 193. Hodge's health
broken, 194. Hall's death, 195. Interment; Text of Cenotaph
in Union Church, 196. Hodge's return and death, 197. Table
showing the Statistical Returns of the Mission at intervals of
five years, 198.
PART m.
From the Commencement of Residence in the Interior to
the Death of Mr. Innocent, 1878 to 1904.
CHAPTER XIX.
Residence in Interior and Founding of Medical
Missions.
Situation after the death of Mr. Hall; Arrival of Messrs.
Robinson, Stenhouse, Candlin, Hinds, 199. Medical work opened
at Chu Chia, 302. Dispensary burnt down; Formation of
Hospital Committee, 204. Ordination of Mr. Hu, 206. His
death; Chan Hua handed over to us, 207. Taku; Hsing Chi,
209. Death of Shen Chih Fu, 210.
CHAPTER XX.
Establishment of Girls' School and Women's Work.
Mr. Innocent Bereaved of his Eldest Daughter.
The women of China, 211. Annie Innocent's offer, 214. Her
sudden death, 217. Mrs. Innocent raises funds for Girls'
School; School built; Miss Waller appointed, 219. Noted women
—Mrs. Hu, 220.


CHAPTER XXI.
Opening of Northern Circuits, Tangshan and
Yung P'ing.
Different principles that govern the method of opening stations,
222. Tangshan a deliberately-selected field; Invitation to go to
Peking, 224. Innocent and Hinds visit Tangshan, 225. Hinds
first to reside, 227. Yung P'ing, 229. Tangshan and Yung P'ing
membership, 231.
CHAPTER XXIL
Mr. Innocent's Son Appointed as a Missionary. The
Father's Residence in Shantung, and George
Innocent's Untimely Death.
George Innocent comes to Tientsin, 232. His history and
characteristics, 233. The "myriad-name robe"; Floods and
famine, 235. George goes on furlough; Father to Lao Ling;
Dr. Shrubshall, 237. Revision of register, 238. George in
England, 239. Death aboard ship and burial at Hong-Kong, 240.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Later Years of Service and Final Return to England.
Appointed to Training Institution; Dr. F. W. Marshall and
Rev. J. K. Robson arrive, 242. Jones and Hedley arrive, 243.
Chang Hsao Hstten, 244. Robinson ill, 245. Re-organization.
First appointment of Financial Secretary, 248. Theological Com-
mittee formed, 249. Mission Provident Society; Code of Rules,
250. Mr. Innocent's attitude, 252. Bible Society work, 253.
Temperance work; War with Japan, 254. Holds enlarged
District Meeting and departs for home, 257.
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Great Boxer Uprising.
Magnitude of the disturbance, 258. Causes, 259. The Boxer
Society, 260. Begins serious operations, 262. Norman and
Robinson killed, 264. Peking Legations and Tientsin besieged,
265. Hair-breadth escapes in the interior, 267. List of per-
sons massacred on the Mission, 268. Missionary martyrs, 272.
List, 273. Destruction of property; What Li Fu passed through,
277. Monument in Shanghai; Outcome, 280.
CHAPTER XXV.
Retirement.
Elected President, 284. Lives at Nottingham, 285. The
labourer's seven years' rest; Hallowed old age, 287. Last sick-
ness and death, 288. Personal characteristics, 291. Testimonies,
295. Conclusion, 304.
vU.


ILLUSTRATIONS.
John Innocent Frontispiece
Facing Page
Mrs. Innocent 14
Tientsin: Junk Sailing 30
Tientsin: Palace North Street 42
River Pei-ho, Tientsin 66
A Tea Booth in Tientsin 66
Tientsin: Chinese Junks 74
Tientsin: Old Clothes Street 82
Tientsin: Park on British Concession, with Town Hall in
the Background 92
G. T. Candlin 106
The Old Union Church, Tientsin 118
The New Union Church, Tientsin 122
Gateway of Chu Chia Village, Shantung 134
Chapel, Schools, and Hospital, Chu Chia .... 142
Chu Chia Chapel 156
Taku Road, Tientsin 168
The First Training Institute, Tientsin 184
William Nelthorpe Hall 196
Miss Annie Edkins Innocent 214
Tientsin: Side View of City Corner Chapel . . . 224
George M. H. Innocent 234
New Chapel: Tientsin 244
North China Missionaries (M.N.C.) and their Families,
Tientsin, 1894 256
City Corner Chapel, Tientsin: Opening Service . . . 282
Dr. W. W. Shrubshall 290


PREFACE.
This volume should have appeared at least two years
earlier. But the exigencies of mission work have persistently
blocked the way, and while the author is alone responsible for
the delay, he cannot say that he feels much to blame. He
has often reproached himself for his slow progress, but there
was no help for it. The exceptionally heavy duties laid upon
him during the past four years must be his justification.
Considering the circumstances under which it has been written,
the wonder to himself is that it has been produced at all.
Mission work must be first done before it can be described,
and on a mission which, so far as English agents are con-
cerned, is under-staffed, an added duty like that involved in
the preparation of this memoir becomes very onerous.
This must also be an excuse for many imperfections. No
one is more conscious of them than the author. In some
places, notwithstanding the effort to prevent it, repetitions have
crept in, and in regard to many things his information has
not been adequate.
The earlier part of the story of the mission has been
told at considerably greater length than the latter. This may
to some minds suggest a sense of disproportion. The object
aimed at was to give, if possible, all the information avail-
able of the earlier years, as the knowledge of them is fast
fading away, and any disproportion that may arise may be
trusted to later writers to redress.
It is known to many persons that the Leeds Conference
of 1891 requested Mr. Innocent himself to prepare a history
of the mission. The book never appeared, although he had
done a considerable amount of work in its preparation. His
manuscript, as well as the papers which he used as sources,
have been available for compiling the present Life, and have
been freely drawn upon. It has been an endeavour, while
telling Mr. Innocent's life story, to supply the place, as far
as possible, of tfie missing volume.
If this work helps to increase the knowledge of the North
China Mission among the members of the United Methodist
Church the writer's toil will be well repaid.
Tientsin, December 8th, 1908.
x.


FOREWORD.
THE value of a life lies in its achievement. This may
not always be true, but it is true of the great majority
of human lives. They are to be judged by the "deeds
done in the body." Of the very distinguished few
whose names belong to history, remarkable qualities of
mind, singular and eventful incidents, or the strange
workings of passion, whether for good or evil, irrespec-
tive of any contribution to human welfare, may be
deemed worthy of record. Their story may even de-
rive its chief value from what they seemed eminently
fitted, but utterly failed, to achieve. They may be
fruitless flowers on the tree of life, admonitory alike
by their beauty and their barrenness. But such is the
claim of the very rarest natures only.
If Biography were confined to these, it would be
poor indeed, and the story of many thousands of
simpler lives, with the manifold useful lessons to be
drawn from them would be untold. On the contrary
it is the chief function of Biography to mediate for
us between the few celebrated and famous among the
sons of men, the merest accidents of whose career are
interesting to us, and the countless millions whose just
end is to be unremembered, by retaining in our recol-
lection the memory of all those by whose lives any
considerable result has been accomplished, any real,
though it may be very modest, part in the sum total
of the world's work secured. Every epitaph asserts
the naturalness of the instinct to perpetuate the memory
of even the simplest and least significant of lives, and
xii.


Foreword
few have passed the usual span without leaving behind
loving and faithful hearts whose desire to preserve and
publish their story could not be satisfied with less than
a moderate-sized volume. Go we all must, indeed, when
the dread summoner summons; but usually there is
"the love that will not let us go," without painfully
scanning for what may justify our survival in "weak,
human memory" for a generation beyond our own.
Who shall decide how far fond affection shall be in-
dulged? By what intelligible principle are we to de-
termine what are the lives justly entitled to a partial
immortality, and what are the lives whose wisest and
kindest treatment is forgetfulness?
The value of a life lies in its achievement. "Some-
thing accomplished, something done," constitutes an
indefeasible title to a place in the big, biographical
book of life. Where no notable result appears* the
funeral oration, with its gracious law of "nil nisi
bonum," should be allowed to prevail. But he who
leaves behind the enduring impress of his life in a
monument of work accomplished has full right to be
enshrined in the pages of biography.
Judged by this test John Innocent has "a perfect
certificate." His right to a place in the voluminous
annals of the Christian Church is full and undeniable.
The world at large may not know, and may not care
to know, his story, but the "Acts of the Apostles" is
not complete without it. Especially has he a peculiarly
sacred claim to a lasting place in the love and rever-
ence of the Church to which all his life, a long life of
unselfish, persevering labour, was given. His claim
to fame (fame amongst us at least) rests on this ground
solely, but rests here in perfect security. It is that of
the worker living in his work. He was one of our
xiii.


Foreword
makers. Now that his bodily presence is withdrawn,
what he has made remains, and he, in a very real sense,
remains with it, and in it. Its story cannot be told
without him. The worker and his work are one in
God. We have no more right to forget him than to
abandon the work he commenced and founded. Both
have to be continued.
This, also, must be the justification for the form
which this work assumes. It is deliberately intended
as a sketch of the life of a missionary, indeed, but also
of the story of the mission, his mission. The best
tribute of affection will be grateful remembrance of
the work done. If, at times, we seem to be paying
more attention to the work than to the man, let our
readers remember that he himself would have it so,
that this is the best way to tell his story. A clear con-
ception of his life's work will be his most faithful
portrait. He would desire no other. Let us not desire
any other.
John Innocent, more than any other man, has been
the builder up of our North China Mission. He was
identified with it for a much longer period than any
one else. John Innocent was first to volunteer for
service in China He had long wished to be a mission-
ary, and had made an offer to go to Australia, which
was not accepted. As early as 1858, while in Halifax,
his thoughts turned to China. He was first appointed
with one to be sent. Mr. Hall then volunteered. Mr.
Hall and he were associated with the mission equally
from the beginning. They left the shores of England
together, arrived in China together, and when, in 1878,
his colleague was taken away, all the work which they
had done together was left on his hands. At that
stage, such workers as had joined them had been taken
iiv.


Foreword
away. One only remained, and he had but just arrived.
His work continued for twenty years longer. To the
day of his death, though far from the field, the mission
was his chief interest
.
John Innocent was the first to arrive on the field we
have permanently occupied. He was chiefly responsible
for the choice of that field. He had the largest hand
in shaping the policy of the mission. It bears the
stamp of his mind. Of those no longer with us, his
name is oftenest referred to by our preachers and mem-
bers. "It was Pastor Innocent who made the Shantung
mission stations," was the emphatic and reiterated as-
sertion of one of our members who was in rebellion
against authority at one time, and though, at the
moment, little notice was taken of the remark, its es-
sential truth has been felt many a time since. It is
therefore just to associate the work and growth of the
North China Mission, in a specially intimate manner,
with the Life of John Innocent.
The value of his life lies in its achievement. The
"passing" of the worker does not mean the passing of
his work. The ancient, pious prayer, "Establish Thou
the work of our hands upon us, yea the work of our
hands establish Thou it," follows immediately on the
heels of the most searching, the most solemn review of
the fugitiveness, the transitoriness of human life which
genius, in its most sublime moment, ever penned. Over
the far tracts of time the only survivors are the workers
living in their work, "surviving, they alone survive,
peopling, they alone, the unmeasured solitudes of time."
In the words of steadfast comfort, which ring out
from the Book of Revelation, "A Voice from Heaven,"
which has been the stay of the generations (and what
the Spirit "saith" is prefaced by the significant word


Foreword
"Write!") we are told, "Blessed are the dead which
die in the Lord, for they rest from their labours; AND
THEIR WORKS DO FOLLOW THEM." Not, as we SO
often erroneously construe, follow them to where they
have gone. That is indeed, a true meaning, but not
the deepest, not the most encouraging. The blessed-
ness is not so much in the fact that their works follow
thither, as that they follow here, stretching their life
of action, their tribute of service, into far-reaching
benefits and bounties, which remain endless in conse-
quence, through ages to come, within the sphere of
this earthly life; "carrying fragrance" as the Chinese
proverb has it" for a myriad years." Here, multiplying
their brief life-force to spiritual issues, which operate
while they rest, their works yet potently working the
while they sweetly rest, "their works do follow them."
"Write!"
xvi.


JOHN INNOCENT:
THE MAN AND HIS WORK.
PART L
From Birth to the Commencement of Missionary
Work in Tientsin, 1829 to 1861.
CHAPTER I.
BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE.
JOHN Innocent was born in the town of Sheffield on
October ioth, in the year 1829. The brother Mission-
ary with whom he was destined to be so intimately
associated was just six months old at the time, having
been born on the 19th of April of the same year, also
at Sheffield.
John Innocent's family had belonged to the Method-
ist New Connexion Church from its beginning. His
grandfather was also named John, and he speaks of
both his grandparents with peculiar affection and rever-
ence. John, the grandfather, was a cutler and shop-
keeper, and was evidently an earnest Methodist. He
was one of the original trustees for South Street
Chapel; was a class leader at South Street for many
years, and held various other offices in the Church.
The grandmother was distinguished by equal piety.
She took particular pride in the fact that she received
1


John Innocent
her first class-ticket from the hand of Alexander Kil-
ham, the founder of the Denomination. While the grand-
son was still a little boy they had already retired from
business. Their eldest son, William, was at this time
in the ministry, having entered it in 1827, two years
before the subject of the present memoir was born.
William Innocent died in 1865.
John Innocent's parents seem to have been less closely
connected with the Church than his grandparents.
Neither of them appears to have been in regular mem-
bership, but their son records that they "kept up a
family connection with the Denomination." They sent
their son to South Street Sunday School. The father was
a member of the choir, and John tells us that it was
his "childish delight" to go with him and sit in the
orchestra behind the pulpit. In some sense, even at
that early age, the fair-haired boy had his eye on the
pulpit. His parents afterwards removed to another
part of the town, and these orchestral delights came
to an end His parents at this time, as he tells us, did
not even "attend service regularly," though he is careful
to add that "whenever they did so it was in the chapels
of the Methodist New Connexion." But the boy's
relation to us was never broken. He now attended
Allen Street Sunday School, and afterwards attached
himself to Scotland Street Chapel, where he became
a member in 1845, being sixteen years of age.
Concerning his early education there is next to no
information available . It must have been very slender.
It was long before the days of Board Schools, and
there were not many facilities for the education of
children among the working classes. He was evidently
a working lad at sixteen, when his conversion took
place. He probably had but a limited amount of
2


Early Education
school teaching. But it is quite wonderful what a
thirst for knowledge the boy had, and this received
a strong stimulus in connection with his conversion.
His history at this period is one illustration among
many thousands of the immense practical benefit which
springs from that event in a man's religious history
on which Methodists rightly lay so much stress, viz.,
conversion. Certain it is that in the year 1845 he was
working as a grinder, was attending a night school,
and came under deep religious influence which resulted
in his conversion. Conversion made him a thoroughly
earnest student. He ascribes his first religious impres-
sions to the preaching of the Rev. T. P. Gilton, who,
in 1845, was Superintendent Minister of Sheffield
North. We have the story of these events told in a
very simple and lucid way in his own handwriting, and
it is well worth transcribing:—
"In 1845 I commenced to attend a night class for
the study of Latin, (English) Grammar, Elocution and
Composition. I was particularly pleased with the Latin,
and used to write out my declensions and conjugations
and other exercises on the Lord's Day when kept from
school.
"I became a very earnest student according to the
time I had, which from the fact that I must work at
a laborious employment from seven in the morning
until eight at night, was not much. So soon as I got
home at night I was off to the school until half-past
nine. The morning was the time when I did most,
before going to work. I used frequently to write out on
a slip of paper the Latin lesson of the morning, or a
list of words, and would snatch intervals during work
for a glance at this slip of paper, get a word or a con-
jugation, and repeat it over mentally until it was im-
3


Conversion
but could not say with them that I knew my sins for-
given. This caused me great anxiety which lasted for
some time. I prayed and meditated on God's Word,
attended the means of grace, but I have no recollec-
tion of any distinct period when the Lord, for Christ's
sake, pardoned my sins. The only thing approxima-
ting to such an event was a dream that I had during my
intense anxiety in which I thought I saw Jesus, and
He said: 'Bless thee, my son!' I woke with most
delightful feelings, and from that time was a changed
and a happier character.
"Then commenced a series of difficulties and
struggles of a new kind. I had determined to avoid
everything that had the appearance of evil. The
young men with whom I worked and associated must
know my new state. Then I became the subject of
their jocose humour, of scornful laugh, and wicked
taunt. I was even taunted by those near to me [the
allusion must be to his own family, but how delicately
put!] but I sought grace, and endeavoured to bear all
with meek patience. I found they soon grew weary
of their taunts and respected my sentiments so much
that some of them would even defend me against the
attacks of new enemies.
"I formed companions of religious young men, and
joined a Young Men's Mutual Improvement meeting in
the school. I continued my studies with greater zest. I
went to prayer-meetings on Sunday evenings. My
reading was now directed into a different course. Re-
ligious works were what I sought. They were very
dry at first, and I got very little knowledge from them
until I met with Dr. Dick's 'Christian Philosopher,'
which deeply interested me and gave me information
on many subjects of which I had before been ignorant
.
5


It kindled the taste for works of a higher kind than I
had previously read. I then read ' Simpson's Plea ' and
'Key to the Prophecies,' Paley's 'Natural Theology,'
'Wesley's Life,' and other books which were lent to me.
"I was made a teacher in the Sunday School, and
became a tract distributor, in which capacity I con-
tinued to exercise myself for a long time. At length
I was requested to give an exhortation to a small con-
gregation in a village about five miles from Sheffield.
With much fear and trembling, after careful prepara-
tion and committing to memory every word I had to
say, I attempted." [He evidently broke down more
than once, for he continues, as though his incoherence
on that first occasion must repeat itself in the after
narrative which is also disjointed.] "My second effort
was a complete failure, as my memory failed through
excitement."
"I was afterwards brought on the plan as a preacher
on trial. I was then nearly nineteen years of age.
From that time I have endeavoured to preach the
Gospel."
We do not know when this narrative was penned.
It is a fugitive scrap on six pages of very small note
paper evidently penned during Mr. Innocent's early
life, for it is almost yellow with age. It is curious to
think of these three little sheets having been carried
about by their author by sea and land for so long to
be, at last, almost our only glimpse into his youthful
life. Had Mr. Innocent been able to write the story
of his life to the end in this simple, unaffected style
it would have been an almost perfect autobiography.
The sketch, brief as it is, is charming from its plain
and sincere transparency, and no facility in writing
could possibly move us more than the direct and lucid
o


sentences so free from all adornment or art. It is im-
possible to think of trick, pretence, disguise, or con-
cealment in connection with a story so "unvarnished"
and ingenuous. All who have known the man will
recognize it as a faithful image of his mind, as vivid
as it is modest.
There can be little doubt that it was in the home of
his grandparents the youth found the influences and
the atmosphere that were most congenial to him and did
most to mould his thoughts and ambitions, and give
bent and purpose to his life. His grandparents were his
spiritual parents. He seems to have spent a good deal
of time, much more profitably than he was immediately
aware of, in their home. It was the one place in
Sheffield which had most social attraction for him. Do
we need any stronger testimony than the following
that John Innocent's grandmother was no ordinary
woman?
"She was always an active member of the Church
and intimately acquainted with its ministers, a most
diligent and thoughtful reader of the Scriptures. Be-
fore they (grandfather and grandmother) had retired
from business they had acquired a copy of Dr. Adam
Clarke's Commentary, which they carefully read to-
gether. Three times had she read through these
volumes before I left for China."
Did ever any other grandmother do the like either
before or since? One has no hesitation in classing the
devout lady at once as the most faithful and devoted
reader the worthy old doctor ever had. Could he him-
self have known her, how proud of his disciple he
would have been! We have our own appreciation of
Dr. Adam Clarke, and of the Commentary, with its
massive accumulations of knowledge illustrative of the


John Innocent
pages of Scripture. It was truly by no means the
dullest of the old-time Commentaries. But for an
elderly lady with no sermons to preach, and no ex-
aminations in theology to pass, to read it through from
end to end of the six big volumes, three times over,
from sheer fascination for its pages! One can only
take his cue from Dominie Sampson and exclaim:
"Prodigious!" The society of such a grandmamma could
not fail to be helpful to the budding preacher. One
wonders now why he ever broke down. Grandma
would never have broken down!
One other glimpse of this interesting household is
afforded us:—
"Often, however, would I go with my grandparents
to South Street Chapel on Sunday evenings. In that
way I met with the ministers in their house who after
service called for conversation and a little refreshment.
Here I first met with the good John Addyman, on his
return from Canada.
"He greatly excited my youthful interest with his
stories of Missionary toils and hardships in that new
country; and won my profound reverence as a good
man. Yea, I then thought him a great man. To this
day I have a distinct recollection of the solemn feeling
which thrilled me when, after grandfather had told him
who I was, he smiled so benignantly upon me, put his
hands on my head, and feelingly said: 'God bless you,
my boy!' I felt it to be a true priestly benediction,
and attended with holy unction."
There was no Ranmoor then. But we shall not be
wrong in regarding this pious home as John Innocent's
Training College. The twin forces of heredity and
environment are conspicuous here. With such a nest to
nurture him there is nothing surprising in the fact that
s


First appointment at Stockport
he shaped rapidly into a preacher. Two entries out of
another diary, come quite naturally after this: "1847,
began to exhort." This was at eighteen. "1850, went
to Stockport to take Mr. Hall's appointment for three
months." Now twenty-one.
Yes! it was by no means a bad training college.
Much is said now about the right training of a Mis-
sionary, the course to be read through, the special
studies necessary. Out on the mission field we have
much to say, as the fruit of experience, on this topic.
No doubt much wise advice can be given, and golden
maxims are framed, highly calculated for the equip-
ment in the best of everything that shall make the
successful Missionary to the heathen.
Yet the beautifully simple home where John Inno-
cent's first ambitions were fired, where the love of
kindred was a link of gold holding him to religious
associations and filling him with religious impulses;
with the company of ministers seen at their best and in
their most human aspect in hours of relaxation and
freedom, the learning of Dr. Adam Clarke, and Mis-
sionaries coming and going with the atmosphere of
foreign lands about them—after all, it was a fairly
good, if quite unconventional, manufactory for Mis-
sionaries.
So now we have John Innocent between the ages of
sixteen and twenty-one set about with just those be-
nign and inspiriting influences which at eighteen made
him an Exhorter, at twenty-one sent him out as a
Minister, with the nascent bent toward the romance
and the daring of a Missionary career like a dream as
yet undreamt within his heart.
9


CHAPTER II.
APPRENTICESHIP IN THE ENGLISH MINISTRY.
MANY of the English business firms established in
the ports of the Far East, and those of China especially,
regard it as an absolute sine qua non that their staff
should have an English training. So much is this the
case, that at considerable cost they import clerks, gener-
ally on short terms of service, young men necessarily
ignorant of the Chinese language, who have had no
experience of Eastern customs or Eastern money or
the character of the Chinese people (all of which con-
ditions are quite different from those of England), and
at great risk of the climate proving unsuitable, rather
than employ young men of European parentage bom
in the East, who speak the language, are conversant
with Chinese character and manners, and are well
inured to the climate. The advantage of an English
business training is considered to more than counter-
balance all these considerations. Does any such prin-
ciple obtain in regard to the choice of a Missionary?
Is training in the English ministry previous to coming
out an important requisite? Probably without much
thought on the matter at all the Missionary Committee
of the Methodist New Connexion has uniformly acted
as though there does, for with only one notable ex-
ception, viz., that of Mr. Innocent's own son, its Mis-
sionaries have been chosen from the home ranks. This,
of course, does not, as it could not, apply to the choice
of Medical Missionaries.
10


Appointed to Shields
Our first Missionary was taken from the regular
ministry. He is fairly entitled to the distinction of
our first foreign Missionary as his name appears in
the "Minutes" of 1859 in the following form: "China
—John Innocent and another." Mr. Hall's name only
appears in the "Minutes" of 1860, though he was
accepted by the Committee but a few months after the
Conference of 1859.
John Innocent's first appearance in the character of
a Minister of the Methodist New Connexion was at
Stockport at the age of twenty-one. This was in 1850.
It was, however, in the humble capacity of a tem-
porary supply. It is an interesting coincidence that
the brother whose place he supplied was William Nel-
thorpe Hall. Mr. Hall had been taken ill during that
year, and the young candidate for the ministry, John
Innocent, was sent to supply his place for three months.
He does not appear, however, to have been recom-
mended to the ministry at that time, for in 1851 he
was supply for some months in the Burslem Circuit.
At the Conference of 1852, which was held at Hud-
dersfield, he was accepted as a probationer, and ap-
pointed to North Shields. Newcastle District is a part
of the Connexion with a distinct character of its own.
There is a simplicity and a sturdiness which suits well
the strong northern accents, and the churches of the
district generally are distinguished by great religious
fervour. The Methodist traditions are strong amongst
them. The young man's first Circuit was one in which
the new preacher from Yorkshire was not m the least
likely to be spoiled by flattery, but we may be sure
he would win his way among them by the quiet
modesty of his character and the never-failing suavity
of his manners. If he got a perfect certificate it would
t
11


John Innocent
be a credit to him; for they were difficult to get in
those days, and his congregations were very particular
on the subject of visiting. They had their own canons
of criticism, unadulterated with any wisdom from
Broadus, but in their own way were great sermon-
tasters. They could not match Elspeth of the Bonnie
Brier Bush for analytical acumen and exactness of
memory over the third branch of the minister's seven-
teenthly, but in appraising the fire and earnestness of
the preacher's peroration, without too much regard to
either grammar or precision of meaning, they were the
better judges. They would not spare him their opinions
in the leaders' meeting. It is of a church in the North
that one of Our ministers tells the story that he was
prayed for in the words: "God bless Thy minister, our
servant," and when he tried to correct it to "Thy ser-
vant, our minister," was met by a vigorous repudiation
of his amendment.
It is a pity no reminiscences are forthcoming of these
early days of service, especially as it was here that the
youth, no doubt very impressionable, fresh from home
as he was, met with the young lady whose lifelong
fate was bound up with his own, and who was destined
to become as noted a Missionary as himself. Miss
Tate was then a young lady of about twenty years of
age, tall, dark and handsome, with a dignity of manner
which would impress her lover with a due sense of
awe. But young Innocent succeeded in winning her
affections. An engagement ensued which was full of
promise from the start, and that promise was amply
fulfilled in a long life of devoted service in each other's
society, throughout which she proved an ideal helpmeet.
This year, full of happy love and bright ambition, may
be counted as one of the best years of his life.


John Innocent
afflictions blessings, and brings the best things out of
our most trying experiences.
On the 23rd of April, 1856, John Innocent was
married to Miss Jane Tate at North Shields. His
uncle, William, performed the marriage ceremony. One
fancies he sees the fair young bridegroom leading his
beautiful young bride to the altar, the young pair full
of pride and joy and happy hope. The union was one
of which Heaven approved, and ratified it with blessing
in their after life. After the wedding our bridegroom,
with his bride, returned to Jersey to complete his year
of service. The next year the young pair were sent
to Truro, where uncle William had travelled in 1852
and 1853. It may be this had something to do with
the appointment. It was a pleasant Circuit with
beautiful natural scenery in which they commenced
their married life. The charming lanes and hedgerows,
rich in spring time with the celandine and the hart's-
tongue fern would have special attractions for one
whose life had been almost entirely spent in the North,
and, save for the wild charm of the sea, they would
scarcely yield to the fascination of Jersey itself. It
was a place in every way fit to call out that love of
nature which is a valuable part of the young preacher's
equipment. Mr. Innocent is still remembered in Truro,
and it is certain, on the other hand that he carried
away permanent recollections of the place, for he often
referred to it during the later stages of his life. Mr.
Innocent's last English Circuit, before leaving for
China, was an important one. Halifax North was one of
our Connexional strongholds. For a young man to be
invited to the Circuit was itself a compliment. The
demands made upon his pulpit services would be severe,
and he appears to have met them with full satisfaction.
14



Mrs. Innocent.
To face p. 14.





The Call to China
It was here that he attracted the notice of the Mission-
ary Committee as a suitable man to send to China,
and in all probability here that the first impulse to be-
come a Missionary arose in his mind.
Slight as this sketch of Mr. Innocent's English
ministry has been, it sufficiently indicates the chief
features in his apprenticeship. General acceptability,
steady progress, widely varied experience are its main
characteristics. Shields was nearly as far north as
he could go, Jersey quite as far south. The neighbour-
hood of the " Black Country " was still another variation
of service. He had tried ministerial life in country
and town. He had made fast friends. He had become
acquainted with the Connexion and its usages in dif-
ferent districts. It was a worthy apprenticeship, ex-
tending over a period of seven years. He had been
tried, approved, and in some degree equipped for his
life's work. That work was to be done in quite another
sphere, under quite other conditions, in a far-off and
(at that time how much more so than now) in a very
strange land. "So you are going to China, to be a
Missionary amongst those blacks! Aren't you afraid?"
That was the startling question put to the writer just
twenty years later in the town of Hull. How much
more wild and daring and unaccountably foolish it
must have appeared in those earlier days!
In protspeict the new life appeared very strange,
romantic and hazardous, but a Voice that might not
be gainsaid was sounding steady and insistent: "Whom
shall we send, and who will go for us?" Misgivings,
questionings, self-distrust there were sure to be; stilled
only by the message: "Certainly I will be with thee ";
but the call had come, and with quiet, unassuming
courage he rose to meet and to answer it.
is


CHAPTER III.
THE CALL.
THE Manchester Conference of 1859 was one of the
most important that have been held in the history of
the Methodist New Connexion. William Cooke was
President. It was his second presidency, he having
held the chair at Hull sixteen years before in 1843.
James Stacey was Mission Secretary, succeeding
Samuel Hulme, at that Conference. Mark Firth was
Mission Treasurer. These are still among the names
that come to our lips when the call is sounded "Let us
now praise famous men." The Church was in a vigor-
ous and hopeful condition. Ambition for enlargement
rang out as the prevailing note during its sessions. The
year showed an increase of very nearly 3,000 members,
a very substantial increase if we remember that the
total membership of the year before was only about
25,000. Finances were in a flourishing condition. The
Mission in Canada was our pride, and was rising like
a strong young giant into life. There was a magnif-
icent enthusiasm for home extension. There were
many subjects to stir the interest of the delegates,
among which was the war in Italy, then rising in re-
sponse to Garibaldi's martial fire, and Mazzini's patriot
spell. The Conference took itself seriously, and passed
a resolution urging the Government to observe strict
neutrality in the struggle.
But the most exciting theme at that Conference by
far was the new Mission to China. Everything con-
is


Manchester Conference, 1859
spired to lend it exceptional interest. Our expedition
to Peking had taken the Pei-ho forts, and the Treaty
of Peace had been signed by Lord Elgin the year
before at Tientsin. The news had got home but a
few months before the Conference. A vast accession
of interest in the uniquely-curious Empire, so far
away, so strange, so densely populous, so ancient, so
weirdly learned, had taken hold of the public mind.
Farther off than India, more populous, its language
immeasurably more strange than Sanskrit, almost
neglected by the evangelistic zeal of Protestant
Christendom, no wonder its fascination as a mission
field was extreme. The voice of John Angell James
was calling from Birmingham for men of daring to
carry the standard into the heart of that vast, dark
Empire, the eastern half of Asia. The Missionary
Societies were awaking to the need for the underta-
king. It was rife with interest, with romance, abundant
in peril and hardship. Terror rendered it trebly temp-
ting to the heart of the bold. And it was already a
foregone conclusion that the Connexion was going to
be wild and mad enough to venture in. It was as good
as a fait accompli that the Mission would be started.
As the delegates, clerical and lay, came up from the
Circuits we can imagine the excitement which pre-
vailed For the Connexion had already passed the
preliminary stages, was throbbing and heaving with
the passion of the new cause, and it was clearly fore-
seen that at length it was bound to come to the birth.
One likes to picture the eager, earnest look on the
faces of many worthy fathers in Israel, who are now
at rest, holy enthusiasm crystallizing into solemn fixity
of purpose, as they were summoned to Committee
rooms, or watched eagerly for the discussion in Con-
17


ference. Thomas Allin, P. J. Wright, Charles Donald,
Dr. Crofts, William Cooke, James Stacey, Law Stoney,
William Baggaly, Samuel Hulme, and lay brethren
ready to try a fall with the best of them in debate,
John Ridgway, Joseph Love, Mark Firth, G. L.
Robinson, John Whitworth, Joshua Heaps, Charles
Thorpe—what eloquence they would expend on the
subject, both in and out of Conference, formal and
stately from the pews, racier and keener by the fire-
side. Tradition says that not by any means were all
in favour of it. Some of our best men were years
before they could be brought to look with favour on
the China Mission. There was enough of opposition
to kindle the fire of zeal in the advocates of the move-
ment to consuming fervour. Yet there was probably
no difficulty in passing the following resolution, which
appears in the "Minutes" for 1859:—
"That considering the extent of China, the condi-
tion of its numerous inhabitants, the facilities secured
by recent treaties for the dissemination of Christianity
amongst them, and the small number of Missionaries
labouring there, this Conference regards China as the
most eligible field for the institution of our Foreign
Missionary operations; and resolves that two Mission-
aries, both married men, be sent to that country as
soon as the necessary arrangements can be completed."
Whatever differences of opinion might exist amongst
our members generally, the Missionary Committee was
evidently enthusiastically in favour of the step thus
taken. At the previous Conference (1858) a mission to
the heathen world had been decided upon, though the
field had not been chosen, but during the year the
desire for such a mission had developed rapidly, and
had taken tangible shape. The determination of the
is


Committee Preparations
Committee is seen in the fact that at the same Con-
ference which decided to send two men to China, a
mission to India was contemplated, and within two
years the mission to Australia was commenced. The
Committee was alive and aggressive, and its fire of
purpose, as is usual at such times, carried the Con-
ference, and carried the Connexion. Words used by
Mr. Innocent himself, in writing of these events, may
be quoted as they serve to bring the whole situation
clearly before us:—
"' Can we not do something in the way of a mission
to the heathen?' was a question frequently discussed in
official meetings and in family circles of the Methodist
New Connexion long before any decisive step was
taken. It was recognized as a duty which we as a
Church of Christ should undertake, and the subject
became a soul burden to some of our more ardent
members. By prayer, conversation and pen, they kept
it before the Lord and His people, until the conscience
of the Connexion became fully aroused, and the Con-
ference of 1858 voiced that conscience by its decision
to engage in the enterprise of a FOREIGN MISSION.
"Then, 'To what part of the heathen world shall we
go?' was the next question to be decided. The Con-
ference entrusted this matter to a carefully-appointed
Committee, who were to be prepared with definite re-
commendations for the following Conference. Divine
direction was sought, other Missionary Boards were
consulted as to the most needy and eligible fields, and
information as to methods of working. Suitable men
to engage in the work had also to be sought, and esti-
mates of cost, and many details connected with the
scheme, all engaged the attention of the Committee
during the year.
19


John Innocent
"The whole Christian Church in England and
America was throbbing with holy enthusiasm under the
powerful appeals of John Angell James in his pamphlet
entitled 'God's Voice from China.' In this
pamphlet the urgent need for the evangelization of
that great country was strongly set forth. At the same
time war between Great Britain and China had just
been concluded and treaties had been made which
opened up fresh ports to trade and to Christian mis-
sions. Special efforts were being made by all the
Missionary Societies to increase their agents in that
land, and to occupy the areas which were newly opened
to the Gospel. Thus China was chosen by our Com-
mittee, and so confident were they of the Conference
adopting their recommendation that they had made ap-
plication to certain ministers in full standing as to
their willingness to go—not to some part of the heathen
world as Missionaries—but definitely to go to China.
From one of these, who was then stationed in Halifax,
an affirmative reply had been sent in the month of
March, 1859. For the first time in the published
'Minutes' of Conference CHINA appears in the list of
stations of ministers in the year 1859."
The entry is at the end of the list of appointments
which corresponds to the Conference Readings:
"Foreign Missions. China—John Innocent and
another."
The other one was not far to seek, nor yet long in
seeking. Mr. Innocent has also transcribed for us a
resolution of the Committee, held in Manchester, July
15th, about a month after the Conference:—
"That this meeting finding that Brother W. N. Hall,
of Sheffield, is impressed with the conviction that he
ought to consecrate himself to the work of missions in
20


William Nelthorpe Hall
China, that he has an ardent desire to do this, that
very satisfactory testimonials have been given by com-
petent medical authorities as to his fitness on the score
of health for the trials and labours which such a work
will involve, and having the most entire confidence in
his personal suitability in other respects, resolves that
his offer of himself to the Committee be accepted, and
that as soon as the necessary preparations can be made
he may accompany Mr. Innocent to China. In the
meantime the Committee avail themselves of the offer
of Dr. H. Jackson to furnish such additional particu-
lars respecting Mr. Hall's health as he may be able to
give."
"Thereby hangs a tale." Formerly a most acceptable
minister among us, of about the same standing as Mr.
Innocent, of nearly the same age, coming from the
same town, an old companion and friend, of a pecu-
liarly fine, generous and enthusiastic spirit, W. N. Hall
was indicated by every "note" imaginable, save one,
to be the travelling companion and work-fellow of John
Innocent. But the last sentence in the above resolution
indicates what at the time was felt by Mr. Hall's many
friends to be a ground for very grave misgiving. His
health was insecure, and, in fact, he had been out of
the ministry for two or three years on that account. The
subject is dealt with in "Consecrated Enthusiasm."
There is a tradition, strictly oral, which we give with
some considerable reserve. Perhaps, like many stories
of the kind, it is not a little exaggerated, but it is told
to illustrate Mr. Hall's determination to stick at nothing
in his passion for the China Mission field. If true at all
it evinces not only consecrated enthusiasm, but also a
certain endowment of serpent-dove craft. It is said
that the Committee, dubious, or even adverse, on the
21


John Innocent
score of health, demanded a medical certificate, and
that with but little expectation of getting one. The
first medical man applied to refused him, the second
refused, and the third. We dare not go on to say how
many doctors he applied to (there is more than one
version of the legend), but he was a firm believer in
the admonition, "If at first you don't succeed," and
he tried, tried, and tried again, until he got one suffi-
ciently sanguine to lay before the Committee. By
this simple method, we are assured, he got round a
very difficult corner.
These plans and negotiations, however, involved
much work of a different character. The question of
ways and means was an anxious question, and to the
financial part of their scheme the Committee had to
give earnest study. At the Conference itself about
£1,000 was promised. District Missionary meetings
were arranged for in each District. The Connexion
rose nobly to the occasion, and ample funds were
forthcoming for the operations of the Society.
In all these doings John Innocent was deeply con-
cerned, and we must turn now to consider them as
they presented themselves to him personally. If to
others it was a stirring and momentous Conference,
how much more so to him as it decided some of the
most important issues of his life! When the idea of
becoming a Missionary first entered his mind we have
now no means of determining. Certainly it was at a
period considerably earlier. But the following passage
from his private diary indicates the time when he was
called to face the subject in a very practical way:—
"March 28th, 1859.
"Mr. Gilton called upon me this morning and in-
formed me of the decision of the Missionary Sub-


Consideration of the Call
Committee to invite me to become a Missionary to
China."
"April ist, Friday.
"A letter on the above subject came from the Acting
Mission Secretary, Rev. S. Hulme, urging my con-
sideration and acceptance of the position."
The proposal coming to him in this way made a
profound impression on him, and he weighed it over, as
was his nature, in a very calm, deliberate spirit. He
seems to have been but little excited by it . There is
no indication that he was unduly carried away by
romantic or quixotic feelings. Yet it was one of the
great choices of his lifetime, in many respects alto-
gether his greatest choice. In our judgment nothing
could be more admirable than the following grave,
subdued, altogether practical and modest language in
which he sets down the particulars of the process by
which he made up his mind. It is luminous throughout
with deep, spiritual, religious character. There is
nothing very uncommon in the words, but no common
mind could have penned them, yet be content to add
no more. They have been transcribed from the Diary
for us by Mrs. Innocent's hand. Mr. Hulme s letter
probably asked him to give the proposal his " favour-
able consideration." Accordingly she entitles the
following "The favourable consideration."
"Going as a Missionary to China will be carrying out
the Saviour's commission, under whose authority and
for whose glory I now minister the Gospel. God does
not limit me to a locality, but the world is the field, and
in any part of it I may fulfil that commission which I
feel is given to me.
"I have a desire to go abroad to preach the Gospel
n


John Innocent
to the heathen, and have had for some time, which
desire I believe is sanctioned, if not induced, by the
Holy Ghost. I think I could adapt myself to the people
to win them to Christ. The Chinese are perishing
through not having the Gospel; some one must go
and take it to them, and it is as much my business to
go as anyone's.
"I can be spared from the ministry in England with-
out any perceptible diminution of ministerial agency;
whereas every single addition to the agency in China
will increase the probability of her evangelization.
"I have given myself to the Church, under Christ, to
serve her in the ministry, and as the Church calls
upon me to engage in this particular work it is right I
should obey.
"The climate and voyage may be favourable to the
health of myself and family, and I shall be under the
protection of my Heavenly Father there just as much
as here. The object of my life is to save souls, and
glorify God. This is, I hope, my motive in regard to
China. I feel the work is great, solemn, sublime and
responsible. Yet if the Church calls, and the way
opens, I must engage in dependence upon Divine aid.
I will, therefore, hold myself in readiness to go.
"My wife feels the deep importance of the project,
pain at the idea of leaving home, but a willingness to
go with me, and do her best for the salvation of the
heathen.
"Oh! Thou God of wisdom, mercy and truth, guide
Thy servant and handmaid, I beseech Thee, in this
important affair. Amen."
The die was cast. The Committee could not fail to
be satisfied with the decision come to in such a spirit,
£4


Decision for China
for though John Innocent is here speaking in the
privacy of his diary, his letter to them would be couched
in language breathing the same spirit. Their reply
was not long delayed, for we find a resolution of their
meeting held in Manchester, May I2th, 1859 , as
follows:—
"That Mr. John Innocent be nominated for the China
Mission, and the Committee is grateful to find that he
has expressed his willingness to undertake this im-
portant work should the Conference appoint him to it."
Such, then, was the call which came to John Inno-
cent, and came to the Church of which he was a
member and a servant. Honoured brethren who work
at home with equal zeal, equal loyalty, and will have,
doubtless, equal reward, will not begrudge the remark
that he was called to higher service. The front, if
only because it is the post of danger, is, therefore, the
post of honour. We have purposely delineated the call
under this double aspect. It was a clear, loud, empha-
tic call to us as a Church, to him and his comrade as
individuals, which, because it appealed to all that was
noblest, and made demand for the utmost consecration
and sacrifice, carried with it the inward certainty of
its Divine origin. It was the most unselfish call which,
as a Church, we ever received, which he as an indivi-
dual ever responded to. The pious soul will always
see in such uplifting of the spirit of man, something
which, if not inspiration itself, is closely akin to it.
It is not permitted to us here to dwell at any length
upon this subject of Divine calling, with examples of
which the pages of Holy Writ are crowded, of which
every department of Christian history is, and must
ever be, a continuous unfolding. But we may pause
long enough to say, Blessed is the Church and blessed
25


The Missionary Impulse
sender and the sent, and which, by its sacred impulse,
compelled alike the many lesser and the one greater
sacrifice? Without it they would not have been forth-
coming at all or would have been spent to infinitely
less benefit.
John Innocent's life was irradiated and ennobled, and
the Methodist New Connexion was immeasurably en-
riched by that magnificent impulse which led to the
founding of the Mission in China.
27


CHAPTER IV.
THE CHOICE OF THE FIELD.
It has been said of the founders of Methodism that
"they builded better than they knew." In some similar
manner, was there a higher wisdom at work leading
to the selection of China as a field for our chief foreign
missionary activity. One can hardly help saying so
when one reviews the many and supremely important
claims which the Empire has upon the evangelistic
enterprise of the Christian Church. While the choice
was made intelligently, and with prayerful considera-
tion, it does not appear, from the records of the time,
that these were very distinctly apprehended by those
who took the step. At any rate it may serve a useful
purpose to set forth in this chapter some of the reasons
for holding that it may be said without exaggeration
that China is the most important mission field which
the world offers to the zeal of Christ's followers.
The vastness of the Empire, in a mere geographical
sense, is, perhaps, the first and most obvious considera-
tion. Leaving out the immense stretches of Mongolia
and Manchuria, which together with Tibet and Koko-
nor constitute "Outer China," "China Proper" is a
territory which may well arrest attention. It has an
area of 1,539,190 square miles. The entire Empire
is considerably larger than the whole continent of
Europe. Every one of its eighteen provinces, with
the exception of three, which are not very much less, is
larger than the whole forty counties of England.
28


Wide Realm of the Dragon Sceptre
Most of them are about twice as large. Ssii Ch'uan
Province alone is four times as large. Yunnan is nearly
three times as large. Canton about twice as large.
Perhaps the best way to realize vividly China's tre-
mendous area is to consider its territorial divisions. To
very unthinking people the truth is, perhaps, hidden
by the fact that we are accustomed to speak of the
forty counties of England. Forty is a much bigger
figure than eighteen. But that is a terribly blundering
way of looking at it. We need to remember that each
province is divided into departments, and each depart-
ment into districts. The district is the county. Roughly
speaking each province contains about ten departments,
and each department about ten counties. Though this
simple way of reckoning is not accurate, it approxi-
mates sufficiently near to give us a just idea of China's
magnitude. One thousand eight hundred counties is a
sufficiently wide realm for the Dragon sceptre to hold
sway over.
Nor must we forget this great territory contains no
great wastes like the steppes of Russia, the wilds of
Siberia, or even the prairies of America. A very large
proportion of it is cultivable and cultivated land, much
of it as rich and fertile as is anywhere to be found in
the world. Self-sufficient, rich, and various, with one
of the finest climates known to man, keeping well
astride the temperate zone, nowhere reaching to torrid
heat, or frigid cold, it is capable of producing, and
produces, in abundance almost every kind of agricul-
tural wealth—cotton, silk, grain, fruit, timber, cereals
of every description. Skies of matchless blue and
magnificent light stretch over its fertile fields, and be-
neath its furrowed soil are mineral treasures of every
kind in wellnigh exhaustless abundance. Tea and rice
a


and silk are amongst the singularly valuable products
it has given to the world. But this is not the chief
reason why China is so important as a mission field.
It is more pertinent to observe that it is, taken as a
whole, about the most densely-populated portion of the
earth's surface. This great country grows men, and
by the very number of its people, compels attention.
"China's Millions" has become to the world an accepted
phrase. The population of China has been variously
estimated by different authorities, for no census returns
with any pretence to accuracy are available. But it is
safe to say it is prodigious. It has been placed as
high as 480,000,000, and indeed when Buddhism num-
bers her votaries as 800,000,000 she calmly counts
among them 500,000,000 Chinamen. It has never
been estimated at less than 350,000,000 which is
100,000,000 more than the population of thickly-
peopled India. Thirty years of life in China leads
one to the conclusion that the Western world is rather
in danger of underestimating than of overestimating
the teeming multitudes of her people. We think it
cannot be less, and is probably more, than 400,000,000.
This is something between one-third and one-fourth
of the total population of the globe. You cannot,
therefore, talk about the world and leave China out
.
That would be scarcely more than one degree less
foolish than China's habit of speaking of herself as
the world, and leaving the rest out. Here is no ques-
tion of "a negligible quantity."
Every feature in the social and political life of this
most numerous of all the peoples of the earth but
heightens the interest and the significance which at-
taches to them as an object of evangelism. The
Empire is unusually homogeneous. With the exception
30



Tientsin: Junk Sailing.
To face p. 30.


1


Chinese Literature and Education
of aboriginal tribes, which are not very numerous, there
is no question of subject races. Its unique Government
is independent, having a proud line of rulers and of
dynasties, stretching back to the very dawn days of
history. In fourteen out of the eighteen provinces the
people speak one language. Our Missionaries from
Yunnan are perfectly intelligible when speaking in
Yunnanese to the people of the North. Even the other
dialects, which are unintelligible to the ears of Man-
darin-speaking people, are closely allied to them both
in words and in grammatical structure. For all literary
purposes, even to the writing of an ordinary letter,
the Chinese language is one and indivisible. The nation
is welded together in a marvellous underlying unity,
by customs, etiquette, ceremonies, traditions, ideals,
and religious faith and practice which are alike common
to all, and of which their magnificent literature is the
unique expression. That literature, ancient as are its
springs, is yet modern in its scarcely abated force.
Their long lines of monarchs and heroes and sages and
philosophers are held to-day in equal honour, in equal
veneration and equal worshipfulness, from one end of
the Empire to the other, and have profoundly influenced
the civilization of Japan and of Korea. Education,
though it has been hitherto restricted to the few, is
universally diffused, and in spite of all that may be said,
and truly said, of their superstition and of their vices,
the mental and moral capacity of the whole people is
of a very high order, and as persistent in vigour and in
vitality as the physical qualities of the race which the
Western world contemplates with positive alarm.
Awakened China is as capable of understanding and
of appreciating the nicest refinements of philosophy and
the loftiest conceptions of religion as the most advanced
31


John Innocent
of Western races. There is a "Yellow Peril," if peril
it be, not in the fields of commerce and of warfare
alone, but also in those of science, of philosophy and
of religion. The commercial genius of the people is
unrivalled. But even these qualities and endowments
do not constitute their chief claim on the attention of
the Missionary.
That which does make their supreme claim on evan-
gelistic enterprise is their unique genius for religion.
It may well be that many who derive their ideas of the
Chinaman and his country from newspaper and maga-
zine literature will think this statement ludicrous. For
it is the fashion to speak of the Chinese as anything
but a religious people. Yet on no other hypothesis
than that of an intense genius for religion can their
history be explained. By religion it should be unneces-
sary to say that we emphatically do not mean the
Christian religion. Among English people the habit
is so inveterate of speaking of religion and Christianity
as though they were interchangeable terms that it is
advisable to safeguard this point. On the whole they
have shown themselves slow to receive Christianity.
It may sound paradoxical to say that this fact itself
is a proof of their strong religious instincts, but that
is just what experience among them disposes one to
say. Their reluctance is due not to distaste for religion
as such, but rather to their fidelity to their old faiths.
For the most part those who have rejected Christ in
the most determined manner, have done so because, as
they have conceived, their acceptance of Him would be
disloyalty to Confucius. In other words, however mis-
takenly, they have been actuated by religious motives.
Even their persistent persecution of Christianity has
been a proof of religious zeaL Persecution is religious
u


The Chinese • Religious People
zeal wrongly directed. Saul, the Pharisee, was an ex-
tremely religious personage, and it took such a man
converted to make a Paul, the apostle, whose consuming
zeal carried Christianity beyond the bounds of Judaism
to the wide Gentile world. It was a sound insight into
character which made Griffith John see in the infamous
Chou Han a man moved by intense religious zeal, in
whom a new Saul of Tarsus might appear.
Whoever thinks the Chinese are not essentially a
very religious-minded people, let him consider the
supremely important fact that China is the greatest
home of religions that the world contains to-day. The
great non-Christian religions, which have lasted for
centuries, and swayed millions, number but five. Of
these China has been the birthplace of two, is the
stronghold of three, and of a fourth she numbers no
less than 30,000,000. In this paramount characteristic
no other country in the world can compare with China
except India. Yet compare India with China. India
has given birth to two religions, but has lost one. Of
Hinduism she is the stronghold. She has about
50,000,000 Mohammedans. China has produced Con-
fucianism and Taoism, both of which still flourish
vigorously, and of these together with Buddhism she
is the stronghold. She numbers 30,000,000 Moham-
medans. To keep close to military language, the mis-
sion of Christianity is to conquer the world. The giant
rivals she must fight are these five—Hinduism, Moham-
medanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism. Hindu-
ism must be conquered in India, Mohammedanism
must be fought on three continents, China being a part
of this battlefield also. But the other three out of five
must be met and vanquished on Chinese soil, for that
is where their strength lies. Is it not, then, true that,
33


John Innocent
religiously considered, China is the most important mis-
sion field of the world? To conquer China is to con-
quer the better half of intellectual heathendom. The
intellect of heathendom being won the crisis of this
great warfare is past.
For convenience in stating the problem we have
spoken in military language, we have set forth the
meeting of these great world-forces working on the
hearts of men, under symbols of battle. Yet we will
not disguise our conviction that to the true Missionary
the spirit of mere antagonism is not the right spirit in
which to do his work. Toward all that is good and
noble in these great rival systems, and there is much,
his true message is one of reconciliation. We do not
envy the man who sees in these great systems, which
on the lowest estimate are the aching search-pains of
the human heart seeking for God, nothing but de-
lusions of the devil contrived with diabolical skill to
keep Christ from His rightful throne. Surely it is time
that such medieval crudities should be dropped. We
prefer to see in the non-Christian faiths Gods pre-
paration for Christ without the ranks of the chosen
people, as Judaism was His preparation within, and in
large measure Christ's words apply to them as to it: "I
came not to destroy, but to fulfil."
"Peace hath her victories,
No less renowned than war."
In this warfare it is the "Prince of Peace," who leads
the host, the struggle is one of love, the conquest a
conquest of peace; and all the battles ever waged in
rage and blood were but lustful strife, greedy for
ignoble plunder, compared with the holy crusade which
rightly fought will usher in the victory of the Lamb.
China is the destined field where much of this "Holy


CHAPTER V.
THE PASSAGE OUT.
In our third chapter we have described the circum-
stances under which John Innocent and his companion
received and accepted the call to go forth to far distant
China. There was much bustle and stir of preparation
we may be sure, much on their part, more doubtless
on the part of their friends and families, more still, it is
likely, on the part of Connexional authorities who were
responsible for the venture, and to whom it meant
grave financial accountability. For the chief actors it
must have been a time of anxious waiting, and of
harrowing leave-taking. These circumstances are some-
what graphically described by Mr. Innocent in language
we cannot do better than quote:—
"The preparations for departure were rather more
tedious than in the present day, but everything was in
readiness by the time appointed. The thrill of excite-
ment throughout the Connexion was exceedingly
strong. Large and enthusiastic meetings were held in
Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds to take farewell of
the Missionaries. Such excitement and enthusiasm
were only natural on such an occasion. It was a new
enterprise for the Connexion, her maiden effort to take
her place by the side of sister Churches in preaching
the Gospel to the heathen. It was the realization of a
long-cherished project, and the object of the prayers
of the most earnest members of the Church. It was
an active pledge of love to the Redeemer, and a re-
3G


Valedictory at Leeds
sponse to His command: 'Go ye into all the world and
preach the Gospel.' It was a projection of Connexional
faith on the Divine promise, 'Lo! I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world.' The decisive venture
was made, and God honoured the faith thus shown by
a spiritual benediction of sanctified joy which spread
like a holy fire among the Churches in flames of sym-
pathy, zeal and liberality. It was called 'a new era,' and
certainly, at the time, our Churches experienced an
enlargement of spiritual life which inaugurated a
brighter and better day for the Connexion.
"On Tuesday evening, October 18th, 1859, the two
brethren were formally designated to their work in
China in Woodhouse Lane Chapel, Leeds. There was
a large gathering of ministers on the platform, while
the chapel was crowded with people from the adjacent
Circuits. The Charge, of wonderful compass and
power was delivered by Rev. S. Hulme. It was a
service most impressive in its character, and stimulating
in its influence. The Missionaries were then escorted
to the railway station by large numbers of Christian
friends, and were accompanied to London by the
President and by the Secretary of the Mission."
Such was their valediction. The momentous day
had at length arrived. That 21st of October should be
memorable to all of us. Of all days in the week it
was a Friday, a fact which, perhaps, in part accounts
for what followed, and it was afternoon when they
went aboard. The ship was "The Heroes of Alma,"
and soon our heroes found themselves aboard. They
evidently considered her a gallant bark, and Mr. Inno-
cent tells us in his journal, with no little pride, that
she was of 650 tons burden. She was lying in the
Thames at Gravesend; weeping friends must say good-
37


bye in haste for the boat was waiting at the port gang-
way to put them ashore, and she weighed anchor that
evening for Portsmouth; not, however, before the
occasion had been duly improved. With the consent
of the captain, the little group of passengers and their
friends were mustered in the saloon for a prayer-meet-
ing. The Revs. W. Cooke and J. C. Watts offered
prayer, then leave-taking must be done in earnest.
It was something to go to China in those days. The
dangers and discomforts of life at sea were then a
reality, now they are barely sufficient to give zest to
the journey which is taken rather as a holiday sport.
Prayers for journeying mercies were earnest then, the
perils of the deep no mere conventional phrase. Parting
then seemed so nearly like parting for ever that to
undergo it became a grim and appalling experience.
Then the passage took nearly half a year; now, by sea,
it is little more than a month. Talk about "shrinkage
of the planet"! The Siberian Railway has robbed the
journey alike of its terror and its romance, and reduced
it to little more than a fortnight. What a contrast with
the days of sailing ships and of the Cape passage!
Nowadays a Missionary does not think much of being
sent to China several times in a lifetime.
Mr. Innocent has left us a diary written on the way,
and at its commencement he tells us how the travellers
felt at parting:—
"I had often felt the pain of bidding farewell to
loved ones, but the sorrow was always somewhat
lessened by the consideration of the limited distance
and the facilities for rapid travelling in my own coun-
try. But now there was no such relief. For years, if
not for ever in this world, I must bid adieu to my
friends. Of many in the country this farewell had been


The Pain of Separation
taken during the past few months, especially had the
few days preceding my departure been full of exciting
events arid scenes. The large and exciting farewell
meetings in my own native town, at which a thousand
people were present, the designation service at Leeds,
with its solemn interest and crowded aspect, and soul-
stirring Charge, then the hurrying away from the chapel
to the train through the streets lined with people eager
to look at and bid farewell to us, so thickly, indeed,
that the cab could scarcely move along. The railway
station, again, was alive with many who came to take
a last look and have a last hand-shake. The hand-
shaking has been a most formidable business. In
spite of the strong efforts which I made to control
myself and smother my feelings, I found myself mas-
tered once or twice."
"What sobs mingled with those words of praise and
prayer! All hearts were moved, and no wonder! Then
the boats took away the few dear and beloved ones
who were with us to the last. We looked after them
as long as we had any sight of them, but they faded
from our view, and we were left to the bitter pangs of
conscious separation, perhaps for ever, from all the
dear associations of home, friends and country."
The little world on the waters to which the voyagers
were confined was a very contracted one compared
with the gaieties of a passage on a modern mail. The
vessel is described as " a fine, strong, clipper-built vessel,
with good accommodation for passengers." Captain,
Thomas Silk. The good accommodation appears to
refer to the unfurnished cabins, and must be under-
stood with strict reservation, for they had to furnish
their own cabins even to chairs and mattresses. They
39


John Innocent
appear to have lived on spartan fare served with hard
ship's biscuit, and the mode of taking a bath was to
sit on the deck in the early morning and have the ship's
hose turned on you. Mr. Innocent speaks of these
conditions as " healthy if not comfortable." The jour-
ney began adversely. No sooner had they been towed
down the river than contrary winds began to blow
which lasted for days, during which they were help-
lessly driven about; one night they passed through a
fearful storm, and next morning learnt that two vessels
quite near them had sunk, and all hands had been lost.
This storm gave Mr. Innocent the opportunity to culti-
vate nautical language, for he tells us that "her jib,
top-gallant, and top-sails were torn to shreds." Then
eight of the sailors mutinied. There were eight adult
male passengers, and seven of them were Missionaries.
The sailors said there were too many Jonahs aboard.
And they had started on a Friday. The captain had
to put his refractory sailors in irons. When they at
last got to Deal, he went ashore and exchanged them
for eight others, "good-looking fellows." After thus
going through a mutiny, and nearly a shipwreck, at
the end of a fortnight (we shall soon be able to reach
Tientsin in less time) they landed at Portsmouth.
At Portsmouth they got a good rest. The ship stayed
there a few days and reprovisioned. The passengers
all went ashore, and met with warm friends in the
Baptist and Congregational ministers. They were en-
tertained. Something like a new valedictory service
was held in "a large square church," and on their de-
parture they carried with them many good wishes and
promises of prayer for their welfare. From Ports-
mouth, Mrs. Hall and her child, together with Mr.
Innocent's little boy of two years old, returned home.
40



Tientsin : Palace North Street.
Near site of the old Kung Pei Chapel.
To face p. 42.


I
i
I


Arrival at Shanghai
offered the whole boat-load in exchange for him. The
baby's mother, however, did not wish to trade on such
a speculative basis. Off the Loo Choo Islands they
passed the "Lady Elizabeth," which had left London
ten days before them. They felt proud to be on a
vessel that could make such rapid time.
This was on the 15th of March. On the 18th they
encountered a number of fishing smacks, and soon they
passed close to a number of small islands of the
Chusan Archipelago, sighted the Saddle Islands, and
soon were in the Yangtze Kiang. The water is
described as being of a dirty yellow. The captain,
evidently a lover of "poetry in words," called it "pea
soup." Sea captains always call it pea soup. On the
19th the Chinese pilot came on board, and although
after his arrival they had a very narrow escape from
running on a rock, his presence inspired them with
confidence that they would reach their destination. By
the 22nd they were "far up the Yang Tzii," and at
four o'clock, a.m., they first saw the coast of the main-
land of China. "It looked like a low line on the
water fringed with trees."
On the morning of the 23rd of March, 1860, they cast
anchor at Wusung, and this long and trying sea-passage
of fully five months was over at last. "A ship," said
Dr. Johnson, "is a prison with a chance of being
drowned," and the prisoners, doubtless overjoyed at
the prospect of terra firma, donned their best duds and
"Eager longed for their release."
We cannot do better than conclude this chapter in
the affecting words which form a fitting conclusion of
the Journal:—
"In the afternoon we received kind notes from Mrs.
Muirhead, of the L.M.S., welcoming us all to Shanghai,
«


John Innocent
and inviting us to their homes on the Mission premises,
assuring us that all arrangements had been made for
our comfort. A nice comfortable yacht, belonging to
Lindsay and Co., was sent to take us up to Shanghai
We were delighted to go, and at once went aboard the
yacht. We were three and a half hours in going up
the river (the Huang Po). Being very late when we
arrived, we found none of our friends waiting for us
on the quay, and it was one and a half hours before we
could land. Then Messrs. Muirhead, Wylie, Edkins,
John L. Cowie, also Mr. Soul, of Lindsay's, came to
fetch us, and greeted us most kindly. Brother Hall,
myself and wife were taken to the hospitable home of
the Rev. J. Edkins and his excellent lady, who treated
us in the most kind and considerate manner. The fol-
lowing day several Missionaries, and their wives, came
to see us, and kindly wished to have some of us to
entertain. These visits impressed me with the advan-
tage of freedom from sectarian prejudice, as all De-
nominations greeted us with warm-hearted kindness.
May bigotry never influence my mind nor interfere
with unity!" (Through John Innocent's long life this
prayer was abundantly answered.)
The trials of the way, the length and weariness of
the voyage seem all forgotten in the pleasure of the
pious and intelligent society we have here. "The voyage
seems like a dream, though it was anything but that."


CHAPTER VI.
THE YEAR AT SHANGHAI.
A SERIOUS CHANGE OF PURPOSE.
On their arrival in Shanghai our two devoted Mission-
aries found a totally different state of things from what
they had expected to find. At the time they left Eng-
land the prospect of mission work in China seemed full
of smiling promise. No doubt the political situation
did much to encourage the sending of them forth. On
the 5th of January, 1858, the English and French en-
tered Canton, where they captured Commissioner Yeh
who had given them much trouble. He was sent as a
prisoner to Calcutta, where he died the next year. The
allies proceeded to Peking, and took the Pei-ho forts
(near Taku) May 20th, arriving in Tientsin the same
day. There negotiations commenced on the 5th of
June. China seemed amenable to reason. A new
Treaty was made during the three days, June 26th,
28th and 29th. It was signed by Lord Elgin on the
part of England, by Baron Gros on the part of France,
and by the newly-appointed Commissioner Chi Ying on
the part of China. This Treaty was full of promise to
the cause alike of the missionary and of the trader.
Ambassadors were to represent the Dragon Emperor
at both Courts. There was to be freedom of trade.
Christianity was to be tolerated. China was to pay the
expenses of the war. There was to be a revised tariff.
The Government was to learn civility, for the term
"I," pronounced "ye," not "I," which means "bar-
45


John Innocent
barian," was prohibited by the Treaty. It is a question
whether the famous "toleration clauses" have not done
missions much more harm than good. Now all this
good news would arrive in England some time between
the Conference which appointed them, and the time
when our friends left for China. But during the five
months that they were at sea a storm had burst over
the international horizon as rude as that which had
buffeted them about in the English Channel. In ac-
cordance with the terms of the Treaty the British En-
voy, Mr. Bruce, proceeded to the capital, but was
stopped in the Pei-ho river on his way to Peking. Ad-
miral Hope attempted to force a passage, but was re-
pulsed with a loss of eighty-one killed and 390 wounded.
This was on the 25th of June, 1859. An American
Envoy, Mr. Ward, was refused an audience with the
Emperor because he would not "kotow," on the 29th of
July. England and France were preparing a new ex-
pedition just as our friends were leaving England, and
Lord Elgin and Baron Gros were back at Shanghai in
June, just when our friends had barely settled down
in Shanghai. Beside all this the marvellous rebels, the
"Tai-pings," were astir. They had held a large tract
in the south for years with Nanking, the ancient capital
of the Ming dynasty, in their hands, and had now
broken out, and were threatening Suchow and Shanghai.
It was into the midst of these turbulent events that
Innocent and Hall were precipitated. The Settlement
of Shanghai was flooded with missionaries, many of
whom, like our friends had come to possess the "goodly
land," while others had been driven in by the disturbed
condition of the country.
One of the first tasks our friends had before them
was to secure a house to live in, which they did with


Friends in Shanghai
some difficulty. It was a poor house at a high rent,
and rather far removed from the Settlement. Mr. Inno-
cent, who was always a careful economist, was shocked
at having to pay £75 per annum for four rooms and
servants' quarters. Immediately on getting into the
house, he tells us he began the study of the local dialect.
Shanghai dialect does not extend far beyond Shanghai.
Referring to the events just narrated Mr. Innocent
writes:—
"The offensive repudiation of the Treaty and gross
insult to the Governments of France and England, not
only destroyed all the golden hopes which had prevailed
about an open country for commerce and Christianity,
but had caused another serious rupture between China
and the West. Great Britain and France had deter-
mined to resent the insult, and send a combined force
to Peking to insist upon the Treaties being ratified,
which had been made in 1858. Thus war had been
declared, and the allied forces were all ready to gather
in the north. Shanghai was under martial law, and
held by the British and French, and was so held until
the declaration of peace in November, i860."
The situation in Shanghai had one advantage. It
gave the new-comers unrivalled opportunities for form-
ing friendships which were valuable to them in after
years. Hence we read:—
"It was no small advantage to meet with such dis-
tinguished and veteran Missionaries as Bishop Boone,
AE.M.; Dr. Culbertson, A.P.M.; Dr. Bridgman,
AB.C.F.M.; A. Wylie, W. Muirhead, J. Edkins,
Griffith John, L.M.S.; C. J. Burdon, W. Collins,
C.M.S., and others; with many of whom we had inti-
mate association and formed life-long friendships."
In the work of one of these excellent men Mr. Inno-
47


John Innocent
cent evidently took a peculiar interest for we find the
following special note in his Journal:—
"One most interesting department of Christian work
we saw in operation in Shanghai, viz., the printing for
the B. and F. Bible Society of the Holy Scriptures in
Chinese. This work was under the superintendence of
that remarkable scholar and devoted Christian, Alexan-
der Wylie. It was most fascinating to see the large
cylindrical printing press, turned by a buffalo, rolling
off its sheets of Chinese characters, which sheets were
then folded and arranged and stitched into paper-
covered books for circulation over China. The work-
men employed were all Chinese. The Bible Society
Jubilee, concurring with the rise of the Tai-ping rebels,
who were favourable to the spread of the Scriptures,
was made the occasion for creating a fund for provid-
ing a million Testaments for China. Mr. Wylie was
engaged in executing this large order at the time, but
owing to the disturbed state of the country, the stock
began to accumulate. The Shanghai Committee urged
the suspension of printing operations for a year, and
that Mr. Wylie should be employed as an agent of the
Bible Society. Before he retired from active labours
(1877), owing to the loss of eyesight, he had the plea-
sure of getting over a million New Testaments into
circulation, besides a great many portions."
Two objects of supreme importance lay before Mr.
Innocent and Mr. Hall at this time, and it says much
for the stuff of which the men were made that they
turned their attention toward them in the most whole-
hearted manner. These two objects were intimately
related; for their decision as to either one must affect
the other. They had to decide what dialect among the
several dialects spoken in the country they should
48


Where to Commence Work?
study. They had also to determine in what part of
all vast China they should choose the field of their life-
work, and with it that of others coming after them.
The latter decision had been partly prejudged. Before
they left England there was a sort of general under-
standing, though no doubt much was left to their own
discretion, that if circumstances, and observation on
the spot favoured, they should establish themselves at
Suchow. Loyal to this purpose they took the earliest
opportunity of going to see, with their own eyes, this
great and far-famed city. An opportunity offered itself
in the projected visit of the Rev. J. W. Lambuth, of
the American Methodist Episcopal Church, South, who
was going out on a ten days' preaching tour, and would
take the city on his round. Both Innocent and Hall
were eager to accompany him, and early on the morn-
ing of the 17th of May, 1860, after breakfasting with
a friend, the start was made. It was an eventful
journey, as they found the whole region greatly dis-
turbed, and on arriving at Suchow they were not
allowed to enter.
Some account is given of this their first missionary
journey in " Consecrated Enthusiasm," but a portion of
Mr. Innocent's own sketch will be interesting to our
readers:—
"After calling at several cities and towns en route,
where our esteemed friend preached the Gospel, and
we assisted him in distributing Christian books, we
reached the famous city on May 23rd, but were hardly
permitted to enter. The people were in a state of
panic owing to the reports which had reached them
that the Tai-ping rebels were on their way from Nan-
king to take the city. By some adroit manoeuvre they
had broken through and scattered the besieging army
■
49


of imperial troops at Nanking. On the road we had
met many of these soldiers in flight who confirmed the
reports that the insurgents had taken other cities en
route to Suchow. As we approached the city we were
astonished at its marvellous amplitude. Its noble walls
were seen stretching away for miles both westward and
southward. After sailing alongside the city walls for
two hours without compassing more than two-thirds of
its circumference, we drew up to shore and prepared,
with some anxiety, to attempt an entrance into the city.
We passed through the east gate without difficulty, the
crowds appearing too much cast down in spirit to think
of molestation. We delivered many tracts. Our ex-
pectations were raised, and we took courage. But the
end was at hand. A short walk of less than a quarter
of a mile finished our labours. We were stopped by a
group of soldiers, and ordered into an office occupied
by an important Mandarin. Two officials were just
then retiring from the place, and as they passed us on
the way to their sedans, they turned upon us a haughty
glance, which gave us the opportunity of marking their
anxious and care-worn features. Everything in the
looks of all classes proclaimed a fearful crisis. The
Mandarins having departed we were interrogated as to
our designs. With excessive politeness the superior offi-
cer informed us that we must not persist in our inten-
tions, as he could not guarantee our safety for one
hour. He said the city was filled with soldiers, our
motives might be misunderstood, and we might be torn
to pieces. The people were fleeing in every direction,
and they expected to have to close the gate during the
day. We then begged his acceptance of a copy of the
Scriptures, gave books to each of his attendants, and
took our departure. That day the city gates were closed


Visits to Suchow
and all business suspended. The canal and roads were
crowded with fugitives escaping for their lives from
the doomed city. Next day we returned to Shanghai.
Rain was falling in torrents adding to the wretched-
ness of the flying populace. The miserable scenes of
that exodus will never be erased from our minds.
Nine days later, on the 2nd of June, the rebels took
the city without assault . The ruin and carnage were
fearful."
Two subsequent visits were made to Suchow,
one on the 30th of June, 1860, when Mr. Hall
accompanied Messrs. Edkins and Griffith John on
a visit, and another, on the 30th of July, when
Mr. Innocent accompanied the same gentleman with
one or two others. Mr. Innocent's language on
the occasion of his first visit, as we have seen,
was sufficiently enthusiastic, but his language is far
surpassed by that of Mr. Hall, who was carried away
by its splendour, its luxuriance, and its licentiousness.
But on the second visit there was an awful change. "A
mass of charred and desolate heaps." "The canal for
miles so thickly covered with the noisome floating car-
casses of the dead that in many places it was with diffi-
culty that our boat could be pushed through." Such
havoc had been wrought in two short months.
Both the visits just referred to were made at the
instance of the rebel chiefs themselves, the latter one
by express invitation of the "Kun Wang," who was
Prime Minister, and the leading strategist of the move-
ment. His name was Hung Jen, and he was cousin to
the rebel Emperor Hung Hsiu Ch'iian. Both these men
were earnest Christians. Their army was a Christian
army, and knelt for prayers morning and evening.
They were anxious to have Christian teaching in their

51


John Innocent
camps. History has ranked the unsuccessful Hung Hsiu
Ch'iian as an infamous rebel, the author of unspeak-
able bloodshed and misery. Had he been successful he
would have been glorified as the Mohammed of China.
Mr. Innocent saw clearly enough, as many saw at the
time, that their great movement, in its first beginnings,
was a struggle against corrupt, evil, and reckless ad-
ministrators for freedom to worship God. This is no
time for digression, else one would be tempted to specu-
late on what is indeed but a vain topic, the "might
have been." Had the Powers but remained aloof from
this great strife—a civil war in which the Imperialists
were more ruthless than the Revolutionaries? Had
England especially not been so anxious, as she again
was in Boxer days, to uphold the power of the Man-
chus? Had Gordon, the "Christian Soldier," but have
chosen the Christian side? But the political situation
was full of perplexity, anomaly and distraction. While
Lord Elgin was marching on Peking and burning the
Summer Palace, the foreign troops, though at war with
the Government, were holding Shanghai against the
rebels, and Gordon, with his "ever-victorious" force,
was breaking their military strength.
After his return from this saddening visit, Mr. *
Innocent was taken dangerously ill. This was in the
beginning of August, the hottest and most trying time
of the year. The doctor pronounced it Asiatic
Cholera. Dr. Edkins, another member of the party,
was stricken at the same time, but not with the same
complaint . It was ascribed to the sickening and un-
wholesome scenes they had been through. Mr. Hall,
in his letters to the Secretary, spoke in the most feel-
ing and sympathetic terms of his companion's illness,
and wellnigh despaired of his life. Not many men
Si


Serious Illness
come through an attack of Asiatic cholera. "For
twenty-four hours," says Mr. Innocent, "I was at
death's door. Good Dr. Henderson during this crisis
stood by me, with my beloved wife, applying remedies
and offering prayers, and through God's mercy and
their devoted attention my life was spared." It turned
to acute dysentery, which lasted for six weeks. Even-
tually he was hurried off to Chefoo, where his recovery
was almost magical.
This episode is vividly depicted in quite charming
language in an account by Mrs. Innocent:
"Shanghai was in a very unsettled state in August,
1860. The rebels had taken Suchow; the refugees
from that place were living on Shanghai city walls.
Food was given to them daily, but not sufficient to
keep life in young growing lads, consequently many
of them, of 16 and 17 years old died. There were
daily births and deaths on the wall. Men were con-
stantly taken up as spies, executed and their heads
hung on the city walls. One day I counted 40 men
led away to execution. Coming from Suchow, the
missionaries, who had been to visit the 'Kun Wang,'
had their boats pushed through the floating corpses of
men and women all the way home. Dr. Edkins and
my husband, owing to these unhealthy surroundings,
came home ill with diarrhoea.
"Our house was outside the British settlement,
some distance from the London Mission. Mrs. Daw-
son said she would take charge of our dear George
at her home while the unrest passed, as in the event
of our having to escape from our house, the child's
cries might prove disastrous. A night or two after
this my husband and Mr. Hall persuaded me to go
for the night to Mrs. Edkins.' My husband walked
53


down with me, I went very reluctantly. Mr. Hall gave
my husband castor oil when they got home, hoping
to cure him of his diarrhoea. At six o'clock next
morning he came for Dr. Henderson and myself, say-
ing that my husband was very ill. On arriving at
home I was greatly shocked to see my beloved hus-
band pale, pulseless, and unable to speak to me. He
had Asiatic cholera. Dr. Henderson looked very
grave, and put large mustard plasters on his legs and
feet, and gave him a teaspoonful of brandy at short
intervals. I watched by him and prayed for him all
that long day. Mercifully our tender, heavenly Father
listened to our prayers, that went not out of feigned
lips, and stayed the disease. But for three months
afterwards my poor husband was very ill. In the
meantime rebels were scouring the country and near-
ing Shanghai. We had a mountain chair in readiness,
if necessary to carry away our invalid. August 17th
I had just taken off a large fly-blister from my patient
and was sitting down to read and watch for the night,
when Mr. Hall came in quite excitedly, saying, 'I
hear noises; we must have Mr. Innocent away at
once. I said, 'He cannot be moved. It would be
cruel to raise him up after that blister.' Mr. Hall: 'It
cannot be helped; he must go!' Miss Vogler was
in bed asleep. Her door was opposite mine, and I
went and called her up. I was not undressed, neither
was Mr. Hall. We put bolsters and pillows into the
mountain chair, then carried the poor patient down-
stairs and placed him as comfortably as we could in
a lying position. No coolies were at hand to carry
the chair. Miss Vogler's cook and mine refused to
carry the chair. I said to Mr. Hall, 'You and I will
try to carry it.' I put my shoulders to the back part.
54


A Month in Chefoo
Mr. Hall took up the front. I could not lift my end.
Mr. Hall managed to lift his, but we were helpless to
move the chair. The men seeing this came to the
rescue, and took it with the greatest ease, and we
started. At our gate a Sikh soldier shook his lance
in our faces and cried, ' Friend or foe?' We gave the
password and went on our way. All was quiet on the
way and at the London Mission all fast asleep in bed.
I got my beloved to bed, and though faint, he did not
succumb under the exertion. Next day the rebels did
come to a place a mile or two from Shanghai. After
a week or two we went back to our house. My hus-
band kept in a very feeble state, leaning on his staff
like an old man. In October the doctor said he must
go to Chefoo. Dr. and Mrs. Edkins were also in a
feeble state, so it was arranged that all three should
go to Chefoo. Why did I not go as well? I was
told afterwards that no one expected to see my
husband come back alive. I myself had no such fear,
though he had to be carried on to the steamer. My
dear husband found at sea a most voracious appetite
and had every encouragement to eat. After a month's
stay in Chefoo he returned and reached home on
November the 9th. It was night. Mr. Hall had gone
to his room. Lizzie had the candle going on before
me, while I carried baby George to bed. Lizzie ran
back saying, 'There is a man!' The upper part of
our front door was of glass. I went to see, and there
was my husband. Such a change in him in so short
a time I never expected to see. His trousers were
tucked up, as the road was muddy, and showed such
strong legs; his face was stout and rosy. I could not
speak for laughing. We laughed so merrily that Mr.
Hall came down to see what it was all about. And
55


John Innocent
then he began laughing, and so we kept up the chorus
till we were all tired. We did thank God Who was
better than all our fears."
Mr. Innocent had come home in a sailing ship from
Chefoo. The visit had very much impressed him.
Though it continued the interruption which sickness
had brought to his studies, he considered the time well
spent as he learnt much about the country, and
especially it had opened his eyes to the great import-
ance of the North. To the Western mind of that day,
and especially to the commercial world, the term China
almost exclusively connoted the southern and central
provinces. The Occidental was almost as oblivious of
the great northern provinces of the empire as the
Chinaman was of the world outside China. The visit
had opened his eyes to the wonderful opportunities
for evangelism which lay untouched, uncoveted, almost
we might say, undreamed of in the far north. With
the eye of a strategist he took in all the advantages
it presented; nearness to the capital, the healthy, stal-
wart physique of the people, their less sophisticated
mental qualities, the great superiority of the climate,
the unlimited field for expansion into Shantung,
Shansi, Honan, Shensi, not to mention the vast
stretches of Manchuria and Mongolia. He wanted to
go to Chefoo and commence a mission at once,
but he was anticipated by others. It is pertinent to
observe in relation to the difference of opinion between
our two pioneer missionaries on the question of the
choice of field that each was impressed by what he
saw. Had Mr. Hall gone to the north at this time,
it is likely he would have felt the same. They were
right missionaries; what they saw they loved, and
what they loved they wanted to convert.
Si



River Pei-ho, Tientsin.
face p. 56.


Snohow
During this period the momentous question, "Where
shall our Mission be founded?" was very prominent
in the minds of both our Missionaries, the more so
as they took opposite views on the subject. Mr. Hall
was extremely reluctant to abandon the original plan
of settling in Suchow. It was plain they could not
take up their abode there at once, but must wait for
more settled times. It was only some 70 or 80 miles
from Shanghai. They could watch for opportunities to
visit it, and in the meantime be studying the language.
In fact Suchow had captured his imagination, as in-
deed it might. It was a rich, magnificent city, the
centre of a populous region. If the Italians say, "See
Naples and die," the Chinese also have a proverb:
"Shang Yu T'ien Tang
Hsia Yu Su Hang."
"Above the sky is heaven itself,
"Below the sky are Su (chow) and Hang (chow)."
Mr. Innocent himself has appended to his diary
Dr. Williams' description of the city taken from "The
Middle Kingdom":
"The city of Suchow now exceeds Nanking in size
and riches. It is situated on islands lying in the great
lake. The walls of the city are about 10 miles in
circumference. Outside of them are four suburbs, one
of which is said to extend 10 miles each way. Besides
which there is an immense floating population. The
whole population cannot be far from two millions. It
lies north-west of Shanghai, the way lying through a
continual range of villages and cities. The environs
are highly cultivated, producing cotton, silk, rice, wheat,
fruit and vegetables.
57


John Innocent
The Chinese regard it as one of their most beautiful
and richest cities. It has a high reputation for the
splendour of its buildings, the elegance of its tombs,
the picturesque scenery of its waters and gardens, the
politeness and intelligence of its inhabitants, and the
beauty of its women. Its manufactures of silk, linen
and cotton fabrics and works in ivory, wood, horn,
glass, lacquerware, paper and other articles are the
chief sources of its wealth and prosperity. The silk
goods produced here surpass in variety and richness
those woven in other places."
In a letter published in "Consecrated Enthusiasm,"
Mr. Hall gives the population at 200,000. This is a slight
mistake. There is a nought missing. But probably
both estimates are false. A later authority gives
500,000.
Mr. Innocent was all for the north. Chefoo was
bespoken, but there was Tientsin with its boundless
possibilities untouched, and the Treaty making it an
open port was being signed by Lord Elgin—ratified
in Peking, 24th of October, 1860. There is no doubt
this constituted a serious difference of opinion between
the two men. On the other hand, there is no indica-
tion that it led to any unpleasantness or estrange-
ment between them. Each pressed his views on the
Committee, as was natural, and indeed right . Mr.
Hall even suggested that, like Paul and Barnabas,
they should divide, that the Committee should send
out two new men, and that he with one of them should
remain to take up Suchow, or else go up with Griffith
John to Hankow, which would not have been a bad
solution of the question. Careful consideration leads
to the conclusion that when all is said Mr. Innocent
took the more statesmanlike view. He has himself
53


Decision for Tientsin
given us the reasons for his own choice. They are
disinterested and they are cogent:
"Peace was established in the north: the Yang-
tze Valley was still disturbed . The climate of the
north was dry and bracing: that of Central China was
humid and prostrating. Waiting in uncertainty was
likely to disappoint friends at home, and to prevent
our own concentration of mind on suitable study and
preparation for our work. Immediate settlement would
open to us a door of usefulness, and afford a basis
of operations for the future. Even in learning the
language, living with the people you intend to preach
to is a great advantage. The chief consideration with
me was for a new mission in an entirely new field
where no other worker had been, not to enter into
or intrude upon, or meet with restrictions from, other
men's labours."
The momentous question on which our two brethren
were so strongly though not unamicably at issue,
appears to have been decided for them by the Mis-
sionary Committee. It was in favour of John Innocent
and Tientsin.
Respecting this, at the time very knotty question,
the following observations may be made:
1. It was not a question of right and wrong, but
of better and best. Both locations were extremely
eligible.
2. There were no vain regrets. Mr. Hall went to
Tientsin "with a good heart."
3. The blessing realized in after years does not
prove that a different decision would have been a
mistake, but it abundantly justifies the choice made.
4. We are now represented in the region that was
discarded: for our "Free Church" brethren took up
59


John Innocent
work in Ningpo in 1864, so that the United Methodist
Church is well represented in Central China.
On Friday, March 15th, 1861, Mr. Innocent, escorted
by Mr. Hall, went on board the "Maryland" and sailed
from Shanghai for Tientsin, arriving there after a
twenty days' passage, on the 4th of April. He had
left the ship ten miles up the river and reached the
port on a Chinese cart over a dusty road, about ten
o'clock at night. He was alone, because when he left
Shanghai he had "not enough money to pay the rent
and take wife and child."
Suchow was retaken by General Gordon, November
27th and 28th, 1864. Suchow was eventually occupied
by the Rev. Mr. Lambuth, of the American Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, and afterwards by both the
American Presbyterian Missions. At the present day
our American Methodist brethren have a university
there, and property estimated at 60,000 gold dollars
(£12,000).
60


TABLE.*
Showing the date of foundation of the principal Protestant
Missions in China, with place where begun.
A.D.
505 Nestorian Mission came to China. Tablet at Hsi Ngan
unearthed in 1865 is dated 781.
1292 Roman Catholic. John Corvino came to China. 1784
Roman Catholics severely persecuted.
1807 London Missionary Society. Dr. Morrison came to China.
1830 A.B.C.F. Mission (American). Canton, 1849 Shanghai.
1835 American Church Mission (Episcopal). Canton.
1837 American Baptist Mission. Macao. Canton 1845.
1844 Church Missionary Society. Shanghai.
1844 Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. North. Canton 1847.
1845 Baptist Missionary Society of England. Ningpo. Chefoo 1859.
1846 Basel (German) Mission. Hong-Kong and Canton.
1847 Methodist Episcopal Mission, U.S.A. North. Fuchow.
1847 Rhenish Missionary Society. Hong-Kong.
1847 Presbyterian, U.S.A. North. Canton.
1847 Seventh-day Baptists, U.S.A. Shanghai.
1849 Methodist Episcopal, U.S.A. South. Shanghai.
1850 Berlin Missionary Society. Hakkas, Canton.
1853 China Inland Mission. Hudson Taylor.
1860 Methodist New Connexion. Tientsin.
1862 Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society. Hankow.
1863 Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.
1864 English Methodist Free Church. Ningpo and
Wknchow.
1867 Presbyterian, U.S.A. South. Hangchow.
1869 Irish Presbyterian Mission. Manchuria.
1871 Canadian Presbyterian Mission. Formosa.
1875 United Free Church of Scotland. Manchuria.
1878 Church of Scotland Mission. Ichang.
1883 Church of England Mission, Zenana Society. Kucheng.
1884 English Friends Mission. Hankow. Chungking 1890.
1885 Bible Christian Missionary Society. Yunnan;
Kweichow.
1887 Swedish Mission in China. Shansi, Shensi, Honan.
1891 Scandinavian Mission Alliance. China. Shensi, Kansu.
1895 Mongolia.
1891 Canadian Methodist Mission. Chengtu.
1892 Swedish Baptist Mission. Kiaochow.
BIBLE SOCIETIES.
1812 British and Foreign Bible Society.
1832 American Bible Society.
1863 Scottish Bible Society.
* This list gives only important Missions. There are about 90 societies in all.
61


PART IL
From the Commencement of Missionary Work in
Tientsin to the Death of Mr. Hall, 1861 to 1878.
CHAPTER VII.
THE CITY OF TIENTSIN.
THE City of Tientsin ("the heavenly fords") is
situated on the right bank of the Pei-ho, close to the
point of its junction with the Grand Canal. In fact, it
is the meeting-place of several streams which converge
upon it as a centre and, having joined the Pei-ho, form
the lower portion of that stream, and by what is known
to the Chinese as the Hai-ho (the sea river), run from
Tientsin to the sea Take an ordinary cart wheel,
knock off its felloes, take out half of its spokes, and
dislocate the rest into irregular positions, some much
nearer to, and some much farther from, each other than
the rest. These spokes may then represent the Hai-
ho, the Pei-ho, the Grand Canal, the Hun-ho, the
Shang-hsi-ho, the Shia-hsi-ho and one or two other
streams. The hub of the wheel is Tientsin. It is dis-
tant about eighty miles from Peking, the capital of the
Empire, and about thirty-five miles by road, but much
farther by water, from the sea at Taku. Previous to
the time of the Boxer outbreak, it was a large walled
city, of rectangular shape, measuring about one and a
62


Roman Catholic Cathedral, Tientsin
quarter miles from east to west, and about three-quar-
ters of a mile from north to south. Its principal gates
were regularly placed, the streets connecting them
forming a cross with a large drum-tower in the middle
of the city. The walls were in bad repair. The
suburbs of the city are at least as large as the city
itself, and contain the most important of its streets.
They sprawl about in an irregular manner over the
windings of the river which for two or three miles
shows a perfect forest of masts belonging to sea-going
junks and boats of various descriptions.
Around the city and its suburbs, and including also
much vacant ground, had just been thrown up a mili-
tary rampart of earth often spoken of by foreigners
as "San Ko Lin-Sin's folly," the Tartar general of
that name having constructed it to resist the approach
of Lord Elgin's mission. It is known to the Chinese
as the "Wei Tzii," "the defence," and has become
another name for Tientsin. It was about sixteen miles
in circuit, but is fast disappearing.
The Roman Catholic Cathedral, the scene of the
massacre of 1870, occupies a uniquely commanding
position at the junction of the Pei-ho with the Grand
Canal The site was taken from the Chinese without
payment in 1860, an act of confiscation which rankled
in the popular mind, and played its part in causing the
massacre. Many important temples, mosques and
yamens adorn the city, though, on the whole, the struc-
ture of the buildings, until recently, was somewhat
mean. In 1900, after the outbreak, the walls were
razed to the ground, and, together with the narrow
streets within and without the city, were converted into
broad, straight macadamized roads, which are now
traversed by an extensive electric tram system, and
U


John Innocent'
lighted with electricity. In 1861 such things were all
undreamt of, as were the extensive foreign settlements,
British, French, German, American, Japanese,
Austrian, Russian, which lie to the south-east of the
city, and are far more imposing than the city itself.
Tientsin is the port for the Metropolis. It has now a
large import and export trade, is a great emporium for
the salt condensed from the sea at Taku and carried in
junks along the Grand Canal to the far interior, and is
a great market for skins, camels' hair, pigs' bristles, and
other products which come down from Manchuria and
Mongolia. But in 1861 most of these trades were in
their infancy.
The population of Tientsin is generally given as about
one million. The same authority—" Phillips's Atlas of
the World," recently published—which gives Suchow
500,000, gives Tientsin as 961,000. From personal
knowledge and observation, and we have known
Tientsin for thirty years, we should say it was rather
under than over-estimated. Chinese from all over the
empire are to be found in the city, and very largely
supplement the original population, An-Hui, Canton,
and Ningpo having important guilds located there,
and Honan, Shansi, and Shantung contributing
each its quota to the population. It is virtually the
capital of the province of Chihli, Peking standing apart
as the seat of empire, while Paotingfu, an important
city to the west, holds that position only in a nominal
sense. Tientsin is the seat of a Viceroyalty that
governs the northern provinces. The Viceroyalty known
as the Peiyang Ta Ch'en is the most important official
appointment out of Peking. This was the proud position
which gave to Li Hung Chang for many years, and to
Yuen Shih K'ai recently, so great an influence in the
6*


in the world. The railway line running from Tsingtao
to Chinanfu will shortly connect with the Tsin-pu line
to Tientsin. A line already runs westward to Pao-
tingfu, and one northward to Peking and Kalgan. The
great trunk line known as the Ching-Han line has its
junction at Fengtai indeed, but connects with Tientsin,
and links it, through Paoting, to Hankow. It will soon
be extended into Canton. The new line known as the
Pu Kow or Tsin Pu line, will have its terminus in
Tientsin, will run to Nanking and thence to Shanghai.
Most important of all, the great Siberian railway unites
Tientsin in an easterly direction with Europe itself, and
already passengers for Shanghai, Hong-Kong, Ningpo,
and the whole south of China, are beginning to travel
via Tientsin instead of Tientsinners travelling by these
ports. The continuation of the Kalgan railway to join
the Siberian route at Chiachta will shorten the journey
to Europe by some days. Even this is not all; but a
yet shorter route still is possible through Kansuh and
Turkestan to Merv or Samarkand. It is already talked
of, will some day be made, and what sounds incredible
will then be realized, a run from Paris or St. Peters-
burg to Tientsin in a week.
Tientsin is a progressive city. Its proximity to the
capital keeps it in touch with political and social move-
ments, and as a port it is open to contact with the
outside world. As a thriving and prosperous com-
mercial centre, even in the early days, it was naturally
open to progressive movements. At the same time it
is far enough removed from Peking to keep free of the
trammels of those traditions of mandarindom which
have proved so stubbornly reactionary, and which to
this day keep Peking conservative. The impact of
modern civilization, which shocked China and stung the
06



A Tea Booth in Tientsin.
To face p. 66.





A Profreture City
national pride, came first upon the south. The bitter
hostility engendered by the opium trade was but little
felt in the north, and, though anti-foreign, it was anti-
foreign in a different way. Hostility in the south was
due to knowledge, in the north to ignorance, and was
therefore liable to soften under the influence of kindly
relations. As the seat of empire, Peking responded to
the grudges engendered by painful experience in the
south, but they were not much felt outside its walls.
The Tientsin massacre in 1870 was certainly a dreadful
ebullition of public animosity, but, notwithstanding
that lamentable outburst, we may say that Tientsin has
never betrayed the deep hatred of the foreigner, and
all his ways, which has characterized most of the great
cities of the south. Since Boxer days it has been more
progressive than ever. Its new streets, broad and well
macadamized, houses built in Western style, shops
literally teeming with foreign goods of every descrip-
tion, its electric tram-lines, and electrically-lit streets,
its waterworks and flour mills, all show how conscious
it is of the value of trade with other countries and the
adoption of Western methods of life. It tolerated rail-
ways before they were tolerated elsewhere. It has an
organized educational system second to none in China,
far in advance of other cities, and men, women and
children are displaying a remarkable taste for a know-
ledge of the English language and for modern science.
In Tientsin we have three English daily newspapers,
two French ones, one German, a Japanese, and quite a
number of Chinese papers. It has a detective system,
prison, reformatories, a mint, and civic lecture halls,
and is asking for a municipality on the western model.
It is strong in its advocacy of a new constitution, with a
popular franchise. Nowhere is the rising spirit of
a


John Innocent
young China more in evidence, nowhere is there to be
found a more fertile soil for the reception of new
ideas. Perhaps more than any other great centre it
leads the van of China's awakening life.
The choice of Tientsin as a centre for our Mission in
China was a happy choice; we believe that we were
providentially led to its selection, but, so far as human
will and conscious purpose went to determine that selec-
tion, they must be credited to the sagacity and perse-
verance of John Innocent.
63


CHAPTER VIII.
AT TIENTSIN.
A PEEP INTO THE DOMESTICITIES OF A MISSIONARY.
Mr. INNOCENT did not quite realize his ideal of a
completely new field entirely to ourselves. On his arrival
in Tientsin that dark April night he was met and wel-
comed by the Rev. Henry Blodget, an American Congre-
gational missionary, who had come up with the troops
to Tientsin, and had spent the winter mostly in work
among the soldiers. Health considerations had driven
Mr. Blodget to Tientsin, where he arrived on a supply
ship on September 28th, 1860. He had been a mis-
sionary in Shanghai for seven years, was on his way
home with his wife, but on arriving at Yokohama a sea-
captain offered him a passage to Tientsin. He took
the offer, and, while Mrs. Blodget went on home, he
proceeded to Tientsin. Afterwards Dr. Blodget became
one of the stalwarts of the China Mission field, and re-
moved to Peking in 1864, where he did valuable literary
work, especially in the translation of the New Testa-
ment into Mandarin, and the rendering of hymns into
Chinese. He died in 1903.
Mr. Innocent was overjoyed to see the face of so
good a friend, and shared his quarters until he found
rooms for himself, in which task he experienced con-
siderable difficulty. His experiences and the state of
his mind at this time seem to us to be beautifully, if
somewhat naively, depicted in a private letter written to
Mrs. Innocent, which our readers will be delighted tP


have in full, as it affords a vivid peep at once into the
bliss of his wedded life and the little domestic cares
which beset the missionary.
From Mr. Innocent to Mrs. Innocent
.
"Tientsin, April 6th, 1861.
"My Very Dear Wife,—What can I say, or what can
I do for your comfort? I am in great distress of mind
about you, for your letter indicates your great suffering,
both of body and mind. How I wish I could fly to your
side to aid in bearing your sorrow, or endeavour to
mitigate in any way your great sufferings! I sincerely
trust that you have found entire relief ere this, and that
you are in a more cheerful state than when you wrote.
If not, I shall be disposed to come to you, instead of
welcoming you in this city. My heart is deeply affected
and shocked with the news of dear George's death. I
can hardly realize the fact, or suppose it possible that
we shall not see him again. Still, my darling, we must
remember that this visitation is tinged with the mercy
of our God. It was manifest that God was preparing
him for this change long before it took place; and his
sufferings must have been great, and it is better to be
relieved than to linger long in pain and helplessness.
Lingering, with certainty that his affliction would end in
death, would have been more a source of continued
anxiety and dejection to your dear sister than his some-
what sudden removal. Moreover, our kind heavenly
Father has not brought this trial upon her without pro-
viding her with grace commensurate to her need. The
greater the burden (and) the greater the measure of
strength which the Lord gives to his children to enable
them to bear it. Then, you know, she is surrounded
by her dear and sympathizing relatives, so that she will
n


"Blessed be the MM of the Lord"
have every comfort hearts or hands can administer.
We can only pray for her and sympathize in this her
loss, and ours. It would be wrong to allow our sorrow
to interfere with our work, or the exalted duties we
owe to God and the world Let us endeavour, there-
fore, calmly to submit to this dispensation, and trust
in God to preserve to us still those who are left of our
dear earthly friends. Be not dispirited, my darling, but
be cheerful and happy in God. Though He has 'taken
away,' He has only taken His own, for He 'gave,' and,
everything considered, we have reason to say for even
this, 'blessed be the name of the Lord.' Then, con-
sider how much is yet left to you, and to your bereaved
sister. And even if our dear son cannot come out to
us, I am sure, if he is any comfort to your sister, you
will be willing for him to remain with her now. Let
us only go on working for God, and in His way, and
all shall be well.
"I sincerely hope you will be able to join me soon
here. Try to get the goods away at once, either
through Mr. Soul or some other person. I learn that
goods (furniture) cost more than any other freight, but
the little furniture you have reserved, such as the round
table and the chairs, had better come, as the furniture
here is very inferior, though strong. I could manage
with it, but you could not. Don't get any more, how-
ever. Then try to come up to me in the next mail if
you caa Get some one to apply for you to the proper
authorities. As you are ill, I would rather have you by
my side than away. There are some good, kind medical
men here, if we need their assistance, and the troops
are not likely to leave for some time to come.
"There are several houses open to me, but I have
not yet fixed on one, but will do so in a day or two.
n


John Innocent
Capt . Henderson is very kind to me, and so is Mr.
Blodget, with whom I am living. He wants to be near
to us and have Mr. Hall to live with him, as he is
similarly circumstanced with regard to family. You
must be prepared to meet with very dirty-looking towns
up here, and dry, arid but fruitful country, and houses,
for a good rent, that you can get along with very com-
fortably. If no money has come, I think you might as
well try to come, and let Mr. Hall forward the money
when it does arrive. We will endeavour to get on. I
don't feel comfortable in your absence from me at all,
especially as you are not well. The voyage, I am sure,
will benefit you, and, as the climate here is much drier
than Shanghai, it will be to your advantage. I am glad
the dear child is well and so affectionate to you. I want
to embrace him again: kiss him very warmly for me. I
am also greatly obliged to Mrs. Wright and Mr. Hall
for their kindness to you, and am rejoiced that Mr.
Hall has encouraging news from his wife.
"The wall about this city is near four miles in extent,
built square, and the top of it is wide enough for two
carriages to drive abreast round it, except in some parts
where it is broken, and, as it is paved all round, it is a
very good promenade. The river and the Grand Canal
join just outside the walls, and the suburbs of the city
are more populous than the city itself. The river is
just outside the city on the northern and eastern sides,
and, as the suburbs are on both sides of the river, there
are seven bridges of long boats across, which can be
easily moved to allow ships to pass.
"All the foreigners are living in the north-eastern
suburbs, right amongst the Chinese. There are some
allotments of land ceded to foreigners, which are to be
sold in May, but this concession is two miles out of the
n


Preaching to English Soldier*
city, on the river, and, though it may be bought up, it
will be some time before foreigners build there, as they
speak of the city as being preferable for business. It
is certainly desirable for missionaries to live amongst
the people. I am sorry we have not money enough to
buy property, as there is a very large and suitable
place for missionary or merchant premises, well built
(to sell) for $3,000 (about £600). The Chinese are
now beginning to require very high rents for houses,
and I fear we shall have to give nearly as much as we
gave in Shanghai. I am resisting this, however, at
present, and hope to get one without much trouble for
much less.
"Monday, April 8th, 1861.
"I preached last night to the English soldiers and
several foreigners, in a little room opened in the city
for that purpose by two officers. These officers, Capts.
Brooke and Gray, are very fine, devoted fellows, and
a number of the soldiers have regular religious and
temperance meetings under their and Dr. Blodget's
countenance. I am quite at home with them, and hope
to form a class for their religious instruction.
"I have got a clean, healthy-looking servant, twice the
size of Loking, for 4,000 cash (about seven shillings) a
month. He is a good reader and a clear speaker, and
seems very honest. Mr. Blodget has a number of poor
people who attend his Chinese service, to whom several
officers give a catty (1 1-3 lb.) of rice each a week. The
women are all widows, and he says one of them would
be glad to serve you as a nurse, if you like. I don't
think there will be any difficulty, therefore, in getting
a woman. When you come, don't bring any washer-
man, for there are some here already. I have got two
shirts washed and ironed for 100 cash (four pence),
n


which is at the rate of $5 per 100 articles. But there
is a person washes without ironing for $2 per 100.
This will meet the case for the present, and we can
teach a servant to wash soon. It will be well for you
to bring up a little butter (3s. I lb. tin) with you when
you come, but nothing else. Some of the foreigners
here have cows, but they yield very little milk. Per-
haps it is because of the dryness of the season. How-
ever, I think we may understand it, and get the milk
(8d. 1J pints) we want. We can obtain a large wild
goose here for 200 cash (about eightpence), and at any
time can send to the (public) cook-house, and get a
fowl, nicely cooked for the table, for 150 cash (7id.).
Meat, fish, fowl, and vegetables can be had in any
quantity. Even bread, baked in foreign manner, of
foreign flour, is brought to the door by the Chinese,
who have learnt to make from the soldiers. There are
good tailors who make coats and trousers and caps, and
I don't know what else.
"April 10th, 1861.
"I now learn that square tables and cane-seated
chairs are made here, so you had better not bring your
black chairs. Suit yourself about the tables, but I
think the square tables they have here would better suit
the small rooms in Chinese houses, and, though they
don't look so well as the large round table, would be
quite as serviceable. There is abundance of coal and
wood in the market here; Chinese anthracite coal, and,
though dear, it is cheaper than at Shanghai. I dined
yesterday off a wild goose, which cost in the market 180
cash (not quite tenpence): I enjoyed it very much. It
will serve Mr. B. and myself for dinner to-day also.
The weather is so warm here that I have been un-
comfortably hot in walking about. To-day I have got
74



Tientsin: Chinese Junks.
To face p. 74.


I


Houe-teekinf
my things, and am going to wear my white linen coat
for the middle of the day. Day before yesterday we
had a shower of sand or dust, which was so thick that
it darkened the atmosphere and filled every place, and
covered everybody and everything with dust. Some-
times, I understand, it is so bad that it is necessary to
light the lamps in the houses to see what to do, and all
the shops are quite closed up. It only occurs during a
north-west wind, and on Monday was of short duration.
"I am weary of house-seeking. Every day has been
spent in this business since I came, and nothing is yet
settled. I have been to three or four this morning, and
have offered for two of them. I hope to get one, and
then proceed to put it in order. At any rate there is a
room fof you whenever you come, which I sincerely
hope will be very soon. I would like you to get here
before the Edkinses, if they are not coming at once.
"It appears that during the summer the heat is great
here, and the people construct covers over the squares
or yards on each side of which the rooms of a house are
built. I think a good lot of old sacking would make
a cheaper and a better shade than the Chinese make of
poles and matting. I think of having a central pole,
like the mast of a ship, and having a pulley so as to
draw up the shade and draw it out when necessary.
This would be lighter and better looking than the things
in use. Perhaps I may be able to buy an old ship's sail,
which would be better stilL I bought a beautiful grey
squirrel coat for you the other day, for which I gave
ten dollars. The man said it was new, but it turned
out that it had been worn, though it seemed no worse,
but as it was not new I sent it back, and had the dollars
returned. They are to be had in abundance, however,
and now the season is over they are cheap. As you
75


don't need it this season, I will wait until you come, and
you shall choose for yourself. Shall I buy one to send
to Lizzie for next winter? There are some beautiful
shops with beautiful things here for use and ornament.
"April 12th, 1861.
"The mail came yesterday, bringing your second
precious letter. I am sorry I have not been able to send
to you before, but to-morrow the mail leaves here. I
am full of grief for you and the objects of your sorrow.
Oh, how thankful I am that our dear Willie has been
spared to us and has passed safely through this afflic-
tion! Let us thank God, and be encouraged by His
mercy. Now, my dear, do make every effort to come
by the next mail. Perhaps Mr. Hall, or, say, Mr.
Soul, will urge the matter upon the parties who have
authority to give you a passage. Do try. If not by
that, you may come in the first vessel that leaves for
this place, in which let all the things come but the
furniture. If you can send them off at once, do so.
You may send the chairs, as good ones are very dear,
but not the table. Do not bring any rice The servant
(mine) has washed and ironed some things for Mr.
Blodget very nicely. All here who know me are
anxious for you to come, but none so much so as I am.
The weather is delightful here, and I think you will be
much better than in Shanghai. I long to press you again
to my heart, and hear your dear voice of love, and help
to make you happy. God bless thee, my own sweet
wife, and keep thee in safety and in peace.
"Now don't wait for money. We shall do for some
time, and the Lord will provide.
"Believe me, dearest, in warmest love,
"Thy most affectionate husband,
"John Innocent.
76


"Quite the Lover"
"P.S.—Remind my darling Morrison (his son
George) that his papa loves him and wants to see and
kiss him."
This letter is fairly long, but we confidently expect
the thanks of our readers for transcribing it. It is, to
us, a very gem of a letter; the more natural from its
remarkable mixture of topics, from the most private
and sacred feelings of the heart to the most trivial
details of housekeeping. It is just a bit of Mr.
Innocent's life, a small section cut clean and without
reserve. It shows us clearly the man as he was, shows
him as a missionary, a loving husband, a tender father,
a constant friend, a business man, a thoughtful
domestic manager. Mr. Hall, as "Consecrated En-
thusiasm " shows, was a great letter-writer, but even he
never surpassed the simple charm of this epistle.
A whole volume could not excel in effect the delight-
ful peep which it gives us into the tender relations and
complete mutual confidence subsisting between the
writer and the partner of his life. Talk of woman
being a help-meet for man, this shows the husband as
a most amiable and practical help-meet to his wife.
And he is quite the lover. We see how anxious he is
for her to join him, with what quiet art at every turn
he reiterates his patient longing, yet without dwelling
too importunately upon it. But, strong as his affection
is, it is not for a moment to draw him from his duty, or
interfere with his devotion to his work.
What a thoughtful comforter he is! With what skill
he lays himself out to say the right word at a time of
bereavement and sorrow! How tenderly he touches
the wounds, and how fruitful he is in topics of conso-
lation, and what pious resignation his words convey
and enjoin! Just a touch elaborate, perhaps, but he
n


Joka Innoceat
is a master of healing words. The "George" men-
tioned here is Mr. Foreman, husband of Mrs. Innocent's
sister, who took charge of their eldest child, Willie,
when he was sent back from Portsmouth. "111 tidings
travel fast." The sad news had been sent on by Mrs.
Innocent, and reached her husband within two days of
his arrival in Tientsin.
Considering that this letter was commenced two days
after Mr. Innocent's arrival, and the greater portion
written by the fourth day, it is very surprising the
amount of information on the most diverse subjects he
has managed to get together. He has evidently lost
no time. He has found a suitable property for Mission
premises (if he only had £600 to buy it with), nearly
taken a house, solved the male and female servant
question, together with the problems of washing and
baking, hunted up a quantity of furniture, and ascer-
tained the price and quality of wild goose and ready-
cooked fowl, besides knowing all about the city wall,
the river, the suburbs, and the beautiful climate, quali-
fied as it is by malignant dust-storms. He has been
stirring early. Mr. Innocent was always an early riser.
Many entries in his diary speak of rising at five am.,
which was his usual practice through life. No doubt
at early dawn his figure would be seen on street and
wall and river-side.
The mention of the very few foreigners in Tientsin
apart from the soldiers, reminds us of the list he has
drawn up of residents in Tientsin in 1861 and 1862.
We give it in full:—British Consul, J. Morgan;
Lindsay and Co., J. Henderson, at Kung Pei; Meadows
and Co., J. L. T. Meadows; Philips and Moore, E.
Waller, at Kung Pei; Maclean, at Kung Pei; T. Piatt,
at Kung Pei; Stamford, Richard, C. Grant, C. Mellor,
78


The First M.N.C. Mission Premises
—Stamman. These were all the foreign residents
there were in 1861.
Mrs. Innocent did not come by any means so quickly
as he wanted her to. She had to wait for the Edkinses
after all, and it was on the 19th of May when they
arrived. Mrs. Edkins was a literary lady, and in 1863
published a small volume of letters entitled "Chinese
Scenes and People," which contains a number of
interesting references to these days. We cannot do
better than conclude this chapter with one of these
references, which is very characteristic.
"Yesterday, Mrs. Innocent and I went in chairs
through a part of the city. . . . We rode on to the
house Mr. Innocent has rented, and there we halted.
Mr. Blodget, an American missionary, shares it with
him. (The lodger now lodging his host.) The first
room we entered, and which we much admired, was the
long neatly-papered preaching-room. The brick floor
is tastefully matted, and little red-painted seats dot the
place. It was opened last Sabbath. We next passed
into another courtyard, where Mrs. Innocent's parlour
is, all ready-roofed (paper ceiling) and papered for her
—very neat and pretty it looked. Then into another
court, in which stands a fine green tree, old and
gnarled, and yet fresh, and beneath the shade of this
we entered the bedroom division. Then we passed into
a third and a fourth court, until we got to the back
door, which opened on another street. All the rooms
here are on the ground-floor, and run back in courts
after this fashion."
Thus daintily does Mrs. Edkins describe for us the
first Mission premises occupied by the Methodist New
Connexion in North China, chapel and bungalow manse
all contrived out of one native house.
n


CHAPTER IX.
FIRST BEGINNINGS.
THE EARLY YEARS FROM 1861 TO 1866.
"ALL beginnings are hard" is a maxim of wellnigh
universal application, and it held with special force of
the work upon which Mr. Innocent had now entered
The rank and file of Missionaries are happy in having
a Mission to go to, but the pioneer Missionary must
himself initiate and shape the work on which his life
is to be spent. The difference is radical, and the latter
calls for far higher qualifications than the former. It
is the difference between working successfully in a
groove, and having to cut for yourself the very groove
in which you must work. We can imagine no task
more calculated to invoke the involuntary exclamation,
"Who is sufficient for these things?" than the one
which lay before Mr. Innocent. A great heathen city
of a million souls, a city teeming with busy life, with
customs, manners, occupations, interests, purposes all
so different from his own, and so hostile; every single
man in it an utter stranger to him—not only strange in
garb, in countenance and in speech, but, even suppose
these outward differences removed, with still more for-
midable barriers left in the totally different springs of
thought, of motive, of aim, and of aspiration, by which
their minds were guided; all the traditions and ideals
by which they were governed totally different from his
own, beings of another inward world than that in which
he moved. To undertake the work of conversion
80


Leading the Singing
among them—of producing a profound and spiritual
change in what they held most dear, most sacred—such
an errand might well be regarded by many as chimerical
in the last degree. How to begin such a work, that is
the momentous question to which this chapter must
address itself.
But even for the beginner there is usually a begin-
ning already made, or at least indicated. It was some-
thing to find Mr. Blodget, a missionary of experience,
in Tientsin. His presence meant companionship, help,
and a measure of guidance. The soldiers and their
religious needs offered immediate occupation, which,
if it was not his express errand to China to engage in,
was at least so much in harmony with that errand that
he could not set it aside. Then there was the language
to be learnt, in itself a work sufficient to tax his mind
for the next two years. Here were at least three start-
ing points for his future work.
Within a few days he had made up his mind, to quote
his own words, that Tientsin "would be a most suitable
home for our infant church."
We have seen the efforts made to get a house, and
that they at length succeeded. "On the whole," says
he, speaking of his rooms, "they were quite as good
as most of the buildings then occupied by either Consul,
military officer, or merchant." While the house was
being put into shape, he had a room, in which he tells
us he sat with his teacher studying the language.
"My attainments did not admit of my taking any part
in Mr. Blodget's Chapel beyond that of leading the
singing of hymns which I learnt for the occasion. Mr.
Blodget was no singer; the Chinese congregation could
read the hymns but did not know our tunes. It was
but a poor, still a useful, part of worship that I
Q
81


John Innocent
rendered, yet I did it as unto the Lord. One Sunday,
after some weeks had passed, Mr. Blodget was absent,
and I then ventured to make my first attempt at giving
a short address in Chinese." This notable effort was
made on the 12th of May, 1861. "I prayed before going
that the Lord would look favourably upon my first
effort, and enable me to speak to-day and at all times
to His glory. In singing 'Alas, and did my Saviour
bleed' one old man was visibly affected." He preached
the same evening to the English, including, we pre-
sume, the soldiers, on "Enoch walked with God."
Another and very admirable way in which he
attempted to break ground in this virgin soil was by
going out for a walk, carrying Scriptures and Tracts to
give away, and engaging in conversation with any one
who gave him an opportunity. The freedom and readi-
ness with which the Chinese talk to strangers, so
different from the Englishman's taciturn habits, made
this easy, and when it is a foreigner speaking Chinese,
the chief danger is that his audience may get too big for
comfort. Under date June 20th, 1861, in Mr. Innocent's
diary there is this interesting entry:—" Took a number
of books in the afternoon, and spoke to a few men on
the West Gate. In conversation on true and false gods,
one man asked me if we had no ' Kuei Shen,' or family
gods. Said he did not worship in the temple. Promised
to come to chapel. I did not feel so diffident to-day.
The books much appreciated." The diffidence would
be owing to his imperfect command of the language.
There are many indications that both Mr. Innocent and
Mr. Hall did a great deal of this kind of work, and that
it soon began to bear fruit. Here is a second entry we
may notice: "Sunday, May 9th. I went out to try to
speak this morning, and distribute a number of books.
82



Tientsin: Old Clothes Street.
To face p. 82.





Beginning to speak Chinese
I made a beginning at speaking, but was nonplussed
by a man, who seemed very attentive, suddenly asking
me what kind of cloth my vest was made of. This
agitated and confused me so that I gave up. I did
wrong in not proceeding. If ever I am to do anything
here I must rise above this extreme sensitiveness. I
have too much of it. I trust the Lord will enable me
to overcome it and to speak His word with all boldness."
These little feelings have to be got over when the
thermometer stands at 106 in the shade, as he tells us
it did that day.
During these days Mr. Innocent began to give atten-
tion to the young. One obvious way of working, and
one which has held a very important place in missionary
work from the beginning, is the foundation of schools.
The true missionary is at least as much a teacher as
a preacher, and it has been the continued recognition
of this fact which has led to the foundation of the many
different schools on the Mission. We shall, therefore,
regard with peculiar interest the first school established
by Mr. Innocent. He had already secured a number
of boys, some ten or twelve, who were willing to attend,
and secured a teacher. He was engaged on the under-
standing that the New Testament was to be studied
part of each day, and native books during the other
part. He tells us his motives in commencing this school.
"To help me in the acquisition of the language, and
enable me to do some work for the Lord." In his diary
we find this entry for Monday, July 22nd, 1861, " To-day
commenced my school with the nice-looking Chinese
boys. I hope God will help me to impress truth upon
their hearts and teach them the way to heaven." He
acted as his own superintendent, and he tells us it gave
him the opportunity of being present every morning

83


John Innocent
for Scripture reading and teaching the boys to sing
Christian hymns, and recorded the fact with evident
pride that more than a year afterwards "this heathen
teacher was one of our first baptized converts. He took
great interest in this school, and was often to be found
there, catechizing 'the nice-looking Chinese boys.'"
Apparently the nice-looking room for preaching was
used as a school-room, and when the nucleus of a tiny
Church was formed they probably also held services in
it on Sabbath days.
About three weeks previous to this he had made
another important change in the premises at his dis-
posal. Although the room above referred to was
spoken of as a preaching room, it was evidently for
some reason unsuitable, and he had been for some time
anxious to secure a better. There was no money with
which to hire fresh premises, but his ingenuity soon
solved the problem. On June 20th he has the follow-
ing entry in his diary: " This is an important and inter-
esting day to me. I have realized in part the object of
my coming to this land, the opening of a suitable place
for expounding the Word of God to the Chinese. The
street behind my house is a large public road, in which
stands also the Yamen of the City Magistrate. On this
account there is a constant flow of respectable people to
and fro. The premises I rent contain a large room
which stands out a little in this street, enabling me to
open a door out of it right upon the road. By this
door the purpose of the room publishes itself, as all
who pass can see what is going on inside. To-day I
have had this room consecrated to the Lord and
formally opened for the preaching of the Gospel. I
invited my kind friends Mr. Blodget to preach in the
morning and Mr. Edkins in the afternoon. On both
84


An Eligible Site
occasions, and especially the latter, the company was
larger than could have been expected, especially as it
had not been published in any way. Getting the room
nearly full from those who were passing by speaks well
for the eligibility of the situation. The greatest atten-
tion was paid to the two brethren, and I trust good
would be done." This preaching room was, we believe,
quite near to the premises now held by the A. B. C.
F. M. Mission,* a considerable distance from the place
we afterwards secured in an unrivalled situation on a
busy street near the "Niang Niang Kung," "Our
Lady's Palace," being the temple of a goddess—the
Chinese Aphrodite, presiding genius of the sea Our
chapel there was known as Kung Pei Chapel. It was
taken on what is known as a "pawn lease"t in 1866.
So far Mr. Innocent had been working single-handed,
but a fresh pleasure awaited him in the arrival of his
colleague, Mr. Hall. He himself made much of the
event. "Great was my joy on September 2nd, 1861, to
be joined by my colleague in Tientsin. It was a great
comfort to be together again after five months of sepa-
ration. We had much to talk about, and many plans
to consider. He entered heartily into the work I had
commenced, the day school, and the preaching room and
book distribution. We consecrated ourselves by prayer,
and sought for the Divine blessing on our united
labours. Ten days before Mr. Hall's arrival, our dear
friend Rev. J. Edkins had lost his amiable wife, a lady
whose intelligence, kindness of heart, and devoted piety
had won for her the esteem and love of all who knew
her. Mr. Hall at once arranged to live with Mr. Edkins,
•The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (the great Mission-
ary Society chiefly supported by the Independent Churches of the U.S.A., like the
London Missionary Society in England).
tA "pawn lease.. is much the same as our mortgage.
45


John Innocent
for their mutual comfort, until his own wife should
arrive from England. He soon made himself at home
with the officers and soldiers of the city, and, with his
usual cheerful earnestness, identified himself with
every movement for their spiritual welfare, and greatly
was his labour appreciated and blessed." "As iron
sharpeneth iron, so doth the countenance of a man his
friend." The two brethren worked in perfect unison
in the promising sphere now opened up to them. They
both took part heartily in various kinds of work for the
welfare of the soldiers, and in reading over the account
of these activities we come upon a record which has
historic interest.
"Another congenial department of work claimed
attention in these early days, that of visiting the sick
soldiers in the military hospital. The summer was a
very unhealthy one. Many of our soldiers were stricken
with fever, and some with sunstroke. In visiting the
wards to minister to these sufferers I often found a
young captain sitting by some of the beds reading
aloud, or more quietly attending to a particular invalid.
This young man was Captain Gordon. We thus be-
came acquainted, and he often solicited my special
attention to some who were beyond all hope of re-
covery. He sometimes came with his lantern at mid-
night to my house ("half a mile from the hospital) to
take me to speak and pray with a dying man. Tommy
Atkins had no more genuine and sympathetic friend
than this young officer, who afterwards distinguished
himself as GENERAL GORDON."
And now we come to an event of special interest, the
circumstances attending which are narrated by Mr.
Innocent with becoming pride.
"On the 22nd of this month (September, 1861) the
8G


The First British Subject born in Tientsin
only missionary lady then in Tientsin gave birth to a
daughter. Annie Edkins Innocent was the first British
subject born in Tientsin, and the first birth registered
in the records of the British Consulate of that port."
We may, perhaps, here anticipate a little, and record
the fact that Mrs. Hall arrived in Tientsin from
England during the month of March, 1862. Apparently
Mr. Innocent was away on a long tour in Pao Ting Fu
and Tai-Yuen-Fu. Mr. Hall must have had a long and
anxious time, and have often felt lonely during the long
period whilst he was separated from his family; and his
discomfort would be no little heightened by the almost
constant ill-health from which Mrs. Hall suffered. About
eighteen months previously she had made an attempt
to come out, but was taken so ill on the passage that
she was compelled to return to England a second time.
They had been separated for close upon two years and
a half, since the memorable time when, on account of
the severities suffered in the Channel, she had been
compelled to abandon the voyage at Portsmouth. Great
was her husband's joy when she joined him, accom-
panied by their little boy. It was indeed a glad re-
union, not only for husband and wife, but also for our
little Mission band in China. To Mrs. Innocent the
arrival of her former friend and companion was full
of comfort and delight, for foreign ladies were scarce
indeed in Tientsin in those days.
Pleasant as this re-union was, it was not to last for
long. In another two years and a half it was broken
never to be restored on earth. On September 20th,
1864, Mrs. Hall died in a tragically sudden manner. A
distinguishing feature of Mr. Innocent's character was
its habitual calmness, and this characteristic is very
marked in his recital of most of the experiences, even


John Innocent
those of a distressing character, which he was called
upon to pass through. But that calmness is utterly
broken as he recounts the harrowing story of her alarm-
ingly and unaccountably sudden death. True to him-
self, however, he remembers the details of the sorrow-
ful event.
"Mrs. Hall, who has not been well for several days,
felt worse to-day, supposed to be fever and ague.
Went to bed in the afternoon at my request. Mr.
Hall was unable to leave his bed, so I remained at home
to attend to them . The doctor called in the evening
and said that Mrs. Hall had ague, but might be better
if got into a perspiration. He requested me to mix a
powder of 3 grains of calomel and 5 of Dover's
powder, which I did. I afterwards gave her a cup of
tea, and she rose to undress for the night. I went into
the adjoining room, and immediately Mrs. Lees and
Mrs. Henderson came in. In a few minutes I sent
them forward to Mrs. Hall's room, who had just got
into bed. While they were in the act of raising the
mosquito curtain to speak to her in the usual way, Mrs.
Hall exclaimed, 'Dear me! How strange it is I cannot
see you!' Then with a sudden jerk she rolled over in
bed, lifted up herself as a fluttering sigh escaped her;
then she dropped upon the pillow. I had been called
by the ladies immediately on entering the room, and,
as my dear friend was sinking down, I raised her head
upon my shoulder and supported her in an upright
position, hoping it was only a fainting fit; but alas!
life was gone! We sent immediately for the doctor,
and used all means to restore her, but in vain. Her
poor husband was on another bed in the same room,
and, though we tried to hide the truth from him, he
soon began to suspect the worst. He rose from his
88


The Coming of Mr. Hu
bed and came to her side, making the most passionate
appeals, and urging various expedients. But in vain;
his voice she heard not, restoratives availed not, she
was beyond the reach of human voice or aid, and her
sainted spirit had already ascended to join the spirits
of the just made perfect. What a night of distress
that was to us none but God knows. . . . He sobbed
and wept most piteously . . . and we wept with him."
Mrs. Hall was buried in the new cemetery just opened,
the ceremony being conducted by Mr. Innocent. She
was the first person interred there."
We must return from this sad picture to an earlier
period, and take up the interrupted thread of events
which led to the development of the Mission. Among
the most important of these must be reckoned the
coming of Mr. Hu. Mr. Hu was a native of Koku, a
town lying on the river between Tientsin and Taku.
He had been in Shanghai for some years, where he
had been converted to Christianity. In the spring of
1861 he returned to his home, where he was taken ill
for some time, after which he had been busy with
family affairs until the autumn. In November he came
up to Tientsin, bearing a letter of introduction from
Rev. W. H. Lambuth, commending him to the care of
our missionaries. Mr. Innocent looked upon it as a
gracious favour of Providence that in the initial stage
of the Mission such a man should be sent to us. He
writes of Mr. Hu, "We soon found that he was a man
of sterling faith and fair abilities, well-informed in
Christian truth, and we gladly admitted him to our
fellowship. Thus our first member of the Native
Church was by transfer from a sister Church in
Shanghai. We found him so well acquainted with
Gospel truth, and so willing to make it known to his
is


John Innocent
countrymen, that we resolved to make him a Catechist.
On the 20th November, 1861, Hu Ngen Ti was
registered on our Church record as appointed native
assistant in our Mission." Our first Christian member
became our first Christian worker.
This was not done without a great deal of delibera-
tion on the part of the two brethren. They were ex-
tremely anxious to guard against employing men or
even baptizing them, if they showed any sign of
"interested motives," and, with what seems an excess
of caution, they surrounded the engagement with
stringent conditions. He was to satisfy them as to his
Christian character and refute certain reports they had
heard. He was to be kept under their constant notice.
He was to attend daily at the chapel . Fortunately,
although he had been a teacher of Mandarin to Mr.
Cunningham in Shanghai, and his son had been Mr.
Innocent's own teacher there, he did not ask for em-
ployment of any kind. It was well he did not. Had
he done so, it might have been fatal to his success. So
excessively careful were they, one would naturally
suppose they were going to pay ram a large stipend.
They fixed his salary at the munificent sum of ten
pounds per annum.
The new Evangelist gave every satisfaction, proved
a willing as well as an able worker. He took on much
of the city preaching work, accompanied them for the
purpose of daily street talks and the distribution of
books. Mr. Hu was a capital preacher, as all who have
heard him will testify; not showy, but solid and
forcible, and well versed in the Scriptures. He had
great administrative powers, showed much tact in busi-
ness matters, was a very tower of strength to them, in
fact, and when, in 1866, the call to enter Shantung came,
90


The First Native Evangelist
he proved the strong man they needed to grapple with
the situation, and had more to do with the founding of
the work there than any other Chinaman. Mr. Innocent
gives the following testimony to his acceptability in
Tientsin.
"Mr. Hu was the first native of Tientsin to preach
the Gospel to his own people. Mr. Blodget had no
native helper. Mr. Edkins had brought up a Christian
preacher with him from Shanghai, whose speech was
rather unintelligible to the northern people. But here
was a man whose speech at once arrested attention as
that of a native of their own 'Hsien' or county, and
who seemed so familiar with the new doctrines brought
to them by the foreigners that he was able to expound
them with ease and convincing power. How had he
acquired this knowledge, seeing the foreigners had
only just come to the place? This was the question
often started in the minds of his hearers, and some-
times put to him vocally. It was with no small delight
that Mr. Hu often related the interesting story of his
own conversion in Shanghai, and the remarkable Provi-
dence which had led him through peril, suffering, and
loss that he might find the great treasure of salvation
through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."
This account of the good effect of Mr. Hu's preach-
ing naturally leads on to the mention of the general im-
pression produced by the first preaching of the Gospel
on the populace of Tientsin as observed by Mr.
Innocent. The language of the Greeks of the
Areopagus, when Paul first appeared at Athens, exactly
represents the spirit of trivial curiosity with which the
message was first received—" What will this babbler
say?" "He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange
gods!" Mr. Innocent has left us an account of their
9!


John Innocent
common mental attitude as he conceived it, which is
well worth reproducing:—
"The people had become somewhat familiar, by the
residence of British troops, with one peculiarity of the
foreign religion, viz.: Sunday, which they called
'worship day.' Every seventh day they saw the
soldiers from their different quarters march, preceded
by a band of music, to some large building or open
space, where solemn worship was conducted. They
noticed that it was a day in which all secular labour was
suspended, much to the surprise and pleasure of native
labourers and servants employed by the troops, who
got seven days' pay for six days' work. But they, of
course, thought such a religious observance had nothing
to do with them. It was suitable for foreigners, a
national custom associated with peculiar doctrines of
the western sage, which did not concern them at all.
The curious among them enquired what the soldiers
worshipped—there was no idol to which they bowed—
and concluded that they worshipped heaven—'pai
T'ien': very proper, the Chinese did the same. The
only difference was in the forms and mode; the
principle was the same."
It somewhaf staggered these people when the mis-
sionaries commenced preaching to them the doctrines
and observances of the religion of foreigners, and
appealed to their reason and conscience about the
claims of Christ on their faith and loyalty. It was a
new thing to them to have the teachings of the Western
Sage they called Jesus Christ paraded as superior to
the tenets of Confucius. They showed a cool and some-
times disdainful attitude towards the preachers on the
streets, and sometimes scornfully rejected the Christian
books offered to them. Under the circumstances, such



Tientsin: Park on British Concession, with
Town Hall in the background.
To face p. 92.


t
i
i
!
1


"Your Doctrines are very good"
an attitude was not to be wondered at'. "Here were
the soldiers of the nations who had just conquered the
country by superior arms, and now they want us to
change our religion." To the intelligent among them
it looked like another invasion of the foreign foe, come
to make war with their oldest and most sacred institu-
tions and traditions; with this happy difference, that
whereas they had not been able to resist foreign armies,
they might be able to resist foreign doctrines. They
could refuse to hear the preachers or to read the
books. They could maintain a sullen reserve, and by
their apathy and persistent but quiet resistance of the
propagandists, wear out their patience and perhaps
force them to retire.
Such seemed to be the temper and spirit of the
Tientsin people. Unlike the Hindus, they showed no
enthusiasm for their own faiths. None of their priests
came forward to challenge the teachings of the mis-
sionaries, or to dispute with them in the market-place
or at the street corners. No one came out to fight the
new antagonist to their cherished superstitions or
dogmas, neither was the hand of violence lifted.
Amongst the common people who listened to the mis-
sionaries out of curiosity were many who sat and
nodded acquiescence to the doctrines taught, and
smilingly avowed to their faces the high excellence of
their teachings. But, while thus with outward com-
plaisance indicating approval, they doggedly held to
their own religious views. If questioned on the matter,
they flatteringly said, "Your doctrines are very good,
all the same as ours." On pointing out some vital
differences, the ready explanation was, "These are not
important, and only arise from the different customs of
different countries." And so they held their own.
93


John Innocent
Still some ferment was caused by this innovation.
The people would talk about this new faith in their
homes, in their shops, in their tea-houses. Curiosity-
hunters would come to the preaching-rooms to look on
and listen. The lazy and ignorant strollers on the street
would come and sit awhile and ask for books, then go
away and talk to others, who in their turn would also
come. Some who had read the books came to inquire
the meaning of some passage that was not clear to
them, and take away other books to read. And so day
after day the chapels became well filled, the shyness
passed away, and gradually those who became inter-
ested got into the habit of coming until the truth took
hold of them, and they were led to identify themselves
with the alien faith. Those who did not receive the
faith gradually looked apathetically on the teachers
and allowed that they did no harm. Then the preach-
ing-halls were so open to everybody, it was an ad-
ditional diversion to the people to go and sit there to
hear the foreigners talk "Tao-li" (i.e., doctrine). So
that the congregations were daily kept up by all classes
of people.
So early as April 24th, 1862, Mrs. Innocent com-
menced a school for Chinese girls. In an oriental
country like China, where the seclusion of women is
very rigid, where infanticide has been the fate of
thousands of females, and where foot-binding is the
"outward and visible sign" of many less obvious re-
strictions, it may readily be imagined that work for the
female sex, whether young or old, meets with far more
opposition than that for men. But Mrs. Innocent was
as zealous a missionary to the full as her husband, and
was determined to overcome it. She seems to have
commenced with only two scholars, one of whom came
9*


John Innocent
it was formally opened. It was on the main street
running from the south to the north gate, quite close to
the Drum Tower with an idol manufactory on the other
side. The Drum Tower is one of the "antiquities" of
Tientsin, a huge, ugly brick structure in the very centre
of the city, bestraddling with gloomy arches the two
main streets where they cross each other; like " Temple
Bar" was, it is a great obstruction to the thorough-
fare. From its great clangorous bell was sounded the
signal for the massacre of 1870. Even the ravages of
Boxerdom have left it standing. We remained under
its shadow until 1876, when the premises were given
up. Our first baptismal service was held June 1st,
when, with all solemnity, Bro. Wang Ssii T'ai, an elderly
man, and Bro. Yii Ch'ing Po, were received into the
Church. Shortly after, on August the 31st, two notable
additions were made in the baptism of Wang Yi Hua,
and Ting Hsin Pei. The fifth baptism was Bro. Chang
Shao Hsiian, January, 1863. On March 29th, 1863,
Mr. Innocent baptized a notable group of four: Tso
Tsui Ch'uan, Chao Chi Lung, Chang Ch'ih San, and
Hu Tzii Ngen. A little later Li Wan K'u was baptized
These ten names, all received during the first two years
of the Mission, may be placed on record as its first-
fruits, early worthies who, in St. Paul's phrase, were
"with us from the beginning." Let us have their
names, as they have been written to-day by the most
illustrious of their number, in their own language, that
we may give them due impressiveness, and that we may
see how they look at the head of the old church register
in the college library Read perpendicularly! They
stand upright:—
96


The First Converts Baptized
4 &

Of these Wang Yi Hua, Ting Hsin Pei, Chang Shao
Hsiian, Chang Ch'ih San, and Hu Tzii Ngen became
distinguished preachers among us. Hu Tzii Ngen was
the son of Mr. Hu, our first preacher. Tso Tsui Ch'uan
was grandfather to Rev. Tso K'o Ch'eng, who became
one of our ordained preachers. Chang Ch'ih San was
also ordained, and was from its commencement Chinese
Principal of our Training Institute until a year ago. Of
these ten only two, Chang and Hu,* remain unto this
present." Both have retired from active service.
Rev. C. A. Stanley came on March 13th, 1863, to take
the place of Mr. Blodget, that gentleman having gone
to Peking the year before. Mrs. Stanley has just died
(September, 1908). Her husband, now Dr. Stanley, re-
mains in Tientsin, the last of the early missionaries.
April 12th, Mr Innocent paid a visit to Peking. In
1863 a child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Hall, but died
the next day, to their great grief.
Land was purchased, about an acre and a third, close
to the British Settlement, in 1862, and two houses were
erected, partly of brick, partly of mud, for our mission-
aries' residence. A small chapel was erected in the same
compound in 1864. The London Mission, as we have
seen, opened work in Tientsin under Rev. J. Edkins,
afterwards the celebrated scholar and writer, Dr.
* Both brethren have passed away since these lines were writte».
97


John Innocent
Edkins, who removed to Peking with Dr. Blodget, May
12th, 1862. His place was taken by Rev. Jonathan Lees,
who was for many years a close friend of our mission-
aries. It will thus be seen that the three Missions, the
A. B. C. F. M. (Congregational), our own Mission, and
the London Mission, were all established within a year
of each other. The Episcopal Methodist Mission of
America was opened considerably later. Mr. Lees
returned to England fairly heart-broken after the Boxer
outburst, and died June, 1902.
The first time the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
was administered in Chinese on the Mission, was Febru-
ary 1st, 1863, an impressive service, with Messrs, Hall
and Innocent both present. On November 9th, 1864,
a new chapel was rented on the east side of the river,
near the Hsiao Shen Miao, and another near the Bridge
of Boats, January 6th, 1864. We also held a Chapel
on the Nan Hsia Chieh in 1865. Kung Pei Chapel was
opened in 1866, on March 6th. A famous baptism,
that of Mrs. Hu, wife of the elder Hu, who became a
female evangelist for many years, and spent herself in
zealous works, took place on August 20th, 1865. Two
girls were baptized with her. Mr. Innocent's third son
was born on 3rd of February and baptized by Mr. Hall
on the 21 st of March, 1866. His second son, George,
left China for England for education May 19th, 1866.
Mr. Innocent's father, George Innocent, died at
Sheffield on January 30th, 1866, being 57 years of age.
These first five years of work in Tientsin show Mr.
Innocent as a devoted, conscientious and zealous mis-
sionary. All his life long he was an early riser. He
was usually in his study, even in the summer months,
soon after day-dawn. He was never a rapid worker,
but he was indefatigable to the last degree. Neces-
98


The First Five Years
sarfly, much of his time in the early years was taken up
with the study of the language, and a number of im-
portant Mission tours were taken. What with home
letters, and his numerous relations with missionaries in
other parts of China, his correspondence was very con-
siderable. Preaching to the foreign soldiers in English,
preaching in the Chinese chapels to his members and
to outsiders, preaching and conversing on the streets
and distributing books, catechizing school boys, inter-
viewing all who sought him for guidance, often in
personal matters not directly concerned with his calling,
managing business affairs, accounts, exchange of
money, house building and chapel building,—it was a
busy life.
His personal interest in the men who came in contact
with him, especially those who joined the Mission, was
remarkable. Their cares were his cares, their troubles
and sorrows his. He was the constant recipient,
generally unsolicited, for he never intruded upon their
private affairs, of their confidences, and no father con-
fessor ever was more ready with instruction, counsel,
warning, admonition, advice. He was never too busy
to face the duty of the moment, his time was at their
disposal. The younger missionary arriving later in
China could not help wondering at his intimate know-
ledge of every man on the Mission in Tientsin, and a
large number of those in the country. He invariably
spoke of them by their full name, including their
personal appellation, their Christian name, as we should
speak, as well as their surname. It was not teacher Hu
the elder or teacher Hu the younger, or pastor Chang;
but Hu Ngen Li, or Hu Tzii Ngen, or Chang Ch'ih
San. One marvelled how he carried all their names in
his head, for it included scholars and members as well.
90


John Innocent
It was not by conscious effort that he did this; it was
the spontaneous result of his intimate relation with
them. He could generally tell you all their family
history. He had taken them in one by one, and taken
them into his heart. He was far less impulsive than
Mr. Hall, but a true and staunch friend to every member
of his Church, and often enough his purse had to suffer
for the strength of his sympathy. His interest was a
prayerful interest . Whether it is counsel, instruction,
reproof, or discipline which forms the subject of the
numerous references in his diary, it is almost always
accompanied by a petition for their welfare. Wellnigh
every entry is a prayer. Never did pastor rejoice more
than he did at the spiritual growth of his flock.
Looking at the progress made in those few years, one
cannot but be struck with the remarkably high quality
of a large proportion of those first few converts. We
have certainly never been able to secure such an average
since. Of the ten first converts whose names we have
given, five became preachers. The weakest among
them was Hu junior, and even he was above the average
of our preaching staff. Two of their number, Wang
and Chang, easily surpassed in expository and hortatory
power the best men we have had to the present day.
All our theological training, and all our systematic ex-
aminations have not enabled us to produce superior, or
even equal men, in their priceless value to the Mission.
A sixth, Li Wan K'u, though in a much humbler walk
of life, never more than a chapel-keeper, yet such a
chapel-keeper, was a servant never surpassed in zeal
and loyalty to the Mission. An ignorant man, who
taught himself to read the New Testament (much more
difficult in Chinese than in English), a chapel-keeper
that you could not keep out of the pulpit—one of the
100


No Ordinary Characters
greatest exhorters we ever had Only two out of the
ten had nothing remarkable about them. We are not
in the least disposed to exaggerate. It is much more
our habit of mind to explain what appears marvellous
on natural principles than to see the marvellous in the
commonplace, and find miracles and prodigies in ordi-
nary characters. But, beyond all controversy, these
were no ordinary characters. If eight out of every ten
of our converts nowadays were equal to these first
samples, we cannot think what would be the
result. But it would certainly be a blessed result. Look-
ing at it in the coldest and most dispassionate way, it
is irresistibly impressed upon us as a conviction from
which there is no escape, that in the beginning God
gave to us most remarkable men, every one of whom
counted, and whose character and gifts and services
were the seed of a vigorous and flourishing Mission.
The Church in Tientsin was now firmly established.
We had gained a footing so secure that it was beyond
the reach of accident. In the phrase our people love to
use when speaking of a cause well and securely estab-
lished, we had been able to "tsa ken," were firmly
"rooted." In 1866, with 4 chapels, 2 day schools, a
boy's boarding-school, a girls' boarding-school, and a
small blind school, we reported 24 full members and
7 probationers. Within the time which makes the ordi-
nary period of service in an English Circuit, we had
established a well-organized and vigorous Church in
one of the greatest cities of China, gathered into its
fellowship the men who were to be the missionaries of
a future and far wider evangel, and were already on the
eve of a far more prosperous day. Toward this result
the two men who left England in the autumn of 1859
as our pioneer missionaries had worked with equal zeal,
101


John Innocent
but certainly, so far as it was due to human effort at
all, our first meed of praise is owing to the sagacity,
the organizing talent, and the unremitting and patient
devotedness of John Innocent.
102


CHAPTER X.
THE STUDY OF THE LANGUAGE.
HITHERTO we have made little mention of Mr. Inno-
cent's work as a student of Chinese. But it seems
desirable to make more extended reference to the sub-
ject on several grounds. The language is peculiarly
interesting in itself, the mastery of it is a task beset
with so much difficulty that it imposes on the very
threshold of his career a severe test of the missionary's
powers, his success must necessarily depend largely
upon the degree in which he manages to acquire it; it
is so much a language sui generis, that any notion that
the Chinese missionary's task is analogous to that of
the missionary to any other non-English-speaking
country is entirely delusive. We, therefore, propose
to give our readers some idea of the nature of the
task, and the degree in which Mr. Innocent succeeded
in it
.
It is probably the idea of most people that the
missionary on first arriving in China has before him,
in the acquisition of the language, a sufficiently for-
midable stint of work, but that this only applies to the
first two or three years, after which, having got hold
of the language (such is the ordinary phrase), all is
plain sailing. After that he can preach and do his
work with the same facility as though it were his native
tongue. Those of us who have the task to face, how-
ever, know to our cost, how different the reality is,
and that no matter how long we remain in the country,
103


John Innocent
if we have set before ourselves any high ideal of at-
tainment, we must be for ever learning, and the task
is never done. It has been said of Dr. Edkins, of
whom we have often made mention as a friend of
Mr. Innocent and who was one of the finest sinologues
China ever saw, that having been in the south for a
few years before he came north in the wake of Blod-
get and Innocent, though he lived in Peking for at least
thirty years, he always spoke with a southern accent,
and after fifty years in China was accustomed still to
set himself a number of new characters to learn every
day. It is related of Wells Williams, that though he
could write every character in his large dictionary,
which contains between twelve and thirteen thousand,
he was often unintelligible to his hearers. Mr. Hedley,
in his "Our Mission in North China," has very racily
described the difficulties which Chinese, as a spoken
language for easy conversational purposes, presents,
and has given good practical advice as to how they
may be overcome. No one of average ability need
despair, but yet it remains true that for the ends a
missionary has in view, to preach and lecture in it
with lucidity and dignity, to command the wide range
of Chinese literature, and to expound to students and
scholars with exactitude and accuracy, and yet further
to write in it with any degree of efficiency or elegance
is a stupendous task. For the man of average powers
to speak Chinese well and fluently is difficult, to read
its masterpieces of religion, philosophy, and history is
more than difficult, it is most arduous; while to write
its characters freely, and compose in them with any
pretence to style, is wellnigh impossible, an accom-
plishment attained only by the gifted few.
For all literary purposes the language is one and
104


Difficulties of the Language
the same throughout the whole length and breadth of
the Empire. Its words, monosyllabic and ideographic
(commonly called characters) are made up of what
were once hieroglyphs, but by many succeeding
generations of scholars have been modified into sym-
bols, wonderful and fascinating in their suggestiveness,
but retaining only occasional traces and vestiges of
their original picture character. They are very numer-
ous, some 40,000 in all, though 4,000 or 5,000 is a
sufficient scholarly equipment. There is no alphabet,
the syllable is the unit, what are called radicals (214)
and phonetics (over 4,000) functioning in quite a dif-
ferent way, and consequently there is almost no mne-
monic key to their pronunciation. The meaning, or
meanings, of each one must be learnt and remem-
bered separately, the sound of each one must be learnt
and remembered separately. If there were a different
sound for each character this would be comparatively
easy, but the total number of different sounds is only
about 420 (Max Miiller says 450, but not all of these
are ever used in any one locality), and, consequently,
the language is burdened with an enormous number
of homophones. A large proportion of the 420 sounds
in use are relatively free from homophones, but this
only increases the number which the remaining sounds
have to carry, and such sounds as t, chi, shift, fu, li,
yueh and yii have an enormous number, some of them
over 100. Chi has at least 150. This is to some ex-
tent relieved by the use of tones, intonations or in-
flexions which leave the sound unchanged (so that if
we spelt it in English letters the spelling would remain
the same), but which vary the manner in which it is
uttered by the voice. Of these tones in the north,
only four are made use of. In some southern dialects
103


John Innocent
there are as many as eight. The tone must also be
remembered by a dead-lift of memory, just as the
sound is. Let us try and convey some notion of the
complexity and perplexity of this exercise by taking
a simple English homophone, and imagining how its
indefinite multiplication would embarrass an English
speaker. Pear, pair, pare, are three words with the
same sound, they are homophones. As there are only
three we find no particular difficulty. One is always
a verb, and in any case when used in speech or read
aloud the context helps to show which is meant. But
suppose that instead of two p—r's (spell how you like)
we had thirty or sixty, or even 100, some degree of
confusion would be apt to occur. And suppose that
instead of this being the case with some few sounds,
quite half of the sounds had a large number of homo-
phones, the confusion would be still greater, and we
should begin to have an idea of what it was like at
Babel. Suppose, again, that with a commendable desire
to lessen the confusion we should come to a mutual un-
derstanding to pronounce some of these very numerous
pears or pairs or pares with an even voice, others with
a falling inflexion, others again with a rising inflexion,
and others yet again with a short, jerky utterance in
whatever connection we might use them. We should
see at once that we had scarcely mended the matter,
that, in fact, we were engaged upon two towers in
close proximity to each other, and that one set of
Babel-onians had got mixed up with another set of
Babel-onians. At any rate, that is the effect on the
foreign student. The Chinaman is as expert in differ-
entiating the tones as in differentiating the sounds, and,
of course, to anyone they are helpful when mastered,
but the bitterness comes in the mastering of them. The
106



G. T. Candlin.
To face p. 106.


-
12


Monosyllables
Chinaman does not spell his words, and he intuitively
hears two different tones as different; he never thinks
of their sameness of sound at all. We cannot help
doing so. Let us be as clear as we can, and not make
the matter appear worse than it is. It is not very bad
for the eye. The chis are different words with a
different meaning, and all written differently.
and so on to the 150th. But they are all chi in sound,
the burden is for the ear and the memory. Even this
is not all, but a large number of these homophones are
separated only by an aspirate—which we write, when
expressing it in English, thus '—from another large
group of homophones. Thus chi, pronounced not quite
like the letter g, has a group of ninety odd Babelonian
relations, which we render for English readers ch'i,
pronounced as a Scotchman would pronounce the first
half of the word cheat—more than ninety new words
with new meanings, the tones, of course, all mixed in
again, separated by only a slight difference of sound
from the 150 chis.
If now we raise the question, How did the Chinese
language come to possess so excessive a number of
homophones—by what process did they grow up? it will
perhaps help us to understand a little more of the
structure of the language. And the simplest answer
to this question is, perhaps, that it was due to the
love of monosyllables. Every language can be traced
back to a comparatively small number of roots, and
perhaps, for simplicity's sake, we may assume that the
420 or 450 sound syllables already referred to were
107



• -


Chinaman does not spell ha weirds, and be intuitively
hears two different tones 25 d-ff er^r:; be never thinks
of their sameness of sound at all. We cannot berp
doing so. Let us be as dear as we can. and not make
the matter appear worse than it is. It is not very bad
for the eye. The rhic are different words with a
different meaning, and all writtem diferemtly.

and so on to the 150th. But they are all chi in sound,
the burden is for the ear and the memory- Even this
is not all, but a large number of these homophones are
separated only by an aspirate—which we write, when
expressing it in English, thus '—from another large
group of homophones. Thus chi, pronounced not quite
like the letter g, has a group of ninety odd Babe:
relations, which we render for English readers
pronounced as a Scotchman would pronour
half of the word cheat—more than
with new meanings, the tones, of <
again, separated by only a slight
from the 150 chis.
If now we raise the question. How
language come to possess so exce
homophones—by what process did they g.
perhaps help us to understand a little
structure of the language. And the siook
to this question is, perhaps, that it
love of monosyllables. Every language ca^
back to a comparatively small number ofj
perhaps, for simplicity's sake, we may assaa4
420 or 450 sound syllables already referred

107


John Innocent
the roots, the only words which in that early and bar-
baric age they made use of. Of course, they existed
for ages as sounds only, long before there was any
method of writing them. In fact, the affinities be-
tween sound and sound, such as ching, ch'ing, ling,
ming, shing, ting, ying; or, chang, ch'ang, cheng,
ch'eng, chung, ch'ung, lung, nung, sung, tung, yung
go to show that during the stage when they were sounds
only, even this limited number had grown, by the law
of variation, out of an exceedingly small number in-
deed. Be this as it may, the advance of civilization
soon demanded the creation of new words to express
new thoughts and new shades of thought. As soon
as writing was invented this process was greatly ac-
celerated. The natural way to do this was by agglu-
tination, the putting two of them together to make a
third. This at once opened up an infinite series of
combinations, because not only could each one be com-
bined with every other in turn, but when that was done
the new combinations could be treated in the same way,
coupling not only with each other, but also as new
powers with each of the original sounds. The China-
man formed his characters in this way so far as writing
was concerned, much as we add two syllables together
to make one word, only he did it in a more artistic
manner; for, whereas we simply write them in a string,
one after the other, when he had to add one to another
he wrote it on the right or on the left, above or below,
or right in the middle, his motive apparently being to
make the new character as picturesque-looking as pos-
sible. Accordingly he has, beyond all dispute, the most
beautiful looking characters in the world. His words
are no longer hieroglyphs, but they are still pictures.
Accordingly he takes delight in hanging them on the
108


Importance of T<
walls of his room for ornament, and he is the most
wonderful of caligraphists.
But now here is where the Chinaman took an en-
tirely different path from the rest of us. When it
came to the pronunciation of the new compounds he
remained a slave to the monosyllabic idea. Instead of
pronouncing both sounds, as well as writing both signs,
he took only one of them as the sound of the character,
and, however many combinations he made, pursued this
plan, unswervingly. His characters might be described
as polysyllables to the eye, but monosyllables to the ear.
It was as though in English we should write fare, fair,
frefare, refair, comfare, imfair, desfair, yet pro-
nounce them all alike—fair.
In the written language this is confusing enough,
because we have to have a sound in our mind even
when reading silently, but when we come to the spoken
language the confusion is far greater. To make him-
self intelligible the Chinaman has to rely very much
on the tones, to which his ear is very acute, while that
of the foreigner is usually dull. But this is not suffi-
cient, and, therefore, he has to also resort to the device
of coupling synonyms together in his speech to make
it clear which of several homophones is to be under-
stood. The use of these coupled synonyms is the most
noticeable feature of the Mandarin dialect . Whilst
coupled in this way they are not joined as syllables,
but remain monosyllabic words, retaining their full
meaning, and capable of being used singly wherever
they are intelligible to the ear. But in fart they func-
tion very much as polysyllables, or rather as duo-sylla-
bles. Hence the statement is sometimes made that
while the literary language is monosyllabic, the spoken
language is polysyllabic. In a modified sense this is
109


John Innocent
true. That which the Chinaman refused to do in
forming his words for literary use, he was compelled
to do in a measure in his daily speech.
But this in itself introduced another very important
factor. Writing style and speaking style drifted farther
and farther apart, until their structure and idiom dif-
fered so greatly as to assume almost the aspect of two
different languages, which have to be separately learnt.
The words used are the same, except that very many
forms are current in literature which are not used in
speech, and some used in speech cannot be used in
writing. The meanings of the principal words are
substantially the same, but different sets of particles
are used, and the idiom and syntax differ so much that
the student, who has learnt colloquial speech only,
when confronted with a page of literature, finds him-
self in the singular position that while he is familiar
enough with the words, and their separate meanings,
he is yet quite unable to construe the sentences before
him. In this way have come about the wide differences
between Wenli (i.e., literary style), and Mandarin (i.e,
official speech). In the north Mandarin is the speech of
the people, and, indeed, it is spoken in fourteen out of
the eighteen provinces. In other places a local dialect
takes the place of Mandarin. As we have said, the
literary style is universally the same, so that if a
Cantonese gentleman wished to write a letter to a
friend in any other part of China than Canton it
would be in every respect the same as a letter from a
Mandarin-speaking province. Yet if these two friends
met to converse they would be as much unable to un-
derstand each other's speech as a Frenchman and an
Englishman. We have even heard of a case in which
they fell back upon "pidgin-English." So that learning
no


Perseverance in Study
Chinese is practically learning two languages instead
of one.
To this difficult language Mr. Innocent, from the
beginning, applied himself with a will. While still in
Shanghai he had secured a Mandarin teacher, and it
divided his attention with the study of the Shanghai
dialect. The latter he never really learnt. But as
soon as he got to Tientsin he discarded it altogether,
and gave himself entirely to Mandarin. He had no
special aptitude for linguistic study, but he was en-
dowed with a tough quality of perseverance, and what
he lacked in gift he made up for by assiduity. Re-
peated entries in his journal show the determination
and patience with which he applied himself. "Spent
most of the day in the study of Chinese with new
teacher." "Studied Chinese with teacher six hours."
"Studying hard." Such entries are very common.
Neither of the two brethren found Chinese a holiday
pastime. In "Consecrated Enthusiasm," Dr. Stacey
speaks of Mr. Hall as having, "no special aptitude or
faculty, . . . notwithstanding great fluency in the
use of his own tongue was one of his most marked
characteristics. He was not likely, however, to fail
in the measure of proficiency required for the right
and full discharge of his accepted duties. His strong
and almost passionate desire to speak to the people
in their own language 'all the words of this Life,' was
sufficient motive for the diligence that never stops
short of ultimate success. And thus diligent he was,
and thus, therefore, successful." This was certainly
reasoning a priori, which, to be sure, was all that was
open to the doctor. But a priori reasoning is risky in
such a case, and those who have been more behind the
scenes will relish better Mr. Hall's own modest esti-
111


mate of his achievement. "I shall never be anything
but a stammerer in the language of the people, but
if grace be given me, I will stammer as well as I can
to the end of my days for their eternal good." Per-
haps no one ever contrived to make so little go so
far as Mr. Hall. Through all defects he contrived to
make his magnetic personality tell, but those who were
most sensible to its influence testify that there was
"much that he meant but could not express."
Mr. Innocent, it may be, had scarcely more natural
aptitude for language study than Mr. Hall, but was
much more of the systematic student. Up to the time
of the Boxer outbreak the lesson books were extant on
the Mission, the margins of which witnessed to his
steady and plodding application. "Keep pegging
away" was the advice of a great sinologue to Dr.
Mackenzie, which made most impression on him . Mr.
Innocent kept pegging away, and with good result.
He varied the ordinary grind by attempting the
translation, with the help of his teacher, of various
little handbooks, catechisms, calendars, lists of Scrip-
ture lessons, which would be useful to him in
his work. He memorized his hymns that he might
be able to sing them, and to teach the Chinese to sing
them. There was no "course of study" in those days,
he had to set his own course. But men may get
through a fairly elaborate course of study, and be
poor Chinese speakers at the end, and there can scarcely
be a more satisfactory proof of solid progress than the
fact that about twelve months after his arrival in
Tientsin he was prepared to conduct a service and
preach in Chinese by himself. A few, specially apt,
have done it in less time; few do it, to much effect,
in more than double the time.
112


Study and Practice combined
In our opinion, though all will not endorse this, Mr.
Innocent lost nothing in the prosecution of his studies,
by the fact that he was compelled to do some work
from the beginning, or by the various journeys he
made, which must have interfered with his regu-
lar book studies. "To learn and constantly to practise,
is it not pleasant?" is the first verse in the Confucian
Analects, a maxim true of all learning, but peculiarly,
true of learning a language you mean to speak in. To
learn to speak you must speak, and the sooner you
begin the better. The longer you put it off, like taking
a cold plunge, the more nervous you get about it. You
cannot learn to swim without going into the water.
It is a positive hindrance to carry about a heap of
words and phrases which you know, yet don't know to
any purpose, because you do not dare to use them.
Hurl them out, or they will close your mouth as close
as lock-jaw. The man who has been memorizing
hard for two years without making much attempt to
speak may dream of a happy day when the flood-gates
will burst open, but will find that he is in a less favour-
able mood for speaking than he was twelve months
ago. There are two proverbs specially true of learning
to speak a language, "necessity is the mother of in-
vention," and "necessity knows no law." The best
of all ways to make a man learn to speak Chinese is
to put him in a tight place, where he cannot get out
of speaking—where he cannot get his breakfast or his
bath, or have his bed made, or his shoes blacked, or
find his way on a lost road without asking in Chinese.
It is astonishing how soon you do it when, like Yellow
Dog Dingo, you "have to."
Those little conversations on the city wall with the
first stranger who came up, the exigencies of travelling
I s~
113


experience, the catechizing of his school boys were
worth a great many hours stammering over books with
a teacher who has learnt to detect your meaning in
spite of most atrocious mistakes, and though your
Chinese would be Greek to the peasant in the field,
or the city stroller on the street. When you are forcibly
impressed with the fact that everybody round you
speaks his own language abominably except your per-
sonal teacher, while nobody seems to understand what
you say, though it is according to Wade or Mateer,
and you are sure the tones are correct, it is time to
leave "Mandarin Lessons," or "Tzii Erh Chi," on the
table, forget all about the tones, and try a bit of raw
and rude common speech, not arranged for your bene-
fit, but fresh and living in the home or on the street
.
To this cause, more than to any other, that he was
forced to speak and to listen under natural conditions,
we ascribe Mr. Innocent's simplicity and clearness in the
use of Chinese. He spoke naturally and easily (his
speech was always deliberate even in English); he
could say with moderate correctness all he wanted to,
and was always easily understood. This was equally
true whether he was engaged in conversation, or ad-
dressing an assembly. Some missionaries are under-
stood by the regular members of their congregation,
who get acquainted with their foreign idioms, and are
more or less familiar with the phraseology of Christian
teaching, but are not easy to follow by outsiders. Mr.
Innocent was understood by both. Foreigners found
him easier to follow than a Chinaman, though this, per-
haps, is not praise.
Apart from the beaten track of speech, Mr. Inno-
cent's knowledge of Chinese was not profound He
did not rank amongst Chinese sinologues, and though
114


Bis Tientsin Teacher
in the earlier years he had read with great diligence,
his acquaintance with the written character was some-
what slender, and he had not the verbal memory which
alone could give him command of the wide range of
Chinese literature. Against this must be set, however,
his thorough knowledge of the country, its manners
and customs, and the character of the people he worked
among. In this direction he excelled. It was inevitable
that one whose hands were so full from the beginning
with actual, practical work, should be less of a book
scholar than is, no doubt, desirable.
He was fortunate in his teacher. In Shanghai he
had been taught by Mr. Hu's son. But on coming to
Tientsin he engaged the services of Ting Hsin P'ei,
a resident of Tientsin, and a typical specimen of the
gentlemanly Tientsinner. At the time of his engage-
ment Ting was not a Christian, but he speedily became
interested in Christian truth, and was one of our earliest
converts. He was baptized along with Wang Yi Hua in
1862. There was a good deal of hesitancy in receiving
him, unnecessary hesitancy, as it seems to us. It so
happened that about this time his father had died. The
family were none of them Christians except Ting.
They naturally wished the funeral to take place with
the usual Confucian rites. Such rites can scarcely be
described as idolatrous, though they were not desirable
from the Christian point of view. Mr. Innocent thought
Ting should have forbidden them. Ting does not seem
to have behaved badly. He did his best to persuade
the family to forgo them, but they were obdurate.
The funeral took place in the old way, and for this
Ting was severely admonished, and his baptism post-
poned. Poor fellow! Our sympathies are with Ting.
Considering what Chinese family traditions are, the
115


John Innocent
situation was a most difficult and delicate one. Perhaps
the high, heroic way would have been "not peace, but
a sword," yet we doubt if any good would have been
done by forcing a Christian funeral on an unchristian
family. However, he was baptized later, and the step
was amply justified by his subsequent career. After
being Mr. Innocent's teacher for some years he became
a preacher. Though shallow in thought he was an
eloquent preacher, and did excellent work as our
preacher in charge of Kung Pei for many years. He
resigned work in 1886, and went as personal teacher to
a gentleman in the Customs at Taku, where he ren-
dered us excellent service as a voluntary preacher. He
died at Tientsin in 1896 at the age of seventy-three.
But what a teacher Ting Hsin P'ei was to have about
you! In those early days he was in the prime of life,
well made, somewhat handsome, with a long silky
moustache of which he was not a little proud. He
was always something of a dandy, very particular
about his dress, and elegant in his deportment.
He really spoke the Tientsin dialect, though he
affected a Peking accent. But to hear him converse
of Chinese forms of politeness, and explain conversa-
tional elegances, or go through his scales with the
Chinese tonesl These things were an education in
Chinese, apart from the lessons you studied with him.
His pronunciation was simply exquisite, no man could
imagine Chinese a difficult language to speak when he
heard Ting speaking it, so smooth, so flowing, so pre-
cise. Can our readers imagine the difference between
hsin and shin? We trow not: shin we know, but what
is hsin? But when Ting uttered them he made you
thoroughly ashamed of ever having for an instant con-
founded them. He was the beau-ideal of Chinese
pundits.
116


CHAPTER XI.
THE FOUNDING OF AN ENGLISH CHURCH.
Union CHURCH, Tientsin, as its name implies, was
designed to meet the needs of English, American or
European worshippers resident in the settlements at
Tientsin. Beyond being a Protestant Church it has
no denominational character. For years it was the only
Protestant place of worship for white men. It included
many members of the Church of England in its con-
gregation, the book of Common Prayer was used at
the morning service, and many Church of England
clergymen and Bishops have preached from its pulpit.
But in 1890 an Anglican Church was opened which drew
away the greater portion of its Church of England
members. Four years ago, that is in 1904, for the first
time in its history, it called a regular pastor to its
pulpit. Up to that time the pulpit was supplied, and its
pastoral duties discharged, by English and American
missionaries resident in Tientsin, acting in concert. As
they required no remuneration the church was worked
on a very economical basis. No church ever worked
more harmoniously, and it has been, therefore, a beauti-
ful object-lesson in Christian unity, both in its fellow-
ship and its service. Every Christian man in Tientsin,
and most of those who do not profess Christianity,
would gratefully acknowledge its inestimable value to
the community.
The church has had an interesting history, and as its
history has been closely associated in its origin with
119


our mission is North China, it falls to be noticed in a
short chapter.
The history of Union Church dates back to the time
when, as has been already related, services were com-
menced at the city in the Niang Niang Kung, "The
Palace of our Lady" (the Chinese Aphrodite) chiefly
for the benefit of the British soldiers, who at one time
numbered 3,000, and who, together with the French,
were in occupation of Tientsin in 1860-2. The few
foreign residents of the newly-opened port, including
the missionaries, who conducted worship, attended these
services. When the soldiers were withdrawn the con-
gregation was much reduced About this time, also,
the British Concession was opened, and residents began
to move from the city to the Concession, a distance of
two miles. The congregation became a divided one,
some continuing to worship in the morning in the city,
others in the evening in the missionary houses newly
built near to the Concession.
Gradually the city congregation diminished, and a
place was found in a temple at Tzii Chu Lin (the Con-
cession) known as the Te che hang, and nicknamed by
foreigners the "Charing Cross Temple," but this had
to be given up, and the services were held chiefly in
the house of the Rev. J. Lees, of the London Mission.
The need of a suitable building was very strongly felt,
and a movement was commenced for the building of
a church. Into this movement our missionaries threw
themselves with characteristic enterprise. The first
thing to do was to select a site, and as the land newly
acquired (1862) by the mission, close to the settlement,
was not all required for their houses they volunteered
to allow the church to be built on it. The Committee
appointed to carry out the scheme accepted the offer.
113



The Old Union Church, Tientsin.
To face p. 118.





The First Union Church
The next thing to do was to start a subscription list,
in order to raise funds for the building. Of this list
Mr. Innocent and Mr. Hall took charge. Money was
subscribed from various quarters, and the response was
soon seen to be such as to justify them in commencing
building operations. Sir Robert Hart, the British Con-
sul, the various merchants in the town, the merchant
ships accustomed to visit the port, all subscribed, and
about $1,300, at that time equivalent to about £420,
was collected after a very strenuous canvass.
Plans were made, really quite ambitious for that " day
of small things." They were determined on having a
large church, it was to be 38 feet long by 22 feet wide,
Chinese feet (half an inch longer than the English
foot), and inside measurement. It was to have a porch and
a bell-tower, including a bell. The tower stands about
45 feet high. The style of architecture was Gothic.
There was no one in Tientsin capable of erecting so
important an edifice, and the services of a Shanghai
architect were secured. "Old Union Chapel," as it
is now called, is still a fairly conspicuous, and not un-
attractive building, though many very much larger and
more impressive buildings stand near it, but at that time
it must have greatly rejoiced the hearts of those who
were eager to worship in it. One still catches distinctly
the mild glow with which Mr. Innocent describes it on
the occasion of its opening. That auspicious event took
place August 14th, 1864.
"We had the joy of seeing our beautiful, new Eng-
lish church completed and opened for public worship.
Towards its cost, the foreign residents and captains
and crews of trading vessels to the port liberally sub-
scribed. It meets a great want and is the first and only
church, for our countrymen, built in North China.
119


With its tower, it is a prominent figure in the landscape,
end the first foreign building that meets the gaze of
those who come up the river on board the ships and
steamers from the sea. To our countrymen, whether
officials, merchants or seamen, as to our missionary
families, it is a comfortable resort in which the worship
of God is conducted in our own language. And greatly
is it appreciated by all. As from the opening of the
port the missionaries have voluntarily conducted ser-
vice, they continue to do so in this new structure."
Tientsin has changed. It is quite invisible from the
river nowadays.
When all was finished there was a debt of £150.
The total cost was about £500. In a letter dated the
30th of May, Mr. Innocent sent to the Rev. S. Hulme
a copy of the subscription list, accompanied by an ap-
peal to the Committee for a grant of the amount de-
ficient, which was sanctioned. As a result of this grant
from the mission funds, and in view of the fact that
the building stood on mission land, and that the funds
had been collected by the missionaries, it was decided,
by a Committee of Management, which met at the
British Consulate shortly afterwards, that when in
future a new church should be erected for the com-
munity on the Concession the present building should
become the property of the mission. This arrangement
was effected thirty-two years later, after the building
of New Union Church, and on July 5th, 1896, "Old
Union Church" was opened for Chinese service. It
is still in a fair state of preservation, and has become
the chapel of the Training Institute. A beautiful tablet
in memory of Mr. Hall, and a second in memory of
Mr. Williamson, a member of the L.M.S.., who was
killed while travelling on the Grand Canal with Mr.
120


The Union Church Congregation
Hodge, stand on the left and right of the entrance. In
"Consecrated Enthusiasm" this venerated building is
curiously confused with "Ku Lou Pei." This is an
error. Ku Lou Pei was always a Chinese Christian
preaching hall, never a foreign church, and never the
property of the Mission. An Anglican Church was
opened in Tientsin in 1890. Union Church was thus
the only Protestant Church in North China for English
worshippers during a period of twenty-six years. All
this time the missionaries and their families constituted
fully one-half of the congregation, and much more
than half of the church-membership. Apart from the
advantages of worship, it was of special value to them
as a rallying point uniting them together in a common
work, and strengthening greatly the bonds of union
between the several missions. In connection with it a
Missionary Association was formed which turned out to
be an admirable Committee of concerted action in their
mission work. The work of supplying the pulpit was
their sole opportunity of keeping in practice as English
preachers. The congregation was necessarily a very
mixed one, Consuls, Customs' Officers, medical agents,
merchants, sailors, travellers, missionaries; and a very
changeable one, for in a port like Tientsin changes are
very frequent, missionaries being almost the only per-
manent residents. It has always been a congregation
of a high level of intelligence, very appreciative of any-
thing possessing intellectual force, not to be won by
mere fervour or enthusiasm, but by no means cold or
unsympathetic—a congregation not to be faced with
impunity without adequate preparation. To take reg-
ular turn in the service of its pulpit was a discipline
which any preacher might covet. The pulpit was as
variable as the pew, for not only was it supplied by the
121


missionaries of different Denominations, and of very
varying types of mind, but it was from the beginning
the practice to invite to its duties any who might be
visitors, or birds of passage, and in this way Bishops of
the Church of England, Bishops of American Churches,
deputations from various Mission Boards, and other
distinguished strangers have conducted its services.
The decade from 1890 to 1900 was a period of re-
markable expansion in the growth of the port, and
notwithstanding the opening of an Anglican Church,
it was manifest that the old church was much too small
for the congregation. What is known as the British
Extra Concession was opened, and new residences
sprang up very rapidly on what had all through the
eighties been little more than a desolate mud-flat. In
short, it became Tientsin's "West End." A new site
was purchased in this neighbourhood, and in 1896 a
much larger church was erected, capable of seating
more than double the previous building. The new
building is a handsome Gothic structure, with a tall
spire, and is known as "New Union Church." For
awhile it continued to depend upon the missionary body
for the conduct of its services, when it began to be
felt that the time had arrived for calling a regular
pastor. In 1904, the Rev. Miller Graham was called to
be its first pastor, and in 1907 he was succeeded by the
Rev. J. S. Griffith. It has a good congregation of well-
to-do people, it is entirely self-supporting, and bids
fair to be a prospering and flourishing Church in a
rapidly-growing community.
Of course, Union Church is not, and from the be-
ginning was never intended to be, in any sense a
Methodist Church. In its government and discipline it
much more resembles the Congregational type, though
ui



The New Union Church, Tientsin.

To face p. 122.





Characteristics of the Union Church
that is not due to conscious design, but simply to the
fact that that form of organization more readily adapts
itself to the circumstances in which it has grown up.
Its first pastor was a Presbyterian, Mr. Griffith is Con-
gregational, its next will probably be chosen with abso-
lute indifference to his ecclesiastical complexion. Free
to call whom it will, it will consider only the needs of
its congregation. But here again Congregationalism
tells, for when a Congregationalist is called there is
no one to consult but the man himself. Still the church
remains catholic and unsectarian, yet sound in doctrine
and evangelical in spirit; a church to which any Free
Churchman might be proud to belong, and in many
respects a sample (Tientsin missionaries are vain
enough to think) of the Union Church which is wanted
elsewhere.
From that first Sunday in Tientsin, three days after
his arrival on the 7th of April, 1861, when he entered
in his diary, "preached to the English in the evening,"
until his final return to England in 1897, Mr. Innocent
was one of its most acceptable ministers. He enjoyed
the unique distinction of acting for some years as its
pastor, the pulpit duties, however, remaining un-
changed. No further appointment was made until the
call of Mr. Graham. But this memoir would not be
complete, nor the story of our mission rightly told with-
out the record of the part which he, together with Mr.
Hall, and all his subsequent colleagues in their degree,
took in its formation and establishment.


CHAPTER XII.
EXPLORING AND EVANGELISTIC TOURS.
It is significant of the breadth and scope of Mr. Inno-
cent's mind that from the earliest beginning of his
missionary work, he never once entertained a concep-
tion of it as a scheme for founding a city mission.
Tientsin had been occupied, as we have seen, with
conspicuous success. It was an admirable centre, but
only a centre. His objective from the first was North
China. Tientsin was but the fulcrum from which he
must work his lever, and his mind was always reaching
out towards the country around him, and even to "re-
gions beyond." Hence the numerous, and arduous, in
some respects perilous, journeys taken during the earlier
years of his residence, which must have been no small
tax on his time and his strength. He soon discovered
that the vast field to be occupied was far beyond the
resources of our own Missionary Society, but this was
the less to be deplored as agents from other societies,
both English and American, were soon forthcoming to
thrust in the sickle where "fields white unto harvest"
were far beyond his reach. We cannot enter into the
details of any of these journeys, but some brief notice
of them is a necessity.
Though explorers like Marco Polo, Abbe Hue, and
other Roman Catholic fathers had been over the ground
long before, yet in the sixties, to the merchant and the
missionary North China was almost an unknown land.
No better illustration of this circumstance can be found
124


Climate of North China
than the fact that to this day the best-known English
newspaper in China is still called the "North China
Daily News," though, from the first, published in
Shanghai. At best, Shanghai pertains to Central China,
but the name assumed indicates that Shanghai was as
far north as the general thought respecting China had
got. Quite in harmony with this is the fact that the
current popular conception of the country and its peo-
ple—their features, customs and industries, and the pic-
tures and descriptions one oftenest encounters in Eng-
land are almost exclusively southern. The round faces
and somewhat delicate features, the rather feeble-look-
ing bodies, these are characteristically Cantonese. Our
northerners are, on the whole, strong and burly,
rough-faced and dark-skinned. The tropical climate
and sultry skies are southern . Our summer is indeed
burning hot, but the winter is fierce and far more in-
tensely cold than in any part of Great Britain. Above
all the agricultural products most characteristic in the
popular imagination all pertain to the south—the bam-
boo, the orange groves, the banana, the rice fields, the
tea plantations. Though we have lived in China thirty
years, the only time we ever saw tea growing was in
the distance from the deck of a steamer lying in Fu-
chow Harbour. The trees might have been elder
bushes for all that we could make out. It is as much
a foreign product, and as dear, in North China as in
England. Ordinary rice, such as is made into puddings
in England, is not grown in the North, and only rarely
eaten except by the well-to-do. The bamboo and the
orange are diminutive, hot-house shrubs. To the North
belong the tall kaoliang, sago-like millet, Indian corn,
the yam and the monkey-nut, walnuts, peaches, apricots
and grapes, admirable products, indeed, but probably
125


not at all suggestive of China to the Western mind.
The only thing grown here that is ideally Chinese is
the opium poppy. Our China is quite different from
the China of the popular imagination.
Yet our China is at least a part of the real China,
the China of history, and of tradition. Shantung is
included in the great plain where the Ch'in's, from
whom the very name China is supposed to have been
derived, first made their advent. With it are associated
the greatest names of China's greatest past. The famous
dynasties of Chow and Han held sway here, when
north of the Great Wall and west of the Yangtze
were foreign lands populated with people of foreign
speech. Yao and Shun, the semi-mythic monarchs of
China's golden age, were both Shantung men. The
sages, who were greater than kings, who have stamped
their minds on the Empire with indelible impress, and
are its purest glory, Confucius, Mencius, Tseng Tzii,
Yen Hui, were all Shantung men. From Wuting or
Lao Ling to the tomb of Confucius—China's age-en-
during but uncrowned king—is an easy journey.
The ordinary way of travelling is by mule cart. A
mule cart is never seen in the south. Such tours as
Mr. Innocent made would generally mean a month at
a stretch, forty miles a day the maximum rate of
progress, and to make that you must be twelve hours
on the road. And what roads! They are probably
the roughest in the world Macadam never ventured
into China until recent years. The inns are marvels of
discomfort. You can get nothing there that you want,
not always even a welcome.
The traveller finds himself in an empty mud room,
with a thatched roof, brown mud walls, a mud floor,
paper windows, a table so rickety it has to lean against
126


the wall to stand up, and so dirt-begrimed that no de-
cent housewife would risk a table cloth on it. You are
lucky if you find a single chair, yet not lucky, for it is
the most comfortless seat ever invented. For bed (in
the same room) you are offered a solid mud structure
(very hard) with a coarse straw-plaited mat, generally
badly worn into holes. That is all the accommodation
you get . You pay about twopence, and barely get
your money's worth. You must carry everything, food,
bedding, (bed if you are wise), cook and cooking ap-
paratus. The foreign traveller inevitably excites a tre-
mendous amount of curiosity, and is generally beset in
the streets by a regular crowd of gazers, who troop
after him into the inns, and flood his room (if he will
let them), watching his every movement with the utmost
avidity, and when they can do it with impunity are
apt to assail him with unlovely epithets—" foreign
devil," and "long-haired rebel," being the most com-
mon. It is obvious that under such circumstances
travelling is rough work.
Good evangelizing work can be done in this way.
You usually carry a supply of Scriptures and tracts
which the people are generally willing to take from
you, and you have but to stand still anywhere, and
your congregation, a very promiscuous one, will as-
semble around you with the speed of magic. The mere
fact that a foreigner can speak Chinese ingratiates
them at once, and they will generally listen with a
degree of attention and respect. The measure of com-
prehension you can secure is a more doubtful quantity,
but this depends greatly on the man. Their mind is,
of course, an absolute blank as concerns the message
you have to deliver. You cannot assume that they
know they are sinners, or that they know there is a
127


God whom they should worship. Better assume the
exact opposite, and take it that these are the things
you have to convince them of. The golden key to the
gateway of their comprehension is a working familiarity
with their own religious beliefs and practices. Quote
Confucius and you will be on common ground with
them at once.
The evangelistic duties of these exploring tours Mr.
Innocent took most seriously. In his journal, giving
the record of his journey to Paoting and T'ai-yuan in
1862, he inserts the following query:—
"In mission tours is it not desirable to be satisfied
with a slow mode of travelling, employ the cheapest
means for conveying books, take a native helper along
with you, and walk from village to village on the way,
and thoroughly publish the Gospel in one place before
going on to another?"
This seems to have been almost the only kind of
mission work, except the translation of hymns, Scrip-
tures and tracts in which the sainted missionary Burns
ever engaged, and the chief work of Mr. Gilmour
"among the Mongols," a persistent and faithful sowing
of the seed, leaving the result to take care of itself.
And Mr. Innocent displayed great tact and ability in
the prosecution of such work. He knew how to be
patient with a crowd. He was not naturally a witty
man, but he always had a quiet, gentle vein of humour
for use on such occasions. He knew how to begin
where he was sure of taking hold, and was ready at
all moments to throw down the bridge which in the
easiest manner possible led from common conversa-
tion to earnest exhortation. One of the occasions when
we saw him to the greatest advantage, and unfeignedly
admired him was, when travelling together, we had
us


entered a village, and a company, had collected around
us, some of the younger members of which did not
seem to be too civil. A forward young whipper-snapper
of about seventeen, who had pushed himself to the
front of the crowd, assailed the good veteran (as he
then was) in a somewhat impertinent manner with the
usual question: "When did you come over to our coun-
try?" Mr. Innocent measured him from head to foot
with his eye, and with a scarcely perceptible twinkle,
and an indulgent smile, replied: "I came before you
did." The bystanders thoroughly enjoyed it; the
young man blushed and took a back position in the
circle. Mr. Innocent then scratched the character
"great" on the ground with his walking-stick. It raised
him 50 per cent in their estimation to see he could write.
As a matter of fact he could not write Chinese, but
that was of no consequence. Calling their attention to
it, he next scored across the top of it the character
"one," thus making "Heaven," the one great. As in
English, and even more clearly, "Heaven" bears the
sense of God, and with this as his text he plunged
straight into an exposition of the greatness, the unity,
the spirituality of God which was listened to with re-
verent attention.
He took somewhat extensive notes of these mission
tours, of which the following are the chief:—
I. A visit to Paoting Fu accompanied by Dr. Edkins
during the month of October, 1861. Paoting is an
important town, about 400 li west of Tientsin. Up to
the present it has been, in fact, the provincial capital
of Chihli, but this capital is just now (1908) being
moved to Tientsin. It was an interesting tour.
II. A visit to the Great Wall of China at Ku Pei
K'ou in December, 1861. The principal object of this
129


Tisit was Bible distribution. The Great Wall of China
rants among the wonders of the world, and the follow-
ing description of it, culled by Mr. Innocent, from an
early work by Sir John Davis on China, brings its chief
features into an account brief enough for quotation
here:—
"The Great Wall is a monument of an iron will and
a cruel despotism. It was built by the Emperor Ch'in
Ssu Huang. He destroyed the feudal system of the
days of Confucius and established the first despotic
and universal monarchy of China He sought to ob-
literate all history of his predecessors by ordering that
all books should be burnt . He did a better and more
lasting thing by establishing the Fu (departmental)
and Hsien (district) cities, with their magistrates ap-
pointed direct from the metropolis, a system which is
still a vital part of the Chinese government
"This remarkable wall is 1,500 miles long extending
from the shore of the Gulf of Chihli to Hsi-ning, fifteen
degrees west of the capital. It is carried over some
ef the highest mountain peaks. One of the most ele-
vated ridges over which the Great Wall passes measures
5,225 feet high.
"The height of the Wall is 25 feet, its thickness
25 feet at the base, and 15 at the top. There are towers
at regular intervals, 40 feet square at the base, diminish-
ing to 30 feet at the top, and measuring, some 37 feet,
some 48 feet high. No wood is found in these towers.
All solid arches of strong masonry for doors and win-
dows. The bricks are 15 inches long, half that in width
and four inches thick. Beyond, or west, of the Yellow
River it is only a mound of earth, or gravel, 15 feet
high.
"It is said that every third man in the Empire was
130


drafted to assist in its building; that being scantily
supplied with food 400,000 died of hunger, ill-usage
and excessive fatigue. The Chinese say it was the an-
nihilation of one generation and the salvation of a
thousand Du Halde says it was built in five years.
Herodotus says 100,000 men were employed twenty
years to build the largest of the Egyptian Pyramids."
The Great Wall may be regarded as the boundary
of our mission on the north, and is not many miles
distant from Yung P'ing City.
III. A tour through T'ai Yuan Fu (the capital of
Shansi) and Kalgan (beyond the Wall) in February and
March, 1862. On this journey he was accompanied by
the Rev. H. Blodget. It was a long and interesting
journey, and a full journal of it was drawn up by Mr.
Innocent with more than usual care. Both these places
are now connected with Tientsin by railway. The new
and shorter route of the Trans-Siberian Railway will
shortly open, and connect with Kalgan.
IV. An interesting trip to Peking accompanied by
Mrs. Innocent and Mrs. Wright, in April, 1862.
V. A visit to Jenchiu, a district city about sixty miles
south-west of Tientsin. This visit made so favourable
an impression upon Mr. Innocent that an attempt was
made to start work there. Mr. Hu and others were sent
to reside there, preach and sell Scriptures, with a view
to opening a station, but results did not seem to justify
the continuance of the work. This first visit was in
March, 1863.
VI. A very interesting trip into Mongolia, accom-
panied by Mr. Henderson, a Tientsin merchant. Their
objective was the famous Lama Miao, a College and
Monastery of the Tantra school of Buddhism, which
prevails among the Mongols. This journey was com-
131


menced shortly after the return from Jenchiu, on the
13th of May, 1863. Mr. Innocent went well provided
with Scriptures in the Mongol language. The Monas-
tery is situated in Inner Mongolia, about 250 miles
from Peking, and 330 miles from Tientsin.
VII. An account of a visit to the large Buddhist
monastery of the Mahayana school of Buddhism, on
which Mr. Innocent was accompanied by Mr. Hall. The
story gives an excellent picture of the interior life of
the monastery, and illustrates the nature of Buddhist
worship in China, with the superstitions attaching to it
.
The visit was paid in February, 1864.
VIII. A journey out to Chinan fu, the capital of
Shantung, accompanied by the Rev. J. Lees, L.M.S.,
undertaken in May, 1868. Mr. Hodge was at the time
visiting our Shantung stations, and as accounts had
come in of the rise of a singular rebellion, which was
sweeping the whole district, the origin and objects of
which were very obscure, they were concerned for
his safety, and their journey was of the nature of a
relief expedition. They themselves fell into the
hands of these banditti, for they appear to have
been little else, and Mr. Lees had his horse stolen. The
rebels were known as the "Nien Fei," their numbers
were reported as consisting of 60,000 or 70,000, and
the wildest stories were current of their lawless doings.
In addition to the valuable evangelistic work done
on these tours, the knowledge of the country and the
general experience gained were a great advantage to
Mr. Innocent. Except in the last instance there is no
doubt he was keenly on the look-out for the possibility
of openings for regular missionary effort, and the ex-
tension of his work to wider fields. In 1866 the long-
sought opening came in a quite unexpected way, and
was the beginning of a new epoch of activity.
132


CHAPTER XIII.
THE CALL TO LAO LING.
THE events to be described in this chapter, seen from
the missionary standpoint, are by far the most memor-
able in the history of the mission. They were narrated
at the time as the " Wonderful work of God in Laoling."
Mr. Innocent speaks of them as a "remarkable religious
awakening." The story, as told at the time, by those
fresh from the glowing experience of it, was so full
of marvel as to border on the miraculous. Not only
were our two missionaries greatly elated (it threw Mr.
Hall into transports of rapture), and not only was the
"Missionary Report" for 1867 full to overflowing with
its wonders, but its publication in the "Shanghai Mis-
sionary Recorder," profoundly moved the whole mission-
ary body in China, and turned the thoughts of mis-
sionaries, as they had never been turned before, to the
marvellous possibilities of evangelism in the interior of
China. With these events began a new epoch of en-
thusiastic labour. An extended account of them is given
in "Consecrated Enthusiasm," and they are also ad-
mirably summarized by Mr. Hedley in "Our Mission
in China." The immediate result was an enlargement
of our mission work with which the most strenuous
exertions could scarcely keep pace, and an increase in
membership, within one year, amounting to more than
treble our previous numbers. Nor did it stop here, but
this rapid growth was followed year by year with very
substantial increase. In 1866 our total membership
133


John Innocent
was 24, with 7 probationers. In 1867 it was 85, with
23 probationers. In 1870, the year of Mr. Innocent's
return to England, it was 204, with 80 probationers, a
tenfold increase within four years. By the end of 1877,
a few months before Mr. Hall's death (Report, 1878),
there were in Shantung alone 18 stations, 8 schools, 14
Chinese preachers, 636 church-members, and 425 pro-
bationers. All these came out of the story of a dream
with its unfolding sequences in real life.
The story, in brief, is as follows. While Mr. Hall
was preaching one afternoon in Kung Pei Chapel,
early in the year 1866, "a stranger, stooping beneath
the weight of years and infirmity," took his seat among
the hearers. His manner attracted attention, and upon
being questioned it was found that he came from a
village in Shantung about 130 miles away. He stated
that he was in search of saving truth, moved by a dream.
He had been ill, and on two occasions he dreamt that
he had come to the close of life. He fancied himself
conducted "to an immense and beautiful place, where
he saw a magnificent mansion guarded by beings of
surpassing loveliness and purity." The "mansion," he
could see through the doors, was filled with similar
beings, and one in the midst was seated upon a throne
before which all did homage, "whose glory resembled
the brightness of the sun." He was not allowed to
enter as he had not the "requisite attire." He was told
to go back to earth where he would be taught what he
must do to gain admission. The Roman Catholics were
in his village, and he applied to them for guidance.
What they told him decided him to embrace the Chris-
tian religion, but he was dissatisfied with their conduct,
and determined to come to Tientsin to seek the heads
of that Church. He was directed by mistake to our
134



To face p. 134.





John Innocent
due deliberation and prayer about the matter, we ar-
ranged that I should remain to carry on the work in
Tientsin, and Mr. Hall proceed to Chu Chia. If he
deemed it necessary he was to call on his colleague to
join him." Mr. Hall went the first week in September.
On the nth, writing from Chu Chia, Mr. Hall sent to
the Mission Secretary a most graphic account of the
"awakening," which was published as a separate pam-
phlet. He did find it necessary for his colleague to
join him, and within a week or two Mr. Innocent was
there too.
Mr. Hall's account is given at great length in "Con-
secrated Enthusiasm." We do not reproduce it here,
but our readers should certainly peruse that account. It
shows the movement at white heat, shows how wide-
spread it was, and shows Mr. Hall at his best, as one
who had got into his natural element. The "Enthu-
siast " was simply delirious with joy. It was a veritable
conflagration of spontaneous acceptance of the Gospel
which warmed and spread until every one who went
near it was set on fire. Mr. Hall revelled in it like a
salamander. To his zeal-inflamed mind it was Tabor
and Pisgah in one. Transfigured, spell-bound, he
saw a " land of promise" fair and wide. Those two or
three weeks were night-and-day work—a lovefeast to
which the eager guests kept pouring in, all aglow with
prayer and praise. Exhortation, and baptism—and the
order of these holy exercises was of. no account.
"Angels are hovering over this hallowed spot, and
I almost catch their seraphic strains of triumph and of
praise. I would not exchange my lot for that of any
other person in the whole world. Jehovah, the Lord
of hosts, is here. Jesus, the Prince of Glory, is here.
The Divine and Eternal Spirit is here. All the glorious


Excitement at Chu Chia
promises are here; and here is the throne, the ever-
lasting and ever-accessible throne of grace; and what
can I want more? O glory be to God! Blessing and
honour, and might, and dominion be unto Him for ever
and ever."
That was Mr. Hall's state of mind.
That which wrought in him this passion of enthusiasm
was the manifest religious upheaval taking place round
him; which he saw with his eyes, which he heard with
his ears. The entire village, men, women, and children
almost, seemed to be coming en masse into the Church.
They were meeting daily for prayer, keeping the Sab-
bath, meeting daily for Scripture study; though the
great majority of them were unable to read, they were
full of earnest desire for the Gospel. Scriptures and
tracts, brought by the colporteurs, seemed to be in all
their houses. They brought their idols, broke those
that would break, burnt those that would burn, or
handed them to the missionary as old curios. But not
only so. The whole surrounding country seemed com-
ing in. People walked long distances to come to the
services, and at all hours (there was hardly then a clock
or a watch in the whole region) groups would be coming
in eager to see the missionary, pressing him to go to
their own villages, offering their homes for places of
worship. Already at Han Chia, a village celebrity, Liu,
a well-to-do scholarly old farmer, had placed at our
disposal his large homestead, and made us royally wel-
come. This was ten miles north of Chu Chia on the
way from Tientsin. Others, on the south, were ready
to do the same. The demeanour of all these people was
respectful, reverent, almost worshipful. It was a new
thing to those accustomed to be shunned on all sides
and reviled as "foreign devils." It was the "romance

137


of missions" in full display, the more charming and
idyllic as it was taking place at harvest time among
peasant farmers, whose homes were mud-houses (yet
often spaciously built), and whose manners were rustic
and unsophisticated
Chu Chia village was comparatively small; about
250 families, making a population of, perhaps, 2,000
people, but it is set in the centre of a large cluster of
villages, easy of reach, with seven cities, Mr. Hall tells
us, not far distant in various directions. It is just over
the border of Chihli in the north-west corner of Shan-
tung province. Mr. Hall was greatly delighted with the
whole country, and fairly empties his colour-box in
painting its attractions. Chu Chia itself, he says,
"stands in the midst of a garden of delights." Well!
there are no coal stacks and no factory chimneys, and
it was harvest time when it does look delightful. But
lest there should be too great a run on this particular
station, and the attractions of Yung P'ing and the Lan
river should be neglected it may not be amiss to say
that the country is very flat, and in winter,
"When the trees are leafless, when the fields are bare,"
it looks stagnant and dreary enough.
The following monograph from the pen of Mr. Inno-
cent, explicative of the social make-up of the village,
and of Chinese villages generally, is specially interest-
ing:—
"The Chinese have a peculiar method of giving
names to their male descendants, perhaps in imitation
of Imperial usage. The Emperor Kanghsi instituted
a mode of naming the different branches of his family
that everyone might see at a glance the generation to
which each person belongs. He made a list of names,
eight of which have been used for as many generations


John Innocent
and high school, named Chu Tsung Yao, who was a
local celebrity, and a man of great influence. Many
of the youths of the different clans in his school were
converted, and were brought into closer fellowship and
grew up familiarized with the doctrines of the new
faith. Some of these afterwards became students in
our Training Institute, and successful preachers of the
Gospel to their own countrymen."
To return to the narrative of these soul-stirring
scenes.
The account of Sabbath worship at Chu Chia and
of the labours of the following week; the meeting of
our two brethren, under such happy circumstances, and
the triumphant conclusion of their visit must be related
here:—
"Divine service"—the narrative is Mr. Hall's—"was
conducted in the small meeting-room in which a hun-
dred voices joined in the scng of praise. The court-
yard was also filled, and all listened with reverent atten-
tion to the message of the Gospel. The whole service
was full of interest, and it will live in my memory
with ineffaceable impression for ever and ever. At its
close, on being left alone for the night, I made it my
first duty to write to my dear colleague, giving him a
full account of all that I had witnessed, and urging
him to join me without delay that we might take im-
mediate action for suitably meeting the requirements
of this great work.
"My letter was sent off at daylight yesterday morn-
ing, and sure I am that it will prove to Brother Innocent
the occasion of overflowing gladness and joy. Every
day of the following week was occupied in visiting sur-
rounding villages from which came some of the en-
quirers, examining the candidates, dispensing medicine
no


Impressive Services
to the sick, and conducting services in the preaching-
room. On the following Sabbath morning I conducted
service. I spent the whole afternoon in carefully ex-
amining candidates from outlying places whom I had
not met during the week. It is difficult to say what
proportion of the candidates may prove to be eligible
for admission into the Church, but judging from the
numerous cases which have already been enquired into,
I think Brother Innocent will agree with me that we
shall be warranted in receiving into our fellowship at
least some fifty or sixty persons. This will leave a
large number for further instruction.
"While taking tea this evening I was overjoyed by
the arrival of my dear brother and colleague, Mr.
Innocent. He received my letter on Wednesday night,
and lost not a moment in hastening to my help. We
have taken much sweet counsel together, and some-
times, while discussing the features of this great work,
our emotions have quite overpowered us. Brother Inno-
cent attended the evening service. Most of the outside
people had returned to their homes, but as the women
were present, the room was again full. Mr. Innocent
delivered an earnest and most appropriate address, and
after passing through the ordeal of receiving the warm
and affectionate greetings of the people, returned with
me to our hut, blessing and praising God for what he
had seen and heard and felt. He has retired for the
night, remarking that, much as he needed repose, it is
almost impossible to think of rest after such delightful
experiences. May we be divinely guided in all our
actions for the welfare of the Christ-seeking souls
around us!"
The two brethren, while together, carefully examined
a large number of those who had given in their names
141


as believers in Christ, and were desirous of admission to
the Church. Various meetings were held for this pur-
pose on successive days of the week. They felt a solemn
responsibility resting upon them as to the selection of
suitable persons for baptism in such a time of excite-
ment, and were anxious that only those, in whom they
were satisfied that a genuine work of grace had taken
place, should be received as the first members of the
Christian Church in this heathen village. As the result
of diligent and scrutinizing investigation forty-five per-
sons were selected for baptism, and the ordinance
administered to them in the presence of a large gather-
ing of devout and attentive witnesses. A still larger
number of names was left on a reserved list for further
instruction. They were exhorted to continue in the
faith, and give all diligence to make their calling and
election sure.
Mr. Hall's health not being good, the two brethren
returned to Tientsin together on September 29th, re-
joicing in what the Lord had permitted them to see of
His saving power and grace, and deliberating on the
best plans to be adopted for nurturing this newly-
planted infant Church.
On October 22nd, Mr. Innocent again visited the
place, and spent over a fortnight encouraging the new
disciples, and arranging for premises at Chu Chia to be
used for mission purposes. The daily work was ex-
ceedingly pleasant though wearying. More were bap-
tized, and on every hand the people gave heed to the
things of God.
Even at this late date, after the lapse of more than
forty years, and reviewing these scenes in the calmest
and most critical spirit, it is impossible to escape the
conviction of their remarkable character. If we are
142



To face d. 142.





God** Spirit in Human Affair*
to see the Spirit of God working in human affairs at all,
we can surely see Him here. There can be no harm
in discriminating between what was truly important
and significant, and what was merely romantic. Which
of us does not love romance? But the Divine hand is
seen most clearly, not in the appearance of the Dreamer,
nor yet in his dream, but in the far more truly wonder-
ful fact that a whole region, hitherto closed to the
Gospel, suddenly and unexpectedly, as if hundreds of
hearts were moved by an invisible impulse, was thrown
open, and whole districts were eagerly seeking the
grace which, without this impulse, no effort and no
importunity would have induced them to accept. Here
is where the true emphasis lies. For ourselves we do
not take the dream very seriously. We know too well
what the exuberance of the Oriental imagination is,
and how common dreams are in China. We will not
base our faith in the supernatural upon any such datum.
Perhaps, at the time, in England, in accounts of the
movement, too much was made of the dream. We do not
know. It had no particular influence on the Chinese.
We share to the full Mr. Hedley's reserves. We also
"are not concerned to explain, much less to justify."
"One cannot," Mr. Hedley continues, "say that the old
man's tale, as told to our pioneers, was quite un-
varnished and unadorned. One cannot declare that
unquestionably he had not some other and more worldly
reasons for seeking out the foreign teachers, and in-
viting them to his village, etc." Discerning readers of
"Our Mission in China" will suspect that there is
something behind all this which has not been brought
out into the light. Well, there is! It is not much,
however, and there is no reason why this paltry little
skeleton should not be dragged from his closet. Let
143


John Innocent
us give Mephistopheles his sop, and have done with
him. It transpired on Mr. Ku's investigation of the
facts that Chu Tien Chuan's relations with the Roman
Catholics were not quite so simple as he had led our
brethren to suppose. In fact, he had had trouble with
them, was afraid of a lawsuit with them. We are far
from thinking that his dream was an invention. As
likely as not he was in the right in his differences with
the Roman Catholics. It is almost certain he honestly
thought he was. He was in great trouble; the trouble
made him ill, and the dream came to his troubled mind.
He wanted protection, and the strange workings of his
mind begot at once the dream, and the impulse to throw
himself on us. Mr. Hu was too shrewd to have any-
thing to do with his lawsuit . Neither he nor anyone
else resented our non-interference. He lived and died
among us not a prominent member, but a faithful one.
His death took place about 1891. The dream incident
was quite a subordinate incident; romantic, but not
greatly significant. But the turning of these conservative
peasant villagers to the Gospel, their suddenly divesting
themselves of all their dread of and prejudice against
the foreign evangelist, the rapid and continuous spread
of the truth over a wide area, which made possible,
some years after, the residence of missionaries among
them, and laid strong the foundations of our Shantung
work, the spontaneous movement of so many hundreds
towards the light: these were the true wonders, not
dreams, but blessed and enduring realities, which justify
us in magnifying "the wonderful work of God in
Lao Ling."
in


CHAPTER XIV.
OCCUPYING THE NEW FIELD.
PERSECUTION, BEREAVEMENT AND PERIL.
It was a remarkable coincidence that simultaneously
with the opening of this work in Lao Ling two young
brethren were on the way to China who had been ap-
pointed by the Conference (1866) to join our staff.
The Revs. W. B. Hodge and W. D. Thompson, after
an eventful passage, arrived in Tientsin, November
30th, and were heartily welcomed. To enable us to
give due attention to the new field it was deemed ad-
visable to relinquish work elsewhere in unproductive
soil. A preaching-place in the city, which had been
lent by Chang Ch'ih San was abandoned. The small
station at Peitsang, nine miles south of Tientsin, was
also relinquished. Jenchui, also, which so far had re-
sulted in one baptism. The work there had not been
quite in vain, and this one man followed Mr. Hu—" as
Timothy followed Paul," says Mr. Innocent—and for
many years served as a Catechist.
Lao Ling called loudly for their attention, and thus
early they realized that missionary residence on the
spot was requisite. A Chinese house in the village of
Chu Chia was rented, and partly fitted up to suit the
needs of foreigners. It was a queer, old farmhouse
having a large court behind with some sheds for carts
and horses, and a couple of rooms used by farm ser-
vants. Mr. Innocent and Mr. Thompson assumed
1*5


John Innocent
charge of the new station, Mr. Hall and Mr. Hodge
remaining in charge of Tientsin. On March 18th, 1867,
Mr. Innocent moved with his family to the Chu Chia
house with its mud walls and brick floors. Two rooms
in the same building were assigned to his colleague.
One of the rooms in the back premises was used as a
day school, the other as a Dispensary and Book-room.
With little outlay the shed was converted into a chapel,
which was larger and more convenient than the one
hitherto used. This, Mr. Innocent speaks of, as a
complete missionary establishment in one compound.
They even attempted medical work. Two hours were
given every forenoon to relieving the numbers of sick
people who applied for treatment under the impression
that all foreign teachers were skilled medical men.
Most of them had to be refused, as they were either
serious complaints or incurables. By the use of
simple remedies they were able to cure or relieve a
certain number, and cleanliness or nutritious food
played a prominent part in their prescriptions. This
charitable work had its influence in producing a favour-
able impression on the minds of the people, and dispos-
ing even the prejudiced to give attention to the doc-
trines taught
.
Another form of usefulness was a class of young
men anxious to study the Scriptures and Christian doc-
trine with a view to future usefulness. They volun-
teered to provide their own food and furniture if we
would give them a room to lodge in, and provide daily
instruction. They were from different villages, and
either had their millet and change of clothing sent by
their families every five or ten days, or fetched by
themselves. So that really the arrangement involved
no charge on the mission, and was a source of strength
146


Opposition Excited
and hope to the Church. The class then formed has
been carried on ever since though under somewhat
modified conditions. From it some of our most valu-
able Chinese preachers and helpers have proceeded.
For a time the work went on peacefully, and with
growing success. The missionaries being on the spot
were able to conduct the services at this central station
and secure regular visitations of out-stations as they
were opened, and generally superintend the affairs of
the mission. But too soon this peaceful condition was
broken. It was not to be expected that so remarkable
a movement could take place without exciting some
opposition. The introduction of a foreign religion by
foreigners, and the widespread influence of the doctrine
in so short a period alarmed the upholders of native
superstitions, and stimulated the wealthy and the literati
to adopt measures for resisting such innovations. In
one locality an organized attempt was made to crush
the movement, and force the foreign teacher to with-
draw. In the market town of Yang P'an on a market
day, a colporteur was disposing of copies of the Scrip-
tures, surrounded by a small band of Christians. A
group of angry men, led by a wealthy farmer, made an
attack on them, upset the bookstall, and beat the col-
porteurs, together with Mr. Liu, of Hanchia. The
books were torn up, thrown into the mud and trampled
on . Then a false charge against Mr. Liu was trumped
up and lodged in the Yamen. Constables were sent
to arrest him, but he was not at home, having gone to
Tientsin. Another Christian man had been taken to
prison. We appealed to the British Consul to insist on
the case being investigated, and require the local official
to enforce the provisions of the Treaty regarding the
protection of Chinese Christians. For many days, dur-
147


ing which the enemy continued to slander and persecute,
and many of the more timid enquirers held back from
attending service at our chapels, the case was in sus-
pense. But at length, through the influence of the
Tientsin Consul, the Governor of Tientsin, Ch'eng
Hou, sent a deputy to Lao Ling to inquire into the case.
His visit resulted in the immediate liberation of the
man who had been unjustly sent to prison, the con-
demnation of the man who had led the assault at Yang
P'an, and the issue of a proclamation by the magistrate
declaring the right of missionaries to propagate, and of
the Chinese to follow, the Christian religion without
molestation or hindrance. This settlement of the
trouble had a most salutary effect on the whole district.
About this time (July, 1867) some painful circum-
stances dissolved the relations of Mr. W. D. Thompson
with the mission, after but a few months' connection,
and he left the country.
A sad affliction came to the family of Mr. Innocent
in the month of May. Their infant son, Alfred, after
several days' illness with fever, died. The distance of
Lao Ling from Tientsin, at which place alone medical
help was obtainable, was an occasion of great distress
to the parents, and deeply impressed them with the
need of a medical associate in mission work. At this
time of their sorrow, most unexpectedly, two brethren
called in who were travelling. One was the Rev. C. R.
Mills, of Teng chow, on his way to Peking; the other
the Rev. C. A. Stanley, from Tientsia Mr. Mills was
with them the day before the child died, and by his
prayers and Christian counsel greatly strengthened and
soothed the parents. Mr. Stanley, who had been for
several years a neighbour in Tientsin, arrived on the
day of the child's death. He, with his wonted kindness
148


Death of Infant Son
and practical skill, took upon himself all the arrange-
ments for the funeral. The ceremony was an object-
lesson in Christian teaching to the native converts.
Amongst the Chinese, infants, when they die, are never
buried in the family cemetery. They are wrapped in
matting and sent away in charge of a menial hired for
the purpose, to be put by the river bank, or covered
with a few inches of sod, laid by the roadside. They
are supposed to have been possessed by the spirit of
some deceased enemy of the family, and all traces of
its presence are removed as far as possible. But here
they saw, from the neat coffin, and newly-purchased
grave, and the solemn service at that graveside, how
precious such a young life was, not to its parents only,
but to Christ who had said: "Suffer the little children,
and forbid them not to come unto Me, for of such is
the Kingdom of Heaven."
To this day that infant grave, lying west of the
village of Chu Chia is guarded with sacred care by the
villagers, and is a monument to remind all who see it
of the "sure and certain hope of a resurrection to
eternal life," which the Christian cherishes.
This sad event appears to have made a profound effect
upon the Innocents. Apparently their object in moving
to Shantung was permanent residence. But their little
one was lost to them. Mr. Thompson was leaving the
mission, remaining at Chu Chia would be a lonely lot,
and in July, 1867, they returned to Tientsin. There
their fourth son, Arthur Grayson Innocent, was bom
September 27th of that year; he died in July, 1868.
From that time up to the year 1878 permanent resi-
dence was not again attempted. Mr. Innocent remained
in charge of the Circuit, his colleague in 1868 being
Mr. Turnock, in 1869 Mr. Hodge; but in 1870 a
149


John Innocent
change was made and the brethren were all appointed
to Tientsin and Lao Ling. The work in Shantung was
carried on by visits in which each in turn took part.
The country mission developed apace. Converts
from distant villages, finding it inconvenient to attend
worship at Chu Chia every week, began to open their
own houses, or provide suitable rooms in their own
hamlets for service, the missionaries visiting them on
their tours in Shantung. The bulk of our numerous
chapels are still provided in this way. Preachers and
Catechists are appointed to these places. For those
who lived only three or four miles from the centre it
was easy to worship, but when members lived ten or
twelve miles away the new arrangement was necessary.
Thus, in the course of a year, quite a Circuit of small
churches was formed. Some on the north—Hanchia
(1867), Ts'ang Shang (1868), Chao Chia Miao, Yang
P'an, Chiu Hsien. Some twenty miles to the south-
west—San Liu Chia, Li Chia Lou, Wu Kuan T'un.
Some to the east—Wang Kuan Liu Chia, Nieh Chia.
Each place thus opened was a centre of light and
influence, and gathered hearers from adjacent villages.
So "mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed."
In every place the visit of the missionary was hailed
with delight, whether on weekday or Sunday. The
members would sit until late in the night singing, pray-
ing, listening.
In the year 1868 this district was much disturbed
by the invasion of a large force of armed, mounted
robbers called "Nien Fei." They were really a de-
tached portion of the Tai-ping rebels, who, since the
capture of Nanking by General Gordon, had been
ravaging the northern provinces. Their presence
caused great dismay to the people, who protected them-
150


selves by throwing up mud ramparts round their vil-
lages. This incursion of rebels has already been men-
tioned in Chapter XII. Mr. Innocent gives an account
of his experiences with them which is exciting:—
"Mr. Lees and myself, he on a pony, and I in a cart,
pushed on with all speed along the country roads. Late
in the evening, as we neared Han Chia, we were sur-
prised to find all the roads filled with people in the
greatest terror. 'What is the matter?' 'Oh, the re-
bels, the rebels are upon us!' So it was. Villages,
quite close to us, had been seized for their camp dur-
ing the night. We had been misinformed about their
locality, and in consequence had run into their arms.
Being weary, and our animals needing rest, we took
refuge in the house of our friend Liu at Han Chia.
Hundreds of poor frightened women and children also
took refuge in his large farmyard, to whom he cheer-
fully offered protection and food. We found a trusty
messenger to go over in the darkness with a message
to Mr. Hodge, who was ten miles away. Unfortu-
nately, owing to the gates of the village rampart being
closed at sunset, he could not deliver the message until
daylight. At sunrise next morning we started to meet
Mr. Hodge. Every road was crowded with fugitives.
The corn was high on either side, so that our progress
was slow. We were soon overtaken by a band of
robbers, threading the line of fugitives on the road we
travelled. One of these, armed to the teeth, came to
us, and, with threatening attitude, demanded Mr. Lees's
horse. There was a slight hesitancy, and an attempted
parley; but the horse had to be given up. The rascal
dragged it away to join his fellows. Resistance would
have been worse than useless. Along the whole line of
fugitives we could see these villains plundering the
151


John Innocent
carts, rifling the bundles, unharnessing the animals, and
bearing off the young women from their protectors.
If the least resistance, or defence, were offered they
knocked down, or shot, the victim in cold blood. Thus
they plundered the people of everything that was valu-
able. Our loss, though serious to us at the time, was
a trifle compared with that of numbers of those about
us. We proceeded slowly on our way, not knowing
but that a second and worse attack might be made
upon us. We wandered about the whole day, partly
to evade the villages where bands of these ruffians
might be met with, and at sunset reached Chu Chia.
This place we found almost abandoned. The people
had gone to an adjoining village (Po Chi Liu Chia)
that was protected by a rampart. Mr. Hodge had been
there all night, but did not get our message until the
morning. He had gone north to meet us. Anxiously
we awaited his return. He came back about midnight,
completely exhausted. His report confirmed our own
impression, that our way back to Tientsin by the north
was blocked, so that we resolved to make our way south.
Before dawn we started, and, after two days' hard
journeying, reached the Yellow River, opposite the City
of Chinanfu. We saw much of the distress and the
ravages caused by the marauders, and the Imperial
troops which followed after them . The troops did not
aim at close contact, but hung about two days in their
rear, and often caused more distress to the poor coun-
try people than the mounted robbers. We spent a day
in Chinanfu, and were generously entertained by the
Bishop and fathers at the Roman Catholic cathedral
From information we gathered it was deemed best to
avoid the high roads, and return to Tientsin by sea.
Numbers of students, on their way to Peking for ex-
152


Escape from Marauders
animations, had to take the same course. So we took
passage in a fishing boat, and were detained at the
mouth of the Yellow River several days waiting for
a fair wind. The boat was crowded with passengers,
and the three of us had to stow ourselves into a cramped
hole about six feet by three, over which was a movable
hatch, which at night had to be closed down. For these
boats are all divided into so many separate holds, with
only a narrow footway on each side for the sailors. An
awning was stretched over during the day, when the
boat was not moving, or if the weather was fine. But
it was most uncomfortable and stifling accommoda-
tion. To make matters worse our food ran short, and
we could only procure salt fish, and a coarse kind of
rice, on board. Our clothes, too, had become tattered,
so that we were thankful to reach Taku, and proceed
by cart to Tientsin, after an absence of nine days. For
a week our families had been in the greatest concern
about us, not knowing where we had got to. Our
arrival afforded grateful relief to them as to ourselves.
"A singular fact came to our knowledge, afterwards,
respecting these robbers. They entered but one of
the villages where we had a preaching-place, and in
that one committed no depredations. We had a small
station at San Liu Chia with a Catechist in charge. The
night before we met them they had entered this village,
and a number of them took possession of the chapel
for their quarters. The building being of respectable
appearance one of their officers was attracted to the
place. He began to read the papers pasted on the
walls, such as the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Command-
ments, etc. He asked the Catechist what the place
was used for. When informed, he ordered the men to
clear out, and said he himself would occupy the rooms
iss


John Innocent
for the night. He invited the Catechist and his boy
to supper, sat up nearly all night listening to explana-
tions of the Gospel, expressed great admiration, wished
he had known Christianity earlier, regretted that he
could not follow it. Next morning he took the Cate-
chist and his boy in charge, and conveyed them safely
to their own home. He took a list of the names of all
our places in the district, and promised that if the Chris-
tians would remain at their chapels not one of them
should be interfered with. This pledge was faithfully
kept.
"But the Imperial soldiers showed no such regard.
They had lodged in our house, made free with the
furniture, partly for fuel, and partly for mischief, so
that when we could go back there was little we could
use."
Soon after his return from this trip, Mr. Innocent
was taken seriously ill, and was laid aside for some
weeks.
A very welcome addition to our staff arrived in Tient-
sin in November, 1868: the Rev. B. B. Turnock, M.A.,
accompanied by his wife, was sent out with a view to
his taking charge of the work of training Chinese
preachers. With them came Miss Landels, the fiancte
of Mr. Hodge. Mr. Hodge met them in Shanghai,
where he was happily married to Miss Landels. Mr.
Turnock's appointment did not fulfil the hopes with
which it had been regarded.
By December 3rd, 1868, our missionaries were again
able to visit the stations in Lao Ling. The rebels had
left the district some time before this. During the
period of disturbance the schoolmaster at Chu Chia,
Chu Tsung Yao, had conducted service every Lord's
day, and, assisted by the chapelkeeper, had visited all
154


Hit Welcome in Enfland
We have heard of a missionary who, on returning from
a strenuous furlough, remarked that he was glad to
get back to work in order to have a little rest. But a
missionary ought not to be cynical. The essential idea
of a missionary is that of one who travels about a good
deal, and who preaches a good deal. On furlough he
is by no means out of his vocation. He is a " travelling
preacher extraordinary," doing about as much of both
when off the field as when on the field. It is a sinful
wish we know, but how nice it would be to be a mis-
sionary on furlough always!
In Mr. Innocent's case all these good things were
heightened by the fact, that he was one of our two
pioneer missionaries, the first to return, and now on
furlough for the first time. His welcome was warm and
enthusiastic. By a happy coincidence the Conference of
1870 was held in his native town. He preached the
Missionary Sermon. His speech at the Annual Meeting
is given in the "Missionary Chronicle" for August. It
is a simple and straightforward presentation of the
work done by himself and colleague, a review of the ten
years of the history of the Mission, and an appreciation
of native fellow-workers, Hu, Wang and Chang. It is
singularly free from every kind of ornament. It men-
tions the fact that every one of the five men, so far
sent to the field, were sent from Sheffield. The Rev.
J. Maughan, who had been eight years in Australia,
was also on furlough, and in a resolution of welcome to
them both, the Conference declared that their success
had "stimulated the songs of Zion, and added new
fervour to our prayers," that "their services in the
pulpit, and on the platform, as well as in private in-
tercourse, have been a spiritual festival to our Church,"
and that the Conference rejoiced to send them forth
157


John Innocent
again to be the "Messengers of the Churches and the
glory of Christ." Another fact to be noticed is that
Mr. Innocent's old friend, Mr. Ephraim Hallam, was
in the chair at the missionary meeting.
On this furlough Mr. Innocent did full work as a
deputation. He mentions visits to Newcastle, Sunder-
land, Hartlepool, Manchester, Stockport, Liverpool,
Southport, Bradford, Dewsbury, Leeds, Halifax, Old-
ham, Huddersfield, Hurst, Lees, Stalybridge, Bolton,
Rochdale, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Old-
bury, Hanley, Longton, Nottingham, Bristol, London,
Truro, St. Ives and Guernsey. At Shrewsbury he
visited "the quiet resting-place of Uncle William."
There were many enthusiastic gatherings at Sheffield,
where he took a house and resided during the early
part of his furlough. There are entries in his note-
book of a very large number of meetings he attended
in the neighbourhood of Manchester. He was accus-
tomed to make long speeches. At Salem, Manchester,
he spoke for an hour and twenty minutes, Mr. Cross-
ley in the chair. The attention, he tells us, was un-
flagging, and the chairman expressed much pleasure in
what he had heard . Mr. Maughan was absent on this
occasion, but at Sheffield, where it was also an hour
and twenty minutes, he notes: "Mr. Maughan not
pleased with my taking so much time."
His friendship with Mr. Hallam was renewed under
circumstances very different from those of youthful
days. He made several visits to Romiley, and much
enjoyed the pleasant rest in Mr. Hallam's beautiful
residence at Oakwood Hall. Under date September
23rd, we find the following: "Received great kindness
from old and new friends. Went to Romiley to the
house of my friend Mr. E. Hallam. Found him in very
us


Missionary Advocacy
altered circumstances. Personally not much altered.
Very nice lady for a second wife. Met Messrs. Taylor,
Donald and Henshaw with their wives there." The
visit was repeated several times.
While at Lees he records a most interesting circum-
stance. "Requested to speak about the work in Lao
Ling. Mr. Ogden stated that the pamphlet on Lao Ling
had led to the formation of the Irish Presbyterian
Mission." This is now a very important and well-staffed
mission in Manchuria.
While in England Mr. Innocent heard Newman Hall
lecture on "Adam and Eve," and George Gilfillan on
"Milton "—" very rhetorical and flowery." This was at
Manchester. In London he "heard Dr. Parker preach
a remarkable sermon at his week-day service in the
Poultry, delivered with great power and earnestness."
Also: "Sunday, February 6th (1870), went to the
Tabernacle and heard Spurgeon preach a most effec-
tive sermon on Col. i. 29. 'Whereunto I also labour,
striving according to His working which worketh in
me mightily,' in which he showed the duty of indivi-
dual effort for personal salvation and the salvation of
others."
As an advocate for missions, Mr. Innocent's deliver-
ances were always dignified, weighty and practical;
free from any exaggeration or extravagance, but dis-
playing sound judgment and giving solid information
supported by personal experience of the work. He
was not sufficiently anecdotal for some of our people
who betray an inordinate fondness for signs and won-
ders, and are never tired of listening to personal stories
of individual conversions. But men are not all made
alike. It is not every one who is a good story-teller,
and if a man has not that gift it is vain for him to
159


Eager for Return to China
"With regard to the restrictions imposed on mission-
ary labour, they can only be temporary, and will very
likely have practically ceased by the time I reach China.
If not, there will be scope enough for our labours in
the city, and opportunities, by prudent stealth, may be
used for the advantage of our mission until such re-
strictions are removed. I am not satisfied that a mis-
sionary should be governed in his work by the favour
of Governments and Diplomatists, or the temper of a
nation; but while showing due respect to these he
should have a higher regard for the Master he serves,
and the claims of that spiritual undertaking in which
he is engaged. And if, as Mr. Hall says: 'Our British
Plenipotentiary or Ambassador will not assure protec-
tion to missionaries in the interior,' let them go without
that protection, and trust their God and the Chinese
Government (as they generally have done), and they
will get on quite as well as they have done in the past.
The only protection has been a passport, and what
would a mob like that at Tientsin care for a passport?
As to his safety, more depends on the personal bearing,
conduct, and reputation of the individual foreigner in
the interior than on any supposed power of national
protection which may invisibly surround him. The
people are not savages, but have as great a horror of
bloodshed as the most civilized. This is the rule"
Splendid! These words are as wise as they are
brave, and show the calm, steady mind, and clear esti-
mate which no temporary excitement could ruffle or
disturb.
He was eager to go, and go he did, and when the
Conference assembled he was upon the sea looking
eagerly toward China.
Ml
M


CHAPTER XVI.
TIENTSIN CHURCH IN TRIBULATION.
BEFORE AND AFTER THE MASSACRE.
On his return from furlough Mr. Innocent was given
charge of the Church in Tientsin. The "Awakening"
which opened so wide a door for us in Shantung
seems to hava also affected our church in the city. We
have seen that in 1866, when the call came to Lao Ling,
our membership in Tientsin was 24, with 7 probation-
ers. For some unexplained reason the numbers for
1867 are not given separately either in the "Minutes"
or the Missionary Report. But it may be inferred that
the increase to 85 members and 23 probationers is
almost, if not entirely, accounted for by baptisms in
Lao Ling. In 1868 there is a substantial increase. For
1868 the return for Tientsin is nearly doubled, being
46 members and 9 probationers. The wave of blessing
which had given us a new and extensive field in Shan-
tung had also carried the Tientsin Church forward
to gratifying prosperity. This is, perhaps, to be
ascribed in part to an event of great significance which
also took place in 1866.
This was the opening of Kung Pei Chapel. It was
after much trouble and patient waiting that this place
was secured. The situation was superb. It must be
remembered that up to the time of the Boxer outbreak
Tientsin was a walled city. The designation "in the
city" meant inside that wall: "outside the city," out-
let


Opening of Kanf Chapel
side that walL But the best, the busiest, the wealthiest
part of the city was and still is outside the city, techni-
cally speaking, i.e., outside the wall The best shops
are situated, and the most business is done, along the
line of streets running from the Settlement in a trans-
verse line toward the North gate, a line formed by Old
Clothes Street, Palace North Street, Palace South
Street, Stone-door-sills Street, and Foreign Goods
Street . Kung Pei means Palace North. The Palace—
Kung—is a Temple, one of the most frequented in
Tientsin, and dedicated to the Queen of Heaven—the
Chinese Aphrodite, goddess of the Sea. It has
already been mentioned as the place where worship
was held for foreign soldiers from i860 to 1862. From
two to three hundred yards north of this temple stood
our Kung Pei ChapeL The street runs midway be-
tween the river and the east wall of the city, and from
Kung Pei to the East Gate was but a short distance.
The building was taken on a pawn-lease, a common
method of leasing in China. You pay down a given
sum and a lease deed is made out for a given number
of years. After the term expires the original owner
has the option of redeeming, by paying back the
original sum. The interest on the money advanced
stands for the rent, and you get the principal back
before giving up the building. This arrangement
occasioned trouble in 1889, when a representative of
the original lessor appeared and offered to redeem the
property. By payment of a further sum, however, the
property became ours on a purchase deed. Previous
to our acquiring it in 1866 it had been a Chinese tea
shop, the only kind of public-house known in China.
The main room was about 20 feet by 40 feet, with
small rooms at the back and a room, also very small,
163


John Innocent
on the left-hand side. The property was in a very
dilapidated condition when we took it. Our brethren
were not a little proud of acquiring so excellent a site,
and on February 2nd Mr. Hall wrote the Mission
Secretary as follows:
"During the past month we have succeeded in obtain-
ing a large shop in the most commanding position that
this city affords, and we are now converting it into a
chapel on a scale unsurpassed by any mission in this
place. We are truly grateful to God for the favour
vouchsafed to us in the attainment of this object. Our
attention has been fixed on this locality for four years
or more, and we have strongly exerted ourselves at
various intervals to effect its occupation, but until
now all our efforts have been unavailing. Other mis-
sionary friends have also laboured for the same end
with equally fruitless results. In this last, but happily
successful attempt, we have met with no small annoy-
ance and trouble, but every obstacle has been swept
away. . . . We have now secured a position which
we hope to occupy for many years, and where from the
crowds who are perpetually thronging the street we
have every reason to think that thousands will be
brought under the sound of the Gospel."
We may say here that for many years Kung Pei
served splendidly for street preaching. It was " a good
stand," and perhaps we made a mistake to sell it. But
for our principal place of worship, notwithstanding
what is said above, it was ridiculously small. The
chapel had a superficial area of 800 square feet, was
simply a large room looking like a shop, built entirely
in Chinese style, with no light on either side; windows
at each end, helped out by a paper skylight. By the
time an entrance porch had been taken out, and room
164


Appointment of Mr. Wang Yi Him
left for the pulpit, you had but to put fifty people in
it, and it was packed. It was destroyed at the time of
the massacre, but rebuilt; and again razed to the
ground by the Boxers, after which it was never re-
stored. The site was sold in 1905 for the handsome
sum of £400. It was opened on Sunday, March 6th,
the Rev. J. Lees and the Rev. C. A. Stanley conducting
the opening services. "The crowds which pressed and
hung about the door," says Mr. Innocent, "were truly
surprising." Mrs. Hu fairly "astonished the natives"
by appearing at the service with her daughters and
another woman. It was a bold thing to do in those
days. Their most sanguine expectations were met in
the daily throngs which gathered to listen to the preach-
ing, and they soon found it was "too small for the
people drawn to the place." Here they got a larger
proportion of respectable and cultivated Chinese than
they had been accustomed to, and after two months of
labour they began to reap the fruit of their toil. Of
even greater importance than the finding of the place
was the finding of a man to occupy the place, and
their instrument was already prepared in the elderly
and scholarly convert, Wang Yi Hua. He was at
once appointed to Kung Pei. Mr. Innocent testifies that
"no man was better qualified, from his knowledge of
Scripture, and the Chinese classics, his intimate ac-
quaintance with the subtleties of native character, and
superstitions, his strong faith in Christ, and confidence
in the power of the Spirit of God, for the position.
By his faithful exposure of the evils of sin, and de-
lightful portrayals of the truths of the Gospel salvation,
which he delivered with a freeness and eloquence un-
equalled, he often kept his hearers spellbound. The
learned, and illiterate alike, were enchanted by the
165


John Innocent
force of his intelligent and faithful utterances. The
Holy Spirit, whose aid he constantly sought, used his
ministry to the conversion of many souls." Many offi-
cial and literary friends were attracted to us at this
time, among whom was a mandarin of some rank,
named Hsiu.
Wang Yi Hua was, perhaps, the most distinguished
Chinaman who ever belonged to us. He was bom at
Chao-pu, a town near Shanghai city. He ranked as
a mandarin, though he had quitted office, and his son
was also an expectant official. His conversion was re-
markably deep and sincere. An old man, he began
at once to study the Scriptures with passionate earnest-
ness, and he, who at first thought it impossible that
any literature could equal the wisdom of the Sages,
soon came to see even his beloved classics to be far
inferior to the Word of God. Mr. Innocent had a small
class of boy boarders, and Chang Ch'ih San, just bap-
tized, a young man, was set apart as a theological stu-
dent . The old man took his place as a scholar among
the boys, made far more rapid progress than any of
them, and was accustomed to explain his eagerness by
saying: "You see I am an old man, I have less time
before me than you, I must make haste, you need not
work so hard, but I must; my days will soon be over."
His work on the "Clear Lamp of Heavenly Truth"
was a most scholarly production. We have seen it
years ago. It was a masterpiece which ought not to
have been allowed to go out of print. He was a " grand
old man," with the mind of an intellectual giant, the
heart of a child, and the holy fire of a saint. We have
never had another quite like him. He had an inde-
pendence of mind, which led him into little harmless
heresies, which the missionaries did not quite like, but
165


Death of Mr. Want
which showed his great sincerity. He had always re-
fused to go out to Lao Ling, saying: "I do not hear
the Lord's voice. My work is in Tientsin," but when
the dark days of the Nien Fei came, and we were hard
put to it, with Mr. Hodge's illness, for some one to
go out, he voluntarily sought Mr. Hall, and said: "You
have several times asked me to go out there, and I
never felt at liberty, but since Mr. Williamson's death
I have heard the Lord's voice ringing in my ears.
Necessity is laid upon me, and go I must." It was
he who, when Mr. Hall was leaving for England, sent
the message to Mr. Hulme and Dr. Stacey, and those
in England who first sent the missionaries: "We old
men can never go to England, never see your faces
there, and thank you for what you have done, but
when we get to Heaven be sure we shall go round
amongst the angels, and seek you up and thank you
there as we ought." He was a man of great courage
as he showed in escorting Mr. Hodge, with his wife,
over the long journey from Lao Ling, via Chefoo, in
the dangerous time immediately following the massa-
cre. His death took place in Tientsin on September
2nd 1873, after but a short illness. "On Sunday
morning," writes Mr. Innocent, "I asked him how he
felt . 'Peace! Peace!' was his reply. 'Do you feel the
Lord to be with you now?' 'Yes, he never leaves
me!' On Monday he was very low. ... I asked
him if all was well, and he lifted his hand in the affirma-
tive. On Tuesday, about half-past one in the after-
aoon, after a very restless night, he ceased to suffer,
and gently breathed his soul away—peacefully as a
child that falls asleep on his mother's breast." He
departed much mourned, as much beloved by all, and
remembered still as "Dear Old Wang." The " Mission-
167


John Innocent
ary Chronicle " for January, 1875, has a memoir of him.
Beginning with the opening of Kung Pei there was
a steady increase of membership in the Tientsin Cir-
cuit. In 1871, that is, immediately after the massacre,
the numbers sank from 55 to 41. One of our members
was killed, and the Church was badly scattered: that
there should be a decrease of 11 only is itself signifi-
cant. In 1872 the return went back to 45. In 1873
it rose to 57; in 1874 to 61; in 1877 to 78; and in
1878, the year of Mr. Hall's death, there were in Tient-
sin Circuit 86 members with 9 probationers.
On the 24th of August, 1869, a distressing tragedy
took place. Mr. Hodge, accompanied by the Rev. J.
Williamson, of the L.M.S., had started on a journey by
boat to visit the stations in Shantung. On the second
night from Tientsin they were anchoreo in the canal,
a little below the town of Cheng-Kuan-t'un. Shortly
after they had retired for the night they were attacked
by a band of robbers. It was a hot night, and Mr.
Williamson had elected to sleep on the little deck at
the front of the boat. Mr. Hodge was inside. He
was alarmed by a violent noise, and the sound of a
scuffle, and as he emerged from the cabin, a number
of armed robbers in masks stood on the deck, who
struck at him with their swords. He was hit about
the head and shoulders. He jumped into the water
and managed to scramble ashore. He saw nothing of
his companion who had already fallen into the water,
but dazed and bruised fled in his night-clothes to a
farmhouse, the owner of which took compassion on
him, and lent him some warm clothing. After a time
he rallied, and, with a number of local police, returned
to the boat to find it abandoned and stripped of every-
thing valuable. No trace of Mr. Williamson could be





Murder of Rer. J. Williamioa
found. He made his way to Tientsin alone, and, some
days after, the body of Mr. Williamson was found in
the canal. He had probably been struck by the robbers
and fallen stunned into the stream. Some of the
thieves were captured, and at their trial confessed that
they had followed the boat from Tientsin, having seen
silver ingots (the usual form of carrying money in in-
terior China) taken on board. Robbery was their ob-
ject, and no doubt they had not intended to murder
Mr. Williamson. This event is commemorated in a
tablet erected in Old Union Church.
The shock to Mr. Hodge was very serious, and he
never quite recovered from it. He went to Chefoo
with the object of recovering his shattered nerves, but
did not altogether succeed. May 31st, 1870, however,
he again went to Lao Ling. Mr. Hall had gone south,
also on account of ill-health. Mr. Innocent, and his
family, were, as we have seen, in England, or, rather,
by this time on their way out. Up to the very eve
of the massacre, Mr. Turnock was alone in Tientsin.
On June 20th Mr. Hall returned, and the very next
morning the diabolical storm burst over the city which
can never be forgotten, which startled the civilized
world, and which brought the searching fires of tribula-
tion over the whole mission.
The massacre of Tientsin was a deed of such wild
and bk. xlthirsty violence that it can only be described
as a foretaste of Boxerdom, happily restricted to a
single city. Of the many outrages suffered by
foreigners in China before 1900 it was the very worst
.
Like the Boxer outbreak it took place at the Summer
Solstice. The longest day in the year, the 21st of
June, 1870, was the fateful day. For weeks before-
hand the most terrible rumours, of very diversified
169


John Innocent
character, were sown broadcast over the city. A man
belonging to the official class in the south, who came
to the north for the purpose, and whose name was
Cheng Kuo Hsuai, is said to have been the chief insti-
gator of this work. It was noted that a week or two
before the great event the servants of many foreigners
did not dare to sleep on their premises. An unspeak-
ably infamous pamphlet, "A Deathblow to Corrupt
Doctrine," was printed and sold with quasi secrecy on
the streets. This pamphlet was a masterpiece of men-
dacity and vileness, only surpassed by the still more
infamous Chou Han sheets which appeared many years
later in the south. Among many other charges of the
foulest character, the most graphic and detailed ones
were that foreigners, and more especially missionaries,
were engaged in kidnapping young children, and after
doing them to death gouging out their eyes and hearts
to make magic medicine. They were supposed to make
use of such drugs to secure new converts. These sup-
posed drugs were given a name—"heart-bewitching
philtres," "eye-bewitching philtres." You must have
lived in a country like China to comprehend the confi-
dence with which rumours of this kind are circulated,
and the implicit faith with which they are believed
in a time of popular excitement. The only newsagency
was the tongue; and rumour, hundred-tongued, fairly
flamed, coruscated and smoked itself black with the
recital of such horrors. From the first these slanderous
attacks were skilfully directed and focused upon the
Roman Catholic Missions. Their cathedral, a proud
pile of Gothic architecture, was built upon a cherished
national site, superbly overlooking the river, and at
the junction of the Grand Canal with the river. Here
had stood a Palace building sacred to the uses of the
170


The Tientsin Massacre
Emperor when visiting Tientsin. It had been wrested
from China by the French troops without payment, and
on one-half of it was built this cathedral, and on the
other half the French Consulate. The popular mind
had always been very sore at this act of confiscation.
In another part of the city, and on the other side of
the river, was a Church and Hospital• occupied by
the Sisters of Mercy. There were eleven Sisters,
mostly French, one or two Italians, and one bore an
Irish name.
It so happened that at this time an epidemic prevailed
which got into the Hospital and the schools of the
Sisters. It was said they were carrying out their dead
for burial nearly every day. The charges of mutilation
were repeated with the utmost circumstantiality. The
statement was made that bodies of children were ex-
humed in the cemetery and eyes and hearts were found
to be missing. By such stories as these the popular
mind was lashed into a perfect fury. Though repeated
representations of the necessity of taking steps to pre-
vent disorder were made by the Consuls, nothing was
done. The prefect and sub-prefect are said to have
connived with the ringleaders who were egging on the
populace ripe for mischief. Ch'eng-hou, the Governor,
a mandarin of the highest rank, is said to have refused
to take part, but stood aside and remained inactive.
Before the event took place everything was arranged,
everything was announced . The day was fixed, the
hour, the signal, the points of attack, the leaders who
were to place themselves in the van.
The dreadful morning dawned. The great bell on the
Drum-tower (close by our chapel) tolled out the awful
signal, the fire brigades of the city rushed forth as
if for duty, the infuriated populace crowded in their
171


John Innocent
wake, the most desperate characters in the city, armed
with spears, swords, pikes, weapons of the most varied
kinds, pressed to the front, and this immense mob,
wild with fierce excitement, formed itself into two
parties and moved simultaneously upon the cathedral,
and the Church of the Sisters of Mercy.
While these events were yet in preparation the
French Consul, M. Foucanier, learning something
of what was in contemplation, had gone in all haste
to Ch'eng-hou's yamen to urge the necessity of im-
mediate action. There was an angry interview, the
great mandarin professed helplessness, some say the
Consul drew his revolver, but that was denied. Certain
it is that he got no satisfaction. He left the yamen
and hastened back to the Consulate beside the cathe-
dral, only to fall into the hands of the mob, which had
already surrounded it. He was at once attacked, mur-
dered, and his body thrown into the river. Warming
to their work, the infuriated mob attacked the cathe-
dral, set it on fire, dragged forth two Roman Catholic
priests, together with Monsieur and Madame
Thomassin, who had only arrived the day before, and
were on their way to Peking, and cruelly murdered
ail of them, as well as many Chinese inmates. On the
other side of the river, not more than twenty minutes'
walk from the cathedral, a still more savage mob at-
tacked the Hospital and Church where the Sisters re-
sided. An account written shortly after says: "These
Sisters were not permitted the mercy of simultaneous
death, but were butchered one by one, after the most
horrible bodily and mental torment that the fiendish
imagination of their persecutors could conceive."
The buildings were then burned and some forty chil-
dren who had hid themselves in the cellar beneath the


Pillage of Native Christians
Church were suffocated. The mutilated remains of the
sisters were thrown into the burning buildings. Eleven
sisters were done to death in this barbarous fashion.
At the present day a round pillar, with her Christian
name carved on it, marks the spot where each sister
is supposed to have been martyred. Five other foreign-
ers were killed in the streets, a French tradesman and
his wife, two Russian gentlemen, and a lady married
only four days before. In all, twenty-one foreigners
were killed. Some authorities give twenty-two.
While it was evident that the chief animus of the
populace was against the Roman Catholics, its fury
was not confined to them. Protestant missionaries
were sought for in their chapels. Eight chapels in the
city were looted and destroyed. The Chinese Chris-
tians were driven from their homes and robbed. Chang
Ch'ih San had to pay Tls. 300—about £90—as ransom
for himselc and family. Everything of value was taken
from his nouse. One of our Chinese preachers, Mr.
Liu Tu Ya, who was in the chapel, was so beaten and
wounded that he died of his wounds a few weeks after-
wards. The day after the massacre a man with some
combustible material was found in the tower of Union
Church. He evidently had intended to set fire to the
building.
Reparation for this terrible deed was tardy and
halting. It was not until the 15th of September that
sixteen desperadoes of the city were executed, and
twenty-three others exiled. At best they were but the
tools employed by men blacker-hearted than them-
selves, but much doubt has been expressed by foreign-
ers as to whether they were the real perpetrators of
the murders at all. Those who were executed went
to the block with much bravado, clad in silken robes
173


John Innooant
provided by subscription, and accompanied by an
admiring populace. On the 26th of October indemnity
was ordered for the sufferers, but was grudgingly paid.
"A paltry sum, only about one-fourth of the estimated
loss," says Mr. Innocent, "was paid to the two English
Protestant missions in Tientsin by the Chinese
authorities, on the 16th of June, 1871, close on a year
after the massacre." The chapels were re-built, but
in very shoddy fashion.
Our readers will readily imagine the widespread
alarm, and the interruption to mission work which took
place. For months the missionaries could not visit
their churches. The members were subject to the most
grievous persecution. Many were plundered and
driven from home. Some of the feeble shrank from
the fiery trial and were lost to us, the great majority
remained faithful. No meetings could be held in the
city chapels. The converts gathered for Sabbath
worship in the missionaries' homes. Kung Pei was not
re-opened until November 20th, 1871.
While the massacre was taking place Mr. and Mrs.
Hodge were both in Shantung. They had been accom-
panied by a friend, Mr. Moulls, who returned to Tient-
sin on the 19th, and sent carts for Mr. and Mrs. Hodge,
which actually left on the morning of the massacre.
But, happily, their return was delayed, and the delay
gave time for a letter of warning, written by Mr. Hall
on the 22nd, to reach them. The letter warned them,
and in the Consul's name, not to come to Tientsin.
What was to be done? After anxious deliberation and
prayer they decided to make south for Chefoo, a long
journey of twelve days, escorted by Messrs. Hu and
Wang, whose courage on the occasion was splendid.
Mr. Hodge's own account of this journey appeared in
174


Efcape of the Rct. W. B. Hodf c
the "Missionary Chronicle" for January, 1871. It was
a long, perilous, anxious, toilsome journey, and at its
end Mr. Hodge was completely broken down. After
a few days in Chefoo he came on to Tientsin to confer
with Mr. Hall. Mr. Hall saw at once how serious his
state was. Dr. Frazer was called in, and insisted on
his return to England without delay. Mr. Hodge
records the mournful recollection that he left Tientsin
on the 3rd of August (1870), the day when the remains
of the murdered Sisters of Charity and other French
subjects were removed from the English Cemetery to
their final resting-place in the Consular grounds: the
day too when the first martyr in connection with our
Chinese Mission (poor Liu Tu Ya, who had been
beaten by the mob) entered into rest. He arrived
in England on October 23rd.
It was a wet China to which Mr. Innocent returned
in July of 1871. The rains that year were excessive.
The various streams which converge at Tientsin were
all greatly swollen, and the Pei-ho had burst its banks
so that the plain by which the city is surrounded had
become one immense lake. The high-road between
Tientsin and Taku on which our mission property
stands was covered with three feet of water. Many
villages had been swept away, and the walls of the city
were covered with homeless refugees living under mat
sheds. Every temple and every temple-court in the
city was converted into a temporary refuge for the
destitute. Even the foreign houses were all more or
less damaged and leaking. Our mud-built cottages
leaked in every room, and some of the walls melted
away. For many successive nights Mr. Innocent had
to arrange for his wife and daughter to sleep under
a large dining table, while he slept himself on the
ITS


Furlough of Rer. W. N. Hall
a few days the plain became an extensive lake, and
miles of growing crops were destroyed. By this time
one new house of a substantial character had been
erected, and though it was necessary to hire gangs
of men to throw up embankments to keep the water
out of the Mission Compound, Mr. Innocent records
his gratitude in having "a safer and more comfortable
shelter than in the previous .flood."
In the spring of this same year Mr. Hall took his
first and only furlough. He had been on the field an
abnormally long time—nearly fourteen years—and the
change was much needed. He left Tientsin at the end
of April, 1873, carrying with him a special letter of
most affectionate farewell from our united Chinese
Churches, a translation of which was done into English
and sent to the Secretary by Mr. Innocent, and the
design registered deep in his heart to raise funds while
in England which would be sufficient to build a Train-
ing Institution for Chinese preachers. He travelled
home by way of Canada and the United States. For
the time Mr. Innocent was alone, but the return of
Mr. Hodge, who came back from furlough in October,
relieved the strain. Within a few days of his arrival
Mr. Innocent left Tientsin work in his hands, and went
to pay a sadly-needed visit to the Shantung Circuit
.
He records that such was the state of the floods at
that time that he had to take boat at the Compound
gate and travel twenty miles across the flooded plain
over fields of wheat ripe for gathering, the ears of
which we saw waving under the water, before he could
reach the cart which was to take him to the country.
It is of this period that Mr. Innocent, feeling the
strain of his manifold duties, writes: "We had more
claims than we could well meet. There were in Tient-
177


John Innocent
sin the students of the Theological Class, the three
chapels with daily preaching, as well as worship on
Sundays, and a special service for women. Then
preaching in the English Church came pretty fre-
quently. There were usually one or two gunboats in
the port, the men of which were ashore every day, and
we naturally felt an interest in their welfare. On
week-days we held Temperance and other meetings
in rooms where they could gather for social enjoyment
and improvement, instead of dissipating in grog shops.
At Taku a gentleman and his wife provided a chapel
for Chinese preaching and paid the salary of a
preacher. This was the beginning of our cause in
Taku, and visits were made from this time forth with
a view to preaching in English as well as Chinese.
In prospect of Mr. Hall's return a new house had to
be built, and as I was my own architect, the drawing
of plans and specifications and arranging with contrac-
tors consumed a good deal of time." This second house
was built in 1875, and with the one already mentioned
constitutes our present residential property in Tientsin.
At the very time when Mr. Hall went on furlough,
Mr. Lees collected statistics of the various missions
which by this time had been established in North
China, from which it appeared that there were in all
some 2,000 converts, of whom 1,200 were baptized.
Of this number 242 pertained to our own Mission.
In March of 1875 this was increased to 276.
The following is an account of a terrible picture
which Mr. Innocent discovered being exhibited as a
peep-show in 1875:
"During my visit to Lao Ling, Mr. Hu, our native
preacher, showed me a vile picture which he and
another man had taken from a showman at a country
171


with me to Tientsin. I sent it to H.B.M. Consul here,
with an account of the circumstances under which it
was obtained, and suggested that inquiries should be
made as to whether such pictures were being exhibited
in the city and other places. Mr. Mongan said that
it was one of the worst things he had seen, and deter-
mined to take action upon it at once. He convened a
meeting of the Consuls and they have sent a joint
letter to the Viceroy on the subject, which is all that
has been done so far."
Extract from the "Celestial Empire."
In reply to the joint letter of the Consuls to the
Viceroy, setting forth the facts of the finding of the
picture representing the Massacre of foreigners by
Chinese, a reply has been received which is everything
that could be desired. Attention is called to the fact
that on the occasion of former complaints, the pictures
were seized and the blocks destroyed, and a proclama-
tion issued by the Tao-t'ai. The present case is taken
to be that of ignorant persons in remote and rural dis-
tricts beyond the natural observation of officials. The
Tientsin and Customs Tao-t'ai are ordered to send
deputies to the place in question, (or where the picture
was found) to join the local Magistrates in a thorough
search for fhese pictures and the blocks, punishing
offenders according to law. They are also to issue
interdictory proclamations enjoining local officials to
make inquiries, and to check idle rumours among rustic
people, and this in the interest of the welfare both of
Chinese and foreigners.
180


CHAPTER XVII.
FOUNDING THE TRAINING INSTITUTION.
IF the question were raised, What is the primary ob-
ject of a Christian Mission to a country like China; is
it to found a Chinese Christian Church, or is it rather
to get the Chinese to found one themselves? the present
writer would certainly support the latter opinion . It
may very well be, indeed, experience goes far to prove,
that to accomplish the latter end you must in part un-
dertake the former, nevertheless that is the end, the
other being only the means, and here especially the end
must never be lost sight of. A Church in embryo,
founded by foreign missionaries, which itself becomes
the nucleus of a greater Church founded by home
evangelists and pastors native to the land, and, there-
fore, alone capable of giving it an indigenous life and
character, that is the ideal. And the key to the founda-
tion of any Church is the calling forth of its ministry.
If these considerations apply to the efforts of great
and wealthy Western Churches, to solve the problem
of christianizing China, to a Church like our own, in
command of only very limited resources, they apply
with far greater force. Accordingly, what began to be
evident from the very beginning, from the day when
we engaged our first Chinese evangelist, Mr. Hu, has
shone out with added clearness with each year added to
our history. That Chinamen must convert China, as
Mr. Hedley has rightly said, "is axiomatic." A native
ministry, then, in the best sense of the phrase, not as
181


Beginning of the Training Institute
may far more easily save two thousand per cent, and
get twenty men for the cost of one?
The story of the founding of the Training Institu-
tion goes back to the year 1865, when what was called
a Boarding School for Boys was established. The
class was held in a cellar under Union Church. There
were six boys, and their only dormitories were some
kitchen-rooms belonging to Mr. Hall's house. They
had to make their refectory where they could. It was
a school of the order now known as an Intermediate
School, of which we have one at Chu Chia, one at
Wuting, and one at Tangshan. What connects it with
our Training School work is the fact that three of the
boys, Hu Tzii Ngen, Tso K'o Ch'eng and Chin Chao
Kuei, were intended for preachers, and, in fact, after-
wards became students in the formally organized Train-
ing Institute. Chang Ch'ih San, the teacher, was also
regarded as a theological student, and in that early day
was a young man of brilliant promise. Here it was
that "Old Wang" was accustomed to take his place
among the boys. In 1871 the Training Institution, in
its present form, was organized No other buildings
were available, and classes were held in the little chapel1
at Tzii Chu Lin, which still had to serve for worship
on the Sabbath day. Chang Ch'ih San was appointed
Chinese tutor; it was placed in Mr. Hall's charge, and
rules were drawn up, and a curriculum, embracing
theological and Scriptural subjects, with Church history
and Chinese classics, was formulated. The great diffi-
culty at that time was to procure text-books. There
were but very few, and those of a most fragmentary
character, to be obtained, and dependence had to be
placed chiefly on oral teaching. While Mr. Hall was
placed in charge, Mr. Innocent also took full share
133


Jokn Innocent
in the teaching work. They began with ten students
which the next year were increased to thirteen, and
divided into junior, middle and senior classes. Up to
1874 sixteen students had entered the College. From
that time onward a number of students have been re-
ceived each year with the exceptions that in 1878, 1881,
1884, 1886, 1887, 1901, no students were received. The
course is intended to include five years of tuition,
though this is subject to many exceptions arising from
the exigencies of the mission, the withdrawal or dis-
continuance of students, and deaths. The yearly entries,
of course about average the number drafted into the
Chinese ministry, or withdrawn for other reasons. The
greatest number received in any one year is twelve:
twelve students were received in 1880. The greatest
number in rooms at any one time was at the beginning
of the present year (1908), when twenty-one students
were in the College. The total number of students
who have entered the Institution since 1871 is one hun-
dred and forty-seven. By far the greater part of our
present preaching staff have passed through the Institu-
tion. Annual examinations are held. Of those who
entered in 1871, but two remain in active work, Pastor
(ordained) Li Lien Ch'en and Chu Hua San. Tso
K'o Ch'eng (ordained), has withdrawn from service.
It is significant of the growing needs of the mis-
sion, with which the Institution hardly keeps pace,
that while it was intended originally to train not
only preachers, but also catechists and colporteurs,
scarcely any students have been available for these
two branches of service. In 1878, when the new
college buildings were erected, it was made a dis-
tinct appointment, and Mr. Hall became its first Prin-
cipal. It has remained a distinct appointment ever
184



To face p, 184.


It:


Contribution! for the Institute
since, though on three or four occasions, including 1905
to 1908, owing to the slenderness of our foreign staff,
it had to be held in conjunction with the superin-
tendence of Tientsin Circuit. The Revs. W. N. Hall,
J. Innocent, J. Robinson, G. T. Candlin, J. Hinds and
F. B. Turner have at various times been appointed as
Principal. Mr. Innocent, of course, served by far the
greatest number of years.
In appraising the merit due to the founders of this
very important work, the first place must be given
to Mr. Hall. He, rather than the subject of this
memoir, was the acknowledged and enthusiastic leader
in the movement. His warm and ardent nature took
up the project, and pressed its claims with unwearying
assiduity, not only upon the Missionary Committee, but
also upon influential lovers of the Mission throughout
the Connexion. The work had already been com-
menced before his return to England on furlough, and
as we have seen, he left with the fixed determina-
tion to secure adequate funds for the erection of a
college building. Indeed, the project constituted a
considerable part of the motive for his return to Eng-
land. To a very busy furlough he added the onerous
task of collecting the necessary subscriptions. "So
effective were his appeals," says Our Mission in China,
"that a total sum of £3,208 was collected." Part of
this amount appears to have been raised in Canada and
America as Mr. Hall was on his way home. The bulk
was raised in England, and the great success of his
effort must have made the indefatigable collector a
happy man. He was a happy man in another sense
too, for he married Miss Moore, of Hanley, an excellent
lady, who was prepared to come out with him to China,
and before he left we find him exulting, in a letter


John Innocent
written to Mr. Innocent, with a glee sufficient to warm
anybody's heart, over "our baby, the most wonderful
baby that ever was." Happy man! To come back
laden, as he did in the early autumn of 1876, with a
three-fold treasure, a wife, a new-born son, and £3,208
with which to build the College he had put his heart
inside of before ever it was built. The ground had
already been purchased by his colleague, a wall had
been built enclosing it. It was on the British Con-
cession, not two minutes' walk from the old Compound.
Now for plans and specifications, and let us get about
the erection of the long-dreamed-of structure with all
speed. We have seen it long enough in vision, let us
at length have a look at it in solid bricks and mortar.
It was planned with the royal bounty which his soul
loved. There was an attractive front opening to Taku
Road, a large class-room divided by folding doors from
a more spacious chapel, there were dormitories for at
least twenty students, there was a beautiful house for
the Principal's residence; on the south front, an excel-
lent Chinese Tutor's house; on the west, an extra
study for the Principal's use, a room for a College
Library, and even a set of rooms for country mission-
aries to use when visiting Tientsin. It was completed
in the early spring of 1878, and good judges pronounced
it the best thing of its kind in all China.
It will fall to us to notice later the erection of a
Girls' School on this same plot of ground. But we may
note here that the whole of this property was sold in
1896. By this time Old Union Church had come into
our hands, and in 1897 class-rooms and dormitories
were erected adjoining it for the students, and the
Institution removed to the old Compound, with Union
Church as the Institution chapel.
186


Mr. Chang appointed Tutor
It is needless to say that in the carrying out of this
scheme Mr. Innocent took a deep interest. If not the
principal and leader, he made a splendid second. That,
indeed, was the distinguishing feature of our two senior
missionaries in all their relations. They did not always
agree in opinion, but so cordial was their mutual
esteem, that what the one did the other was sure to
second, and to second so heartily that he made the
work his own. We have seen that Mr. Innocent was
equally associated with Mr. Hall in the work of training
preachers in the inadequate premises where it was
begun. A letter written to the Secretary in November,
1872, describing the School, shows his deep interest
in it. While Mr. Hall was collecting the money he
bought the land and enclosed it in readiness for the
buildings. It was with equal joy that he witnessed
this consummation of their efforts. We shall have to
relate how soon Mr. Hall was removed from this work
he loved so well. It fell to Mr. Innocent to take it up,
and for the next seven years, until the time of his
second furlough in 1885, to carry on the work of teach-
ing and training for which provision had been made.
Two subsequent appointments, 1889 and 1890, and
again from 1893 to 1897, raise his years of service at
the Institution to a total of thirteen years.
But if we would see the hand of divine and provi-
dential guidance specially manifest, we must look for
it in the appointment of the Chinese Tutor. Selected
for the post on its first inception in 1865, the service
he rendered was remarkably able, prolonged and nobly
devoted. So far as the Principal's appointment is con-
cerned, the work changed hands too much and too
capriciously. It was the Tutor's continued service
through all changes which saved the situation, and made
w


him the strong pillar of the edifice. From 1865 to 1907,
a term of forty-two years—which had but one signifi-
cant break, when he was dangerously ill, and, because it
seemed impossible for him to recover in Tientsin, was
sent to Tangshan, where he lay for months very near
to the gates of death—he continued as Tutor. At that
time there was an intermission of a year and a half,
but he resumed his post after the Boxer storm was
over. Mr. Chang is with us still, and "Not on our own
mission alone, but among all the missions in Tientsin,
he stands confessedly as the" last and best—perhaps
therefore kept until the last—of the old, original band,
who 'greatly dared,' when to be singular for Christ's
sake was to be infamous. Solitary and pre-eminent,
he is the sole remaining representative of those 'who
from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers
of the Word'"
Mr. Chang was superannuated in 1907. The follow-
ing testimony appeared in the Report on his retirement:
"Chang Ch'ih San has now been for years the
universally acknowledged father of, not our own Church
only, but all the Christian Churches in Tientsin. He
was one of the earliest of our Tientsin converts, has
been with us from the beginning, and is now the sole
remaining figure that typifies for us the stalwart days
of the past. He has been at the College from its
infancy when he was a young man, and with insigni-
ficant breaks, on account of health, has always been in
charge as Chinese Tutor. He has had more to do
with the formation and moulding of our Ministry than
all others put together. Nearly every single man in the
ranks has been his pupil, and loves him, and is beloved
by him. The question on all sides will be, How shall
we do without him?


Death of Mr. Chant
"Mr. Chang has a most unique, a most winning per-
sonality. As a man his most marked characteristic is
his wonderful modesty. As a Christian, his prevailing
quality is devotion and sincerity. A thorough scholar,
an accomplished author, a sound theologian, with solid
and varied attainments, he is evangelistic to the core.
His life has been blameless and beautiful, spent in
never-slackening service. In him is the strong, bright
spark of genius which transforms this reticent man,
painfully silent and slow in private conversation, into
an eloquent and electrifying preacher. He has been
one of the most gifted preachers the New Connexion
ministry has ever had.
"Mr. Chang on his retirement carries with him our
love and reverence, our warmest good wishes, and
prayers that the evening of his life may be set about
with comfort and with holy grace; and his name will
always be one of the great traditions of the work which
is his monument in our midst."
The question of his successor was anxiously debated,
and the Rev. N. S. Li, ordained that year, was ap-
pointed to take his place. Pastor Li bids fair to be
in all respects a worthy successor.
Since the above lines were written, somewhat sud-
denly and unexpectedly Chang Chi'h San has been
called away from us. While visiting in Tientsin in the
late autumn of 1908, he was taken ill. At first it was
thought to be malaria, but after a three weeks' illness,
during which he grew worse and worse, it was dis-
covered to be an abscess of the liver. He was operated
upon, and the doctor thought he might recover, but two
days afterwards, on Tuesday, November 17th, 1908,
he passed away. In his last hours, though aware his
end was near, he was very calm and content. "I know
139


John Innocent
all, I am at peace" were among his last words. His
death removes a great veteran preacher and teacher,
one of the chiefest ornaments of the Mission.
At the Yung P'ing District Meeting in 1906, a most
important proposal of the Methodist Episcopal Church
of America was laid before the meeting. It was that we
should unite with that Mission in the work of theologi-
cal training, and remove the College to Peking, to be
carried on under our joint management in conjunction
with their work in the Peking University. The offers
our American brethren made were generous in the
extreme, and the union was admitted by all to be
eminently desirable, but serious difficulties, chiefly the
lack of funds to effect our part of the scheme, stood
in the way, and a negative reply was given by the
Conference of 1907. There is still the possibility that
negotiations may be renewed, and by the desired
union a greater future may be opened for the
Institution.
190


CHAPTER XVIII.
FAMINE SCENES AND DEATH OF MR. HALL.
THIS must be a sad chapter. We will, therefore, try
to make it short. It shall also contain something of
a cheering character.
In 1873 an attempt was made to enter Ching Hai
Hsien, a large town on the Grand Canal, and about
25 miles on our way to Lao Ling. That it lay on our
road to Shantung was the chief motive for entering it.
But the place was very hostile, and after nearly a year
of useless effort it was given up; and it is now occupied
by the A.B.C.F. Mission. This was not cheering.
But in 1875 came very cheerful news of an opening
of great promise in the city of Yang Hsin. Yang Hsin
is a district city lying thirty-three miles east of Chu
Chia, and therefore that much farther away from
Tientsin. This new opening was brought to Mr. Inno-
cent's notice during the month of July, while in Tient-
sin, and the scene of our narrative once more shifts to
the Lao Ling field. In October, 1875, Mr. Innocent
visited Lao Ling, and writing from Chu Chia he gives
an account of the opening at Yang Hsin. It appears that
one of our Ts'ang Shang members, named Su, had for
two years been in the habit of paying frequent visits to
some friends of his who lived in a village near the city.
He had spoken with them about the religion of Jesus
Christ; they had been greatly impressed by what he
had to say, and he began to hold nightly meetings in
one of their houses for Scripture reading and conversa-
191


Widespread Famine
sions than any other part of the mission field; the Chan
Hua district, still further east, and running up at Pin
Chou, close to the Yellow River, was taken over and
added to it in 1880, and together they constitute our
Wuting Circuit, a circuit embracing seven or eight dis-
trict cities with a membership (1908) of 1,051 members
and 613 probationers. Wuting is the departmental city,
and is situated thirteen miles south-west of Yang Hsin.
In 1877 a calamity hitherto unknown on the mission
overtook our Shantung churches. A great and terrible
famine broke out. It began indeed during the latter
part of the year 1876. Famine is an evil of periodic
occurrence in China, sometimes caused by drought,
sometimes by flood. The cause in this instance was
drought. The rainy season, a well-defined one, is in
July and August. Rain is often torrential for days
together. But for three years instead of rain came
wild, fierce winds which prevented the clouds from
breaking, and scattered them as fast as they gathered.
The burning hot sun, shining direct from the central
heaven, baked and dried the soil, until, when the wind
blew, it rose in clouds of dust; the crops parched and
withered, stood in the fields stunted and shrivelled, a
ghostly mockery of harvest, like Pharaoh's—"empty
ears and blasted with the east wind." The famine was
widespread, embracing several provinces in its sweep,
and its ravages were indescribable. In 1875 there had
been no harvest, in 1876 it was the same, and the black
horrors of what has since been known as "The great
Famine " began. When no rain came in 1877, the state
of things was awful. To quote Mr. Innocent's words:—
"The drought was first noticed in Shantung in the
fall of 1875. During 1876 it assumed a more pro-
nounced form in the four provinces of Shantung,
193


Chihli, Honan, and Shansi. In 1877 it was a widespread,
disastrous famine, embracing some millions of people
within its iron grip. An earnest appeal for funds for
the relief of the sufferers in North Shantung was made
to foreign residents in Tientsin, Peking and other parts,
by Mr. Hall, and a most liberal response followed. A
thousand dollars were subscribed. Further sums from
Shanghai came in 1877, and were distributed by our
missionaries in Lao Ling, Yang Hsin, and Chan Hua
districts, also in Ningching. This work necessarily
interfered with their ordinary work, and prevented our
sending a representative to the Shanghai Conference
of 1877.
"It was found in January, 1878, that Shansi had been
the greatest sufferer. Thousands of people were
perishing daily from actual starvation. This led to
further appeals. Committees were organized in Lon-
don, Shanghai, Chefoo and Tientsin for the manage-
ment of relief funds. Large sums were received from
various quarters, chiefly from London, amounting to
£48,303-
"This money had to be distributed chiefly by mis-
sionaries. The work was arduous, and dangerous in
the extreme, and was one long harrowing experience.
An epidemic broke out, and between famine, and
famine fever, the desolation was appalling. The task
of relief lasted for several months. From ten to thir-
teen millions of people were computed to have perished
in this famine. In one prefecture alone it is said that
out of a population of 1,000,000 only 160,000 were left."
The famine may be said to have cost us the lives of
two out of the three workers we had in China in the
beginning of 1877. Mr. Innocent fortunately escaped,
but Mr. Hodge returned from the famine field with his
194


Death of Rev. W. N. Hall
health completely shattered. He lingered an invalid
for several months. By the summer of 1878 it was
evident that he must return home.
The loss of Mr. Hodge was a great blow to the mis-
sion. "His memory," says Mr. Innocent, "is fondly
cherished among many of the Chinese Christians to this
day." He had been a devoted worker, in spite of mis-
fortune and ill-health. He is reported to have been by
much the more capable Chinese speaker of our three
elder missionaries. He began to preach after being
nine months in China. He understood and appreciated
the Chinese character in a marked degree, and had his
life been spared would have done excellent work for
the church.
But the blow which struck consternation in all hearts
was the sudden death of Mr. Hall. Typhus was raging
on the famine field, and it dogged the steps of those
who returned from the work. There were nine such
cases, and six out of the nine were fatal. Both Mr.
and Mrs. Hall were laid prostrate with it . Mrs. Hall
was seized first, but fortunately she did not succumb.
It must have been in the month of April that she was
taken ill. Within a few days, while occupied in the
tender and mournful task of nursing her, Mr. Hall
himself was stricken. The experiences of the famine
field had greatly reduced his strength. He had no
reserve of physical vigour with which to fight the fell
disease, and on the fourteenth of May, while Mrs. Hall
still lay prostrate in the same house, all unconscious
of his condition, he passed away in the fiftieth year of
his age. Mr. Innocent was still out in Lao Ling when
his colleague was taken ill. He hastened home, but
was too late to witness his end.
"As I entered the gate, a servant met me with the
185


John Innocent
sad tidings, 'You are too late.' Alas, it was too true,
my beloved brother had sunk hours before. I am
overwhelmed.
No wonder! They had been friends from their
youth up. They had worked as brothers for nineteen
years in the same holy calling. China could never
again be quite the same to him, now that his large-
hearted, tender-spirited comrade was gone. Grief and
sympathy have rarely been so vividly expressed as in
the letter he wrote to Dr. Stacey relating the story of
the funeral. Referring to Mrs. Hall, lying ill and un-
aware of what was transpiring, he says:
"To take the coffin I say, past her door and out of
the house, and she not know—not to tell her that we
were taking him away from her—that she would never
see his face again. How hard it was! As I assisted
to bear the head of that coffin through the passage of
that house I felt as though my heart-strings would
break. It seemed so cruel to her, so strange to all of
us. The Chinese teachers and students carried him,
first to the Lecture Hall of the New Institution build-
ing, where Messrs. Hodge and Lees conducted a short
and impressive service—then to the cemetery, where
he was placed in the same grave with his first wife, and
it was my solemn task in his case as in hers, to commit
the body to the dust."
A flat stone slab marks the spot where he lies in the
cemetery ground at Tientsin with John Robinson lying
close beside, and on the wall of Old Union Church is
a marble tablet, with the following inscription:—
"Sacred to the Memory of
"The Rev. William Nelthorpe Hall.
"Born in Sheffield, April 19th, 1829. Died in Tientsin,
May 14th, 1878.
1%



William Nelthorpe Hall.
To face p. 196.





PART III.
From the Commencement of Residence in the
Interior to the Death of Mr. Innocent,
1878 to 1904.
CHAPTER XIX.
RESIDENCE IN THE INTERIOR WITH FOUNDING OF
MEDICAL MISSIONS.
THE position in which the mission was placed im-
mediately after the death of Mr. Hall was a singularly
difficult one, and afforded a crucial test of Mr. Inno-
cent's capacity to grapple with an emergency. He was,
it is true, already reinforced, and as happened in 1866,
the reinforcements arrived in the very nick of time.
The Conference of 1876 had determined to send out
two new missionaries, one of whom was to be a medical
man. The Rev. J. Robinson, of Stourbridge, had
served with unusual acceptability for nine years in the
English ministry, and had volunteered for China He
was sent out with his family in the autumn of 1877,
and arrived in Shanghai, October 12th, whence he
proceeded at once to Tientsin. It was intended that he
should be accompanied by Mr. D. Stenhouse, a young
man who was just completing his medical course in the
Edinburgh Medical Mission School. But Dr. Sten-
house's departure was delayed until the next year.
During this year he married Miss Worrell, of Arnold,


John Innocent
in the Nottingham Circuit, the daughter of one of our
old and esteemed members there. The Missionary Com-
mittee, in the meantime, had issued a circular appeal-
ing for more volunteers. The Rev. G. T. Candlin,
then in the Hull Circuit, and the Rev. J. Hinds, who
was in London, had responded. On receiving tele-
graphic news of Mr. Hall's death, the Committee de-
cided on sending Mr. Candlin at once, and, in the
autumn of 1878, he joined Dr. Stenhouse and his
newly-married wife in London, whence they sailed by
the s.s. "Gleneagles M for China, and arrived in Tientsin,
September 21st, 1878. Mr. Hinds followed in 1879.
Notwithstanding these reinforcements, for the prac-
tical working of the mission, Mr. Innocent was alone.
It is true that at the beginning of October, 1878,
there were four other missionaries in Tientsin. But
two of these had but just landed. Mr. Hodge, broken
in health, was just leaving, and Mr. Robinson had been
in China barely a year. Mr. Innocent's three new col-
leagues were young and raw; and on the old veteran's
shoulders, for the next two or three years, the burden
of the whole work must rest. He met the emergency
with courageous devotion. By the middle of the month
he was on the canal escorting the three brethren to
take up their residence at Chu Chia.
Now at length was realized the long-deferred project
of permanent residence in the interior, which had been
in contemplation since 1866. It was, in fact, commenced
then; for Mr. Innocent's own removal to Shantung
in 1867 was no doubt at the time intended to be
permanent, but he was overruled by circumstances.
That for a space of more than ten years it had not
been resumed is accounted for, partly by the inade-
quacy of the mission staff, the interposition of fur-


Residence in the Interior
loughs, the disturbances of the Nien Fei, the Tientsin
massacre and the famine, and the want of suitable
houses. A new house, however, had been built at Chu
Chia, and a second was in contemplation. While the
Institution was being built at Tientsin, the missionary
residence in Chu Chia divided with the severe work of
famine relief the care of Mr. Innocent and his col-
league. On arrival, Mr. Robinson occupied the newly-
built house, taking in Mr. Candlin, who was then single,
as a lodger. The Chinese building, which had served
Mr. Innocent as a residence in former times, and had
been used all along by the missionaries on their fre-
quent visits, was still in our possession, and was occu-
pied by Dr. Stenhouse. A new house was built for him
the next year. Mr. Innocent stayed with the young
missionaries long enough to induct them into such work
as they could undertake. He visited a number of the
outlying stations, and then returned to take charge of
the work in Tientsin, leaving them to learn the lan-
guage, and the duty of superintending an already
widely-extending Circuit, and a considerable staff of
Chinese preachers. There was always the veteran Hu,
who had for years had general oversight of the country
work, to fall back on for counsel, so far as their limited
knowledge of the language enabled them to understand
it. Mr. Innocent was out again in the spring for Dis-
trict meeting, and visit to Yang Hsin.
The thought of founding a medical mission had been
in Mr. Innocent's mind almost from the time of his
arrival in Tientsin. The idea was broached in the
"Missionary Chronicle," January, 1863. At the time
when General (then Captain) Gordon was wont
to solicit his attention to soldiers in hospital, there
were also a dispensary and wards for Chinese
201


patients supported by army officers and merchants, con-
ducted by Dr. Lamprey, and, on the withdrawal of the
troops, Mr. Innocent was anxious that this work should
be continued. But he met with no encouragement from
the Missionary Committee, and it was allowed to cease,
which, says he "was a matter of great regret." Again,
in 1864, the S.P.G., which had opened a medical mis-
sion in Peking, suddenly decided to close it, and the
medical missionary, Dr. Stuart, offered his services to
our mission.
"He offered to serve our mission as a (much-needed)
medical missionary, but much to our regret we had not
the authority, as our Board at the time had not the
means for engaging his services. So a second time a
grand opportunity for establishing this most important
branch of mission work in Tientsin was missed."
One hardly dares to let his imagination run free in
fancying what "might have been" if we had then led
the way in medical mission work at Tientsin. No less
than fourteen years had to pass before Mr. Innocent
could realize his ideal. Much has been said on the
necessity of medical men getting a thorough knowledge
of Chinese before beginning to practice at all . Two
years at least before you see your first patient is about
the notion. Dr. Stenhouse saw his first patient the
morning after he arrived at his post. Mr. Innocent
acted as interpreter. He was a patient nearly at the
point of death, but the doctor pulled him through. That
was the beginning, and he went on from that time. It
is true the doctor never became a great Chinese scholar,
and his knowledge of the written character was slender,
but he could read his New Testament, and certainly his
acquaintance with spoken Chinese was not injured by
his injudicious conduct in starting work so soon.


Medical Work in Shantung
The medical work was carried on in very poor build-
ings, mud-built hovels, in fact, for some years, but
very good work was done, much suffering relieved;
the Hospital soon acquired a reputation, and people
came to it from far and wide. It drew numbers to
our fellowship, and was the occasion of openings for
Christian work being offered us in not a few places.
The following from Dr. Stenhouse's own pen, which
appeared in the Report for 1879, must have been
written but little more than four months after his
arrival:—
"During the last two months of the year (1878) I
did not keep an account of the number of visits paid
to our temporary dispensary, but since the beginning
of the year I have done so, and have to report that
during January and February 145 persons presented
themselves for treatment, which, during the two
months, made 347 visits, an average of nine visits
daily. Most of these were surgical, and required
careful dressing every visit. At least 95 per cent have
been cures."
The Hospital soon became so busy that the doctor
had his hands full. In a few years' time he was re-
porting 4,000 and 5,000 visits. Three years after the
commencement of his work, Dr. Stenhouse got his
much-needed Dispensary. A new plot of ground was
purchased by the mission, and it was erected in the
autumn of 1881. It was a very modest building, and
cost about £150. Part of the cost was subscribed by
friends in Tientsin. The money was begged by Mr.
Innocent.
Dr. Stenhouse's own opinion of it is given in the
following words:—
"The building, of course, is not very imposing. Still
30!


Ordination of First Native Paitor
a special fund raised locally. Mr. Innocent's great in-
fluence with residents in Tientsin enabled us to inaugu-
rate this scheme with success. Over Tls 1,000 (£150) is
now subscribed annually, which, considering that most
of the subscribers never saw the Hospital, is a remark-
able testimony to the liberality of the port. Dr. Sten-
house returned to England in 1885. Circumstances of
a domestic nature prevented his resuming work in
China, and there was a period of nearly three years
during which Mr. Candlin and his family were alone in
Shantung. During this period the Dispensary work
was carried on under Mr. Candlin's superintendence by
Mr. Lu Tien Chih, a Chinese assistant to Dr. Sten-
house. In 1887, Dr. W. W. Shrubshall was appointed
as Dr. Stenhouse's successor.
An event of special interest, which occured in 1880,
was the ordination of our first native pastor. When the
policy of making large use of a Chinese ministry was
adopted the question naturally arose whether the evan-
gelists should be ordained. But it was universally felt
that ordination was an act of a peculiarly sacred charac-
ter, and that in the existing conditions of mission work it
should not be lightly entered on. We have in fact been
very chary of ordaining men, and have only done it
when remarkable devotion, as well as outstanding
ability, appeared to justify the step. Let it be dis-
tinctly understood, then, that as a rule our Chinese
staff of preachers are trained in the College as in Eng-
land, pass a four years' probation as in England, un-
dergoing a written course of examination, and provid-
ing a written sermon each year. But they are not or-
dained at the end of that term. They go into "full
Connexion" without the laying-on of hands. Only in
special cases are men ordained. In fact from the be-
205


John Innocent
ginning, up to the present, we have ordained five men
only—Hu Ngen Ti, Chang Ch'ih San, Tso K'o Ch'eng,
Li Lien Ch'en and Li Ngan Su. The Congregational
Churches in China have an excellent practice of ordain-
ing Chinese pastors as soon as a Church can be formed
to call them to its ministry and provide the whole of
their salary. It were to be wished that we could adopt
some such principle, but our itinerating system some-
what interferes with such a course.
It was a happy circumstance that the first evangelist
employed by the mission was the first (though after
nearly twenty years of labour) to be ordained. Hu
Ngen Ti was abundantly worthy of the honour. The
ceremony took place at Chu Chia in the month of
May, 1880. Service was held in the new chapel which
had just been built. It was the first chapel erected by
the mission in Shantung, a large, strongly-built edifice.
Mr. Innocent puts it mildly when he says it was "desti-
tute of all architectural pretensions." There was a door
at the east end for men, and another at the west end
for women. A wooden partition divided the building
into two equal halves. This partition was only about
seven feet high, so that by placing the platform on
the side of the building, with the partition running from
the front of the platform, while the two halves of the
congregation were completely screened from each other,
they presented themselves as one assembly to the
preacher. After the Boxer outbreak a much more at-
tractive chapel was built
.
Mr. Innocent made a special journey from Tientsin
to take part in Mr. Hu's ordination. He was accom-
panied by the Rev. J. Lees and Pastor Chang, of the
London Mission, who were to take part in the cere-
mony. Service was held in the morning. The Rev. J.


Death of Mr. Hu Ngea Ti
Robinson, who was in charge of the Circuit, put the
usual questions. Mr. Lees offered the Invocatory
Prayer during the laying-on of hands, and Mr. Inno-
cent delivered the Charge. In the afternoon another
service was held when Pastor Chang, L.M.S., preached
a sermon on the duty of the Church to its minister.
Much interest was shown, and we are told that: "Mr.
Hu was greatly moved on the occasion, and seemed
to realize the solemn responsibilities of the sacred office
he was undertaking."
But, alas, shortly after his ordination this noble and
aged worker was laid aside by sickness. Only eight
months later he was called to a higher ministry. Hu
Ngen Ti died on Sunday evening, January 2nd, 1881,
at an advanced age. His last words, placing his hand
on his heart, were: "All is peace here."
Hu was emphatically one of our makers, a worthy
builder in the Church at Tientsin in the early days. A
worthy builder in the wide field of Shantung, where,
under his patriarchal care (for he stood as a patriarch
among the country people), so many churches sprang
up. He was a shrewd man. The first time he saw the
present writer, in 1878, he undertook to examine him
in Chinese, though he had only been three weeks in
the country. Say shih Ufu; say jih to'u; say she to'u.
That was all, but it was a keen test. They are about
the worst three words in the language for a foreigner
to pronounce. His loss was greatly mourned.
It was about this time (1880) that Chan Hua District
was handed over to us by the London Mission. They
had been working there from Peking for a number
of years, and had baptized about 600 people. But the
work was unsatisfactory for various reasons, and as it
immediately adjoined our Shantung Mission they com-


John Innocent
mitted it to our care. We have seen that Yang Hsin lies
thirty-three miles to the east of Chu Chia: Chan Hua,
with its chief station at Ta Ma Li Chia, lies nearly as
much farther in a direct line through Yang Hsin from
Chu Chia. The region is a very impoverished one,
almost a wilderness, with wide stretches of poor land,
infertile and liable to floods from the Yellow River,
which runs through it. The water of its wells is brack-
ish and almost undrinkable. Immediately it was handed
over in 1880, Mr. Innocent, accompanied by Mr. Robin-
son, visited the stations, and inspected them. The
result, on the whole, was discouraging. Out of the
600 converts baptized not one-third could be found.
The Church at Ta Ma Li Chia was, however, a live
Church. There was a large but unfinished chapel which
had been built under somewhat romantic circumstances.
So complete had been the turning to Christianity in
the village that every family had given up idolatry. In
China most of the temples belong to the villagers, and
the population of Ta Ma Li Chia, by a sort of com-
munistic act, had pulled down their temple, provided a
decent burying-place for the mud idols, and transferred
the materials of the temple to a new site, using them
to build a Christian sanctuary. In all there were from
fifteen to twenty mission stations, but Ta Ma Li Chia
was the chief place.
On the return of Messrs. Innocent and Robinson,
Pastor Hu undertook a visit to Chan Hua District,
spending six weeks there, and on his return presented
a careful report of his impressions. This visit was the
most serious work done by Mr. Hu after his ordination.
He returned to Chu Chia ill, and never quite recovered.
Messrs. Candlin and Hinds made a visit somewhat later,
and reported only 100 members in the whole district.


Openings at Taku and Htinf Chi
There was at first an idea of missionary residence at
Chan Hua, but the topographical conditions completely
negatived the step. The Chan Hua stations are more
encouraging at the present time, and form an important
part of Wuting Circuit carrying its work to the banks
of the Yellow River.
It was during the period covered by the events nar-
rated in this chapter that two stations were opened in
the Tientsin Circuit to which Mr. Innocent devoted
much attention.
Taku is interesting as a very large fishing village at
the mouth of the Pei-ho. Its importance is now very
greatly increased by the railway from Tientsin to Tang
Ku, which is less than three miles from Taku. From
the very early days, Mr. Innocent, and others, had been
accustomed to visit and preach there, at one time to
soldiers, and afterwards to the pilots who have a settle-
ment there. But in 1876 a generous lay friend under-
took the cost of renting a building to be used as a
Chinese chapel, and also paid the preacher's salary.
This was the commencement of our small church in
Taku. In 1880, the church was persecuted by a mili-
tary mandarin who took it upon himself to forbid
several soldiers, who were members, to attend Christian
worship. Rather than comply, one or two of them left
the camp.
Hsing Chi, which lies on the Grand Canal, about half
way on our journey to Shantung, was opened in 1878.
It is a very large, straggling town with a very consider-
able population, and at that time there were ten or a
dozen camps (with 500 men in each camp) resident
there. For a long time, though daily preaching was
conducted in a small chapel in the street, we met with
but little success. But some time in the early eighties,
209


one of the worthiest, though one of the least educated,
of our preachers, was stationed there, Mr. Li Hsiang
Ting, whose home was at Taku. Mr. Li commenced
visiting the camps and preaching to the soldiers, who
soon began to come to church. Quite a large number of
them were baptized, and at one time we had at Hsing
Chi quite a strong society made up almost entirely
of soldiers of the new army, which was being organized
and drilled according to Western methods, in the north.
But in 1885 the camps were moved to Liaotung, and
we were unable to follow them up. Hsing Chi has had
varying fortunes, and is now a Church of about twenty
members.
In 1882, on Sunday, February 19th, one of our oldest
native preachers passed away who should have a place
in our gallery of Chinese worthies. Mr. Shen Chih Fu
was baptized in 1868. He had been formerly a teacher
with the Rev. J. Doolittle, of the American Board
Mission. Soon after joining us, he was appointed as a
school teacher. From that time onward he had been
employed in various capacities in connection with the
mission. On the arrival of the Rev. J. Hinds, he was
appointed as his teacher. He was a Tientsin man, who
could not be induced to leave Tientsin, and, on Mr.
Hinds' removal to Shantung, Mr. Shen was made
teacher of Mrs. Innocent's classes. For two years he
united this work with assistance at the daily preaching
at the city chapels. He was not a very old man at the
time of his death, but he had been ailing for twelve
months, and at length succumbed to a severe attack of
dysentery. He died a truly Christian death.
210


John Innocent
made to educate women, the prevailing sentiment being
strongly against it; girl slavery is very frequent, the
sale of women is tolerated, the cruel practice of infanti-
cide is almost exclusively confined to females, and the
foolish vanity of women themselves clings fondly to the
ridiculous, crippling, and injurious habit of foot-binding.
Women, and especially young women, are not supposed
to be seen on the street, or in the market, or to mix
with men in public gatherings. These conditions of
life are not only profoundly interesting in themselves,
but they have a radical effect in determining the
methods by which work among the women in China
must be pursued if it is to be successful. An under-
standing of them is necessary.
There is one other fact of even greater importance
than all these limitations and disabilities under which
the women of China liet and which must never be left
out of sight. Women are more religious-minded than
men. It is often remarked that in England itself women
attend the services, and work for the church, with far
more zeal than men. This has its counterpart in China.
Not all the disadvantages under which women labour,
have power to hinder the fact that in religious exercises
they are by far the more earnest. They are, in fact,
the mainstay of the religions of China, and especially
of all idolatrous practices. If it may be said that in
the congregations of most Christian Churches there are
two women present to one man, it may be said that in
the exercises of heathen temples, incense-burning,
paper-burning, kotowing, ten women may be seen en-
gaged to one man. The idols would have crumbled in
their shrines, the temples have fallen into ruins long
ago, but for the women. To convert the women of
China is, therefore, to convert, not the half, but by
212


Special Work for Wi
much the "better half "of China. Whether we ascribe
the leading place which women take in religious move-
ments to a superior religious endowment, or to a
stronger tendency to superstition, the lesson is much
the same. If the former, it is of first necessity to enlist
the higher religious nature in the cause of Christ; if
the latter, their religious education becomes the more
clamant necessity.
The need for special work among women was very
early recognized on the mission. We have seen that
in the early sixties (1862) Mrs. Innocent made a com-
mencement in Girls' School work with the little waif
from Suchow and others. Mrs. Innocent's interest in
her Chinese sisters continued unabated throughout her
life in China. She was a devoted student of the lan-
guage, and her husband has been known to say she
knew her Chinese characters better than himself. Mrs.
Hu was baptized in 1863, and became an ardent worker
with Mrs. Innocent in the cause of women. In 1865
Mr. Hall pointed out, in the "Missionary Chronicle"
the great necessity for a specially organized agency. In
the Report for 1878 references are made to the subject
both by Mr. Innocent and by Mr. Hall, the more notable
in the latter case as that was the year of his death. Mr.
Hall records the fact that "two day schools for girls
have been instituted, both of which are succeeding
admirably." He adds: "A girls' boarding school is a
desideratum." An article on the need of a girls' school,
from the pen of Mr. Innocent, appeared in the
"Chronicle" for November, 1879. Long before this
period a number of ladies in England had been accus-
tomed to raise money and provide articles for sale in
China to enable Mrs. Innocent to carry on her work.
Among these may be named Mrs. T. and Mrs. J. G.
213


Heaps, Mrs. Hutton, Mrs. Crofts and Miss Holt . Miss
Holt's box was looked for eagerly, and its annual arri-
val was an event on the mission.
But the attempt to open work on a large scale was
not made until the year 1880. In that year Mr. Inno-
cent's eldest daughter, Annie Edkins Innocent, the
little girl we have seen born in Tientsin long ago, volun-
teered for service as a lady teacher on the mission.
She was a young lady of nineteen years of age, of very
attractive appearance, well educated, and of pronounced
piety. Miss Innocent had been sent to England for
education some five years previous. She was at a school
in England at the time when her offer was made to
Dr. Stacey, but, shortly after making it, she went to
Germany to finish her education. The following is
part of a letter written to Dr. Stacey, at this stage, in
reply to a communication from him on the subject.
Mr. Innocent, whose health was much impaired, had
gone to Chefoo to recruit. It was from Chefoo that
he wrote:—
"Chefoo, July 2nd, 1880.
"My Dear Sir,—Your very tender and generous
references to my daughter, in your communication of
February 28th, have affected me more than I can des-
cribe, and from the delicate way in which you ask me
to give you my whole mind on the subject of her com-
ing to China to serve the mission, and your expressed
willingness to be of use to both the mission and myself
in this matter, I feel that it would be most ungrateful
on my part to hold back anything from you. Still, I
have considerable hesitation, and now feel some diffi-
dence in dealing with the subject. If I saw you face
to face I think I could tell you much more than I can
with pen and ink, and do it much more satisfactorily
an



Miss Annie Edkins Innocent.
To face p. 214.


EC
a:
P-
ii
be:
of
E
is
al
a


Miss Innocent's Offer for Service
too. I have a keen sensibility and shrink from the
liability to the charge of place seeking, or seeking to
get any undue advantage for my children from my
relations to the mission. Such a desire is not in my
heart, and the proposal made respecting my beloved
daughter did not originate in my mind, was not thought
of by me until my daughter herself had several times
in her letters expressed her strong desire to help to
instruct the women of China on her return to what she
always calls her home. My chief desire was to give
her an education which would enable her to secure for
herself in China, or in England, a comfortable income
in case the Lord should call me away. I knew that I
could make no provision for her, or for any of my
children, and that it was my duty, even at the cost of
personal privation, to fit them for standing in the world
alone. She, dear girl, has no idea that such was my
design, or that on her return to China we should expect
her to do anything, but help to teach her younger sister
and resume her old place in the home circle. China is
her birthplace, Chinese her native tongue, among its
people she was reared, her earliest and longest associa-
tions are with Tientsin, she had formed friendships
with some of the Chinese women who came to our
chapel, and to her mother, for Christian instruction.
She was familiar with the missionary life in China.
When she left she felt that though going to England,
her fatherland, she was going to a foreign country—
amongst strangers—away from home—such a long way.
Ever since she left us she has occasionally corresponded
with Mrs. Hu, and other Chinese whom she knew and
loved. Thus her heart had clung to China. She tells
me that she often finds herself holding fancied con-
versations with the Chinese, and though she has lost
215


much of what she knew of their speech she could soon
recover her old ease of expression.
"Soon after she joined the school in England she
wrote me about her concern for salvation, and that she
had found in Christ all that her soul longed for of
peace and joy. She gave herself fully to the Saviour,
and it is since then that her desire for usefulness on
her return to China has sought intelligent and definite
shape. She did not put it in any more definite way
than that of 'a hope that we would let her help us in
our mission work by teaching the women and girls.'
This request, repeatedly pressed, led me to think
of her becoming a missionary, and writing to ask her
opinion and feelings on such a position, she at once
replied that 'Nothing would be more in harmony with
my feelings, or give me such delight.' It was soon
after this that the proposal to establish a Girls' School
on the mission was made, and I made the reference in
my letter on which your kind remarks are based.
"And now, what is my feeling in this matter? Need
I say more than that, if it is God's will, I thankfully
give my daughter to His service, and ask the Com-
mittee to give her an appointment?"
We need not give more of the letter. It discusses
the terms of Miss Innocent's appointment, which were
to be the ordinary ones on which ladies come as mis-
sionaries on other missions, the only special stipulation
being that she should be appointed in the same place
as her parents in order that she might live at home.
Miss Innocent's offer was accepted, her appointment
was warmly welcomed by our mission circles in China.
Schemes were formulated, and rules drawn up for the
establishment of this important branch of mission work
Both Mr. and Mrs. Innocent were filled with delight at
216


Opcninf of Girls' School
a solid basis. By painstaking industry and earnest ap-
peals she raised a fund of over £500 for the erection
of a school with dormitories and ladies' house attached.
It was built on the same piece of land as the Training
Institution. Mrs. Innocent was very proud of it, and
wrote: "It is just beautiful, and it is called the Annie
Edkins Innocent Memorial School."
It was opened nearly ten years later in 1889. In the
meantime Miss Waller, a daughter of one of our
former ministers, Ralph Waller, was appointed as Miss
Innocent's successor, and was placed in charge. This
appointment was not a very happy one. Miss Waller
would have been an excellent evangelist; she had a re-
markable gift of speech, but she was in middle life,
and she found the Chinese language too difficult for
her to master. Various untoward circumstances led to
the school being closed in 1892, Miss Waller being
invalided home. It was, however, reopened as a day-
school in 1893, Mrs. Robinson and Mrs. Candlin taking
joint charge. The urgent needs of the mission led to
the sale of the whole property, both of the Training
Institute, and the Girls' School, in 1895. Out of the
proceeds the amount originally raised for the Girls'
School was reserved, and after the Boxer Outbreak
had passed, a new school, equal in every respect to the
former one, was built in Shantung in 1903. It is now
in charge of Miss Annie Turner, sister of the Rev.
F. B. Turner, a lady of great scholastic acquirements,
and at length we may count with confidence upon its
fulfilling the hopes, so long cherished, so often frus-
trated, to be some day realized. Miss K. Cook is
associated with Miss Turner in evangelistic work.
This chapter should not close without special notice
of Mrs. Hu. She has been mentioned more than once,
219


John Innocent
and often earnestly pressed, to go. Many have been
the invitations refused, some because we suspected in-
terested motives, others because we had neither men
nor money to take them up.
But the opening in the North was, at least, in its
beginning, a recognition of the second policy. Tang-
shan and Yung P'ing were a deliberately-chosen field,
the chief motives for the choice being that a large coal
mine had been recently opened, and a line of railway
was likely to traverse this district. If this was trusting
entirely in human wisdom we have never had reason
to regret the step.
In the year 1880, a most important proposal was
made to the mission by the Methodist Episcopal Mis-
sion of America, the headquarters of which are in
Peking. That mission was about to embark upon the
brilliant educational policy which has been so powerful
an auxiliary to their work. It included the founding
of the Peking University which at the present time
has about 600 students, and the founding of schools
in which the English language was a part of the curric-
ulum. Very cordially they invited us to go to Peking,
and to join them in this undertaking. Dr. Stacey, who
was Mission Secretary at the time, was very strongly
inclined to accept their offer, which included facilities
they would place in our way for opening mission work
of our own in the capital. The question was brought
before the Chinese District Meeting in 1881, when it
was decided that we could not accept the offer. The
fear was that it would involve expenditure that was
beyond our means. This it was which suggested the
project which was broached at the same meeting. "This
step," says Mr. Innocent, "was recommended as being
more feasible and needful than the commencement of
22*



To face p. 224.





New Spheres
a mission in Peking, it being almost destitute of evan-
gelistic agencies while several of the largest missionary
societies were established in the capital."
A large Chinese company had opened coal mines at
Tangshan, under the superintendence of British en-
gineers, and worked with foreign machinery. Amongst
the skilled men engaged as workmen and overlookers
were two Cornishmen, who made themselves known to
us on their arrival as having been connected with our
church at St. Agnes, in the Truro Circuit. The presence
of a large foreign staff at the mines was itself an in-
ducement to visit the place occasionally to conduct re-
ligious worship for their benefit. The large native
population, springing up with mushroom growth at
Tangshan, and the prosperous and populous condition
of the surrounding country, presented both claim and
scope for missionary labour. Colporteurs of the British
and Foreign Bible Society had canvassed the district
for more than two years with marked success in the
sale of Scriptures. Chang Chieh T'ang, one of the
finest colporteurs among the many we have furnished
to that society, and who died at Mr. Innocent's house
in 1882, penetrated far into Manchuria before any
missions were opened there, and had wonderful stories
to tell of the welcome he received. Yung P'ing is the
prefectural capital of this district, and Mr. Hedley has
pointed out that on Mr. Innocent's first journey to
Tientsin he noted on the captain's chart that Yung P'ing
was "a likely place for an inland centre."
To Mr. Innocent, in company with the Rev. J. Hinds,
belongs the honour of the first visit to this promising
region. They made a visit in 1880, preaching to the
workmen at the colliery, and holding English services in
the house of one of our Cornish friends. The manag-
Q


John Innocent
perhaps not more than a population of 10,000, but an
important official centre with military camps, and the
seat of examinations for learned degrees. It is inter-
esting as being one of the most ancient cities in all
China, going back to the great Hsia dynasty, when it
was the capital of the tiny kingdom of Wu Chu. The
story of the "exalted " virtue of Po Yi and Shu Ch'i the
two princes of Wu Chu, who renounced the kingdom,
the one because he would not disobey his father's com-
mand, the other because he would not take precedence
over his elder brother, and fled the kingdom together at
their father's death, and who again at a later time,
rather than submit to the usurper Wu, went into the
wilderness, lived on the grass of a mountainside, and
died in exile, was a darling legend of the people ages
before Confucius was born, and has given them a place
in the Chinese classics. The Temple erected to their
worship with the images of the two brothers as idols,
quite unlike ordinary temple idols, is about five miles
to the west of the city, and a beautiful monument in the
town itself, commemorative of their heroism, stands on
the other side of the street right opposite our Methodist
Church.
The city is a clean, attractive Chinese city situated
amidst some of the finest scenery in the world. It is
built close to the bank of the Ch'ing Lung, "the Green
Dragon " river; it is surrounded by mountains on every
side, and from its battlements, in the summer season,
the wide waters of the Ch'ing Lung and the Lan in-
terspersed with the mountain scenery form a picture
which is perfectly entrancing. If Mr. Hall went into
ecstacies over the flat and monotonous scenery of Lao
Ling, what would he have done at Yung P'ing, where
every aspect is the despair of the landscape painter!
230


Yunf Ping Fu
Not only did Mr. Innocent mark the city on a map
in 1861, but he sent one of our preachers to visit it in
1863, though at that time without result. He was,
therefore, the more gratified to receive a visit in
Tientsin from some soldiers belonging to the camp
there inviting us to open work in the town, and he
lost no time in responding. But in 1898 a new
station was opened midway between the city and
Lanchow, where we join the railway, at Pai Chia Tien,
a village of considerable size. It is noted as the place
where, in 1900, the most dreadful of all the Boxer
murders took place. Soon openings presented them-
selves on the north, on the east and on the west of the
city, and Yung P'ing became the centre of a group of
ten or eleven mission stations, which stood detached
fifty miles distant from Tangshan in the north-eastern
corner of the Circuit. These formed a natural and
promising nucleus for a new Circuit, and when in 1899
it became evident that Tangshan was untenable as a
medical centre, on account of the large Hospital of the
Mining Company, practically open to all comers, the
project was formed of selling our property at Tangshan,
building one new house there, and opening an entirely
new centre with a Hospital at Yung P'ing. In 1902, the
Rev. J. Hedley built two new houses at Yung P'ing, and
removed with his family to the new Circuit, his place
at Tangshan being taken by the Rev. J. Hinds. He was
joined the same year by Dr. A. K. Baxter. During the
past six years the Circuit, the newest work on the
mission, has made a brilliant record.
Tangshan Circuit now contains 38 chapels, 647 mem-
bers, 133 probationers, 5 schools, and 51 scholars.
Yung P'ing Circuit: 20 chapels, 338 members, 133
probationers, 2 schools, and 35 scholars.
231


1871 to 1885. He was accompanied, on his return by
the Rev. F. B. Turner. George's appointment after
ordination was to Tangshan. On the removal of the
Rev. G. T. Candlin to Tientsin, in 1889, young Inno-
cent was entrusted with the important work of super-
intending the Shantung Circuit. It was a large Circuit,
onerous and toilsome work. But he was a young man
of excellent qualities, was a very devoted worker, and
won the affections of the people to a remarkable degree.
His placid and amiable disposition, accompanied, as it
was, by great modesty of spirit, and remarkable piety,
was just the kind of disposition which the Chinese
could appreciate, and accordingly their respect for him
was profound Though he had the language to leam,
just as anyone else had, yet the fact that he was born
in the country, and that he remained in China up to
seven years of age, and, therefore, had prattled Chinese
with the exquisite perfection of accent which is cha-
racteristic of children, so affected the vocal organs
that the advantage was never lost, and he spoke Chinese
with greater ease and naturalness than most.
The Shantung work prospered in his hands. Twenty-
three new places were opened, many converts baptized
and a great quickening of the churches manifested.
He was thoroughly at home among the Chinese, and
was freely invited to their houses. It is with the pride
of a fond parent (and Mr. Innocent was very fond and
very proud of his missionary son) that the father bears
testimony to his manner of working.
"With a truly sympathetic spirit he had the manner
of kindly ease and of homely familiarity, which, to-
gether with his ready use of their colloquial, induced
the confidence and respect of men, women and children.
He was freely invited to their houses, and made himself
234





Mr. George Innocent in Shantung
as much at home with them as though he were by his
own fireside." There is a pretty custom among the
Chinese, when they wish to show at once honour and
affection for anyone, of presenting him with a long
silk gown, on which the names of the donors are em-
broidered. As many subscribers as possible are secured,
and the name of each one appears on the garment
.
Such a piece of clothing is known as a wan ming yi—
"myriad-name robe." It is, in fact, a cloak of testi-
monial with which they completely investure him. Such
a robe was given to George Innocent by the members
in Shantung on his leaving the Circuit for furlough in
1891.
His term of service in Shantung had not been without
its hardships. In 1889 a famine broke out which
brought extreme destitution to all the eastern portion
of the Circuit. This time the distress was due, not to
drought, but to flood. The Yellow River, which is
known as "China's sorrow," had repeatedly broken its
banks, pouring destruction and misery over wide areas
of the country. Whole villages were swept away, tens
of thousands of lives were lost, the crops were des-
troyed, and the ravages of famine were felt in every
home. While by no means so wide in extent, the desti-
tution was nearly as severe in the years 1889 and 1890
as in the "Great Famine" of 1877. A Relief Com-
mittee was formed in Shanghai, and through the agency
of missionaries a total of Tls. 10,000, nearly £-2,500,
was distributed. At one time or another every member
of our mission took a hand in this work, but George
Innocent may be fairly said to have done the lion's
share. In 1889 Mr. Innocent, senior, together with the
Rev. G. T. Candlm, went out to the famine field to
assist him, and spent a considerable time in this very


Mr. George Innocent in England
ship, which should contain the name, time of baptism,
age and sex of every individual member. This work
Mr. Innocent took up, and applied himself with charac-
teristic energy to its preparation. It involved much
trouble, but a large part of the work was successfully
carried through, and the task was afterwards completed
by Mr. Hinds.
After one year's residence, at the District Meeting
of 1892, Mr. Innocent informed the meeting that his
health would not admit of his remaining at Chu Chia
another full year. He was appointed for the first half-
year, at the end of which he would be allowed to rest
for half a year, and go to Swatow, where his eldest
son, William Innocent, resided, to recruit. Accordingly
he came to Tientsin in November, 1892, but finding his
health much restored in Tientsin he abandoned the
Swatow visit as unnecessary, and remained at Tientsin
to recruit his health until the winter was over, and
awaited a new appointment at District Meeting.
We must now return to follow the fortunes of young
George Innocent whom we last saw going on furlough.
He arrived in England in time for the Conference of
1891, which was held in Leeds. He had been nine years
away from England, and had come to tell the story of
his missionary life. The Rev. G. T. Candlin, with his
family, had also gone on his first furlough at the same
time, arriving, however, in the autumn of 1890.
As a missionary on furlough he was especially well
received and admired. His father's many friends natur-
ally rallied around him, but he also made many new
ones on his own account. He was a popular deputation
in all the Circuits which he visited. He had no special
gift as a speaker, had never been accustomed to address
large audiences, but he was greatly admired for the
239


shrubs, and flowers of every form and hue bloom there
in perpetual summer, birds of tropical plumage hover
in the branches and carol to the evening sua It looks
upon the rock-girdled harbour, and the coming and
going of ships; it is always rich with fragrant odours,
and cool with flashing and sparkling fountains; it is
set far from the touch of winter's frosty finger, and
autumn leaves never lie brown and sere on the bright
paths which meander through its recesses of everlasting
green.
To lose their beloved son was a terrible blow to both
Mr. and Mrs. Innocent. The loss of son and daughter,
both dedicated and assigned to missionary work, both
dying so young and in so sudden and tragical a manner,
these were the two great griefs of their life. Hardly
less was the anguish of the bereaved sister, so like
George, so fondly beloved by him. What hopes they
had built upon this, their missionary son, what dreams
they had indulged of his future! The beauty and the
strength of both their characters was seen in the resig-
nation and patience with which they bore the stroke.
The young bride came on to Tientsin, and joined the
Innocents in Shantung. It was an affecting meeting
between the bride and the lost bridegroom's parents, a
tearful welcome of the son's bride without their son.
On January 15th, 1893, at Tientsin, a little grandson
came to comfort the hearts so sorely bereaved, and
leave a George Innocent to perpetuate his father's
memory.
R
2*1


CHAPTER XXIII.
LATER YEARS OF SERVICE AND FINAL RETURN TO
ENGLAND.
The District Meeting of 1893 recommended Mr. Inno-
cent's appointment to the Training Institution, and this
was confirmed by the Missionary Committee and the
Conference. There yet remained before him four years
of service in China, and they were spent in the work
of teaching. Many other interests, however, divided
his time, to some of which we must refer later, but
our first task in this chapter shall be to chronicle, as
briefly as may be, a few events of interest which belong
to the period from 1890 to 1900.
In 1891 Dr. F. W. Marshall and the Rev. J. K. Rob-
son were sent to China. The former gentleman was
the son of one of our best-known ministers, the Rev.
H. T. Marshall, D.D. Hitherto our medical mission-
aries had entered our service from other Churches. Dr.
F. W. Marshall represented an attempt to get one of
our own sons trained for medical service. He was
chosen beforehand as a promising young man for the
work, and his medical education was in part at the
cost of the Connexion. He passed his examinations
successfully, and obtained the diploma of the Royal
College of Physicians and Surgeons, Edinburgh. On
his arrival he was sent to the Lao Ling Hospital, where
he was colleague with Dr. Shrubshall until the hitter's
removal to Tangshan in 1893.
242



To face p. 244.





tary, the Rev. J. K. Jackson, as to whether the new-
house should be built at Yang Hsin or at Chu Chia.
Chu Chia was finally decided upon, and in 1890 the
building was actually commenced. It was while travel-
ling to District Meeting in the spring that he was seized
with violent pains on the way. He had had similar
symptoms before, but little importance was attached
to them by his doctor. Fortunately he was accom-
panied by three other brethren. He managed to reach
Chu Chia, but had to take to his bed the first day of
the District Meeting. His illness became more and
more serious, and by the time the sessions were over
Dr. Marshall had diagnosed it as appendicitis. Another
doctor, Dr. Peck, was sent for from a mission station
two days' distance avvay, and Mrs, Robinson was escorted
from Tientsin to nurse him. A few days after a very
serious operation was performed by Dr. Marshall, and
after some months he was removed to Tientsin. It
was hoped that a cure had been effected, but the next
year, also at the beginning of the District Meeting,
he was again seized, and a second operation was neces-
sary. Fortunately this year the meeting was in Tient-
sin. The District Meeting of 1897 was remarkable
for having had three chairmen. Mr. Innocent held but
one session, and in the afternoon of the same day de-
parted for England. Mr. Robinson held but one ses-
sion, and was taken suddenly ill. It fell to Mr. Candlin
to preside over the remaining sessions. After this
second operation it was at once decided to send Mr.
Robinson home. In 1897, a radical operation for the
removal of the appendix was performed by Dr. Mayo
Robson, of Leeds. In 1898, Mr. Robinson was ap-
pointed to the Batley Circuit as second preacher, and,
notwithstanding the trying experiences which he had


Death of Rcr. J. Robinioa
come through, he won such golden opinions in the Cir-
cuit that the next year they pressed him to remain as
superintendent. But his heart was in China, and in
1899 he returned to the mission field.
The next year came the Boxer trouble, and the har-
assing experience which we have already narrated. Mr.
Robinson died at Tientsin on the 3rd of April, 1905,
after a long and painful illness. His health had been
visibly failing ever since his trying experiences in 1900.
Brother Robinson was a man of unusual force of
character, and mental vigour, a fresh and virile intel-
lect, an eloquent preacher, not lacking in humour, and
possessed of a sound judgment in all business con-
cerns. In addition to nine years of service in the Eng-
lish ministry he had served the mission for twenty-
eight years. He is buried beside Mr. Hall in Tientsin
Cemetery.
After the death of George Innocent a " George Inno-
cent Memorial Fund" was formed. The Rev. G. S.
Hornby had special charge of it, and a considerable sum
was collected . By means of this fund a very suitable
white marble memorial was erected over the grave in
the "Happy Valley," Hong-Kong, and the rest of
the amount was transferred to China, and utilized
as a Loan Fund for some years to give assistance
in the building of chapels in outlying places. It
did good work in the performance of these functions,
and at the same time was largely increased by them.
By 1907 a sufficient sum was accumulated, and the
George Innocent Memorial School was erected at the
City of Wuting.
To come back to Mr. Innocent's activities during the
last four years of his ministry. He was now getting
an old man. In 1893 he was sixty-four years of age,


and while his devotion to duty remained as great as
ever, he had no longer the force and energy of his
younger days. He had borne the loss of his son with
remarkable resignation, and those who were most in-
timate with him greatly admired his saintly acceptance
of the Divine Will. But he was never quite the same
man again. We are reminded of Browning's words:—
•All my days I'll go the softlier, gentlier."
Of his work at the Institution during this period there
is really little to be said. The duties of the position
were faithfully discharged, and in the work of teaching
he "kept the even tenor of his way." It has been said,
"Blessed are the people who have no history." The
College had no history. But he united with his duties
a considerable amount of work as a colleague in the
Tientsin Circuit. Especially he took his full share in
the fortnightly visits to Taku, where we were wont to
preach to the foreign community as well as to the
Chinese Church. He was a delightful colleague dur-
ing these days, and the present writer cherishes the
memory of that time with peculiar satisfaction as the
time when he knew Mr. Innocent best. Even after a
long acquaintance there was still something to discover
in him. His comradeship, his sympathy, his ready
counsel, and the quiet but rare hospitality of his home
were beyond all praise.
This period in the history of the mission was a
most fruitful one in the work of organization, which
up to now had by no means kept pace with the growth
of the mission. In the important changes that were
made, it is desirable to indicate clearly the part taken
by Mr. Innocent. From a much earlier period (1890)
it had been customary to appoint a Financial Secretary


on the Theological Secretary. The chief credit for
this Institution must be given to the Rev. F. B. Turner,
who not only led the way in founding it, but has
borne by far the heaviest burden in acting as its Secre-
tary for most of the time since. At first it consisted
of English missionaries only, the Revs. J. Robinson
and F. B. Turner being the first Committee, but it
was soon increased to a joint Committee of English
and Chinese senior preachers. Its function is to ex-
amine candidates for the Institution, prepare the annual
examination papers for the Institution students, pro-
vide a course of study for young preachers on their
four years' probation, prepare questions for their annual
examination and issue texts for their written sermons.
It reports annually to the District Meeting. In the year
1891 there were fourteen probationers, in 1908 twenty.
In 1895 the Mission Provident Society was formed.
Its rules were printed in 1896. This is the Beneficent
Society for Chinese preachers on the North China
Mission. Of the three classes of workers, preachers,
catechists and school teachers, preachers only are
admitted as members, and with them membership is
compulsory. The formation of the society has had
two excellent effects. It has freed the mission from
constant appeals for help from disabled workers; and
it has made it easier to remove from the staff men of
advanced age whose days of usefulness are passed.
Nothing could be more injurious to the mission than
to feel bound, from motives of charity, to keep on men
who have become a burden and a hindrance rather than
a stay to the cause. The society is self-governing, and
enjoys an annual grant of five pounds from the Mis-
sion Funds. The financial details of the society will
provoke a smile from those who are accustomed to
250


Proridaat Society for Natty* Paitort
manage such societies in England. With the excep-
tion of the £5, above mentioned, its income is derived
exclusively from members' subscriptions. Preachers
pay to the society, according to their age at entrance,
a subscription ranging from 13s. to 7s. per annum.
The grants to retired preachers are about 5s. per month;
to widows about 2s. per month. It also makes funeral
grants of about £4 on the death of wife, or of either
parent. It thus appears to be a Beneficent Society on
an extremely humble scale. The figures in Chinese
denominations look quite different, however; in fact,
quite munificent. The grant to retired preachers,
for instance (5s), is 5,000 cash per month, or
60,000 cash per annum, which looks ruinously extrava-
gant. But the society can afford to do it. The grant
from home O65) alone brings in 100,000 cash. Fancy
getting 85,000 on the death of wife or parent. In
reality the subscriptions and the grants are quite as
high, judged by the social standard of those concerned,
as those made in England.
The present capital of the society is Tls. 2,687, or
about £335. Let us have this in cash, too, that we
may see how rich we are. £335 equals not less than
five million three hundred and seventy-four thousand
cash. From this it will be seen that the society is
thoroughly solvent and flourishing. There are at pre-
sent five annuitants of the society, and in 1907 nine
grants were made for funeral expenses.
But the great legislative act of the period was the
formulation of a Code of Rules for the mission. This
was determined on at the District Meeting of 1894, and
the Rules were published in Chinese in 1896. The
Committee appointed for the purpose consisted of the
Revs. J. Innocent, J. Robinson and G. T. Candlin. The
251


John hMtm
Rules received the sanction of the District Meeting and
of the Conference, and came into operation in 1897.
They provided for an annual Chinese District Meeting,
which has since been divided into two Sub-District
Meetings for the three northern and two southern Cir-
cuits respectively, and for Circuit quarterly meetings
and society meetings. They also included regulations
for the preachers ordained and unordained, for cate-
chists, school teachers and members. It was a notable
piece of work, and though it made little noise at the
time, it met a crying need, and has been of great bene-
fit to the mission. Our Churches are now beginning to
realize their value, but the Rules need revising in some
respects. This Code of Rules was the granting of a
liberal constitution to our Churches in China. Hitherto
affairs had been managed very much by rule of thumb.
Up to 1875 the names of our Chinese preachers were
not printed in the "Minutes." Until 1896, such or-
ganization as the mission had, was as bureaucratic as
that of early Methodism. All power was in the hands
of the four or five English missionaries. No Chinaman
had any recognized status or rights. There were no
fixed stipends for the preachers. It was not govern-
ment by a "Legal Hundred," but by a "legal five," or
"four" as the case might be. For the first time, in
1896, our Churches became New Connexion in spirit
and in polity. The mission was at length organized.
These various changes involved, of necessity, a con-
siderable amount of work for Mr. Innocent as chair-
man, as well as for others. But it would not be true
to represent them as due to his origination or leadership.
He rather shrank from these steps in advance, with the
feeling that the Chinese Churches were not ripe for
them. But there is much truth in Mr. Gladstone's
252


British and Foreign Bible Society
maxim: "The way to make the people fit to enjoy
liberty is to give them liberty." Mr. Innocent took up
a mildly conservative attitude. If there were times when
projected reforms scarcely enlisted his sympathy, he
never degenerated into a mere obstructionist, but
showed the nobility of his mind, after waiting a due
time for reflection, by a willing acceptance of them.
Perhaps this is the best place to make brief reference
to certain activities which extended over the greater
part of Mr. Innocent's life, and for which no place has
hitherto been found. He did much to forward the
work of the Bible Societies, and especially of the Brit-
ish and Foreign. We have seen how deeply he was
interested in the great work of the Rev. Alexander
Wylie in Shanghai. When that gentleman visited
Tientsin and Peking, in December of 1863, he noted it
in his diary as a very important event. Mr. Wylie was
probably his guest. From that time onward he took
the warmest interest in the sale of Scriptures, and gave
much valuable assistance, by serving on committees,
and by finding suitable men to employ as colporteurs to
render the work of the Society successful. We have
seen how in his first tentative efforts at evangelism
at Tientsin, and on his many preaching and exploring
tours, he relied upon the distribution of the Scriptures
as a most important aid. It was he who commenced
the system, which has ever since been employed
on the mission, of employing colporteurs in every
Circuit, for the cost of which the societies willingly pay
as an auxiliary to mission work. More than a dozen
colporteurs are thus employed in affiliation with the
mission at the present time. He loved his Bible for
himself, and took much pains to give it to others.
During the earlier portion of his life, Mr. Innocent
253


was a very active temperance worker. He was one of
the early founders of the Tientsin Temperance Society
and Institution, founded chiefly for the purpose of
keeping from bad haunts the sailors of the various
gunboats of different nationalities—English, American,
French, Russian—who might be in Tientsin during the
winter. He was one of its first Presidents, and his
portrait, presented recently, hangs on the walls of the
Temperance Club side by side with those of the Rev.
Jonathan Lees and the Rev. C. A. Stanley, D.D., in
recollection of his past services. The society is now an
influential one, and does much for the wellbeing of
Tientsin society. It holds valuable property, is in the
enjoyment of a considerable annual income, and has
built the Waverley Hall, where the Waverley Club holds
its meetings, a mixed club designed to provide innocent
enjoyments for the young of both sexes. Many of the
best citizens of Tientsin are active workers in the Tem-
perance Society.
The termination of Mr. Innocent's work in China was
fairly synchronous with the complete break-up of China's
ancient policy of self-seclusion and isolation from the
comity of nations. In 1894 the war with Japan broke
out. Disturbances occurring in Korea, for which it
was said Yuan Shih K'ai was chiefly responsible, led to
the King of Korea calling on the Emperor, as his suze-
rain, for protection against the Japanese. The Em-
peror declared war on the 4th of August. Then came
the naval battle of the Yalu, and the destruction of
China's fleet. It was followed by the brilliant series of
actions in which Japan first displayed her strength as a
modern military power. The "Kowshing" was sunk
in the gulf with China's forces, for the relief of Korea,
aboard. Then came the great victory at Ping-Yang,
254


John Innocent
toleration of Christianity. It appears to have been
little attended to, but a policy of national reform in-
volving drastic national changes was commenced. The
famous Kang Yu Wei, known under the soubriquet of
"the modern Confucius," obtained the ear of the Em-
peror himself. He was associated with a small gang of
young reformers, who secured from the Emperor Edict
after Edict of an almost revolutionary character. China's
antique system of examination for degrees and for
offices was to be changed, sinecures abolished, idol-
temples turned into schools, and as reactionary and con-
servative mandarins, alarmed for their prerogatives and
emoluments, were loud in their protests, and enlisted
the Empress-Dowager on their side, the Emperor
ordered her to be placed in the "Winter Palace," where
she would be deprived of all power to do mischief.
Yuan Shih K'ai, to whom the order was entrusted, be-
trayed his sovereign by divulging his secret orders
to Yung Lu who at once warned the Empress.
Then, in 1898, on September 22nd, came the coup
d'itat. Kang Yu Wei was compelled to flee; the
Emperor was for some days imprisoned in a pavilion
within the Forbidden City, and six young men, the
flower of the reformers, were beheaded in Peking. The
Empress resumed the regency, and, at the head of a
cabal of violent reactionaries, set herself to reverse
all that had been done by the young Emperor, issuing
Edicts in his name, which must have been absolutely
abhorrent to him, but which she had the means of com-
pelling him to sign. Never was a monarch more child-
ishly impotent. The friends of reform were in despair.
The intervention of the Powers was confidently pre-
dicted, and the partition of China.
It was in the year before the events chronicled in
256



To face p. 256.





Leaving for Horn*
the last paragraph that Mr. Innocent began, in the
early spring, to make preparations for his third fur-
lough. He intended to leave before the District Meet-
ing, but was dissuaded. The enlarged District Meeting,
at which Chinese delegates were present, was to be
held for the first time, and Mr. Innocent presided over
its sessions which occupied the first day. He set before
the delegates the purpose cherished in calling them to
our counsels, appealed to their loyalty and love of the
mission to co-operate in the use of the privileges ac-
corded to them, and exhorted them to continue stead-
fast in the great work now being committed to their
hands. There was something peculiarly fitting in the
fact that the old veteran, after so long a period of
service, and now on the eve of departure for home,
should be the one to inaugurate the new order of
things.
Mr. and Mrs. Innocent, with their daughter, Kate,
went on board their steamer in Tientsin that evening,
March 22nd, 1897, escorted by many friends anxious
to say good-bye. As we shook hands, and wished them
a pleasant passage, and a hearty welcome on the other
side of the ocean, we little thought that they were
departing never to return.
s
257


CHAPTER XXIV.
THE GREAT BOXER UPRISING.
In this chapter we anticipate, by about three years, the
narrative of Mr. Innocent's personal history, in order
to give a brief account of the remarkable outbreak of
1900, an event which had a profound effect upon the
mission, as, in fact, upon all the Christian missions in
China. The story of Mr. Innocent's life will be re-
sumed and completed in our final chapter.
In dealing with the Boxer uprising we are dealing
with a disturbance of portentous magnitude. It sur-
passed in significance all previous disputes of China
with foreigners. It brought into Chinese waters the
fleets of many nations, it landed on Chinese soil an
expedition which included the soldiers of Europe,
America and Japan. The many scenes of violence and
bloodshed connected with it were comparable, in their
wild and measureless disorder, with the fierce struggles
of the Tai-ping Rebellion. Its ravages spread over an
area which extended through Manchuria to the banks
of the Amur, and embraced the six provinces of Chihli,
Shantung, Honan, Shansi, Shensi and Kansuh. Its
spread into the southern provinces, which were pro-
foundly disturbed by it, was only averted by the wise
and vigorous action of the southern Viceroys. It gave
to the Christian Church a "noble army of martyrs,"
not surpassed in the numbers of the sufferers, nor in
the tortures they endured, nor yet in the fortitude and
heroism they displayed by the persecutions of the early
ass


John Innocent
General Nieh was sent to guard the railway, but his
orders were to disperse the Boxers without firing upon
them. Tung Fu Hsiang opened the gates of Peking,
and the Boxers marched into the city, and practised
on the official drill grounds, opposite the British Lega-
tion, and in the Palaces of Duke Lan and Prince Tuan.
On June ioth, Prince Tuan was made President of the
Tsung Li Yamen, China's Foreign Office. During this
period numberless Christians and friends of Christians
were massacred in and about the city. Pillage and
burning proceeded day and night, and fires raged in
all directions. The railway line to Tientsin was des-
troyed. Peking was in a state of semi-siege. All
foreigners in the city withdrew into the Legations for
protection, together with a large body of Chinese Chris-
tians. One sturdy party of French priests and soldiers
held the Cathedral in Peking from first to last. What
was taking place at Peking was but a type of events
transpiring throughout the North, so that the months of
June, July and August were witnesses of one wild whirl-
wind in which the nation was utterly frenzied, and fire
and bloodshed were intermingled with such fiendish acts
of cruelty as the world has seldom known. Space limits
compel us to crowd into a few sentences what it has
taken volumes to describe in any detail
.
On the 2nd of June, Mr. Norman and Mr. Robinson
were massacred at Yung Ching. Foreign reinforce-
ments landed at Tientsin on June 5th. None too soon;
for the situation there was as menacing as at Peking,
and the settlements were threatened. On the 9th of
June the terrible Edict was issued which was the Em-
press-Dowager's crowning crime: "Yang jen pi ska,
fui hui chi sha "; "Kill all foreigners: as they retire
kill them at once!" Mr. Sugiyama, the Japanese Chan-
Mi


John Innocent
had command of some of the finest artillery that modem
science has produced, were now able to assume the
offensive. On the 13th and 14th of July the city of
Tientsin was taken by the allies, forty-eight guns being
captured by the Japanese. With the taking of Tientsin
the back of the Boxer insurrection (if so it may be
called) was broken. On the 5th of August the great
march to Peking began; the Boxers were scattered in
all directions, and on the 20th the Legations were re-
lieved. The Chinese Court had fled to Singan, and
the Forbidden City itself fell into the hands of the
foreign troops. The madness of the Court had spent
itself. The Dowager-Empress began to see that her
unexampled crime was an unexampled blunder, and
called in saner councils. Li Hung Chang was restored
to power, and the work commenced of reorganizing
the Government and restoring the country to its normal
state. It was a work of extreme difficulty, and the
task of securing guarantees against any repetition of
disorder, and indemnities for the countless losses sus-
tained, was the complicated and anxious work of the
next two years.
It must not be forgotten that while, at the ports and
in Peking, foreigners were in a position to protect
themselves and offer resistance to the violent attacks
made upon them, several thousands of missionaries,
scattered in little groups, comprising companies of from
two to ten families, throughout the interior of China,
were absolutely at the mercy of their relentless foes,
and had to make their escape, sometimes over hundreds
of miles, through a hostile country. This is the sole
reason why so large a proportion of missionaries met
their death. Considering the circumstances in which
they were placed, it was truly astonishing that the num-
266


Marvellous Delta
ber killed was not ten times as great. The story of
their sufferings, the horrors perpetrated on those who
fell, and the hairbreadth escapes by which the greater
portion of them came out of the fire, is full of thrilling
excitement and wonder, and affords ample ground for
magnifying the wonderful grace of their deliverance.
No attempt at an account of any of them can be made
here. Let it suffice to say that the true wonder, the
crowning miracle of these scenes of horror was not the
defence of Tientsin, or the relief of Peking, but the
unspeakable, marvellous deliverances of thousands who
were absolutely defenceless. It must also be remem-
bered that the Chinese Christians, Roman Catholic and
Protestant, bore the unmitigated brunt of the assassins'
rage, and by thousands, under circumstances, often of
the most refined and fiendish cruelty, were remorselessly
butchered. Many attempts have been made to estimate
the numbers of these martyrs. It was undoubtedly, as
in all such cases, much exaggerated at the time; state-
ments were freely made that the Chinese martyrs could
not be less than 30,000. Better information is now
forthcoming. In connection with the Shanghai Mis-
sionary Conference, of 1907, Mr. McGillivray made an
attempt to tabulate the names of Protestant martyrs,
and succeeded in obtaining about 2,000. As the Roman
Catholic Christians are much more numerous their list
would probably exceed this number, but we should
think it safe to say the total could hardly exceed 5,000.
We give here the complete list of the martyrs on our
North China Mission, as it was published in 1901:—
267


Name* of
Su Liang Shih ...
Su Erh Yueh ...
Su Lu
Su Mei
Su Yu Shih
Su Chuang
Su Tu
Su Kuo
Su Jui Hsiang ...
Su Wu
Su Ngo
Yu Ho Lang Chia:
Wang Yu
Aged 50 v
Aged 20
Aged 17 \
Aged 15 I
Aged 40 (
Aged 15
Aged 12
Aged 7
Aged 60.
Aged 27.
Aged 19.
Aged 59.
seller.
One family, all mercilessly
slaughtered and bodies
flung into the street.
A pious mother and sons.
A grand good man, a Bible
TANG SHAN CIRCUIT.
Pai Kuan Tun Section;
Shih K6 Chuang:
Wang Pai
Hei Ma Tien:
Wife and Daughter of
Chang Shu
Kou Hua Tsai:
Sun Ch'ien
Chang Kuan T'un:
Chang Shou Chen and
Wife
Hsiao Ku Chuang:
Chang Yu W6n ..
Kuo Chia T'un:
Ch en Yin
Ku Yeh Section:
Ku Yeh:
Liu Li
Sung Chia Chuang:
Sung Ch'ao
Lu Tai Section:
Hsiao Tien Chuang:
T'ien Yu Lin ...
Ch'ii Chia Chuang:
Shea Tai Yuan ...
Aged 56.
Aged 35 and 2 years respectively.
Burned alive in house.
Aged 35.
Aged 56 and 60 respectively. Our
preacher at Sung Chia Ying. Seven
of his family murdered at same
Aged 17. Only child of his parents.
Body cut in pieces and nailed to
wall, and offered for public sale
at Taels 500.
Aged 74.
Aged 40. Preacher. Leaves widow
and four children.
Aged 39. Widow and one child.
Aged 56. Widow and four children.
Aged 52.


John Innocent
YUNG P'ING CIRCUIT.
City:
Li Shu Chih
Waag Sheng Mo
Chang K6 Chuang:
Wang Shun T'ien
Pao Kuan Ying:
Wife of Li K'uei
Ho Chuang. (This place
6 li from a village
named Ni Kou, where
Boxers were very
fierce. As a result 23
people were murdered
in this little section.)
Ho Wen Shih
Captured by city Boxers headed by a
wealthy Manchu, bound and carried
to our Chapel, after a mock trial
beaten with 500 stripes so severely
as to die in city prison.
Preacher. Murdered near South
Wall. Head battered in with axe.
Member. Beaten with fists until face
blackened with the bruises, then
died.
Probationer. Hands and feet cut off,
not dead, so burned alive.
Ho
Ho
Meng Ku ..
Tien Cheng
Ho
Hsing Jui and Ho
Hsing Yiin
Ho Ming Chang
Member. Wounded with swords and
knives, then drowned in the river
Lan.
Probationer. Son of above. Treated
similarly to his father.
Probationer. Daughter of Ho Ju
Ching, our Colporteur and Cate-
chist at Ho Chuang, who refuses to
accuse the murderers of his child,
preferring to leave them to God in
the hope that they may be brought
to repentance.
Brothers, and both Members. Mur-
dered by Ni Kou Boxers, headed
by one Chang Hung, nephew of
the two murdered men.
Elder of the Church. Escaped to
the mountains, but captured by
Boxers. Had opportunity to re-
cant, but would not deny his Lord
and was then burned alive.
270


Martyrs' Memorial Hall
MARTYRS: 1807-1906.
The Martyrs' Memorial Hall in the Y.M.C.A. Building,
Shanghai, commemorates the Martyrs, native and foreign
who fell during the century 1807-1907.
BEFORE THE BOXERS.
1847 Walter M. Lowrie of the Presbyterian Mission.
1850 Karl Joseph Fast of Sweden.
1861 J. L. Holmes of the Southern Baptist Mission, and H. M.
Parker of the American Protestant Episcopal Mission, were
killed by robbers.
1867 S. Johnson, of British and Foreign Bible Society, killed
in Anhui.
1869 J. Williamson,  London Missionary Society.
1891 June 5, Rev. W. Argent, a Wesleyan, of the "Joyful News"
Mission, killed in Wushueh.
1893 July 1, Messrs. Wickholm and Johannssen of the Swedish
Mission were killed at Sung Pu.
1894 In August, Rev. J. Wylie, of the United Free Church
Mission, killed in Liaoyang by Chinese soldiers.
1895 August 1, ten foreigners were killed at Whasang. Rev.
R. W. and Mrs. Stewart and two children (Herbert and
Hilda) and two Misses Saunders from Australia, all of
the C.M.S. Miss Elsie Marshall, Miss Hessie Newcombe,
Miss Flora Stewart and Miss Annie Gordon, from Aus-
tralia, all of the C.E. Zenana Missionary Society. Known
as the Kucheng Massacre.
1898 November 4th, Mr. W. S. Fleming of the C.I.M., in
Kweichow.
1899 December, Rev. S. M. Brooks, S.P.G., by Boxers ia
Shantung.
VICTIMS OF THE BOXERS, 1900.
Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission.
Associates.
D>
its of decease.
Date of decease.
1900
1900
N. Carleson ...
.. June 28
O. A. L. Larsson
... June 28
Miss J. Engvall
» ii
Miss J. Lundell
ii ii
Miss M. Hedlund
» ii
S. A. Persson ...
ii ii
Miss A. Johansson .
■• ii ii
Mrs. Persson ...
ii ii
G. E. Karlberg
i• ii
E. Pettersson ...
ii ii
T
273


they made their way to Shanghai where Mr. Candlin
joined them a week later.
Nearly all our chapels were destroyed, and the houses
at Chu Chia were torn to the ground. The great ma-
jority of our members suffered severely in person and
property. The hardships which some of them passed
through equalled, if they did not surpass, in intensity
those of the martyrs themselves. A number of inci-
dents are given in "Our Mission in China," and these
are only types of what took place in hundreds of cases.
The story of Li Fu, one of our preachers, who was
terribly maltreated, told by himself, thrills with horror,
and makes us wonder in what land of savages these
cruelties were inflicted. We have room for only a few
extracts from the account of one who, of all who lived
to tell the tale, was the most maltreated.
He refused to leave the village of Pai Ko Chuang
until he first ascertained that the members were willing
for him to go. Then he had difficulty in getting carts,
but at length secured some, and going to the end of
the village, leading his little daughter by the hand, to
look for them, he suddenly heard the sound of gongs
and firing of cannon coming from the village:—
"A great body of people were assembled all wearing
red turbans and carrying swords, and calling out that
they must take up the 'enchantments.' They sur-
rounded my little daughter and myself, and asked if I
was Teacher Li. I said, 'Yes.' Then they seized me
by the queue. I begged them whatever they did to
me, not to harm my little girl, and I let go her hand
that she might run away. They approached me with
their swords and fired a shot through my right shoulder.
I was at the same time struck with a sword, and pierced
in my left side with a spear. I heard voices calling,
277


'Bring his wife!' 'Pull down the chapel!' They sur-
rounded the chapel, and broke down the doors and
windows. My wife was dragged out by the hair, carry-
ing her child of two months old. She had been struck
in the eye with a pistol barrel, and the blood was
trickling down her face. My little boy, Joseph, fol-
lowed her out. His right arm and his back had been
hurt with a spear. I saw my little girl, nine years old,
being pulled along, her face all dyed with blood, and
her hand thrust through with a knife. Johnny I could
not find. They dragged us all to a temple at the east
end of the village, where the Boxers 'drilled,' and bound
us all to trees. They then commenced beating me
fiercely over the head with the handle of a sickle. I
called out to the Lord several times, when they ex-
claimed: 'He still calls on the Lord! Beat him! Beat
him! Beat him!' They only stopped beating when I
had fainted away. I recovered consciousness to still
find myself bound hand and foot. I said to my wife:
'We shall die together to-day.' She said, 'Yes,' and
I fainted again. When I recovered I was aware of
my little babe lying beside the road crying. They had
flung the child there when they bound my wife. Little
Johnny, unharmed, stood beside his sister. The other
son sat at his mother's feet weeping.
"We were all very thirsty, and I begged for some
water. They flung water over us, and said: 'There,
you are not thirsty now!' One of them asked me
where I had placed my number 108 enchantment. To
this I replied, 'I have no enchantments.' 'Our leader
says you have put down an enchantment somewhere'
'If your leader knows that I have laid enchantments
he should know where I have put them,' was my reply.
"A number of renowned Boxers arrived from Tz'ii
tn


fate by one of the village constables, who insisted that
they must be judged and put to death by an official.
The carts, with their pitiful load of prisoners, arrived
at the city in the early dawn. Their persecutors had
had these people in their hands hovering between life
and death all that fearful night . At the gates where
they halted the onlookers repeated the same menacing
words: "The chief leader will be here soon, and then they
will be put to death." As they had come along, those
about the cart professed to be offended by a strong
odour of drugs emanating from the prisoners and in
the daylight, Mr. Li tells us:—
"For the first time I realized that my whole body was
covered with a yellow powder, from which issued a
sulphurous smell."
How it got on them he did not know. Presumably it
was some concoction thrown on them in a spirit of
fiendish horseplay by their persecutors themselves. The
narrative continues:—
"The day was very hot, my children were crying to
their mother for water. My wife begged the by-
standers in pity to bring them a cup of water, but no
one responded. At this time, thanks be to God, a
strange peace filled my heart. I had not the least fear.
I forgot my bonds and my wounds, and felt that we
should soon be in a new world . I smiled on my wife,
and asked her if she was at peace. She restrained her
tears, but made no reply. Someone, who was in the
yamen, brought us food and water at length."
Li Fu was imprisoned in the yamen for sixty days.
The American Methodist preacher in the city contrived
to get food to him. He was only released eventually
on a strong representation made to the official by Mr.
Hinds from Tientsin. What an experience! Truly



City Corner Chapel. Tientsin :Opening Service.
Revs. J. Hinds and G. T. Candlin in the pulpit, with two of the Native Pastor





Rev. Jonathan Lees
the siege of Tientsin, and was so profoundly affected
by what he saw that he never recovered from the shock.
A kindly hand had guided Mr. Innocent home in time,
and the pain of seeing many to whom he had been
long attached suffer so terribly was spared him . God
had made merciful provision for him.
233


The Labourer'* Re*t
from the funds of the mission. The seven years spent
by Mr. Innocent in England, after his return, may be
called the labourer's rest. They marked his life, as a
full life, well-rounded and complete. Counting only
to the period when he reached England, he had spent
forty-five years in ministerial service, thirty-eight of
which were passed as a Chinese missionary, and, after
this long toil, seven years of earthly rest. Even then,
rest did not mean inactivity. His attendance at Mis-
sionary Committee meetings was seldom or never
missed. His experience and knowledge of the work
were of special value to the Committee. He also did a
considerable amount of work as a deputation to the
Circuits at missionary anniversaries. The work was
always congenial to him, his presence was always wel-
come, and to the full measure of his strength he con-
tinued to advocate the cause in the service of which
he had given all he had to give, the whole of his work-
ing life. Could any better testimony be given that the
work itself is worth the doing?
"It shall come to pass that at evening time there shall
be light." That ancient promise made through Zecha-
riah was never more signally fulfilled. Very gently the
same hand, which had guided him to England, that he
might be taken away from the evil to come, was also
very gentle in removing him from this earthly sphere.
He never showed his beautiful character to more ad-
vantage than during those declining years, sloping very
gently, very calmly to the time when his sun must set.
And when at last it set, it set in gold. To some of us
altogether the most blessed feature in our revered
father's instructive life was the sweet and tender
radiance, as of calm, peaceful and holy sunset, which
rested on those latter years. To mark at the last, that
£b7


John Innocent
mellowing, ripening growth, like full autumn in all its
fruitful bounty; to find him so gentle, so wise, so ready
to counsel, so fulfilled in calm restfulness; his mani-
fest, all-absorbing love for the work he could no longer
take part in; his unfailing thought for those he had
left in the thick of battle—these were among the most
elevating things we have ever witnessed; these were
the unfolding of the flower of sainthood in all its rare
fragrance and beauty. It was as though, in the arduous
and struggling life of the missionary, while the strong
base of a holy character was being firmly established,
the softer and more delicate shades of Christlike man-
hood were liable to be missed, and as though God had
reserved these final, quiet years in which to add the
finished excellence of perfect love. When his trium-
phant soul ebbed away on that November morning in
the home at Forest Hill, with the word "Glory" on
his lips, that word was at once the sealing word of a
life of Christlike ministerial devotion now rounded and
complete, and the prophetic word of the ransomed spirit
on the very threshold of his reward, and about to re-
ceive the "crown of life" that "fadeth not away."
The following interesting and beautiful account of
Mr. Innocent's last days, and of the circumstances at-
tending his death, is from the pens of Mrs. Innocent
and Mrs. Shrubshall:—
"In February, 1904, Mr. Innocent was engaged in
deputation work in the Midlands, and caught a severe
cold. On February 28th he was taken very ill with
pneumonia at his home in Nottingham, and afterwards
with acute inflammation and severe pain in his left ear,
which gave him scarcely any rest day or night, for about
four months. On April 1 ith, Dr. Mutch (of Notting-
ham) wished to have a consultation with Dr. Stenhouse.


from congestion of the lungs. On the 21st the patient
was a little better, and the doctor said he might get
up. He sat up two hours. Had a bad night . On the
23rd pneumonia developed, and a night nurse was sent
for.
"On Sunday, November 27th, my well-beloved hus-
band was very ill all day. The doctor in attendance
telegraphed for Dr. Shrubshall. He and Kate came
about five o'clock. Father was so pleased, and looked
so relieved to see them. During the evening Mr.
Bullen came upstairs to see the dear invalid, and prayed
with him. As Mr. Bullen was going away, he said ' God
bless you, old friend,' and the sufferer answered: 'He
does bless me.' Our loved one had a dreadful night of
pain, sad to see; he prayed audibly for his loved ones,
mentioning each by name, and blessed them all. Du-
ring the night he several times said: 'Nothing in my
hand I bring, Simply to Thy Cross I cling,' and ' Other
Refuge have I none, Hangs my helpless soul on Thee,'
and once he asked the time, and, when told, he said:
'The Lord delayeth His coming' He was very peace-
ful, and towards morning more restful . At eight o'clock
I saw a change on his dear face, and, breathing quietly
and smoothly, he rested, as a tired child on its mother's
breast, at 8.40 am. on November 28th.
"He was laid to rest in Lewisham Cemetery on De-
cember 1st. Many beautiful floral tributes of affection
and respect were sent, and friends from far and near
gathered to follow him to his last resting-place.
"Part of the funeral service was conducted in Trinity
Church, Forest Hill.
"On the following Sunday a memorial service was
held in Trinity Church, and the sermon was preached
by the Rev. T. Selby, late of China
290


John Innocent
the present time, British, American, German, French,
Russian and Japanese concessions, with a population
of several thousand people. Even this gives no ade-
quate idea of the importance of the port to the ordinary
English mind. A population of 10,000 people here
counts for more than 100,000 would at home. When
the Innocents first came to Tientsin there were only
some two or three families here, and they but lately
arrived. For many years, in the early days when every-
one visited everyone, and in the isolation of Eastern
residence, all Western people were drawn together with
peculiar closeness, and social life afforded the only
means of relaxation, the home in the mission com-
pound was, perhaps, though modest enough in appoint-
ments, the most important home, all things considered,
in Tientsin. Mr. Innocent rejoiced in a very large
circle of friends and acquaintances. He knew Laurence
Oliphant, was moderately intimate with General Gor-
don, with Sir Thomas Wade, Sir Robert Hart, with
Dr. Edkins, Chalmers, Legge, Douglas, Eitel, Shere-
schewsky and many other great Chinese scholars and
sinologues.
As a preacher, Mr. Innocent was a fair type of what
was best in the old school of thinkers and teachers. He
was not specially versatile or much given to speculation,
but had wide mental sympathies, was kind and libera]
in his attitude toward men of all shades of thought,
was as far removed from dogmatism as it is possible
to be, and from him the earnest thinker of daring views
had nothing to fear. In the pulpit he was always
reverent and earnest, and whether in English or Chinese
was an "acceptable" preacher; his conduct of the ser-
vice, as well as his exposition of the Sacred Word,
being always impressive. While his style in composi-


Jokn Innocent
tegrity, and sublime devotion to duty. A Taku pilot
confessed to me on one occasion that, of all the Chris-
tians he knew, Mr. Innocent was the ideal man, the
man to whom, more than to any other, he could un-
burden his sorrows and tell his deepest secrets, and
whom, more than any other, he should desire about him
in the last hours of his life. The outside heathen were
attracted to him by his pleasing manner and his genial
smile, while his converts, looking on his benign coun-
tenance, knew that they looked upon' the disciple whom
Jesus loved.'
"Not many men can be classed with John Innocent.
Among missionaries he shines very much alone, and
in a sphere of his own. There was a remarkable com-
bination of qualities radiant in his character that made
him a favourite everywhere and in all societies. His
goodness attracted and fascinated people, and held
them with a spell."
C. W. KINDER, Esq., C.M.G., of Tangshan, writes:
"He invariably struck me as a man devoid of all
tendency to attract attention to himself or his doctrines
by methods considered legitimate by many preachers.
He relied on no high-sounding phrases or mannerism,
but was ever eloquent in his simple faith in the good-
ness of Christ first and mankind next."
Rev. C. S. Chang writes >—
"Diligent and painstaking as a preacher, considerate
and generous in his conduct toward men."
Rev. J. Hinds writes:—
"In the passing of Mr. Innocent we must all feel
that the mission has sustained a loss which cannot be
made good. We were so intimately associated with him,
and owed so much to his fatherly counsel and wise
judgment, that I, for one, feel as if something had


rant in the memory of the Chinese, and his faithful
ministry is still bearing, as it has already borne, much
fruit. There will have been many from far Cathay to
meet and welcome him as he entered the upper world,
and to rejoice in their reunion with one who:
'Allur'd to brighter worlds, and led the way.'"
Dr. STANLEY, of A.B.CF. Mission, writes:—
"As I look back over nearly forty years of close
association with Mr. Innocent in missionary work at
Tientsin, I think of him more as a 'brother beloved'
than in any other way. Our two families were much
thrown together in mutual experiences of both sadness
and sorrow, and of joy and gladness, and so our in-
timacy and fraternal relations became very close and
tender. Such associations are sacred, and the memory
of them can never fade. They are like pases in the
great world-desert of human woe and weariness and
sin. How they help to lighten the path when some
obstruction has apparently blocked the way, and hope
seems likely to be crushed in disappointment!
"The quiet manner in which he entered into the feel-
ings of others, and sympathized with them in their
varied disappointments, endeared him to all who came
into intimate relations with him. Doubtless the work
of grace in his own heart had much to do with this
characteristic of his Christian life. He felt that love
and sympathy went a long way in softening the hard
places in life's journey, and so was not slow in giving
it. He recognized existing conditions, and was ever
alert to meet them with whatever methods the circum-
stances seemed to indicate, be they new or old. He
was fully assured that the 'old story'—'old yet ever
new'—understood, believed and lived, was the only


Testimonies
force able to regenerate and reclaim this sin-ruined
world. So he believed, so he laboured; and, though
fallen asleep, he lives and speaks to those who had
found an entrance into his heart."
Rev. A. KING, of the London Mission, Tientsin,
writes:—
"Mr. Innocent was one of the first friends I made
when I came to Tientsin twenty-five years ago, and it
was good to have a friend like him, so sincere, so loyal,
so sympathetic. Behind his quiet, unassuming manner
I discovered a strong personality. He was a valuable
friend to young missionaries, and he proved a helper
to many.
"By reason of the weight of his experience, the
sanity of his judgment, and the catholicity of his mind,
he was a leader in the mission circle at Tientsin. And
his influence extended into the whole community. It
is only stating the bare truth to say that no man in our
cosmopolitan society was more highly esteemed than
Mr. Innocent; and he was a greatly-needed link of
connection between the business men and the American
and British missionaries. While unyielding in matters
of principle, he was always conciliatory.
"For a number of years he acted as honorary pastor
of our Union Church, and in that capacity also he ren-
dered invaluable service to the whole community."
Edmund Cousins, Esq., of Sale (late of Tientsin),
writes:—
"' There was a man sent from God whose name was
John.' No more fitting epitaph could be found for the
subject of Mr. Candlin's Memoir. As a fellow-resident
in Tientsin, I had the privilege of an intimate personal
acquaintance with Mr. Innocent dating back for close
upon a quarter of a century, and, in acceding to the


John Innocent
request of his old colleague in the North China mission
field, to add, as a layman, a few words to what he has
written, I feel sure that I am rightly interpreting the
wishes of those many other friends of various nationali-
ties and pursuits who, in greater or less degree, shared
that undoubted privilege.
"That a fine old Christian gentleman has passed away
in the person of John Innocent everyone who knew him
will entirely agree. His was verily a winning, gentle
soul, without guile, of the rare quality that ever com-
pels the love of young and old, and it is scarcely con-
ceivable that he never made an enemy. His peculiar
gentleness of disposition was of the kind that appealed
most irresistibly to the Chinese amongst whom he
worked as a missionary; and, in brief, it is not too
much to say that he possessed the deep and true respect
of everyone with whom he came in contact."
The Rev. J. H. PYKE, of the American Methodist
Mission, writes:—
"The news of Mr. Innocent's death has filled me
with sorrow, and stirred the memories of the early years
of my missionary life in China. We arrived in Tientsin
in December, 1873, and to our surprise found a large
and delightful missionary community, representing four
of the large societies in England and the United States.
"The senior missionaries at that time were Mr. and
Mrs. Innocent, Mr. and Mrs. Lees, Mr. and Mrs. Stan-
ley, and Mr. and Mrs. Hodge. Mr. Hall, of your
society, was then in England, but one could not be
long in Tientsin without hearing much of him . His
name was on every one's lips.
"Next to Mr. Hall, Mr. Innocent was perhaps the
most influential and impressive personality in the mis-
sionary circle, if not in the settlement. His large, in-
300


hastened with relief and comfort . Their lives were filled
with service both to foreigners and Chinese. They
lived (in China) for others, and so found the highest
happiness in the greatest usefulness. A beautiful mis-
sionary spirit and life! So perfectly were their lives
joined in spirit and labour that it is difficult to think
or speak of the one without the other.
"I have not spoken of Brother (Father) Innocent as
a preacher or missionary. He was always earnest,
thorough, reverential, solid, often very effective and
impressive. He was always heard with attention, re-
spect, and profit. He was equally good in Chinese
or English. William N. Hall, Jonathan Lees,
John Innocent, Henry Blodget, four among the
earliest missionaries to Tientsin and North China,
earnest, consecrated, noble men, gone to rest and re-
ward! It seems to me none quite so good or great
since. How the thought turns to the bereft and lonely
sorrowing widow (and widows), worthy companion of
a heroic saint, and prayer ascends for consolation and
sustaining grace until the time of reunion."
The Rev. A. H. Smith, D.D., writes:—
"In the year 1872, when the writer of these lines
arrived in Tientsin, there were three senior mission-
aries: Mr. Innocent, Mr. Hall and Mr. Lees, of the
London Mission, each of them a striking figure. The
China of that day was a widely different country from
the rapidly-changing Empire of to-day. Tientsin proved
to be one of the most difficult spots in which to make
a beginning, and upon which to make any permanent
impression. The beginnings of all missions are diffi-
cult, and those in North China, in the years preceding
and following the Tientsin massacre of 1870, not less
so than elsewhere. Mr. Innocent was the centre of
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