tihxaxy of Che tireolojical ^eminarjp 
 
 PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY 
 
 •d^D- 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 Delavan L. Piers on 
 BV 3700 .135 1905 
 in the King's service 
 
A MISSION STUDY COURSE ALONG 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL LINES 
 
 Edited by Chari-ES R. Watson, Corresponding Sec'y 
 
 \x\ tfie 
 
 ■Kiog's ^erVice 
 
 THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS 
 OF THE 
 
 united presbyterian church of n. a. 
 Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
"The bright memories of the holy dead, 
 
 "The blessed ones departed, shine on us 
 
 Like the pure splendors of some clear, large star. 
 
 Which pilgrims, traveling outward, at their backs 
 
 Leave, and at every moment see not now ; 
 
 Yet whensoe'er they list may pause and turn, 
 
 tAnd with its glories gild their faces still" . 
 
 — Trench. 
 
 Copyright, 1905, by 
 The Board of Foreign Missions of thb 
 United Presbyt»riaj» Church of N. A. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 "The Bible is written largely biographically," 
 said a leading- Bible student, "and I am glad for 
 that, because I take great interest in a man 
 when I don't take great interest in a thing." 
 Should not these lives, spent 'in the King's ser- 
 vice' and done here in 'ink and paper,' lead 
 many to a better understanding of the true 
 character, the joy, and the glory of that 'ser- 
 vice?' May it not be, too, that they will bring 
 many even into the King's presence? This is 
 the purpose of their writing. 
 
 This book gives the life records of but six 
 men and women; three from each of the two 
 mission fields to which special attention is call- 
 ed, Egypt and the Punjab, India. Others have 
 been in the King's service and have received 
 their promotion; many others are still rendering 
 heroic service to the King and His kingdom. 
 
6 Preface 
 
 To all these, this book makes no reference. It 
 lays no claim to completeness. Its character 
 was determined by the material available, the 
 writers who would co-operate, and the require- 
 ments of a mission study course for the Young 
 People of the United Presbyterian Church. It 
 will be found, however, that the lives here pre- 
 sented, call up for study different phases of the 
 great missionary enterprise. In the study of 
 these lives, every questioning reader will be 
 led far afield into a study of geography, history, 
 religions, social customs, and missionary meth- 
 ods. For the guidance of all such, supple- 
 mentary helps have been placed in the back of 
 the book. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I. John Hogg — "Pioneer Missionary Work 
 
 IN Egypt," 
 BY Miss Bessie Hogg . . . ii 
 
 II. Martha J. McKown, — "The Elevation 
 
 OF Egyptian Womanhood," 
 BY Miss Rena Hogg .... 45 
 
 III. Sarah B. Dales Lansing — "The Personal 
 Element in Missionary Service," 
 BY Rev. Charles R. Watson . . 83 
 
 IV. Andrew Gordon — "The Founding of a 
 
 Mission," 
 BY Rev. D. R. Gordon . . • 115 
 
 V. Sophia E. Johnson — "In the Footsteps 
 
 OF THE Great Physician," 
 
 BY Miss Mary J. Campbell . 155 
 
 VI. Robert Reed McClure— "The Beauty 
 
 AND Power of a Surrendered Life," 
 by Rev. W. B. Anderson . .179 
 
 Appendix. A. — Mission Study along Biographical 
 
 lines ..... 207 
 
 B. — Organization and Leadership 209 
 C— Outlines and Suggestions for 
 
 Meetings .... 219 
 
 D.— Charts 226 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Rev. John Hogg, D.D. 
 Miss Martha J. McKown 
 Mrs. Sarah B. Dales Lansing 
 Rev. Andrew Gordon, D.D. . 
 Mrs. Sophia E. Johnson, M.D. 
 Rev. Robert Reed McClure, 
 God's Acre at Sialkot, 
 Diagrams and Charts 
 
 page 
 Facing page 9 
 
 43 
 
 81 
 
 117 
 
 153 
 
 177 
 
 " " 206 
 
 226-235 
 
John Hogg, D.D. 
 
PIONEER MISSIONARY WORK IN 
 EGYPT. 
 
 JOHN HOGG. 
 
 Born at Penston. near Edinburgh, Scotland, April 
 30TH, 1833. 
 
 Died at Assiut, Egypt, February 27TH, 1886. 
 "The zeal of Thy house hath eaten me up." — Ps. 69: 9. 
 
 There are men of conviction whose very faces will light up 
 an era." — J. T. Fields. 
 
 "He was the prince of Bible workers in this land of dark- 
 ness. For more than twenty years he was identified, more than 
 any other one, with the work of evatigelism, in Upper Egypt. 
 Thousands heard his earnest words and were moved to examine 
 the Scriptures to see if his teaching were true. One cannot con- 
 template his work without being deeply impressed with the fact 
 that his was a large faith, always looking upward to the face of 
 the Master and getting cheer from His smiles."- — Rev. I. G. Bliss, 
 D. D., writing about Dr. Hogg to the New York Evangelist. 
 
KM l'( )RTANT DATES AND EVENTS IN 
 DR. HOGG'S LIFE. 
 
 1833. Born at Pension, near Edinburgh, Scotland, April 30th. 
 
 1848. Public confession of Christ. 
 
 1849. Matriculates as a student at lidinburgh University. 
 1851. Death of his mother, and first missionary address. 
 1856. Arrival of Alexandria and opening of a school. 
 
 1859. Return to Scotland for completion of theological studies. 
 i860. Licensed to preach the Gospel. 
 
 Married to Miss Bessie Kay, January loth. 
 
 Sailed for Egypt, January 27th. 
 
 Shipwrecked, January 31st. 
 
 Arrives at .Mexandria, March 19th. 
 
 Preaches first sermon in Arabic, June 24th. 
 
 1863. Transferred from Alexandria to Cairo. 
 
 1864. Theological Seminary opened, September. 
 
 1865. Begins work at Assiut, February 21st. 
 
 1866. Appointed Professor of Theology. 
 Returns to Scotland on account of health. 
 
 1867. Year of great Coptic Persecution. 
 
 1870. First Protestant Church opened in Assiut. 
 1872. First and only visit to America. 
 
 1876. Takes up special preparation of books for theological 
 students. 
 
 1882. Rebellion, headed by Arabi Pasha — Missionaries are com- 
 
 pelled to leave Egypt temporarily. 
 
 1883. (.".reat religious interest in Upper Egypt. 
 Itinerating on the Nile in the "Ibis." 
 
 1884. Another tour on the "Ibis." 
 
 1885. Last visit to Scotland. 
 
 1886. Dr. Hogg dies after two weeks' illness. February 27th. 
 
JOHN HOGG 
 
 Pioneer Missionary Work in Egypt 
 By miss BESSIE HOGG 
 
 In a little Scotch village called Penston, sit- 
 uated not far from Edinburgh, John Hogg was 
 born on April 30th, 1833. 
 
 His father was overseer in the Penston Col- Parentage. 
 liery, and his mother the daughter of a small 
 country farmer. They were a devout, God-fear- 
 ing couple and held in high respect by all who 
 knew them, Mr. Hogg for long holding the of- 
 fice of elder in the U. P. Church which the fam- 
 ily attended. John was the third of a family of 
 ten children, seven boys and three girls. At the 
 tender age of four, he had already learned to 
 read and spell and was promoted from the vil- 
 lage school to the parish school of Gladsmuir. 
 When five years old he committed to memory, 
 during one afternoon, the multiplication table, 
 and he had it so thoroughly that he never af- 
 terwards needed to refer to it, but had it always 
 at his fingers ends. Yet he was not a particu- 
 larly bright scholar. Grammar especially was 
 his bug-bear, and once or twice, conscientious 
 
12 In the King's Service 
 
 boy though he was, he played the truant simply 
 for horror of grammar and the rod. At the age 
 of nine and a half he left school to enter the 
 coal mines in order to assist his father and elder 
 brothers in providing for the family. Trade 
 was then very dull and times were hard. 
 Through some misunderstanding, John's father 
 had lost his situation and was reduced to work- 
 ing as a common collier, and the weekly income 
 of father and two sons only amounted to some 
 ten shillings.* 
 
 A few extracts from some reminiscences, 
 written by Dr. Hogg in his later years for his 
 children, will give glimpses of the poverty and 
 the sufifering endured during this period of his 
 life. "Mother was our only tailor till we were 
 out of our teens. When one outgrew a suit, the 
 next in order assumed it, and as I was the third 
 I generally finished them of?. Well do I re- 
 member getting a new velvet jacket all to my- 
 self, one time when three were made for the 
 three eldest of us. Mine had a big hump in the 
 middle of the back, but I did not much mind 
 about that, and when father put a penny in the 
 pocket to 'hansel' it, I was as happy as a king. 
 But I was sick of velvet jackets before I got 
 through them. When George outgrew his, it 
 came to me, and then I wore James's, and when 
 they were past wearing in daylight, they were 
 worn in the pit until they had entirely changed 
 their color. 
 
 ♦ About la.50. 
 
John Hogg 13 
 
 "How proud I was when I got a present of ^* ° Miner. 
 an old lamp and got it trimmed and filled and 
 felt that it was mine. Little I knew what was 
 before me. It was fine fun at first, but it be- 
 came a sober reality by-and-by. * * * j 
 have always looked back to this time as a 
 period of slavery. The dragging of the wagons 
 up a steeply inclined plane was too heavy work 
 for two boys of ten and fifteen years of age. I 
 had to go before and pull with a chain in each 
 hand, guiding the box on the rails and tugging 
 with all my might at the same time, while my 
 brother pushed behind. I was constantly get- 
 ting a knock on my head from the projecting 
 stones above, and when to save my head I got 
 into the habit of getting it well down, while T 
 ducked like a pony, my back, on which I had 
 only a thin flannel shirt, rubbed on some knotty 
 ridge that was lower than the rest, so that the 
 whole of the spine was rubbed almost flat and 
 the slightest touch on the unhealed sores 
 caused such pain as almost took away my 
 breath." 
 
 The removal to another coal pit brought no An Accident 
 lightening of work, but it gave the father a bet- ""'^ 
 ter situation, with better wages, and made it ' ® 
 possible for the boys to attend evening school. 
 This latter privilege was not welcomed by John. 
 who preferred to spend his leisure time in play, 
 but a crisis soon occurred in his life which 
 
14 In the King's Service 
 
 aroused the spirit of the student within him. 
 One sorrowful Monday morning, poor Mrs. 
 Hogg saw her son carried home, pale and suf- 
 fering, on the back of a stalwart miner. "Don't 
 cry, mother, my leg is not very sore," said John. 
 But a mass of coal weighing a ton and a half 
 had fallen on him, pinning him to the ground 
 and breaking his thigh bone, and six weary 
 weeks passed before he could be moved from 
 his bed. "During this period," he writes, "I 
 read the whole Bible through or nearly so. My 
 aunt supplied me with a beautiful copy of the 
 'Pilgrim's Progress' and with this and a torn 
 copy of 'Arabian Nights,' I whiled away the 
 weary time, and from this acquired a taste for 
 reading which never after flagged. From this 
 time I was a changed boy. My books became 
 henceforward my chief diversion, and in this I 
 was helped by my brother James. As soon as 
 I was able to use a crutch I was sent to school, 
 and, with my mind now alive, I set to work in 
 right earnest and in a few weeks made such 
 progress as to delight my teacher who came 
 along to inform my father that his son was a 
 bright lad and that it was a great pity for so 
 promising a boy to be doomed to work down 
 in a coal mine. But what could the poor father 
 do with his sixteen shillings a week and a family 
 of seven children to support? It pleased him 
 to hear his boy praised by the teacher, but it 
 
John Hogg 15 
 
 grieved him very hard to find that he could do 
 nothing for the lad." 
 
 John, therefore, went back to his pit life, not Mining and 
 to the scene of his accident, but to a new mine " ^'"^' 
 of which his father was at this time appointed 
 overseer at a higher salary than he had yet re- 
 ceived. Work was faithfully done, but it was 
 in the evenings that John lived. A new teach- 
 er in the night school gave him just the "lift on" 
 that he was needing, and he and his brother 
 James made rapid progress in mathematics. 
 Latin and other subjects. The family prospects 
 were now brighter, and in 1848 the parents took 
 the important step of sending James to college. 
 This acted as a still further spur to John, and 
 on James's return the two applied themselves 
 with even greater vigor, working late into the 
 night at Latin, Greek and French, although 
 work in the pit had to begin the next morning 
 at a very early hour. It was at this period, too, 
 that John mastered shorthand and acquired con- 
 siderable proficiency on the f^ute and fiddle. 
 
 At the age of fifteen John was received into ffe/igious 
 the full communion of the church. Ever since ■'Z'®"*'"^®*- 
 his earliest childhood he had often had serious 
 thoughts about his soul's salvation, and though 
 unable to fix the exact date of his conversion, 
 he had for some time trusted that he had found 
 the Savior. About this time, however, the sud- 
 den death of a little sister, the pet of the family. 
 
1 6 In the King's Service 
 
 combined with a sermon he had heard preached, 
 made a profound impression on him and set 
 him praying as he had never prayed before. On 
 his way to work in the morning and many times 
 during the day he would kneel down and pray, 
 and often in the evening he would go out and, 
 kneeling behind a hedge, pour out his heart in 
 long, earnest prayer to God. 
 In the In 1849 the dear ambition of John's heart was 
 nitfersi y. j-g^ij^ed and he found himself in Edinburgh, with 
 his brother James, actually matriculated as a 
 student of the University. The support of two 
 lads at college was, of course, a great drain upon 
 the slender family income, but it had long been 
 the parents' great desire that both lads should 
 be ministers, and they gladly denied themselves 
 in order to provide the needful education. 
 Lodging was obtained at the modest charge of 
 four shillings a week, and by frugal living and 
 the strictest economy the lads managed to live 
 on the scanty allowance granted them by their 
 parents. "This was a dumb session to me," 
 writes Dr. Hogg, "for as I had never been ac- 
 customed to speak anything but broad Scotch at 
 home, I was afraid of mingling with my fellow 
 students for fear they should discover from my 
 Scottish brogue and peeled knuckles that I was 
 fresh from the coal mines. I dreaded their 
 knowing it, fool that I was, and therefore de- 
 prived myself of much pleasure from mingling 
 with kindred spirits." 
 
John Hogg 17 
 
 A class of elocution soon removed the diffi- 
 culty of accent, and as time and practice in- 
 creased his confidence, John became popular. 
 
 During his first vacation he returned to the ^'^ Mother's 
 pit in the position of under-manager and rail- ^^ 
 layer. All his spare time he spent sedulously 
 at study, even when down in the mine, and the 
 habit thus acquired of employing to advantage 
 every available odd minute was never lost in 
 later life. A great sorrow darkened John's sec- 
 ond year of college life in the death of his loved 
 mother, and there was more sadness than pride 
 in his heart when, at the close of the session, he 
 returned to his stricken home bearing with him 
 his first two university prizes. 
 
 It was during his vacation in this year, 185 1. First 
 that he worked for the last time in the pit. It Missionary 
 was now also that he made his maiden speech, ''^**' 
 delivering a missionary address in Tranent 
 Church to an appreciative audience, while his 
 proud father stayed alone at home to pray for 
 his son. 
 
 By the time John's next vacation came around Teaching, 
 he was ready to earn money by teaching instead 
 of mining, and he was successful in obtaining 
 situations, first in Forfar Academy and, then, in 
 Rothesay Academy, at which latter place he 
 worked so hard, rising daily at 4 A. M. to study, 
 that for four years thereafter he suffered from 
 severe headaches. 
 
i8 In the King's Service 
 
 His Brothers A year of heavy trouble followed. James, the 
 oldest son, whose heart was by this time set on 
 becoming a foreign missionary, was struck 
 down with consumption. While he lay ill, the 
 father, at the early age of forty-five, suc- 
 cumbed to an attack of bronchitis and passed 
 away. This stroke, which was regarded in the 
 neighborhood as a public calamity, almost para- 
 lyzed the already stricken family, and when, 
 three months later, James too was called away, 
 their cup of sorrow seemed full. From the time 
 of his brother's death, John felt in a manner 
 pledged to dedicate himself to mission work in 
 his brother's stead, and from this purpose and 
 desire he never swerved. 
 
 Appointment The years of his Divinity Hall course must be 
 quickly passed over. Supporting himself partly 
 by teaching in Hamilton Place Academy, Edin- 
 burgh, partly by a bursary which he gained by 
 competitive examination, he worked steadily on 
 through three sessions of his course, devoting 
 some of his leisure time to the private study of 
 German, which he picked up very readily. In 
 1854 he made the acquaintance of Rev. J. L. 
 Aikman, secretary of the Scottish Society for 
 the Conversion of the Jews, and through him 
 was invited to go out as a teacher in a proposed 
 "Protestant Institute" in Alexandria. Attracted 
 by this opening, John immediately set to work 
 to study Italian and Arabic and also to read up 
 
 to 
 Alexandria. 
 
John Hogg 19 
 
 all the books he could discover dealing with 
 Egypt. He declined a very tempting offer of the 
 position of assistant classical master in George 
 Watson's Hospital, a large Edinburgh secondary 
 school, and at last, on the 17th of November, 
 1856, having completed four out of the five years 
 of his theological course, he left Edinburgh 
 en route for Alexandria, where he arrived on 
 the 6th of December. Within nine days of his 
 arrival, he opened a school in the house of Dr. 
 Hermann Philip and there he taught for a few 
 months, after which the school was moved to an 
 old palace in the Abu Abbas quarter. While 
 conducting the school, he still continued stren- 
 uously his study of Arabic and Italian. The 
 strain of this hard work was not long in telling 
 upon his health, and becoming utterly unfit for 
 duty, he was forced to leave Alexandria for a 
 time. After a visit, first to Cairo and then to 
 Jerusalem, he returned to Alexandria only to 
 find that the attendance at school had decreased 
 greatly during his absence. Matters improved, 
 however, when new premises were secured near 
 the Square, and for some time the school con- 
 tinued very successful, practically though not 
 nominally under the auspices of the American 
 Mission. 
 
 In 1850, Mr. Hogg asked permission to return Completing 
 to Scotland in order to finish his theological Theological 
 course, and this permission was granted with the 
 
20 In the King's Service 
 
 expression of a strong hope that he would re- 
 turn again to Egypt. His departure was hurried 
 at the last by the sad news of the illness of his 
 sister, and he reached home just in time to spend 
 a fortnight with her before her death. 
 Shipwrecked. After another session in the Theological Hall 
 he was licensed by the United Presbyterian Pres- 
 bytery of Edinburgh, and on January loth, i860, 
 he was married to Bessie Kay, the daughter of 
 a missionary in Jamaica. On January 27th, the 
 young couple set sail from Liverpool on board 
 the S. S. "Scamander," bound for Egypt. Al- 
 most immediately they encountered stormy 
 weather, and in the Bay of Biscay the steamer 
 sprung a leak and foundered on the 31st, carry- 
 ing to the bottom all the worldly goods which 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hogg possessed. They them- 
 selves, along with the crew and another passen- 
 ger, with difficulty escaped with their lives, and 
 after drifting about in small boats for about six 
 hours, they were picked up by a Dutch steamer 
 bound for Rotterdam and were landed at Ply- 
 mouth. Their loss was estimated at over £300.* 
 but it was more than made good bv generous 
 gifts of kind friends in Scotland and America. 
 Within a month they once more started on their 
 journey, avoiding the Bay of Biscay this time 
 by traveling overland via Paris to Marseilles, 
 and thus they arrived at Alexandria on March 
 19th, i860. 
 
 * About 1(1500.00. 
 
Jolin Hogg 21 
 
 Just about this time, the American mission- Ordained. 
 aries were authorized by their General Assembly 
 to organize a United Presbyterian Presbytery in 
 Egypt, and the ordination of Mr. Hogg was the 
 first official act of this newly constituted body. 
 
 It was acknowledged by all the missionaries Work in 
 that Mr. Hogg particularly excelled in educa- Alexandria. 
 tional work, and to this department he therefore 
 continued to devote his energies. With the aid 
 of a singing class which he opened. and which 
 proved exceedingly popular, the school pros- 
 pered well under his supervision, in spite of op- 
 position. On June 24th, he preached his first 
 discourse in Arabic, and before long he found 
 himself obliged, owing to the absence of Dr. 
 Lansing, to conduct weekly in this language two 
 Sabbath services and also a week night prayer 
 meeting. That he was able to do this with ac- 
 ceptance, in spite of the disadvantages under 
 which he had labored in prosecuting his Arabic 
 study, is a proof of his linguistic talent; and the 
 fact that in addition to this preaching and his 
 school supervision he found time for a great 
 deal of personal work in the way of religious 
 conversation and controversy with Egyptians 
 and Italians in home, shop, hospital and else- 
 where, besides establishing a weekly EngHsh 
 prayer meeting, is a striking indication of his 
 versatility and of his energy and devoted zeal. 
 
22 In the King's Service 
 
 4 Missionary Jn i86i, he made a short missionary trip on 
 *"""■ the Nile below Cairo, but his first real mission 
 tour was made in the following year, and it was 
 the means of forcing on his mind the conviction, 
 which he never lost and which led to important 
 results, that the Coptic Church was the key to 
 the mission problem of Egypt. During this tour, 
 rvhich lasted over two months, he visited sixty- 
 three towns or villages, sold copies of the Bible 
 in forty places, read and expounded the Scrip- 
 tures in fifty towns or villages, had formal ser- 
 vices in seven, had conversation with sixty-two 
 Coptic priests, forty or fifty monks and two bish- 
 ops, and left three colporteurs to sell books in 
 the large towns and in the villages around them. 
 Leaves A few months after this, owing to illness 
 Alexandria, among the mission staff at Cairo, Mr. Hogg 
 was asked to go there. He went, meaning to 
 stay only a week or two, but though he labored 
 after this for twenty-three years in Egypt he 
 never again returned to his work in Alexandria. 
 
 The year 1863 was a year of sickness and trial 
 in the mission, and among the sufferers was Mrs. 
 Hogg, who was attacked by smallpox, and, dur- 
 ing an anxious month, was nursed safely through 
 it by her husband. 
 
 It was also a year of violent opposition on the 
 part of the Coptic priesthood, and of great 
 straits in the mission owing to lack of funds. 
 In both these connections Mr. Hogg's powers 
 
John Hogg 23 
 
 of eloquent persuasion were called into play 
 with excellent effect. 
 
 If the following year is to be characterized ^ Strange 
 in one word also, it might be called a year of 
 romance, for it fell to Mr. Hogg s lot to take a 
 leading part in the negotiations which culmina- 
 ted in the romantic marriage oi His Highness 
 the Maharajah Dhuleep Singh to Bamba Muller, 
 a pupil in the mission school at Cairo. On the 
 7th of June Mr. Hogg performed the wedding 
 ceremony, and shortly afterwards, before sail- 
 ing for Britain, the Maharajah presented the 
 mission with £1000* in Bamba's name as a 
 thank offering to the Lord, along with a prom- 
 ise of an annual gift of £500 for the remainder 
 of their lives. 
 
 During this year, Mr. Hogg made a trip to Translating. 
 the Fayum, an oasis of Lower Egypt, and he 
 also occupied himself with translation work, 
 producing a text book for use in the theological 
 seminary, so long hoped for, and finally formally 
 opened in September, 1864. All through his life 
 in Egypt, Mr. Hogg constantly busied himself 
 with translation work as far as his other mani- 
 fold duties would allow. 
 
 In this connection, there is an interesting 
 note in his diary dated 31st Dec, 1863, in which 
 he says that he has just been amusing himself 
 drawing up a few statistics, and has discovered 
 (i) that the total of his translation work of vari- 
 
 * About $5000.00. 
 
24 111 the King's Service 
 
 ous kinds for the year amounted to some thirty 
 chapters; (2) that he had preached 87 sermons 
 and given 43 addresses and 74 lectures in Arabic, 
 and 8 addresses, etc., in English, the total being 
 208 or four each week; (3) that he had taught 
 540 hours. 
 
 It is interesting to set over against the above 
 record the following extract from his diary on 
 30th April, 1864: "Thirty-one years old to-day! 
 The thought of how useless my life has hitherto 
 been oppressed me exceedingly." 
 
 The year 1865 stands out as an important one 
 in Mr. Hogg's life and in the history of the mis- 
 sion, for in January of that year the Presbytery 
 resolved that the mission should extend its 
 sphere of labor into Upper Egypt, and chose 
 Mr. Hogg to act as pioneer. As it was feared 
 that no family could endure the heat of an Up- 
 per Egypt summer, especially at a distance of a 
 fortnight's journey from any reliable physician, 
 the enterprise for the first six months was to be 
 regarded merely as an experiment. 
 
 Assiut, the metropolis of the Upper prov- 
 inces, was the place selected for occupation. It 
 was a town of 40,000 inhabitants (two-thirds of 
 whom were Mohammedans and the remaining 
 third Copts), and is situated about 400 miles 
 south of Alexandria and 200 miles north of 
 Luxor, or about midway between the Mediter- 
 ranean and the Tropic of Cancer. Speaking of 
 
John Hogg 25 
 
 the vastness of the field upon which he was 
 entering and the work he was initiating, 
 Mr. Hogg wrote: "I wish I could trans- 
 port you for a moment to the hills beyond As- 
 siut and show you, not what Lepsius calls the 
 best prospect in all Egypt, — the stretch of the 
 Nile Valley north and south of Assiut, transfig- 
 ured and etherialized under the blaze of the ris- 
 ing sun — but the valley of dry bones, stretching 
 250 miles to the north and 400 miles to the 
 south, in which, on the 21st of February, 1865, 
 in the name of the God of Life, a solitary voice 
 began to prophesy. From Cairo on the one 
 side far away to Assuan on the other, — nay, up 
 to Khartum and a thousand leagues beyond — 
 the whole valley was covered with a dense, 
 dark gloom without a glimpse of light to en- 
 courage or cheer." 
 
 This is not the place in which to enlarge upon The Coptic 
 the condition of the Coptic Church, that rem- Church. 
 nant of the ancient Christian Church of Egypt, 
 but another extract from a letter of Mr. Hogg's 
 may at least give a hint of the nature of the 
 darkness referred to above. After giving some 
 details concerning the immorality of the Coptic 
 clergy, he writes: "These and other gross sins 
 that cannot be named are practiced by the 
 priests and monks, and winked at, or rather 
 laughed at, by the richer classes of the laity; 
 and the latter, knowing that their spiritual 
 
26 In the King's Service 
 
 guides dare not rebuke them, live as they list, 
 well aware that the priests will at any time 
 grant them, for a few dollars a full absolution 
 from all their sins. It is true that few of the 
 men put any faith in the priest's power to ab- 
 solve, and yet there are few that do not repair 
 to the priest at least once a year. All the 
 women, without exception, put implicit faith in 
 the priest's power to absolve them from their 
 sins, and their chief object in going to church 
 is to have the officiating priest place on their 
 heads these holy hands of his that have made 
 and handled and carried through the congrega- 
 tion 'the very identical body of Christ which was 
 born of the blessed Virgin.' " Profiting from 
 past experience the missionaries deemed it wise 
 that the new move to Assiut should be made as 
 quietly as possible to avoid arousing Coptic op- 
 position, and it was therefore kept secret even 
 from the native Christians in Cairo until within 
 a day or two of the departure of the mission- 
 ary party. 
 
 The journey, which was made in a native 
 dahabiyeh, with no glass in the windows, occu- 
 pied fifteen days, and was attended with various 
 trying and uncomfortable experiences. 
 
 With the help of Mr. Wasif, a house was rent- 
 ed, and, on March 5th, a beginning was made 
 by the opening of a school numbering six boys 
 and two girls — a small beginning, indeed, but 
 
John Hogg 27 
 
 yet the germ from which afterwards developed 
 two great institutions, the Assiut Training Col- 
 lege and the Pressly Memorial Institute. Mr. 
 Hogg made it his practice at first to attend the 
 Coptic service on Sabbath day. Going as us- 
 ual on March 19th, he was surprised to find a 
 large crowd in attendance, but the unwonted 
 audience was soon explained when a priest 
 arose and proceeded to read aloud a paper in 
 which the Bishop of Assiut, after giving his 
 blessing to his flock, warned them against send- 
 ing their children to the schools of strangers, 
 who, while appearing to be prophets, were in 
 reality false prophets, wolves in sheep's cloth- 
 ing, etc. 
 
 This was the beginning of bitter opposition Opposition. 
 and persecution, which continued for long and 
 made these early days hard days indeed, though 
 the details are too long and complicated to be 
 entered into here. Mr. Hogg had need of all 
 patience, tact, courage and perseverance to steer 
 himself and the slowly growing Protestant com- 
 munity through these troublous times, and it is 
 little wonder that the people grew to regard 
 him with a love and esteem amounting to rev- 
 erence. 
 
 While struggling thus against opposition and The Angel 
 misrepresentation, Mr. Hogg continued steadily of Death. 
 at translation work; but the weather became 
 scorchingly hot as summer wore on, and cour- 
 
28 In the King's Service 
 
 age and energy well-nigh flagged. Then sorrow 
 came. On June 29th, a heavy blow fell in the 
 death of his little girl, Mary Lizzie, at the early 
 age of four. She was a sweet and charming 
 child, beloved by all who knew here. "Her 
 life," writes the sorrowing father, "has been to 
 us as an angel's visit, and her death as the open- 
 ing of the very gate of heaven." 
 Cholera. Cholera meanwhile was sweeping through 
 the country, working fearful havoc, and Assiut 
 suffered like other places, though the plague 
 did not there enter the mission circle, as it did 
 in Cairo in the sudden death of Mrs. Lansing 
 and her youngest boy. 
 A Theological In 1 866 Mr. Hogg was formally appointed 
 Seminary. Professor of Theology. As he had fallen into a 
 poor state of health, a trip to Scotland was con- 
 sidered imperative, but he was asked to do all 
 he could, while at home, to raise funds for the 
 building of a theological seminary in Assiut. 
 Three months of his short furlough were ac- 
 cordingly spent in collecting money, with the 
 gratifying result of a total of £500.* 
 Violent On returning to Assiut, Mr. Hogg lost no 
 Persecution time in making a small beginning towards his 
 by Copts, theological school. He started with thirteen 
 pupils, three or four of whom were Coptic 
 monks who, it was hoped, would, with some 
 training, prove efficient workers among the 
 Copts. Scarcely had this work begun when 
 
 * About $2500.00. 
 
John Hogg 29 
 
 there was a new and violent outburst of Coptic 
 persecution, evidently carefully planned, and 
 connived at, if not aided, by government of- 
 ficials. A tour was made by the Coptic Pa- 
 triarch for the express purpose of crushing out 
 the Protestant heresy, and Assiut was one of 
 the towns visited. By acts of violence, by pub- 
 lic curses, by threats and intimidations, the Pa- 
 triarch did all that was in his power to strike 
 terror into the hearts of the people and prevent 
 them from sending their children to the mission 
 schools. Before leaving the town, he ordered a 
 public burning of all books published by the 
 Beirut Mission press. Coptic fanaticism, how- 
 ever, reached its height in the treatment meted 
 out to Fam Stephanos, a self enlightened and 
 remarkable leader of the Protestant party in 
 the town of Kus. The story is too long and in- 
 tricate to be entered into here,* but it involved 
 sad and trying times for Mr. Hogg and his 
 brother missionaries, whose patience and cour- 
 age were taxed to the uttermost, and who had 
 need of all the wisdom, tact and determination 
 at their command, before they succeeded in 
 overcoming official indifference or secret oppo- 
 sition and obtaining redress for their griev- 
 ances. 
 
 A natural outcome of this opposition and per- Secret 
 secution was an increase in the number of inquirers. 
 secret disciples. Many friends of the mission 
 
 * A full account can be found in Watson's "American Mission 
 in Egypt," chapter xiv. 
 
At Cairo. 
 
 30 In the King's Service 
 
 made stealthy nocturnal visits, exercising much 
 ingenuity in eluding the vigilance of clerical 
 spies. 
 
 In 1868 it became necessary for Mr. Hogg to 
 leave Assiut for a few months in order to assist 
 in Cairo in the work of collecting and prepar- 
 ing matter for the press, and it was commonly 
 reported in Assiut that he had taken his depart- 
 ure for good, having succumbed to the vehe- 
 mence of opposition. Those who circulated 
 such reports, however, failed to realize the un- 
 daunted zeal of the worker and the success 
 which, slowly and quietly, but yet surely, was 
 crowning his work. 
 Progress in Jn the following year Westminster College, 
 Pennsylvania, recognized his labors by confer- 
 ring on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. 
 
 In November of this year, 1869, building op- 
 erations were begun in Assiut and the year 1870 
 stands out prominently as the date of the open- 
 ing of the first Protestant church building in 
 Assiut, of the formal licensing of two students 
 of the theological seminary, and of the organiza- 
 tion of the Assiut congregation. Matters were 
 thus looking very promising in Assiut as far as 
 mission work was concerned, but personal sor- 
 row came to Dr. Hogg in the death of his young- 
 est child, and in 1871, when he went to Scotland, 
 death again entered the family and took away 
 another baby boy. 
 
 Assiut. 
 
John Hogg 31 
 
 It was during this furlough that, after spend- *''«'' '0 
 ing busy months in Scotland, addressing meet- '"^'''^"• 
 ings in many places. Dr. Hogg and his wife paid 
 their only visit to America. Over two months 
 were spent there, traveling about visiting con- 
 gregations, delivering addresses on Egypt and 
 the work canied on there. Great interest w?.s 
 aroused throughout the Church and, at the meet- 
 ing of the General Assembly, a gold watch was 
 presented to him as a token of appreciation. 
 
 October, 1872, found Dr. Hogg back again in Spiritual 
 Assiut. He was grieved to find that frequent ^^vakenings. 
 changes of workers during his prolonged ab- 
 sence had had an injurious efifect on the congre- 
 gation and on the attendance at meetings and 
 Sabbath schools, but after his return there was 
 marked and steady improvement. Inspired and 
 led by him, many members of the Assiut church 
 volunteered their services for evangelistic work 
 in neighboring towns and villages, and Assiut 
 thus became a center of light foi the surround- 
 ing district. Dr. Hogg reported as many as 
 thirty-nine meetings each week for prayer and 
 Bible study in Assiut and four neighboring 
 towns. In Assiut alone, in the year 1873, there 
 were in all 624 night meetings held. It was 
 characteristic of this period of the mission that 
 eveiy Copt who adopted evangelical views be- 
 came himself immediately a missionary and was 
 zealous in trying to spread the truth among 
 others. 
 
32 In the King's Service 
 
 Protest After an evangelistic tour in the upper The- 
 PersecuTon. ''''^'^ '" ^^^5- Dr. Hogg was, in 1876, released 
 from work for a while in order to devote himself 
 to the preparation of class books for the use of 
 his theological students. Thinking that this 
 work would be better prosecuted in a cooler cli- 
 mate, he came home to Scotland, and while there 
 he took occasion to bring to the notice of the 
 Evangelical Alliance the disgraceful and even 
 brutal treatment endured by Protestants at the 
 hands of their Coptic persecutors. He earnestly 
 appealed to the members of the council for their 
 interposition in order to obtain redress for these 
 acts of violence and for the other wrongs com- 
 plained of. As an outcome of his representa- 
 tions, a memorial was drawn up and signed by 
 the council of the Alliance and forwarded to his 
 Highness the Khedive of Egypt. His Highness 
 was graciously pleased to receive this memorial 
 and promised to enquire into the specific griev- 
 ances cited and the period of open opposition 
 and injustice was brought to an end. 
 
 Of the next few years there is little to report, 
 beyond steady, hard, faithful work and steady, 
 if slow, progress. 
 Tfie Arabi If, however, this period was uneventful in the 
 '""' history of the mission, it was otherwise in the 
 political history of the country. A^atters were 
 fast ripening to a crisis and, in 1882, the crisis 
 came in the rebellion headed by Arabi Pasha. 
 
John Hogg 33 
 
 The nth of June saw the massacre of Europeans 
 in Alexandria, and it became evident that the 
 missionaries, who for some time had been await- 
 ing in anxious suspense the issue of the disturb- 
 ances throughout the land, must, like other for- 
 eigners, be prepared on a moment's notice to 
 escape for their lives. Loth to leave until abso- 
 lutely forced to do so, they lingered for a time 
 on board the American warship "Galena," but 
 finally the order went forth that all foreigners 
 must, as far as possible, leave the country, es- 
 pecially women and children. Passenger steam- 
 ers being already overcrowded with refugees, 
 the mission party, numbering over thirty, had to 
 be contented with such accommodations as they 
 could get. The British Admiral compelled a 
 British steamer named the "Falernian" to re- 
 ceive the party along with a few others, number- 
 ing all together forty, and the only accommoda- 
 tion that was available was the hold of the ves- 
 sel, originally constructed for the reception of 
 cattle. After an exceedingly trying and in many 
 ways uncomfortable voyage, the party landed in 
 Liverpool on July nth, the day of the bombard- 
 ment of Alexandria. Dr. Hogg stayed only 
 three months in Scotland, and then returned to 
 Egypt, leaving his wife and family behind him in 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 About this time trouble arose within the Evan- ^^'^^ 
 gelical Church in Egypt through the dissemina- ^°'^*'''"^^' 
 
34 111 the King's Service 
 
 tion of PlymoLithist doctrine, and the scattering 
 broadcast throughout the community of tracts 
 bearing on controverted points, and treating 
 them in a manner directly opposed to the teach- 
 ing of the missionaries. Into this Plymouthist 
 controversy, Dr. Hogg threw himself heart and 
 soul. An ardent debater, with ready speech 
 and a great power of clear, convincing argu- 
 ment, he was the very man for the delicate and 
 difficult task, and, when a proposal was made to 
 send a deputation to visit the affected congrega- 
 tions, it was only natural that he should be cho- 
 sen for the purpose. 
 
 Before starting on this trip, however, he paid 
 a flying visit to Assiut. On the very night of his 
 arrival in the town, wearied after a hot fatigu- 
 ing journey and tired out with want of sleep, a 
 deputation arrived at the mission house with the 
 request that he should come immediately to ad- 
 dress a large meeting already assembled and 
 awaiting his coming. A kind friend, however, 
 intercepted the deputation, and, reminding them 
 that Dr. Hogg was after all only human, sent 
 them away and did not deliver the message till 
 after meeting had adjourned. In explanation 
 of this large meeting and of many similar ones 
 held at this time throughout Assiut and neigh- 
 boring towns, the following extract from the 
 London papers of December i6th of this same 
 year may be of interest: 
 
John Hogg 35 
 
 "Reuter's agent telegraphs from Cairo as fol- 
 lows: Great effervescence at present exists 
 among Mussulmans and Christians in Upper 
 Egypt. The Copts display a defiant attitude 
 and a popular outbreak is apprehended. The 
 Egyptian Government is stated to have been 
 warned of this state of things by the Governor 
 of Siout (Assiut). The effervescence is said to 
 be due to a religious propaganda carried on by 
 American missionaries." 
 
 "Had Reuter's agency," wrote Dr. Hogg a few ^ Truer 
 days later, "been correctly informed, he would '^'^dgment 
 have altered this alarmist dispatch into a state- 
 ment somewhat as follows: 'Great religions in- 
 terest has been awakened among the Christian 
 population of Upper Egypt, and in some places 
 also among the Mohammedans. The Copts dis- 
 play an expectafii attitude and a general refoi- 
 tiutioii is anticipated.' " 
 
 In point of fact, a remarkable religious awak- /Remarkable 
 
 ening had reallv taken place, the fruit, no doubt, ^ 9'0"^ 
 , , . ' . , ,. , Interest 
 
 of long, patient sowmg, but immediately occa- 
 sioned by an alarming outbreak of cholera 
 which had roused men's minds to serious 
 thoughts. Nightly meetings were being held in 
 Assiut, as many as eight or nine meetings a 
 night sometimes, but at other times one mass 
 meeting such as the one Dr. Hogg was asked to 
 address. For one week Dr. Hogg remained at 
 Assiut. adding the weight of his influence and 
 
36 In the King's Service 
 
 his encouragement to help on the movement, 
 but at the end of that time he had to leave. 
 Itinerating q„ October 3d, 1883, he entered the "Ibis" 
 
 on the Nile. , , , • , , 
 
 and began his tour through the districts disaf- 
 fected by reason of the spread of Plymouthist 
 doctrine. In his diary he gives an account of 
 the trip, and a few extracts from this may be 
 interesting as showing something not only of 
 the work but also of the man. 
 
 "October 4-8. At Minieh. Average number 
 at evening meetings 100. Went on Sabbath, af- 
 ter conducting service at Minieh, to Beni Ah- 
 med and gave two or three addresses, each com- 
 pany of newcomers being anxious to hear some- 
 thing. Friendly discussion." 
 
 "October 8th. El Kom el Akhdar. Unex- 
 pected visit. Pastor overjoyed. Large meet- 
 ing, 190 present." 
 
 "October 12th. Beyadeeyeh. Crowded all 
 day." 
 
 "October 13th. Beyadeeyeh. Again crowded 
 all day." 
 A Strenuous "October 14th. Beyadeeyeh (Lord's Day). 
 Life. Brethren keep coming from Mellawi, Hoor, 
 Deyr Bersha, Deyr Aboo Hannis, Tenda. Re- 
 solve to hold service in open air. Commenced 
 at 10 A. M. under a patch of trees west of the 
 village. Present 300 to 400. Service lasted till 
 a little after i. Had little help even in the sing- 
 ing, in which T had also to read the lines. Ex- 
 
John Hogg 37 
 
 hausting- service. Boat filled again in afternoon. 
 . . . Service as^ain in evening. . . . Dep- 
 utation called and waited till 1.30 A. M. in ani- 
 mated discussion of the various controverted 
 points." 
 
 "October 15th. Deyr Aboo Hannis. Wrote 
 important letter. Got a few minutes to myself 
 while crossing river. Bundle of newspapers and 
 letters unopened. Service under the stars. 
 About 400 present. Disturbed by dogs occa- 
 sionally. Audience intensely interested." 
 
 "October 17th. A busy day! First, meeting Hard Work. 
 with enquirers. Then service lasting- over three 
 hours. Dinner. More enquirers and discus- 
 sions in the evening. Up to town after sunset. 
 Marriage ceremony at which whole village pres- 
 ent. Feast at close, then back to boat at 10 
 P. M. tired out." 
 
 "October 20th. Mellawi. Discussions all day 
 as usual." 
 
 It will be seen from these extracts what 
 arduous work was involved in this trip on the 
 Nile, and the picture hinted at, of incessant, un- 
 remitting toil, gives a very true indication of 
 much of Dr. Hogg's life in Egypt. He gave 
 himself unreservedly to his work and certainly 
 did not spare himself. 
 
 The Separatist controversy continued to oc- Literary 
 cupy much of his time and attention all through Work. 
 this year and, indeed, on into the spring of 1884. 
 
38 In the King's Service 
 
 In February, 1884, he made another tour on the 
 "Ibis," this time accompanied by Dr. Lansing, 
 and again later by Dr. Harvey, and after this 
 we find him, writing a long paper in which "The 
 Seven Points," around which controversy raged, 
 were each argued with great vigor, and contin- 
 uing the discussion in private argument and 
 public debate. 
 
 In 1885, he paid his last visit to Scotland and 
 underwent an operation which the state of his 
 health rendered necessary. 
 Visit to On this visit, as on the occasion of his visit 
 Scotland, jjj jg55^ j3j. j^Qgg addressed the United Pres- 
 byterian Synod at its annual meeting. He re- 
 minded his audience that on the previous occa- 
 sion he had just returned from reconnoitering 
 the then untried field of Upper Egypt, and pro- 
 ceeded to give an interesting sketch of the work 
 accomplished in the interval. Schools had been 
 planted in some forty of the principal towns and 
 villages in Upper Egypt, attended by 2039 pu- 
 pils, and nearly all independent of help from 
 mission funds. High schools had been estab- 
 lished in four principal districts, and, in the cen- 
 ter of all, a Normal School or Training College 
 and Theological Seminary, with an enrollment of 
 351 students, 260 of whom boarded in the insti- 
 tution. Volumes of the Scripture and other 
 books, educational and religious, had been dis- 
 tributed to the number of 112,000, i. e., an aver- 
 
John Hogg 39 
 
 age of i8 volumes daily (6 days a week) for 20 
 years at 20 cents a volume. Besides this, 
 preaching stations had been opened in 60 towns 
 and villages. 
 
 Dr. Hogg was accompanied on his return to Last ///ness. 
 Egypt by his wife and family, who purposed 
 making their home, for some years to come, in 
 Egypt. But it was not to be. After another 
 winter of work in Assiut instructing theological 
 students throughout the week, and on Sabbaths 
 preaching in the College or in outlying villages, 
 Dr. Hogg was taken seriously ill on February 
 loth, and, after two weeks of severe suffering, 
 breathed his last. 
 
 His death came as a paralyzing shock to all 
 connected with the mission. Up to the very 
 end, none had believed that he would really be 
 taken away. He could not be spared. He 
 seemed in fact necessary to the work. 
 
 "The whole mission," says Dr. Watson, "was 
 astonished, stunned and dismayed. The native 
 brethren, from one end of the country to the 
 other, wept as for a father, while many were so 
 disheartened that they began to think that the 
 cause of truth was lost." 
 
 The death occurred on Saturday night, Feb- ffis Death. 
 ruary 27th. At the Sabbath service next morn- 
 ing, nearly a thousand people crowded into the 
 chapel, while a large number collected outside. 
 In the midst of the service, the Governor of 
 
40 In the King's Service 
 
 Assiut entered with his suite, and they were 
 again present in the afternoon at the funeral 
 service, on which occasion "the church was 
 packed full and the large open space at the door 
 and the streets on each side were crowded with 
 people of all religions and nationalities, Copts, 
 Moslems and Greeks, vying with Protestants in 
 showing their respect to one whose good deeds 
 had reached men of every class and condition. 
 At the close of the sermon and by request op- 
 portunity was given to the people to look for 
 the last time on the placid face of the great and 
 good man who had done so much and labored 
 so long in their midst. As the throng passed 
 by in order, the Governor was heard to say to 
 one of his attendants, 'How they loved this 
 man!' As the procession formed in front of 
 the church, a company of British soldiers, de- 
 tailed for the purpose by the commander of the 
 garrison in Assiut, aided in keeping order and 
 prevented the crowd from wholly blocking the 
 narrow streets. The Governor and his attend- 
 ants showed their respect for the deceased by 
 walking to the city limits. They were followed 
 by a long procession of the most intelligent and 
 wealthy residents of Assiut and many from the 
 surrounding villages." 
 
 Dr. Hogg was buried in the ancient Coptic 
 cemetery in a tomb in the midst of a sandy des- 
 
John Hogg 41 
 
 ert, and a fine mausoleum of white marble was 
 erected over it by a generous friend, Mr. Wesa 
 Buktor, a member of the Assiut church, who 
 bore also all the expenses of the funeral. 
 
 Dr. I. G. Bliss, of the American Mission at Estimates of 
 Constantinople, writing shortly afterwards, said: ' ®' 
 
 "It is not too much to say that the whole land is 
 in mourning for this eminent servant of God. 
 He was the prince of Bible workers in this land 
 of darkness. For more than twenty years he 
 was identified, more than any other one, with 
 the work of evangelism in Upper Egypt. Thou- 
 sands heard his earnest words and were moved 
 to examine the Scriptures to see if his teaching 
 were true. One cannot contemplate his work 
 without being deeply impressed with the fact 
 that his was a large faith, always looking upward 
 to the face of the Master and getting cheer from 
 his smiles." 
 
 This large faith was indeed the secret of his 
 buoyant courage, and it was this, coupled with 
 his talent for persevering industry, which ena- 
 bled him in his comparatively short life to ac- 
 complish "more than most men who are spared 
 to a ripe old age." Dr. Strang writes: "I never 
 knew a man who could more truthfully have 
 adopted the language, 'The zeal of Thine house 
 hath eaten me up.' It was the text that first oc- 
 curred to my mind on hearing of his death." 
 
42 In the King's Service 
 
 As a worker "with whom no man of ordinary 
 energy and endurance could bear comparison," 
 he was wonderingly admired. As a "clear, log- 
 ical and rapid thinker, a fluent and eloquent 
 speaker and a ready writer," he was acknowl- 
 edged to be a missionary of no ordinary power 
 and influence. As a teacher, he won the admira- 
 tion, respect and confidence of his pupils and 
 stirred their ambition. In all that he undertook, 
 including music, of which he was passionately 
 fond, he was an enthusiast and inspired enthusi- 
 asm in those with whom he came in contact. 
 
 Writing at the time of his death. Dr. Lansing 
 said: "Our dear brother. Dr. Hogg, is no more 
 with us — he has gone to his everlasting reward. 
 . . . And what shall I say more? To our cove- 
 nant God I wish to say 'I am dumb, because 
 Thou didst it.' In reference to the Church at 
 home and the mission work in this land, I can- 
 not attempt to describe what seems to us the 
 irreparable loss. His praise is in all the churches. 
 Truly God's ways are not as man's ways, nor 
 His thoughts as man's thoughts! We take com- 
 ,fort, however, from the assurance that God 
 makes no mistakes and what we know not now 
 we shall know hereafter." 
 
Martha J. McKown. 
 
THE ELEVATION OF EGYPTIAN 
 WOMANHOOD. 
 
 MARTHA J. McKOWN. 
 
 Born at Elizabeth, Pa., March 22d, 1834. 
 Died at Pittsburg, Pa., on January 30TH, 1897. 
 
 "The Lord giveth the word. The women that publish the 
 tidings are a great host." — Ps. 68: ii. 
 
 When I consider how my light is spent 
 
 Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, 
 And that one talent which is death to hide, 
 
 Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent 
 
 To serve therewith my Maker, and present 
 My true account, lest He returning chide; 
 "Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?" 
 
 I fondly ask: but Patience, to prevent 
 
 That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need 
 
 Either man's work, or his own gifts; who best 
 
 Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best: His state 
 Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed, 
 
 And post o'er land and ocean without rest; 
 They also serve who only stand and wait." 
 
 — Milton on his blindness. 
 
 "And there shall be night no more-; and they need no 
 light of lamp, neither light of sun; for the Lord God shall give 
 them light: and they shall reign forever and ever." — Rev. 22:5. 
 
IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS IN 
 MISS McKOWN'S LIFE. 
 
 1834. Born at Elizabeth, Pa., March 22d. 
 1851. Confessed Christ. 
 1859. Graduated from Monmouth College. 
 i860. Sailed for Egypt, October 6th. 
 
 1865. Leaves Alexandria for Assiut. 
 
 1866. School opened at Assiut. 
 
 1869. Returns to America on furlough. 
 
 1870. Resumes work in Assiut in autumn. 
 
 1874. First boarding-school, with eleven boarders, opened at 
 Assiut, February 23d. 
 
 1877. Public examination of pupils, native girls appearing un- 
 veiled for the first time in presence of men. 
 Rescue of Sudanese slave girls, who are received into 
 Miss McKown's school. 
 
 1881. Leaves for America, on furlough, in May. Obtains $10,- 
 000 from Mr. Wm. Pressly for her Girls' College, 
 which she named the Pressly Memorial Institute. 
 
 1884. Declining health — faces possibility of blindness. 
 
 1887. Second operation, unsuccessful. 
 
 1890. Totally blind. 
 
 1893. Sends her resignation to the Mission Board, December 4th. 
 
 1894. Leaves Assiut for last time, April 29th. 
 
 1895. Enters "Home for the Aged" in Pittsburg. 
 1897. Dies January 30th, at Pittsburg. 
 
II 
 
 MARTHA J. McKOWN 
 
 The Elevation of Egyptian Womanhood 
 By miss REN a L. HOGG 
 
 Ten years ago, the inhabitants of iVssiut, the 
 largest town in Upper Egypt, had become fa- 
 miliarized with the passage through their crook- 
 ed lanes, of a curious little vehicle, the first and 
 last of its kind to be known among them. It 
 was a small Indian carriage, drawn by a donkey, 
 which was slowly and cautiously led by a cross- 
 grained but trustworthy old man. The little car- 
 riage had one sole occupant, a lady past middle 
 age, short, stout, rather deaf and totally blind, 
 but with mind keen and active, memory strong, 
 interests wide and deep, and a nature as ardent 
 i:s on the day she first took up her life-work in 
 down-trodden and neglected Egypt. 
 
 As the little jinricksha slowly wended its way 
 from house to house, the children round the 
 doors, proud of their knowledge and eager to 
 do what they knew to be not quite allowable, 
 v;ould sing out the name of its occupant. "Sitt 
 McKowie. Sitt McKowie,"* they would call, 
 
 *j,"Sitt" is the Arabic equivalent for "Miss" or "Mrs". 
 45 
 
46 In the King's Service 
 
 modifying the final letter to suit their conveni- 
 ence. Then they would scamper off, mischief in 
 their merry, dirty faces, to escape the virtuous 
 indignation of the ill-humored but devoted at- 
 tendant, 
 ^fl'we A day came when the vehicle ceased to go 
 round on its errands of love and the familiar 
 form of its owner was seen no more in Assiut. 
 But her name lives on, and if the lady mission- 
 ary in her round of duties happens to enter 
 some of the less frequented quarters where tour- 
 ists and foreigners are never seen, the little Arab 
 urchins still sing out as before: "Sitt McKowie, 
 Sitt McKowie," with faces as dirty and mis- 
 chievous and hearts as happy in lawlessness as 
 were those of ten years ago. If you ask the lit- 
 tle transgressors who this "Sitt McKowie" is, a 
 laughing "Do I know?" will be their only re- 
 sponse. The name has lingered in the by-ways, 
 but the children who knew her are children no 
 more. They have left their mischief, as an out- 
 grown garment, for the next race of little ones 
 to use. 
 
 Ask the same question in the houses, how- 
 ever; ask the wives and the mothers, and what 
 will you be told? "Sitt McKowie? Ah, she was 
 good! She loved everybody and went about visit- 
 ing in all the houses. She asked for all the sick 
 people, and went to the mournings and tried to 
 get the women to go to church. She loved us 
 very much and came to teach us every week. 
 
Martha J. McKown 47 
 
 Ah, she was a good lady, very, very good! She 
 would go to heaven straight!" 
 
 A loving memory treasured and reverenced 
 in humble homes, and a name still lingering in 
 neglected lanes, echoing on the lips of those who 
 never knew its owner — this was the harvest of 
 love and of fame which Miss McKown, the pio- 
 neer of woman's work in Upper Egypt, could 
 claim. For Miss McKown was the pioneer of 
 wornan's work in Upper Egypt, and she reaped 
 this harvest of love, of admiration and of fame. 
 
 Of Miss McKown's early life we have the Early Life. 
 scantiest information. Scouller's Manual in 
 forms us that Martha J. McKown was born 
 March 22, 1834, at EHzabeth. Pa., taught in the 
 Sabbath school at the age of fourteen and in a 
 public school at sixteen, at seventeen joined the 
 church at New Concord, Ohio, and eight years 
 later, in 1859, graduated from Monmouth Col- 
 lege, and became principal of a ladies' seminary 
 in Oskaloosa, Iowa. From this position the 
 Mission Board called her in the following year. 
 She gave up the work she had so lately begun 
 and in obedience to the call which she recog- 
 nized as the voice of her Lord, she sailed for 
 Egypt on October 6, i860, with Dr. and Mrs. 
 Ewing, also newly appointed to the field. 
 
 In i860, there were two mission stations in At Alexandria. 
 Egypt, one at Cairo and one at Alexandria. A 
 railway had recently brought these two stations 
 nearer to each other, but had not yet penetrated 
 
48 In the King's Service 
 
 further south than Cairo. In each mission sta- 
 tion two ordained missionaries were at work. In 
 Cairo they lived two miles apart, held meetings 
 quietly in their own houses and were watching 
 over a struggling school of about fifty boys and 
 a Bible and book depot, established with the 
 help of the British and Foreign Bible Society. 
 In Alexandria the missionaries lived together, 
 and with them Miss Dales, who had preceded 
 Miss McKown in the field, but whose health 
 was in a precarious condition. Two schools had 
 been established with a fluctuating enrollment. 
 At this time about seventy boys and one hundred 
 girls seem to have been under instruction. Of 
 these, some sixty attended a service on Sabbath 
 mornings, in which they were joined by from 
 fifteen to twenty adults. Neither school had a 
 A Crowded building which would allow for growth. Many 
 School. Qf |.j^g gjj.jg Yvrere small, an advantage because it 
 was thus possible to pack a greater number into 
 the limited accommodations. "When they assem- 
 ble all in one room," wrote Dr. Hogg, "to engage 
 in the opening and closing exercises, every inch 
 of standing ground, from the door to the teach- 
 er's desk, is occupied, and in a few minutes the 
 room gets heated up like an oven. When dis- 
 persed into the different apartments, they begin 
 to breathe more freely, though all but the large 
 room are packed to the door." 
 
 It was to be an assistant in this primitive 
 school, in a dark and narrow lane in Alexan- 
 
Martha J. McKown 49 
 
 dria, that Miss McKown gave up promising 
 openings in the profession of teaching in Ameri- 
 ca and crossed the seas to a foreign shore. 
 
 Such accounts had reached Egypt of Miss Mc- Timely 
 Kown's qualifications as made her arrival spe- 
 cially longed for, and letters written later prove 
 that the expectations of the missionaries were 
 not disappointed. "I told you," wrote Dr. Hogg, 
 "that we were expecting a young lady from 
 America; it is now with great pleasure that I 
 tell you of her safe arrival. Miss McKown seems 
 to be just such a person as we had wished to 
 have among us. Her previous training must 
 have been peculiarly adapted to fit her for mis- 
 sion work." And Miss Dales adds: "Our 
 hands have been greatly strengthened and our 
 hearts cheered by the arrival of a missionary 
 whose qualifications and piety will render her 
 eminently u.^eful in her new sphere of labor." 
 
 Miss McKown remained only five years in 
 Alexandria, but during that period the girls' 
 school expel ienced sundry vicissitudes. There 
 was first an influx of refugees from Syria, driven 
 to Egypt at the time of the great massacres, 
 an influx that brought up the roll of the school 
 from one hundred to one hundred and fifty, but 
 rendered the work, with few and inefifcient help- 
 ers, extremely difficult. But soon the tide turn- 
 ed. A hundred of the children were Jewesses, and 
 some of these began to inquire in their homes 
 why their forefathers had crucified their Mes- 
 
50 In the King's Service 
 
 siah. The Jews, taking alarm, opened two 
 schools, into which they gathered their chil- 
 dren by threats and bribes. For a while the 
 rooms of the mission school contained many 
 empty benches and some pure air. But by ones 
 and twos the children drifted back till one hund- 
 red and nineteen were again upon the roll. 
 //; Sole Almost from the first. Miss McKown had 
 "''^^' ceased to be a mere assistant. A few months 
 after her arrival, Miss Dales became quite ill, 
 and was compelled to leave Alexandria for the 
 winter. When she had sufficiently recruited, a 
 new school in Cairo claimed her help, and Miss 
 McKown took over the full responsibility of 
 the Alexandria school, working in the close at- 
 mosphere and damp heat to the full limit of 
 her strength. 
 
 These years, however, full though they were 
 of work and usefulness, were in a sense but 
 years of apprenticeship for the real labor of 
 her life. It was impossible, from Alexandria, 
 to touch the true heart of Egypt. It was im- 
 possible to make of a school, whose pupils were 
 drawn from the medley of foreign nationalities 
 that jostled each other at Egypt's outer door, a 
 lever that would raise Egyptian womanhood to 
 a higher plane. In 1865, Miss McKown turned 
 her face southward. At her own request, she 
 was appointed to Assiut and accompanied Dr. 
 Hogg and his family established a new center 
 
Martha J. McKown 51 
 
 of Protestant influence in the very heart of Up- 
 per Egypt. 
 
 Assiut is three hundred and fifty miles south Ass:ut. 
 of Alexandria. The first hundred miles were 
 speedily covered, but at Cairo the railway ter- 
 minated, and it was necessary to make the re- 
 mainder of the journey by river in a small daha- 
 biyeh of the rudest sort. The roof of the tiny 
 apartment at the stern, set apart for Miss Mc- 
 Kown's use, was so low that she could not stand 
 erect, but here she enjoyed the company of hap- 
 py thoughts. The whole party were full of joy 
 and hope. In after years, Miss McKown loved 
 to recall thDse weeks. It seemed that never in 
 her life had she been so glad of heart. Each 
 day brought new experiences and new glimpses 
 of Egyptian peasant life. The life before them 
 seemed bright with limitless possibilities. Everv- 
 where about them they saw the waiting fields, 
 and the fact that God had sent them forth as 
 laborers seem.ed the earnest of a harvest to be 
 gathered in. 
 
 At last Assiut was reached, and the mission- 
 aries were accommodated temporarily in the 
 house of Mr. Wasif Khayatt, who was already 
 secretly a Protestant, and held the position of 
 American Consular Agent at the time. 
 
 As this town- was to be Miss McKown's fu- 
 ture home, it will be well to get a picture both 
 of what it is and what it was; the more so, be- 
 cause the towns of Upper Egypt resemble each 
 
52 In the King's Service 
 
 other so much in their general characteristics, 
 
 that, seeing one, we may be said in a measure 
 
 to have seen them all. 
 
 The New 'pj^g inhabitants of Assiut are rated at present 
 Assi ut 
 
 at fifty thousand, but the town has, of course, 
 
 shared in the increase that has doubled the 
 population of Egypt within the last forty-five 
 years. There is a new Assiut growing outside 
 of the old boundaries. Fine houses and pleasant 
 gardens are springing up everywhere, and many 
 public buildings, prominent among them mis- 
 sion buildings, attract the attention of the trav- 
 eler. Beyond these, through the pleasant months 
 of winter, stretch north and south the rich 
 green fields, skirted on the east by the broad 
 river, ever studded with white sails. Dykes run 
 in different directions, bordered by young trees, 
 which, though of no account at present, prom- 
 ise shady avenues for the future. Towards sun- 
 set the principal dykes become lively with car- 
 riages. The wealthier inhabitants go out for 
 their daily drive, perhaps along the bank of the 
 Nile, or more hkely to the new many-gated 
 bridge and oam which, a mile to the north, keeps 
 the water of the river under lock and key. From 
 here the oM town itself looks beautiful, its palm 
 trees and minarets standing in clear outline 
 against a background of low limestone hills and 
 ever-changing sky. 
 
 In strong contrast to the spacious and mod- 
 
Martha J. McKown 53 
 
 ern appearance of new Assiut stands old Assint Old Assiut. 
 in large degree untouched by the passage of the 
 years. Once confined within the Hmits of a wall, 
 its houses are huddled together as though every 
 inch of soil were precious. There is that curious 
 irregularity about it that belongs to old towns 
 everywhere, but is especially characteristic of 
 the East. Each house shapes itself without re- 
 gard to its neighbor's position, height or angles. 
 High or low, straight or crooked, plastered or 
 of crumbling brick, they are crowded together 
 in confusion, looking in some quarters as 
 though, after they were built, the ground had 
 received a jar that threw everything a little out 
 of gear. Here the plaster is peeling off, there 
 a wall of sun-dried brick lies in ruins, the upper 
 stories overhang the lower, and no two build- 
 ings are at the same angle with the street. 
 
 There is still another point of view from which a House 
 to regard Assiut. Station yourself on the fiat Top View. 
 roof of one of its higher dwellings, and imme- 
 diately the town assumes a different aspect. Its 
 crooked lanes disappear, and every house is 
 touched by other houses on each of its four 
 sides. Imagine a honey comb with cells vary- 
 ing in form and size, and you have the apparent 
 arrangement of the city. Woman's life lies open 
 before you — woman's life as it is lived by all but 
 the wealthier classes. It is a life that is lived 
 largely in the open — not in the rooms so much 
 as in the courts and on the flat roofs of the 
 
54 In the King's Service 
 
 dwellings. Women washing, baking, cooking, 
 women mourning, smoking, gossiping, women 
 tending the cattle, and women nursing their ba- 
 bies — any or all of these things may be seen 
 from such a point of view. 
 
 But look deeper and you will see women ex- 
 isting, not living, idling their lives away when 
 wise and patient industry would change a dwell- 
 ing into a home, carelessly indulgent and fool- 
 ishly passionate, ruining the children who are 
 to be the hope of the future. 
 
 It was not modern Assiut, but this old Assiut 
 that we have viewed from the housetops, that 
 cast its spell over Miss McKown's heart. It was 
 for this town and countless others like it, that, 
 for thirty years, she worked and prayed. This 
 closely-packed labyrinth of a city became the 
 dearest place on earth to her. 
 
 The missionaries made their first home in a 
 native house that Mr. Wasif Khayatt rented for 
 them. It was just such a haphazard, irregular 
 building as those we have described, and pack- 
 ed in among others of its kind. For the first 
 time. Miss McKown found herself in the very 
 center of a strictly Egyptian population, simple 
 and kindly for the most part, though densely ig- 
 norant, unimproved, but also unspoiled by con- 
 tact with the West. 
 
 How to get into vital touch with the women 
 around was the first problem to be solved. Cu- 
 riosity brought many to the house, and such 
 
Martha J. McKown 55 
 
 visits could be returned, but curiosity when sat- 
 isfied loses its edge, and means must be used 
 that would establish relations more sympathetic 
 and enduring. Hope naturally turned to the 
 young, and one room in the house was imme- 
 diately set apart as a girls' schoolroom. 
 
 The school opened with three pupils, but be- Opening 
 fore long there were thirty on the roll. A few " School. 
 of these giris had already learned the alphabet 
 at a native school for boys. They now made 
 rapid progress, so that in a short time Miss Mc- 
 Kown had a class of ten or twelve who could 
 read the Bible and "Line Upon Line," which had 
 just then been translated into Arabic. The pleas- 
 ure of the girls in the simple Bible stories was 
 only exceeded by the teacher's pleasure in their 
 progress, and as they repeated at home to their 
 mothers everything they learned, there was soon 
 a little circle of women whose curiosity in re- 
 gard to the newcomers had been replaced by 
 a genuine interest and respect. 
 
 The missionary party had reached Assiut on ffgatand 
 February 20th,and summer was close at hand. As Cholera. 
 month followed month, the heat grew more in- 
 tense, and the house was not so built as to af- 
 ford much protection from it. This heat with 
 its attendant ills thinned the ranks of the schol- 
 ars, and it was only those who had made the 
 greatest progress, whose interest did not flag. 
 When at length, towards the end of August, 
 the rising waters of Egypt's annual inundation 
 
56 In the King's Service 
 
 gave promise of cooler days to come, a terri- 
 ble scourge of cholera swept down upon the 
 town. Out of every forty, one was taken and, 
 as an Egyptian woman must attend the mourn- 
 ing of even her most distant relative, there was 
 not a household in Assiut but had mourning 
 rites to perform. Wailing was heard on every 
 hand. In the silent nights, sudden shriekings 
 from some i;ew quarter would announce that the 
 Angel of Death had entered another house. It 
 almost seemed as though God v/as again at con- 
 troversy with Egypt, and the Reaper was gath- 
 ering every first born. And while this wild and 
 unrestrained grief was raging without, the mis- 
 sionaries met with their first bereavement. Dr. 
 and Mrs. Hogg's eldest daughter, a little girl of 
 four, was taken home after a few days' illness. 
 The disease was croup, and had to be fought 
 without a doctor's help. The little one had been 
 singularly attractive and by her happy, lively 
 dispostion and loving ways had won a warm 
 place in many hearts. 
 
 To Miss McKown, it was as if her sister's child 
 had died, and that child almost as dear to her as 
 if she were her own. She always identified her- 
 self with the family with which she lived in such 
 a way thai its joys and sorrows became her 
 own, its slightest interest a personal concern. 
 
 The younger child was next laid low, and for 
 a month continuous nursing had to be added to 
 other cares. At last, having persistently stuck 
 
Martha J. McKown 57 
 
 to their post while every circumstance was 
 against them, they were forced, in the glorious 
 weather of early December, to abandon it in 
 search of health. It was some years before,taught 
 by hard experience, they reluctantly accepted 
 it as a fact that for the sake of their work they 
 must leave their work during the hottest months 
 of summer. 
 
 Meanwhile the history of the little school was Spiritual 
 somewhat varied. It was open for only five ^^^"'*^- 
 months in 1866, and the attendance ranged from 
 five to fifteen. Next year, during six and a half 
 months, fifty-nine were enrolled, of whom thirty 
 were Moslems and the remainder Copts; but the 
 attendance fluctuated between twelve and twen- 
 ty. In 1868, the attendance, though steadier, 
 never rose above eighteen. An earnest spirit, 
 however, was evident. Most of the pupils 
 were daughters of converts or relatives 
 of young men who were under training 
 for the ministry. Five had joined the 
 church and led, in turn, in prayer at the open- 
 ing and closing of the school. Three went to 
 different houses to teach women who were anx- 
 ious to learn to read, and four, providing their 
 own bread and clothing, were allowed to board, 
 in a simple way, within the building, and so 
 brought under an influence more close and con- 
 stant. 
 
 This year, therefore, we see for the first time, A Girls' 
 in this little school, a minature of the girls' col- Co/%e. 
 lege of the future. At last its main character- 
 
58 In the King's Service 
 
 istics were all present. Its pupils were drawn 
 from a Christian community. They were to be 
 trained that they in their turn might train oth- 
 ers, either by word and work, or by the power of 
 a changed life; and this training was to be per- 
 fected where possible, by taking the pupils en- 
 tirely away from their old surroundings, and al- 
 lowing them to live day and night in a new at- 
 mosphere. Meanwhile they would be neither 
 pauperized nor Westernized, for they had to 
 provide at least their own clothes and food, and 
 no change was made in their style of life but 
 such as was necessary in order to greater clean- 
 liness and order. 
 
 It may be that the school had assumed this 
 character as the mere result of circumstances, 
 rather than as the outcome of a definite plan 
 on the part of the missionary, but it was not 
 long before Miss McKown grasped the situa- 
 tion, and responded to it, adopting that clearly 
 defined policy that Dr. Hogg was following with 
 signal success. 
 
 Her work, however, was interrupted by a nec- 
 essary furlough in America just as this interest- 
 ing stage was reached. When she returned in 
 the autumn of 1870, she found herself reheved 
 somewhat from the daily class work of the 
 school, by the arrangement that had been made 
 for it during her absence. A Syrian helper un- 
 dertook a large proportion of the teaching for 
 the next two years, and she was free to de- 
 
Martha J. McKown 59 
 
 vote her main strength to house-to-house work 
 among the women. 
 
 In a work so absorbing as this, and a field so ^^^ Present 
 
 vast, it would have been easy for one of Miss "" ® 
 
 . Future. 
 
 McKown's ardent temperament, with her pow- 
 er of winning her way into women's hearts, to 
 have lost sight of more distant issues, and thus, 
 while laboring devotedly for the present, to 
 have reaped in the end a much smaller harvest. 
 But Miss McKown was saved from this mis- 
 take. Her own clear judgment, aided by the 
 influence of her fellow-laborers, led her to take 
 a broad view of her field and enabled her to ar- 
 rive at a clear conception of the extent of the 
 problem to be faced. 
 
 More th^ai nine-tenths of the population of A Strategic 
 Egypt are Moslems and, roughly speaking, for Pof'cy- 
 every twelve Moslems there is one Copt. The 
 missionaries found the Copts Christian in noth- 
 ing but the name. They found them priest- 
 ridden, superstitious, ignorant and corrupt. The 
 Moslems despised them, not only because they 
 were a conquered race, but because the lifeless 
 and mutilated religion they clung to deserved 
 contempt, an'l, despising them, they despised 
 also the Chiistianity they pretended to repre- 
 sent. To convince the Moslem that Jesus is 
 divine, this Coptic valley of dry bones must be 
 breathed upon by the Spirit of God. The gos- 
 pel of Christ must prove itself the power of 
 God unto salvation to the Copt first, then also 
 
6o In the King's Service 
 
 to the Moslem. The little Protestant church, 
 newly planted in the land, must be made for the 
 Moslems, if for no other reason, the very oppo- 
 site, in every point, of the old church which they 
 despised, it had been ignorant, this must be 
 educated ; its worship had been elaborately cere- 
 monial, this must be simple and spiritual; it had 
 cared for itself alone, this must be trained to be 
 an army of workers. Such a church would be an 
 instrument with which God could work miracles. 
 To turn the whole attack against Mohammedan- 
 ism, to the neglect of these Copts, would be like 
 attempting to cut down an oak with a sharp 
 penknife while a blunt ax and a grindstone lay 
 ready to hand. The early missionaries wisely 
 planned to sharpen the blunt ax, stained with the 
 rust of centuries, and then to guide its strokes 
 towards the felling of that tree whose branches 
 had so long spread darkness over the land and 
 harbored every evil vice. 
 
 Pioneers, we have said, must be people who in 
 an unpromising present have a vision of a radiant 
 future, and can work, wisely and hopefully 
 through dark days, to make this ideal real. In 
 the years whose history we are tracing, when 
 the missionaries at Assiut dreamed dreams, what 
 was it that they saw? 
 A Vision of They saw established in this center two institu- 
 the Future, tions growing side by side, one for young men 
 and ti'iv other for young women. They saw them 
 increasing in stability and usefulness, lengthen- 
 
Martha J. McKown 6i 
 
 ing their cords and strengthening their stakes, 
 till they sheltered under their roofs young men 
 and women from the very limits of Egypt, and 
 included in their curriculum all the subjects nec- 
 essary for a broad and solid education. They 
 saw these institutions Christian to the very core, 
 deeply, aggressively Christian, keeping ever be- 
 fore their pupils, as the very object of their ex- 
 istence, the winning of Egypt for Christ. They 
 saw them making ministers, evangelists, Bible- 
 women and teachers — agencies suited to the peo- 
 ple and within the ability of their poverty to sup- 
 port. They saw the darkness of Egypt brighten- 
 ed by the light of Christian homes, owing the 
 power that keeps them sweet and pure to a 
 training received within college walls. 
 
 Their dreams have long since been in large 
 part realized, and the institutions they founded 
 are still conducted on the lines then laid down. 
 How wisely they planned is evidenced by the 
 fact that to-day there are 224 mission stations, 
 of which 213 are manned by natives alone, and 
 that the present total of native workers is 438, 
 of whom the large majority have received their 
 training at Assiut. What the statistics would 
 have been had the early missionaries allowed 
 their hunger for souls to blind them to the duty 
 of training the saved to become soul-winners, it 
 is impossible for us to guess. 
 
 In the annual report for 1874 there are two Earnest 
 passages of special interest. The one is penned Appeals. 
 
62 In the King's Service 
 
 by Miss McKown and entitled "Pressing Need 
 For Girls' Boarding School." The other is an 
 appeal by Dr. Hogg that Assiut's "Literary 
 Academy ' be given a chance to grow into a train- 
 ing college. The first appeal is warm and earnest, 
 the second is fairly scorching, and both are cal- 
 culated to carry conviction to the reader. The 
 two schemes received at once the approval of the 
 Board, and as much money aid as the Church's 
 exchequer could afiford. 
 
 In 1870, the missionaries had left their first 
 home for a flat built over the new Protestant 
 ch.irch, just beyond the west gate of the town. 
 To the right of this, stood the brick building- in 
 which the Literary Academy was uncomfortably 
 accommodated. To the left stood a native house 
 whi n could be entered from the missionaries' 
 residence. The latter was now rented and the 
 new school was opened in it on February 23, 
 1874, with eleven boarders, eight from Assiut 
 and three from Nakhaleh. By the close of the 
 year the number had more than doubled and 
 seven difTerent towns were represented. 
 Trained "Twenty of the girls are from Protestant fam- 
 to Work. j]jg^ ,. j^/jjj^^ McKown writes, "and the others are 
 daughter.":; of enlightened Copts. All but four 
 provide their own clothes and their bread, which 
 constitutes two-thirds of the whole cost of their 
 food. As we do not wish to accustom the girls 
 to what we cannot expect them to have in their 
 future homes, we have furnished the house in a 
 
Martha J. McKown 63 
 
 very plain style. The beds are laid on the floor, 
 and the meals are taken from low, round tables, 
 without the use of knives and forks. The board- 
 ing school consists of three rooms, a pantry and 
 a kitchen. These have to be used for recitation, 
 dining and sleeping rooms. The flat roof serves 
 for a play-ground. 
 
 "No servant being employed in the establish- 
 ment except one for marketing, all the domestic 
 work of the school is done by the boarders, and 
 the larger girls are taught to starch and iron, 
 and lo do the morning work in Mr. Hogg's 
 house. No exceptions are made in this matter 
 in favor of any one. Not only are the girls con- 
 tented, but happy, and they have made commend- 
 able progress in the ordinary branches of study, 
 as well as in acquiring habits of cleanliness and 
 order." 
 
 In 1875, she had to refuse girls for lack of Egyptian 
 room and was making efforts to get a larger ^o"^<^"l^ood 
 
 house. In 1876, building had to be undertaken, Z^ ^f '""'""' 
 
 ,.,,.., ^ , . ' Education. 
 
 and SIX additional rooms, a bath-room, oven and 
 
 play ground put the school on a better footing 
 and rendered possible many improvements. In 
 1877, an innovation was decided upon and car- 
 ried through, with many misgivings but with en- 
 tire success. A public examination was held, and. 
 for the first time in Upper Egypt, native girls ap- 
 peared unveiled before an audience of men. To 
 the majority of the Copts and Moslems present, 
 what they saw was little short of a revelation. 
 
64 In the King's Service 
 
 The girls answered bravely and carried them- 
 selves well. The men were charmed. For the 
 first time, it occurred to them that Egyptian 
 women were not inherently lower than others, 
 that all that they wanted was time and opportu- 
 nity to rise. 
 
 In 1878, the boarding school was full, though 
 a monthly tuition fee of 25 cents had been de- 
 manned. The house had been enlarged to its 
 utmost capacity; the walls were giving way; and 
 yet no more than 28 boarders and 34 day-schol- 
 ars could be suitably accommodated and the 
 painful duty of refusing applicants became fre- 
 quent. From this time forward, each report con- 
 tains an appeal from Miss McKown for a per- 
 man(*nt building, a building in which there would 
 be room to grow and which would be more 
 worthy of the ideal towards which she was 
 working. To obtain this became ever more ab- 
 sorbingly her heart's desire. 
 Milestones of There were other milestones different in char- 
 Experience. ^cter from those which we have mentioned. 
 There were days when one and another of the 
 boarding school household made public profes- 
 sion of their faith, and an earnest interest in 
 spiritual things gladdened the hearts of the mis- 
 sion circle. There were days, when one and 
 another went out from the parent home to es- 
 tablish homes of their own, such homes as 
 were new in Egypt; and two of the number, after 
 giving a bright example of patience in suffering 
 
Martha J. McKown 65 
 
 and of faith in the valley of shadow were trans- 
 ferred to the home above. There were days also 
 when girls were sent out, with prayers and fears 
 and earnest counsels, to become teachers of 
 others, where prejudice was strong against any 
 woman attempting such work and where the 
 smallest indiscretion would, by the power of 
 many tongues, be magnified into a crime. In 
 1880, Miss McKown reports that out of fifty-five 
 girls who had been received into the boarding 
 school since its establishment in 1874, thirteen 
 had been engaged in teaching; three had be- 
 come teachers within its walls and two were at 
 work in the Assiut day school, which was now 
 enrolling 165 pupils. 
 
 Meanwhile, one incident had occurred that 
 b.oke in on the school-life with something of 
 thrill and excitement. 
 
 It was in May of 1877, towards the close of a s/ave 
 busy day. The missionaries had just returned Dealers. 
 from the usual evening service, always attended 
 by the boys and girls of both schools, and were 
 taking a little breathing spell before settling 
 down to their remaining duties, when some 
 school boys entered in a state of agitation. They 
 wore black boys — fine fellows, of whom much 
 was expected in the future. They had been 
 brought from the Sudan by Lord Aberdeen, 
 were freed from slavery and were being support- 
 ed and educated at his expense. Their story 
 was that, returning from service, their attention 
 
66 In the King's Service 
 
 had been attracted by two evil-looking Arabs, 
 who had with them three black girls, from twelve 
 to sixteen years of age, whose appearance sug- 
 gested that they were new arrivals from the far 
 south. They had noted them closely enough to 
 feel assured that the men were slave-dealers, and 
 had come to secure Dr. Hogg's aid in rescuing 
 the girls fiom their captors. A recent agree- 
 ment with England had rendered the introduc- 
 tion of new slaves into Egypt illegal, punishable, 
 indeed, by tr^msportation to the White Nile, a 
 euphonious synonym for death; but not with- 
 standing that, there were difficulties in the way 
 of rescue. Dr. Hogg showed the boys that if he 
 should try to take the girls away by force, the 
 men would declare them to be their wives, not 
 slaves, an J might frighten the girls into acquies- 
 cence. To persevere in the rescue without proof 
 might involve the mission in troublesome litiga- 
 tion. '"But," he added, "if the girls sought pro- 
 tection in our house and would affirm that they 
 were slaves, we would do our utmost to protect 
 them." The boys interpreted the answer accord- 
 ing to the spirit of the speaker. They took it to 
 mean. "I represent a mission and must not drag 
 its name into anything in which the law would 
 not uphold me. But you are free men. Do 
 whatever the manhood in your blood prompts 
 you to do and be sure of our support." 
 A Rescue A little later, men and girls found themselves 
 Party, fallowed bv six stalwart lads, each armed with 
 
Martha J. McKown 67 
 
 a heavy club. The men immediately took to 
 flight, leaving the girls to their rescuers without 
 the striking of a blow. A few words revealed 
 the fact that rescuers and rescued had a country 
 and language in common, and that the girls were 
 the last of a gang of slaves who had been stolen 
 from their home, brought north by a weary 
 journey along desert roads, and were being sold 
 off secretly in Egypt. The boys, having explain- 
 ed to them to whom they were taking them, and 
 the kmdness that they might expect, brought 
 thf^ni to the mission house and Dr. Hogg de- 
 livered them over to Miss McKown's care. 
 
 Under the single peasant's gown, placed on 
 them by way of disguise, they still wore their 
 original Sudanese costume, a little apron of 
 fringed leather and a string of beads. For the 
 rest they were clothed in evil-smelling oil, with 
 whirh also their hair, plaited into a thousand 
 braids, was saturated. A bath was the first es- 
 sential and when this was followed by clean 
 clothing and good food, the girls began to real- 
 ize that they had, indeed, reached a haven of 
 rest. Later in the evening a stormy interview 
 occurred between the missionary and the two 
 men, who presented themselves under the guise 
 of aggrieved husbands, resolved to regain pos- 
 session of their legal wives. But the girls were 
 finally brought in and allowed to make their 
 own choice, and when they declared the men to 
 be slave-dealers, refused to go with them and 
 
68 In the King's Service 
 
 sought the protection of the missionaries, the 
 men begar to realize themselves to be in a posi- 
 Evil tion of some danger. They stopped their bra- 
 Overawed. yado and when Dr. Hogg warned them that 
 should they make any further effort to secure 
 the girls or interfere with them in any way in 
 the future, he would hand them over to justice 
 and sec that they received the full measure of the 
 law, they were glad to escape unmolested and 
 departed to be seen again no more. 
 
 Three years later the three girls were bap- 
 tized and their earnest Christian lives have since 
 fulfilled the promise of that day. The eldest act- 
 ed as nurse for some time in a mission family, 
 and aftc a short experience of married life, died. 
 The other two showed considerable ability and 
 were etnployed in the school to which they owed 
 so much. One of these, after doing faithful work 
 as a teacher for many years, left for a home of 
 her own in Cairo. The other still acts as ma- 
 tron in the school. She is a fear to evil-doers, 
 but a motherly friend to all the girls and a valued 
 and trustei helper to those in charge. 
 On Furlough. 7;^^ ^j^j,^, f^r Miss McKown's furlough was 
 again drawing near. In 1869, she had gone home 
 just as lier b.ttle school was crystallizing into the 
 pattern her judgment approved. Having had a 
 summer's rest in Scotland in 1876, she did not 
 make her second visit to America till 1881. At 
 that time, her school had again reached an inter- 
 esting juncture in its career. 
 
Martha J. McKown 69 
 
 A hundred different circumstances impressed ^^® 
 upon thcsi; in charge of the college and board- J ° °^^ 
 ing school the necessity for building. But in 
 Egypt, a new building is a heaven, the road to 
 which lie;: through purgatory. If you would 
 build, you must buy land. If you would buy 
 land, you must enter a labyrinth of negotiations. 
 If you would negotiate, it must be with children 
 of Heth, who, while they are saying to Abra- 
 ham, "Take the field and the cave that is in the 
 field," are secretly deciding to charge him ten- 
 fold because he is not a Hittite, if not also, be- 
 tween the drafting and the signing of the deed, 
 to cheat him out of some small corner. 
 
 Wlien r\Iis> McKown left for America in May, 
 i88j, part of the lajid for the college had been 
 bought and buildings were in course of erection. 
 Naturally, the site for the girls' school which 
 was to occupy a portion of the same garden, 
 seemed also practically within reach, though 
 three years were to elapse before the desired 
 position was actually secured. In February, 1880, 
 Dr. Alexander had written "After five years of 
 repeated disappointments, failures and discour- 
 agements, we have been able, only a month ago, 
 to begin to purchase a lot for building." The 
 land in question was a large garden situated be- 
 tween the town and the railway, nearly four 
 acres of which are now mission property. Were 
 some one to write a complete history of this pur- 
 chase from the early negotiations of 1875 till 
 
7© In the King's Service 
 
 the last portion was secured in the spring of 
 1904, it would make a strange and interesting 
 volume, and its reader would ever after regard 
 an Egyptian title deed as a monument of patience 
 and of policy and of several less virtuous charac- 
 teristics. 
 
 „ .°"^^ Miss McKown went home nominally to rest, 
 Raising. • . 
 
 but really to bend every energy towards securmg 
 
 funds for building. Money is not a topic that a 
 missionary loves, but sometimes the missionary 
 loves something else so keenly, that for its sake 
 the topic is endured. Love for the school car- 
 ried Miss McKown through many an arduous 
 task during her year and a half in America. 
 
 It was a day when hope was at the ebb and 
 the sky had lost its rose tints that she called at 
 the house of Mr. William Pressly, of Mon- 
 mouth. That day was painted in most vivid col- 
 ors in the picture gallery of Miss McKown's 
 memory. It was no wonder that she liked to 
 recall it. Even to the listener, it made a striking 
 picture, in which the simplicity of Mr. Pressly's 
 character and surroundings brought into strong 
 relief the magnificence of his self-sacrificing gen- 
 erosity. 
 A Generous Mr. Pressly's response to Miss McKown's 
 Response, ^j^^ ^^g ^ g.jf|. ^j $io,ooo, of which half was to 
 be spent on the new building and the remainder 
 v/as to constitute a fund to aid in supporting pu- 
 pils too poor to defray the entire expenses of 
 their board and education. With the moneys 
 
Martha J. McKown 71 
 
 secured from other sources, this munificent 
 donation seemed to sweep away every remain- 
 ing difficulty, and it was with a full heart that 
 Miss McKown christened the girls' college of the 
 future the Pressly Memorial Institute. 
 
 It was not till 1886, however, four years after 
 her return to Egypt, that the boarding school 
 was established in its new quarters. Meanwhile 
 shadows had been gathering around Miss Mc- 
 Kown's life. The first shadow in large part 
 passed away. She had an acute attack of facial 
 paralysis and to her sensitive nature the dis- 
 figurement it caused was pecuHarly hard to bear. 
 By slow degrees, however, the affection dis- 
 appeared and at length the only trace remaining 
 was a slight immobility of the upper lip. 
 
 The next trial was more far-reaching in its A Dark 
 results, vitally influencing her whole future. In Shadow. 
 the summer of 1884, she accompanied Dr. Hogg 
 in one of his evangeHstic tours in the Nile boat. 
 One evening, while enjoying from the deck the 
 beauty of the moonlight on the water, she was 
 struck by a shadow on the surface of the moon. 
 Calling Dr. Hogg's attention to the strange ap- 
 pearance, she discovered that it was visible to no 
 eyes but her own. Recalling the experience of 
 her father, who had spent many years of his 
 life in blindness, Miss McKown was not slow to 
 read in the altered face of the moon a warning 
 of approaching night. As soon as possible, she 
 consulted the most skillful occulist in Egypt, 
 
72 In the King's Service 
 
 and the story of the next five years is one of re- 
 peated interruptions owing to long absences in 
 Alexandria under his care. In November of 
 1884, she underwent an operation. There was 'no 
 hope of having perfect sight restored, but it was 
 thought that the disease might be checked. Af- 
 ter bearing with cheerful courage a month of 
 darkness, inactivity and suspense, she discovered 
 that the experiment had proved not merely fu- 
 tile, but injurious. She returned to her post in 
 the school, in the care of which Miss Kyle had 
 recently been associated with her, taught her 
 classes, visited in the homes, went over plans 
 for the new building and faced with resolute 
 cheerfulness the uncertainties of the future. 
 The Darkness The year 1886 was darkened by further trials. 
 Deepens, j^^ death of Dr. Hogg, the breaking-up of her 
 adopted home, weary months of fruitless medical 
 treatment, and the voluntary relinquishment of 
 all connection with the Pressly Memorial In- 
 stitute, were crowded into one half-year. What 
 all this cost her warm, keen nature, of battle and 
 pain, we can hardly estimate, but that she came 
 out of the struggle conqueror is evidenced by 
 her remarking in. regard to the succeeding 
 months, that the evening of that year had veri- 
 fied the promise that "at eventide it shall be 
 light." 
 
 The Assiut Girls' Boarding School began its 
 life in the Pressly Memorial Institute on Sep- 
 tember 14 of that year, under the superintend- 
 
Martha J. McKown 73 
 
 ence of Miss Kyle and Miss Jessie Hogg. 
 Though Miss McKown was to have no further 
 share in its responsibihties, lest she should be 
 tempted to overtax her failing sight, the increas- 
 ing prosperity of the school was a joy to her 
 heart, and she felt herself tied to it by bonds 
 that not even death could sever. 
 
 Her remaining years in Egypt were devoted Harim 
 specially to harim work. It was no new enter- ^ofk- 
 prise to Miss McKown. She had entered upon 
 it vigorously during her first years in Assiut, 
 sometimes accomplishing as many as twenty-five 
 visits in a week, and though more and more en- 
 croached upon by the growing demands of the 
 school, this work had always claimed a portion 
 of her time. In this, as in her school work, she 
 was following a definite plan of campaign, in 
 which the missionary was to be not merely a 
 worker, but a leader of workers. But here it 
 was more difficult, for the prejudice against an 
 Egyptian woman's visiting from house to house 
 is so unconquerable that Bible women can be 
 secured, for the most part, only from the ranks 
 of elderly widows and blind girls. But Miss Mc- 
 Kown did all that she could with her material, 
 and those who worked under her care like to 
 talk of the lessons she used to give them, the 
 prayer meetings she held for them, and the care 
 with which she made their first days easy, call- 
 ing beforehand at difficult houses, or arranging 
 
74 111 the King's Service 
 
 to drop in at the time of their visit, till they be- 
 gan to feel at home in their unfamiliar sphere. 
 Her first work after resigning the care of the 
 
 On the school was to undertake a trip south in the 'Ibis,' 
 '*■ visiting every town and village in which there 
 was a nucleus of Protestants. She was absent 
 three months and reached a point 230 miles 
 south of Assiut. She had a three-fold purpose 
 in her tour — to gather pupils for the Pressly 
 Memorial Institute; when that was impossible, to 
 persuade the mothers to let their girls attend the 
 village schools for boys; and lastly, to see what 
 could be done for the women themselves. She 
 returned with this latter problem heavy on her 
 heart, feeling that every adequate plan she could 
 suggest involved an impossible outlay of work- 
 ers and money. 
 
 She then settled down to the work in Assiut, 
 conducting meetings, teaching in the houses and 
 receiving visitors. But she found that, in spite 
 of every caution, the little sight remaining to her 
 was failing and in November of 1887, a second 
 operation was decided upon as the last hope, 
 however fragile, of escaping total blindness. 
 
 A Last It was in the Alexandria mission house that 
 Operation. ^-^^ operation was performed. She went up on 
 the roof the evening before, to watch what her 
 heart told her would be the last sunset she would 
 see on earth. What she passed through in that 
 hall hour, who can tell? It was no easy task 
 to give up the manifold joys of sight. She had 
 
Martha J. McKown 75 
 
 a keen enjoyment of nature. All beauty of color 
 or form appealed to her. She could talk for five 
 minutes interestingly about a single flower she 
 had admired, and a mere description of a country 
 scene in a letter was a pleasure that she might 
 remember months after its perusal. Such trifles 
 as these help one to measure the extent of her 
 trial. 
 
 A text that Miss Strang read to her just before 
 the operation next day, strengfthened her for the 
 ordeal and was never forgotten. "Thou wilt 
 light my candle; the Lord my God will enlighten 
 my darkness." She could trust herself to the 
 faithful love of God. 
 
 The operation, though unsuccessful in what Totally 
 it attempted, did not result in immediate and *'""'• 
 total blindness. What of vision remained might 
 to one with perfect eyesight seem of no prac- 
 tical value; but it was light, and light is precious. 
 For two years more, she was still frequently un- 
 der the oculist's care. In 1890, however, we 
 find her rejoicing that at last she is free from 
 this continuous strain, and that, while totally 
 blind, she can henceforth give herself wholly and 
 uninterruptedly to her work. It was then that, 
 growing nervous of donkey-riding as a means of 
 conveyance, she began the daily journeys in the 
 little jinricksha under Salih's care. 
 
 Amusing stories linger in the town of the old 
 man's surliness and Miss McKown's unfailing 
 kindness to him. The length of her visits was 
 
76 In the King's Service 
 
 one of his trials; the insignificant, out-of-the- 
 way houses she deigned to favor with her pres- 
 ence, another. While he sat and waited by the 
 Httle donkey carriage, he would air his griev- 
 ances to the world. But when Miss McKown 
 would return, feeling her slow way with out- 
 stretched hands along some crooked alley too 
 narrow for even that small vehicle to enter, she 
 would meet him with polite apologies and com- 
 miserations, and his surliness would vanish be- 
 fore her appreciation of his good and faithful 
 service. 
 Blindness Doubtless her blindness was in itself a talent. 
 °^" ■ If she preached resignation, what woman could 
 resist her words? If she urged to energy and 
 effort, the fact that she, though blind, worked 
 on, appealed more irresistibly than her message. 
 Her misfortune was of a kind to awaken the 
 warmest sympathy in the people's hearts and 
 thev still recall with pity her timid caution, the 
 children's rudeness, and the vicious barking of 
 the dogs. Her endurance of such trials on their 
 behalf and her unfailing interest in their con- 
 cerns, make her memory linger in the minds of 
 many of them as a very personification of self- 
 sacrificing love. 
 
 It was wonderful how capable Miss McKown 
 remained to the end, and how she seemed to 
 cheat her blindness of its power to narrow her 
 life. She learned to use a typewriter and read 
 books for the blind, attended to her own mend- 
 
Martha J. McKown 'j) 
 
 ing and darning, and did many things to lessen 
 the sense of helplessness that would have been 
 so galling to one of her independent character. 
 She kept everything in such perfect order that 
 no eyesight was necessary to enable her to lay 
 her hand on whatever she might need. Her 
 fingers were more sensitive to the presence of 
 dust than was the servant who cleaned her room, 
 more quick to detect a wrinkle in her dress than 
 the one who was fitting it for her. 
 
 But the conviction was slowly growing in her Time to 
 heart that it was time to give up work. Not ^'"^ "P- 
 that she had wearied of it, or would not have 
 chosen to end her days in the land of her adop- 
 tion, but she felt that she was no longer able to 
 attempt as much as the home church had a right 
 to expect, and she feared that she might prove a 
 burden to others and lessen their quota of dis- 
 tinctively missionary service. 
 
 On December 4, 1893, she wrote to the Mis- 
 sion Board the letter that was the sign and the 
 seal of her victory. Her resignation was accept- 
 ed, and at its meeting in February, 1894, she 
 formally announced to the Missionary Associa- 
 tion the step that she had taken. 
 
 The remaining weeks were heavy with the 
 atmosphere of parting. Towards the end, her 
 room was filled with native friends from morning 
 till night and many a time her composure broke 
 down under the strain. It was characteristic of 
 
78 In the King's Service 
 
 her that while the tension was most acute, she 
 twice remained an entire night at work in prep- 
 arations for her leaving, her strong emotions de- 
 manding this outlet of action. 
 
 A Sad Q„ Monday, April 29, 1894, she left Assiut, by 
 ar mg. ^.^^ morning train; the platform crowded with 
 frierds who had gathered there as a parting ex- 
 pression of their gratitude, respect and love. She 
 could wave them a good-bye, but could take no 
 last look at the faces most dear to her, or at 
 the diflferent landmarks of the town that had 
 been her home for twenty-nine years. Nor was 
 there need. Her power of vision was independ- 
 ent of environment and she carried their image 
 in her heart. 
 
 She had now braved her brilliant trial. The 
 short Hfe-journey before her held nothing else 
 to fear. 
 
 In the The next year, she spent chiefly with her sister, 
 "Home for |^,jj- from the first her intention was to end her 
 days in the "Home for the Aged" in Pittsburg. 
 She always guarded with over-jealous care the 
 interests of her friends, thinking no sacrifice too 
 great that would forward her plans for their wel- 
 fare. It was only natural, therefore, that she 
 should refuse to let those dearest to her share 
 the burden of her blindness, no matter how 
 greatly they might covet the privilege. No per- 
 suasion would avail to alter her decision and she 
 entered the home in the summer of 1895. A 
 
Martha J. McKown 79 
 
 room had been specially furnished for her— the 
 missionary room— provided with everything that 
 loving friends could arrange for her comfort. 
 And she was a missionary to the end, using 
 brain, tongue and pen to further the interests 
 that were dearest to her heart. Many look back 
 with pleasure to hours spent with her in that 
 room. 
 
 The years Miss McKown had spent in Egypt 
 were calculated to make perfect adaptation to a 
 life so circumscribed and uneventful, difficult in 
 the extreme, and those who knew her best and 
 loved her most would be the readiest to realize 
 that it was God's crowning mercy to her, that 
 before she had time to weary, He called her 
 home. 
 
 On January 30, 1897, most unexpectedly, the h the 
 summons came. She had awakened in pain in Light of 
 the morning, but before long remedies relieved 
 her, and no one suspected illness of a critical 
 nature. Later in the day, the pains returned 
 and HI a few minutes all was over. Her bhnd- 
 ness had vanished and she was beholding the 
 glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 
 
 To the women of America, the woman's hos- 
 pital in Tanta stands as Miss McKown's memor- 
 ial. They have built it to her memory and 
 lovingly called it by her name. To the women 
 of Egypt, her name is indissolubly connected 
 with Assiut, and with the work of woman's edu- 
 
8o In the King's Service 
 
 cation in Upper Egypt. To them, the true 
 monument to her memory, the reminder of her 
 long labors, and the token of her life's success, 
 will ever be the school whose name was written 
 in her heart, the Presslv Memorial Institute. 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing. 
 
THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN MISSION 
 ARY SERVICE. 
 
 SARAH DALES LANSING. 
 
 BoKN xNTEAK Moscow, New York, July 30'rH, 1820. 
 Died at Cairo. Egypt, November 26th, i88q. 
 
 "He that is wise winneth souls." — Prov. ii: 30. 
 
 "And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the 
 firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the 
 stars for ever and ever." — Daniel 12: 3. 
 
 "The golden beams of truth and the silken cords of love, 
 twisted together, will draw men on with a sweet violence whether 
 tliey will or not." — Cudworth. 
 
 "O, had I ten thousand bodies, » ♦ »^ how would I, how 
 might I, as on the wings of the wind, send them forth on such 
 errands of mercy and love! How could I detain one? He who 
 gave Himself for me should have them all; and then, how small, 
 how small the giftl" — From one of Mrs. Lansing's letters. 
 
 "The weapons which your hands have found 
 Are those which Heaven itself has wrought — 
 Light, Truth, and Love." 
 
 —J. G. Whittier. 
 
IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS IN 
 MRS. LANSING'S LIFE. 
 
 1820. Born at Moscow, N. Y., July 30th. 
 1830. Early Missionary Resolutions. 
 
 ? Moves to Philadelphia. 
 
 ? Unites with the Church. 
 
 1854. Sails for Syria as a missionary. 
 
 1856. Death of her father and mother. 
 
 1857. Falls from horse incurring serious injuries, and suspension 
 
 of work. 
 1859. Reaches Alexandria, Egypt, May 28th, and takes charge 
 
 of Girls' School. 
 i860. Dangerous illness necessitating transfer to Cairo, where 
 
 she takes charge of Girls' School. 
 
 1864. A remarkable religious revival in Cairo, resulting in the 
 
 conversion of many teachers and scholars in the 
 Girls' School. 
 
 1865. Returns to Alexandria on furlough. 
 
 1866. Married to Rev. Gulian Lansing, D. D., on August 9th, 
 1889. Dies November 26th, after seventeen days' illness. 
 
Ill 
 
 SARAH B. DALES LANSING 
 
 The Personal Element in Missionary Service. 
 By rev. CHARLES R. WATSON. 
 
 We are prone to think that our usefulness 
 in the world and in Christ's kingdom depends 
 chiefly on the position we occupy. We are 
 mistaken. It depends chiefly on what we are. 
 "Where you are is of no moment, but only what 
 you are doing there. It is not the place that 
 ennobles you, but you the place." 
 
 Mrs. Sarah Dales Lansing's life teaches this ^^e Lesson 
 truth. It could not be the persuasive eloquence °^ ° ^^^ 
 of public preaching, it was not the far-reaching 
 influence of a genius for organization and ad- 
 ministration that won for Mrs. Lansing her 
 place of honor in the service of Christ. It was 
 the power of personality, irradiated by Christ's 
 love, which could truthfully say in the words 
 of another, "I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth 
 in me." Whether in the informal relations of 
 church and social life in Philadelphia, whether 
 in the strange and novel environment of a 
 Syrian school, whether in missionary service 
 in Egypt, whether as hostess receiving travel- 
 
 83 
 
84 In the King's Service 
 
 ers and friends in her home, whether lying on 
 a bed of suffering and pain, whatever the cir- 
 cumstances, steadily, like some bright star of 
 the heavens, this pure, patient, loving, earnest 
 Christ-like personality shone out undimned, un- 
 til the dawn of its immortal day. 
 
 Birthplace Sarah B. Dales was born July 30, 1820, near 
 the village of Moscow, Livingston county, in 
 the hill country and lake region of Northwest- 
 ern New York. Of her early life, we have but 
 little record. Her parents were Hugh and Mar- 
 garet Dales, and she was the third of seven 
 children, and the second of three sisters. Be- 
 tween her and her brother John, the late Rev. 
 John B. Dales, for fifty-three years pastor of 
 the Second United Presbyterian Church of Phil- 
 adelphia, and for thirty-six years the corres- 
 ponding secretary of the Board of Foreign Mis- 
 sions, there was a special attachment and a nat- 
 ural sympathy which grew 'from more to more' 
 during the long years of service which these two 
 gave to Christ, although in widely separated 
 fields of work. 
 
 Educaiion. Sarah's early educational advantages were 
 only those of the District and Select School; 
 her wide and careful reading, and also a habit, 
 which she formed at an early age, of writing 
 freely both about the books which she had read 
 and the experiences and events of life gave her, 
 however, a literary style and a remarkable 
 power of description, which lent peculiar charm 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing 85 
 
 to her numerous contributions to the church 
 papers. 
 
 Of these letters, one of the most honored Literary 
 ministers and theological professors says: "The '*°'''*y- 
 first missionary literature I ever read, or that 1 
 remember to have read, was a series of letters 
 of Miss Dales which appeared in a periodical 
 published in the '50's, the Christian Instructor. 
 I have no doubt thousands who never thought 
 of going to the foreign field, as well as many 
 who have gone or cherished the hope of such 
 an honor, received their first and strongest im- 
 pulses toward foreign mission work from her 
 wonderful letters." 
 
 Of Sarah's early religious training and expe- Early 
 rience, we have the following account given Religious 
 by her brother, the Rev. J. B. Dales, D. D., in ^'^«- 
 a sketch which appeared at the time of her 
 death in the Women's Missionary Magazine: 
 
 "The marked religious spirit which was ever 
 so observable in her, began at an early period. 
 The church which the family attended was ten 
 miles away, but she was regularly there, and 
 the Sabbath sanctuary services were supple- 
 mented with the Shorter Catechism and the 
 family worship exercises of the Sabbath even- 
 ing at home. In all these means of grace, she 
 always manifested a deep interest, and as years 
 passed on, all that interest seemed to increase. 
 Her convictions of sin were early and strong, 
 and not less apparent were her repentings. Not 
 
86 In the King's Service 
 
 infrequently, it was said, that a few moments 
 which her mother or a faithful teacher would 
 spend in showing her, in private, the wrong in 
 the sight of God of something she had said or 
 done, and in their praying together for the for- 
 giveness of it, was far more effective for good 
 than any ordinary use of the rod. Any wrong 
 in word or act thus dealt with, was seldom re- 
 peated. Yet in her natural timidity, her dis- 
 trust of herself, and her fear of presumption, 
 she long hesitated about publicly confessing 
 Christ, and it was only when she was led, as 
 she ever thought she was, by the Holy Spirit 
 to realize, under the preaching one evening of 
 a faithful servant of God, that she was follow- 
 ing Jesus only afar off, that she took the step 
 of uniting with the church. But that once done, 
 and done as it was with all her heart, the ef- 
 fect was most marked." It was in Philadelphia 
 and in the Second United Presbyterian Church, 
 then the First Associate Reformed Church, that 
 Sarah Dales made this first public confession 
 of Christ. 
 Uniting The missionary spirit in Miss Dales ran paral- 
 with the jgj ^^^ ^^g identical with her spiritual life as a 
 Christian. As her brother adds, "The first day 
 of her being at the table of the Lord and in 
 the communion of saints, was, as she said, 'a 
 day of heaven upon earth' to her, and that 
 night, as ever afterwards, the one question in 
 her heart and on her lips was. 'Lord, what wilt 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing 87 
 
 thou have me to do?'. Thenceforward her 
 motto was, 'The love of Christ constraineth me,' 
 and she diHgently sought to do what she could." 
 She instinctively felt herself "saved, to serve." 
 The tranmission to others of the peace and hope 
 and joy which her own soul had experienced 
 in Christ, was not so much a consciously recog- 
 ni:^ed duty to be performed as a natural afid 
 even irresistible outgoing of the new life withiri 
 her. 
 
 In the city of Philadelphia, she found condi- 
 tions of ignorance, spiritual destitution and need, 
 such as exist in every large city, and these pre- 
 sented a large field for missionary activity. Up 
 and down the neglected lanes and alleys of the 
 section of the city in which her church was 
 located, she went, visiting house after house, 
 speaking words of cheer or of sympathy, bring- 
 ing messages of warning or of encouragement 
 out of God's word, praying earnestly and lov- 
 ingly, or leaving religious leaflets, according 
 as circumstances permitted one form of service 
 or another. For several years, she devoted a 
 portion of each week to this sort of work. 
 
 The Sabbath school, however, afforded her Winning 
 the most congenial field for service and gave Souls. 
 tangible evidence of the influence of instruc- 
 tion, prayer and pleading. There was nothing 
 formal or perfunctory in the work of Miss Dales 
 as a Sabbath school teacher. She sought not 
 only to teach the lesson, but also to win the 
 
88 In the King's Service 
 
 life. Of her method and success as a Sabbath 
 school teacher, one who knew her says, "She 
 would take a list of all the girls whom she had 
 gathered into her classes, and then at stated 
 times would make each scholar, by name, the 
 subject of fervent prayer for her early conver- 
 sion. Thus, and with corresponding faithful 
 teaching and timely private conversation with 
 each, it was found, when she left, that of all 
 who had successively come under her care in 
 the school, not one had failed, so far as known, to 
 give evidence of a change of heart and to unite 
 with the church." 
 Ear/y Precious as this service of Christ was to her, 
 Missionary ghe was not satisfied. Her sympathy went out 
 Purpose, j.^ those who had never heard the Gospel, and 
 she longed to bring the good news to them. 
 An incident of her childhood days was pro- 
 phetic of that choice of a life work which she 
 made iwcnty-four years later, "In about her 
 tenth year, a missionary, recently returned from 
 laboring among the Choctaw Indians, came one 
 day into the sc'iool where she was, and told 
 mu:ii of the needs of that people in their desti- 
 tution of the Bible. All that story she drank 
 in with mtens2 interest; and that evening, as 
 often afterwards, she said if God would ever 
 op-n the way she would devote her hfe to the 
 work of making the Savior known to such." 
 
 Such biographies as those of the elder Mrs. 
 Judson, of Mrs. Harriet Newell, the first Amer- 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing 89 
 
 ican martyr to Foreign Missions, and of Mrs 
 Sarah L. Smith, deepened her interest in the ex- 
 tension of Christ's Kingdom unto "the utter- 
 most parts of the earth." For a while sh^ wn 
 in correspondence with the late Hon. Walter 
 Lowrie, so long the efficient secretary of the 
 Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian 
 Church, with reference to the work among the 
 Indians in the Southwest. Finally, however, 
 the decision was reached to go out as a mis- 
 sionary of the Associate Reformed Church in 
 response to an earnest appeal coming from Syria 
 for an unmarried woman missionary. 
 
 It is interesting to note the difficulties which Difficulties. 
 attended such a decision. As yet scarcely any 
 unmarried women missionaries had ever gone 
 to the foreign mission field. Neither the Asso- 
 ciate Reformed Church nor the Associate 
 Church, by whose union the United Presby- 
 terian Church came into being, had as yet sent 
 to the foreign field an unmarried woman mis- 
 sionary. So much doubt existed with reference 
 to the propriety of such a course that Miss 
 Dales did not venture to ask for a formal ap- 
 pointment at once. Consulting with her broth- 
 er, the Rev. Dr. Dales, the agreement was 
 made, in their common devotion to the cause 
 of Christ, that she should go out at his personal 
 charges and that after a period of trial in the 
 work, she would apply to the board for formal 
 appointment as a missionary. For two years 
 
90 In the King's Service 
 
 this arrangement continued, when she became a 
 regularly appointed missionary of the Associate 
 Reformed Church. 
 Leaving Tj^e missionary party, which sailed from Phil- 
 ' adelphia on September 30, 1854, on the "City 
 of Manchester,'" consisted of Rev. James A. 
 Frazier, Mrs. Johanna Frazier, Miss Sarah B. 
 Dales, Rev. Thomas McCague and Mrs. Hen- 
 rietta McCague. The first three were bound 
 for Syria, the last two were the first missiona- 
 ries to sail from America for the Egyptian mis- 
 sion field. 
 
 The journey across the Atlantic was a pleas- 
 ant though uneventful one. The party found 
 Christian friends in Liverpool, and the privi- 
 leges of worship and the observance of the 
 Lord's Supper with the followers of Christ in 
 a sister church made the few days of their de- 
 lay in England altogether refreshing. 
 
 Then followed the sea voyage on the 
 "Orontes," bringing with it the traditional ex- 
 perience of rough weather in the Bay of Bis- 
 cay, a delightful stop at Gibraltar, another at 
 Malta, and another at Alexandria. At this point 
 the missionary party divided. Rev. Mr. and 
 Mrs. McCague disembarking in order to pro- 
 ceed to Cairo and lay there the foundation of 
 the "American Mission" in Egypt. 
 
 Little did Miss Dales realize as she accom- 
 panied the Egyptian missionaries, Rev. Thomas 
 and Mrs. McCague ashore at Alexandria, that 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing 91 
 
 in a few years she herself would be brought 
 to this field of labor. 
 
 Landing at Beirut, a rough journey on horse- Itlf^nd 
 back brought their missionary party to Damas- '^°"''"^y- 
 cus. Of this journey, we have this record: "On 
 Wednesday, about noon, we set out for Damas- 
 cus, on horseback — the only way of traveling in 
 this needy land. The first night we stayed at 
 Bhamdun, a village on the mountains, and with 
 a family of the mission who are laboring at that 
 interesting station. The two following days 
 we traveled through the grandest scenery. The 
 mountains are so extensive, so majestic, so va- 
 ried, that one could easily understand and ap- 
 preciate the frequent Scriptural allusions to the 
 beauty and glory of Lebanon. Much of the 
 route was rough, wild, and precipitous beyond 
 conception. Our lodgings at night were in Arab 
 huts, in small villages; the only furniture con- 
 sisting of a large mat, spread on the floor, and 
 two or three rude cushions, but we were grate- 
 ful for even such accommodations." 
 
 Of her surroundings at Damascus, Miss Dales Damascus. 
 wrote to a friend, "The streets of the city are 
 extremely narrow, and are crowded with multi- 
 tudes in every variety of Oriental costume, while 
 the rough, guttural voice of the Arab continual- 
 ly breaks upon your ear. The exterior of the 
 houses is gloomy and repulsive, but the interior 
 is pleasant and inviting. Although most pecu- 
 liar in their style of architecture, these houses 
 
92 lu the King's Service 
 
 are all admirably adapted to this climate. Our 
 house, being designed thus far for the preach- 
 ing services and for the schools, is very large, 
 and the view to be obtained, from its terraces, 
 of the city and the vast plain around and the 
 mountains in the distance, on almost every side, 
 is exceedingly grand and striking. The gar- 
 dens beyond the gates of the city are very invit- 
 ing, and the plain watered by the Barrady, the 
 ancient 'Abana,' is peculiarly pleasant. The 
 street that is called 'Straight,' and probably the 
 identical one mentioned in the Scripture, al- 
 though very much changed, is but a short dis- 
 tance from us, and is a very public one. It is 
 the only long street in the city, and is entered 
 on the eastern side by an immense gateway, of 
 ancient architecture. Tradition says (and I be- 
 lieve it is generally supposed to be correct in 
 this case) that Paul was led into the city through 
 this gate, after he had been struck blind; while 
 about half a mile beyond it, on the plain near 
 our little burying ground, the place is pointed 
 out where he received the wonderful visitation 
 of God." 
 Her Work. The mental, physical and even spiritual strain 
 involved in the mastery of a foreign language 
 is one of the greatest burdens which a new mis- 
 sionary is called upon to carry. Yet the meas- 
 ure of a missionary's usefulness is usually de- 
 termined by the thoroughness with which this 
 work is done. Miss Dales gave herself unre- 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing 93 
 
 servedly to the mastery of the Arabic language. 
 In addition to this, she had charge of the girls' 
 school. Of this work, she wrote home: "Our 
 school numbers eighteen now. of whom fifteen 
 are Jewesses, their ages varying from five to 
 fourteen years. They are a deeply interesting 
 group, and already are my affections largely 
 drawn to them. I spend a portion of each day 
 in the school-room, teaching them in English, 
 with which they are very greatly delighted. We 
 are also learning to sing the English and Arabic 
 alphabets, which are new to them; and they are 
 often so much pleased that they smile their 
 thanks, kiss my hands, and say, 'Zerefa! Zerefa!' 
 meaning, 'beautiful, beautiful!' You may imagine 
 it is a very great trial for me not to be able to 
 understand them, as they so often gather 
 around me and say so much; still, we manage 
 to converse some, as our girls understand a lit- 
 tle English, and they communicate my wishes 
 to the school girls. I am every day constantly 
 constructing sentences, too, though in an awk- 
 ward manner; and when I can make myself in- 
 telligible, I am, you may be assured, very great- 
 ly encouraged. Our school- girls are mostly 
 from wealthy and aristocratic Jewish families; 
 and some of them wear most valuable orna- 
 ments, while little attention is paid to their 
 dress, or to habits of cleanliness." 
 
 To the burden of the work, there was added T^^e Hated 
 a burden of constant anxiety lest some religious ^'""^- 
 
94 ^n the King's Service 
 
 fanaticism might rob her of her opportunity 
 for service. One such outbreak did occur 
 among these Jewish pupils not long after she 
 had assumed charge of the school. "Their 
 hatred to the very name of Jesus," she wrote 
 in one of her letters, "is really most appalling. 
 One of the girls, while reading a few days since, 
 came to it, and as she pronounced it, threw her 
 book from her in a perfect rage; and, bursting 
 into a flood of tears, said she would not read 
 about him that it was a sin, and her father 
 said she must not. She was at once seconded 
 by all in her class, and in a few minutes seve- 
 ral were crying and begging for a new book — 
 something that was good. Being engaged with 
 my teacher, as usual, at that hour, I was not 
 present during the scene; but the next morning 
 I took a short lesson, and hastened to the 
 school-room. The class had just commenced 
 reading; some were in tears, and every counte- 
 nance was sad. Trembling with emotion, I 
 asked what was the trouble. They hesitated 
 very much at first to tell me; but finally did so, 
 amid such sobs and manifestations of grief, as 
 I had never seen in that little group. The hour 
 that followed, as I sat in their midst, was one 
 not to be forgotten. They said they could not 
 read about Jesus; that our books were not for 
 the Jews, and entreated me in the most tender 
 and earnest manner to get others that would 
 be suitable for them. I assured them, again 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing 95 
 
 and again, that we had nothing else for them, 
 that we would not compel them to believe what 
 they read, but if they attended our school they 
 would be obliged to use these books, and, that 
 too, without finding fault, and complaining, as 
 had been the case, more or less, for some little 
 time. Our girls, Werdy and Miriam, also ex- 
 plained the matter to them; and they saw they 
 must yield to their prejudices, or leave us, either 
 course being a most painful alternative." 
 
 The large correspondence which Miss Dales Overwork. 
 undertook to keep up with friends at home, add- 
 ed to her labors in the study of language and 
 the care of the girls' school, resulted in a ner- 
 vous collapse, but even though laid aside from 
 active work, the missionary spirit which took 
 Miss Dales to Syria, burned almost to a whitt 
 heat in her written appeals to the home church: 
 "Can it be that these dark dispensations of Di- 
 vine Providence, with all our entreaties for help, 
 shall be disregarded by our churches at home? 
 Cannot pastors do something in this matter 
 by urging our necessities, and that of the for- 
 eign field, upon their respective charges? Can- 
 not the professors of our different seminaries, 
 in the exercise of their high office, urge the 
 claims of the heathen world much upon the stu- 
 dents under their care?" 
 
 In America, the Union of the Associate and The Unity 
 the Associate Reformed Churches into the "^ *^^ 
 United Presbyterian Church of N. A. was under 
 
96 In the King's Service 
 
 discussion. The missionar}- attitude, as well 
 as Miss Dales's own views on this subject, may 
 be easily gathered from this extract: "It is on 
 a foreign field, in the midst of idolatry, super- 
 stition, and fanaticism of the deepest and most 
 fatal dye, that the Christian feelingly prays for 
 the unity of the church. It is there, indeed, 
 that he perfectly desires that the various 
 branches of the church of Christ in gospel lands 
 would lay aside every emotion of bigotry, sel- 
 fishness, and prejudice, that lurks in their 
 bosom, and form themselves into one good and 
 holy fraternity for the lengthening of the bor- 
 ders of Zion at home, and for sending out a 
 mighty evangelizing influence over the dark 
 places of the earth abroad." 
 Patience jf gQ^-ig one were to ask for the cardinal quali- 
 _ . , fications of a good missionary, the answer could 
 be quickly given: "Patience which never tires, 
 love which never wearies, faith which ever ex- 
 pects." Miss Sarah Dales had all three. Two 
 years after her arrival in Syria, she writes with 
 enthusiasm to her brother about some signs of 
 spiritual success in her school^ which to another 
 might have seemed insignificant, and says: "I 
 never, never have felt nearly so much encour- 
 aged and so very happy as now. How I wish 
 you could see us in our school-room — an in- 
 teresting and busy sight — the dearest spot to 
 me on earth. Let me again plead for your 
 prayers. My faith is strong that all our efforts 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing 97 
 
 will not be in vain, but that fruit will yet ap- 
 pear, although it may not be our privilege to 
 live to see it in large abundance." 
 
 The year 1856 had been a year of much sick- -When 
 ness among the missionaries of Syria, and sev- '^«'^e'" o"*^ 
 
 eral of their number were compelled to leave J' ^'l „ 
 
 '■ Forsake. 
 
 the country m search of health. To Miss Dales, 
 
 it was a year of abundant labors and of great 
 joy as she worked with the increasing efficiency 
 of an increased knowledge of the language. Yet 
 the year also brought* sorrow in the news 
 of the death of both her father and moth- 
 er. At such times, separation from home 
 and the isolation of missionary life are in- 
 creasingly hard to bear in proportion as 
 the heart craves special sympathy under 
 such circumstances. Writing at the close 
 of the year to her brother, she says: "The last 
 year was a sadly eventful one in our beloved 
 family, as during its short and fleeting months 
 we were sorely bereaved — we were written 
 orphans. How I love now, more than ever, to 
 dwell upon the precious promises made to the 
 afflicted and fatherless! They seem doubly 
 forcible, and are clothed with a radiance and 
 beauty which I never so distinctly saw. And 
 why? Because they are mine — they were writ- 
 ten for me." 
 
 The spring of 1857 was for Miss Dales a time A Serious 
 of faithful, persevering work in the girls' school. Accident 
 In the summer time, the missionaries found es- 
 
98 In the King's Service 
 
 cape from the heat of the city by repairing to 
 a mountain resort at Bkidan, but even here 
 missionary work was carried on among the pop- 
 ulation of this hill country. On returning from 
 Bludan to Damascus, Miss Dales met with a 
 painful accident in falling from a horse. Her 
 back and head were severely hurt and she had 
 to be carried to Damacus on a litter. Her love 
 for her school led her to attempt to resume 
 work in it. -but the advice of her fellow mission- 
 aries and especially the constraining argument 
 of a weakened constitution finally prevailed, and 
 she gave up, though "with tears," both her 
 school work and her study of Arabic. 
 
 Slowly and only in a measure were health 
 and strength restored to her. The climate of 
 Syria seemed to be trying to her and during 
 this winter of tedious waiting on the recovery 
 of health. Providence indicated to the mission- 
 ary body and to her the wisdom of a transfer 
 to the Egyptian mission field. Prevented for 
 months from engaging actively in mission work, 
 the missionary spirit still burned as a fire in 
 her heart. Writing home, she said: "O, had 
 I ten thousand bodies, weak and inefficient and 
 unworthy though they might be, yet, imbued 
 with the spirit of love to my own precious 
 Savior, and love to the souls of my fallen fellow- 
 being, how would I, how ought I, as on the 
 wings of the wind, send them forth on such er- 
 rand of mercv and love? How could I detain 
 
Sarah B. Dales Ivansing 99 
 
 one? He who gave Himself for me should 
 
 have them all; and then, how small, how small 
 
 the gift!" 
 
 Perhaps some one is inclined to credit Miss Spiritual 
 
 Dales's warm spiritual life to the fact that she ^°"^''*'°"^ 
 ■ ■ 11 1 1 1 1 f 1 °" Mission 
 
 was a missionary, and thus to lose the helpful frj^j^ 
 
 stimulus of a comparison of one's own life with 
 hers. If this is the case, it is worth while to 
 listen to what she wrote about this time out 
 of her own experience as a missionary: "Con- 
 trary to the very general opinion of many good 
 people, the servant of Christ in a foreign land 
 has not the favorable opportunities for culti- 
 vating personal piety, and making attainments 
 in grace, that might at first be supposed. Met 
 at every step by iniquity and depravity as he 
 mingles with his people, from the servant in his 
 family to the shopkeeper in the Bazaar, he is 
 continually breathing an atmosphere all tainted 
 with moral pollution." 
 
 Arriving in Alexandria on May 28, 1858, Miss >" ^gyp*- 
 Dales was introduced on the next day to a girls' 
 Protestant school which up to that time had 
 been under the patronage of a society of Chris- 
 tian ladies in Scotland, called the Society of 
 Paisley, but which was passed over that year 
 to the United Presbyterian Mission. This school 
 was one of much the same character as that 
 at Damascus. The pupils, however, while Jew- 
 esses, were for the most part Italian girls, 
 whereas those at Damascus were Svrians. 
 
lOO In the King's Service 
 
 Soon after Miss Dales's arrival in Alexandria, 
 there occurred at Jedda, a seaport town near 
 Mecca, an outbreak of Mohammedan fanaticism 
 which cost the lives of two consuls and a large 
 number of Christians, and which stirred up a 
 feeling of unrest throughout the Mohammedan 
 world. In Egypt, an outbreak was only prevent- 
 ed by the firm attitude taken by Said Pasha. 
 "On Tuesday," wrote Miss Dales, "anxiety was 
 dispelled by the action of the Pasha, who is in 
 Cairo. After calling together all the sheiks and 
 officials, and simply asking them the emphatic 
 question, if they knew who he was, and of whom 
 he was the son, he said, 'Be cautious. If a hair 
 of a Christian's head is touched, your lives will 
 pay the awful penalty.' The same thing has 
 been done here; and whatever may have been 
 intended, they have been intimidated and sub- 
 dued." 
 Persecution Still the missionaries were not without fear, 
 for Dr. Gulian Lansing wrote to Dr. Dales: 
 "We have been insulted almost daily in the 
 streets by the children, taught, of course, by 
 their parents. The adults, also, have sometimes 
 shown decided disposition to pick quarrels with 
 us in the streets. The most daring of the kind 
 was one which happened to your sister a short 
 time since. Some of the city poHce, seeing her 
 coming along on her donkey, put themselves in 
 her way, and jostled her; and one of them, with- 
 out provocation, struck her a heavy blow on 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing lOi 
 
 the back. We have been occasionally stoned; 
 and the Christian boys of the school were so 
 frequently maltreated, that a number of them 
 were thereby driven from the school." 
 
 It is easy to infer how whole-heartedly Miss Attachment 
 Dales gave herself to her work at Alexandria. ° "^' ^' 
 when we read in the Report of Mission Work 
 at Alexandria sent to Dr. Dales: "You would 
 be surprised to find pupils, whose religious be- 
 lief is so opposed to the Bible, paying the sums 
 they do to be taught almost from morning to 
 night the Bible. Their friendly disposition in 
 this respect is attested by their large attendance 
 at the Sabbath school, which is entirely volun- 
 tary, and where Bible truth alone is taught. 
 The secret of this is the affection of the chil- 
 dren for the teachers, and this is a marked 
 characteristic of the schools. In the girls' 
 school, the ladies of the committee here were 
 particularly struck with this feature, and re- 
 quested me to mention it in writing home, as a 
 most encouraging one. This spirit is constantly 
 and most pleasantly exhibiting itself. When, 
 for instance, your sister goes to school in the 
 morning, she is immediately surrounded by the 
 whole group, each striving with childish en- 
 thusiasm for a kiss, or a shake of the hand. 
 When she leaves it is the same, and she can 
 hardly tear herself away from them." 
 
 In i860. Miss Dales continued her work 
 in the Mission school at Alexandria, but her 
 
io2 In the King's Service 
 
 heart and thoughts were much in her former 
 field of service, Syria, which at this time was 
 going through troublous experiences. 
 
 Toward the close of i860, Miss Dales was 
 much weakened by overwork and also by an al- 
 most fatal attack of inflammation of the lungs 
 induced by the moist climate of Alexandria. 
 Again Providence indicated the necessity of a 
 change of location and the mission transferred 
 her to Cairo, but her faith in God's guidance 
 of her life was the secret of the peace she en- 
 joyed in giving up a work which she had come 
 to love and taking up a new work in the city 
 of Cairo. 
 Transfer At Cairo, she was put in charge of a girls' 
 to Cairo school which contrasted in many ways with her 
 previous charges. While the Alexandria school 
 was made up chiefly of foreigners, the Cairo 
 school was made up exclusively of Egyptian 
 girls. While both the Damascus and Alex- 
 andria schools were chiefly Jewesses, the school 
 at Cairo was composed of Coptic girls, afford- 
 ing a much more responsive field for missionary 
 work and Christian teaching. 
 4 Year The year 1864 was a year long to be remem- 
 of Grace. \yQ_x:t<l in the history of mission work in Cairo. 
 It was a veritable year of grace, a year of gen- 
 uine revival, which swept away doubt, indif- 
 ference and fear and led to the open acceptance 
 of Christ. It was a year of persecution, too, and 
 of violent opposition on the part of the Coptic 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing 103 
 
 church to all those who confessed the pure re- 
 ligion of the Protestant church. It would be be- 
 yond the scope of this sketch to describe that 
 movement in its entirety, but a fair apprecia- 
 tion of its character and significance will be 
 gained from the part taken in it by those who 
 were either teachers or pupils in Miss Dales's 
 school. One of the first of those won to Christ 
 at this time was JJamlja, whose name is con- 
 nected with the great romance* of our Egyptian 
 Mission. 
 
 "During the last few months," wrote Miss 
 Dales, in describing these revival experiences, 
 "increased attention has been noticed in many 
 of our exercises, both on the Sabbath and dur- 
 ing the week, and our morning Bible lessons 
 have often been very solemn and impressive 
 seasons, while hope could not but be indulged, 
 that with some there was a desire to know and 
 love the blessed Savior of whom we spoke. 
 These were tenderly brought to the mercy seat, 
 and many opportunities embraced for privately 
 urging upon them their acceptance of Christ. 
 
 "Bamba, a lovely girl of 14, and one of the Conversion 
 assistant teachers, seemed to be especially seri- "' Bamba. 
 ous, and it was soon found she was laboring 
 under conviction of sin, and earnestly pray- 
 ing for a new heart. It was a moment of touch- 
 ing interest as she stood at my desk, telling 
 me her desires, and repeating her simple but 
 
 • See Watson's "American Mission in Egypt," pp. 163-172. 
 
I04 In the King's Service 
 
 fervent petitions in order to show how she had 
 tried to ask for forgiveness and for a heart to 
 love Jesus; and you will not wonder that teach- 
 er and pupil mingled their tears. There was so 
 much simplicity and earnestness in her manner 
 that I was more than overjoyed, and tried to 
 encourage her in the good way she had begun 
 to walk. Daily intercourse and frequent con- 
 versations gave happy assurance that the good 
 work was going on in her heart, and that ere 
 long she would find the Savior she so earnestly 
 sought. At one time she said: 'I am thinking of 
 Jesus all the time whatever I am doing, and 
 constantly praying for a new heart. I know I 
 love Him very much, but I don't know yet 
 whether He has forgiven my sins.' 
 
 "But she was soon able to say more! She 
 felt she was a great sinner, but she also felt 
 she had a great Savior, and she fully trusted in 
 him and all was peace and joy. As the com- 
 munion season approached, she expressed an 
 earnest desire to be received into the church. 
 This was more than my weak faith had looked 
 for." 
 Hrari Of the Sabbath on which Bamba made a 
 Searching, public confession of Christ, Miss Dales says: 
 "In the afternoon I met my teachers as usual 
 at three, and the hour was devoted to self-ex- 
 amination and prayer. Our Savior's words to 
 Peter, 'Lovest thou me,' were dwelt upon, and 
 we were made to feel that Christ was indeed in 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing 105 
 
 our midst searching our hearts. Greatly sol- 
 emnized with the scene of the morning and with 
 tender consciences, it was a time when God 
 seemed ready to work, and there was much 
 feeling. Sieda,* the head teacher in my school 
 and whom you will very well remember, was 
 deeply affected, and at the hour for service when 
 all went in to church, she remained weeping. 
 
 "She could say little more than, 'I am such a 
 sinner, such a sinner.' More especially than 
 anything else, God was using His own Word 
 in rousing her to a real sense of sin. Literally 
 had it been made to her 'quick and powerful as 
 a sharp two-edged sword.' During the reading 
 of the 8th of Romans in the morning by 
 Mr. Hogg, the passage, 'They that are in the 
 flesh cannot please God,' and also, 'If ye live 
 after the flesh ye shall die,' made her heart an 
 uneasy and troubled place. 'Lovest thou me' 
 was another barb that pierced her very soul! 
 Now, for the first time in her life, was she be- 
 ginning to see that 'all her righteousness was 
 as filthy rags,' and that she was a poor, lost and 
 undone creature. While it was a sense of in- 
 tense and painful interest to see her in such 
 distress, still how we blessed God in our hearts 
 that He had at length had mercy upon her, 
 and made her to feel that with all her correct 
 deportment, attendance upon religious duties, 
 
 * Pronounced '■Se)ryidah " 
 
io6 In the King's Service 
 
 reading the word, practicing secret prayer, etc., 
 she still lacked 'the one thing needful.' " 
 
 Thus the work of grace extended from heart 
 to heart and with the manifestations of its 
 power there developed opposition on the part 
 of the Copts. The description which Miss 
 Dales gives of the experience of one of her 
 pupils must stand as a type of what others suf- 
 fered, in a greater or less degree, as they sought 
 to confess Christ before men: 
 Persecution. "Hanoona was one of the seven that applied 
 for admission and was examined. Being the 
 daughter of a Coptic priest (some time de- 
 ceased) and other priests also in the connec- 
 tion, her movements were watched with, a zeal- 
 ous eye, and word sent me she was never com- 
 ing to us again; and again she was detained at 
 home. We repeated our visits to the family, 
 but there was no yielding now, farther than that 
 she might worship with us on the Sabbath — a 
 promise they did not intend to fulfil. It was a 
 touching scene as we lingered in the humble 
 home pleading for our dear girl, and commend- 
 ing the Savior and the religion she had learned 
 to love. Poor Hanoona wept much, and there 
 were other tears, as she was told over and 
 over in their presence, to live nearer the Savior, 
 and if she sought him, he would be near to 
 comfort and bless. We charged her to prayer- 
 fully study her Bible and obey its precepts, as 
 she expected to render an account in the last 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing 107 
 
 great day. It was a trial to leave her. but there 
 was a strong feeling that God would interpose 
 on her behalf, and we cheered her with this 
 hope. She followed us to the court and so did 
 the bigoted sisters, lest there might be some 
 private talk. We spoke kindly to them, and 
 still tried to encourage Hanoona in her faith, 
 which they ridiculed and gave us abusive lan- 
 guage in return. On Saturday morning she 
 managed to get here, and with the others was 
 received for communion. She left us quite 
 uncertain whether or not she would be able to 
 come (on Sabbath), but was praying earnestly 
 that God would open up the way. On Sab- 
 bath she rose at an early hour, but her street 
 dress had been locked up, to prevent her going 
 out. Finding, however, one of her sister's, 
 she appropriated it and hurried away while the 
 family were still sleeping, and came to us with- 
 out her breakfast. Duty seemed clear to her, 
 and she was one of the ten native females that 
 gathered with us around the table of our Lord. 
 "She felt that God had truly answered prayer 
 in granting her the desires of her heart, and 
 her confidence was strong that He would still 
 be with her in the persecutions and trials that 
 awaited her. Happy in the privilege she hnd 
 enjoyed, and in the consciousness of having 
 done her Lord's will, she left us after the even- 
 ing service for her home. Our sympathies and 
 prayers went with her, that 'the wrath of man 
 
Command. 
 
 io8 In the King's Service 
 
 might be restrained' and that her 'faith might 
 not fall.' 
 Obeying the "After being severely reprimanded for having 
 left as she had done in the morning, she was 
 questioned about our services, and what she 
 had done. She told them 'she had obeyed the 
 Savior's command, and had partaken of the sac- 
 rament.' Curses and insults followed, and she 
 was beaten, but she did not fear them. Her 
 clothes and books were secured in a chest, and 
 she was forbidden to leave the house, or have 
 any communication with us whatever. Long 
 and weary days passed as she was made a vic- 
 tim of scorn, and beatings, and unkind treat- 
 ment, until Thursday, when a priest, 'Abuna 
 Yusef,'* was brought to see what he could do 
 at convincing her of her errors, and in reclaim- 
 ing her. A long discussion followed in the pres- 
 ence of an excited and angry group, but at every 
 step she boldly and resolutely defended her 
 position, and from her little Testament brought 
 many passages referring to the doctrines in 
 question, which he found it difficult to 'gainsay 
 or resist.' Failing to prevail upon her 'to con- 
 fess,' or make 'the sign of the cross,' or kneel 
 before him, he seized her wrists, and with her 
 own hands beat her face, while the mother pull- 
 ed her hair, and all reproached and cursed. He 
 then told her he had permission from the Pat- 
 riarch to punish her, and that the following 
 
 * "Our Father Joseph." 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing 109 
 
 Sabbath she would be taken by force to church, 
 when, if she refused to confess, she would be 
 taken into a room and beaten with a 'cour- 
 bash' until she did. 'Do as you wish,' she re- 
 plied, 'I will only confess to God. 1 am afraid of 
 nothing.' 'May God smite you with disease and 
 death,' said he, and left in a rage. 
 
 "On Friday she was permitted to go out, on Steadfast 
 the supposition that she wished to attend the '" ' 
 funeral of a friend; but her steps were soon di- 
 rected to our mission home. She had little 
 more than told us her trials, and received en- 
 couragement to be strong in the Lord, and to 
 patiently endure, etc., when she was followed 
 by her family who were quite enraged to find 
 her here, and beat her on her head before we 
 could prevent it. They were too much excited 
 to be reasoned with; but a brother-in-law com- 
 ing in afterwards, it was finally arranged that 
 she should go home and be allowed to enjoy 
 her religious views without molestation, should 
 worship with us on the Sabbath, and attend to 
 her duties in the school during the week. She 
 told them, in a very clear and calm way, her 
 conviction of duty and grievances from the first, 
 and then, at the conclusion, putting her finger 
 in her throat, said, with an earnestness we will 
 never forget, 'Bring now a sword, or begin 
 with this hand and cut me to pieces; I will not, 
 by the grace of God, recant. I will walk by the 
 light of that Gospel which I have learned. I am 
 
Opposition. 
 
 no III the King's Service 
 
 not afraid of priests, bishops, or the Patriarch.' 
 We were amazed at the power and fearlessness 
 of that young girl, as she was called upon to 
 make such a defence, and we blessed God in our 
 hearts for the strength and grace given to bear 
 such a good testimony." 
 Threats and Qf others. Miss Dales wrote: "Several of the 
 older girls have spoken with their parents about 
 partaking of the Sacrament with us and joining 
 our church, and this alarms and excites fear. 
 
 "One is threatened with having a priest cut 
 ofif her tongue, if she becomes a Protestant. 
 Another, refusing to confess to a priest who 
 called at her father's a short time since, and 
 who would not kiss the cross because, she said, 
 it was wrong, was about to be beaten by her 
 father, when a cousin who is one of our mem- 
 bers interfered, and said she was in the right; 
 and another who will not fast or pray to the 
 'Virgin,' and who is too busy with her proofs, 
 has daily and severe warnings. And thus it 
 is with numbers." 
 
 It is not possible to describe in detail the ex- 
 periences of the latter years of Miss Dales's life 
 and work. 
 
 In 1865, she left Egypt and took a much 
 needed furlough in America. Returning to 
 Egypt, she was, on August 9, 1866, united in 
 marriage with the Rev. Gulian Lansing, D. D. 
 For some time she continued her superintend- 
 ence of the girls' school, but the duties of her 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing iii 
 
 home finally compelled her to relinquish that 
 position. 
 
 Year after year, however, as her strength per- 
 mitted, she continued to visit the women in their 
 homes, reading to them out of God's Word, 
 pleading with them to accept Christ, praying 
 with them and for them, urging them to faithful 
 attendance upon the church services. The rec- 
 ord of the years of 1871 and 1879 ^^^ the latter 
 years of her life without exception, is written 
 in suffering and physical infirmity, but her mis- 
 sionary spirit made her unmindful of herself, 
 in a passionate desire to forward the kingdom 
 of Christ. 
 
 Of these later years, we have the following ^^"''^ °^ 
 witness from one who was intimately acquaint- ^"^^^'''"9 
 ed with her: "During the last years of her life 
 she was a great sufiferer, though the church and 
 the general public knew little about it; yet dur- 
 ing all her affliction, much of which arose from 
 her delicate, nervous disposition and general 
 bodily debility, she never lost her interest in 
 the mission work. Whether entertaining trav- 
 elers whom her attractive manners and her wide 
 acquaintance through long connection with the 
 mission drew to her house, or making return 
 calls on them at the hotels, or meeting with 
 people during her sojourn in England and Scot- 
 land, the subject of her conversation was the 
 work of Christ in Egypt. To secure their in- 
 terest in it, their support, good wishes and pray- 
 
112 In the King's Service 
 
 ers for it, was her great aim. Sometimes when 
 she was scarcely able to drag herself from one 
 room to another, she would receive callers and 
 entertain them with a glowing account of the 
 mission work carried on in the Nile Valley. 
 while they would never suspect how feeble she 
 was, but would go away charmed with her con- 
 versation and often influenced to do something 
 to help for the good cause. In the missionary 
 tours, made up and down the valley in com- 
 pany with her husband, she was always deeply 
 interested; and whenever her health would per- 
 mit, she was accustomed to search out the wom- 
 en, read and talk to them, and pray with them, 
 while he was engaged with the men. 
 
 "She was a true help to her husband, taking a 
 deep interest in all his plans and work, and aid- 
 ing him often beyond what her physical state 
 allowed." 
 Sunset Her death occurred on November 26, 1889. 
 Days. Iyi April of that year, "in passing along the hall 
 in the mission building in Cairo, and not notic- 
 ing a step that was before her, she suddenly 
 fell; was taken up helpless from a severe bruise 
 or fracture of her hip-bone and for months lay 
 upon her bed, the calm and uncomplaining vic- 
 tim of much excruciating pain. At length she 
 rallied and became able to move around with a 
 crutch, and then with only a cane. In this con- 
 dition, and in the enfeebled state of both her 
 husband, Dr. Lansing, and their son, Carroll 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing 113 
 
 Lansing, M. D., she went to Alexandria, saw 
 them sail, on the urgent advice of the physicians, 
 for Constantinople for the benefit of their health, 
 and then she returned to Cairo. There the next 
 day, the 9th of November, she was attacked with 
 catarrh of the bowels, and thence for seventeen 
 days endured the severest sufferings as her dis- 
 ease ran its fatal couse. 'Through it all,' says 
 one, 'she was patient and loving, so thoughtful 
 for all around her, so uncomplaining and thank- 
 ful that it was a privilege to wait on her.' Once 
 in the midst of severe suffering she said: 'He 
 will not lay one stroke upon me more than He 
 can help me bear.' At another time, in great 
 calmness of spirit, even while the body was in 
 the keenest pain, she said: 'I have every bless- 
 ing and every mercy.' She did not seem, says 
 one, agitated at any time, but she often said, 
 'Just as the Lord wishes; He knoweth best.' 
 When portions of the 73d, ii6th and 121st 
 Psalms were read, she exclaimed: 'Precious 
 words! and never so precious as now.' " 
 
 "When she was on her death-bed," one of "Live for 
 the missionaries says, "I was with her a good Christ." 
 deal, and I never forget the kind words of en- 
 couragement which she gave me in my great 
 work. She was not able to talk much, but was 
 intensely anxious to speak to every one who 
 visited her, a word about eternal things. She 
 
114 III the King's Service 
 
 spoke thus especially to the dragoman* whom 
 she urged to accept the Savior, and he seemed 
 deeply impressed."' Another, who is one of our 
 young ministers in the mission, says " I was with 
 her the night of the Wednesday preceding her 
 death. She seemed to be dying, but was so grate- 
 ful for the little help we could give her, and was 
 full of gratefulness while we felt ourselves so 
 helpless. It relieved her when I held her up, 
 supporting her poor weak body, and as I held 
 her she thanked me again and again. She kept 
 repeating: 'Live for Christ, live for Christ, dear 
 brother. Preach Christ in a plain, simple man- 
 ner to these poor people.' 
 Perfect "Her great desire had been to live until her 
 eace. ]^y^,i\^2i'n(\ and son, who had been earnestly sent 
 for, would arrive. For this she prayed, and had 
 others pray. These prayexs were mercifully 
 answered. Twenty-four hours before her de- 
 parture, they reached her. 'Bless the Lord, 
 bless the Lord,' was her repeated cry as they 
 came in. Most tender and touching were the 
 hours that followed. Calmly, though in great 
 weakness, she talked of her departure, disposed 
 of many objects of interest, sent parting mes- 
 sages to dear ones far away, gave loving and 
 faithful exhortations to natives around her; 
 and, as the last verses of the 23d Psalm were 
 sung, a portion of the 21st chapter of Revela- 
 
 * "An interpreter or guide for Oriental travelers", who happened 
 to call to see her, 
 
Sarah B. Dales Lansing 115 
 
 tion read, and a fervent prayer offered by one 
 of the missionary brethren, she softly but dis- 
 tinctly said, 'Amen ' That was her last word. 
 The struggle was over. All was peace. At half- 
 past eight o'clock on the evening of Tuesday, 
 November 26, 1889, she calmly breathed her 
 last, while soon after a calmness and sweetness 
 of almost unearthly beauty spread over her 
 face that seemed to say again, 'All is peace.' 
 
 "On the following day a large company gath- Awaiting the 
 ered at the Mission House. Persons of various '^^^"''''^'^*'°"- 
 nationalities and different religious names: 
 Christians, Jews, Moslems and Copts, and of 
 every class and condition were there. One sor- 
 row seemed to fill all hearts; one grief bowed 
 all heads. Appropriate services were had in 
 both English and Arabic. And thence from that 
 building, which from its very foundation had 
 been consecrated by her joys and sorrows, her 
 prayers and labors and tears, her living and dy- 
 ing, her remains were borne, and, near the soft 
 still hour of an Egyptian sunset, were laid away 
 in the Protestant Cemetery at old Cairo, under 
 a beautiful acacia tree, and, as she requested, 
 by the side of the loved and lamented Mrs. John 
 Giffen, who entered into her rest here, October 
 16, 1881. 
 
 'Mrs. Lansing dead.' She rests from her 
 labors and her works do follow her." 
 
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 1 
 
 Andrew Gordon, D.D. 
 
THE FOUNDING OF A MISSION. 
 
 ANDREW GORDON. 
 
 Born at Putnam, New York, September 17TH, 1828. 
 Died at Philadelphia, Pa., August 13TH, 1887. 
 
 "I do therefore solemnly engage, in the presence of the 
 three-one God, to be forever subject to His will in all things, to 
 spend and be spent in His service, to make this and the glory 
 of God the end of my existence and salvation." — Andrew Gordon. 
 
 "If I read aright. Christian missions, taken in their widest 
 sense, constitute the zvork which our Lord, before ascending into 
 heaven, assigned to us as churches collectively and as Christians 
 individually; and according as we have done or not done our 
 part, our lives will in the end be judged by Him to be suc- 
 cesses or failures. May the word "failure" never be written upon 
 my latter days!" — Andrew Gordon, in "Our India Mission." 
 
 "According to the grace of God which was given unto me, 
 as a wise master builder I laid a foundation; ana another buildeth 
 thereon. For other fundations can no man lay than that which 
 is laid, which is Jesus Christ." — I Cor. 3: 10. 
 
IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS IN 
 DR. GORDON'S LIFE. 
 
 1828. Born at Putnam, N. Y., September 17th. 
 1833. Death of his mother, December 15th. 
 
 1845. Death of father, August 20th, causes deep regret that he 
 
 had not made a profession of religion. 
 Admitted into the Church. 
 
 1846. Banters into a solemn covenant with "his Lord and Mas- 
 
 ter" to be "forever subject to His will," June ist. 
 1850. Graduates from Franklin College, September 25th. 
 1852. Attends Canonsburg Theological Seminary — licensed to 
 
 preach, by Albany Presbytery, November 2nd. 
 
 1852. Married Miss Rebecca C. Smith, May 18th. 
 
 1853. Attends Canonsburg Theological Seminary — licensed to 
 
 preach, by Albany Presbytery, November 2nd, 
 
 1854. Ordained to preach the Gospel, August 29th. 
 
 Sailed for India, September 28th, on steamer "Sabine." 
 
 1855. Arrives at Calcutta, India. 
 Arrives at Sialkot, August 8th. 
 
 1857. Outbreak of the Sepoy Rebellion. 
 
 First baptisms, October 25th. 
 1864. Failing health compels return to America, November 28th. 
 1872-3. Charge of Congregation at Garner, Iowa. 
 1875. Returns to India. 
 
 1885. Leaves India for last time. 
 
 1886. Writes of "Our India Mission" at his home in America. 
 
 1887. Illness. Goes to Clifton Springs in search of health. 
 Death at Philadelphia, August 13th. 
 
IV 
 
 ANDREW GORDON 
 
 The Founding of a Mission 
 By rev. DAVID R. GORDON 
 
 Andrew Gordon was the fifth child of Rev. His Birth- 
 Alexander Gordon. His mother's maiden name p/ace. 
 was Margaret Martin, of Guinston, Pa. He was 
 born at Putnam, Washington county, New York, 
 on September 17th, 1828. Putnam is about as 
 obscure and seckided a spot as could well be 
 found, situated between Lake Champlain and 
 Lake George, near the historical town of Ticon- 
 deroga, abounding in hills, woods and rocks. 
 Back of the church stands a perpendicular clifif, 
 some seventy-five or a hundred feet in height, 
 and one great ambition of the boys of the neigh- 
 borhood is to be able to stand on this cliff and 
 throw a stone clear over the church below. The 
 quaint old graveyard in connection with the 
 church has some of the most peculiarly-worded 
 and peculiarly-spelled inscriptions on its head- 
 stones as are likely to be found anywhere. 
 
 When Andrew Gordon was a little over four 
 years of age, his father's house burned down. 
 This experience impressed itself deeply on his 
 119 
 
I20 In the King's Service 
 
 youthful memory, and he describes the events 
 of that memorable night in some reminiscences 
 of his boyhood days, which he penned in later 
 years. 
 Death of Soon after this event, on December 15th, 
 1833, his mother died. She had taught him to 
 repeat the Lord's prayer evening and morning, 
 but she was taken from him before he could 
 know the value of a pious mother's instructions 
 and learning. His father, however, was dili- 
 gent in storing his youthful mind with that 
 "form of sound words" which, though very irk- 
 some at the time, was of great value to him in 
 after life. He was required to commit to mem- 
 ory the Psalms of David (a few verses each 
 Sabbath) and select passages from Proverbs 
 during the week, also the Shorter Catechism as 
 soon as he was able to read. At that time he re- 
 garded this as a disagreeable task and went 
 about it very lazily, to his father's great grief. 
 But this early training enabled him in after years 
 to ask and answer the 107 questions of the 
 Shorter Catechism without the book and with- 
 out making a mistake. 
 
 The period of his life before his father's 
 death, and his uniting with the Church, is nar- 
 rated thus by himself: 
 First thought "About this time, or perhaps a year or two af- 
 of the terwards, my father suggested to me the 
 
 ini8 ry. thought of studying for the ministry. The 
 thought pleased me very much. Accordingly 
 
Andrew Gordon 12 1 
 
 lie borrowed a copy of Frey's Hebrew Gram- 
 mar of Rev. James P. Miller, and some time af- 
 terwards bought a Latin Grammar and Historia 
 Sacra, that I might have an opportunity of mak- 
 ing an early beginning. But my progress was 
 very slow. My poor father, who was my teach- 
 er, was distracted and broken down with various 
 troubles — my time was needed at manual labor 
 as soon as I could be of any use in this way, 
 consequently my Hebrew and Latin were laid 
 aside, and for a few years I was sent three 
 months occasionally to a district school. When- 
 ever there was an opportunity of earning a few 
 cents among the neighboring farmers, it was 
 necessary that I should improve it in order that 
 we might keep out of debt, which we were all 
 early taught to shun. My father purchased a 
 small piece of land, which also required some 
 of my time. About the age of thirteen, I Thought of 
 thought of learning to weave and following it as '**^^'' 
 a business. I thought also of being a shoe- '""" ***""'*• 
 maker, chiefly because there was no prospect of 
 having the means necessary to carry me 
 through a course of study. To these proposals 
 I do not remember that my father raised any 
 objection. He wished us each to follow the 
 calling of our choice, provided only it was an 
 honest one. It was still my desire, however, to 
 study, and this desire was always increased 
 whenever I enjoyed a few months at school. 
 
122 In the King^s Service 
 
 At School. In the fall of 1842, all of the family except my- 
 self, moved to Johnstown, Fulton county, N. Y. 
 I spent the winter in Hebron with Mr. James 
 Cummings, working evenings and mornings for 
 my board, and attending a district school in the 
 daytime. My principal studies were arithmetic 
 and penmanship, at which I was foremost in the 
 school, and felt very much uplifted. Here I 
 made my first attempt at declamation. No such 
 exercise was required in the school, but a num- 
 ber of us volunteered to speak if our master 
 would permit us. Permission was given, and it 
 was agreed that I must speak first. Having 
 carefully committed to memory an extract of 
 Patrick Henry's celebrated speech, I made an 
 attempt to deliver it before the school. But by 
 the time I had pronounced about two sen- 
 tences, I was obliged to sit down confused and 
 ashamed. 
 
 "Some time during this winter, while sitting 
 under the preaching of Rev. A. Anderson. 1 
 thought of making a profession of religion, but 
 thought of it as a duty and not as a privilege. 
 My leisure time for reading, which was quite 
 limited, I spent in reading such books as the 
 lives of Benjamin Franklin, and Blackhawk, and 
 Alcot's Young Men's Guide. I do not remem- 
 ber that I had any taste for religious reading 
 that winter. On the 7th of March, 1843, I fol- 
 lowed the rest of the family to Johnstown." 
 
Andrew Gordon 123 
 
 This trip from Hebron to Johnstown, which ^ ^'^"9 
 he made on foot, is described by his sister as fol- '''""/'• 
 lows: 
 
 "When our family moved from Putnam to 
 Johnstown, N. Y., Andrew remained with a 
 friend of father's in Hebron, and attended the 
 common school one session. At the close of 
 school he came to our home in Johnstown. 
 Leaving Hebron, he stopped with friends over 
 night in South Argyle, which was a little piece 
 on his way, leaving 54 miles remaining. He 
 started early the next day on foot, crossing the 
 bridge over North River before daylight. Once 
 or twice he was taken on for a few miles by per- 
 sons going the same way, altogether about 1 1 
 miles. His boots being rather loose, he stuffed 
 a handkerchief into the heel of one and a mit- 
 ten into the other to keep them from blistering 
 his feet. Near sundown, a large boy who had 
 grown out of his clothes, carrying all his belong- 
 ings, not in a telescope, nor in a suit case, but 
 in a red bandana, came into the open hall, and 
 asked if he could stay all night! I said, 'I'll ask 
 father.' Then he smiled and I recognized him. 
 For two long days he was too tired to take any 
 interest in anything that his two little brothers 
 could offer, and which they could not under- 
 stand. He resolved that he would never make 
 a trip like that again." 
 
 After reaching Johnstown, his own narrative 
 continues thus: 
 
124 In the King's Service 
 
 studying "The home in which we lived the first few 
 
 '"^' months, was in sight of Johnstown Academy, 
 the sight of which excited an intense desire to 
 be one of its inmates, but the smalhiess of 
 father's salary (200 dollars a year) seemed to 
 cut off all hopes of this at present. My father, 
 however, promised that, if he could, he would 
 send me a session or two. This spring was 
 spent partly in a chair factory, where I under- 
 took a job of putting seats into 100 chairs. 
 But when I had earned a few dollars, my em- 
 ployer broke the contract and went away leav- 
 ing me a trifle in his debt. Here I was in the 
 company of profane swearers and was not sorry 
 to leave. Part of the spring was also spent in 
 sawing wood with my two younger brothers for 
 our neighbors in the village. When the season 
 advanced, we wrought a small piece of land on 
 the shares. The following winter I attended 
 part of a session at the academy, and the next 
 winter a whole session, sawing wood night and 
 morning, and working wherever I could get 
 work during the intervening summer, which 
 was mostly on the farm. 
 
 "On the 15th of April, 1845, ^ hired out to 
 work on the farm, at $8.00 per month for Johrt 
 McNab, an elder of the congregation, in hope 
 of earning something to enable me to go to 
 school. Although the labor appeared hard, and 
 I sometimes felt as if I were not able to go 
 through it, yet I was in a kind family, and much 
 
Andrew Gordon 125 
 
 of the time working with a very godly old man, 
 by whose godly walk and conversation and fer- 
 vent prayers I trust I was profited. 
 
 "On the evening of the i8th or 19th of An- "« fathers 
 1 • / o \ • X 11- i Illness 
 
 gust this summer (1845), mtelligence came to (j q ff, 
 
 me that my father was very dangerously ill. This 
 was like a thunder stroke and occasioned many 
 sad reflections while I was on my way home 
 that night. How I had neglected my privileges 
 and now they were about to be taken way! I 
 had not made a profession of religion, although 
 I had thought much about it for three years 
 past, while I had a living father, who was so 
 eminently qualified to instruct me about the 
 nature, manner, use and end of this step. I had 
 not even given him the gratification of knowing 
 that I wished to make a profession. How had 
 I neglected to seek his counsel with regard to 
 my future course, for he often invited us all to 
 ask him questions, intimating that it afforded 
 him pleasure to answer them, especially on re- 
 ligious topics. But now this excellent counsel- 
 lor was about to be taken away! After I had 
 reached home he was only able to tell me in a 
 low whisper that he was about to leave me. He 
 died on the 20th." Religious 
 
 "During the two or three years previous to Experence. 
 this solemn event, I had spent my leisure time, 
 particularly on the Sabbath, in carefully read- 
 ing some practical religions books, among which 
 were 'Dodridge's Rise and Progress of Religion 
 
126 In the King's Service 
 
 in the Soul,' and 'Craighead on Communion,' 
 and about this time or afterwards 'Owen on Spir- 
 itual-mindedness' and 'Willison on Commun- 
 ion.' The perusal of these books, I have always 
 thought, were of great advantage to me, and I 
 am inclined to think they were the means of my 
 conversion. At all events I loved these books, 
 and I think entered into the spirit of them. They 
 led me to see and feel what I had often been 
 taught before, that I was a sinner at heart. They 
 led me to pray earnestly, and particularly to 
 plead that God would give me a new heart ac- 
 cording to his promise in Ezekiel xxxvi, 25-26, 
 that He would pardon my sins, that He would 
 make me spiritually minded, that He would be 
 my God and Father, and take me to be His 
 child. I had some diflficulty at times in seeing 
 that the promises of these blessings were for me 
 individually. Yet being taught that they were 
 so, I endeavored often to venture my all upon 
 them. I was led also to self-examination with 
 a view to being admitted into full communion in 
 the Church, and especially to taking a seat at the 
 Lord's table, for I earnestly desired to belong to 
 Christ, and thought I was doing wrong in con- 
 tinuing to stand back, thus saying virtually that 
 I belonged to the world and not to Christ." 
 
 Uniting " * * * Thus I came gradually to the conclu- 
 with the sion that I had passed from death unto life, al- 
 
 Church. though that life was so weak as to be scarcely 
 perceptible. I do not remember opening my 
 
Andrew Gordon 127 
 
 mind upon these subjects to any one previous 
 to my father's death — not even to him. O, that 
 I had been wise, for he would surely have been 
 delighted with any opportunity of clearing away 
 my difficulties and leading me to love Christ. I 
 still thought I would open my mind to him, and 
 continued to resolve and again halt between two 
 opinions, until he was suddenly taken away by 
 death. This painful event made me think that 
 now there was no time to lose. It was the means 
 of making me more serious and more thoughtful 
 about religion and less attached to the world 
 than before. Accordingly a few weeks after- 
 wards I opened my mind freely to Rev. J. G. 
 Smart, who was appointed to dispense the Lord's. 
 Supper in Johnstown, and was admitted to full 
 communion in the visible Church. It seemed 
 then, and I have often thought the same since, 
 that I was not examined as thoroughly as would 
 have been profitable for me, although he told 
 the session that the conversation was very full 
 and satisfactory. I had little more clearness as 
 to my state before God after the examination 
 than before it. Perhaps he trusted too much to 
 the fact that I had enjoyed great privileges from 
 my childhood." 
 
 It must have been shortly after this time that 
 he entered into a solemn agreement with his 
 Lord and Master as follows: 
 
 "June ist. 1846. It is my most sincere desire A Life 
 this day to take God as my Creator, my Father Covenant 
 
128 In tlie King's Service 
 
 in Christ, the Author of all my mercies, the in- 
 finitely wise and just disposer of all events. 
 The Son as the only way of coming to the 
 Father, as he to whom I am bound by the 
 strongest ties to love with all my heart for His 
 wondrous love to me, who am unworthy of the 
 least favor; which love was manifested in His 
 coming down from the throne of heaven, in tak- 
 ing upon him our nature, suffering the scorn and 
 cruel envy of sinful men, and death, and all this 
 for me, who am infinitely unworthy. I desire 
 to reject every other way of salvation as utterly 
 vain, and to rest solely upon the merits of his 
 sufferings for all needed grace and strength to 
 guard against and to hate sin, and perform every 
 known duty, and for the final salvation of my 
 soul from sin, as well as from the punishment 
 due to it. And also the Holy Ghost for my 
 Sanctifier, who shall make me fit for the inherit- 
 ance of the saints above, who shall teach me to 
 understand the Word, and incline my heart to 
 obedience in all things, who shall be my com- 
 fort in trouble, and my unerring guide through 
 life and death. I desire to take shame to my- 
 self, and to go all my days humbled to the very 
 dust on account of particular sins and sins in 
 general that I have committed, and to endeavor 
 hereafter through the strength of promised 
 grace to hate all sin because it is hateful in the 
 sight of God, and to trust in the merits of Christ 
 for the pardon of my sins, and to trust in the free 
 
Andrew Gordon 129 
 
 promise that, "him that cometh unto Me I will 
 in no wise cast out." I do therefore solemnly 
 engage in the presence of the three-one God to 
 be forever subject to His will in all things, to 
 spend and be spent in His service, to make this 
 and the glory of God the end of my existence 
 and salvation, and to live no longer in the ser- 
 vice of sin. All this so far as my depraved na- 
 ture will admit, and to trust for the fulfillment 
 upon Him who alone is able and willing to help 
 me, and has already satisfied Divine justice and 
 reconciled us to God. 
 
 "(Signed) ANDREW GORDON." 
 
 Andrew Gordon attend Franklin College, New College 
 Athens. Ohio, and graduated from there on ^"/®- 
 September 25th, 1850. He gives an account of 
 his efforts to make some money by teaching a 
 class in writing during the three weeks inter- 
 vening between his final examinations and com- 
 mencement day. The preface to this little book- 
 let shows the vein of humor which was a part of 
 his general make-up: "Be it known to the reader 
 that the following pages are not intended for the 
 press, nor even for every one to read in private, 
 but only for such as will not make fun of them, 
 and for these only when they can find nothing 
 else to do." 
 
 He gives the following description of the com- 
 mencement exercises: 
 
 "Wednesday, at 10 o'clock A. M., the stu- Graduation. 
 dents and faculty were assembled at the college 
 
130 In the King's Service 
 
 door, and, led by a band of music, followed by a 
 rabble of boys, and gazed at by three or four 
 thousand of people who had assembled, we 
 marched in procession to a grove one-fourth of a 
 mile from the village, where the exercises of the 
 day were held. The performances were in the 
 following order: ist, English salutatory; 2d, 
 Latin; 3d, Greek, 4th, Hebrew, then three Eng- 
 lish speeches and a valedictory. We were now 
 addressed in a very solemn manner by the presi- 
 dent, and declared to be 'Bachelors in the Lib- 
 eral Arts.' Finally we had a comical perform- 
 ance in the form of a 'stump speech,' by a 'can- 
 didate for Governor.' He was a little freshman. 
 His speech was the only one which seemed to 
 command the attention of the whole crowd. In 
 such an assembly there are so many who come 
 for 'they don't know what,' that those who wish 
 to hear the sober, substantial performances find 
 it almost impossible. The performances being 
 over at half-past 3 o'clock, the multitude began 
 to leave, and at dark the village was about as 
 quiet as usual, with little more than its 300 in- 
 habitants." 
 Appointment He attended the Theological Seminary at 
 to India. Cannonsburg, Pa., and was licensed to preach by 
 
 Albany Presbytery on November 2d, 1853. 
 While attending the Seminary he was married 
 to Rebecca Campbell Smith, of New Athens, 
 Ohio, on May i8th, 1852. After finishing his 
 Seminary course, and while filling some appoint- 
 
Andrew Gordon 131 
 
 merits to preach in vacant congregations in the 
 suburbs of New York and Philadelphia, he was 
 appointed by the Associate Presbyterian Synod 
 as a missionary to India. Going to India at that 
 time was a very different thing from what it is 
 now, fifty years later. Space will not permit it 
 here, but those who wish to read a full and inter- 
 esting account of this preparation for and voyage 
 to India can do so in the first and second chap- 
 ters of "Our India Mission." "The route to 
 India lay around the southern coast of Africa, 
 through the boisterous Southern Ocean, cross- 
 ing and recrossing the Equator under a scorch- 
 ing sun, requiring a tedious voyage of from 100 
 to 150 days on the fathomless deep, without the 
 relief of a landing, and with scarcely a sight of 
 land." "The ideal, too, of a true-hearted mis- 
 sionary in those days was very Hke that of an 
 exile for life, with little more than a vague, 
 dreamlike hope of ever returning." It was par- Mrs. Gordon's 
 ticularly hard for Mrs. Gordon to make up her Family. 
 mind to go so far. She was an ardent lover of 
 home and quiet retirement, and had never in 
 her life been far away from home. Her parents 
 being both alive, the home circle was still prac- 
 tically unbroken. To one of her retiring dispo- 
 sition, "the prospect of thus leaving fifteen or 
 sixteen thousand miles of ocean to roll for an 
 indefinite term of years between her and the 
 home of her childhood, of meeting only stran- 
 gers in a strange land, of enduring the heat of 
 
132 In the King's Service 
 
 a tropical climate, and of raising a family ex- 
 posed to heathen influences, was formidable in- 
 deed. The struggle in her mind between duty 
 and inclination was intense, and it was almost 
 equally so in the minds of her parents." The 
 reluctance on the part of her parents to give 
 their consent was providentially overcome in a 
 remarkable way. Her father, in a lifetime of 
 tighty-six years, had his likeness taken but once, 
 and that was on this occasion of my mother's 
 leaving for India. Her parents, taking her lit- 
 tle sister Euphemia along with them, drove to 
 town for the purpose of getting this likeness 
 A Bullet taken. On their return, the ball from a careless 
 and a hunter's rifle flew in front of the other two, pass- 
 Decision. j^^g close by little Euphemia's head, and struck 
 the mother in the arm. They took from this the 
 lesson that it was no safer to be on land than on 
 the ocean, and that God, who fiad preserved 
 them in such a remarkable way, could keep their 
 child, even though she be in a far-oflf heathen 
 land. 
 (yrdination. "Another important event took place on the 
 29th of August (1854), in the Charles Street 
 Church, New York. The Presbytery met, the 
 congregation assembled. The Rev. James 
 Thompson preached a sermon on the words, 
 'Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as 
 though God did beseech you by us, we pray you 
 in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled unto God.' 
 
Andrew Gordon 133 
 
 "This was the first sermon," said Andrew Gor- 
 don, "I had heard preached in public for my 
 individual benefit. After it was concluded, the 
 Presbytery prayed, and laid their hands on me, 
 and solemnly ordained me to preach the Gospel 
 in North India. That w^as a solemn hour, in 
 which I was clothed with a responsible office, 
 and at the same time sent away to my great life 
 work." 
 
 On the 28th of September, 1854, the little ^^^/r 
 
 f r • • • • ■• r i.u Missionary 
 
 company of four missionaries, consisting of the 
 
 Rev. Andrew and Mrs. Gordon, their little 
 daughter Louisa, and Miss Elizabeth G. Gor- 
 don, the sister of Rev. Andrew Gordon, set sail 
 from New York in the little sailing vessel "Sa- 
 bine." The voyage occupied 139 days, and 
 they landed in Calcutta, the capital of India, on 
 February 13th, 1855. 
 
 On this long voyage Mr. Gordon kept a jour- Dangers 
 nal, and each day he marked the latitude, longi- °^ ^^°- 
 tude, temperature of air, temperature of water, 
 course and distance run. The maximum dis- 
 tance run in any one day was 247 miles, and the 
 minimum 10. The maximum temperature of 
 the air was 89 degrees, and the minimum was 
 36. One day, while in the Southern Ocean, they 
 very nearly ran on an iceberg. Mr. Gordon was 
 the first to discover it, straight ahead in the 
 course in which the ship was sailing. It was in 
 the gray mist of the early morning, and not 
 knowing at first sight what it was, he hurried to 
 
134 111 the King's Service 
 
 the captain and asked him if they were not run- 
 ning upon an island? "Why, no! What — why — 
 where — what d'ye mean?" he stammered out 
 hurriedly, under great excitement. Then shout- 
 ing orders to change the ship's course, he ex- 
 claimed impatiently, "Another of those dreadful 
 icebergs!" 
 
 The "Sabine," not being a regular passenger 
 vessel, carried no other passengers except these 
 four missionaries. There were twenty-seven 
 souls on board, fourteen of whom were sailors, 
 to whom it was unlawful for them to speak. The 
 steward and first and second mates could be 
 spoken to, but it was not proper, according to 
 the ship's regulations, to be sociable even with 
 these. There were six left besides themselves, 
 and these for nearly five months constituted 
 their only companions. This would not have 
 been so bad had they only been congenial, but 
 they were not. Of the six, only one, the Cap- 
 tain's wife, was a Christian, while the rest, viz., 
 the captain, the super-cargo and his three clerks, 
 were scoffers at religion. This made their voy- 
 age, which even at best would have been monot- 
 onous and tiresome enough, much more disa- 
 greeable. 
 Arrival in As they drew near to Calcutta, after their 
 India, Jong voyage, their feelings are thus described 
 by Mr. Gordon: 
 
 "As you near your anchorage in the port of 
 destination the desire to leave the old ship be- 
 
Andrew Gordon 135 
 
 comes intense, and one has no doubt about dry 
 land being the natural abode of man. Green 
 fields, trees and flowers appear more beautiful 
 than ever. The sight of men, animals and vehi- 
 cles moving about affords a pleasure unknown 
 before. Fresh vegetables and fruits, and water 
 that is not drawn from old casks are partaken 
 of with a keen relish. The refreshing smell of 
 land is a delightful contrast to the strong smell 
 peculiar to a ship. The monotonous splashing of 
 water upon the ship's sides gives place to a 
 hundred musical sounds which charmed us as 
 they had never charmed. Even the bowlings of 
 jackals along the jungly banks of the Hoogly 
 are music to a weary voyager. Because first as- 
 sociated with our approaching land, pleasant 
 emotions are still (thirty years afterwards) 
 awakened by the hideous cries of those sneaking, 
 detestable scavengers on their nightly rounds. 
 Above all, there was a kind of solid satisfaction 
 in setting one's foot down on something that 
 does not roll and pitch, after 139 days of toss- 
 ing upon the restless ocean." 
 
 " Then are they glad because they be quiet, so 
 He bringeth them into their desired haven. O 
 that men would praise the Lord for His good- 
 tiess, and for His wonderful works to the chil- 
 dren of men ! ' ' 
 
 Albany Presbytery had ordained Andrew Gor- Fisid of work. 
 don to preach the Gospel in "North India." Ac- 
 cordingly soon after landing in Calcutta, he 
 
136 In the King's Service 
 
 started with the family for the Punjab. Sial- 
 kot is about 1400 miles from Calcutta, and at 
 that time only 100 miles of this was railroad. 
 They made this long journey in wagons, drawn 
 by coolies. It took them twenty days to reach 
 Saharanpur, where they were received with 
 marked hospitality by the American mission- 
 aries of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. 
 Leaving the family for a time at this place, he 
 went on alone to Sialkot, which was 300 miles 
 farther on. He describes this journey to Sial- 
 kot in his diary as follows: 
 
 "On returning from Dehra-Dun and Landour, 
 I found my wife and sister ill with dysentery, 
 and was prevented from starting to Sialkot till 
 July 30th. This is somewhat of a trial to be 
 separated 300 miles from my family at the be- 
 ginning of the most sickly season for a space of 
 three months, and that when they are not at all 
 well. But Providence seems to point me to 
 Sialkot, and unless I occupy it now I will lose 
 the opportunity." 
 Traveling "Ludhiana, August 2d (1855). Missionaries 
 Northward, here, as well as at almost every other station I 
 have visited, appear to be groaning under a load 
 of secular business. Can I not avoid this evil? 
 My heart's desire is to give myself continually to 
 prayer and the ministry of the Word. I believe 
 that schools and printing presses are chiefly to 
 blame. The system of attempting to convert 
 heathen in schools seems to me new to be more 
 
Andrew Gordon 137 
 
 like the wisdom of men than the *fooHshness of 
 preaching,' although I have been greatly in love 
 with it until lately. Out of ten mission schools, 
 some of them numbering as high as 500 pupils, 
 and some of them of near twenty years' stand- 
 ing, I have not been able to hear of any converts. 
 The Free Church school at Calcutta is the 
 eleventh and an exception. O for wisdom to 
 direct me in this important matter!" 
 
 "August 8th, 12 miles south of Sialkot. Stop- 
 ped here in the shade of a tree at half-past 11 
 A. M., because of the intense heat of the sun 
 and the sultriness of the weather. There is no 
 hot wind, but my watch, stafT, pillow and every- 
 thing in the dooley feel hot, notwithstanding 
 the thick wool covering overhead; and the bear- 
 ers appear to suffer. Some of them are sleep- 
 ing now on their upper garment spread on the 
 earth, some are smoking their hooka, and one is 
 mixing bread on his upper garment spread on 
 the ground. I went near, but he was concerned 
 lest it might be polluted by my touch or my 
 shadow, although it was black with smoke be- 
 fore he ate it. At 3 we started and reached Sial- 
 kot at 8. Captain J. Mill received me with great 
 kindness!" 
 
 He arrived in Sialkot with just $17 in h.\s, At Sialkot 
 pocket, with which to found the mission! A 
 subscription paper was circulated by Captain 
 Mill, and about $250 raised, and with this sum 
 he moved slowly and cautiously forward with 
 
138 In the King's Service 
 
 his building operations. After three months, 
 in order to pay the traveling expenses of the 
 family from Saharanpur, it was necessary to 
 borrow money from his friend, Captain Mill. 
 The situation was exceedingly embarrassing, 
 and yet for a period of seven months and more, 
 counting from the time of their landing in Cal- 
 cutta, they looked in vain for a remittance from 
 the home land. 
 Building. After enjoying the Christian hospitality of 
 Captain Mill for about six weeks, he determined 
 to erect a temporary shanty of bamboos and 
 grass, in the midst of his building operations, 
 on the lot purchased southwest of the city, and 
 move into it, where he could more efifectually 
 superintend the building of our first mission 
 home. On the day after moving into this shanty, 
 he thus describes his thoughts and emotions: 
 
 Reminiscen- "The 28th of September has now dawned. 
 ces and Qne year ago to-day our hearts were full and 
 
 Reflections. ^^^^ ^^^^ be-dimmed with tears as we stood on 
 the deck watching for and responding to the last 
 flutterings of white along the living line on the 
 receding shore of our dear native land. To-day 
 I have again cut loose and pushed out upon the 
 black waters of Heathendom. A people degrad- 
 ed and filthy, poor and ignorant, lazy, dishonest 
 and deceitful, and ingenious chiefly in the one art 
 of securing their penny a day without fairly 
 earning it, are swarming around me. Six hun- 
 dred and forty thousand of these in the district 
 
Andrew Gordon 139 
 
 of Sialkot, without a native Christian! My life's 
 work is now before rne. After twelve months 
 of journeying the end is reached. After many 
 years of tossing, I light down at last and feel 
 very distinctly a new experience which I never 
 enjoyed previous to this day — a comfortable 
 sense of relief and rest in the thought that I am 
 now definitely settled for life. All this, a short 
 time ago, was as foreign to my thoughts as heat 
 to the North Pole. Surely the Lord has led me 
 in a way I knew not. Thus I soliloquized when 
 fairly settled in the mission hut." 
 
 "I will instruct and teach thee, and lest thou 
 turn a.side, 
 I'll in the way direct thee, my eye shall be thy 
 guide." 
 
 In less than two years after moving into the ^^^ ^e/joy 
 mission compound, the terrible Sepoy Rebellion "^°^"'°"- 
 of 1857 burst "like a desolation cyclone" upon 
 the Uttle mission band at Sialkot. All the Euro- 
 pean and American residents in the place had to 
 flee, and those who neglected or failed to do so 
 were murdered by the mutineers. Shelter was 
 afforded by the government in the fort at La- 
 hore, seventy miles south of Sialkot, and to 
 this place Dr. Gordon escorted the women and 
 children of the mission families. He describes 
 this journey as follows: 
 
140 In tHe King^s Service 
 
 "There were two buggies for our three fami- 
 lies (Mr. Hill's, Mr. Stevenson's and his own), 
 and at 9 o'clock P. M. on the nth of June, I 
 set out on horseback to escort them to a place 
 of safety. A wearisome and perilous journey of 
 seventy miles lay before us. Though our imme- 
 diate vicinity was still free from actual scenes 
 of blood, yet an outbreak was as liable to take 
 place there as elsewhere, and all was uncertainty. 
 From day to day we were constantly agitated 
 by fresh tidings of garrisons revolting, now in 
 this station and again in that one. Bloody mas- 
 sacres were perpetrated, first in one quarter and 
 then in another. Squads of mutinous Sepoys 
 were at large, roving about the country. The 
 seventy thousand Sepoys in North India, thor- 
 oughly drilled by English army officers, were 
 rapidly turning against us. In a large portion 
 of India the people also were up in insurrection, 
 and the very air was filled with rumors which 
 were most disheartening and horrifying to the 
 mere handful of foreigners." 
 A Critical ''By all these things different individuals were 
 Moment variously affected. It was well that some of us, 
 like soldiers after the first volley or two, were 
 not troubled with fear after the first few hours 
 of panic. But these mothers, with darling babes 
 in their arms, how could they thus cast off fear? 
 As I moved down the road toward Gujranwala 
 with my precious charge in the solemn stillness 
 of that fearful night, it was most painful to wit- 
 
Andrew Gordon 141 
 
 ness the forebodings of approaching danger from 
 which some of our little company continually 
 suffered. A Persian wheel creaking in the dis- 
 tance, the hoot of some lonely owl, a bat flitting 
 by in the air would cause them to quake. Im- 
 agination transformed almost every object that 
 met the ear or the eye into a murderous Sepoy. 
 * * * In one instance I was compelled to admit 
 the approach of something that was much more 
 alarming. The sound of horses' feet was first 
 heard faintly in the distance, then more distinct- 
 ly, and evidently approaching nearer and nearer. 
 A moment later and, behold, a company of horse- 
 men galloping up the road toward us! I bade 
 our party move aside to the left and remain per- 
 fectly quiet, whilst I rode a little forward and 
 halted directly between them and whatever 
 might be coming. There could be no mistake 
 this time, for there they were, a dozen or more 
 of real Sepoys, formidably armed and mounted, 
 coming right on at a full gallop! I had a pair of 
 saddlebags under me. Reaching down into the 
 pocket at my right, I grasped a loaded pistol, 
 and sat thus in readiness, thinking it would be 
 right to use it, and to sacrifice my life if neces- 
 sary in defense of my charge, and our timid 
 little company sat trembling, when the Sepoys, 
 dashing up, came to a sudden halt on the road 
 just beside us. Another second and they were 
 galloping on their way. It was only necessary 
 for us to remember a well-known native custom 
 
142 In the King's Service 
 
 in order to perceive that their halting before 
 they passed us was an act of respect; and thus 
 relieved, we all dared to breathe once more, 
 knowing that whatever might be in the hearts 
 of these Sepoys, they were up to the present mo- 
 ment at least practically loyal." 
 First 'pjig f^j-g^ baptisms in the mission took place 
 Baptisms. ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ October, 1857, when a Brahmin, 
 the very highest caste, and a Chuhra, an out- 
 cast, or one without any caste, stood up together 
 and were baptized. 
 
 The next seven years of Air. Gordon's life were 
 spent in Sialkot. During that time one of his 
 missionary colleagues, Mr. Hill, severed his con- 
 nection with the mission and went to America, 
 while another one, Dr. J. S. Barr and wife, came 
 out from America and joined the mission. 
 Invalided On the 29th of February, 1864, after incessant 
 Home, labors, carried on under very discouraging and 
 trying circumstances, his health gave way. With 
 a groan he laid his head upon the table at which 
 he was sitting, and from that day forward for 
 several years he was laid aside from work en- 
 tirely with nervous prostration, and on the 28th 
 of November, that same year, in company with 
 Mr. Stevenson and family and his own sister, 
 who were also broken down in health, he and his 
 family left for America. 
 War and At the time they reached home, the United 
 Hard Times, grates had just passed through the terrible or- 
 deal of the Civil War. Living was enormously 
 
Andrew Gordon 143 
 
 expensive, as much as a hundred dollars havin<:^ 
 to be paid for a good suit of clothes, and from 
 fourteen to twenty dollars for a serviceable pair 
 of shoes. Under these circumstances it was 
 difficult to make ends meet. The state of his 
 health did not permit him to take charge of a 
 congregation, or fill any appointments to preach. 
 For a while he tried to earn a little money by 
 peddling soap from door to door in the city of 
 Philadelphia, but the heat of the hot weather 
 made it impossible for him even to do this. 
 John Wanamaker invited him to give a talk on 
 India to the Bethany Sabbath school. Finding 
 that his strength enabled him to do this, he gave 
 the same talk in some of the churches of the 
 city, and was invited to speak in some of the 
 New York churches also. Aided by his daugh- 
 ter and a little native boy whom he took home 
 with him from India, he gradually added features 
 of interest to his talk, and in connection with it 
 exhibited some curios from India. He traveled 
 for three years throughout the length and 
 breadth of the United Presbyterian Church, lec- 
 turing on India, and interesting the people in the 
 field and the work. When he succeeded so well 
 with this "Hindoo Exhibition," he was tempted 
 to make a big thing of it, viz., to import some 
 natives from India, and a lot more curios, and 
 make a hig show. But feeling that this was not 
 his calling, he gave up this work just as it began 
 to be a financial success. He then bought a 
 
India. 
 
 144 In the King's Service 
 
 house and lot in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where his 
 youngest brother David was settled as pastor, 
 and went into the lumber business in that place. 
 He carried this on for a short time, but just as 
 soon as his health permitted, he took charge of 
 a congregation. He organized the congregation 
 of Garner, Iowa, and spent the winter of 1872- 
 'yT, preaching in that newly settled country. 
 Returning to g^j. j^jg j^^^^^ ^^g j^ Jndia, and as soon as his 
 
 health permitted, he returned to his work there. 
 In the autumn of 1875, i" company with his 
 family, he set sail from Philadelphia, in the 
 steamship Ohio. After twelve days of sailing 
 across the Atlantic, they landed in Liverpool, 
 England. Going from there to London, they 
 took another ship, which landed them in Bom- 
 bay in just one month's time. This trip was very 
 much shorter and in many ways formed a great 
 contrast to the one undertaken twenty-one years 
 before in the "Sabine." 
 
 The ten years between '75 and '85 were spent 
 mostly in the new mission station of Gurdaspur. 
 Work had been started in this station two or 
 three years previous to this time, but the church 
 building in the city and the mission residence 
 near by were built by him, and evangelistic work 
 in the city and district was pushed as vigorously 
 as possible. 
 
 Extracts from a letter written during this 
 period to the "United Presbyterian" will give a 
 glimpse of his life, and will also show how it was 
 
Andrew Gordon 145 
 
 his habit to utilize every opportunity of pre- 
 senting Christ as the Savior of men to all with 
 whom he came in contact. The subject of the 
 letter is "Going to Presbytery." 
 
 "The direct route from Gurdaspur to Sialkot Going to 
 across country is about sixty-four miles, but this Pf^sbytery. 
 road having many bridgeless streams, being lit- 
 tle traveled and much broken by the rains, it 
 was thought better to go to Amritsar, forty-four 
 miles distant, take the cars around to Wazira- 
 bad, ninety miles, and thus reach Sialkot by 
 twenty-seven miles more of wagon road. Ac- 
 cordingly, a horse and buggy were hired from the 
 livery stable with which to reach Amritsar. I 
 have used the terms 'buggy' and 'livery stable' 
 for convenience, but must explain. 
 
 "* * * The horse, like nearly all native-bred 
 and native-owned horses, consisted of the frame, 
 outside covering and a scant filling, with the 
 temper and manners badly spoiled in the break- 
 ing. 
 
 "It take much experience to be able to seat 
 yourself comfortably on this three by three and 
 a half foot platform. * * Besides, the platform is 
 highest at the front end, which tends to tilt you 
 backwards; the back at the same time pitches 
 forward at the top, so that the very thought of 
 wedging your body down into that acute angle is 
 somewhat painful. The plan adopted was to 
 fill that angle with our roll of bedding and sit in 
 front of it, extending the legs forward at one 
 
146 lu the King's Service 
 
 side of the horse, and, for a change of position, 
 putting them at the other side or both sides. 
 The native name of this vehicle is a yekka. 
 Rough Travel. - * * * jj^g program was to reach Amritsar, 
 if possible by i o'clock in the night, and get 
 three hours' sleep at the railway hotel before the 
 5 o'clock train would arrive. Batala, twenty 
 miles on the way, was reached at about 10 
 o'clock, when a new horse and driver took the 
 place of the old. There is generally much ado to 
 get a native-bred horse into motion. * * * After 
 a while the driver himself became impatient, 
 and with much vehemence called the horse an 
 infidel! At this the animal appeared somewhat 
 startled, but the effect was of short duration. 
 The driver then called the meek suflferer a thief, 
 and then the son of a thief, and added that he 
 would get down and staighten him. This latter 
 threat seemed effectual, and we got fairly into 
 motion. An effort to sleep seemed now in order, 
 and assuming the shape of a carpenter's square, 
 with the body across the yekka and the feet out 
 beside the horse, I might have succeeded if the 
 wheels had been round; but they were not ex- 
 actly so, and the thump, thump, thumping in- 
 duced me to abandon the attempt, and, instead 
 of sleeping, to get acquainted with my only 
 companion and to teach him something good. 
 
 "In answer to my questions, Miram Bux, who 
 though a Mohammedan, seemed teachable and 
 sociable, informed me that he was the brother 
 
Andrew Gordon 147 
 
 (which means very near relative, and in this case 
 meant brother-in-law) of Allah Ditta, who had 
 brought me as far as Batala, that they were not 
 hired drivers, but owners of their horses. 
 
 " 'Are your parents living?' I asked. 
 
 " 'No,' said he. 'My father died eighteen years 
 ago, and my mother five.' 
 
 " 'What is your age?* 
 
 " 'Thirty-five or thirty-six,' was his reply. 
 
 '"How do you know?' 
 
 " 'My mother said I was thirty-two, and she 
 died five years ago.' 
 
 " 'Is it just five years ago?' is asked. 
 
 " 'Well,' he said, 'it may be a couple of months 
 less or more.' I took no notice of these dis- 
 crepancies (which are to be considered very 
 slight indeed among a people, multitudes of 
 whom cannot tell within five or ten years of 
 their true age), but continued to ask: 
 
 " 'Did your mother know she was going to 
 die?' 
 
 " 'No,' he said, 'no one ever knows just when Personal 
 he is going to die.' I then told him the story Work. 
 of a good man who was stoned to death for 
 preaching God's word, and who saw Jesus at 
 the right hand of God and prayed, 'Lord Jesus, 
 receive my spirit' — then knelt down and prayed 
 for his murderers, and immediately died. He 
 expressed great admiration at so wonderful a 
 death of so good a man, and corrected his for- 
 mer remark by saying: 'My father, just a week 
 
148 In the King's Service 
 
 before his death, called mother to his bedside, 
 and bade her show me (their only son) the place 
 where the family treasure was hidden; but she 
 tried to persuade him that death was not so 
 near as all that, and that he would sopn be well. 
 Father became angry at her disobedience, and 
 told me the spot where it was buried (a secret 
 known only to themselves hitherto). I dug in 
 the clay floor as directed, and found the earthen 
 pot which contained one thousand seven hund- 
 red and twenty-five silyer rupees, a pair of solid 
 gold bracelets worth 600 rupees, and a pair 
 of silver bracelets worth thirty-two, besides 
 a few earings and other jewels.' 
 
 " 'Have you got it all yet?' I inquired. 
 
 '' 'The money,' he replied, 'is all gone, and was 
 chiefly spent on the marriage of two sisters, 
 and some other dependent relatives. Only the 
 gold bracelets now remain. These I intend to 
 sell by-and-by. and spend 100 rupees of the 
 money for rice and clothing, to feed and clothe 
 Maulvies (Mohammedan D. Ds.) and other good 
 people.' 
 
 "'Can you read?' I inquired. 
 
 " 'Yes,' he replied, 'I have read the World ot 
 God (meaning the Koran) all through in Arabic' 
 
 "'Do you understand the Koran?' 
 
 "'O, no,' said he, '1 did not read it with the 
 meaning.' 
 
 " 'Do you know," I .asked, 'that the Koran 
 speaks of Jesus in whom we believe as the only 
 
Andrew Gordon 149 
 
 Savior of sinners, and that it calls him a 
 prophet, and the Spirit of God.' 
 
 " * * * In view of all this, with a long 
 journey ahead, calm sky above, and darkness 
 around us shutting out all diversion and inter- 
 ruption, I gave my companion a long discourse 
 on the life of Jesus, the Savior of men." 
 
 "* * * 'Miram Bux, this good news is f*^^^^"^9 
 for you. if you believe in Jesus with all your -,, . 
 heart, he will know it and remember you.' Here 
 I paused and was silently praying the Lord to 
 bless his word, when he broke the silence by 
 asking. 'When do you return from Sialkot? 
 When will you be at Gurdaspur? Is that your 
 house that is building there? I will come to 
 you often.' 
 
 " 'Another word, Miram Bux,' I said, 'what 
 did you say you intended to do with that brace- 
 let money?' He answered, 1 am going to feed 
 and clothe Maulvies and other good people for 
 the sake of m.erit in the day of judgment.' 
 
 " 'But you must not trust in that,' I replied. 
 'Our righteousness is as nothing. If you should 
 steal one rupee out of my pocket to-night, your 
 thirty-six years of good conduct would not save 
 you from being a guilty criminal. * * *' 
 
 " 'Again, cannot these Maulvies recompense 
 you? Jesus said that when we make a feast, 
 we should invite the poor, the maimed, the lame 
 and the blind, and we should be blest for they 
 cannot recompense us.' 
 
150 In the King's Service 
 
 "For a while he was quiet and thoughtful, and 
 then said: 
 
 " 'When I spend the money, I will not do so 
 without first consulting you; 
 
 "During this long conversation, the original 
 program for the night was forgotten. The hours 
 passed swiftly, the horse moved slowly and to 
 our surprise it was nearly train time when we 
 reached Aniritsar." 
 Rich During his stay in India between the years 
 Harvests. '^^ ^^^ ^g^^ j^jg heart was greatly rejoiced at 
 seeing large ingatherings of souls into the 
 Church and Kingdom of Christ. He had sowed 
 in tears, and it was an unspeakable pleasure to 
 him to see that his labor had not been in vain 
 in the Lord. During this period, the number 
 of communicants in the mission field grew to be 
 over two thousand. In the spring of the year 
 1885, he returned to America. Nominally, this 
 was for a rest, but not practically so. At the 
 solicitation of Rev. W. W. Barr, D. D., and 
 Writing a R^v. J. B. Dales, D. D., the worthy President 
 History, and venerable Corresponding Secretary of our 
 Foreign Board at that time, he was mduced 
 to undertake the writing of the history of our 
 mission in India, during the first thirty years of 
 its existence. Some time before he started for 
 America, in the midst of his other missionary 
 labors, he spent a great deal of time and energy 
 in collecting and selecting material for this his- 
 tory, and after reaching the home-land, he thor- 
 
Andrew Gordon 151 
 
 oughly revised his work, and then undertook 
 the publishing and selling of it himself. One 
 great desire of his later years was in some 
 way to earn sufficient means to enable him to 
 be an "independent missionary;" and one reason 
 for his wishing so earnestly to do this was that 
 others who had the means might be led to fol- 
 low his example. But it was not the Master's 
 will that this plan of his should be accomplished. 
 While still busy pushing the sale of his book, 
 "Our India Mission," he was, by the doctor's Sickness 
 orders, compelled to leave this work entirely, (^"(1 Death. 
 and seek a rest and change. Owing to weak- 
 ness of the stomach, brought on in the first place 
 by having to board himself while attending Col- 
 lege in his youth, he contracted a form of 
 bowel complaint which obstinately refused to 
 yield to remedies. Consequently, on the 26th of 
 January, 1887, he left Philadelphia, and spent a 
 few weeks in Canada. His disease getting no 
 better, but rather growing worse, he was pre- 
 vailed upon to enter the Sanitarium at Clifton 
 Springs, N. Y. Everything that skill and care 
 and the kindness of his many friends could do, 
 was done for him. But his work on earth was 
 finished. One week before he died, he insisted 
 on being taken back to Philadelphia. There, in 
 the home of his dear friend, Mr. J. K. Shryock, 
 who had rendered him valuable assistance in the 
 final revision of "Our India Mission," and for 
 whom he entertained the deepest regard as a 
 
152 In the King's . Service 
 
 friend, he quietly breathed his last, on the 13th 
 of August, 1887. His grave is in the beautiful 
 cemetery of "West Laurel Hill," near Fair- 
 mount Park, Philadelphia, and in the same lot 
 along with him rest the mortal remains of his 
 daughter Maggie, who died three years later, 
 and his wife who died thirteen years after he did. 
 The inscription on his tombstone is as follows: 
 
 REV. ANDREW GORDON, D. D., 
 
 BORN, PUTNAM, N. Y, 1828, 
 
 DIED, PHILADELPHIA, PA, 1887. 
 
 MISSIONARY OF THE UNITED 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH TO 
 
 INDIA FOR THIRTY YEARS. 
 
 "GO YE THEREFORE AND TEACH ALL 
 
 NATIONS."— MATT. 28: 19. 
 
Sophia E. Johnson. 
 
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE GREAT 
 PHYSICIAN. 
 
 SOPHIA E. JOHNSON. 
 
 BoKN IN THE Cantonments of Bareilly, India, in 1852. 
 Died at Jhelum, India, Aprii, qth, 1902. 
 
 "And as ye go, preach, saying. The Kingdom of Heaven is 
 at band. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast 
 out demons; freely ye received, freely give." — Matt. lo: 7, 8. 
 
 "Oh, that I could find time for a good long rest. I do need 
 it." — Mrs. Johnson just before her death. 
 
 "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, 
 ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 
 from the foundation of the world : for I was hungry, and ye gave 
 me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a 
 stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was 
 sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me." 
 — Matt. 25: 34, 35, 36. 
 
IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS IN 
 MRS. JOHNSON'S LIFE. 
 
 1852. Born in the cantonments of Bareilly. 
 
 1876. Beginning of friendship with Gordon family. 
 Domestic trials. 
 
 1880. Through her efforts, the Zenana Hospital is opened Sep- 
 tember 17th. 
 
 1885. Enters the Pennsylvania Women's Medical College at 
 Philadelphia, in October. 
 
 1890. Death of her mother. 
 
 Returns to India as medical missionary. 
 
 1896. Good Samaritan Hospital is opened at Jhelum, April. 
 
 1900. Returns to America and attends Ecumenical Conference. 
 
 1902. Dies April 9th. 
 
V 
 SOPHIA E. JOHNSON 
 
 In the Footsteps of the Great Physician 
 By miss MARY J. CAMPBELL 
 
 It is Sabbath evening in the pretty Httle sta- 
 tion of Gurdsspur. The season is the early sum- 
 mer. All day long the wind, thick with dust 
 and hot, has raged, and found many an entrance 
 through closed doors into the bungalows and 
 added more dust and heat to the already stifling 
 atmosphere. But now at evening time, its fury 
 is spent, and into the welcome cool of the twi- 
 light may be seen the inmates of homes, high 
 and low, coming out wearily to seek refreshment 
 and rest in the pleasant evening air. 
 
 Our interest is centered in a group of mis- a Missionary 
 sionaries, a father, a mother, a son and two Family. 
 daughters who have just come out from one 
 of these dimly-lighted, close bungalows. They 
 are glad of this short respite from the heat, even 
 though they have borne cheerfully the long, 
 sultry hours of the day. Time has not dragged 
 in the misi^ionary's home. The usual morning 
 services have been held, the native members 
 of the household have been carefully taught the 
 Bible lesson for the day. The beggars who came 
 
 155 
 
156 111 the King's Service 
 
 to the door have no* been neglected. The blind, 
 the lame, the leper, all found their way to the 
 door of this kind-hearted missionary and each 
 one received a little food and was told of Jesus, 
 their Friend. 
 Sabbath With hearts happy because of a day spent in 
 Evening, j-j^g Master .^ own way, the members of the mis- 
 sionary family gather in the little open space 
 between the bungalow and the garden, and, as is 
 their wont, sing from memory psalm after psalm 
 as the twilight merged into night. The strains 
 of the tender Shepherd Psalm float softly over 
 the rose-scented garden, to a little camp that is 
 pitched beside a clump of bamboos just opposite 
 the missionary's bungalow. In front of the open 
 tent door a sweet-faced young woman sits. She 
 has lately come to the station with her hus- 
 band, who has secured a contract for government 
 work in bridge building. 
 
 She is very happy in her canvas-covered home 
 and busies herself all day long in the home 
 duties, and finds time to help her husband most 
 efficiently in his work as engineer. 
 ^he Shepherd As she listens to the singing from over the 
 Psalm, way, she wonders who her neighbors are. "What 
 are they s:inging? How familiar the words 
 seem? Ah, yes, that is a psalm, the dear, old 
 twenty-third psalm," she says softly to herself, 
 and her eyes moisten, for the words of the psalm 
 bring to her memories of her happy school days 
 in Dehra Dun where she had been carefully 
 
Sophia E. Johnson 157 
 
 trained by kind American teachers. "On the 
 morrow I must cross over and see who my 
 neighbors are." 
 
 Next day she came over to the bungalow and Acquaintance 
 introduced herself to the missionary family, and *^i*t> Gordon 
 thus, on that summer day in 1876, began the 
 friendship of Mrs. Sophia E. Johnson with the 
 Gordon family. 
 
 Long years afterwards when the youngest 
 member of that family group, the Rev. David 
 Gordon, now a missionary himself in the same 
 old station, Gurdaspur, pointed out the places 
 where the bungalow and camp then stood, he 
 said: "Mrs. Johnson quite won the hearts of our 
 young people that day by her sunny disposition 
 and whole-hearted interest in us." 
 
 In Dr. Gordon, Mrs. Johnson found a friend 
 who prove<l a tower of strength to her in the 
 <-roubIous days which soon befell her. How little 
 she '.new of the far-reaching results of that Mon- 
 day morning call on the plain missionary fam- 
 ily! The acquaintance so pleasantly begun rap- 
 idly developed into warm friendship, and Mrs. 
 Johnson, so full of energy, asked to be given 
 an opportunity to expend some of it in the help 
 of the missionaries. Dr. Gordon was at that 
 time in great need of money with which to com- 
 plete the church building which he had been led 
 to begin erecting in the principal bazar of the 
 town some time before. A thousand dollars 
 
158 In the King's Service 
 
 were needed for the completion of this place of 
 worship. The money must be raised in India, 
 but where and how? Mrs. Johnson's offer to 
 help was most timely, for when she learned of 
 the present need, she promptly volunteered to 
 sj^o forth and raise this sum of money. 
 
 An Errand Leaving her happy home, she started forth full 
 of enthusiasm on this errand. She visited friends 
 in some of the large cities and began collecting 
 the money. When the necessary amount had 
 been almost raised her tour brought her one day 
 to the old historic city of Delhi, where she 
 hoped to quickly get the remaining rupees. 
 While there on this labor of love, a shadow fell 
 upon her, a shadow that blotted out all the 
 joy of the past, and made dark the dreary future 
 that stretched out before her. The burden placed 
 upon her seemed greater than she could bear. 
 Heartbreaking An English woman came to her and said: "I 
 ^*^^' am Mr. Johnson's wife." No wonder Mrs. John- 
 son refused at first to believe these cruel words. 
 She naturally thought this the work of an enemy 
 and utterly false. How could she believe this of 
 the man to whom she was married five years 
 ago in the English church in the city of 
 Jullunder; tht man to whom she had given her 
 young heart's deepest afifection! Oh, it was not 
 possible that he could have deceived her! 
 The Fact It was proven, however, to be true, for Mrs. 
 
 Confirmed. Johnson bravely had a searching investigation 
 made. Broken hearted, she turned away from 
 
Sophia E. Johnson 159 
 
 Delhi and came back to Gurdaspur. Mr. John- 
 son, as was his wont, on her return home had 
 the servants in clean livery, drawn up in a line 
 before the open door to welcome their mistress 
 home. It is not for us to intrude on the sad 
 interview that took place when the doors had 
 been closed to the outside world. It is enough 
 to know thai Mr. Johnson bitterly regretted hav- 
 ing deceived her. He pleaded in extenuation 
 that he had learned, as he thought from re- 
 liable sources, that his wife was dead and that 
 he was left free to marry again. His wife had 
 deserted him and had given him every reason 
 for being lawfully separated from her; the very 
 mention of her was painful to him; moreover, 
 he was afraid that if Mrs. Johnson had known 
 the truth, it might have proved a barrier to 
 their union. These, and other reasons, he now 
 gave for having kept from her these pages of 
 the past. 
 
 She loved this man, and her heart was well The Parting. 
 nigh crushed with the thought of what life would 
 be without him, but her proud spirit could not 
 bear the deception, and she felt it was not right 
 for her longer to live in this connection, so she 
 chose a life of poverty and hard work. With 
 what results, her hosts of friends in India and 
 America well know! Her strength and true 
 nobility of character, shone out clearly at this 
 time, as with one stroke she cut oflf a life of 
 ease, for one that was full of pain and sacrifice. 
 
i6o In the King's Service 
 
 A Friend Jt ^^g at this juncture she learned what true 
 staunch friends she had in the Gordon family. 
 Young, alone, without any visible means of sup- 
 port, misunderstood by those who loved her, 
 what should she do? To these missionary friends 
 she now turned in her sore distress and found 
 comfort and help in their sympathy and wise 
 counsel. A short time afterwards, she felt the 
 call to give her life to the missionary work, and 
 she joined the mission band in Gurdaspur as a 
 Zenana worker, being associated for several 
 years in this work with Miss Euphemia Gordon. 
 An Absorbing Summer and winter they visited homes in the 
 Work, town and surrounding villages. In this minis- 
 tration, they were made sad every day, as have 
 other workers since, by the neglect and indif- 
 ference shown to the poor suffering women who 
 met them everywhere. How they longed to help 
 and relieve them! They now began carrying sim- 
 ple remedies with them. 
 Humorous Dr. Johnson used to laughingly relate one of 
 Incidents those first experiences in dealing with the sick. 
 In a village which they visited one day, they met 
 a poor woman who was in great agony. She 
 begged them to help her. Now, all they had 
 left in their bag was a supply of epsom salts. 
 From all they could learn from the symptoms 
 described, they felt this was not the medicine 
 to administer. But the woman and her neigh- 
 bors were so importunate in their demand for 
 medicine that a dose was finally given, though 
 
Sophia E. Johnson i6i 
 
 with reluctance. The ladies thoroughly alarmed 
 lest the doss might prove anything but beneficial 
 hastened home and went straight to the civil 
 surgeon, a kind Hindu man, and told him what 
 they had done. They described the case as care- 
 fully as they could, and asked anxiously if he 
 thought haim had been done. He listened quiet- 
 ly, smiled, then said with deliberation, "No, I 
 do not think you have done harm, but it is not 
 customary to treat a case of tonsilitis in this 
 way." 
 
 This Hindu doctor became much interested in Medical 
 the efforts of the ladies to help the suffering '"s''""^'''"'- 
 women, and volunteered to give them some med- 
 ical instruction. This offer was gladly accepted, 
 and once or twice a week they went to him for 
 lessons. The practical knowledge gained by Dr. 
 Johnson, in those days of preparatory work, 
 was of great use to her in the larger work which 
 she found awaiting her in after years. 
 
 Dr. Behavi Lai, for that was the name of the 
 Hindu doctor, belonged to a reform sect of Hin- 
 dus called Eiahmo Somaj. He was a polite na- 
 tive gentleman of the old school. Such manners 
 as his are seen all too rarely in these days of 
 popular English education. While most enthu- 
 siastic for the welfare of his own sect, he did not 
 oppose others, and was favorably impressed with 
 Christian'ty. At the time of the building of the 
 church in Gurdaspur, he was engaged in erecting 
 a place of worship for the Brahmas. There was 
 
1 62 In the King's Service 
 
 a bit of rivalry, on his part at least, as to which 
 building would be first completed. His was fin- 
 ished first and a few services held, then it fell 
 into disuse, passed into the hands of the mis- 
 sion and for more than twenty years has been 
 the home of the native pastor of the congrega- 
 tion. May we not take courage from the thought 
 that even the best reforms of the old faiths can- 
 not long stand before God's truth. 
 
 The Gurdaspur church was finished in due 
 time by Dr. Gordon. The money secured by 
 Mrs. Johnson on that sad tour was sufficient 
 for the purpose. 
 A Zenana With her increased knowledge of the healing 
 Hospital. ^j.|.^ came a keener realization of the sufferings 
 endured by her sisters, and she determined to 
 make a great effort to help those of the town 
 and surrounding villages. We learn from "Our 
 India Mission" that with this in view, a building 
 was rented near the new church, and on Sep- 
 tember 17, 1880, the Zenana Hospital was open- 
 ed for the admission of patients and the dis- 
 pensing of medicine. This was the beginning 
 of medical work in our India Mission, a small, 
 humble beginning, but owned and blessed by the 
 Great Physician. 
 Need for It has grown until now we have medical work 
 Medical Work, [q^ women firmly established in four Mission 
 stations. What shall we say of the need in the re- 
 maining stations, 11 in number, and in the large 
 outlying districts, overflowing with crowded vil- 
 
Sophia E. Johnson 163 
 
 lages where there is practically no skilled med- 
 ical aid for the women. Again and again, the 
 missionaries look on with aching hearts at the 
 untold agony sufifered by the women and long 
 for the time when the kind, gentle ministrations 
 of women physicians shall be accessible to all. 
 In their time of great need, the women go to 
 the native Hakim, whose treatment seldom gives 
 relief, and is often brutal. One must live one- 
 self in a place far from medical aid in order to 
 appreciate what the native population suffer. 
 
 Into the neat little hospital opened by the 
 Gurdaspur ladies, the sick began coming eager- 
 ly from the town and near villages. It needed 
 no advertising- to make it popular. There was 
 a yearly average of one hundred patients, grad- 
 ually increasing from year to year, who received 
 treatment in the hospital, besides an average of 
 2000 more who merely received medicines and 
 treatment ar the dispensing room. 
 
 From among the patients two young women 
 professed their faith in Christ and were baptized. 
 
 The work, growing from year to year, and 4 full 
 having passed the period of mere experiment, Medical 
 these ladies, experiencing the difficulties and re- ^^"'^°*'°"- 
 sponsibility of carrying it on with only the lim- 
 ited knowledge of medicine which they had been 
 able to acquire under great difficulties, went 
 to America and entered the Pennsylvania Wom- 
 en's Medical College in Philadelphia in October, 
 1885, closing the Zenana Hospital until thev had 
 
164 In the King's Service 
 
 become fully qualified as physicians, when it was 
 hoped the work should again be resumed. This 
 hope for Gurdaspur and surrounding places still 
 remains unfulfilled. 
 
 From India ^i^s. Johnson accompanied the Gordons on 
 the long sea voyage to America. We know it 
 was hard for her to leave India, the land of 
 her birth, her mother, and brothers, who were 
 dear to her. More precious, however, than all 
 these was the medical knowledge, in whose 
 quest she wa? going to the Western World, that 
 she might be fully prepared to help those who 
 were always pleading, pleading for relief. 
 
 Her first experiences on American soil were 
 not of the character she had been led to expect. 
 Writing back to India she said: ''I cannot tell 
 you how shocked I was while waiting in the 
 Custom House in New York for our boxes and 
 trunks to be passed, to hear the terrible oaths 
 that fell from the lips of the workmen. I never 
 heard anything like it in India." 
 Power of She quickly learned to love the American peo- 
 
 Adaptation. p|g ^^^ g^^-jj^, adapted herself to the new life; 
 indeed, her friends thought it very wonderful 
 how she won her way so well and quickly among 
 a strange people. She made friends wherever 
 she went. She took great delight in assisting in 
 the household work, and was always helpful and 
 easily entertained. The young people of other 
 homes, as v/ell as those of the Gordon family, 
 now learned to love her. 
 
Sophia K. Johnson 165 
 
 She entered upon the college work with great 
 enthusiasm. AUhough not having had the early 
 educational advantages enjoyed by many of her 
 fellow students, she nevertheless stood well in 
 her class, lor she had native ability and had done 
 much practical work. She often spoke with 
 deep appreciation of the help she received from 
 the friendship of Rachel Bodley, the dean of the 
 Medical College. 
 
 Being short of funds and having heavy ex- Short of 
 penses to bear, she had to plan ways of earn- ^""°^' 
 mg money. For a time she served as janitress 
 in the college. After the publication of "Our 
 India Mission," she became an agent for that 
 book, and v/as most successful in selling copies, 
 even in places where others failed, simply be- 
 cause she would not give up. She felt she was 
 working for her sisters in India. She spent the 
 vacations of her last two years of college life 
 largely in giving lectures on India. She was 
 ■popular in this and became well known to a large 
 circle of friends. East and West. From this 
 time on, she had no lack of funds with which 
 to complete the medical course. 
 
 She often related in her inimitable way (for she Her First 
 excelled in story telling) her first experience on Public 
 the platform as a lecturer. She was to speak ^°°''^*®' 
 in a small country church in the West. She had 
 carefully written out all she had to say, lest she 
 might forget. "When I arose to address the 
 audience," she said, "a trembling fit seized me 
 
1 66 In the King's Service 
 
 and I shook so badly that I clutched the manu- 
 scripts firmly with both hands to keep myself 
 from sinking to the floor. It was with difficulty 
 I could see to read what I had written, and 
 my voice was almost beyond control. The ner- 
 vousness, fortunately, passed away and I fin- 
 ished, I trust, in a fairly creditable manner, but 
 never again did I trust myself with a written 
 speech." And she did not need one. 
 The Women's It was during her stay in America that the 
 ° Women's Board of Foreign Missions was or- 
 ganized in the United Presbyterian Church. She 
 was deeply interested in this development of 
 women's work for missions and considered it a 
 privilege to help its growth in every possible way. 
 She won a place for herself in the hearts of the 
 members of the Board, as well as staunch sup- 
 porters in the work she opened on her return 
 to India later as a missionary of the United 
 Presbyterian Church. 
 Loyaliy and j^^j. gratitude for sympathy and encourage- 
 ment in the mission and church at home during 
 the great trial of her life won her to our church 
 in a strong affection which tempting offers for 
 higher salaries in other churches could not turn 
 aside. She worked for our church and our Mis- 
 sion with a zeal which was highly commendable. 
 Mrs. Johnson took an active part in the Christ- 
 ian work in Philadelphia during her college 
 course. She attended the North Church, of 
 which Rev. Mason W. Pressly was the pastor. 
 
Sophia E. Johnson 167 
 
 She helped organize a Y. W. C. A. in the medical 
 college. Her days of preparation in America 
 were well spent, and in 1890, when on her return 
 to India as a missionary, she was appointed by 
 the Mission to open medical work in Jheluni, 
 she seemed in every way well prepared for this 
 new and difficult field to which the appellation 
 "Stony Jhelum," given by herself, seemed most 
 fitting. 
 
 She met v/ith a kind reception by the Mission, Back in 
 and was warmly welcomed by the missionaries India. 
 of Jhelum. 
 
 The subject of our sketch was twenty-five Parentage 
 years of age when she first met the missionary and Early 
 family. Her birthplace was in the cantonments '''^^' 
 of Bareilly, five years before the mutiny sent a 
 thrill of horror throughout the civilized world. 
 Her father, who was of Scotch descent, was a 
 soldier in the British army. The mother was 
 one of India's own daughters, a woman of an 
 unusually strong character, brave, self reliant 
 and devoted to her family. There was only one 
 bit of alloy in the happiness of that home. The 
 father was an earnest follower of Jesus, but the 
 mother, who had been educated in a convent, 
 was baptized into the Roman Catholic faith. 
 Her mind liud been poisoned against the truths 
 of the Bible. Her husband was greatly con- 
 cerned over her spiritual condition, and made 
 her a subject of much prayer, but he wisely re- 
 frained from forcing her to listen to the reading 
 
1 68 In the King's Service 
 
 of the Bible or of attending Protestant services. 
 He waited patiently and prayed. 
 >4 Remarkable When the third child, Sophia E., was a babe 
 Conversion. -^^ j^^^ mother's arms the change came. Mrs. 
 Watson had occasion on returning from mass 
 to cross a certain bridge where a missionary 
 stood preaching to a large crowd of people. Baby 
 Sophia was in her arms. She felt it was a sin 
 to hear the missionary's words and tried to 
 stop her eavs, but had the use of only one hand 
 as the child had to be supported by the other, 
 and hence could not efifectually prevent the mes- 
 sage from being heard, which was, "The blood 
 of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth from all sin." 
 The Blood Although annoyed that she must hear the 
 words, yet they were so new and strange that 
 she could noi help pondering over them, and in 
 a day or so, told her husband she was convinced 
 that Jesus only could take her sins away. She 
 asked him to call the missionary that she might 
 hear more about Jesus. Shortly afterwards, she 
 was admitted into the Protestant communion. 
 Mrs. Johnson used to tell the story very effec- 
 tively to American audiences. 
 A Mother's One who knew her well says: "I used to won- 
 Love. cler where she got her strong, independent char- 
 acter, but discovered it when I met her mother 
 in Amritsar during Mrs. Johnson's absence in 
 America. Although Mrs. Watson was really ill 
 and feeble from fever and old age and in need 
 of special care, she would neither let the mis- 
 
Sophia E. Johnson 169 
 
 sionary ladies do much for her except to give 
 medicine, or let me minister, when I visited her 
 at Mrs. Johnson's request. She did not want 
 me to write her daughter of her illness. She 
 was afraid if Mrs. Johnson knew of it, she would 
 hasten her return and not complete her course. 
 She was very ambitious to have Sophia finish 
 the medical course and do it well. She longed 
 with all a mother's love to see her daughter 
 again, and this ardent desire prolonged her life 
 many days. She lived very economically in or- 
 der to save something from her small income for 
 her daughtei." 
 
 The desire to see her beloved child was not The Sad 
 to be fulfilled. Shortly before Mrs. Johnson's l^^^^- 
 return, word came telling of the now severe ill- 
 ness of her mother, and begging her to return. 
 She sent back by cable the one word "coming," 
 A message then came across the waters saying 
 ■'mother dead." 
 
 Mrs. Johnson said afterwards to a friend: "Oh, 
 you don't know how it almost killed me to hear 
 of my dear mother's death." It was lovely to 
 see such a strong affection between mother and 
 daughter and to see how their lives were bound 
 up in each other. Mrs. Johnson had a strong af- 
 fection for her friends. This love she showed 
 by rendering help in time of need with an almost 
 reckless generosity. 
 
 Mrs. Johnson had four brothers and two sis- a Brother's 
 ters. Only one, a brother, now remains of this Recollections. 
 
ijo In the King's Service 
 
 large family, Mr. Watson, of Amritsar, who 
 retired on pension a few years ago, after a long 
 and honorable service in government employ. 
 The writer who called on him recently found 
 him living all alone in his once beautiful home, 
 but now dismantled and bare. When asked to 
 give some reminiscences of his sister, his reply 
 was: "She was a good woman;" then immediate- 
 ly began speaking of the Bible subjects that 
 now engross all his thoughts and time. "I do 
 love to study my Bible, nothing else is worth 
 while," he said. "All my family is on the other 
 side. I'm longing to go, too! I know they are 
 watching for me. So you knew my sister? Oh, 
 yes, she was a good woman, so kind and gener- 
 ous to every one. How I miss her!" 
 Lore for Dj-. Johnson had every assistance given her 
 owers. j^y ^j^g Jhelum missionaries in opening her med- 
 ical work. She brought all her old-time enthu- 
 siasm into the work. She was pleased with the 
 station. She loved the pretty home and the gar- 
 den which had been laid out with so much taste 
 by the missionaries. She was passionately fond 
 of flowers. The people soon learned that they 
 could benefit themselves by contributing to this 
 love of hers for flowers. On one of her birth- 
 days, a man came to the hospital bearing a bas- 
 ket filled with roses. A Christian said to him: 
 "For whom are these flowers?" "For the Dr. 
 Mem Sahiba," was the reply. "And why do you 
 bring them.?" "Oh, she loves them very much. 
 
Sophia E. Jolinson 171 
 
 This is her birthday, and you see she will give 
 me a rupee for them." 
 
 A rented building was secured and work be- Itinerating. 
 gan in it. Part of the first year was spent in 
 itinerating m the large district. A buggy, which 
 Dr. Johnson had specially planned and brought 
 from America, was used in this work. In this 
 tour, she became well acquainted with the vil- 
 lage people and afterwards many came to her 
 for treatment in Jhelum when she had estabUsh- 
 ed herself there. The work soon outgrew the 
 rented building. A dispensary was erected, which 
 did good service for a few years, then the needs 
 being greater than this building could accom- 
 modate, the Good Samaritan hospital grew into 
 beautiful proportions, a gift from the women of 
 our church. 
 
 Dr. Johnson had the happy gift of drawing 
 good assistants into the work and she was able 
 to keep them loyally attached to her and the 
 work. 
 
 Miss Aileen Moran, a young English lady who Training 
 was living ir Jhelum when Dr. Johnson came to Others. 
 the station, was persuaded to become a member 
 of the household and lived with her until Dr. 
 Johnson's death. She was known by all as the 
 "Doctor's Girl." When Dr. Johnson was in- 
 vited by the Women's Board to attend the great 
 Ecumenical Missionary Conference held in New 
 York in April, 1900, she was accompanied to 
 America bv Miss Moran. She trained several 
 
172 In the King's Service 
 
 native Christian girls as nurses. To her pa- 
 tients, she was not only physician, but friend as 
 well. A missionary, who was treated by her, says: 
 "While I was with her she was so attentive 
 and kind, not only professionally but as a friend. 
 I was living in another station when I began 
 taking her treatment. Thinking I might get dis- 
 courage d, she wrote. 'Keep up heart and with 
 God's help I will do my best for you,' and she 
 did." "Whilt I was staying with her later on," 
 the same missionary says, "the doctor one day 
 received a message that a young woman, who 
 had been her patient in Jheluni, was ill in At- 
 tock, and saying that she was anxious to see 
 Dr. Johnson. Before she had decided to go an- 
 other telegram was received saying that she 
 need not come, as the patient was too far gone 
 for her to be able to help her. Dr. Johnson 
 was not well herself. She was sufifering severe- 
 ly from her right arm, which was partially para- 
 lyzed, and it was difficult for her to help herself 
 in many ways. At first, we all opposed her go- 
 ing, and when the second message came, we 
 were the more urgent and she yielded to our en- 
 treaties not to attempt the journey. So we sat 
 down to dinner, but she could not eat. She 
 said: 'That girl wants to see me, and, even if 
 I cannot help her professionally, I can show my 
 love to her by going and can give her that much 
 comfort before she dies. It is by loving these 
 people that we can win them.' So she gave her 
 
Sophia E. Jolmson 173 
 
 servant, Mizam, the order to get her bedding ^o'" ^""e's 
 and a few other things ready, and she started 
 that night, Friday, on the long, cold journey 
 to Attock, which was over a hundred miles dis- 
 tant. She was back for her work early Mon- 
 day morning. All the journey, in the trying 
 cold weather, when she was feeling so miserable 
 herself, was taken to show her love for that 
 young girl. On her return she told us: 'I'm so 
 glad I went; the girl just put her arms around 
 my neck and cried when she saw me. I could 
 do nothing to relieve her, for she was far gone 
 in consumption.' " 
 
 A very repulsive case was once brought to 
 the hospital. The nurses said they could not 
 remain near the patient. Although Dr. Johnson 
 demanded strict obedience from her subordin- 
 ates as a rule, she did not insist this time, for 
 she saw, herself, how well-nigh impossible it was 
 to remain beside the sufiferer. But the woman 
 was not allowed to suffer. She took full charge, 
 herself, dressed the sores, and never allowed 
 the patient tc see how difficult it was for her 
 to come into contact with her. 
 
 Her unselfishness was apparent to all. No 
 matter how ill or weak in body herself, if some 
 one needed her services, she rallied all her 
 strength and energy to go to their help. 
 
 Much was crowded into the last days of her Busiest 
 life. Always busy, she seemed now to have more °^ '^* ^°^^- 
 than the usual burden to bear. She had several 
 
174 In the King's Service 
 
 'difficult matters to decide. A hard journey made 
 in the heat had weakened her. A week before 
 the call came to her, the Women's Presbyterial 
 was held in Jhelum. She looked after the com- 
 fort of the delegates in her usual hospitable way. 
 Her beautiful home was thrown open to every 
 one. 
 
 At this time she was deeply concerned over 
 a patient in the hospital, a poor old village wom- 
 an from whom she had removed a tumor. The 
 I>atient had to be carefully nursed, and as the 
 work was very heavy for the young nurses, Dr. 
 Johnson insisted on taking her turn at watch- 
 ing each night in order to give them a little 
 relief. 
 In Need A few evenings before the end came, she had 
 of Rest. sQjT-jg q{ ^i^g station missionaries in her home. 
 She said to one of them: "I feel so weary these 
 days. Come and sing to me, Mr. Morton. 1 
 just want to sit still and have you sing the good 
 old songs to me." 
 
 The evening preceding her death, she was 
 seated in her ofBce upstairs, so very tired and 
 exhausted. She said to her assistant, Miss Mat- 
 thews: "Oh, that I could find time for a good 
 long rest. I do need it!" The long, long rest 
 was even then very near. That night she went 
 to the hospital and spent some time with her pa- 
 tient. Caring lovingly and tenderly for this poor 
 Punjabi sister was her last service for the Master 
 
Sophia E. Johnson 175 
 
 on this earth. She would not have had it other- 
 wise. 
 
 Coming home from the hospital in the morn- 
 ing, she said she would have a bath, then take 
 a little rest before beginning the day's work. 
 She went to the bath, but was gone so long that 
 her favorite servant, Mizam, became alarmed 
 and said he knew something had happened to 
 the Dr. Mem Sahiba. He succeeded in alarming 
 others. Miss Moran shoved open a door and 
 found the Doctor seated on a chair unconscious. 
 She had had her fourth and final stroke. 
 
 All day long she remained unconscious. Mis- The Long 
 sionaries. Christians, servants — all came to min- ^®' 
 ister to her. That night. April 9, 1902, she pass- 
 ed away to her long rest without having regained 
 consciousness. As soon as it was daylight, 
 crowds and crowds of women came from the 
 town, one continuous stream. They came and 
 went so silently, not in the usual noisy fashion 
 of Eastern mourners. Many sat on the floor 
 by the bedside crying softly and many brought 
 flowers and strewed over her. Some refused to 
 leave, when asked to do so that the near friends 
 and relatives might have a little time alone with 
 their dead. They caught hold of her feet and 
 sobbed out, "She loved us and we love her!" 
 ''She never refused us!" "She lived for us, don't 
 take us awny yet!" 
 
 At the church, men of every rank and station, 
 by the. hundreds, came to the service to look 
 
176 In the King's Service 
 
 Tributes once more upon her. Some of the wealthy na- 
 ovean |.j^,gg loaned their carriages for the funeral and 
 
 Respect. 
 
 some helped to carry the coffin to the grave. 
 
 The manv beautiful flowers sent by the Eng- 
 lish in the station showed the honoi with which 
 she was regarded by them, as did also the large 
 number of Europeans present at the burial serv- 
 ice. An English lady wrote of her after her 
 decease: "'Dr. Johnson's bright, cheery manner 
 quite won my heart, it is such a joy to meet a 
 cheerful Christian! She was a warm hearted, 
 loving woman, who in small things, as well as 
 great, let her light shine. A personality such 
 as hers exerted a wonderful influence. Sunshine 
 in character is as welcome as it is rare, and all 
 who come under its rays are the better for 
 it." 
 
 The news of her death came with a great 
 shock to the missionaries of the other stations. 
 Many of them could testify how untiring and 
 faithful she was in serving them and their chil- 
 dren. Even if it was her vacation time, she 
 willingly gave up her rest time to minister to 
 them. 
 
 Fifty beautiful years, replete with good works, 
 have been lived by this daughter of India. Of 
 sorrows, she had had many, but they were hid- 
 den from earthly friends and told only to Jesus. 
 Sunshine and love always went with her. Her 
 work was finished. The rest for which she long- 
 ed, eternal, heavenly rest, was granted to her. 
 
flR^^^^^^^^^HHHK' 
 
 
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^K ^^^^^^^^^^^H 
 
 
 ^^AiIhiih 
 
 Robert Reed McC^ure. 
 
THE BEAUTY AND POWER OF A 
 SURRENDERED LIFE. 
 
 ROBERT REED McCLURE. 
 
 Born near McKeesport, Pa., October 4Th, 1870. 
 Died at Sialkot, India, April 27TH, 1900. 
 
 "When I heard of these poor people suffering as they are in 
 this life, and with no hope for a life eternal, how could I con- 
 tinue to amuse myself and my friends with my profession." — 
 Robert Reed McClure, after deciding to give up the musical 
 profession in order to become a missionary. 
 
 "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus 
 judge, that one died for all; therefore all died; and he died for 
 all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but 
 unto him who for their sakes died and rose again." — II. Cor. 5: 
 >4, 15- 
 
 "Others shall sing the song, 
 Others shall right the wrong, 
 Finish what I begin 
 And all I fought for, win. 
 What matter I or they, 
 Mine or another's day, 
 So the good word be said. 
 And life the sweeter made. 
 Ring bells in unreared steeples, 
 The joy of unborn peoples; 
 Sound trumpets, far-off blown. 
 Your triumph is my own." 
 
 —J. G. Whitticr. 
 
IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS IN 
 MR. McCLURE'S LIFE. 
 
 1870. Born near McKeesport, Pa., October 4th. 
 1878. Confesses Christ. 
 
 1882. Admitted to Preparatory Department of Westminster Col- 
 lege. 
 1890. Evidences of unusual musical talent. 
 :89i. Graduates at Westminster College. 
 
 Appointed Musical Director at Clarion State Normal 
 School. 
 1893. Becomes a Student Volunteer. 
 
 Enters Allegheny Theological Seminary. 
 
 1896. Appointed as missionary to India. 
 
 1897. Sails, with Mrs. McClure, for India. 
 1900. Attacked with fever, April 17th. 
 
 Dies April 27th. 
 
VI 
 ROBERT REED McCLURE 
 
 The Beauty and Power of a Surrendered Lieb 
 By rev. WILLIAM B. ANDERSON 
 
 In 1870, near McKeesport, Pennsylvania, God Parentage. 
 sent a little son into the home of Richard and 
 Annie Reed McClure. Mr. Richard McClure is 
 a man of sterling- qualities, reserved with 
 strangers, most passionately fond of his family, 
 and honored and respected by all who know 
 him. His wife was a woman of beautiful char- 
 acter, sensitive, musical, and a devoted Christ- 
 ian. Into such a home came this little son 
 to whom the name Robert Reed was given. 
 
 His boyhood was spent in his home in the 
 country, where his parents lived until he was 
 twelve years old. Up to this ag'e he attended 
 a country school, and from his infancy seems 
 to have shown more than ordinary intellectual 
 promise. Of those days the following pictures 
 are taken from the "Junior Missionary Maga- 
 zine:" 
 
 "The first is that of a quaint old country Public 
 church, where a large congregation gathered one ^^"f^^^ion 
 bright, beautiful Sabbath morning more than 
 179 
 
i8o In the King's Service 
 
 twenty years ago, to celebrate the dying love of 
 our Saviour. Among those v^'ho confessed Christ 
 among men for the first time is a noble looking 
 fellow of eight years, whom the visiting min- 
 ister solemnly commends to the love and sym- 
 pathy of the older members, as 'the youngest 
 • p^erson he has ever received into the church, 
 but who has given strong evidence of an intelli- 
 gent faith.' All nature in its summer beauty, 
 that morning, seemed a beautiful surrounding 
 for so fair a picture. 
 
 "The second is that of a small Sabbath School 
 assembled in a country school house some years 
 after. The central figure is this same little boy, 
 who now comes forward and in a clear voice 
 and modest manner gives the full text of the les- 
 son for the day from memory without a single 
 mistake. 'His usual custom,' we are told." 
 Ai College. In 1882, when Reed was twelve years old, his 
 parents moved with the family to New Wilming- 
 ton, Pa., the seat of Westminster College, wher;e 
 the children might have the benefits of a college 
 education, together with those of the home life. 
 Re€d was soon admitted to the first class of 
 the Preparatory Department of the college, and 
 read from there through the full classical course 
 in the college without any interruption, except- 
 ing the year of his absence from class at the time 
 of his mother's death. This sad event made a very 
 deep impression on his mind, and he always 
 spoke of his mother with the utmost tenderness 
 
Robert Reed McClure i8i 
 
 and reverence, as if in his memory she were 
 always now the mother glorified. 
 
 His life in college, like his life following that 
 time, was characterized by his great power of 
 concentration. Whatsoever his hand found to 
 do, he truly did with his might. His class fel- 
 lows in college and seminary were astonished 
 by the rapidity and thoroughness with which he. 
 could master his lessons. Either he did not 
 touch a thing, or he did it well. 
 
 Together with a mind of strength and bril- ^ Sound 
 liancv. God had eriven him a body of unusual ^^' 
 heidth and vigor. He was fully six feet tall, 
 with a powerful frame, muscles like hickory, 
 and a deep musical voice. While taking a lively 
 interest in the athletics of the college he did not 
 take any part in them himself, but was known 
 as a tireless walker. Also several times while 
 in the seminary he rode his bicycle from his 
 home to the seminary, a distance of sixty miles, 
 between breakfast and lunch, and, coming in, 
 went about the ordinary duties of the day claim- 
 ing to feel no fatigue from the exertion. He 
 was so hardy that he seldom put on an over- 
 coat even in the coldest weather. 
 
 While he must have been a marked man in- Musical 
 tcUectually in the college, his intellectual superi- T°'^"^- 
 ority was almost lost sight of in the greatness 
 of his musical talents. His mother had prayed 
 that her little one might be given marked musical 
 ability, and so earnest was her desire for this 
 
1 82 In the King's Service 
 
 that when she heard him while a mere baby 
 hum the part of a melody, she ran weeping with 
 joy and caught him to her breast. While study- 
 ing in college, he also began his musical edu- 
 cation. When a mere boy he played the lead- 
 ing cornet in the town band, and with the help 
 of a friend who assisted him with the merest 
 elements of violin playing, he learned to play 
 on that instrument. In the college musical con- 
 servatory, he took instructions in piano, and it 
 was upon this instrument that he lavished his 
 efforts. These efforts were attended with early 
 and pronounced success. While still very young 
 he astonished friends and strangers with his per- 
 formances 111 public. 
 
 After his death an intimate friend wrote as 
 follows : 
 First "The first time I saw McClure was in the fall 
 Impressions. Qf jggo, when I entered college in New Wil- 
 mington. It was on the first evening of my at- 
 tendance at a literary society, and some one 
 moved that Mr. McClure be asked to favor the 
 society with a piano solo. I remember there 
 was an immense round of applause and, in the 
 midst of this, a tall boy of eighteen rose and 
 crossed the hall in a very confused and embar- 
 rassed manner. When he seated himself, he was 
 so nervous, or seemed to be so, that I was sure 
 he would not be able to get through a selection. 
 I can yet see him so well. He sat a moment 
 looking at the keys, and then began to play a 
 
Robert Reed McClure 183 
 
 simple piece, 'The Shepherd Boy.' It was such 
 a simple little thing, and I had heard it so of- 
 ten before, but I had never heard it in that 
 way. I forgot that the player had seemed nerv- 
 ous when he sat down, and I forgot that I was 
 in new circumstances, and in the midst of a col- 
 lege audience, and i saw green fields, and blue 
 sky, and sunshine, and clouds, and I heard birds, 
 and brooks, and through it all the clear tones 
 of a flute. Then suddenly I saw chairs, and 
 men, and the player rising and walking nerv- 
 ously back to his seat in the audience. Then 
 there was a perfect storm of applause, and an en- 
 core, and that was the first time I heard Mc- 
 Clure play, and the first time I saw him, in fact. 
 
 "His home was in the town, and he was then A Musical 
 in the senior year in college, both in music and Enthusiast. 
 in the classical course. I soon learned to know 
 him as a great musical enthusiast. I think no 
 one of us ever called him a 'crank,' for he had 
 too much genius to be that, and we were all 
 too fond of him and his music. An enthusiast 
 he was, though, and he seemed to think of noth- 
 ing but his music all the day, and I suppose 
 from his conversation that he dreamed of it at 
 night. My picture of him in the old college 
 days is either in the street carrying a pile of 
 sheet music under his arm, or sitting at the 
 piano oblivious to all else on earth. He had a 
 remarkable memory, and used to commit a great 
 number of selections to memory so that the notes 
 
184 In the King's Service 
 
 would not be 'in his way.' He was thorough to 
 a degree, and would pound at a passage until 
 he had it 10 his entire satisfaction. His endur- 
 ance of mind and body seemed to know no 
 end, and he would sit and practice hour after 
 hour, and say that he did not feel in the least 
 fatigued. In that year music was his air and 
 sunshine, and how he enjoyed life in it!" 
 
 In June, 1891, he graduated from Westminster 
 College in the classical course, doing himself the 
 credit of passing with honors. He also gradu- 
 ated from the conservatory in the same year, 
 with the assurance of his teachers and friends 
 that he had a great musical career before him 
 if he improved his opportunities. 
 A Professor's Q^ig of ^jng Professors in the college wrote 
 Estimate. .^-^^^^ ^^-^^^ shortly after that time: "In an ex- 
 perience of twenty years with students I think 
 I may safely say he is the brightest man I ever 
 knew. His power to work seems almost with- 
 out limit. He carried our full college course 
 and full music course here for the last three 
 years, and ordinarily one of these is considered 
 full work for a student. Beside this, Mr. Mc- 
 Clure had several private pupils in music. He 
 is a man of fine character, full of enthusiasm 
 in his work, has a keen insight into human 
 nature . . . ." 
 Under j,^ j^js last winter in college he interested him- 
 Sherwood. ^^j^ j^^ gettmg Sherwood, the great American 
 pianist to come to New Wilmington for a con- 
 
Robert Reed McClure 185 
 
 cert. The musician's charges were high, and 
 many of the students were not enthusiastic about 
 the concert, but having set his mind on it, Mc- 
 Ckire sold the necessary number of tickets and 
 arranged for the concert. While there, the great 
 pianist heard the young student play, and, recog- 
 nizing his ability, suggested that he join his class 
 in Chautauqua the next summer. z\s this was 
 a rare ofTer for one so young and having had so 
 few advantages for study, the suggestion was 
 at once acted upon, and arrangements were at 
 once begun for the next summer to be spent 
 in study with Sherwood on the piano, Flagler on 
 the pipe organ, and Wilson in voice culture. This 
 proved for him a summer of great delight and 
 satisfaction. He gave himself up to his beloved 
 music and revelled in it. His teachers seemed 
 to be much delighted with his talents and his 
 diligence, and always afterwards took a lively 
 interest in his progress. Through the recom- 
 mendation of Mr. Sherwood, he was appointed 
 musical director at Clarion State Normal School 
 in the summer of 1891, where he labored faith- 
 fully and successfully during the terms of 1891- 
 92 and 1892-93. 
 
 Writing at this time, Mr. Sherwood says of 
 him: 
 
 "One of my most reliable and competent pu- 
 pils(is)Mr. R. Reed McClure, of New Wilming- 
 ton. Mr. McClure has been a genuine student 
 and hard worker, and he is a man of brains and 
 
1 86 In tHe King's Service 
 
 musical ability combined. * * * He does good 
 work, analyzing and interpreting music, and in- 
 vestigating the subtle artistic distinctions of 
 modern touch and technique.* * * He is a credit 
 to the profession. His judgment is excellent." 
 A Religious While in college, although a professing Christ- 
 
 xperience. |^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^ markedly religious man, but 
 was always a man of highest principles and 
 noblest character. A hatred of deceit, and coarse- 
 ness, and vulgarity, seemed to be a part of him, 
 but many of the things that afterwards became 
 very dear to him, he looked upon in those days 
 as cant. During his first year and a half at 
 Clarion, he lived on in this same attitude toward 
 things religious, when one evening a friend ask- 
 ed him to attend a meeting of the Y. M. C. A. 
 about to be held. Without knowing why, he 
 consented to go. During the meeting the hymn 
 'Must I Go and Empty Handed' was sung, and 
 the words of this song made a very deep impres- 
 sion upon hirn. He began to question himself as 
 to whether he should go empty handed into the 
 presence of his Lord. 
 The Soon after this, the great Alaskan missionary, 
 
 Missionary Dj-, Sheldon Jackson came to the school to 
 '^°*'^^- speak on the subject of missions. With the im- 
 pression of the prayer meeting still fresh in his 
 heart, McClure went to hear the missionary 
 t^peak. It was a meeting never to be forgotten 
 by him, and he here heard God calling him to a 
 hfe work. He afterward said: "When I heard of 
 
Robert Reed McClure 187 
 
 those poor people suffering as they are in this 
 Hfe, and with no hope for a Ufc eternal, how 
 could I continue to amuse myself and my friends 
 with my profession? I used to think that there 
 was nothing in the world so grand as my pro- 
 fession, but now I have found one thing grand- 
 er." He was so sure from that time that God 
 was calling him to work in the foreign field, 
 that soon after this, in the sprmg of 1893, lie 
 became a Student Volunteer. When he had 
 made up his mind it was fully made up, and al- 
 though he knew that he would meet with much 
 opposition from friends and relatives, he im- 
 mediately wrote home what he had decided to 
 do. After this, lie never swerved from his course 
 nor faltered in pursuing it. "Pleading, and 
 temptation, and anger, and rebuff availed noth- 
 ing. He had heard the voice of his great Master 
 calling him, and he must go." Although, pre- 
 vious to this, he seems never to have thought 
 of the possibility of his entering the foreign mis- 
 sion field, he was now told by two persons, who 
 had been well acquainted with his mother, that 
 this had been her prayer for him. How easily 
 God can guide those really committed to Him! 
 
 In these days he found true for himself what The Great 
 he afterwards expresses in his own words: "The Surrender 
 life of self is only found by the death of self, 
 and true prosperity is found by giving up our 
 interests for His sake." Thus had he learned 
 the lesson of surrender, and having learned it, 
 
i88 In the King's Service 
 
 he acted upon it to the letter. Concerning 
 obedience, he afterwards wrote in a sermon: "It 
 is easy to obey when no sacrifice is required, 
 and when obedience is along the lines of our 
 aims and purpose, but, when the voice of God 
 calling sounds the knell of cherished ambitions, 
 and when the path of duty lies across the grave 
 of buried hopes, then indeed is the testing time; 
 blessed is he who passes through the fiery or- 
 deal without flinching, without swerving." So 
 did he bring his full, strong life and lay it on 
 the altar of God without reserve. 
 The Claims At this time his heart was all on fire for 
 of Alaska. Alaska, and he was most anxious to be sent 
 to that field. The great hindrance to his being 
 accepted for that field was that the Board would 
 not send out unmarried men to Alaska. It was 
 hard for him to give up the desire to go to the 
 land of his first choice, but after careful con- 
 sideration and earnest prayer he decided to en- 
 ter the theological seminary and prepare himself 
 to go to some other field. 
 At the In the autumn of 1893, he entered the Alle- 
 Theological gheny Theological Seminary and here pursued 
 eminary. |,jg studies for three years. Here life was new 
 to him. There was a change in all his aspirations 
 and ideas. He saw all things with opened eyes, 
 and life now had a profound meaning. All the 
 earnestness that had characterized his study of 
 the piano was now thrown into the study of the- 
 ology and missions. Of those days his inti- 
 
Robert Reed McClure 189 
 
 mate friend and class fellow, Rev. O. Crowe, 
 writes : 
 
 "I confess that he was always something of A Classmates 
 a marvel to some of his fellow students. If he Estimate. 
 had genius as a musician, he had also marked 
 ability as a student, being able to grasp a les- 
 son in theology or church history with an ease 
 that was remarkable. Not that I mean to im- 
 ply that he was superficial. He was too honest 
 at heart to be satisfied with a skimming over the 
 surface. When he met with points of difficulty, 
 he read and studied and revolved them in his 
 mind until they were settled to his satisfaction. 
 He was thorough in all that he did. 
 
 "As a student in the seminary he was held in 
 high esteem by all the professors, and had the 
 respect of all his fellow students. He scorned 
 any shirking of duty; he held himself aloof from 
 anything that was questionable for a Christian 
 to do, and he held in supreme contempt any who 
 dishonored their high and holy calling. Being 
 naturally of a reserved and retiring disposition, 
 his genius and brilliancy were not apparent on 
 slight acquaintance. He enjoyed the seminary 
 life and carried on the studies faithfully, but 
 he held this as only a means to the great end 
 he had in view. His dominant purpose from the 
 time I first knew him was to preach the gospel 
 in the dark places of the earth where Christ had 
 not been named. To this aim, all else was sub- 
 servient. A volunteer at heart, he gladly gave 
 
190 In the King's Service 
 
 up his musical profession that he might fit him- 
 self for service in the foreign field. Never did 
 I hear him express the least regret for having 
 given up the musical profession for that of the 
 foreign missionary." 
 
 that he had such qualifications for a preacher 
 and a foreign missionary, but God knew it. Con- 
 cerning the matter of necessary qualifications 
 he himself has written: "When God has a work 
 for us to do. we need not trouble ourselves about 
 our qualifications ; when He calls, He will supply 
 the fitness, if we place ourselves in His hands." 
 God showed in his life how safe a rule this is 
 to follow. 
 
 Concerning his sermons one has written: "At 
 college I never heard him in a literary effort, 
 but in the seminary he proved that he had in 
 him all the elements of a sublime writer. When 
 he took up a subject to treat it, he first went 
 to the bottom of it, and went through all its 
 details, and then, with all the earnestness that 
 had characterized his musical life, he threw him- 
 self into the illumination of it for the benefit 
 of others, and his sermons were gems of literary 
 beauty. This is only the human side. They 
 did not stop there, nor did they begin there, 
 but they were full of the life earnestness that 
 bad called him to lay down his life for the 
 brethren. First and above all, his sermons had 
 the gift of the Spirit, but besides this they had 
 
Robert Reed McClure 191 
 
 majesty of style, soundness of reasoning, clear- 
 ness of diction, and the smoothness of a poem. 
 They showed the magnificent powers of the man, 
 but better than this, they showed that he was 
 all God's man." 
 
 When he offered himself for the field of India Volunteering 
 to the Board of Foreign Missions of the United ^<"' '"'^'°- 
 Presbyterian Church, there was much discussion 
 in the Board as to whether they would send out 
 an unmarried man or not. At first, little en- 
 couragement was given to him by the Board, 
 and while his case was under consideration 
 there, he procured the rules governing, and the 
 forms for application for admittance into, the 
 China Inland Mission, with a view to making 
 application to them to be sent out to China. 
 The United Presbyterian Board in the mean 
 time decided to make an exception to their 
 (then) rule, and send the unmarried applicant 
 to India. His appointment was confirmed in the 
 spring of 1896, and with much joy he went to 
 his home to make preparations for leaving for 
 his new field of labor. 
 
 Some months previous to this, Mr. McClure Love and 
 had discovered his love for a friend of long ac- Service. 
 quaintance, Miss Alice Elliott, of New Wilming • 
 ton, and had made it known to her, asking her 
 to accompany him to his chosen field of labor . 
 Although his love was reciprocated, Miss Elliott 
 could give him no definite answer as to her be- 
 ing able to accompany him to the foreign field, 
 
192 In the King's Service 
 
 and, in fact, the way of her going seemed en- 
 tirely blocked by conditions in her own home. 
 Although the most devoted of lovers, the 
 thought of giving up the call of his God for the 
 call of his heart never seems to have occurred 
 to him; the question was whether she could 
 go with him, or whether he would go alone, but 
 in any case the final decision would be to go. A 
 short time before his date of sailing, God so 
 planned that Miss Elliott could accompany him 
 after another year. He laid the matter before 
 • the Board, asking them to defer his sailing for 
 another year, which they did. 
 Pastoral During the year of waiting he acted as stated 
 supply for the congregation of Mumford, N. 
 Y., where, in various ways, he spent the time in 
 further preparation for his work. He was always 
 a careful sermonizer, and much of his time was 
 spent in that work, but he found time to perfect 
 himself in the art of photography to a surprising 
 degree, hoping that this might be of use to him 
 in the foreign field. He also read much in this 
 year that was of much use to him in his after 
 life. 
 A Wedding From the same number of the "Junior Mis- 
 Scene. sionary Magazine" from which a previous quo- 
 tation was made, there is the following: "The 
 third and last is the beautiful picture of a mar- 
 riage scene, in a cozy home, made bright with 
 Howers, friends, and the flutter of gay ribbons, 
 and dainty attire of the still gayer and brighter 
 
Robert Reed McClure 193 
 
 young girls. Once more our young, noble look- 
 ing boy, older grown, is the central figure, and 
 standing by his side is the devoted young girl 
 whom he has chosen to accompany him on his 
 mission of love to the people of India. 
 
 "As they are pronounced man and wife the 
 noonday sun throws such a strong, brilliant glow 
 on this lovely picture that we are always pleased 
 to think of it as the sign of the Father's approval 
 on the young life surrendered to him years ago 
 in the church of boyhood days." 
 
 This marriage must have been one of those 
 arranged in heaven, for Miss Elliott, besides be- 
 ing so well suited m temperament to be the 
 wife of her chosen husband, was most admirably 
 suited to be the wife of a missionary, being a 
 classical graduate of Westminster College, an 
 earnest Christian, and deeply interested in mis- 
 sions. Here was the founding of a happy, beau- 
 tiful and blessed home. 
 
 In the enci of October, 1897, he sailed with Sailing for 
 his wife for their work in India. Before touch- ""■ 
 ing the shores of India, he loved India and, 
 from his wide and close reading about mission 
 fields, he knew more about her history, and 
 her people, and her peculiar needs, than many 
 people find out after a residence of some time 
 in that land. For his first winter he lived in 
 Sialkot, studying the language with a native 
 teacher, and teaching two hours of English Bible 
 in the boys' high school in the city. The six 
 
194 111 the King's Service 
 
 months of the hot season were spent in the 
 mountain sanitarium of Dharmsala with the 
 teacher, and in the autumn, beginning the sec- 
 ond year, he was appointed to take up the work 
 in the District of Zafarwal, to relieve Rev. W. 
 T. Anderson, whose time of furlough had ar- 
 rived. 
 The Regions -^e had always had a great ambition to preach 
 the gospel v.'here it had not yet been heard, and 
 in his heart had a hope that he would be sent 
 to one of the more distinctly frontier districts. 
 Before his appointment to India, he had begun 
 to take a deep interest in the district of Rawal 
 Pindi, which is almost directly on the border 
 of India, and for a long time had hoped that he 
 might be sent there, but few ever knew of this 
 desire, and when appointed to the new field he 
 went at the work there with his characteristic 
 concentration of energy. His desire to reach 
 "the regions beyond," and the reason for it, is 
 well expressed in a sentence from one of his ser- 
 mons written before his leaving the home land: 
 "Let us keep clearly in mind the fact that our 
 mission is to evangelize and not to convert the 
 world. . . . Since this is our work it will be ap- 
 parent to every one that our duty is to seek 
 the 'regions beyond,' to find where the gospel 
 has not yet been preached." 
 
 He was a man who knew something of the 
 extreme difficulty of the task to which God 
 had called him. He knew that India's evan- 
 
Robert Reed McClure 195 
 
 gelization would not be the work of a day, and 
 that it mean^ arduous labor. He has written: 
 "It takes more than singing 'O'er all the earth 
 extend his fame' to make the knowledge of the 
 Lord cover the earth. * * * There must be action, 
 visforous and constant. The idea that the 
 heathen are ready to rush into the church the 
 moment the gospel is proclaimed to them, is a 
 mistaken one. Human nature is much the same 
 the world over and the indifference manifested 
 by men in America in regard to the soul's sal- 
 vation prevails in heathen lands also; heathenism 
 is not to be overcome without a struggle. In- 
 stant action alone will save us from defeat." 
 
 While believing in action, he was too well bal- -* Systematic 
 anced to make the mistake of some zealous 
 voung missionaries who rush headlong into de- 
 molishing old work and establishing new, with- 
 out stopping to consider properly and calmly 
 reasons for the old and probable results of the 
 new. Being a man of orderly mind, the first 
 task to which he set himself was to gain a grasp 
 of the situation in his district. He set about it 
 with all patience and fully ready to spend years 
 at it if necessary. Along with this task of grasp- 
 ing the work, he told himself that he must win 
 the hearts and confidence of his native helpers if 
 he would have any success worth the name. This 
 is a much more difficult feat than can at all 
 be realized by any one who has not tried to 
 perform it. Perhaps the only way it can really 
 
196 In the King's Service 
 
 be done is for one to sit down and patiently 
 allow the people to study one's character and 
 motives through and through. They are so used 
 to dissimulation and ulterior motives that they 
 can scarcely be brought to believe in real 
 frankness and. disinterested love. It takes pa- 
 tience and forbearance almost infinite in these 
 first months, for they think that the missionary 
 being new to their country is very ignorant of 
 everything, and they try to take every advan- 
 tage of him. Nothing but the very love of Christ, 
 lived out, can win the situation, and this he must 
 have had, for he was winning there. He is re- 
 membered with the greatest love by the helpers 
 in Zafarwal. 
 
 During the first year of active service in the 
 district, Mr. and Mrs. McClure had a little 
 daughter given to them, who came to them only 
 to leave for the better land. She is buried in 
 the little cemetery in Sialkot. 
 
 During the second winter, Mr. McClure kept 
 before him the great desire of his heart to preach 
 the gospel in "the regions beyond," and, al- 
 though the Christian work in Zafarwal district is 
 very heavy, he succeeded in getting through it 
 and pushing out for a little while into the part of 
 the district where there are no Christians. He 
 was most r^bsorbed in his work and seemed to 
 think of nothing else than the salvation of the 
 souls of those in the district committed to his 
 care. 
 
Robert Reed McClure 197 
 
 In all his efforts, he had the firmest convic- '''^ '*''«/«'' 
 tion that nothing- but the word of God, appHed ' *' 
 by the Spirit of God, could be of any avail what- 
 ever in the conversion of the heathen. He liv- 
 ed in an atmosphere of prayer, and in every 
 perplexity and difficulty his first suggestion was 
 to pray over it. He believed much in definite 
 prayer and in expecting a definite answer. In 
 prayer he seemed to stop at nothing and often 
 plead with God to so fill him with the Spirit 
 that he might be used fully, at whatever cost to 
 himself. He had many definite answers to pray- 
 er, about which he talked as if they were the 
 most natural thing in the world, as of course 
 they were. He most earnestly believed that the 
 way to get missionaries into the foreign field 
 was to pray them out. Acting on this belief, he 
 had a list of young men of his acquaintance for 
 whom he prayed that God would put it into 
 their hearts to come to the field, and then would 
 open the way for them. 
 
 He loved his Bible as only that man can who Bible 
 has resolved to be obedient to it to the ut- Study. 
 most. He had a very deep spiritual msight into 
 its truths, and it was such a delight to him 
 that he seemed to be always meditating on its 
 wonders and always finding new ones. His ser- 
 mons, and his conversation, and his life show 
 that the Bible was indeed to him a living book. 
 From the following it may be seen what his 
 private devotions meant to him: "We may well 
 
198 In the King's Service 
 
 be alarmed at our spiritual state when we lose 
 interest in prayer. But perhaps it is plainly im- 
 possible for UL to go — what then? PRAY. . . . 
 And when we thus come to God with the needs 
 of the world upon our hearts, ready to be thrust 
 forth oursodves into the field, ready and willing 
 that our prayers shall be answered in our per- 
 sons, God's word for it, our prayers shall not 
 be in vain." 
 
 From the time of his giving up of his life for 
 this work, hi? reading was largely reading that 
 would teach him more about the great needs 
 of the fields, or how he might obtain power for 
 his work in the field. His library is filled prin- 
 cipally with books descriptive of mission work, 
 and mission fields, and missionaries. Perhaps 
 the three men whose books had the largest in- 
 fluence on iii.: life were Dr. A. J. Gordon, Robert 
 E. Speer and Dr. A. T. Pierson. In his library 
 are found all the books of Dr. Gordon, and they 
 have not merely been read, but studied. Per- 
 haps the lajt book he read, and one for which 
 he had expressed the strongest admiration was 
 Professor Drummond's "Ideal Life." Even as 
 he read this book, he knew much of its deepest 
 spiritual meaning from his own life's experience. 
 The He seemed a chosen vessel for the work to 
 Unexpected vvhich he had been sent, and so he was. God 
 ^"^' chose him, and he responded to God's call and 
 finished his work, and then God called him home. 
 The call to service in glory came to him on Fri- 
 
Robert Reed McClure 199 
 
 day, April 2j, 1900. The following is copied 
 from the "India News Letter" of May 2, 1900: 
 
 " * * * On Friday, April 27, at 10 P. M., our 
 dear brother. Rev. R. Reed McClure entered 
 into the fullness of life. 
 
 "It is very hard to think of the shock this news Faver. 
 will be to a large circle of friends, and especially 
 to the dear ones in the homes ot Mr. and Mrs. 
 McClure in A.merica. The news came to us with 
 scarcely less suddenness. It is only a month 
 since we were all at Synod in Zafarwal, and were 
 entertained at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Mc- 
 Clure, when Mr. McClure seemed so well and 
 strong. He was the youngest and strongest of 
 our number, and the last one we would have 
 expected to fall a victim of disease. Only two 
 weeks ago, Mrs. McClure and he were in Sialkot, 
 driving the distance of 26 miles each way, and 
 then he seemed in good health, but on Tuesday, 
 April 17, he was attacked with fever. In this 
 country, fever is so common a complaint that we 
 treat it with home remedies as you do a cold, and 
 there was no alarm at first, but on Wednesday 
 there was more fever, and on Thursday Mrs. Mc- 
 Clure and Miss Fannie Martin, who was with 
 them, were so alarmed that they sent in to Sial- 
 kot for a doctor. Miss McKenzie, the doctor of 
 the Scotch Presbyterian Mission, arrived on 
 Thursday night, and thought the case was not 
 very dangerous, and treated the patient until 
 Doctor Taylor (Scotch Mission) could arrive 
 
200 In the King's Service 
 
 from some 40 miles away in Gujrat. He arrivecf 
 on Saturday and stayed with Mr. McClure until 
 the end, doing all that could be done by a skilled 
 physican. * * * The disease had been pro- 
 nounced typhoid fever. * * * 
 
 "He was surrounded by kind friends with 
 helping hands, and others waited the turn when 
 they too could help. Miss Martin and Miss 
 Young, the lady missionaries of the station, were 
 there. Mr. Gordon had ridden across from Gurd- 
 aspur, a distance of forty miles, on his bicycle, 
 at the first word, and Mr. Ballantine had driven 
 out from Si.ilkot. Mr. Crowe, who has been an 
 intimate friend of Mr. McClure since seminary 
 days, had been sent for and arrived with Mr. 
 Caldwell on Wednesday. As Mrs. McClure had 
 been sufifering some from fever, Mrs. Caldwell 
 had gone out and relieved her of all care of the 
 house. All that love could do was done, and 
 all that skill could do, but the Lord had called, 
 and His servant went to Him joyfully. 
 Sod's Acre at "The funeral took place in Sialkot on the 
 Sialkot jnorning of April 29, at 10 o'clock. Nearly all 
 the missionaries were present. He was buried 
 beside their little babe, who was taken last year, 
 and close beside our Brother Rev. D. S. Lytle, 
 who was taken only last November. It is a 
 spot that is becoming very sacred to more and 
 more of us, as the resting place of our departed 
 ones. 
 
Robert Reed McClure 20l 
 
 "Mr. McClure was one of the last two new 
 missionaries to reach the field. He had been 
 here only two years and a half, but his heart 
 had been here for six or seven. In his short 
 time, he had taken a very high place in the 
 esteem of his fellow missionaries as a man of un- 
 u.'^ual power and promise, and also a large place 
 in all our hearts as a man of love. With our 
 work here calling out for workers, and apparent- 
 ly so little prospect of many beng sent, we 
 cannot help asking why God has called one 
 who appeared to us to be so necessary. We do 
 not question God's wisdom, for we know that it 
 is better, not only for him who has gone to the 
 Father's house, but in some way it will be for 
 the Father's glory here. We cannot question, 
 but we cannot but wonder. 
 
 " * * * In all his sickness, he knew that he 
 could not recover, and insisted that he would 
 be taken, but he spoke of such experience as 
 cannot be understood by us who have not been 
 where he had walked. To us, it is a memory of 
 separation, and a vacant place in our midst, and 
 a tomb in a strange land, but to him it is a 
 blessed union with his beloved Lord, and the 
 place in the Father's house, and the crown of 
 glory. 
 
 " * * * His request concerning the funeral 
 was characteristic of him, that there should be 
 no flowers, and no address of eulogy." 
 
202 In the King's Service 
 
 The Threshold Here is what death meant to him, as stated 
 °'"®' 111 his own words: "To the child of God death 
 is the threshold of the home of rest — the dawn 
 which ushers in the glorious day of peace. And 
 who can realize the extent of such blessedness 
 as this? To rest from our labors is a great 
 privilege, but to rest in the arms of Him who 
 redeemed us is joy unspeakable. In life, we have 
 labored to become like Christ, but we shall now 
 rest in His presence, beholding His face in 
 righteousness, happy in the knowledge of our 
 likeness to Him. 
 
 "Do not cling tenaciously to life, as if it con- 
 tained all of happiness, but looking to the great- 
 ness of the reward, joyfully await the coming of 
 death as one who longeth for the coming of the 
 morning. Meet him not as an enemy, but as a 
 friend, knowing that he brings you into the 
 presence of your Lord, and to the enjoyments 
 of your great reward." 
 Continuing He left in India his devoted wife, who nobly 
 his Work. (ni(j her life on the altar of service for the 
 land that she had learned to love with him. Mrs. 
 McClure offered herself to the Board as a reg- 
 ular lady missionary, and, without furlough, is 
 finishing out the term begun with her husband. 
 There is one little daughter, Lois Reed, who 
 never saw the face of her father, and who shares 
 her mother's life and burden in the mission field. 
 And now what of this life of such great prom- 
 ise? Is it thrown away? The Master himself 
 
Robert Reed McClure 203 
 
 tells us of ir: "Except a grain of wheat fall into 
 the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone ; but 
 if it die, it beareth much fruit. He that loveth 
 his Ufe loseth it; and he that hateth his life 
 in this world shall keep it unto Hfe eternal." His 
 life was a beautiful grain of wheat, but if he 
 had said, "This grain is too round, and large, and 
 smooth, and golden to throw away into the ob- 
 scurity of the earth; it contains much that may 
 be useful to the world in other ways, and I shall 
 keep it and use it for the good of mankind and 
 the glory of God in my own way;" if he had 
 said this, 1-e would still have been abiding by 
 himself alone. Instead of this, he counted his 
 life, all precious and golden as it seemed, as less 
 than nothing when he thought of the days of 
 the harvest w hen he should bring his sheaves and 
 lay them at the Master's feet. Fearing lest he 
 should have to come empty handed into the 
 presence of the Lord of the harvest, he hated his 
 present life for the sake of the life eternal, and 
 now his life is bringing forth "much fruit;" how 
 much, and m what ways, no one but the Lord 
 of the harvest can know until the great day of 
 revealing. To those who have not heard the 
 voice of his Lord as he had heard it and obeyed, 
 this life may now seem to have been thrown 
 away, but one day all shall know the beauty 
 and the glory of a life buried in service for Him, 
 and raised in His resurrection glory. 
 
204 In the King's Service 
 
 Surely this life of bare thirty years has calls 
 that must be heeded by many who are trying 
 to follow the Master. What are they? 
 Parental igj- — ^ ^^^ll for parents to pray for their chil- 
 dren. It may be that these prayers will be an- 
 swered in ways unlooked for, and it may be 
 that the parents will not live to see the answer 
 given, but one thing is sure, that the prayer 
 will never be forgotten by God. 
 
 2nd — A call to parents to dedicate their chil- 
 dren to the service of God in the hard places 
 of the earth. When that young man met his 
 mother in the glory of the Father's house, he 
 could take some of the richest blessings that 
 had come to him in his life, and laying them at 
 her feet could say: "These came to me because 
 you gave me to Him for service in the hard 
 places of the earth." Oh, that parents might 
 long to have their precious grains of wheat 
 fall into the ground that they might bring forth 
 much fruit; that they might be willing to have 
 them lose their lives so that they might keep 
 them unto the life eternal. 
 The Power of ^rd — A call to young men and women to form 
 Concentration, ^j^^ habit of concentration. Humanly speaking, 
 much of the success of this life will be found to 
 be due to its having gathered up its forces and 
 centered them upon a single point at a time. 
 Whatsoever his hand found to do, he did with 
 his might. A whole-hearted man will bound 
 
Robert Reed McClure 205 
 
 over or crash through obstacles that will appal 
 or baffle the half-hearted man. 
 
 4th — A call to many to ask whether they are ^""''^ C/a/ms. 
 devoting time to worldly pursuits which God 
 wants to use in heavenly employments. Whether 
 they will have to go empty handed into His 
 presence in the day of the great ingathering of 
 eternal fruits. 
 
 5th — A ca'' to many who hesitate to go to the ff^e Supreme 
 foreign fieid because of a gift, real or fancied, ^""■ 
 which they think would there be wasted. How- 
 ever markedly a man may be gifted in any wav. 
 when God calls him there is but one answer pos- 
 sible. 
 
 6th — A call to every one to the most utter Complete 
 consecration to God's service. To let no taste Consecration. 
 and no pleasure come in to hinder his service, 
 and when cnce the gift is laid upon the altar 
 never to lift a finger to touch again the tiniest 
 particle for self. 
 
 7th — A call to a life of communion with God Fellowship 
 in constant Bible study and prayer. A life lived •<"''^ ^od. 
 in victory over sin and power in service. A life 
 of the dead self and the living Christ. 
 
 8th — The death of this warrior in the midst of a Call to 
 the battle, young and strong, and magnificently Young Men 
 equipped, is a call to a thousand of the young ^"^ Women. 
 men and women of the church of Jesus Christ 
 to awake from the slumber of selfishness, to heed 
 the trumpet call to battle, to leap to their feet 
 
2o6 In the King's Service 
 
 and put on the armor of the Lord, and to rush 
 boldly to the front in this awful conflict of Christ 
 and his army against the powers of darkness; a 
 call to fight as He fought, to win as He won, 
 and to receive such a welcome and such a crown 
 as His. 
 
 From this life here are the calls, loud and clear. 
 Who will hear and obey? Will you? 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 MISSION STUDY ALONG BIOGRAPHICAL LINES. 
 
 The Plan is to take up for study, in six consecutive 
 Christian Union, or Christian Endeavor, meetings the six 
 lives which are presented in this book. This will neces- 
 Ritate the omission of the regular C. E. topics for these six 
 meetings. Each life presents a different phase of foreign 
 missionary work, so that through the study of these lives 
 an acquaintance will be formed with the different depart- 
 ments of missionary work. 
 
 The Authority for launching this Mission Study Course 
 is the following Eesolution endorsed by the General Com- 
 mittee and passed by the National Convention of the Young 
 People's Christian Union of the United Presbyterian 
 Church of North America, at its meeting at St. Joseph, 
 Missouri, July 2, 1904: 
 
 "In order to develop and maintain an abiding and intel- 
 ligent missionary interest, we recommend to the societies of 
 the Y. P. C. U. that the six weeks' meetings of February 
 19th to March 26th, inclusive, be devoted to a study of our 
 Foreign Missionary Work, following biographical lines," etc. 
 
 Back of this formal authority lies the need for such a 
 course of study. The Mission Study Course of 1903 proved 
 the value and the practicability of a united study of for- 
 eign missions by the Young People. The necessity for re- 
 newing such a study of missions is as self-evident as that 
 which calls for the uninterrupted operation of the educa- 
 tional system of our country from year to year. 
 
 The Aim is to acquaint the Young People of the United 
 Presbyterian Church with that part of the world-wide en- 
 terprise of Foreign Missions for whose maintenance they 
 are becoming increasingly responsible. Interest depends 
 
2o8 In the King's Service 
 
 largely upon knowledge and knowledge upon study. Know 
 and you will feel. Know and you will give. Know and you 
 will pray. Know and you will go. The aim is the realiza- 
 tion of that ideal condition in which it can be said. "If you 
 want to know anything about Minions, you must go to our 
 Young People." 
 
 The Success and Value of this Course in the experience 
 of j^our Society will depend upon the amount of enthu- 
 siasm and energy, thought and prayer, which you are wil- 
 ing to contribute toward making it a success. No method 
 will succeed of itself. The "gun" counts for something, but 
 the "man behind the gun" counts for more. 
 
 Other Methods of Study are also recommended. Tlie In- 
 terdenominational Young People's ^Missionary Movement 
 recommends the organization within each Society of a 
 special class for the study of Missions. The special class 
 method of study gains in intensity what it loses in exten- 
 siveness. This book, "In the King's Service," is equally 
 adapted for use in special classes organized for the study 
 of missions. 
 
APPENDIX B. 
 
 ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP. 
 
 I. THE MISSIONARY COMMITTEE. 
 
 If the Mission Study Class is to be a success, there must 
 be, first of all. Responsibility. Nothing succeeds of itself. 
 Who will be specially responsible for the success of the 
 Mission Study Course? The natural answer is, The Mi.9- 
 sionary Committee. In many societies it may be found 
 better to commit the responsibility to the Prayer Meeting 
 Committee. This matters little, so long as Re^sponsibility 
 is definitely committed. It matters much, however, that 
 the committee in charge be a strong committee. By this 
 is meant a committee (a) willing to work, (b) convinced 
 of the opportunity and need — a Responsible Committee. 
 
 Next to Responsibility as a condition of success stands 
 Information. The first duty of the Missionary Committee 
 is to inform itself as to the proposed Mission Study Course 
 and its need. Hold weekly meetings of the committee, and 
 discuss the special needs of j'our society. Read carefully 
 the general article on this course of study in Appendix A. 
 Read the biographical sketches found in this book, and in 
 connection with these study the outlines of Appendix C, 
 .so as to get a clear appreciation of the subsidiary topics 
 which are connected with each life. Discuss in committee 
 meeting the proposed plan until every member has a clear 
 general idea of what is meant by the Mission Study Course. 
 If the Missionary Committee has no clear idea of the aim 
 of the proposed Mission Study Course, the need for it, and 
 the method it proposes to follow, there can be little hope 
 that the society will grasp the subject and enthuse over it. 
 
2 TO In the King's Service 
 
 The next duty of the Missionary Committee is Organiza- 
 tion. The duties of the Missionary Committee are varied, 
 and as such can best be accomplished by a subdivision of 
 the committee. Of the five members of the committee, two 
 should constitute the Study Committee, two a Chart and 
 Library Committee, and one a Devotional Committee. These 
 sub-committees should have the privilege of adding to their 
 number others, who may assist them in their work; but 
 these additional members should not be members of the 
 general Mi.ssionary Committee, lest it become large, un- 
 wieldy, and irresponsible. The Missionary Committee, as 
 a whole, is responsible for the success of every missionary 
 meeting, but the duties of the sub-committees may be speci- 
 fied as follows: 
 
 The Study Committee will either provide a leader for 
 each missionary meeting or will lead the meeting in the 
 person of one of its members. It will assign the mission- 
 ary study to the members of the society, and assist them, if 
 necessary, in the preparation of material. 
 
 The Chart and Library Committee will secure the funds 
 necessary for purchasing the equipment described on pages 
 216-218. It will be the duty of this committee to prepare 
 the illustrative charts suggested on pages 226 et seq. and 
 others which will be described in the Herald. This com- 
 mittee will also strive to secure a thorough circulation of 
 the Missionary Library among the members of the Society. 
 
 The Devotional Committee will have special charge of 
 the devotional part of the program at each missionary meet- 
 ing. 
 
 II. THE LEADER AND THE STUDY COMMITTEE. 
 
 Who, in your society, will lead the six meetings of 
 the Mission Study Course? This is, perhaps, the most im- 
 portant question, and upon its answer hinges the success 
 of the Mission Study Course in your society. The Mission- 
 ary Committee may lay the best of plans, but a careless, 
 unenthusiastic leader will be the undoing of all their labors. 
 A good leader must be secured. By this we do not mean 
 a "genius" necessarily. We do mean one (1) who will give 
 time and labor to preparation, and (2) who has some gift 
 
Appendix 211 
 
 of leadership. Pastors, or other prominent persons in a 
 church or community, should not, as a rule, be chosen as 
 leaders. Better to develop a leader out of the society itself. 
 
 It will be found best to retain the same leader, at least 
 throughout the study of each mission field. So much de- 
 pends upon good leadership, that no mistake will be made in 
 retaining a good leader throughout the entire Course. 
 
 In case no one who meets the requirements is available 
 for leader, nriembers of the Missionary Committee may, in 
 turn, lead the meeting. 
 
 The leader should, first of all, read "In the King's Ser- 
 vice" through very carefully. He should get a clear con- 
 ception of the geographical setting of each life. He should 
 then examine the outlines given on pages 219-225, until he 
 is able to connect the subsidiary subjects with the lives to 
 which they belong. He may then, by reading and study, 
 increase his knowledge of general history, social customs, 
 and missionary life and work — all of which serve as colorins; 
 to the biographical pictures to be presented. The three 
 best books to be read in this connection are Watson's 
 "American Mission in Egypt," Stewart's "Life and Work in 
 India," and Gordon's "Our India Mission," together with 
 the Annual Keport of the Board of Foreign Missions. 
 
 Immediately after the appearance of the detailed treat- 
 ment in the Herald, the leader should meet with the Mis- 
 sionary Committee, and the work should be assigned to 
 the sub-committees as follows: 
 
 The Chart Committee to prepart Charts, illustrating the 
 Study. The Devotional Committee to provide especially 
 for the closing prayer period. The Study Committee to co- 
 operate with the Leader in assigning work to the members 
 of the Society. 
 
 The duty of the Leader of the Missionary Committee is 
 not to lecture. That will kill a meeting. It is to get 
 others to contribute the information. The opportunity of 
 a good leader lies in those few words with which he in- 
 troduces a speaker and his theme to the meeting, and with 
 which he connects the sub-divisions of the topic, so as to 
 give to the meeting unity and progress. To do this, the 
 Leader must be thoroughly conversant with his subject. 
 
212 In the King's Service 
 
 In assigning work to members, three things should be 
 clearly and exactly indicated to them: (a) The particular 
 subdivision of the topic which is assigned to them. This 
 will prevent overlapping. 
 
 (b) The sources from which the required information 
 may be secured. Many a subject has been uninterestingly 
 and inaccurately presented, because members did not know 
 where to go for information. 
 
 (c) The amount of time to be allowed them. Make this 
 point emphatic, for, otherwise, you cannot carry out your 
 program within the time allotted. 
 
 In assigning work to members, the following form may 
 be used to advantage: — 
 
 Subject assigned 
 
 References 
 
 Time allowed 
 
 Suggestions 
 
 "We depend on you to interest and instruct the meeting 
 in thia matter." 
 
 III. THE CHART AND LIBRARY COMMITTEE. 
 
 Two members of the Missionary Committee shall consti- 
 tute a Chart and Library Committee (see page 210), but as 
 there is considerable work for this committee to do, it will 
 be desirable to enlarge the committee by adding three 
 other members. 
 The duties of the Chart and Librarj' Committee will be: 
 (1) To provide the Equipment described on pages 216- 
 218. 
 
 (a) Every Society should have in the possession of its 
 members several copies of "In the King's Service," so that 
 those who take r<irt may consult the book without con- 
 flict. It M^ll be a great advantage to have every member 
 of the Society own a copy. A personal canvass will in- 
 duce many to order the book. 
 
 (b) It will be found that many churches already possess 
 a large part of the equipment recommended. Some of the 
 books referred to may be in the possession of individual 
 
Appendix 213 
 
 members. The wall maps of our Mission Fields may, on 
 investigation, be found stowed away in some obscure cor- 
 ner. Take steps at once toward securing this equipment, 
 80 that the Society may have the benefit of it at the very 
 beginning of the Course. 
 
 (2) To prepare maps or illustrative charts as suggested 
 on pages 226 et seq. or as described from month to month in 
 the Herald. 
 
 (a) Tack muslin or heavy manilla paper to floor or wall. 
 
 (b) If copying a map, draw, with lead pencil, perpen- 
 dicular and horizontal lines, % inch apart, across the map 
 you are copying; draw similar lines twelve inches apart (or 
 whatever scale you wish) on the muslin or paper; then 
 copy the map a square at a time. 
 
 (c) Colors that will not run: Instead of oil, use a com- 
 bination of one part light varnish, one part turpentine, and 
 two parts japan; stir the colors in as small a portion of 
 this combination as is necessary to form a thick smooth 
 paste; then add more of the combination slowly, stirring 
 all the time, until quite thin. Wet the muslin with sponge, 
 and while still moist do the painting. Appropriate colors 
 are: vermillion, chrome green or yellow, ultra-marine blue, 
 lamp black. White lead will serve to lighten the shades. 
 
 (d) Colored crayons of the blackboard variety, dipped 
 into melted paraffine until the pores are soaked (when the 
 bubbles cease), may be used instead of paints. Press hard 
 in using. 
 
 (e) Be careful to make the lettering neat. 
 
 (f) A brief explanation with the use of a pointer will 
 suffice in the meeting to explain and call attention to these 
 charts. They should be hung, however, in a conspicuous 
 place, so that all may see them readily during the entire 
 meeting. 
 
 (3) To secure a thorough circulation of the Missionary 
 Library among the members of the Society. The Reference 
 books should be reserved for reference at the Library, but 
 the Campaign Library should be in constant circulation. 
 The following method has been followed with success: 
 
214 In the King's Service 
 
 (a) Let each member of the Library Committee select 
 a book and read it, marking neatly with pencil interesting 
 sections. 
 
 (b) Insert in front of book a page with the heading "If 
 you cannot read the entire book, will you not read the 
 following interesting and marked sections?" Then indi- 
 cate under suggestive titles the theme of the sections, giv- 
 ing page. 
 
 (c) Let each member of the Committee see how many 
 members of the Society he can get to read the book he has 
 read and indexed. 
 
 IV. THE DEVOTIONAL COMMITTEE. 
 
 One member of the Missionary Committee shall consti- 
 tute a Devotional Committee, but it will be desirable to 
 enlarge this sub-committee by adding two other members. 
 The duties of the Devotional Committee will be: 
 
 (1) To co-operate with the leader in making effective the 
 ten minute prayer period with which each meeting closes. 
 This can be done by calling attention to special promises 
 which can be pleaded, special needs which call for inter- 
 cession, and special examples of the power of prayer. 
 
 (2) To try to secure on the part of each member of 
 the Society daily prayer for foreign missions, at least for 
 the period of six weeks devoted to this Mission Study 
 Course. A habit of prayer thus formed may prove to many 
 a lifelong power. By way of suggestion, the following 
 Prayer Cycle is given: 
 
Appendix 215 
 
 V. A PRAYER CYCLE. 
 
 Sabbath. 
 
 Tray for yourself, that Jesus Christ may have His way 
 in your life, that you may come into deep and abiding 
 sympathy with Him in His world-wide love and purposes 
 of redemption. John 16: 13. 
 
 Monday. 
 
 Pray that the wonderful business methods of this age and 
 the mighty resources of the Church's wealth may be con- 
 secrated to the extension and establishment of the King- 
 dom. Haggai 2: 8. 
 
 Tuesday. 
 
 Pray that God will thrust forth laborers into the har- 
 vest—capable, efficient men, filled with the Holy Spirit, 
 consecrated to His seivice. Acts 13: 2; Matt. 9: 38. 
 
 Wednesday. 
 
 Pray that the Young Peoole's Societies of the Church 
 may be filled with the missionary spirit, so that an intel- 
 ligent enthusiasm for Missions may characterize the 
 Church. Acts 2: 17,18. 
 
 Thursday. 
 
 Pray that the missionaries and the native workers may, 
 through the quiet indwelling of the Holy Spirit in their 
 hearts, be filled with greater courage, a greater love for 
 souls, and greater spiritual power. Actsl: 8. 
 
 Friday. 
 
 Pray that the native converts may live holy lives and 
 witness faithfully to the truth; that secret disciples may 
 be strengthened, and brought to an open confession of 
 Christ. Eph. 3: 16-21. 
 
 Saturday. 
 
 Praise and Prayer: — Praise God for the victories granted 
 to the Church in the past, and pray that Christ may soon 
 tite of the travail of His soul and be satisfied. Isa. 53: 11. 
 
2l6 In the King's Service 
 
 VI. PROGRAM FOR THE MEETING. 
 
 1. Opening Praise and Prayer. 
 
 Five Minutes (5). 
 
 2. Missionary Study. 
 
 Forty Minutes (25). 
 
 3. Chart Reviews. 
 
 Five Minutes (5). 
 
 4. Prayer Period. 
 
 Ten Minutes (10). 
 
 Note. — Where the meeting occupies only three-quarters of 
 an hour, the number of minutes indicated in the paren- 
 theses may be allowed. 
 
 VII. THE EQUIPMENT. 
 
 In order to secure the greatest possible benefit from the 
 Mission Study Course, every Society should have the Equip- 
 ment recommended below. Additional help for use in the 
 missionary meeting will be given each week in the Herald, 
 but constant reference to missionary literature will be 
 necessary in order to make the meeting as instructive and 
 interesting as it can be, and should be. Let the Library 
 Committee begin planning at once to secure for the Society 
 the following Equipment, which will be in such constant 
 use during the Course and which will furnish fuel for mis- 
 sionary enthusiasm: 
 
 1. "In the King's Service," text-book to be used by the 
 Young People's Societies in following this Mission Study 
 Course. This book oresents the lives of six of our mission- 
 aries in India and Egypt. One copy should be in the pos- 
 session of every Society, indeed is indispensable, while it 
 will be of great advantage if every member can have a 
 copy, as the volume is both interesting and instructive. In 
 paper cover: 30 cents per copy. In cloth: 50 cents per 
 copy. C. R. Watson, 921 Witherspoon Building, Philadel- 
 phia, Pa. 
 
 2. "The American Mission in Egypt," by Rev. Andrew 
 Watson, D. D., a general history of the foreign missionary 
 work of the United Presbyterian Church in Egypt. $1.50, 
 
Appendix 217 
 
 postpaid. United Presbyterian Board of Publication, 209 
 Ninth street, Pittsburg, Pa. 
 
 8. "Life and Work in India," by Rev. Robert Stewart, 
 D. D., setting forth the methods of missionary work in 
 India, the conditions existing and the difficulties met with. 
 75 cents, postpaid. United Presbyterian Board of Publi- 
 cation, 209 Ninth street, Pittsburg, Pa. 
 
 4. "Our India Mission," by Rev. Andrew Gordon, D. D., 
 a history of the foreign missionary work of the United 
 Presbyterian Church in India; out of print, but may be 
 found in many public and private libraries. 
 
 5. Annual Report of the Board of Foreign Missions, con- 
 taining interesting incidents and illustrations referring es- 
 pecially to the work of the past year. FREE. C. R. Wat- 
 son, 921 Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia. 
 
 6. Report of the Pittsburg Semi-Centennial Foreign Mis- 
 sionary Convention, containing full reports of the addresses 
 and conferences. $1.00 per copy, postpaid. C. R. Wat- 
 son, 921 Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia. 
 
 7. Wall Maps of Our Mission Fields. $1.25 the set (one 
 of Egypt, one of India). C. R. Watson, 921 Witherspoon 
 Building, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 8. The Mission Study Pictures. Not only every Society, 
 but every individual member should have a set of these 
 Pictures, as they serve to illustrate our work in both Egypt 
 and India, and make clearer the material found in the text- 
 book and Herald. India Series, 25 cents the set; Egypt 
 Series, 25 cents the set. C. R. Watson, 921 Witherspoon 
 Building, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 9. Missionary Campaign Libraries: United Presbyte- 
 rian Missionary Library, fifteen volumes, $12.00. United 
 Presbyterian Board of Publication, 209 Ninth street, Pitts- 
 burg, Pa. The price of these fifteen volumes, purchased 
 singly, would be $15.11. The entire library is sold at 
 $12.00, express prepaid. Also Libraries No. 1 and 2; six- 
 teen volumes each. Price $10.00. C. R. Watson, 921 
 Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
2i8 In tlie King's Service 
 
 10. The Mission Study Class, by T. H. P. Sailer, specially 
 helpful to the Missionary Committee. 7 cents. Presbyte- 
 rian Board of Publication, Philadelphia. 
 
 11. The Missionary Review of the World, a monthly 
 magazine treating of missionary work throughout the 
 world, containing interesting articles from missionaries and 
 authorities in all fields. $2.50 per year. Funk & Wag- 
 nails Company, New York city. 
 
 12. The Missionary Manual. By A. R. Wells. 35 cents, 
 and 
 
 13. Fuel for the Missionary Fires. By B. ^I. Brain. Con- 
 taining suggestions for missionary meetings, practical mis- 
 sionary work, etc. 35 cents. United Society of Christian 
 Endeavor, Tremont Temple, Boston, or 155 La Salle street, 
 Chicago. 
 
 14. "A Hundred Girls of India," by Miss Mary J. Camp- 
 bell, a glimpse into the inner life and thought of India's 
 daughters. 20 cents per copy. C. R. Watson, 921 Wither- 
 spoon Building, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
APPENDIX C. 
 
 OUTLINES FOR ASSlOiNMENT OF WORK. 
 
 These Outlines contemplate a main division (Roman 
 numeral) to be assigned to one person. Where the leader 
 wishes to increase the number of those taking part, he may 
 assign one of these main divisions to two or more persons. 
 \Vhere it is found impracticable to cover so much ground 
 mthin the time allowed, only the sub-divisions bearing as- 
 terisks need be treated. 
 
 Page references, if not designated otherwise, apply to this 
 book, "In the King's Service." The following abbreviations 
 are used: A. M. E. for Watson's "American Mission in 
 Egypt;" L. W. I. for Stewart's "Life and Work in India," 
 and 0. I. M. for Gordon's "Our India Mission." 
 
 The Special Papers are for outside work, and go beyond 
 the ordinary scope of the Mission Study Course as used in 
 the Young People's meeting. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 JOHN HOGG. 
 
 L* A Map Talk: 
 
 Use a world map and also a Mission Map; show 
 route of travel from New York to Egypt; give 
 area of Egypt, comparing with size of some of 
 our States; describe general appearance and 
 topography of Nile Valley; indicate population 
 of Egypt, comparing with size of some of our 
 States (See Geographies and Books of Reference 
 in public libraries; also A. M. E., p. 38). 
 
 II. The Pioneer in the Making: 
 
 1. Home Influences, 11. 
 
 2. In the Mines, 12, 13. , 
 
220 In the King's Service 
 
 3.* An Accident and its Results, 14. 
 
 4. Night School, 15. 
 
 5.* Religious Experience, 15, IG. 
 
 G. College Life, 16, 17. 
 
 7.* Mis.-ionary Motives, 18. 
 
 III. Mission Work in the Delta: 
 
 1.* As a Teacher, 19; A. M. E., 93, 94, 95. 
 
 2. Completing Theological Course, 20. 
 
 3. Shipwreck, 20. 
 
 4.* Work at Alexandria, 21. 48; also A. M. E., 
 
 114, 115. 
 5.* Work at Cairo, 22, 23; also A. M. E., 139-148. 
 
 IV. Pioneer Work in Upper Egypt; 
 
 1. Description of Assiut, 24, 25; A. M. E., 176. 
 2.* The Coptic Religion, 25, 26, 60; A. M. E., 53- 
 
 58. 
 3.* Facing Persecution, 28, 29; A. M. E., 199-236. 
 
 4. Educational Work, 27, Gl, 62; A. M. E., 44?- 
 
 460. 
 
 5. Meeting False Doctrine, 34; A. M. E., 274-277, 
 
 287. 
 6.* Itinerating on the Nile, 36, 37; A. M. E., 140- 
 148, 318-325, 363-364. 
 
 V. Measuring the Man: 
 
 1.* His Intellectual Powers, 42, 21, 24. 
 2.* His Energy and Devotion, 40, 41, 24. 
 3.* Missionary Statesmanship, 22, 60. 58. 
 
 Special Papers: 
 
 The Coptic Religion: Its Doctrines and Practices: 
 See A. M. E., 12-14, 15, 16, 17, 55, 56, 57, 58, 
 59, 20, 31, 54, 100-101, 123, 244, 253, 265. 110, 
 139, 153-154, 180, 187, 188, 191, 240, 244, 247, 
 268, 292, 293, 299, 326-332, 199-238, 269, 157- 
 158, 360, 412, 391, 413, 391. Also Encyclo- 
 paedia Brittanica, under heading "Coptic." 
 
 The Mission School: T};e Method and its Value: 
 See A. M. E., 442 460; also L. W. I., consult 
 Index references \iiider "Educational Policy." 
 
Appendix 221 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 MARTHA J. McKOWN. 
 
 I.* Years of Preparation: 
 
 1. Early Work in Sabbath School, 47. 
 
 2. Educational Advantages, 47. 
 
 3. Experience as a Teacher, 47, 49. 
 
 II. At Alexandria: 
 
 1. Lack of Proper Accommodations, 48. 
 
 2* Jewish and Foreign Character of School, 49, 50. 
 
 III. At Assiut: 
 
 1. Description of Assiut, 52, 53, 54; its climate, 50. 
 
 2* Woman's Life in Egypt', 54; A. M. E., 433-438. 
 
 3.* The Founding of the Girls' School, 55; its 
 growth, 57; how conducted, 58, 63; its suc- 
 cesses, 64; need of enlargement, 70; the 
 Pressly endowment, 71, 73; A. M. E., 446- 
 448. 
 
 4. Liberating Slave Girls, 60, 67, 68, 69. 
 
 IV. Failing Eyesight: 
 
 1.* The Victory of Submission, 72, 73, 75, 76, 78. 
 
 2.* Leaving Egj'pt, 79; at home, 80. 
 
 3.* Harim Work, 74, 76, 77; A. M. E., 438-441. 
 
 Special Papers: 
 
 Harim Work: The Method and its Value: See A. 
 M. E., 435-441; L. W. I., consult Index refer- 
 ence under "Zenana Work." 
 
 Mohammedanism: Its Doctrines and Practices: See 
 A. M. E., 40-53; L. W. I., consult Index refer- 
 ences under "Mohammedanism;" also Encyclo- 
 paedia Brittanica. 
 
232 In the King's Service 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 SARAH DALES LANSING. 
 
 I. Development and Preparation: 
 
 1. Parentage, 84. 
 
 2. Education and Literary Abilitv. 84, 85. 
 3.* Religious Experience, 85, 86. 
 
 4.* Missionary Purposes, 86, 87. 88, 89. 
 
 II. At Work in Syria: 
 
 1.* Map Talk: indicating line of travel to Syria; 
 
 location of places named, and character of 
 
 country, 90, 91, 92. 
 2. Work Among Jewesses, 93; their hatred of 
 
 C4ospel, 94. 95. 
 
 III. In Alexandria: 
 
 1. Political Dangers, 100. 
 
 2.* Mutual Attachment of Teachers and Pupils, 101. 
 
 IV. In Cairo: 
 
 1. Character of School, 102. 
 
 2.* A Religious Awakening, 103, 104, 105. 
 3.* Persecuted for Christ's Sake, 106, 107, 108, 
 109, 110. 
 
 V. IVIarried Life: 
 
 1.* Dr. Gulian Lansing, 110; A. M. E., 397401. 
 
 2. Work Among Travelers, 111, 112. 
 3.* Her Death, 113-115. 
 
 VI. Estimate of Character: 
 
 1.* Devotion to Christ, 83. 87, 9.5, 98, 99. 
 
 2* A Soul Winner, 87, 88, 96, 103-105, 111. 114. 
 
 3.* A Patient Sufferer, 97, 98, 113. 
 
 Special Papers: 
 
 The Story of Bamba and the Indian Prince: See A. 
 
 M. E., 159, 163-172, 176, 183, 468. 
 The Persecution of Fam Stephanos: See A. M. E., 
 
 140, 209, 212, 223, 240, 395. 
 
Appendix 223 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 ANDREW GORDON. 
 
 I. Character Building: 
 
 1.* Home and Home Training, 119, 120. 
 
 2. The Discipline of Poverty, 121, 124. 
 
 3. School Training, 122, 129, 130, 131. 
 
 4.* Religious Experience, 125, 126, 127, 128. 
 5.* The Missionary Decision, 132, 133. 
 
 II. Off for India: 
 
 1. The Journey Out, 134, 135; also 0. I. M., 31-38. 
 2.* Map Talk: show route to India, give area and 
 
 population, comparing with some of our 
 States; show location of our mission field in 
 the Punjab, 131; also L. W. I., 94-106; 0. I. 
 M., 60-88. 
 3.* The Journey From Calcutta to Sialkot, 136; 
 0. I. M., 39-51. 
 
 III. Founding a IVIission: 
 
 1.* Problem of Methods, 137. 139; 0. I. M., 120- 
 127; L. W. I., 148-154. 
 
 2. Problem of Caste, 138; L. W. I., 224. 
 
 3. Lack of Funds, 138; 0. I. M., 89-101. 
 
 4.* The Sepoy Rebellion, 140, 141, 142; 0. I. M., 
 
 128-164. 
 5.* First Baptisms, 142, 143; 0. I. M., 177. 
 
 IV. Ill Health: 
 
 1.* Retirement to America, 143. 
 2. Earning a Livelihood, 143, 144. 
 
 V. Return to India: 
 
 1. A Shorter Journey, 145. 
 2* Personal Work, 146-151. 
 3.* Death in America, 151-152. 
 
 Special Papers: 
 
 India of 1854: Consult 0. I. M., L. W. I., and gen- 
 eral histories of India. 
 
 The Caste System of India: Consult L. W. I., Index 
 references under "Caste." 
 
224 111 the King's Service 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 SOPHIA E. JOHNSON. 
 
 I. Meeting the Gordon Family: 
 
 1.* Map Talk: locate, on a wall mission map, placed 
 
 referred to. 
 2.* Acquaintance Formed With Dr. Gordon. 155- 
 
 158. 
 3.* The Breaking Up of Home, 158-159. 
 
 II. A Missionary Apprentice: 
 
 1. Zenana Work, 160. 
 
 2.* Amateur Medical Treatment. 160-162. 
 
 III. In America for a Medical Training: 
 
 1. First Impressions, 164. 
 2.* Making Her Way, 165. 
 3. Missionary Addresses, 165, 166. 
 
 IV. Home Ties: 
 
 1. Parentage, 167. 
 
 2.* Her Mother's Conversion, 168, 169. 
 
 3. Her Mother's Death. 169. 
 
 V. AtJhelum: 
 
 1.* Her Hospital, 171. 
 
 2.* Unselfish Devotion, 172-174. 
 
 3.* Tributes of Love and Respect, 175, 176. 
 
 Special Papers: 
 
 Medical Work: The Method and its Value: See L. 
 W. I., consult Index references under "Medical 
 Missionary Work;" A. M. E.. 109, 243, 300, 
 394. 
 
 Poverty and Illiteracy in India: See L. W. I., con- 
 sult Index references under "Poverty" and "Il- 
 literacy." 
 
Appendix 225 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 ROBERT REED McCLURE. 
 
 I. Early Life: 
 
 1. Parentage, 179. 
 
 2.* Confession of Christ, 180. 
 
 3. His Mother, 180. 
 
 II. Musical Talent: 
 
 1. Athletic Body, 181. 
 
 2.* Love for Music, 181-185. 
 
 3. Teaches Music, 185. 
 
 III. The IVIissionary Purpose: 
 
 1.* An Impressive Meeting, 186. 
 
 2.* Difficulties in the Way, 187, 188. 
 
 3. In the Seminary, 188-191. 
 
 4.* Difficulties Removed, 192, 193. 
 
 IV. A Brief Service: 
 
 1 . Studying the Language, 193. 
 2.* The Care of Christians, 196. 
 
 3. The Regions Beyond, 196. 
 
 4. His Death. 198-200. 
 
 V. The IVIessage of His Life: 
 
 1.* Characteristics of His Christian Life, 186, 187, 
 
 188, 194, 196, 197, 202. 
 2* The Message, 204-206. 
 
 Special Papers: 
 
 The Low-Caste Movement Toward Christianity: See 
 L. W. I., consult Index references under "Castes, 
 low;" 0. I. M., 421-432. 
 
 Missionary Itinerating in India: The Method and 
 its Value: See L. W. I., consult Index refer- 
 ences under "Itinerating Work." 
 
SIZE OF OUR FOREIGN FIELDS. 
 
 NOTE :— The States enclosed within the b/ac/( line have a population equal to the 
 foreign mission fields of the United Presbyterian Church,— 16,000,000 
 people. 
 
IN OUR FOREIGN FIELDS 
 
 I DIES EyERY MINUTE, 
 60 DIE EVERY HOUR, 
 /.440 DIE EVERY DAY 
 43.000 DIE EYERY MONTH. 
 500.000 DIE EVERY YEAR. 
 
 'WITHOUT CHRIST. 
 
 WHAT DOES THIS MEAN, 
 TO THEAl? 
 TO HIAl? 
 TO AtE? 
 
 •t 
 
THE UNUSED CROSS. 
 
 AND I. IF I BE 
 LIFTEO UP FROM 
 THE EARTH, WILL 
 DRAW ALL 
 MEN UNTO 
 ME. 
 
 ONE HALF 
 THE WORLD 
 IS BEYOND 
 THE REACH OF 
 
 ANY MESSEN&ER 
 OF JESUS CHRIST, 
 
HOME AND FOREIGN FIELDS. 
 
 OUR 
 UNITED PRESBYTERIAN 
 
 FOREIGN MISSION FIELD 
 
 16.000.000 
 
 NOTE :— As there is one Protestant church member in America to every three who 
 are not, the Home Field of the United Presbyterian Church is ta/cen at 
 approximately three times its membership. 
 
THE OCCUPATION of OUR FIELDS, 
 
 OUR HOME CHURCH an<) FIELD, 
 FIELD'THREE TIMES MEMBERSHIP. 
 
 FIELD 
 
 914 
 
 TIMES 
 
 MEMBEHSHIP. 
 
 HOME mm-aOMO MEMBERS HOME FIELD 380.000 
 m£IM CHURCH 17.500 MEMBERS FOREIOM FIELD ICJOOCOOO 
 
The Occupation of our Fields, 
 
 SHOWING THE 682 PASTORS AND STATED 
 SUPPLIES IN AMERICA,AND THE 83 ORDAINED 
 M/SSIONARIES/OREION AND NATIVE. IN OUR 
 fOREION ^^ ^^ FIELDS. 
 
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