c nO\' 3 1911 *] BV 3427 .A45 ] P6 Porter, Henry Dwight , 1845- 1916. William Scott Ament , missionary o f the American William Scott Ament cS. Jp'y^-^M^ William Scott Ament Missionary of the American ^ — - — ...^^^ Board to China /^^ ''^ ^'^'^'i^-T^ NOV 3 1911 ■%£fi/WL SEWO^ By HENRY D. PORTER, M. D., D. D. Author of ** Biography and Memorial of Henry Dickinson Smith " ILLUSTRATED New York Chicago Toronto Fleming H. Re veil Company London and Edinburgh Copyright, 19", by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY New York: 158 Fifth Avenue ^ Chicago: 80 Wabash Avenue Toronto : 25 Richmond Street, W. London: 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh: 100 Princes Street To the Oberlin men and women in China Evangelists ^ Cofifessors, and Martyrs ** A noble band of men and boys The matron and the maid" this record, of the earliest of their number in service^ is gladly dedicated The Threshold Sign THE entrance court of many a mandarin's home is emblazoned with narrow wooden placards in red, recording the successive steps by which he has ascended from the low initial office to some high grade of influence and authority. This is the threshold sign. All life when rightly viewed is a life of progression. The Chinese proverb sums up the thought when it says : He starts from the plain who ascends the heights, He proceeds from the near who journeys afar. The missionary life is such a life of progress. The simple common life of a man takes on strength and beauty as its aim is to carry other lives into the high at- mosphere of true living and thinking into the large at- mosphere of rightly directed faith and love. The purpose of this volume is essentially not that of eulogy. It is a study of work and service in a great cause. There is always a place for praise and commendation in a good life. The wise and thoughtful estimate of many friends and associates will find natural expression at the appropriate]place and time. The attractiveness of the present record will be found in the details of a distant and commanding effort. It is the fascination of Christian service which invites the heart to its tables of effort and to its hope of progress. Through fifty years of dramatic political interest, China has drawn to herself the gaze of the nations wondering at her quaintness and isolations. The recent years have in- formed the thinking world of China's position among the old as well as the new nations. It is of her future and 7 8 THE THRESHOLD SIGN not of her past that men are making an estimate now. We know her in the large. But of that pathway by which progress is made, by which our Western civilization is making inroads upon her isolated past, little is known in detail. And of that missionary service which assumes now such vast propor- tion still less has been known. The details of such service, slowly unfolding from little to large, will be found here, recorded in familiar letters, in the individual lives influenced, and the organ- izations established through simple and constant as well as patient effort. In the more formal letters to the mis- sionary secretaries will be seen clearly the political as- pects of the work in hand, through commercial and dip- lomatic necessities. The thrilling days of the great revolt of China against foreign influence and domination are here portrayed in clear-cut lines, with the result of a new China and a new hope. Opportunities pass into results. The union and feder- ation of Christians in the glad work of bringing the blessed kingdom of God to a people happily well pre- pared for peace and quietness of life are here shown as a rich though unfulfilled hope. Because of these, the author ventures to solicit the in- terest and the prayers of his readers. It will be fitting here to acknowledge a great indebted- ness to Mrs. Ament for her careful gathering of the abundant letters, illustrating the many years of her husband's service, as well as for her frequent suggestions and counsel as to facts and occasions. A like indebtedness is due to Miss M. G. Schirmer, and to the Rev. Dr. Leete, of Kew Haven, for letters and newspaper clippings. H. D. P. La Mesa, California, Contents I. Ancestry and Boyhood II. College and Seminary Life . III. Life at Pao Ting Fu . IV. Peking and the North China Mission V. Life in Peking .... VI. A Pastorate in America VII. The Renewal of Life in China . VIII. Out of the Depths IX. The Expansion of Service X. Second Furlough and Return XI. Reform, Progress and Omens of Evil XII. Rumblings of the Boxer Earthquake XIII. The Breaking of the Storm XIV. Flotsam and Jetsam in Peking XV. When Wars Cease XVI. An Episode in Missionary Experience XVII. Incidents in the Reconstruction Period XVIII. A Missionary Furlough XIX. Renewals at Peking XX. Country Touring and Active Mission Work ..... XXI. Growth of Union in Mission Effort XXII. Heralds of the New China 9 13 24 37 55 71 88 97 116 126 H3 157 166 180 201 212 223 253 266 278 288 302 10 CONTENTS XXIII. Deputation, Conference and Feder ATION ..... XXIV. New Hopes for Social and Moral Up LIFT IN China XXV. Illness and Death XXVI. Memorial Services and Tributes to THE Memory of Dr. Ament . Appendix, with Memorial Extracts Index 328 340 349 364 371 Illustrations Facing page William Scott Ament ..... Frontispiece Emily Hammond Ament (i860), Winfield Scott Ament (i860), William Ament, age 12 . . 18 William Scott Ament (1877), Mary P. Ament (1877), Owosso Church, where Ament was ordained . 34 An Apostolical Succession — Rev. E. C. Bridgman, Rev. Henry Blodget, D. D., William Scott Ament, D. D., Dr. Chauncey Goodrich and Rev. Chester Holcombe ..... 58 Map of Peking Out-stations . . . . .106 W. S. Ament (1885) 114 Emily Ament . . . . . . .114 Von Ketteler Memorial Arch . . . .184 Pastor Meng Chi Tseng and Family . . .184 Dr. Ament Receiving Village Deputations . . 210 Madam Ament, age 75 254 Mrs. William S. Ament (1901) .... 254 William S. Ament (1898) 254 Owosso Church (1898) where Farewell Address was given . . ' 254 Street Chapel and American Bible Society, Entrance to Mission Compound ..... 266 Church and Woman's Union College . . . 274 Mission Compound, Peking (1905) . . . 274 II 12 ILLUSTRATIONS Boys* School and Dormitory . Dr. Ament and Schoolboys Village Schools and Village Preachers North Church .... Memorial School .... Pastor Jen and Family . Family Tree .... 288 288 300 332 338 348 " A brilliant boy that I once knew, In far-off, happy days of old, With sweet, frank face and eyes of blue, And hair that shone like gold ; " A figure sinewy, lithe, and strong, A laugh infectious in its glee, A voice as beautiful as song When heard along the sea." —O'Brien, ANCESTRY AND BOYHOOD AN American transferred to China learns to esti- mate his ancestry from a new point of view. It is enough for the average American lad to think chiefly of the self-made man, and to rejoice in his indi- viduality. As others have risen from humble homes to high honors or to great wealth, the ambition of the American youth leads him to make little of heredity, select his own environment, turn the tides of life and of men to his own personal development. Others have with happy daring adopted the apothegm of the untram- melled poet: " I am Captain of my son!." Whatever may have been the original beating of youth- ful wings against the bars guarded by the modern angels, Heredity and Environment, which, forceful and fateful, preside over the possibilities of life, William Scott Ament would not have hesitated to accept the prime monitions so constant among the Chinese in quotation, and so full of meaning in their application : " Treasnre the origins Search the sources ' ' " The Princely man, " that is the gentleman and scholar, " Never forgets hts originals." 13 U WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT Filial Piety adopts these ancient phrases and keeps its records as faithfully as the Scribes who gathered the names in the Scripture Chronicles. In our modern days Science and Eeligion join easily with patriarchal form bidding men to search and find the source of Life, of Mind, of Matter. It is, then, with peculiar interest that one may turn to gather the items suggestive of physical and mental qualities which we are to find in the unfolding aptitudes of an American boy preparing unwittingly for a far-off and distinguished service. For us his life has a fuller in- terpretation when we place on record the story of ances- tors whose names appear in English and New England history, as well as in that of Holland and France. The ** Melting Pot " is not the discovery alone of the twentieth century. William Scott Ament, the second child and eldest son of Winfield Scott and Emily Hammond Ament, was born at Owosso, Michigan, September 14, 1851. His father, Winfield Scott, was descended from Pieter Ament and Elizabeth van Thienhoven, who came from Holland and settled in New Jersey, near enough to New York to at- tend the old Dutch church, where their eleven children were baptized. These baptisms are carefully listed in the early volumes of the church records 1639-1730. In the third generation, Eldert Ament, son of Eldert Ament, the son of Pieter, was a soldier of the Ee volution, and moved to Albany, thence to Schenectady and finally to Dansville. His son William met in his native village of Dansville Susan Perine, daughter of Captain William Perine, fifth settler in Dansville. Here the line of Dutch descent j oins with that of the Huguenot. William Perine was a descendant of Daniel Perrin, an immigrant, who came to America in the good ship Philip with Governor George Carteret in 1665, ** Captain William Perine was ANCESTRY AND BOYHOOD 15 born in New Jersey. He served in the Revolution five years under Francis Marion, and was mustered out at the close of the war. He moved to Cambridge and thence by team to Williamsburg and finally to Dansville in 1799.'^ The history of Dansville speaks of Captain William Ferine as having gained the respect of Indians and their obedience. He was a man of weight and influence. Susan, the fifth daughter, married William Ament, a merchant of Dansville. After the death of her husband and eldest son, she married a Mr. Griswold. After the death of the latter, Mrs. Griswold and her family of sons removed to Owosso, Michigan, about 1840. The oldest of these, Winfield Scott, was a worker in iron, and went to New Orleans each winter, by steamer, to ply his trade among the plantations. Extracts from his journal are quaint and interesting. "October 25, 1844. — Left Detroit at eight o'clock in the Julia Painter ; arrived at Cleveland at eight o'clock in the morning. Bargained with captain of the canal boat Nile to carry us through to Portsmouth for six dollars each. Cleve- land is altogether a pretty place. ''October 30th. — Good country these Buckeyes have got. The Muskingum Valley is beautiful beyond description. Corn- fields of a hundred acres each stretched along its banks, and the inhabitants in their log cabins present a strange contrast of wealth and poverty. " Thursday. — Passed Newark. Quite a business place. The country now assumes a different aspect. Large and beautiful farms with elegant buildings present themselves to our view. The Coshocton too is an interesting sight with its mills and manufactories. Great Whig country this. Elected a Whig governor. All Whig poles along here. Three cheers for Ohio. 6th. — Arrived at Cincinnati this morning on steam packet Meteor t splendid new boat. Cincinnati is truly a great city. Crossed over to Covington by the ferry. Smart little place. We visited the iron works. About a hundred hands are em- ployed. Iron both wrought and pig metal. '' Saturday, 6th, — Reached Memphis, Tennessee. Went up 16 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT in town — pretty place ; some say three or four thousand in- habitants. I saw lots of slaves loading a steamboat with cot- ton, their principal export. Memphis is the largest place in the state. " Friday morning, 2 2d. — Here we are in the Crescent City, six miles in length on the river and one mile in depth back into the Swamp — one canal to Lake Ponchartrain ; two railroads over to Carrollton. Strange contrast to see the splendid mansion of the French grandee by the side of the hut of the poor peasant. Very narrow streets and very filthy. Sunday. — Beautiful day, fine as summer. Went to church, a fine stone building well filled with people all grades and conditions; heard a good sermon. "Thursday, Nov. 28th. — Went out on the levee to see the ships and steamboats as far as the eye can reach up and down the river and such a multitudinous mass of human beings. Some at work lading and unlading vessels. Business men hurrying to and fro. All the cripples and paupers and wenches, with apples, oranges, or with cigars or bananas, are sitting on every log or stick of timber begging of you to buy, and little boys with their arms full of newspapers meeting you at every turn. Hoosiers, Suckers and Corn Crackers with their flatboats loaded with the products of the past season are mak- ing ready to retail their produce to the citizens of the city. Take it all in all it is a perfect Bedlam. " February 24, 1845 (Rocky Springs, Mississippi). — Still with the planters and still pass by the appellation, the Yankee blacksmith, doing up their ploughs at the roundest rate they ever had it done. Outdoing any man that has made his ap- pearance in the South, doing what they had never expected to have done, laying ploughs, that they had thrown by as useless. Made tools, jumped axes, and received a great deal of praise for my workmanship." On a second trip malaria claimed Winfield as a victim, and as trade languished, he became homesick, and re- turned to Michigan where his brother had started the first newspaper of the town whose name, the Argus, still survives in a successor. His mother had left Dansville after the second period, — frame houses succeeding log, — and found herself again in frontier conditions. She is ANCESTRY AND BOYHOOD 17 described by those who knew her in Dansville as viva- cious and quite a belle, having a dainty taste in dress and also an imperious will. Ill health and the loss of children and husband left their mark in later years upon her once bright and lively disposition. She made her home with Winfield, whose good cheer and hearty cordial ways made him a centre of attraction. Winfield Ament made no mistake when he took as his bride Emily Hammond, of Fleming, Cayuga County, New York. Her vigorous practical mind, gentle dis- position, and deeply religious nature, tinged with some- thing of melancholy, gave her great power to help and influence those about her. Through her father, Ephraim Hammond, farmer, surveyor and legislator, she was descended from William Hammond of London, England, and Elizabeth Penn, sister of the Admiral Sir William Penn and aunt to William Penn the Quaker. " William Hammond died and was buried in London. His widow with her son Benjamin came over to New England in the troublous times of 1634, from a desire to have the liberty to serve God according to the dictates of their conscience. They arrived in Boston, September 18, 1634, in the ship GriffiUj and had with them the Rev. John Lothrop, their minister. Mrs. Hammond lived in Boston and Water- town until 1638 when she joined Rev. John Lothrop^s church in Scituate, being the thirty-third member of that church." ^ Rochester, now Marion, Mass., was long the home of the Hammond family — Ephraim' s grandfather moved to Dutchess County, New York, and his father to Cayuga County. Emily's mother was Ruth Goodrich, a descendant of the Goodriches of Herefordshire. Mr. Goodrich came from England in 1640 and married Sara * Hammond Genealogy, Boston, David Clapp and Son, Printers, 1894. 18 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT Marvin of Wethersfield, Conn., in 1648. Glastonbury and other Connecticut towns appear in the history, but finally Dutchess County, New York, is reached and soon Cayuga County where Euth met her fate and marrying Ephraim Hammond became the mother of nine sons and daughters of whom the fifth was fair Emily, Winfield's bride and William Scott's mother. Mr. Winfield Ament was a prosperous business man. After his marriage he remained in Owosso. So many came from a distance to have their tools mended and their horses shod that he was obliged to build and conduct a hotel to accommodate them. This was the first brick building in town, and with an added story is still the leading hotel, under the name of The National Hotel. He added a stage route and kept many horses for use in carrying the United States mails over bridle paths and through the forests. We learn that William Scott was early entrusted with responsibility, driving parties to a distance, and coming back alone, proud master of the team, when but eleven years old. The vigor, initiative and cheerful spirits of his father seem to have been inherited and the training in taking responsibility left a permanent mark on his character. A story is told of him when he was five years old. His elder sister Claribel and two cousins with the child were allowed one day to go with the hired man for some hay. Returning, all the children were seated on the load. Will and his cousin Addie on the sides and Claribel and the baby in the middle. Go- ing down Ashery Hill, the horses got beyond the control of the careless driver and the children began slipping. They clasped hands and hung, — Will on one side and Addie on the other — till the bottom of the hill was reached. The hill sloped down to an Indian camp beside the Shiawassee River. It was one of the delights of the children to take hold of hands and run down the hill, .A ANCESTRY AND BOYHOOD 19 trying to stop suddenly before coming in sight of the In- dians. A drunken Indian, once, chasing them to the top of the hill, put a stop to the game. These Indians, who belonged to the Chippewa Nation, camped here in the summer to fish and sell their baskets. In the winter they went back to their villages and resumed their trade of hunting. Game was plenty — deer, turkeys and some- times bears driven down by fires in the northern woods. At a little store in Owosso a lively trade in furs was car- ried on. Owosso, ''This Bright Spot,'' on the ''Sparkling Water" was indeed a beautiful place. Every where the forest was unbroken. Ere long a little schoolhouse ap- peared, and here on a little bench William began his let- ters, sitting in front. No studying at home in those days, and plenty of time to watch the Indian boys shooting at a mark set up in front of the store to draw their trade. The Congregational church was the first one built in town. Before it was built, William's uncle, Daniel Gould, used to read sermons in the schoolhouse. Thus, undoubtedly, the first voice heard in public worship was that of his uncle, in the schoolhouse on Washington Street. Winfield Ament died when the lad was only fourteen. Henceforth the guidance of his life was to be under the influence of his mother, of whom he was glad to say, " I owe all I am to my mother's prayers." Congenial na- tures and later common responsibilities aided in forming the closest and most affectionate companionship between mother and son. As Dr. Wilder has fittingly said : ' ' They actually lived through life together. She followed every movement of her son with lively interest and sup- ported him with her sympathy and prayers." There is always something very attractive about a strong and vigorous boy, whose unconscious life overflows upon his fellows. "Will" Ament was such a boy, 20 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT happy-hearted beyond the measure of many. His bright blue eyes added something to his attractive address. He was full of life and overflowing energy. One of his early classmates at school says of him that he was a brave, free- hearted boy, whose eyes fairly danced with fun and frolic, a boy among boys, who could run, wrestle, swim and play ball with the best. This youthful eagerness in sport never failed him until the very end. The kind of youth he himself was is perhaps best illustrated in his desire as respects his boys in the school at Peking. He was wont to say, *' I like a masterful boy. I try to get such into my schools. They are ready to fight and make trouble, but that is the kind that make leaders in the end." Having been from youth such a sort of leader, kindly and forceful among his fellows, he naturally sought out such. He might have quoted the brilliant Chinese prov- erb, ** You cannot cut a bowl out of punk wood.'^ It was the verve and energy of an inward impulse that made his boyhood happy and strong. Many a mother, with unfailing Christian wisdom, is led almost unconsciously to the right plan of molding the thoughts or the ways of a lad. When Will was fif- teen years old he planned to go to the Lakes as a sailor. The nearness to Detroit and the tales of the lake voyagers might easily lead a boy to such a thought. When he asked his mother permission to go she replied : "Yes, you may go" ; but she immediately betook herself to a whole night of prayer that he might change his purpose. The boy knew what she was doing and never again men- tioned the plan. It should not seem strange then that under such careful influence the ardent boy should early be led to consider himself a Christian. He joined the church at Owosso when he was twelve years old. There is both a safeguard and a peril in such early assent to the traditions of family and social life. The safeguard is in ANCESTEY AND BOYHOOD 21 the happy restraint which naturally follows upon the fre- quent lawlessness of boys and men. The peril is in later losing the high purpose aimed at in the daily experience of life. The peril and the safeguard were alike seen in the personal history of William Ament. Like many another Christian disciple he had his ups and downs. An unfortunate record of an early pastor of his church cooled the ardor of the young disciple. But that was not for long. It is recorded that a revival of religion came to the home church when William was about four- teen years of age. The death of his father about this time may have added to the serious impression made upon him. The serious cast to his deeper thought did not hinder the onflowing of healthful youth. His high school days were full of the joy of mental and physical development. He was active in the sports of the day and was second baseman in the then local champion team, *' The Blue Sox. ' ' One of his younger relatives writes of that period as follows : ^* I used to be one of the regular attachments of the club in those days. I can never forget just how Will appeared on the baseball diamond. I can see him, in memory this minute, and can feel the old thrill of those days when he stepped up to the plate to bat ; can see him running the bases and hear the cheers and shouts as he made the usual home run. He was called ' Home run Ament,' I presume you know, because he would knock the ball clear over into the corner of the fair ground fence (or over it), and make a circuit of the bases. The impressions of those scenes will be fresh in memory if I live a hundred years, — the setting in the fields of the fair grounds, with the big trees about it. I have never seen a baseball game in later years that I do not recall the scene, and invariably as a part of it is Will Ament. To me he was the acme of everything noble, brave and 22 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT manly. Since I was a little boy he has been my ideal of aman.'^ It may well be believed that such a vigorous youth might the more naturally be on the outlook for something to do in the world. Sport and muscular development were the side issue even then, for at the same time he was impressed deeply and earnestly with a desire to devote his life to the highest and best things. Among the influences which he was glad to acknowledge was that of his older sister, an ardent and brilliant girl, critical in her judgments and tastes, easily the zealous leader of the younger in urging him on to the high standard she had set for herself. In all these things the kindly and careful mother was a constant help. It was fortunate for his future that a wise and thoughtful pastor, the Bev. John Patchin, could make the sugges- tion of taking the higher course of study at Oberlin Col- lege. Having taken part of the regular course in the Owosso High School, he entered upon further study in the Academy at Oberlin. His spiritual experiences and growth under the favoring influences at Oberlin have for us a special interest. Under the advice of his pastor, William Ament took with him a letter from the Owosso church, but he did not feel as if he could present it, and coming under some peculiar influences, natural to an expanding mind at such a period, he destroyed the letter. Later he received a new and deep spiritual impulse and joined the Second Church at Oberlin on profession of his faith. From that time on he was hearty, aggressive and fearless in meeting those who opposed Christianity, and made the service of Christ the chief thing of life. His religious life exhibited the open, hearty, buoyant qualities of after years. His former schoolmates have many memories of his kindly relation to them on his not infrequent vacations from college, and of his appeals ANCESTRY AND BOYHOOD 23 to them to give their lives to the love and the service of Christ. One of these records as follows : ^'During vacation times we formed a very pleasant acquaintance and I believe our first visit, sitting on the top rail of a pasture fence, ended in an earnest exhor- tation to me to become a clean Christian boy and man, and what he tried to do for me he tried to do for all the boys.^' Another of the old friends records : ' ' The social life of Owosso at that time was very different from the present. Then everybody knew everybody else almost intimately, since the community was so small. He was the second boy from the town to go to college, and the first one to graduate, hence he was followed by the con- stant esteem and emulation of the village.'^ The life at Oberlin was ardent and strenuous, as in all our colleges of the period. We may catch a glimpse of that life in its early years in the following from Rev. Lyman B. Hall, Professor of History at Oberlin : *' I first met William Ament in the fall of 1867, when he came to Oberlin and entered the Academy. During the two years of his academy study we were quite intimate. He was fond of baseball, and the acquaintance begun there was developed by an almost constant sitting to- gether in the college chapel. Ament was one of the youngest members of the Academy, and was rather small for his age — he was sixteen — so that his appearance was eminently boyish, and as he had no affectation of man- nish ways, he seemed quite a child to me at first. His bearing was thoroughly manly ; not the least suggestion of the spoiled child ; but he was so frank, so merry, so enthusiastic in his sports, so bright and quick, so fond of a good laugh, that I was quite fascinated with the boy, and in spite of my rank as a freshman, made him quite my chum for the two years of his stay in the Academy. ^^ This is my youth, — its hopes and dreams, How strange and shadowy it all seems, After these many years. Turning the pages idly so, I look with smiles upon the woe. Upon the joy with tears. —Aldrick. II COLLEGE AND SEMINARY LIFE WILLIAM AMENT entered Oberlin College with the class of 1873. The Oberlin of his day was still under the influence of Finney, Morgan and Cowles. It was often an education merely to hear Dr. Finney once, so tremendous was the urgency of his special form of Christian effort and moral impulse. How much more then, the impress of such a life continued through the molding years of college life, plastic to the touch of a noble spirit, one whom the world admires and honors. Dr. Finney's power in prayer and public ad- dress was always insistent, and his quaint originality added to his influence on young men and women. Oberlin as a storm centre of deep spiritual experiences was influenced further by the profound ardor of Professor Morgan, who sought for his pupils the spirit of true holiness. His sweetly spiritual nature was less aggressive than that of Dr. Finney. His humility may have sug- gested a hesitating character in contrast to that of Presi- dent Finney. We are assured that Dr. Finney more often presented God as a Lawgiver, though not always. Professor Morgan spoke of Him as a Loving Father. Dr. Fairchild wrote of Professor Morgan as follows : ^'The influence of Professor Morgan in the enterprise was conservative in the best sense, not by reason of any inertia or immobility of nature. His enthusiasm, in any well considered movement, was always prompt, but his 24 COLLEGE AND SEMINARY LIFE 25 breadth of nature and thought and knowledge gave him a view of all sides of every question, and he could not accept or hold an extreme position or enjoy any extreme action. He could patiently tolerate the extravagances of others because of his kindliness and hopefulness. Prob- ably no one among the many instructors who have been at Oberlin has held a larger place in the hearts of all.'^ Dr. Morgan's house was Will Ament's home during his senior year. During his Academy days, however, he boarded with one of the leaders of the small and diminishing group of ** perfectionists." It was this leader who at one time called upon Dr. Morgan and told him that they were concerned for his soul. "With characteristic humility he invited them to kneel and pray for him. Of these per- fectionists William Ament would have known little had he not boarded among them. They made quite an im- pression upon him but he never adopted their views. We shall read later Dr. Morgan's estimate of the student Ament. Here it will be sufficient to note his writing ; *' He is very young and immature. He is apt to dabble in all sorts of speculations and the writings of sceptics are apt to get a hold of his mind. ' ' What would those sainted enthusiasts think could they now return to the flesh and sit in the class rooms of the present guides of Oberlin in Philosophy and Christian Reconstruction ! William Ament bore the stamp of those days of mold- ing influence, whatever may have been his variance in after years from the high doctrines of the Oberlin leaders. Henceforth he was to voice, through all his effort and ardency of work, the note of unalloyed interest in every form of evangelism. This it was that turned his thoughts towards mission life, and this it was which will mark the happy years of his life service. Many a college man has said and many more have thought : ' ^ I have no doubt 26 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT forgotten all I ever learned from books, bnt the noble men who were my teachers have left their impress, and I shall never forget my large debt to them." Thus it is that the training of college life becomes unconsciously as well as consciously an elevating and educating force. And he who strives to secure that which is best in the training of those days finds his personal powers alert and ready for the wider experience in life towards which all that train- ing should fitly tend. Life begets life, scholarship be- gets scholarship, moral purpose becomes contagious, spiritual elevation leads on to new emulation, and the awakened and energetic student follows perhaps with greater ardency the leadership of those worthy to be such friends and leaders. '' The Oberlin of those college years," writes his friend, Eev. J. Cromer, in the Envelope Series, ''contained a small number of 'Holiness Propagandists,' among whom Ament walked like the sane Christian man he always was. He did not avoid them. He went at times into their meetings. He did not denounce them nor contend much with them. However, his views of the Christian life were different from theirs. It showed itself in deeds more than in professions of exceptional esoteric expe- riences. A classmate tells of how, returning from the winter months' work at teaching school, Ament related with joy the coming of a revival of religion to that little community, and how one and another had been converted to Christ." The life of any college student during the decade of Ament' s student life was much the same. The courses in the classical and literary departments were prescribed. There was no effort at specialization, or, if there were, it was confined to the few. The year of study was divided so that the students could have a vacation in the winter, enabling them to teach for three months. Many of the COLLEGE AND SEMINARY LIFE 27 men and women availed themselves of this privilege. William Ament acknowledged that he liked sports and athletics more than study. But such a remark is often made in a mild depreciation of one's own diligent effort in the monotony of prolonged studies. One may judge that this was eminently true with him. He had a fine record of scholarship and stood well with his class and the College. There came a time when his mental awakening received a distinct impulse and he became an ardent and successful seeker after true learning. The natural vigor and enthusiasm of his personality easily led him to make much of an ideal. The writer was once greatly interested in his criticism of an author, *' He has no imagination, and gives one no chance for the play of a larger interest. ' ' The capacity of throwing into his studies an imagina- tive element enhanced all of his disciplinary effort. ^' He had an enormous appetite for books and being left in care of one of the professor's houses one summer, devoured most of the books in the library, especially the British poets and essayists. Carlyle was his favorite." He once explained his mental awakening in the direction of literature to the writer, '' It was in reading the essays of Montaigne that my mind was really aroused to the value of deep thinking and skillful expression.'^ Those who afterwards noticed the easy affluence of his later public speech, whether in English or Chinese, might have traced it to this early enthusiasm for the best of literature. DuriDg these college years he took an interest in the lit- erary societies. He was an active member of the Phi Kappa Pi, and especially enjoyed the debates in this open literary society. An essential part of his college life was personal en- gagement in Christian work for others. He joined with many others in going out to the near-by villages and 28 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT *^ corners, ^^ teaching in the Sunday-schools and conduct- ing religious services. Of him Mr. Cromer says, ' ' Ament never came into personal relations with another without commending the Christ whom he thus early loved and served. And all this was perfectly natural and never savored of religious cant or pretense. The gift and faculty for what we call in stereotype phrase, ' The doing of personal work for Christ,^ was his in a marked de- gree.'^ Like many another such youth in like service it was a source of joy to him to have an opportunity of influence. The title of his oration delivered at the Junior Exhibition of his class was *' Joyousness,'^ a subject which he amply illustrated. With these few sketches of his college career we pass on to the widening life awaiting him. He had made a good record j a good scholar, esteemed by his fellow stu- dents and teachers, an earnest, warm-hearted Christian, an enthusiastic worker, a charming friend easily cooper- ating with others in sport, in study, in Christian effort. To such an one the values of life are wont to be rich and full. His first opportunity in further development came, as was most natural and fitting, in the line of teaching for a year. He became principal of the school at Eichfield, Summit Co., Ohio. It is a real delight to any young man to feel the responsibility of taking care of himself. It is true that this was not the first experience in that line. One of his early friends tells us that his courageous spirit made it possible for him to work his way through college. He told this friend that he often went back to college with only money enough to pay his fare and get settled. The rest he must earn himself. At Eichfield Center he encountered a sceptical atmosphere and beyond his duties as a teacher he dealt some earnest blows at the enemies of religion. He called upon President Fairchild COLLEGE AND SEMINARY LIFE 29 himself for suggestion and encouragement, which he re- ceived in a fatherly letter. We are not let in, directly, to the secret of William Ament's decision to enter the ministry. No doubt his life at OberKn was tending in that direction. Loyalty to the blessed Master, and pleasure in helping his fellows might point in that direction. One of his boyhood friends says of him, *'He had a wonderful constructive imagina- tion.'^ It was easy for such friends to expect he would become an effective worker for Christ, so it may have been easy for him to decide what his life-work was to be. Undoubtedly the influence of his mother, her ideal for him not expressed in tangible form, may have been one of the underlying influences. It was at last in full con- sultation with her that he decided to study for the ministry. The Union Theological Seminary was his choice. The opportunity of sustaining himself there while studying was a deciding element. A crisis in the family afi'airs required all available funds, and his sum- mer earnings went to leave the dear mother in a comfort- able condition. He therefore arrived in New York with but a trifle in his purse. He put himself at once in touch with a Teacher's Agency in the city and secured teaching in the evenings. Ere long he was able to find more valuable work. Through the /' Agency " of Miss Young he became tutor to the son of a rich family, and was able to make his way comfortably. Through Miss Young he became acquainted with Miss M. G. Shirmer, ever after his devoted friend and admirer. We shall see from his occasional letters to her how deeply he felt indebted to her for help and suggestion. Such letters will give us insights into his growing purpose, his character and work. On Sundays, he took charge of a class in the mission school at Elizabeth and Broome Streets, following the 30 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT boys who were members of the class with loving interest for many years. He rejoiced that some of them " made good." He was ready also to extend the hand to one who came to call on him when he was once at home on furlough, though he was gloriously drunk when he came in. Once a friend, once an object of affection, always a friend whom he was ready to help in any way possible. How marked this characteristic became, his colleagues in China had abundant reason to learn. We have a brief word from Professor Hall, regarding this period in his student life. ' ' I met Ament, next, in the winter of 1874-1875, in New York City, when both of us were students in Union Theological Seminary. As I had followed his subsequent brilliant career in China, nothing seems to surprise me. He has always seemed to me the same character I knew as a boy of fifteen. The same enthusiasm, the same love of justice, the same courage in championing every worthy cause, the same sympathy with suffering and misfortune, the same promptness of decision and action, the same readiness to take necessary responsibility, the same generous, knightly temper, which have marked his devotion and fruitful service in China, have always seemed to me to have char- acterized the boy I knew in the Academy, and the man who sought to encourage and comfort me in the Semi- nary.'' The sev^ond year of theological study was also spent at Union Theological Seminary. No doubt to him as to so many others it was an exhilarating year in the deeper studies essential to the course, and the increasing near- ness to the time of wider service. Such approach enjoins progressive effort in self- culture and he used these to the best advantage. Miss M. G. Schirmer gives a brief but brilliant picture of the ardent student in a recent personal letter to IMrs. Ament: **When I go back to thirty-five COLLEGE AND SEMINARY LIFE 31 years ago and remember the happy hours he spent in my home among such lovely Christian people — how he bounded into my room saying, ' I have worked so many hours and now I am as hungry as a wolf,' — I can see my dear old Jane bringing in a tray with somethiug nice, and I can see him, always cheerful and grateful for the smallest kindness. Those were happy days and evenings — when I went over to the Theological Seminary with a basket full of sandwiches, cakes, fruit and lemon juice sweetened, all ready to pour into a pailful of water, to enjoy with fifteen or twenty young men coming in for a share of the good things J when stories were told and jokes made as the evening was passing, when beautiful prayers were offered and dear familiar hymns were sung, and the young men would see us home — those were happy days and never to be forgotten. Your husband always had a key to the front door, and the freedom of my rooms where he could read, write, or always find a welcome to any meal he wished to stay for. I loved him as a younger brother and can never forget when he preached my mother's funeral sermon — how tenderly he spoke of my love and care for her in the days of her illness in April, 1876. May his son know what his father meant by true friendship, and how lasting ours was.'' The senior year of seminary study finds Mr. Ament trausferred to Andover Seminary. There were no doubt times when the teaching at Union went steadily against the grain of any free man, such as the Oberlin students were apt to be. He joined the class of 1877. There were twenty-four members in the regular course and four or five resident graduates. Of these four are widely known missionaries of the American Board in Turkey, Japan and China ; three have become teachers in our theological seminaries, and others successful and beloved pastors and leaders. The class secretary is the Rev. Dr. Samuel T. 32 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT Kidder, formerly of Wisconsin, and now pastor of the Congregational church at McGregor, Iowa. The follow- ing paragraph gives a brief picture of Ament at Andover. ^' I met Dr. Ament first on going to Andover in 1876 for a third seminary year. My first impression was of a boyish, happy-faced classmate, quick moving and of athletic build, who revealed none of the conventional qualities of the theologue, or the missionary volunteer which I heard he was. He had the brisk air of a genial young business man. I was not then aware that he gave promise of greatness, though he was a ready student, of easy manner, on hand for any tramp afoot or any baseball or football game with the Phillips ' Cads.^ The year ran swiftly. I soon knew that he was deeper than the surface and warm of heart, that his bodily briskness and vigor symbolized alertness of mind and robustness of soul that were worth knowing. He said little of him- self, but his words and prayers in the devotional meet- ings of the class and the Seminary were tersely and prac- tically to the point. Somehow, without his telling, we knew that China was on his heart and he was eager to weigh anchor for the scene of his destiny.'^ Mr. Ament' s formal application for appointment as a missionary seems not to have been made till the late autumn of his senior year at the Seminary, although he had had correspondence with the secretaries for more than a year. His letter of application is full of personal interest. Andover, Nov. 4, iB^d. Rev. N. G. Clark, D. D. Dear Sir : — Desiring to act as a missionary under the auspices of the American Board, I hereby present my applica- tion for appointment with the following statement : My purpose to preach and later to be a missionary has been the result of a gradual growth. I have no visions or special COLLEGE AND SEMINARY LIFE 33 revelations on this subject, but a deepening and ever increasing conviction that my duty pointed in that direction. I have no inclination to shirk the work to which Providence has directed me, but rather rejoice that such a high privilege could be mine. From a contemplation of the various fields, my own adaptations and inclinations, I have come to desire the missionary work above all others. To help me in that work, 1 have a strong physical frame, in perfect health, and with no hereditary or acquired disease. I am engaged to a young lady who sympa- thizes with me most fully in my missionary aspirations, and has been consecrated to the work from infancy. My mother, my only near relative left to me, possesses sufficient property to free her from all dependence on me. I am confident that my desire to be a missionary is the result of no ephemeral emotion. I propose to do my life-work, to consecrate to it all my energies and to do my best. Difficulties do not appall me, for I rest assured that as my day is so my strength shall be. Obstacles greater than I shall encounter have been overcome by earnest men. I accept the doctrines as generally held by the Congregational churches of the land. I should place as central and most im- portant the doctrine of the Deity of Christ. If He be not God, the Bible is false, and Christianity is a huge delusion. As the God-man Christ alone possesses sufficient dignity and worth of character, such as by the sacrifice of Himself would make it safe for the Father to forgive guilty sinners. I would preach much concerning the Love of God as revealed in His glorious redemptive plan. I hold firmly to the Congregational form of church; government and can recognize any man as a minister of Christ who has been regularly ordained to the work and is faithful to his trust. There is nothing in the rules and regulations of the Board to which I could object and can discover nothing in its methods which would prevent me from working cheerfully in conformity with them. Yours respectfully, W. S. Ament. A few credentials, as testimonials to an estimate of his cbaracter, from his early instructors, are full of interest. Dr. William Adams, President of Union Seminary, writes : ''He has impressed me as more than commonly 34 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT alert, frank, ingenuous, earnest and faithful. His manners are prepossessing and I know lie has the con- fidence and affection of Christian people in the city.'' Professor Morgan, of Oberlin, wrote : ' ' He is full of ardor and industry, has a bright active mind and is not afraid of work." President Fairchild wrote: *'I regard him as an earnest, warm-hearted Christian, an enthusiastic worker, a good scholar, and safe in temper and nerves." The following letter from Dr. Lindley, the widely known missionary to South Africa, will be read with un- alloyed interest. New Canaatty CV., Sept. 28, 18/6. Rev. S. B. Treat, Boston, Mass. Dear Brother : — You ask me for my impression of Mr. Ament who is now a student at Andover. I heard him preach once, and was a guest at his mother's house for nearly three days. For good sense and solid piety his mother is much more than a common woman. I think her son is more than a common young man. His sermon was doubtless his own pro- duction, and was both in thought and style highly respectable. He has fine abilities. I noticed that he was much respected by persons of all ages in his native place, and was pleased to see an easy freedom with which he could and did address many of his acquaintances among the young people in regard to their spiritual interests. I think he has a large share of sanctified common sense and would readily adapt himself to the various circumstances into which he might come as a missionary. There is much go-ahead in him and on occasions in which cautious deHberation would be needed he might possibly de- cide too quickly. While I say this, I have great confidence in the soundness of his judgment. I do not hesitate to say that he should be sent, if he wishes to go on a foreign mission. If not mistaken in my opinion of him, he is amiable and will work in harmony with others. The more I saw of him during the three days I was with him the more I liked him. Fraternally yours, D. Lindley, W. S. AMENT, 1877 MARY P. AMENT, 1877 OWOSSO CHURCH, WHERE AMENT WAS ORDAINED COLLEGE AND SEMINARY LIFE 35 The spring vacation in those days was still somewhat extended, allowing students the privilege of finding some active preaching work, thus materially aiding them in the expenses of the year. Mr. Ament used his senior vacation in visiting his home and in making fit arrange- ments for his early entrance upon his chosen work. A letter to his New York friend, Miss Schirmer, the first in a long series that will interest us, tells of future plans : " On my arrival at home, after embracing my dear old mother, the first topic of conversation concerned my missionary plans. To my surprise and delight, my mother warmly commended my plans and advised me to go this fall. She says it is my life-work and the sooner I begin it the more I can accomplish. I have determined to depart in September." Mr. Ament graduated from Andover in the early summer and returned at once to his mother's home to complete his preparation for service abroad. He writes to Secretary Clark from Owosso, August 7th : ''Mr. and Mrs. Pierson spent last Sabbath with us. He preached in the Congregational church in the morn- ing and in the evening we had a large union service. Popular opinion on the subject of foreign missions is rapidly changing in Owosso. My mother is far more cheerful in view of my departure than I ever dared to expect. She astonishes us all with her serenity." Mr. Pierson, on furlough since early in 1876, was returning to Pao Ting Fu, with his charming wife, formerly Miss Sarah Dyer. On the 23d of August Mr. Ament was married, at Cleveland, to Mary Alice Penfield, daughter of Professor Penfield, who had long held the professorship of Greek and Latin at Oberlin. He now lived in Cleveland. Professor Penfield was a stepson of Prof. Henry Cowles. He had married Miss Wyett, daughter of an English 36 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT gentleman. Of this mother there were a son and two daughters, Miss Mary being the younger. A maternal aunt, Miss A. M. Wyett, was for many years the teacher in painting and drawing at Oberlin College. Some years after the death of Mary's mother, Professor Penfield had married again and a third daughter was added to his family. The ordination of Mr. Ament to the ministry and his dedication to missionary service was appointed for the 5th of September. To the people of Owosso and to the churches of Michigan, the setting apart of one so well known and admired, locally, might fittingly be called a great occasion. The pastor of the church was Eev. L. O. Lee, who later became a missionary to Central Turkey. The following newspaper clipping preserved by Mrs. Stewart, of Owosso, teUs the story : '^ The ordi- nation of William S. Ament as a missionary took place last Wednesday evening. The candidate passed a most creditable examination before an able council. The evening exercises were most interesting. The church was filled to overflowing, owing to the fact that Mr. Ament was brought up in Owosso and is universally esteemed as a young man of great promise for his chosen field of labor. ' ' Thus it was with a high sense of duty and with glad fexpectation of useful service that these young people began their journey with joy in their hearts. From Oakland, Mr. Ament writes to his friend Miss Schirmer: *'We sail October 17th. Our steamer is the China. I am favorably impressed with the Chinese whom we daily see. I await with impatience the study of the language that I may make known the riches of the Gospel. My mother seems to have grown in cheerfulness and serenity.'' Is there some desert or some pathless sea Where Thou, good God of angels, wilt send me ? Some oak for me to rend ; some sod, Some rock for me to break ; Some handful of His corn to take And scatter far afield. Till it, in turn, shall yield Its hundred fold Of grains of gold To feed the waiting children of my God? Show me the desert. Father, or the sea. Is it Thine enterprise ? Great God, send me. — ^\ £. Hale, in LIFE AT PAO TING FU PAO TING FU was adopted as a station of the North China Mission in the spring of 1873, at the annual meeting held in Peking. It was especially attractive as a possible place of interior residence. It was the provincial capital and all the provincial ofBcers were located there, though the governor, as Viceroy of Chihli, selected Tientsin for his main residence, spending only the winter months at Pao Ting Fu. Eev. Isaac Pierson and Dr. A. O. Treat, stationed at Yii Chou in the mountains, felt their isolation and en route to Peking visited Pao Ting Fu. Their report was favor- able and the mission easily acceded to their request to be appointed to the new charge. Their coming attracted much attention. They were kindly received and found some friends. One incident is full of special interest. Eev. W. 0. Burns, the missionary of the Irish Presby- terian Church, the well-known translator of the ''Pil- grim's Progress '^ into the Mandarin speech, had passed through the city in his evangelistic tours south of Peking. He had visited a village fifty miles south of Pao Ting Fu, had taught a few men and women the gospel story. Among these was a Mr. Meng, a reading man, though 37 38 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT not a graduate. Some years later, Mr. Meng and two of his companions started out for Peking to find Mr. Burns. On the streets at Pao Ting Fu they saw the two foreign- ers and followed them to their inn. Mr. Pierson re- ceived them very kindly, told them that Mr. Burns was no longer living and invited them to come to them when they located in the city. Immediately after the mission meeting Mr. Pierson and Dr. Treat returned to Pao Ting Fu. They succeeded in renting an inn where they had chanced to stay and which ere long became the centre for Christian work. The inn was in T'ang Chia Lane, in the southwest portion of the city. The premises were of narrow, oblong shape, with a width of three shop fronts. On the right of the gateway was a native shop, on the left a room soon fitted up for a preaching chapel. In the rear of the shop were two considerable courts with door- ways opening upon the cart way. The two small courts became the mission home for some years, while small rooms of the inn sufficed for rooms for helpers and serv- ants. The work of the station slowly developed in this compact little inn. For two years Mr. Pierson carried on the work much alone, since Dr. Treat returned to the United States in 1874. For another two years during Mr. Pierson' s furlough, the writer carried on the medical and evangelistic work. Mr. Meng and two companions were early received as members, the former proving a most valuable adviser and helper through many years of service until his death. In the autumn of 1876, he sent his son and another lad to the boys' school at Tung- chow. The former after eight years of study entered the ministry, became the first native pastor of the Pao Ting Fu church and a proto-martyr of blessed memory. The second lad returned from school to be Dr. Peck's pupil in medicine and later his chief medical assistant both at Pao Ting Fu and at P'ang Chuang. At present he is in LIFE AT PAO TING FU 39 charge of a sanitary department of the government in Peking. The autumn of 1877 was made busy and pleas- urable in preparing for the return of Mr. Pierson, with his wife and sister, and for the new recruits, Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Ament. The following letter will fitly begin the story of long service in China. To N. G. Clark, Secretary. Dear Dr. Clark : — Pao Ting Fu has been our home for two weeks. I am rejoiced to reach home after eleven weeks of travel. Our voyage to Japan occupied twenty-seven days of most delightful sailing. Good friends welcomed us all along the way. Our progress was uninterrupted until we reached the Taku bar, where we were delayed six days. At Tientsin Mr. and Mrs. Smith opened their doors to us. As the rivers were frozen over we were delayed several days in prepara- tion for the journey. Three carts, three wheelbarrows and a mule litter for Mrs. Ament were secured for the journey of 130 miles. We had the usual experience with Chinese inns in very cold weather. We spent five nights on the way. Mrs. Ament was the first lady who had travelled through this region. We found our home waiting for us with two rooms ready. Mr. Pierson had kindly set up a stove for us, so that warm rooms awaited us. I long to begin work in our nice little chapel. W. S. Ament. Pao Ting Fu, North China, Feb, 18, 1878. Dear Miss Schirmer : My life here is one of unalloyed happiness. Our little compound is the scene of activity from early morn till late at night. At nine o'clock our teacher comes and we wrestle with the language till one. I almost envy the beggars on the street, I so much long to master the language. Should you walk through the city at this time you would see many strange sights. Heathen processions in long array, lanterns of every variety, making the city as brilliant as tallow candles can. Men and women with bundles of incense and colored paper to be burnt before their idols. The Feast of Lanterns celebrates the close of their New Year festivities. It is the great event of the year. The most popular amusement is the flying of kites. These are 40 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT made in the most grotesque forms, resembling huge butterflies, crickets and men. The air is made hideous by these whirring monsters and the shouts of men and boys who manage them. Nothing can surpass the beauty of our winter nights. The moon sheds light like a vast chandelier and the heavens sparkle with diamonds. The heavens are usually cloudless and I can easily understand how the Orientals were the first astronomers. Of this city of 150,000 inhabitants,^ 21,000 are beggars and in the winter live in the city mat sheds prepared for them. Seventy miles from here the people are dying by scores because there is no food. We desire very much a missionary doctor for our station. Faithfully yours, W. S. Ament. In March of this year Mr. Ament writes to Secretary Clark : ^^ The romance of our first establishment here has not worn off, and I trust it never will. The work at Pao Ting Pu seems to have an auspicious beginning. Our helpers are good Christian men and efficient. My lim- ited experience convinces me that a great work is pos- sible for the Chinese.'^ The strenuous life of a missionary to China begins long before he can be prepared for it. Two months before Mr. Ament arrived at Pao Ting Fu, the reports of a wide-spread famine, due to lack of rain, became omi- nous. Missionaries in Eastern Shantung had begun relief work, and the distress in Shansi had been reported at Hankow earlier than in Chihli. With the opening of the year 1878, the distress in Chihli and Shantung became widely spread and efforts to give relief were organized on a large scale. The committee at Shanghai made a strong appeal and solicited aid from every quarter. Dr. Arthur H. Smith, in his volume, *^Eex Christus," sums up the ^ This estimate of population is extreme. One hundred thousand would be more than generous. In 1883 Mr, Pierson held that there were not more than 70,000 or 80,000 inhabitants. LIFE AT PAO TING FU 41 terribleness of the great famine as follows : ''Both Prot- estant and Roman Catholic missionaries, together with members of the Imperial Customs, sixty-nine foreigners in all, engaged in the work of distribution. The horrors of that time will never pass out of remembrance. The offi- cial report of the committee estimated the loss of life at from nine to fourteen millions, and, according to Dr. S. W. Williams, no famine is recorded in the history of any land which equalled this in the death rate." The great distress in Shantung and central Chihli did not appear until the opening of the year 1878. Active relief was be- gun in the village of P'ang Chuang, Shantung, about the middle of March, continuing until the end of June. This one station distributed about twelve thousand taels to about twenty thousand mouths. Pittance as it was for such a multitude many thousands of lives were saved. In the great Eoman Catholic region of Ho Chien Fu and Hsien Hsien, the distribution was carried on by their own missionaries and some members of the Imperial Customs service. The region which Mr. Pierson and Mr. Ament visited was southwest of Ho Chien Fu with the market town of Liu Chiu as their centre of relief. August lOy 1878, My dear Miss Schirmer : Imagine a young man alone, not an English speaking man within oceans of miles, possessing only a smattering of the language, living in a low room of a Chinese inn, with black walls and brick floor, sleeping on a Chinese brick bed, the abode of fleas and other worst inhabitants, having to deal with men whose business it is to cheat and lie, surrounded each day by hundreds of people whose bones protrude for want of food, separated from his source of supplies, so that he had no food but the coarse grain the natives sold him ; imagine all this and you may realize in a measure the condition of W. S. A., when the courier brought him a batch of home letters. Not the last one to be opened was the one from '*2J." It was Sabbath 42 AVILLIAM SCOTT AMENT morning when the courier arrived. The whole day nearly was occupied in perusing my letters, there were so many. Fervently did I thank the Great Father of us all for the gift of friends and the opportunity of communing with them as well as with Him, on His holy day. I was alone in the country about three weeks, then, Mr. Pierson arriving, I went to Peking on horseback to get more money for distribution and of course to see my wife from whom I had been separated for more than two months. In eight days I returned to Liu Chiu with a thousand taels, and in fourteen days Mr. Pierson and I had finished our distribution and preaching, and began our long march to Peking to recruit for a short season before returning to Pao Ting Fu, our home. The summer rains had set in and the roads were in a horrible condition. We took different routes to Peking, I hoping to reach there by a shorter and less travelled road. The first night after our separation, I was stretched on my back by an attack of dysentery, a disease that has carried away China's best missionaries. In the morning I was able to proceed. My cart was remarkably slow, the rains constant, so that we were five days in travelling a little over one hundred miles. The streets in Peking in the rainy season are the worst in the whole round world. Strong mules can scarce draw a cart. I was several times stuck fast in the mud and once overturned. It was only by the aid of three extra men that I was able to reach the central city where the missionaries live. I found that owing to the presence of typhus fever most of the missionaries had fled to the hills ten miles from the city for fresh air and recreation. Mrs. A. was there, residing in a Buddhist temple in the family of Dr. Blodget. Having good society, good food and fresh air and daily donkey rides over the hills, I have rapidly recruited and now after a delay of ten days in this charming locality, feel like returning to Pao Fu to begin the labor of another year. The whole summer has been devoted to work for the starving, and now I long for my little study where I can devote myself to systematic study of the language. So bidding farewell to our good friends at the hills we started en route homeward. August 14th. — I must tell you more about our residence at the hills. From the first settlement of foreigners at Peking they have felt it necessary during the hot months to escape from the vapors and the mud of the city. The mountam range which extends north to Mongolia has its foot-hills about ten miles from LIFE AT PAO TING FU 43 Peking. All North China is one vast range till you reach the hills which rise gradually to thousands of feet, when it stretches away in the vast plateau of Siberia. What a relief it was to my eyes weary with gazing on flat, uninteresting fields for so many months, to see once more the *^ upland lawns, the rising slopes " and grassy surface of the lovely hills. The Buddhist priests have monopolized all the most beautiful valleys and spots for the erection of temples and pagodas. These latter pleasantly vary the landscape and add especially to the beauty of the plains below. These temples are kept by the dirty priests who burn incense in front of their hideous divinities, whose presence they summon by striking on bells and beating drums. The priests, whose avarice is usually equal to their filth, rent their temples to the foreigners, scores of whom reside here during the summer. The mode of travelling is usually on donkeys that traverse the narrow and stony paths with great ease. I am the proud possessor of one of these noble beasts, to which I am much attached. Mrs. Ament joins with me in expression of greatest regard for my friend. Ever yours, W. S. Ament. Pekingy Aug. i^, 1878. Dear Dr. Clark : Now that my summer work is ended it seems fit that I should give you some little account of it. Immediately on the conclusion of the annual meeting in April and May, Mr. Pier- son and I started for the interior with money to relieve the starving thousands. As Pao Ting Fu was full of beggars and pestilence we left the ladies of the station in Peking, giving them a fine opportunity to study the language and become ac- quainted with the other members of the mission. We hastened on, as rapidly as Chinese carts drawn by mules whose bones protruded for want of food could carry us, to the market village of Liu Chiu in the Hsien district of Yao Yang about 400 li from Peking and 180 li from Pao Ting Fu. Mr. Goodrich had been there a few weeks before us and had in a measure prepared the way, acquainting the people with our motives in giving aid, and also with our plan of operations. At the time of our ar- rival the people had been somewhat disturbed by many rob- beries, some of them very bold, that had recently taken place. A soldier told me that fourteen robbers had been captured in U WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT that vicinity and several executed. The latter fact was not news to me as I saw the ghastly heads swung in cages on the street for the inspection of the people. Our method of proce- dure was by personal inspection to find out the needs of a vil- lage, secure the names of the families and the number of them, and then on the following day give them funds for ten days' sustenance. Mr. Hunt's death occurring, also Dr. Blodget's illness, Mr. Pierson was invited to come to Peking and assist in the care of the treasury and press. Arriving at Pao Ting Fu he remained for three weeks waiting for further advices. In the meantime, I was alone in the country carrying on the work as best I could. After the expiration of three weeks Mr. Pier- son returned to Liu Chiu and I went to Peking for more money and a few days' recreation. I am glad to say that I made a five days' journey in three days, showing the best time on horse- back yet made between Pao Ting Fu and Peking. The deaths of four missionaries and the illness of Mr. Smith, all with typhus fever, depressed my spirits very much and made me anxious to complete our work in the country where fever seemed to have its natural home. I think I have felt the sensa- tions of a soldier under fire for the first time. Comrades have dropped on all sides from an enemy more deadly and pitiless than the leaden bullet. Never did my religion appear more grand and precious, or the presence of Christ more comforting. Surely the law of compensation holds good in spiritual as in financial affairs. Finishing our work as rapidly as possible, Mr. Pierson and I bade farewell to that desolate region and the throngs who came to see us depart, and launched our carts for Peking. I will say launched as the roads by recent rains had been reduced to that state of consistency when liquidity and not solidity prevails. Such roads ! The imagination of a Dante could not conceive of worse in the region of the lost. At Ho Chien Fu we separated, he going to Pao Fu, I hastening on to Peking, which place I reached August 2d almost as much dead as alive, a vile carter having annoyed me, and diarrhoea having weakened me, throughout the whole journey of seven days. But weari- ness seemed to vanish when I entered the pleasant rooms and grasped the warm hand of good Dr. Blodget, with whom Mrs. Ament had been spending her leisure at the hills. It was re- freshing to be in association with this learned and good man. Our temple, snuggled in a pleasant valley, made us a charm- LIFE AT PAO TING FU 45 ing home, and the fresh influences of nature, directed by the Father's hand, assisted to restore a soul oppressed and sad- dened by long association with poverty and sin. After ten days of such recreation, I began to long for home and Pao Ting Fu from which I have been separated for four long months. August 14th Mrs. Ament and I set our faces homeward. After a short visit with the invalid Brother Chapin at Tung-chow we hope to take boat via Tientsin for Pao Fu. Pao Ting Fu, Sept, ig, 1878, Mr. Ament to Dr. Clark : Home again ! After five months of wandering and sep- aration we find ourselves once more a united station. We reached Tientsin Saturday p. m., and after spending the Sabbath with Mr. and Mrs. Stanley and collecting the boxes of supplies waiting for us, we on Monday boarded our little boat once more and after a delightful ride of four days, found our- selves on the ''bund" in Pao Ting Fu. Though quite a boisterous crowd followed us through the streets we succeeded in reaching home safely. The summer's experience, hard as it may have been, has not, I hope, been lost upon us. It has taught me independence, has confirmed my little knowledge of the language and given me a deeper insight into Chinese character. I am not dis- mayed by the depravity of nature thus revealed to me, but think that I can discern the germs that may be developed into a noble manhood under the genial influences of the Gospel. The Chinese are very susceptible to kindness and fully appre- ciate honesty, so little known among them. They know that truth is the exception among themselves and deplore the fact. Dr. Blodget told me that the leading Chinaman in the recent troubles with the English said, "The foreigners are honest, and therefore will prevail." We have vigorously entered upon the work of repairs, en- deavoring to make ourselves comfortable for another year. The rains had crumbled the walls of our buildings and the roofs were also soaked through. December 6, 1878. To Dr. Clark : We have had one communion season since our return from Peking. Four were received on confession into our little 46 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT church, which now numbers about thirty-five, and others were received on probation. Among the former was a little boy^ Chang So {son of our oldest helper Meng'), twelve years of age, who to us is an object of great interest. He has a bright and winning face, jet black, brilliant eyes, and a still more bril- liant intellect. He reads better than most young men of twenty years, sings well, daily reads his Bible, apparently with an understanding heart. He is the light and sunshine of our little group of Christians. We wish to educate him at our school at Tung-chow but alas, where is the money to come from ? The missionaries there say the allowance of the Board is already insufficient for the expense and they cannot take new boys. What is to be done ? If this church wishes to spend fifty or sixty dollars a year for this boy you may be educating one who may be a shining light in the Church of God and lead many to righteousness. (Now pastor in Pao Ting Fu since 1900, Meng Chi Tseng.) I feel much encouraged with my recent progress in the language. I conduct my own family prayers and expect soon to begin my daily Bible class. In these exercises I am assisted by our oldest helper who readily catches my meaning and helps me out of my difficulties. The coming year we wish to prose- cute a vigorous campaign. We missionaries are much hampered in our work by the great number who come to us for medical aid. A good physician is the one thing needed to complete the equipment of our station. Dr. Porter will no doubt tell you how the work opens before us in that direction. Fao Ting Fu, Jan. 2S, iSyg. Dear Miss Schirmer : I start on Monday for a long tour in the country. I go alone and try my young wings as a preacher when I have no other foreigner at hand to help me. I fear nothing except the cold which is very intense. Imagine me in a long sheepskin and Chinese woolen boots and mittens. I also carry skates, for fear I shall reach the overflowed land where carts cannot go, and I must go many miles on foot. I have men to carry my luggage and I go with skates till I reach a preaching place. Mrs. Ament is quite strong again but is hardly courageous enough to face the cold with me. Chinese New Year occurred on the 2 1 St of January. The streets are quiet and all the peo- ple are in their homes and most of them are gambling, drinking LIFE AT PAO TING FU 47 whiskey, or eating great quantities of food which they consider a duty at this season. Many people are making calls with their red cards. Their customs at this season are similar to ours. Accept this line in great haste. Your faithful friend, W. S. Ament. Pao Ting Fu, March i8, iSyg, My dear Mother : Mr. Pierson has been gone more than a month in the country and I have had the whole care of the station. The work among the women is most interesting. They really come in throngs and our three women have their hands full. Mary does wonders in the language and in medicine and has also begun a school for boys which now numbers six or eight scholars. She is quite strong again, and loves her street Arabs. The leader of the boys is called '' Nick in the nose," because he has a smallpox mark on the end of his nose. They are keen little fellows and learn our catechism very rapidly. Yesterday Mary and I went to visit some Mohammedan friends and had a very pleasant time. They fed us with all kind of confectionery and a kind of mince pie, which we could never eat before, but we found that used with garlic they were quite eatable. They wanted Mary to come alone, but I was afraid to have her, fearing some trap on their part. The Moham- medan women are quite superior to the Chinese women and have a very ladylike manner. I preach regularly every Sabbath to a congregation of about forty men and women. Of course my idioms are very im- perfect and words and ideas considerably mixed, but I manage in some way to get through a sermon. I also have a class of men on Sabbath afternoon. Last week I received four men on probation. They came here to see us, supposing we were Ro- man Catholics. They knew much about religion and wished to enter. Thinking of keeping them from going to the devil that way, I explained the doctrine of Jesus and served to convince them that Christ was better than the Pope. They changed their minds and resolved to cast in their lots with us. I have found a Nicodemus here also. A man from a large govern- ment office, in his silk garments, comes here frequently in the late evenings. He told me the other evening that our doctrine was a great one but h? could npt attend to it in the daytime. 48 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT He is a very bright man and knows a great deal of our doctrine. Pray the Lord that he may have boldness to state his senti- ments without fear of persecution. Mr. Pierson in the country was nearly suffocated by charcoal gas, and fainted after he left the room. Suffocation is one of the dangers of winter travel in China. Hundreds of people are anxious to hear the Gospel in the country, and many villages have invited Mr. Pierson to go and preach to them. He ex- pects to visit two villages a day for the next two weeks. What are we among so many ? With very much love from myself and Mary, Your son, W. S. Ament. Pao Ting Fu, April 4, i8yg. Dear Miss Schirmer : We are about starting to Peking for our annual mission meeting. At this time we expect to meet President Grant who will arrive in Peking in a few weeks. Mr. Pierson has just arrived from the country after a tour of seven weeks. He brings terrible reports of the work of the Roman Catholics. The Chinese officials hate the priests. They are continually meddling with the course of law and the execution of their orders. We are all in splendid health and full of work. The women come here in throngs and our Sabbath congregations overflow all the rooms. I preach regularly on the Sabbath, though as yet in a stammering manner. Mrs. Ament leads us all in accuracy of speech. I quite envy her progress. Ever your sincere friend, W. S. Ament. Pao Ting Fuy June 26^ 18'jg. My dear Mother : Summer has come and with it the dreadful dry heat of this, at present, rainless region. The air is almost like a sirocco from the desert. The officials of the city have been out to the temples to pray for rain several times, and yet the dragon holds his supply. We do most heartily pray to the true God of heaven that this region may not be given over to the horrors of another famine. Fruit is getting prematurely ripe and the grain looks yellow. If it were not for the mat sheds which we have over our houses, I am afraid that we could not stand the LIFE AT PAO TING FU 49 heat from these brick walls and courts. As it is we suffer but little and are very grateful that we are so well cared for. Next week I start on a country tour and my tune in regard to the weather will be changed. Of course I go in a Chinese cart which will be covered and will be very hot. I can occasionally exchange the cart for a donkey. I expect to meet Mr. Good- rich at Liu Chiu, one of our stations. He is an old ex- perienced missionary, and his presence will relieve the journey of much tedium and distress. He is a beautiful speaker of the language and I anticipate much help. He is also a fine singer and musician and his coming is relished by the natives. I take for my food several cans of vegetables and fruit. During the summer, life is precarious in the country at best and it is wisest to take good care of oneself. I could live wholly on Chinese food if necessary, but the experience of older men proves that not to be the wisest course. I also am well provided with medicines. I find that there is no special value or benefit in making hardships just for the sake of bearing them, and I am learning to take some care of myself. Mary is still in Peking. Peking, July ig, 187Q. To Miss Schirmer : My little wife is prostrate on a bed of illness. I re- turned two days ago after a separation of nine weeks. I was among the cold and indifferent heathen, separated by a country flooded with water, and she was languishing alone, unable to lift a hand in self-defense. She has never recovered from her sickness of last October and because we had no physician sick- ness which cannot be cured in a month or two has been en- tailed upon her. She is so patient and cheerful that she has won golden opinions from everybody and seems to breathe the very atmosphere of heaven. We hope that when the cold weather comes on she will improve and be able in the course of time to go about her accustomed duties. Just before I left home I had the pleasure of baptizing two literary men who seem willing to give up their earthly prospects for the Gospel. Peking, July 23, 1879. W. S. Ament to Dr. Clark : You see by my address that I am again in Peking. At the annual meeting Mrs. Ament was not able to be moved and 50 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT Pao Ting Fu has been deprived of her presence for the spring and summer. There seems no other way but for me to leave Mrs. A. here in the hands of those already overburdened with work, and return to Pao Fu alone to keep up our station. I know you have made great exertions to get us a physician and we do not complain. I regard our station as in the most en- couraging attitude of any in the mission. I have just returned to Peking after a nine weeks' absence. During a portion of this time I had the pleasure of Mr. Good- rich's company in a short tour in the region south of Pao Fu. The season was a little unfortunate owing to the wheat harvest which occupied the whole attention of the villagers. As it was we found that most of the probationers received in the winter had remained constant and some others stood ready to enter our ranks. The helpers had been doing good work though without the presence of their pastors, and we look forward with hope to their increased efficiency. We were also assisted by some of the boys from the Tung-chow school. They give great promise of future usefulness. One promising feature of their early attempts at preaching is their large use of Scripture with which they seem to be familiar. Native learning is so su- perficial that we find helpers and boys from the school are ef- ficient just in proportion as they drink from the sacred foun- tain. I begin to see more clearly that the Bible itself is our best preaching agency. The story of the cross seems less to move the Chinese heart than the grand sentiments (often akin to the sentiments of their sages) and holy fervor of the Psalms and other portions of the Old Testament. The work in Pao Fu is in that state which gives us hope of speedy enlargement. The Sabbath before I started for Peking we celebrated the Lord's Supper and two men, our personal teachers, were received by baptism into the church. These were literary men, one of whom has known the doctrine for several years, and never before mani- fested any desire to accept it for himself. We regard him now as a converted man, one who gives up his prospects of govern- ment employ for the sake of Christ. This step for these liter- ary men, we trust, will be of special significance and value in our community. It means for them (unless results are different than we expect) social ostracism and exclusion from the honors of office. Five women were also received on probation and two men, one of whom is surgeon in a military yamen or office. These LIFE AT PAO TING FU 51 women are from the better classes, well dressed, with clean, bright faces. Their faithfulness has been tested by months of regular attendance on our Sunday service and a positive desire to learn shown in their committing much Scripture to memory and the mastery of several hymns and a printed prayer. This work among the women fills us with perpetual joy. At the other stations it seems difficult to secure any women listeners. We in Pao Fu City have more such listeners than we can find room for. Mrs. Ament has been a large factor in their work, but now she is laid aside. Would that we had unmarried ladies sufficient to push this work vigorously. Pao Ting Fu, Oct. 7, 187^, My dear Mother : Still in my widowed solitude awaiting the arrival of the Piersons. I hope that next week will see them here. Two days ago I received the first mail I had seen for a long while. You may imagine the zeal with which I tore open the little pack- age which finally did come by slow Chinese post. These fel- lows are an independent crowd and if it rains or if their supply of letters is small they will loiter on the way, drink and sing at the inns, and you may howl and rage all you please, they will take their own time. We have several probationers who are patiently waiting till their day shall come. One old man, a merchant, and the wealthiest man in our little group of churchgoers, said he wanted to be baptized also. He had hardly courage to shut up his shop on Sabbath and we wait for him to make that de- cision. This is always a test question with a Chinaman. I work hard and study myself hoarse almost every day to learn the language. I am trying to become as learned as pos- sible in Chinese history and folk-lore, and if I do not write much upon the subject now it is because I am laying in materi- als for future use. China is a country especially whose insti- tutions and history need to be mastered, not in a day or a year. The old books are locked up in the hardest kind of classical language, very different from the colloquial, and, then too, their customs are so numerous and methods of thought so utterly different from what we have been accustomed to that you must grow into a Chinaman before you can understand them. I want to be a Christian Chinaman, with an American educa- tion. Chinese ideas and jJhrases and ways of looking at things 62 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT are gradually soaking into me, and I hope in good time I may draw some out by dint of hard squeezing. I suppose I carry about with me the celestial aroma. I use a little charcoal fire, pay one-tenth of a cent for hot water for my tea (we never steep tea ourselves here) and eat the usual amount of rice and millet, cabbage, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, and dough cut in strips. Grapes are also in the market of which I eat great quantities. I am getting so acclimated that I have my tea between meals, like any literary gentleman. I hope to take a long tour, perhaps going to Honan and Shantung, to be gone two months or more. With much love to Claribel and my nephew. Your affectionate son, W. S. Ament. Pao Ting Fu, Oct. 21 ^ iSyg. W. S. Ament to Dr. Clark : I had a pleasant journey up the river, embracing the opportunity in several places to preach and distribute books. As we shall be constantly ascending and descending that river perhaps for years to come, I hope to sow its banks with gospel seed till they shall be more beautiful even than at present with their graceful willows. In places this unusually transparent river broadens out into lake-like proportions and furnishes scenery unsurpassed in North China. The poor inhabitants along its banks fail to appreciate its beauty, as they have a perpetual struggle to keep its wayward waters from engulfing their homes. On arriving at Pao Ting Fu, I was agreeably surprised to find that our few brethren had been so faithful in keeping up the regular Sabbath service and were ready to give me so cor- dial a welcome at our first gathering. After a few days a man presented himself who said that he had been waiting more than a month for the arrival of a preacher of the Jesus doctrine, but as he asked for medicine at the same time, I considered him as only one of the many who sought merely the loaves and fishes. He proved to be an entirely different man. He continued to come regularly to all our gatherings, bought many books and paid for them in a most gratifying manner. Several years ago, in some way or other, from some member of this station, he secured a copy of the New Testament, and this book he had studiously perused. He is in official employ and in the yamen. He endured no little persecution for reading the foreign book. LIFE AT PAO TING FU 53 For several years he has seen no one who could explain its contents. Having obtained leave of absence he came to Pao Ting Fu and was much disappointed when he found we were all gone. November 23d. — A month has rolled away and now I con- tinue this letter from another city — Tientsin. I was very sorry to leave Mr. Pierson alone with all the work of the station upon his hands, but I came down on medical recommendation and have had also abundant opportunity to engage in mission work. Dr. Porter has arrived and almost immediately set out for Shantung where he joins Smith and Stanley. In the mean- time 1 conduct the Sabbath services for our few Christians here. Mrs. Anient is gradually improving, and the doctor, a young Englishman of limited experience, has hope of her com- plete recovery. These beautiful autumn days and the vigorous bracing sea air felt here at this season of the year prove to be her best medicine. I feel like a miscreant here away from my work and beloved station, and shall return at my first oppor- tunity. To my mind an inland station has superior advan- tages to a port. Here are constant interruptions which destroy the possibility of regular study and also divert one's mind from the Chinese. The natives are more hostile to foreigners and in every respect work is done at arms' length. Even a mis- sionary appreciates the sympathy of those for whom he labors and he only receives it from the simple-hearted natives of the interior. Peking, Dec, 9, i8'/g. My dear Mother : I am at Peking, en route to Pao Ting Fu after a stay of over a month with Mary at Tientsin. She is recovering her strength very rapidly now and hopes by February to return to Pao Ting Fu in a mule litter. Her physician says he knows no reason why she should not be recovered by that time. To- morrow I start with Roberts on a tour into the country. In about six weeks I expect to return for Mary. Only a word in great haste. Your son, W. S. Ament. Since the birth of her first child, in November, 1878— 64 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT the little Margaret, who did not live — Mrs. Ament had been much of an invalid. The necessity of a doctor for the station at Pao Ting Fu had long been felt. The urgent appeal of Mr. Pierson in the mission papers attracted the attention of Dr. A. P. Peck, of Beloit, Wisconsin, and his wife. Their appli- cation was gladly accepted by the American Board, and they were assigned, with the Kev. W^illiam Shaw and wife, to the Pao Ting Fu station. At the annual meet- ing of the mission in May, 1880, held at Peking, very important and far-reaching decisions were arrived at. A new station in Shantung had come to be a necessity. It was to be opened in the village of P'ang Chuang, the centre of a now expanding and exacting work. Eev. Arthur 'H. Smith and Eev. Henry D. Porter, with their families, were assigned to the new station. At the same time the need of permanent aid to the station at Kalgan was very urgent. Eev. James A. Eoberts and wife vol- unteered to accept a transfer to this upland station. The continued ill health of Mrs. Ament seemed to demand a change for her, which was found in locating them at Peking. ^ * It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.^^ Mr. Ament felt that so great a change was not at all of his seeking. An ardent regard for the fine leadership of Dr. Blodget was an element in leading him to accept the decision. The sequel will show how fully he met the new and inspiring responsibility. « In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure dome decree ; "Where Alph, the sacred river ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea. So twice five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round.** — Coleridge. IV PEKING AND THE NORTH CHINA MISSION THE halo of age and of mystery long hung about the northern capital of China. From Marco Polo's day onward great interest has gathered about the city of the Great Khan. Our modern days have made the name Peking a household word. The splendid capital of any nation merits a world-wide inter- est. The glamour of antiquity softens the coloring while it increases the charm of the capital city of China. The classical name, still maintained in elegant Chinese writ- ing, *^The Swallow Capital,'' reached back into the depths of ancient times. The present city owes its gen- eral form to the military grandson of Genghis Khan, who made it his capital. Dr. Ament's researches in the history of the Mongol occupation and the records of Marco Polo show clearly that the elder city of the Golden Tartars was somewhat southwest of the present site, though including portions of the southern city. Kublai built a vast enclosure, the mud walls of which are still seen two miles before enter- ing the modern city. This had no facing of brick. Even the present city owes its fine rectangular form, its broad, parallel thoroughfares, its many lanes, wider than the narrow streets of other Chinese cities, to the Great Khan who adorned it with palaces and temples. When the Mongols were expelled the city was reduced in size. The 65 56 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT first of the Mings built the north wall, and the great Yung Lo, in 1419, rebuilt the other three sides. The Manchus found a city noble in its proportions and strength. Its wall, fifty feet high, with its succession of buttresses and crenelations, is thought to be the finest in Asia. The southern city, in reality a suburb to the Manchu palaces, was enclosed within a wall in 1543. Many elaborate descriptions, with accounts of the temples and architectural adornments of the city, have been given. The approach to the city is impressive. Its walls and tow ers loom up grandly from the low plain. From the top of the wall the vast area of the city seems livid with the green of acacia trees covering the low roofed courts and residences. The Coal Hill with its graceful temples, the long rows of imperial palaces glittering in their yellow glaze, the temples of the Tartar city, the princely homes with green tile in lieu of yellow, the vast parks in the southern city, home of the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Agri- culture, add their interest to the attractions. The lure of this Chinese city not only attracted the waiting diplomats, but merchant and missionary were held In leash until the dogs of war could give them op- portunity. Among those thus eager to find an approach to the Manchu capital were the missionaries of the American Board of Missions, then, and for a decade or more, located at Shanghai. Among these were Henry Blodget and William Aitcheson. Fellow students and tutors at Yale College, they had come to China in 1854. In 1859 Mr. Aitcheson had accompanied the American minister, Mr. John W. Davis, as an assistant interpre- ter with Eev. W. A. P. Martin, Dr. Williams being sec- retary of legation. Eeturning from Peking Mr. Aitcheson had fallen ill en route to Tientsin and died on the way. The loss of his fellow worker affected Mr. Blodget very THE NORTH CHINA MISSION 57 deeply. Having gone to Japan in the summer of 1860, an opportunity came to him to sail for Tientsin with the allied fleet in a troop ship carrying soldiers from Japan. He arrived in Tientsin August 26, 1860. The capture of Peking, the humiliation of the imperial government and the continued occupation of Tientsin made it possible for him to secure a foothold in that quaint city. After a return to Shanghai, Mr. Blodget came north again in October to the newly opened port and thus be- came the forerunner of the still increasing number of mission workers. A preaching chapel was soon found within the city, on the main street not far from the bell tower. Rented at first, the premises were later pur- chased. Mr. Blodget remained at Tientsin for three years until the station was well reenforced by younger men. He then sought a place in the capital itself. Others had preceded him there, among them Rev. W. A. P. Martin, who in April, 1910, celebrated his sixtieth year of service in China, the Nestor well beloved of all mis- sions in China. Among the workers at Peking was Dr. Stewart, who had fine premises secured for medical work. He found himself, however, obliged to withdraw and had offered the premises for sale. Mr. Blodget at once made an effort to secure the location for his mission. It was suggested to Mrs. Bridgman, of Shanghai, that she might aid in se- curing the fine place in Peking. She accordingly pur- chased the residence of Dr. Stewart at the value of eight thousand taels. Mr. Blodget at once removed to Peking and was followed by Mrs. Bridgman herself in the autumn of 1864. As was her wont, Mrs. Bridgman gathered a few girls and so started the school which still perpetuates her name in the Bridgman Academy for Girls. The central location of the compound gave it special importance. The street on which it looked was one of 68 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT the short cross avenues. It gives access to the centre of the city and to the imperial palace gate to the southwest. The street bears the quaint name Teng Shih Kou, ' ' The Lamp Market Street.'' The securing of the premises marked a definite advance in the prosecution of mission work. Mr. Blodget opened a rear gate, off from his study, and in the afternoon spoke to those who cared to listen or to read. Among the lat- ter was an intelligent Manchu, with a fine face though marked with smallpox. He came frequently and looked over the little books. He was a needle seller. Mr. Blod- get asked him if he would not like to come every after- noon and read to the people. This he consented to do for a small reward. He was about the same age as Mr. Blodget. As a bannerman, he had a small monthly stipend and some duties, such as are assigned to the dif- ferent banners. Thus it came about that Mr. Jung be- came attached to the mission. He became a disciple. His clear voice and fine Peking speech added to his serv- ice. When the street chapel was opened Jung Hsien Sheng became the accepted preacher. As his knowledge of Christian tenets increased his ability to explain ad- vanced. It is a joy to record that some thirty years later it could be said of him : ''He is an honest Chinaman.'' His strong and admirable character developing through years of service was a signal light to the growing church at Peking. He lived to mourn the departure of Dr. Blodget in 1894. He had seen the Christian fellowship grow from nothing to many hundreds and had seen the expansion into distant provinces. The position in Peking being secure, there were suc- cessive reenforcements : Mr. J. T. Gulick, for the Mongol work in 1864 ; Kev. Chauncey Goodrich, in 1865 ; Mr. P. E. Hunt and Miss Porter, in 1868 j Rev. C. Holcombe, in 1869. REV. HENRY BLODGET, D.D. REV. E. C BRIDGMAN. D.D. WILLIAM S. AMENT, D.D. CHESTER HOLCOMBE DR. CHAUNCEY GOODRICH THE NORTH CHINA MISSION 59 The time had come for a translation of the Scriptures into Mandarin colloquial. This necessitated a mission press, which was established by Mr. Hunt, transferred from a like work in Madras. Mr. Hunt remodelled the east court, built a fine press building and bindery and educated his workmen to do most excellent work in each department. During the following two decades the press filled a most valuable place in the literary department of mission effort. On the death of Mr. Hunt, in 1878, he was succeeded by Mr. Willis C. Noble, who was in charge for ten years. In the autumn of 1868, Mrs. Bridgman withdrew to Shanghai, leaving the girls' school in the care of Miss Porter. In the summer of 1873, a church building was erected, in the west court, the gift of Mrs. Tank, of Wisconsin. Its churchly windows and simple interior, with quiet and tasteful coloring, made a happy impression on all who came there to worship. For twenty-five years it was the home of Christian song and service. Mr. Holcombe found a second location for a preaching chapel a mile north on the great street near the Sixth Lane. A work was carried on here for thirty years, until the Boxer destructions. The North Chapel and the country work at Cho Chou were in charge of the younger members of the station. Dr. Blodget had the satisfaction of laying these broad foundations, of welcoming many fellow work- ers of many denominations and of seeing a contin- uous expansion of the several missions in ef&cacy and advancing success. It was into the goodly fellow- ship of kindred and sympathetic workers that Mr. Ament was now to come. He was to develop and strengthen such fellowship through many years of ardent service. 60 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT Tientsin, May 21, 1880. W. S. Ament to Dr. Clark : We have been the recipients of several letters from you for which we are very grateful. Mrs. Ament's health has been very much improved by the pure air and her pleasant surround- ings in Tientsin. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley have done all that Christian kindness could suggest to make her visit profitable and agreeable. However we have been unable to repress a sensation of homelessness. On all sides it has been generally decided that it would be extremely unwise for Mrs. Ament to attempt to live in Pao Ting Fu again, at least for a term of years. Say what we may, life in an interior station in China is much harder than in a port or any place where foreigners are more numerous. I certainly should hesitate a long period before I left the station of my first settlement and first affection, only as I am compelled by dire necessity. Providentially, as it seemed, Mr. Roberts had conceived a very strong desire to be removed to an inland station. Ac- cording to his request the mission transferred him and his family to Kalgan and myself and wife to Peking. In Peking Mrs. Ament will be able to obtain good medical aid close at hand, and can also secure certain things necessary to her re- covery but impossible to secure in Pao Ting Fu. I assure you we heartily rejoice in the prospect of again settling in our own home, and especially that I can once more resume my long neglected studies. In leaving Pao Ting Fu we are glad that Mr. Pierson is not to be left alone. Ta Chueh Ssu (^twenty-five miles northwest of Peking, among the hills'), July 20, 1880. My dear Mother : Mary and I reached Peking the 3d of July. She endured the journey much better than we feared, but summer life in hot Peking soon exhausted her strength. It was a refreshing sensa- tion to think that we were in our own home. As Miss Chapin has her house in process of repair, she has taken temporary possession of ours and will care for it until we return from the hills. Mary cannot endure, even for a day, the hot stifling air of a Chinese city, so with most of the foreigners we made ar- rangements to escape for our lives. Mr. Noble, our mission treasurer and business manager, had already engaged a place THE NORTH CHINA MISSION 61 for us with his own family in a large Buddhist temple, whose name is at the head of this letter. Mary was carried all the way in a chair by six men, but was very much worn out as it took from 7 : 30 a. m. till 5 p. M. Part of the way was very hot and she was carried through small mountain torrents. Part of the way was very rocky, and the men were so careless that occasionally her chair would strike a rock and she would receive quite a shock. July 26th. — Mary and I are gradually recovering in our moun- tain home, and this afternoon, feeling more vigorous, we climbed to a little Buddhist summer-house in the rear of the temple, where we reach the highest point possible on the grounds. We find the rear walls covered with delicate moss and several varieties of fern. It is a beautiful spot and a de- lightful change from the dreary city and plain. A few gray squirrels frisk about on the trees. The kind priests have scruples against killing them. The temple grounds are kept pure and fresh by perpetual streams of mountain water which is conducted in every direc- tion by stone troughs. In two places large ponds have been constructed into which the water is poured through two huge dragon mouths. In these ponds grow the lotus plant, emblem of Buddha. All kinds of fish are there. At the base of the mountains are kept the sacred hogs, huge, black, dirty creatures, which are never killed, but when they have died, are eaten by the priests, who eat no meat except this sacred pork. At stated intervals the priests enter the largest building in the whole enclosure, and beat the drums and chant most monotonously their sacred books. The temple is dimly lighted with bean oil lamps, and the priests, in yellow garments, beat- ing cymbals, striking resonant wood, make an impressive scene. The poor priests who go through the same rigmarole year after year, bowing down to the same mud idols, with a little gilt stuck on, must lead very dismal lives. But I suppose they are animated by the hope of an immortality of nonentity in the Western Heavens, where Buddha lives. Shanghai^ Sept. 7, 1880. W. S. Ament to Dr. Clark : I regret very much that I am compelled to write to you under these circumstances so far from my field of labor. It is the unanimous opinion of the mission, as well as of the phy- 62 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT sicians acquainted with Mrs. Ament's case, that she ought to return to America for a change of climate as well as better medical treatment. I enclose to you the professional opinion of Drs. Porter and Atterbury. The circular motion started by Dr. Blodget and signed by all the missionaries will be sent to you by the secretary, Mr. Chapin. We are very sorry that we were not able to communicate with you before the decision was made, but as the suggestion of Mrs. Ament's return to the United States came wholly from the physicians and not from ourselves, we dared not delay when their opinion was pub- licly made known. It seemed best for me to accompany Mrs. Ament to Shanghai, the worst half of her journey. From this place she will have the company of missionaries return mg home. Peking, Oct. i, 1880. My dear Mother : I am once more in my own home, and settled in my own study and writing at my own standing desk. I shipped our darling Mary at Shanghai, September 9th, for America. Before this letter reaches you, you may have seen her and have heard from her own lips the story of her trip. Arrived at Tientsin, I took, by the aid of friends, the four days' ride up the river to Tung-chow, where Mr. and Mrs. Goodrich just melted my heart by their goodness. I have worked very hard since my arrival and shall soon consider myself settled. I occupy my whole house alone and find it none too large. I have my study in my former sitting-room and have it arranged very comfortably. My good horse James carries me out for a daily ride and to my chapel. The exercise seems to invigorate me very much. The commissioners to make the new treaty with the Chinese are in Peking preparing for their great undertaking. One is a Californian, and a hater of the Chinese, but the other two are favorably disposed. Rumors of war with Russia still fill the air and the people are growing distrustful of foreigners. We expect our new recruits in a few days, nine people, all for North China. I suppose by this time Claribel and my nephew are gone to the far West. To-day I go to make a call of welcome on Mrs. Angell and her daughter. Custom is very rigid in certain lines among foreigners here. THE NORTH CHINA MISSION 63 I was pleased to find that one man, an old teacher, who had heard the Gospel for the first time in my chapel, had decided to renounce Confucianism and to become a Christian. He is very old and saturated with superstition and yet I think he is in earnest. Work is very slow and discouraging in the large cities, but in the country we have very favorable prospects. Our helper returns and reports a large number who wish baptism. Ever in increasing affection, Your son, W. S. Ament. Piking y Jan. j, 1881. My dear Sister : Ages have rolled away since I last wrote you. I have seen more and experienced more during that time than in any period of my life. As you doubtless know I am in my solitary home, only waiting for some favorable breeze to blow my Mary back to me. Mission life has been no romance to her. She has left behind her a reputation for completeness of character and brightness in intellect second to no woman who ever came to China. She writes very hopefully from Cleveland, and I have some expectation that she will return next fall. Your first letter from Montana reached me some weeks ago. I was in the country, several days' journey from any foreigner, except Roman Catholic priests, who do not seem to enjoy my society. They have erected a fine cathedral only a few miles from my country station, where there are at present over twenty French- men, mostly Jesuits, driven out of France, doubtless by Jules Ferry's educational bill. I have just returned from the longest tour I have made in China, being absent from Peking over six weeks. Most of the time I spent in the region of Hsien Hsien, where I have quite a remarkable opening. I have a nice little chapel there, also a school of nine boys and a very hopeful company of girls and women. So you see the foundation seems to be laid for a successful work. I find in China, as elsewhere, that no work permanently prospers unless there are women engaged in it. After spending some weeks here I went to the province south of us. Shantung. I spent a short time helping Mr. Smith in his large and flourishing work there. He has several hundred members and scores of inquirers. Shan- 64 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT tung is Confucius' native province and is superior in material resources, as well as in the intelligence of the people, to Chihli. The Gospel has met with its greatest successes there. The Presbyterians and Methodists^ have thousands of members. After I escorted Mary to Shanghai last September, I escorted our new members to Kalgan, our most northerly station, situated on the boundary between China and Mongolia. I rode my pony up to the high plateaus of Mongolia, a most charming journey, over mountains that almost equal the Rockies in rug- gedness. I met a real dust storm on the plains which almost buried me alive. From Mongolia we descended to Peking, via Nankou, one of the most picturesque places in North China. I have ridden my pony almost daily the past three months, in touring, having travelled about i,ooo English miles. As a re- sult I find myself in better health than at any previous time. I will send you some books for your cooks. I suppose the Chinese which they speak is as different from Pekingese as Choctaw. The new treaties have just been signed at Peking and two of the high commissioners have returned to America. Dr. Angell, President of Michigan University, is still here, and a great addition himself and his family are to all classes in society. Alex's and mother's picture is before me. I greatly delight in looking at them. Dear little man ! I should Hke to see him. I shall try and get for him some cute little Chinese garments. I now hope to remain in one place a greater length of time than for two years previously, so that I can accom- plish some of my long cherished schemes. Your brother, W. S. Ament. The treaty referred to in this letter to his sister was one full of the deepest diplomatic interest. The Bur- lingame Treaty of 1868, which first opened China to genuine diplomatic intercourse with Western nations, laid down the principle that intercourse should be in all respects reciprocal, and that free emigration was the settled habit of all Occidental nations. The great in- crease of the Chinese in California and their varied suc- ^ Intended for English Methodists at Lao Ling District. THE NORTH CHINA MISSION 65 cesses had aroused the sand-lotters of San Francisco to a high degree of resistance. There was a determined effort to secure restriction, as much as possible. The three commissioners, while differing among themselves as to the amount of limitation, nevertheless were able to make a reasonable compromise. The courteous and affable President Angell secured all that could at that time have been expected. He remained as United States minister through the year, returning via Europe, in September, 1881. An interesting and important change in Mr. Ament's relation to the station work opened before him in the early spring time of this year. Dr. and Mrs. Blodget had filled out a ten years' service and a deserved fur- lough was awaiting them. During this service much of Dr. Blodget' s time had been devoted to enriching the literature of the church service. IMany choice and beautiful hymns had been translated. One of the wise critics of Chinese style had said : '^ While Dr. Blodget lives there would be no need of any other translator of our church hymnology." The Rev. Chauncey Goodrich, another choice expert, especially in the newer and more lyrical qualities of our evangelical hymns, was associated in this service. Mr. Ament was thus in the sole charge of the general station work. This involved the weekly service in the South Church, with its full congregation and its Sunday-school and daily street chapel work. Into the care of these and the oversight of the enlarging country station work he entered with a quick enthu- siasm. Peking^ Jan. 7, 1881. W. S. Ament to Dr. Clark : After a long tour of over six weeks to the regions south of Peking and also in Shantung, I found myself once more in my own home. Some of the events and results of that 66 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT visit I will now endeavor to relate to you. You learned about a year ago of the providential opening in Hsien Hsien dis- trict — how one man fleeing to Peking to escape starvation ac- cepted the truth, as it is in Christ, in our street chapel, was baptized with all his family, returned to his native home and entered vigorously upon the work of leading his friends and relatives to the same fountain of life. He has succeeded be- yond our highest expectations. It is certainly a pleasure to meet this man, always bright and active in the Lord's work. Only four visits have been made to this place as yet by the foreign missionaries, but observe the results — where only one year ago one man welcomed Mr. Roberts in his first visit, now a village is found permeated with Christian truth, a church of over twenty members exists with an interesting school at- tached. A large schoolroom owned by a rich man, not a church-member, serves us for a chapel and is offered for our use free of charge. Two or three daily meetings were held in this chapel with a continual increase in numbers and interest during the nearly three weeks spent among them. Excepting one, all the male members of the church are able to read, it having been made one condition of admittance that candidates should be able to read at least the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments. Many having made a beginning in this way have gone on to a considerable degree of excellence in reading the Scriptures. But singing is the specialty in this company of Christians. Sing they must and will. If they do not know the proper tune they make one for themselves. If volume of sound or noise and energy are the essentials of good singing, they surely are a success. Owing to the efforts of one of our young men from Tung-chow, they have become acquainted with many hymns and sing very well, their chief chorister being one of our schoolboys about twelve years of age. During my visit to Hsien Hsien I took the opportunity to call upon the Jesuits in their fine cathedral and residence just east of the district city. Sending in my card I was received by a reverend priest evidently a veteran in the service. He ushered me into a large, fine reception hall but refused to an- swer questions concerning their work or to allow me to visit their schools of which there are several on the place. There are over twenty French priests at this cathedral ; some of them are recent arrivals, evidently from among the number driven QUt of France by the operation of the Educational Bill, THE NORTH CHINA MISSION 67 Peking^ Aug. i6, 1881. W. S. Ament to Dr. Clark : Mrs. Ament writes of her most pleasant visit in the East and her last letter says, *'I am well." I was very much afraid after Dr. Blodget's departure that the native brethren would be loth to welcome a new and inex- perienced pastor. In this respect I have been happily disap- pointed. They have given me an enthusiastic and cordial sup- port from the first, and have seemed to appreciate the fact that, as now their old pastor was gone, the prosperity of the church would depend largely upon themselves. I have been very care- ful to encourage and not weaken this impression. As a result our Sabbath audiences have been larger than I ever knew them to be before. There are three men from the city applicants for baptism. The Sabbath-school is the most interesting feature of our work. We have made a special effort to reach our neigh- bors who hitherto have given little attention to any invitations, but now it is not uncommon to see our chapel filled to its limits. It is certainly a pleasant sight to see so many boys and girls who are beginning to be regular attendants. Since annual meeting I have made one short tour over a new route (northeast) seldom frequented by foreigners. The weather was extremely hot and the roads almost impassable. I succeeded in disposing of a goodly number of books and in some places met with a very flattering reception. I met many Mohammedans who all seemed very anxious that I should meet their Ah Hung. I finally met one, a kindly old man, who showed his conscientiousness in carrying oft' a book which he forgot to pay for ! The country afforded the enjoyment of the most beauti- ful scenery I had yet seen in China and is indeed a royal road to the Emperor's hunting parks in Manchuria. In view of the fact that no other mission has any established work in that region I think it affords a fine field for future work. Mrs. Ament in the summer of 1881 was preparing for her return to China. She had been fortunate in her choice of physicians and had gained rapidly. On the 17th of August, Madam Ament writes to a friend that her daughter, Mary, had left a week before. Her own daughter, Mrs, Leggat, bad gone to Montana the year 68 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT previous. It seemed a strange providence that about this time took away the beloved sister of Mr. Ament, leaving a son and daughter, whose care must now devolve on Madam Ament. The following extracts will show how one brave heart in sorrow tries to comfort a mother in her distress. Peking, Oct. ji, 1881. Beloved Mother : The first mail since Mary's arrival has come with its sad letter from my " weeping mother." I cannot tell you how sick at heart I have felt since then, nor how much I have wanted to be with you and help you at this time of trial ; how I have prayed that you might not be overcome by your grief, but "cast your all upon Him who careth for you." Mrs. Baldwin wrote a postcript to your letter of September ist, telling us that Claribel was gone and her little children are motherless. She was a good sister to me and I never half appreciated her real worth. But now it all comes up before me in the true light. What a happy, joyous spirit she had ! Best of all, she loved her mother as few daughters have and was kind and con- siderate to the last. Her influence will live in all the places where she was known. Dear mother, do not give way to grief. God knows and only knows, how your motherly heart has been wrenched, but still God is great and God is good. So let us be brave and patient until the day when we shall all see each other face to face. That day is not far distant from any one of us, and he who is with the Master first is most blessed. Mary and I are nicely settled in our new home. She brought many pretty things with her and I think we have the coziest home ! Mary seems as strong as when she came to China, though not quite so enduring. I shall try and be careful of her and trust we both may have a long home life before us. But in China one must hold everything lightly, as it may be taken away at any moment. Our work has been progressing finely. I expect to go into the country soon. The missionary for our new mission in Shansi has arrived and will spend the winter at Tung-chow. (This was Rev. M. L. Stimson, the first of the Oberlin Shansi Band.) '" I will write to Mr. Leggat by this mail. Surely this afflic- THE NORTH CHINA MISSION 69 tion must fall most heavily on him. He has my deepest sympathy. Your son, W. S. Ament. The return of Mrs. Ament was a happy event, not only for Mr. Ament, but for the other members of the station. Each of the houses of the compound was now occupied and each was a centre of established work. The Aments occupied the south or front building, with its pleasant outlook upon old and famous acacia trees and pretty shrubbery. It is of this home that he speaks as being ^* the coziest in Peking." A letter to Dr. N. G. Clark will begin the story of the work in its unfolding. Peking, Jan. 2j, 1882. In Peking we are beginning to see some of the results of the last decade of work. One of the most encouraging features is the fact that our neighbors begin to take a little notice of our existence in other ways than by reviling us. It was only yesterday that a young man, son of a prominent offi- cial, desired to purchase a Bible and with an air of genuine sincerity requested instruction in our teaching. Yesterday also a literary graduate, teacher in a neighboring gentleman's family, came and drawing a Mark's Gospel from his sleeve wished to have it explained. He went away expressing a pur- pose to examine its contents still further. We have in our employ a colporteur whom we have been wont to regard as more desirous to draw the Bible Society's money than to sell their books. However to the surprise of all he returned from a country trip a short time ago and stated that a little revival was in progress in a village where he had been preaching. We were well aware that the officials had been making efforts to stamp out a certain false rehgion under the ban of the government and were fearful lest his inquirers only desired the foreigner's protection. But this has not proved to be the case, as was shown by his bringing to light two young literary men who were willing to begin a systematic study of the Bible. They have joined our winter station class YO WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT and thus far have proved themselves worthy of confidence. The class now numbers nine men, three of whom have been school-teachers. Their principal work so far has been upon the '' Life of Christ and the Evidences of Christianity." Pekingy March j, 1882. My dear Mother : We have been favored with two letters from you by the last mail. One came by Russia and has been almost four months on the way. I was very glad to hear, however late the letter was. Mr. Leggat has long ago reached you, and with him, I presume, the two darlings (his nephew Alex and the baby Claribel). Your hands and heart will be full in caring for these treasures. Claribel was a daughter to be proud of, and if she has gone to heaven a little earlier than most of her com- rades, should we be unduly depressed ? Mr. Leggat's home is broken up, but his children are taken to one, next to their own mother, who is the best person to care for them. My heart bleeds for Mr. Leggat, but I think we wrong our own souls when we practically accuse God of injustice in His dealings with us. If our religion is worth anything, it should keep us in such cases as this. I am not the one to preach to so good and true a mother as you are, but I do think I have learned a few things since I came to China which no mother in America could have taught me. Mary and I spent three days last week at Tung-chow with the Goodriches, Sheffields and Chapins. We leave for the country soon for a long trip. We are in good health and our work is in a good condition. The Methodists hope to establish a college in Peking. Good-bye and God bless you, dear mother. Concentrate your soul on this burning present moment. For the man who is true to the pres- ent is true to his best ; and the soul that wins the ground immediately before it makes life a triumph. — O. S. Davis. V LIFE IN PEKING Peking, July 7, 1882. I AM just starting on a little tour to visit two young literary- men of whom I wrote some months ago. I hear very- good reports of their constancy. I am sorry that one of them is in very poor health and evidently is not long for this world. The other teacher is not so satisfactory as a Chris- tian though a man of more force and courage. No foreigner has ever visited their village and the young men have had to endure some persecution. I hope my visit may help to dis- sipate the prejudices of the people. . . . The Peking sta- tion has a growing country work of wide dimensions. We have two street chapels in the city which can be filled daily the year around. We have the only country out-stations which have even discussed the question of self-support. I desire very 7nuch to see our little centres of work coming up to the point of self-support. In order to that a missionary must spend much time and do much faithful work in the country. Touring in North China means a fearful expenditure of time and strength. There are many other things I would like to say upon mission and station affairs, but I await a more favorable opportunity. Pu An Tun, July g, 1882. Dear Mother : I have never written you concerning this place and I myself did not know of it till a short time ago. I am in a Taoist temple. I had supposed that all the temples were Bud- dhist or Confucian, and that the Taoists were a class of specu- lative philosophers who had no permanent abiding place. But I was mistaken. Taoist priests do not shave the entire head, but do up their hair after the ancient fashion, hence they can be easily recognized. No one can find out exactly what their ideas of worship are, and it is a question whether they know themselves. The priest in the temple where I am at present 71 72 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT threatened to put an end to his own life if I tried to put up here. There are a few brethren in the village and to-day a new man came. I baptized him last summer and I have thought all along that he would make a good preacher. This is quite an interesting village with an unusual number who can read. The village well is near the temple where I am, and so I am the centre of attraction. Without the temple are some fine old trees, and around the well under the trees six or eight men are sound asleep, in the midday; the crops about are dying for want of rain, a sad sight, since they had such a fine start in the spring but now are drying up. Everything seems to work against China. Even the heavens seem to dry up their sources of life. This is perhaps the first tour I ever made when I was wholly unprovided with foreign food of any kind. In this village we have been obliged to buy our own rice and the two brethren and I eat together. Usually a ripe peach can be found which makes up for deficiency in other things. I am the first for- eigner that has ever visited this place, hence the great curi- osity. I am glad to leave the great road occasionally. The people are more frank and generous, and preaching to them is much easier than on the familiar routes. As the sun was set- ting the villagers began to gather in the temple court, and benches used at feasts were brought out for them. I preached and talked till my throat was tired and my head dizzy. There are three men here whom I look upon as hopeful inquirers. I am agitating the question of starting a free school here. Monday, July loth. — Three of us started for the market at Tou Tien, where we hoped to sell books. We first ate our breakfast at a tea shop, consisting of a bowl of dough and soup, a plate of chopped mutton and some wheaten cakes. While eating a man came in and inquired of our whereabouts and our doings. I judged from his appearance that he was a captain of a few soldiers appointed to guard the great road. The streets of Tou Tien were lined with little merchants selling hemp to make shoes, also paper for these soles, old iron, cloth, candy and everything conceivable, from a native point of view. As I had purchased no standing place from the head men of the fair, these little merchants were unwilling that I should block the way. One old man finally dropped me as a hard case and began beseeching the crowd to leave me with my books. He only succeeded in attracting the attention to me of some who LIFE IN PEKING 73 would not otherwise have passed by. We made a very suc- cessful sale and returned to the inn in about two hours. On the way home I stopped by a well for a drink of cold water and had a pleasant talk with the villagers. The Chinese are a so- cial people and when they are not blinded by prejudice are po- lite and interesting. Wednesday, July 12th. — We came yesterday among the mountains, and to-day are at the city of Fang Shan, that is *' House Mountain." The roads are almost impassable from the heavy rains. My object in coming to the mountain city was to visit the coal mines and several celebrated caves. Thursday. — Yesterday the rain stopped and we decided to move on. I thought I could better spend my time roaming over the mountains, since the market fair was small. Brother Tuan and I started for the <' Temple of Ten Thousand Bud- dhas," where there was said to be a cave thirteen miles deep. Long before we reached the temple we met the beautiful stream which flows from the caves. According to tradition the water of this spring will produce a rainfall if proper prayers are made to Buddha. We passed a procession of women going to cele- brate the conclusion of the first month of a son's life. After passing the procession we came to the tomb of a prince of the imperial family. According to Chinese custom he had built a very fine tomb while still a young man. However much money a prince spends on his tomb, no one but himself and his wife can be buried in it, hence you can imagine how many beautiful valleys, and even fruitful fields are occupied by the tombs of the princes of the empire, as each one has his own tomb with a gorgeous gate house, ancestral temple, halls, oc- cupying many acres of land. Tombs and temples fill the fairest portions of China. Buddhists and Taoists are shrewd enough to know that the rich like to visit such places. I have never yet heard of a cave or spring at which there was not a temple and a priest. **The Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas" is situated in a very secluded glen. The mouth of the cave, we found, was occupied by a large hall in which there were many slabs of marble on which are carved thousands of Buddhas' heads, hence the name of the temple. It is said that the cave runs clear through the mountain and is known on the other side. An emperor ordered two men to go through the cave and they are the only ones who have done so. The stupid Chinese had never told me that we could not enter the cave 74 WILLIAM SCOTT AMEXT and all we could do was to stand and gaze at the cold dark cavern. Peking, Nov. 25, 1882. To Dr. N. G. Clark : During the summer and fall our Sabbath-school has grown so large that the chapel has proved too narrow and we have felt obliged to build two good -sized class rooms adjoining the west gate of our premises. Because of the large amount of old material on hand this building was done with small ex- pense. These rooms are occupied by Miss Haven's class of outside girls and Mrs. Ament's class of women. Both these classes are steadily increasing in numbers and interest and bid fair to be permanent additions to our work. Chapel preaching was never more hopeful. From both our chapels additions have been made to our congregation. Eleven men have been formally taken on as probationers and four have been baptized. One of these men is worthy of a little notice. He is the head man of a usury shop, whose business it is well known is not conducive to piety. His capital of several thousands of dollars is all loaned out to Manchu bannermen, whose returns are few and far between. He has resolved to close out this business as rapidly as possible. To show his eagerness to be in what he regards as a business consistent with Christian prin- ciples, he has opened a small grain-shop to which he will de- vote all his attention as soon as his money is paid back to him. The princely tombs in the beautiful vaUeys of this lovely thougli rugged mountain region, first visited now by Mr. Ament, are but a portion of the imperial Manchu burial places known as the'/ ' Western Tombs.'' They are, as suggested, in the district of Fang Shan, whose city lies southwest of the larger district city of Liang Hsiang on the great road. The ''Western Tombs" are the parallel to the perhaps finer " Eastern Tombs," some fifty miles east of Peking. It has been the custom of the Manchu dynasty to alternate the burial of their emperors between the Eastern and the Western Hills. The Em- peror T' ung Chih was buried in a magnificently prepared LIFE IN PEKING 75 mausolemn in the ^'Eastern Tombs." At the time of the building of this tomb during the lifetime of the Em- peror an eye-witness reports the ti-ansport of great marble slabs from quarries near Peking, which took a mob of some six hundred horses to haul it to its destina- tion. The famous Dowager Empreas Tze Hsi prepared both her own and her nephew's tombs each at an expense verging on a million of taels. The tomb of the late Em- peror Kuang Hsu was prepared at the Western Tombs, among these very hills descril)ed by Mr. Ament. His funeral in 1909 was a function of remarkable brilliance, followed a few months later by that of the Dowager Em- press herself in her own tomb at the Eastern Tombs. On his return from this summer trip, Mr. Ameut and his wife found rest and quiet amid the lovely hills and temples west of Peking. The ladies and children could be there all the time and the missionary gentlemen could spend their Sundays in the city with their congrega- tions, and such jiart of the week as required their service. It was a great boon to have so near at hand such a place of escape from the heat and dust of the great city. In the early autumn a new joy came into the home and hearts of these dear friends. A son, Philip Wyett, was born October 21st. They who had mourned so tenderly over the loss of the little Margaret, laid quietly away in a corner of the compound in Pao Ting Fu, were now to rejoice for a few months in a son. The native Christians vied with the foreign friends in their congratulations and pleasure in the happy event. It was a rare event indeed to have a baby boy in the old Teng Shih K'ou compound. The dear little son, who had brought so much of comfort and joy to the Ament home, had perceptibly wilted in the unwholesome air of Peking in the early days of the sum- mer following his birth. Subsequent to the annual mis- 76 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT sion meeting his parents had gone to the hills, hoping to see his early restoration to health, but their hopes were all in vain. The anxiety and the sorrow of his loss made the summer retreat memorable. Temple of Peace ^ Western Hills , June 28, 188 J. My dear Mother : I told you I would keep you informed about any change in Philip's condition. After I wrote you last he seemed to im- prove a little and we had hopes of his recovery. But night before last he began to grow worse. We prevented convulsions by hot baths, but congestion of the brain could not be pre- vented by human means, and so the dear little soul took his flight to God. Yesterday noon Dr. Peck, from Pao Ting Fu, arrived, and we had hopes that with his constant care Philip would get better. Our efforts were of no avail and at half-past ten last evening the 27th he left this world of sin for the brighter world above. His pain seemed to cease some time before his death and his look was calm and serene as an angel's. He was too pure, too good for this world. His disease must have begun in the city, as we now remember his distressed look and his occasional cry of pain. We fled to the hills for life and found death. Our beautiful darling is with his Creator. Even the stolid heathen priest spoke to me of my bonnie boy. This awful dry heat is fatal to so many children. But he is gone. It is well with the child, much better than that he should grow up and fall away from God's truth. God knows what is best and I resign myself to His will. Mary, of course, knows the divine refuge, yet without her baby home is desolate. He was a darling cherub. Don't weep, but pray. Your mourning son, W. S. Ament. In the September following Mr. Ament and his wife made one of the most memorable tours in this early history of their service at Peking. Fu An Tun, Sept. 23, 1883. Three days ago our procession left Teng Shih K'ou. First was Mary's chair which she was to ride the first stage of the journey. I followed on the lap of a cart laden with bedding LIFE IN PEKING 77 and provision. There followed an open cart, such as is used by farmers, with a reed mat-roof, loaded with food, cooking utensils, clothing for our long journey. Our two servants and the preacher helper, Mr. Hung, piled into this cart. Leaving the city at the southwest, the sides of the roads were so full of water that we were confined to the terrible stone road. We spent the night at Chang Hsin Tien, the street of which is two miles long. The next day we hastened on to the small city of Liang Hsiang, exchanging the cart for five donkeys because the mules were unable to drag the cart through the terrible mud holes. From Liang Hsiang we struck into the country to Pu An Tun, village of '' Stable Peace." Our two young brethren met us and took us to the Taoist temple outside the village, as being the only comfortable place in the village. The Taoist priest did not give us a very hearty welcome though he is gradually warming up a little. Like all such priests he is ignorant and superstitious, and he became a priest because it furnishes him with an easy way of passing through life. The people are very busy getting in the late grain. Some are pounding the grain to extract it from the hulls, some winnowing by tossing it in the air. Chinese threshing is a long, laborious process. The village is prettily embowered in a grove of willows and elms. Cho Chou, Sept. 28th, 140 lifrom Peking. We were greatly rejoiced when the two stately pagodas of Cho Chou appeared in sight. We were fortunate in finding a little court where we could be by ourselves. We were met outside the city by the only brother we have in the place. The next morning he brought us word that he was living in a house occupied by a literary graduate of the highest rank whose family would be glad to have Mary visit them. This was a rare opportunity and a rare invitation. She was enter- tained in the reception room of the great man's house and had no lack of interested listeners. She was assisted by Brother Kao's wife, a Christian of good intelligence. Mary's next in- vitation is to a prayer-meeting with heathen women. On Monday we left the city, taking a grain boat for Pai Mu Chiao, a distant station. We found the country everywhere under water, valuable land and grain being destroyed. October 19th. — From Pai Mu Chiao we started across coun- try for Wen An, and found the fields one vast sea of water, 78 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT with villages sprinkled here and there, on high knolls. Wen An is a district city. Two of the gates were impassable be- cause of the waters and the whole country about was under water, lake-like in appearance. We thought best to take boat from here to Tientsin. There we met Mr. and Mrs. Price, from Oberlin, en route to the new mission in Shansi. Mr. Perkins accompanied us to our station Hsien Hsien and return. We arrived at Tientsin October 25th. During the trip we have seen phases of Chinese life never seen before by us, and have learned many things that will be of value. We are thank- ful for good health during the whole trip. The following letter to Dr. Clark gives a succinct ac- count of the trip : The church at Pai Mu Chiao had planned during the present year to take some vigorous measures looking towards the erec- tion of a chapel of which they are sadly in need. But the flood has interfered and their strength will be exhausted in keeping the wolf from the door during the coming winter. At Wen An we were greatly pleased at the reception given us and the general disposition of the people. The Christians here have been subject to so many petty annoyances in times past that their progress has been slow, but the situation is now changed for the better. Five intelligent men were received as probationers, and the little church is much encouraged. Again sailing over fields of grain we reached our newest station, the village of Wang Hsin. Our Christians here are few in number and weak in faith. There is no well instructed man among them to act as leader and their progress is slow. However there was here a goodly number of applicants for baptism. On our return from this city to the village of Wen An we nearly had Paul's experience in the Adriatic. A strong gale from the north raised the usually quiet waters of the plain into savage fury and our small craft was nearly engulfed. The dastardly cowardice of the farmer boatmen greatly added to the danger of the situation. The region about Wen An is a paradise compared with Hsien Hsien. Here the water was deeper and the damage more extensive. Houses were washed down, timbers and furniture carried away by the waters. The people have suf- fered before from flood and drought, but never was their LIFE IN PEKING Y9 misery so great as now. It looks as if a fierce tornado had swept over the village bearing away houses and uprooting trees. Their furniture, dishes, etc., are a mass of debris under the ruins of the walls and roof. Some of the people are dweUing in rudely constructed huts and the remainder were crowded into the few houses that were left. The leading man of the church had twenty-one good rooms in his compound of which not one remains. During the past year the Emperor has dis- bursed vast sums to the officials for the repair of dykes and embankments but the work has been wholly neglected. I am safe in estimating that at least ten thousand square miles of good, arable land is under water and millions of people are depending on imperial bounty to keep them from starvation. Tribute grain is pouring into the country in large quantities. The elements seem to combine with a depraved official class to keep this people in abject poverty and crush all manhood and enterprise out of them. Our long trip is ended and we look back with pleasure upon the friendliness of our reception, the tolerance towards a strange religion and its teachers, and the fact that the country is wonderfully open to Christianity so that if the number of missionaries was increased a hundredfold their hands would still be full. The problem of the dutiful care of his mother had be- come increasingly urgent. In November of this year he had written to his mother proposing that she join him in China. But such a plan did not appeal to her at the time and it was laid aside. Peking, Dec. 26, 1883. My dear Mother : A Merry Christmas to you across the sea. There are so few children in Peking that Santa Claus is very generous to them. Mary and I tried to make the day a pleasant one for the dozen or so schoolboys. I bought a foreign handkerchief for each of the boys. They had candies, cakes and pears. They had learned to sing a short hymn very nicely with Mary's help. First we went to Dr. Blodget's and Mr. Noble's and sang our song and then partook of the good things of our feast. They learned to play our games and were highly delighted. Usually they are such sombre little ftUo^'^ that it did rne good 80 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT to see them have a hearty laugh. Seven of them and their teacher had their picture taken. Dr. and Mrs. Blodgetare nicely fixed and we are passing a very comfortable and agree- able winter. Just now Peking is in great excitement over the money ques- tion. All the native banks are breaking and our silver has to be sold at ruinous rates. To fail in banking is death to a Chinese by law, but now it is supposed that money stops the course of justice and the bankers are all running off with the people's money. Perhaps the officials are at the bottom of it all. The French are trying to drive the Chinese into war. They are trying to steal Chinese territory and it is natural that the Chinese should resist. The city is full of rumors and the people somewhat disturbed. They are very excitable, but easily controlled. December 27th. — My station class has suddenly grown to nine. I could easily bring it up to a dozen. May God con- tinually shower His blessings upon you. With love to the children, Your son, W. S. Ament. In the division of the work in Peking after the return of Dr. Blodget the care of the South Church with its large Sunday congregation of pupils in the schools and the church-members, with the oversight of the preaching chapel on the front street, reverted naturally to Dr. Blod- get. The care of the North Chapel and the daily street preaching there fell again to Mr. Ament' s charge, as well as the country touring work. Dr. Blodget made only oc- casional tours, but loved to keep in touch with the Chinese by daily visits to the preaching chapel in the afternoon, as well as with the deacons and others who could come to the morning prayer service, and a Bible study directly thereafter. The helper, Jung, kept at his daily work in the chapel, and was a learner still in Bible study, although so solidly grounded in the tenets of his faith. Mr. Ament refers less in his letters, as we find them, to his own daily work at the North Chapel, to LIFE IN PEKING 81 which he was devoted, and in which he was advancing to that fine command of the Chinese speech which was to distinguish his later ministry. The new year of work, therefore, opens, as hitherto, with an account of a coun- try tour. Pekingy March 4, 1884. Dr. Holbrook, Miss Strong of the Presbyterian Mission, Mrs. Ament and myself have just returned from a tour of eighteen days' duration to Cho Chou and Liang Hsiang. I can give only a general statement of the many interesting incidents and ex- periences of our journey. More than a dozen years ago the work was opened in Cho Chou but no foothold was secured in the city and the citizens steadily held aloof from the foreigners. Last fall our visit was more graciously received by the people, perhaps owing to the fact that the women could be reached and the homes visited. On the present occasion the arrival of four foreigners, one a physician, caused a ferment among all classes. A police official tried to persuade the inn proprietor to turn us into the street. The Christian family and inquirers in the same compound with them were ordered to vacate the place. The son of the highest officer in the city with a long train of underlings called upon us making many rude re- marks. Notwithstanding the opposition the ladies were in- vited into the homes of many respectable families, and the doctor's work grew beyond her ability to care for it. A widow from the leading family of the city came for medicine, and listened gladly to the truth. Before she went away she poured out her sorrows and trials to the ladies and wept on hearing the tidings of great joy to all the distressed. On reaching home she sent a servant with a request for books. One old gentle- man who years ago had seen our books waited more than half a day to see the foreign preacher and converse on Christian truth. He gave us a cordial invitation to visit him in his home. These are only specimens of the work that came to us daily. Historically Cho Chou is a very interesting city. Marco Polo mentions the immense stone bridge outside the city, the balustrades of which contain no less than six hundred stone pillars as well as numerous lions and elephants. "The coun- try is rich in grain," says Marco Polo, " the people are idol- 82 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT aters, they live by merchandise and the arts, making cloth of gold as well as of silk and beautiful linen." In contrast to this beautiful picture is the present condition of the people. Dur- ing the past year the Emperor has distributed grain and money five times to the starving. The manufacture of silk and linen has long since ceased and the only relic of former opulence re- mains in the fine shops for the sale of women's head ornaments. Just outside of the city walls there is a temple, which reaches back in its history, it is said, to the Shang dynasty, 1766 b. c. It is situated on an artificial knoll a few tens of feet in height which doubtless is made up of the debris of ancient temples. A tablet in good preservation says the present edifice was erected during the reign of the Golden Tartars in the twelfth century. Cho Chou enjoys the distinction of being the only city in the empire whose mandarins are exempt by imperial decree from the duty of entertaining and escorting travelling officials en route for the regions beyond. The great roads from nine provinces unite here thus making the place, as the Emperor Chien Lung said, without its like beneath the sun. The great road from this place to the capital, though filled with lines of carts, camels, donkeys, and travellers of all de- scriptions, including Thibetan and Mongol pilgrims, is almost never repaired and if you are not drowned in the mud you are certain to be suffocated with the dust. From Cho Chou we went to the village of Pu An (** Stable Peace ") in the district of Liang Hsiang about thirty miles from Peking. As on previous visits, we lodged in the village temple which the Taoist priest kindly opened for us. From our first arrival the doctor was thronged with patients from villages far and near. In two or three days her medicines were exhausted as well as her strength, and by her exertions we be- came acquainted with many respectable people. A residence of a few days in this retired village gave us some little insight into the home life of the people, and we were more than ever impressed with the wretched condition of the women. Infan- ticide is more prevalent than a casual observer would suppose. We found here a new invention for the destruction of infant girls. It is simply for the mother-in-law to take a willow dust- pan and fan the little creature till life is extinct. The doctor found one young mother weeping over the murder of her little girl which the mother-in-law had allowed to live two weeks be- LIFE IN PEKING 83 fore smothering. The poor girl was sick and weak, yet she was pushed about, kicked like a dog and scoffed at when she wept. A husband is helpless in such a case. The only retri- bution feared by the mother-in-law is that the young wife will commit suicide, when her family may come en masse and tear down the house of her oppressors. They manage to keep if possible inside the limit of the persecution which drives to sui- cide, but they make her life more miserable than you can con- ceive. The women respond quickly to sympathy from their foreign sisters and are far more cordial than the men. We reached home February 28th. This tour was peculiarly encouraging in many respects. All classes were reached. It was the apostolic method, on the one hand healing the sick and on the other proclaiming the glad tidings of salvation. These country tours with Mrs. Ament were full of mutual enjoyment. An effort was made to touch the country life at all points. To accomplish this every variety of transportation was employed and every means used to interest and help the people. Helpers were spurred on to sell books at the fairs and villages, schools were started, or if organized, special examinations held and the prizes of pretty pictures often in colors, from the waste of the Sunday-schools in America, were given. The receiving and making of calls and visits, alike from the Christians and their friends, or even strangers were sources of influence. The receptions often lasted till a late hour of the night, thus cementing many a friendship and adding others. Medicines such as a layman could give easily and wisely jWere always carried and were ever in great demand. Peking^ May 27, 1884.. From Mrs. Ament to a Friend : Mr. Ament has been away to mission meeting and only just returned. While he was away I thought I would begin to answer you. Our annual meetings used to be held here in our own courts, but for three years it has been held at Tung-chow, 84 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT twelve miles southeast, as there are more ample accommoda- tions there. Last year we went with our darling baby Philip and he was baptized on the first Sabbath. The pleasures of the week were so entwined about him that I felt I could not go this year. All would come up too vividly. To-day I have been to a Chinese wedding. One of the girls of the Bridgman school was married to the son of one of our helpers, himself a student helper. The bride came in, her head covered with a red embroidered satin covering, so as to conceal her head and shoulders. An old woman, a friend of the family and a young woman, also a church-member, led the poor blind- folded creature to her doom. Her friends all live down in the country, too far away to afford the expense of the journey, so she, poor girl, was left to the attentions of strangers. The groom stood near but not next her, the old woman separating them. He made the responses in an audible tone but the poor girl's courage failed her, and Dr. Blodget who officiated had to take it for granted that she was willing. The doors being closed after her exit from the chapel, that no one but the woman leading her should see her enter the sedan chair, she was led to it. The chair is scarlet with gilded hangings and four bearers. On her arrival at her future home she will remove the veil, be seated on the kang, and after a little descend to knock her head on the ground to the new parents, after which she is to play the agreeable to the friends. We were all invited over to a feast this evening in honor of the occasion. The presence of a single lady would be thought most out of place — that is an unmarried lady — and foreign ladies are never much desired. No people in the world can fear ridicule more than the Chinese. It is pitiful to see what lengths they will go in order to avoid it. It makes us enjoy and appreciate our own freedom of action. Many who are interested in the doctrine and are ready to come to us are not ready to invite us to their homes. At present I have a Bible woman who goes from house to house, reads, tells Bible stories, and explains the doctrine to whoever will listen. This is work that I would gladly do, but from which we are debarred. I teach this woman an hour each day and plan the day's work for her and I think she is doing good and reaching some who would otherwise be inaccessible. This is a dusty day and the wind comes in gusts, and the sky is that peculiar yellow that we sometimes see before a thunder- LIFE IN PEKING 85 storm. We have these dust winds on an average once a week from November to July when the rains come. When it is not blowing dust, the air is pleasant and mild. The thermometer went once this winter to fourteen degrees, but generally it is about the freezing point. Persons suffering from rheumatism or lung trouble generally find this climate favorable. But nervous diseases are aggravated. On the whole the climate is rather more trying than that in the northern states of the United States, especially to little children. The sun has a peculiar effect upon the foreign skull. The Chinese skin and skull being considerably thickened, probably from ages of exposure, as few protect their heads except when it rains. They have a tradition that raindrops produce lice, so they most carefully protect their heads from such evil influences as the rain from heaven. At present many of our mission are here. My share is eight. To-day I had a children's party and there were a baker's dozen around the supper table. They had a merry time. It is a pleasure to see a company of well-trained children together and the missionary circle contains a good many such. W. S. Ament io Dr. Clark : Your favor of July 26th was duly received. I thank you for the promptness and favorable decision that you gave to my request. The permission to return home gave me almost a greater throb of pain than making my request did. No one re- grets more than I the necessity which compels me to leave the mission field. Never was the work more hopeful in Peking, never was the mission more harmonious. On Sabbath next I hope to baptize several men. Sixteen persons are waiting to be baptized in our country stations. The Peking church has quite a membership but it is widely scattered. In two places only can we gather a congregation of twenty baptized persons. In one of these places they have elected a head man as a sort of pastor, and we look to him to care for the services on the Sab- bath. He is not paid by the mission. The people are glad to make this modest beginning towards founding an independent church. The next step is to get the people interested in build- ing a proper chapel for their services. A mistake will be made if our few scattered, drowned-out Christians are compared with those in Japan. There the middle classes have been reached ; not so in China. It is seldom that 86 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT our people can get two harvests in a year. If they are not dried up in the spring they are almost sure to be drowned out in the autumn. Thirteen rivers flow into the Pei-Ho at or above Tientsin. This one river is too small to carry off the vast volume of water coming down after heavy rains and as a con- sequence the plain of Northern Chihli is annually flooded more or less. In view of these facts some missionaries think that the subject of self-support should not be brought prominently for- ward until the circumstances of our Christians improve or we reach a more well-to-do class of people. However, at our last annual meeting this subject was vigorously discussed and I think much good will result from it. But after all our theoriz- ing on this subject the fact is patent that if all the worldly pos- sessions of all our Christians were put into the contribution box the sum would be ridiculously small. On August 24th a little daughter was born to Mrs. Ament while at the Western Hills. She is called after my mother, Emily Hammond. On reading the minutes of the annual meeting of the Shansi Mission you will see that I have been invited to visit them and confer on mission matters. While reluctant to spend any por- tion of my last few months away from my field, it seems best after consultation with my colleagues that I should go. I will also act as the escort to the new arrivals for Shansi. Peking, Dec. 31, 1884. W. S. Ament to Dr. Judson Smith, Secretary of the American Board : My congratulations are rather tardy in reaching you but they are none the less real. Your first letter reached the mis- sion while I was absent on my visit to Shansi, and I have not yet had the pleasure of perusing it. I can wish nothing better for you than that the happy relations and mutual confidence existing between your predecessor and this mission may con- tinue under your administration. I can testify to the deep re- gard missionaries have for the honored men in the home office who care for our interests so ably and faithfully. Our work is gradually getting onto a better footing in the way of developing a native agency and bringing the converts to feel and know that there is work for them to do. Self-support is a difficult principle to advocate among the poor Chinese. The ground of success seems to me to be, as Dr. Clark in his LIFE IN PEKING 8T paper suggests, to begin from the very start and instruct the people in right principles and not let them off because of their poverty. Progress will be slow, as our constituency is scattered and self-support implies a goodly number in one place. On the other hand I think the mission in Shansi has gone to the other extreme of no paid agency at all. Already they are em- ploying their personal servants as assistants while on their tours. They will find out as their work opens that a missionary's strength is limited and that helpers are necessary to do pre- liminary work. The plain upon which Tai Ku is situated is just recovering from the effects of the famine seven years ago. The friends in Tai Ku gave me a warm welcome. I found the three families living on three different premises. On Mr. Stimson's premises there is a large room easily turned into a street chapel. This we opened for several days and seldom failed of attentive lis- teners. Mr. Stimson and I took a short tour into the country selling a few books and preaching by the way. Everywhere we were well treated by the people and attention was given our words. I was only sorry that my time was so limited that I could stay no longer and do no more. For life is the mirror of king and slave, 'Tis just what you are and do; Then give the world the best you have And the best will come back to you. — Madeleine Bridges, VI A PASTORATE IN AMERICA ME. AND MES. AMENT with their daughter, Emily Hammond, left Peking in March, 1885. They had now been nearly eight years in the mission work and were practically veterans in the service, easily carrying many forms of mission work and remark- ably well adapted to meet the varying vicissitudes of mission life. They had endeared themselves to the native Christians in no ordinary way and their departure for home was greatly regretted, although there was pleasure in the thought of the rest they would have, and the de- light of the mother and other friends in their return. The returning missionaries were received with eager interest in the Owosso home. The opportunity for mak- ing missionary addresses was used to the full. Ere long it seemed wisest for ]\Ir. Ament to resign from the service of the Board. He was invited to take charge of the pulpit in Owosso, in the absence of a pastor. He thus entered upon pastoral work under most pleasing circumstances among friends and acquaintances who were rejoicing in having such a leader among them. A missionary during the period of his furlough in the United States in going from place to place, telling the story of life and service, is not infrequently surprised at the eagerness with which many listen to his accounts. While there is often prejudice against the work of mis- 88 A PASTORATE IN AMERICA 89 sions and little knowledge of its hardships or successes still the field of the world is interesting. The missionary- life partakes of a kind of statesmanship, that large share in the life of the world which brings to men a sense of wider interests and of international relationships. It may be these which lend attractiveness to the story of the well-equipped missionary. His reception among the churches is overflowingly warm hearted. If he is able to respond to this kindly feeling, his furlough will be full of joy to himself and of good to those hearing the record of his work. With such an opportunity for interesting an audience as Mr. Ament had attained, it is no surprise to find him more than ordinarily acceptable when he spoke upon his favorite theme of China. After no very long delay, therefore, when he had de- cided to seek a pastorate at home, he received and ac- cepted a call to the church at Medina, Ohio. Medina is one of the considerable towns in the Western Reserve, south of Cleveland. The population was at that time a little above two thousand. He speaks of the church as a *' country '' church, and yet it stands eighth in member- ship among the two hundred and fifty churches of Ohio. In benevolent gifts it stands either ninth or tenth. It had had a fine record in the ability of its former pastors. His immediate predecessor was the Rev. Dr. C. J. Ryder, since a secretary of the American Missionary Association. There are few letters to tell the story of this pastorate. His mother joined him here, fulfilling the long cherished desire for them to be together. Mr. Ament' s Christian enthusiasm found happy scope in the new field. His people became responsive to his missionary as well as other appeals. It is given to but few foreign mission- aries to enter so closely into the church life at home. The following letter begins the record : 90 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT Owossoy Mich., Oct. 24, 1883. My dear Miss Schirmer : I have accepted a call to Medina, Ohio, a country town with a church-membership of 250, twenty miles from Cleveland. They have a fine building and a good roomy parsonage. Why can you not come and spend the winter with us? If the town is too monotonous, you can drop into Cleveland, the finest town in the West. I have a horse and a carriage and we will take daily rides in the fresh air. I am delighted with my parish. My predecessor. Rev. C. J. Ryder, was called to Oswego and refused the call, thinking Medina the preferable place. There is only one regular service a day and two other meetings. Eternally yours, W. S. Ament. To A Friend : We are now a united family. My mother reached here last Saturday evening in good health and spirits. Our home is very comfortable and convenient. I keep a carriage to visit my parishioners, many of whom live in the country. Yesterday I had an audience of nearly five hundred people. To-morrow night I speak in Cleveland on ** China." Our health is good. We are working hard and the Master is helping us. Medina^ Ohio, Jan. 2S, 2886. To Dr. Smith : We are comfortably settled and hard at work. The people have given us a cordial reception and the prospects for the future are most encouraging. It is easy to criticize the progress of missions in China and pronounce them a failure but you never hear such criticism emanating from a live missionary. Progress in China is marked and encouraging, but it cannot be wholly represented in figures. It is seen in the general breakdown of idolatry in many places, the reception given to missionaries, and the general diffusion of useful information. I hope you may be coming around by way of Medina before long. The foreign missionary interest needs rousing. I hope to give a course of a dozen lectures on China. Our ladies' society is quite revived in interest as also the children's. I want to do much for the cause still near my heart. Let me know if I can be of any service, and I will perform it if I can. A PASTORATE IN AMERICA 91 Miss Mary A. Curtiss of Medina writes of an incident in Mr. Ament's new pastorate. "Early in February, 1886, a series of meetings for which Mr. Ament and others had been preparing was held in Medina under the direction of those well-known temperance workers, Francis and Edward Murphy. Into this work and that of the Gospel Temperance Union, organized during Mr. Murphy's stay in Medina, Mr. Ament threw himself with characteristic energy and enthusiasm. He was most earnest in seeking out those who were not hopeful. No home was too distant or too humble for him to find it, if so he might be of service to one who needed help. And his interest and sympathy were so genuine and so kindly manifested as to give him great power with those he was trying to reach. As one who knew him well in this work said, ' He could come right to the point and yet not in- sult anybody.' His interest in the work never seemed to abate. He started meetings in a section of the town where not many were in the habit of attending church, and kept them up. One intimately associated with him in this part of the work quotes him with grateful remembrance as saying in his hearty way, * There will be a meeting to- night and you will be there. I've got something to tell you and I know you will be there.' And he went. As a result of these meetings the last open saloon in Medina was closed and more than a thousand signatures were se- cured for what was known as the Murphy pledge." Among the interesting incidents of this home pastorate was a discussion with a company of outspoken infidels, who had secured much influence with the young men of the town. The discussions were held in the county court house. By wise and thoughtful discussion, and happy retort and reply to objections, the power of this opposing force was practically broken. One of the pleasant incidents of his work in Medina 92 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT was the securing of a young man to be the business agent and treasurer of our North China Mission. One of the real burdens in any mission is the business end. To Mr. Bostwick the mission is indebted for the discovery and selection of the now well-known watering place on the north coast a score of miles south of Shan-Hai-Kuan. Family circumstances compelled him to return home after an eight and a half years' service. He is well known as the diligent and successful manager of the great sanitarium at Clifton Springs. A little son, William Sheffield Ament, came to their home July 25, 1887. Medina, Ohio, Oct. 31, 1887. To Dr. Smith . We have received letters from China which have broken us entirely down. Not that we have needed any suggestions to make our interest in China real and living, but the present needs lay the burden upon us heavier than ever before. Three preaching missionaries have always been needed in Peking. By the return of Mr. Noble next spring and the transfer of the treasurer's office to Tientsin a house is left available and the desire of Dr. Blodget for a third preaching missionary can be realized. The question forces itself on us, ought we to return and take up our work ; is it right to do so under the circum- stances ? The situation has improved wonderfully in the last few months. My mother decided that she would reestablish her home in Michigan, so last month I returned with her and she is now comfortably settled in her own house. Two years of rest have given her quite a zest for work again. She is almost ready to say go, but what shall I say of our beloved parish which has a hold on our affections second only to China ? I have nearly a hundred spiritual children here. Should they be left ? Would so sudden a change in plan indicate fickleness on my part ? Is it fair to the people after a pastorate of only two years and a half to leave them when everything is on a most satisfactory basis ? Perhaps you can give us a little light on these matters. My heart yearns for China. It is no light thing to be swerved from a line of work chosen not for a day but for a life. Let me hear from you as soon as convenient. A PASTORATE IN AMERICA 93 Medina, Jan. 24, 1888. I have just returned from a very satisfactory visit with my mother. She takes the most cheerful view of the situation and is ready to abide by any decision we may make. We hope your plans will allow of a short call in Medina before long. It was a great pleasure to Mr. Anient that he could have his mother with him and that together they could share the happy burdens of a household with the children of his sister among them. It would appear however that Madam Ament, who was in her seventieth year, could not easily accustom herself to being away from her old friends and acquaintances. She was therefore restless and some- what lonely at Medina, since her son was so busily oc- cupied with the parish cares. It was her desire to return to her old home in Michigan. On the other hand one who has had a share in the work on foreign fields ever feels the drawing again towards the work. Such a feel- ing Mr. Ament could not resist and at this juncture there came some new and special appeals for the North China work, increasing the old interest, and with a quickened enthusiasm the old work in China fell again to his lot. Medina, March 23, 1888. My dear Miss Schirmer : I want to tell you something of our plans. Such representations have come from China and from the secretaries in Boston that we have decided to return to China this fall. Of course we are very contented in Medina, but the call is very loud from across the sea. I hear you say: **How about mother?" Well, she says, "Go. It is your duty." Her niece will make a home for mother and by the sale of some land she is made financially comfortable. Mother is glad that she has a son willing to do such a work, and if the Lord calls, who shall hinder ? I know you will look at this in the right light and not look on me as an ingrate, for no man in the land loves his mother more than I do. 94 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT From Mrs. Ament : Dear Friend : — I think it was partly because mother felt convinced that this was not the field where William could do the most good that she decided to go back to Michigan. I think that when he came back from China she thought he could work as well in one place as another, but she came to see that China was the field for him and as soon as she saw that, like a true mother she really wished him to be where he could do the most for Christ and humanity. On visiting her last winter he found her so cheerful and happy in the thought of his going back that he came to the final decision. Medina, May g, 1888. Dear Miss Schirmer : My mother is with us now and was never more cheerful. Last Wednesday was her seventieth birthday and we had a company of old ladies to greet her. She enjoyed the tea party very much. The dear creature is a general favorite. All love her, for no one could help doing that. Do you not suppose that when God told me to go to China, He also prepared my mother for the work as well as myself? She counts it a privilege to have a son at the front. We break up here in about two weeks, and I leave for good in June. I do wish you could see Mary and the babies before we go. Painesville, Ohio, July p, 1888. To THE Same : Arrived at Painesville, Mary and the babies gave me a warm welcome, and in the family carriage we drove to her aunt's together. I do trust that you will remember that I ap- preciate your beautiful treatment of me while I was in New York. Such kindness was more than I deserve, and I shall never forget it and will try to enrich others by your example of unselfish kindness and generosity. Some day but not now I may have eloquence enough to tell you how much you have done to make the world brighter for me. What courage you give by your cheerful spirit and what hope by your kindness ! It is peculiarly fitting to place here a summary of his experiences at Medina, given as a part of the later memo- rial services, on his behalf by the present pastor of the A PASTORATE IN AMERICA 95 Medina cliurch, the Rev. J. Edward Kir bye, D.D., recently the president of Drury College, Missouri : " The influence of a truly great pastor is cumulative. Measured by this standard, the Rev. William S. Ament, D.D., was a great pastor as well as a great missionary. During his ministry here of three years many notable advances were made, and influences left are easily discernible in the life of the church to-day. There are three abiding impressions in the community as the result of his ministry. "The people remember distinctly his heroic aggressiveness. He was never afraid to undertake a task if it promised success. There was the spirit of venturesome faith and he sought to make the church the embodiment of this ideal. The people are fond of telling how the Standing Committee were reluctant about adopting certain measures which he proposed. After presenting the case as clearly as he could with its promised ad- vantages and seeing their reluctance, he arose from his chair and strode across the room remarking : ' I wish I had a walk- ing committee instead of a standing committee.' There was a buoyant enthusiasm in his endeavor which drew the people about him in ardent devotion. " The second abiding influence was his consecration to the work of the Master. He was not concerned with eloquent sermons but was trying to minister faith to the discouraged, and to rescue those who had lost their bearings in life. He was interested in the outcasts of the community. There was a drunkard who enlisted his full sympathies and help. This man professed conversion and joined the church, but only through the steady and persistent ministries of Mr. Ament was he kept until the last. "The third influence which he left among the people was an enthusiasm for missions. The needs and the opportunities of the heathen world pressed heavily upon his heart. He was the wise master builder in the church. He knew that if the children and the young people could be grounded in mission- ary zeal that it would be a cumulative force widening over the years. "Our church is a great missionary church to-day because Mr. Ament instructed the junior and senior Christian Endeavor Societies in the meaning of world-wide responsibility. He felt that it was a great battle to win the world for Christ. He 96 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT believed with all his heart and soul in the supreme necessity of the effort and the ultimate victory. The church in Medina loved him, and he in turn loved the church, but he believed with all his heart that he was divinely called to return to China. There was ease and comfort here, there was duty in China. «< The little road said go, The little house said stay, And, oh, it is bonny here at home. But I must go away.' " That was the spirit in which he went out from the Old First Church, Medina, to his work in China." Be strong. We are not here to play, to dream, to drift. We have hard work to do, and loads to lift. Shun not the struggle ; face it. 'Tis God's gift. — Babcock. VII THE RENEWAL OF LIFE IN CHINA THE plan to return to China involved questions which had a large bearing upon the coming home life in Peking. There were the two small children who needed alike constant care and teach- ing as they should grow. There was the large women's work in Peking for which Mrs. Ament was fully equipped and which she desired to aid in every possible way. There was also the problem of Mrs. Ament' s aunt, Miss A. M. Wyett, who had now resigned her position at Oberlin. It was a happy thought which came unwit- tingly at first that Miss Wyett accompany them to Peking, share in their home and aid Mrs. Ament in the care of the children that she might give the more time to the Chinese. It was a part of the plan that Miss Wyett should, if she so desired, use her remarkable skill in colors and drawing in giving lessons. Mrs. Ament felt espe- cially desirous of having her aunt in her home, since in the early days of their motherless condition. Miss Wyett had given her nieces most faithful and loving care. It would be a suitable return for such thoughtful care, if their Peking home could be hers also. San Francisco y Aug. jo, 1888. To Dr. Smith : In a few hours we set sail for China. Our party is now complete ; all in good health and spirits. En route from Port- land we narrowly escaped plunging through a burning trestle work but were mercifully preserved. Our last word is one of 97 98 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT good cheer and high hope for the glory of God in a heathen land. Mrs. Anient is out or she would unite in warm regards to Mrs. Smith and yourself. Miss Wyett also sends greetings. Peking, Oct. j8, 1888. I am glad to announce our safe arrival in Peking. Never was hospitality more appreciated than was the warm, cordial greetings and good cheer of the Tung-chow friends. But we could not tarry long in this delightful resting place and hurried on to Peking, meeting a group of native brethren some distance out of the city who had come in the dust storm to give us a welcome home. Never did the great, roaring, busy city seem more attractive even in its filth. If possible the dust seemed deeper, and the smells more malodorous than years ago. However, it was home to us. Our welcome from the station has been more than we could expect. The work seems to be in a healthful condition. Dr. Blodget is working as he always has done up to the limit of his strength, and Mr. Aiken is exercising a happy spiritual in- fluence over the native Christians. I am glad to see some new faces in the group of native Christians at our midweek prayer- meeting. The opportunity for work, as usual, is very great. The front chapel does not lack for listeners and the number of intelligent hearers is increasing. Fekingy Oct 2g, 1888. To Miss Schirmer : We have been in Peking just two weeks and if ever peo- ple have worked, we are the ones. We are now settled in our comfortable home. The children are well and their fat rosy cheeks are the delight of the Chinese and the foreigners. Such color and fullness are not often found within the walls of this filthy city. Miss Wyett endured the journey very well, except the last stage in a native boat. We have given her two rooms and she is very comfortable. We find some improvements in China. A railroad runs from the ocean to Tientsin and is pro- jected as far as Peking. Rumors of great things are in the air. Curio buyers from Europe and America have just left Peking with tens of thousands of dollars' worth of beautiful things. I am to be proposed as a member of the^North China Branch of THE RENEWAL OF LIFE IN CHINA 99 the Royal Asiatic Society on the strength of an article on "Chinese Currency" which I have only in manuscript. December 8, 1888. To Dr. Smith : Mr. Aiken and I have just returned from a tour to our country regions connected with this station. We left Peking November 4th, ourselves in a cart drawn by two mules and Helper Hung following on a donkey purchased for the occasion but sold on our return so that his travelling expenses were greatly reduced thereby. Mr. Aiken has adopted the native costume, barring the queue, for country work, while I still wear the foreign dress and remain a genuine specimen of the foreign devil. We took our first meal at a large market town called Huang Tsun, thirty li from the city. The following day we reached the market town of Nan Meng. We have only one convert in this vicinity, a young man who has been in the church only one year. He was of great assistance in selling books at the fair and told his story with great simplicity and some power. For two evenings we held meetings at the inn. On the second evening, eight men gave in their names as seekers after truth. Among these eight were two literary gentlemen, one of considerable repute as a teacher, who sent three of his brightest pupils to visit us and learn for themselves of the religion which he was ready to rec- ommend. Pai Mu Chiao or Cedar Bridge was our next objective point. This place with several neighboring villages has been the scene of gospel labors for many years and a goodly number of con- verts greets the missionary. For thirteen years previous to 1887 this region had been visited by annual floods and their crops destroyed or seed not sown at all. For two years Providence has smiled favorably upon them ; their fortunes have revived and they have good crops, comfortable homes, and seem to ap- preciate the fact that they are under some obligation for all these blessings. It would seem that with forty adult members any church ought to be able to go ahead and build its own chapel and do something to support its own pastor, but they have been reluctant to make a move. However now they enter upon the plan of having their own place of worship with some enthusiasm. The central village most convenient for all the members has no room upon the village knoll, and no one has 100 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT space for sale. All these villages are built upon raised ground firmly packed to the height of four to six feet to protect them from the floods which visit them so often. The only thing to do was to look for premises in the next best village, but we found that the place best located is for sale at a price quite beyond their means. However the project is not to be dropped yet. They have been in a cold spiritual condition and some of the brethren had fallen into bad practices. One of these was suspended for a year. It seemed like a punishment, perhaps deserved for past delinquencies, that before we left he got into difficulty in a neighboring village and was seized and thrown into prison on a charge of criminal assault. Though resolved that we should undertake to do nothing for any open violator of the law, we visited him in prison, saw the iron chain about his neck and hanging down to his feet and observed his generally pitiable condition. He was dressed in the thinnest garments, suitable for warm weather only, and had eaten nothing for two days. His pride was not yet broken and he excused himself for his misdeeds in several very lame efforts. His friends suc- ceeded in seeing him after some four days and reported that he had received no food or water in all that time, and his tongue was so swollen that he could hardly speak. Dante's inferno is a feeble representation of the horrors of a Chinese prison, reek- ing with filth and the victims chained in the most uncomfortable attitudes and not fed or watered, unless their friends come for- ward with a very liberal sum of money, which in most cases they are utterly unable to do. Only in the last extremity when life is almost extinct are the prisoners given food and water enough to keep soul and body together. Our poor brother is caught in the meshes of a Chinese lawsuit, and he may be thankful if he escapes with his life. This is an object lesson which we trust the little church will diligently consider and be warned thereby. In most newly opened places the little church has to pass through certain incipient forms of persecution before the work is fairly estabhshed. If a temple is to be repaired or built or a theatre is held in the village in honor of some god every citi- zen is called upon to contribute according to his tax list. By treaty provision our Christians are free from this tax. The vil- lage head men often ignore this clause of the treaty or are ignorant of it and browbeat the church-members until sometimes they THE KENEWAL OF LIFE IN CHINA 101 pay the tax to escape the petty persecution. In this village the head man was willing to leave the matter in abeyance till the foreign pastor came and gave the ultimate decision. When we arrived there was great curiosity on the part of many to hear the discussion and our reasons for refusing to assist in the sup- port of a theatre company which was doing so much to enter- tain the people and which came at the request of the most respectable families in the place. It gave us a good opportunity to explain our principles to the very people we were most anxious to reach and at the same time vindicate our Christians in the position they took which the uninstructed attributed to nothing more than penuriousness. It was a great pleasure to be able to make a short visit to Pao Ting Fu where my first three years in mission work were spent. Here also were indications of growth and improve- ment. New faces were seen shining with a new light, and new voices were heard in prayer and praise. The new premises in the south suburb are already occupied by Dr. Merritt and Mr. Winchester and their families who are established in their large, airy, sunny rooms with ample space outside, free from malaria, for air and exercise. The future of this station now seems secured and people can live here if they can live anywhere. We hastened on to Cho Chou, a name familiar to you from letters written about the work there by different ones for the last seventeen years. While in Cho Chou we were favored with a good view of the lineal descendant of Confucius in the seventieth generation. He is a young man about twenty years of age and has just been to Peking to celebrate his marriage. As he is the first subject in the empire, outranking all princes and nobles except those of royal blood, he travels with great display, wholly, of course, at imperial expense. He, his mother, and his bride were carried in blue sedan chairs with eight bearers, each preceded by a company of soldiers and an officer who carried the Emperor's passport strapped carefully to his back, so arranged that the royal yellow silk document was visible to all. An immense train of horsemen and carts followed in the rear. Nothing could exceed the perfect respect and reverence with which this ** holy man" with the blood of the great Confucius, " The Perfect One," flowing in his veins, is regarded by all classes of the peo- ple. Though the streets were lined with people, hardly a word was spoken or a motion made as the procession went past. 102 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT This boy has a nation at his feet. Notwithstanding his ancestry and the high honors paid him, the boy is a degraded opium-smoker and his kindred, I am told, are in a state of great decay. But as an advertisement of Confucianism he is a great success. Princes struggle for a glance at him or a word with him and all classes count it an honor to have him pass through their borders. It would take hardier and more substantial virtues than Confucianism can create to endure the weakening influence of seventy generations of mental and physical inac- tivity. Pao Ting Fuy Aug. ig, i88g. Dear Dr. Smith : You will no doubt be interested in a brief account of the first Congregational ordination in China. Place : Pao Ting Fu. Time : August i8, i88g. At our last annual meeting it was decided to proceed as early as convenient to the ordination of six young men, three of whom were connected with Tung-chow, two with Peking and one with Pao Ting Fu. Early in the summer letters missive from the church in Pao Ting Fu were sent to the various churches of our order, desiring their presence by pastor and delegate. The council met on Saturday, Mr. Sheffield as chairman, and unanimously recommended the young man, Meng Ch'ang Ch'un, for ordination. Being laid aside by an attack of sickness he could not pass the ordeal of a public ex- amination. But the native brethren gladly testified to Meng's qualifications for the office of pastor. His theological in- structor, Mr. Sheffield, could speak as to his doctrinal sound- ness. Perhaps no man ever had fewer enemies or more gen- erally commended himself to all by his self-control and wisdom in speech and action. His father you will recall as the first convert in Pao Ting Fu and the pillar in the church for years. Young Meng is thoroughly Christian in all his ideas and sympathizes with all that is good and helpful in church life. It is an auspicious day in North China when such a man is set aside to the gospel ministry. THE RENEWAL OF LIFE IN CHINA 103 On Sabbath morning the chapel was filled to overflowing, many country members coming in to witness the first ordina- tion. The exercises opened with an explanation of the occasion by Mr. Pierson. Following this prayer was offered by Mr. Orr Ewing of the China Inland Mission who was providentially present. The sermon was preached by Mr. Sheffield from I Timothy iv. 12, presenting Christ as the model Pastor and exhorting the candidate to imitate Him. The charge to the candidate was given by Mr, Ament, followed by the ordaining prayer offered by Mr. Stanley. The young man was only able to be present by reclining on a long chair supported by pillows. Mr. Aiken tendered the right hand of fellowship. A very in- teresting incident was the singing of a hymn composed by Brother Kung, a young theological student from Tung-chow. It was beautiful in thought and expression and well adapted to the occasion. Peking, Nov. 20, i88g. To Miss SCHIRMER : Miss Wyett does not improve in the climate of China. She has been in poor health all summer and autumn, but is now beginning to move about a litde. The wonder is that a person so frail can do anything at all. She paints on Chinese silk representations of the flowers of China, making very beau- tiful pictures. My blessed little children are a great comfort to us. I only repeat the testimony of others when I say that Emily is one of the most beautiful and attractive children that one usually meets. Her golden hair hangs in ringlets over her rosy blond face. Always smiling — when not crying — she sheds sweetness and cheerfulness everywhere. Though not yet six, she is invited to many places in the city with girls older than herself. She is the only foreign child I know that does not lose her rosy cheeks in coming to this pestilential city. As to our work, that is prosperous. I took a little empty shop in a distant part of the city and now we have full congregations and are about to organize a church. Mary has an industrial class for the women and tries to teach them while they sew. She has little money for women's work and is trying to sell their work to help their wages, which is seven cents a day for women. Four men arose in our little prayer-meeting to-day and said their minds were made up to try and live Christian lives. 104: WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT Peking, Feb. 8, i8go. To Dr. Smith : Your letter of December 20th arrived in Peking while I was absent on a tour in the country. On my return I haste to reply. After we left the hills last September and my little son and myself had fully recovered from our long illnesses, I settled down to work with all my strength, hoping to make up lost time and keep my record of work full. As you will recall one year ago last January the work of this station was divided into three parts, the North Chapel and the accompanying work in Cho Chou and Liang Hsiang being assigned to me. Though beginning with only a few schoolboys we have now a delightful audience of forty or more, every man, woman, and child of whom I know by more than ordinary acquaintance. Before the close of the Chinese old year we had a series of meetings lasting a month or more with good results. Owing to the increase of robberies and murders of late, the Emperor had issued an edict closing all gambling and opium establish- ments. Of course the places will all open again after the new year, but as for two or three months they were out of employ- ment, they flocked to our chapel as a good warm lounging place. I encouraged them to come and sometimes we had from forty to sixty men, keepers or frequenters of gambling and opium dens. You will be pleased to hear that most of the preaching at our North Chapel is done by men who receive no compensation from the mission but do this as a glad contribu- tion to the work. Two of the three men who help in that work are Manchus and receive monthly stipends from the government and are nominal soldiers, though doubtless they never fired off a gun. The idea of trying to do something for themselves is quite popular with our North Chapel people. I shall propose soon that they pay for the chapel fuel, also help in the support of the day-school. Already they have bought their own hymn-books, responsive readings, communion service (such as it is), have helped an afflicted brother and done other small things. I am very busy just now preparing (or trying to) a few lec- tures for the Tung -chow students on practical methods of Christian work. Peking, April 21, j8go. In Peking it is only fair to mention that there are special difficulties in the line of church development. The chief THE EENEWAL OF LIFE IN CHINA 105 hindrance is the shifting character of the population. Our best members may have their homes a hundred miles away and may return at any time. We are making special efforts to draw in the Manchus who have their homes right about us. As a rule here our congregations are smaller than our member- ship. The members are scattered all over North China. In May, 1890, the second missionary conference for China was held at Shanghai, as the first one in 1877 had been. It is recorded that in 1865 there were two thou- sand baptized Protestant communicants. This number had increased in 1877 to thirteen thousand. It had ad- vanced to thirty-seven thousand in this year of the con- ference. The coming together of so many workers from every part of China made a deep impression. By their ability, their harmony, their high purpose and far-reaching plans they won a place for mission work among the commercial and diplomatic people hitherto unattained. One effect was a change in the attitude of the local press towards the missionary propaganda. Another ex- cellent result was the widening of the field of correspond- ence published in the Shanghai papers. Since this change the best information regarding all Chinese affairs has been from the missionaries distributed over the em- pire. Mr. Ament shared in the regular and special cor- respondence from Peking. Aside from the fine spirit of harmony in mutual efforts the chief results of the conference were the organization of an education association, and the appointing of com- mittees to overlook the revising of the sacred Scriptures in the Chinese language. Our North China Mission was well represented in each of the three boards of revisers, and has had a marked influence in molding the standards of the new versions. 106 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT January lO, i8gi. To Secretary Smith : The death of the father of the Emperor, the seventh prince (seventh son of the old Emperor Tao Kuang who made such a noble effort to put down the opium traffic), leaves an aching void among men of progressive spirit in China. His mind was open to new ideas and he was meditating marked changes and had already advised the young Emperor to grant the audience question. Our station has had a year of prosperous work. The South Chapel reports thirty-eight baptisms (including thirteen school- girls) and my North Chapel records thirty baptisms, being a net gain of twenty-eight adults. But in my country field the outlook is still more encouraging. At Cho Chou after years of effort we have now succeeded in securing satisfactory prem- ises in a good location. March 3, i8gi, I am exceedingly happy to be able to state definitely that in both city and country the whole aspect of affairs has changed. The clouds which seemed so dark and lowering, prophetic of a tornado, have only dropped refreshment in parched places and the harvest has come with almost the rapidity of a miracle. After I dismissed my station class, I started for a tour to Pu An Tun where the young helper Jen Hsueh Hai is, and Cho Chou ; in the former place to arrange for the continuance of the little school, and in the latter to complete the purchase of our premises. The Spirit of the living God was there before me, to my glad surprise. The station class men had returned home only to go to work like heroes to convert their fellow townsmen, and the helper and his wife (one of Miss Chapin's girls) had risen to their opportunity and a revival was at its flood tide when I reached there. By day and by night the rooms of the preacher's house had been full of men and women, studying as well as listening to gospel truth. Their home was a busy hive of Christian industry. The best of it was that the people had come by families so that often father, mother, and children would be studying the same lesson in the catechism and trying to be mutually helpful. The people said that for ten years they had been in a state of dread of the foreigners, hearing so many rumors of kidnapping children, etc., but that of late they had no fears at all, but on the con- ^40- Ssu ^^,ng,Jing 116° 30' PEKI Shun Yi -40 ^•^ Fang ^T ung Pa 3^^^ iiu Kou Chia<^ ;LiangHsian| Pu An Tun ' .# Cho Chou Ping Ting Pa Chouj, Nan Meng 'TungChou v\^ O^ ^aTXS An Chou Pa( Pao Ting Jb u \t^^ 'Jen Chiu. Ho Chien Fu )F an Chia Chuan g Wen An OUT STATIONS OF PEKING CHURCH 116 '30' THE EENEWAL OF LIFE IN CHINA 107 trary a great desire to learn the great truths which seemed the mainspring of their action. There seemed to be genuine hunger for spiritual truth. They never were weary of the meetings. In the few days it was my pleasure to be with them they seemed to grow every minute of the time. Most of them made a good start in committing to memory the Apostles' Creed, Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. They felt a loyalty to the church which is a rare feature among many of our native brethren. They took upon themselves the duty of looking after the weak ones. On my return from Cho Chou, by the aid of the helper and two or three church- members, thirty-eight persons were picked out as presenting evidences of conversion and a fair comprehension of the Gospel. As to the North Chapel in Peking, we are now fully cut loose from the South Church and have set up housekeeping for our- selves with a membership of over one hundred, including both city and country. Our chapel is open both afternoon and evening and the audiences are large and attentive. The brethren are recovering from their state of lethargy and of their own accord have invited one of their number to be a regular helper in the chapel. They pledged his support, though of course they will expect, as they will need, generous aid from the foreigners. Pekmg, May 2j, i8gi. You will have heard ere this of our annual meeting. We had an unusually pleasant time, though the attendance was small. It seems to me that our natives need just such meetings to teach them how to do business in a Congregational way, also to bring them into touch sympathetically with the for- eigners and to brighten them up generally for their work. The tremendous inertia of Chinese heathenism drags on our helpers as on ourselves. Our seven stations are almost seven missions y each one making its own demands and needs promi- nent at our meeting, Peking, July 8, i8gi. My dear Mother : Yesterday I returned from my long summer trip to Cho Chou and the country in general. This morning the rain is gently falling, which would have made the roads impassable had I waited another day. I received your letter of April 26th, 108 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT and it did me worlds of good, being so full of courage and cheer. On returning I found letters from Edith and Anna, giving the sad news of the death of Father Penfield. In Cho Chou the people of a certain village, where I had distributed famine relief, made me a present of a fine tablet to be hung over the door of the chapel. This was so much of an honor that people from long distances came to see it and offer their congratulations. It will do a good deal to keep us on friendly footing with the people. In the south the missions are having great trouble with the gentry and dis- affected folk of all classes, and the work is in great danger, but here the people seem most friendly and it is rare to hear a word of disrespect. Mary is improving in health in Kalgan and I trust will be a new woman when she comes down. Her father's death will be a great shock to her, but she is a woman of courage and will bear it like a Christian. Peking^ Oct. 22^ i8gi. To Medina Friends : Dear Mrs. Darnley and Brother John : — Your letter just came in as we were returning from our annual meeting at Tientsin and we are making arrangements for our annual flit from this pestilential city. I took Mrs. Ament and the chil- dren to Kalgan, our station on the Great Wall, five days' hard travel to the northwest of Peking. There they are on a high plateau, with pure air free from city smells and miasms. Bostwick and I returned to our posts, he at Tientsin. Medina may well be proud of such a fine fellow as Harry Bostwick, an expert business man and staunch Christian. Our mail coming is quite an event. I had a letter from my mother re- porting her in the best of health. I found a good list of sub- scribers for a new magazine that I edit. Of course I do not allow literary work to interfere in any serious manner with my evangelical work, which I consider my chief duty and my greatest joy. Last evening was my first evening meeting in my little chapel. A very fair audience assembled and remained to the close. The evening preachers are men who freely give of their time and strength for this glorious work. My chapel is now open every day and evening and perhaps four different men preach during the day. I can see as never before the THE KENEWAL OF LIFE IN CHINA 109 immense reach and scope of God's great scheme of redemption. It touches human society in every part and dignifies and ennobles life. It includes everything of interest or value to man. A remarkable proclamation has just been issued by the Emperor, in which he calls upon the mandarins to protect all preachers, as we are engaged in a work that benefits the people and does no harm to the state. In the southern part of the empire the Christians have been seriously persecuted, one mis- sionary murdered, houses and chapels burned and vile placards put up all over the country. Here, in the north, in the very centre of influence, everything is quiet and a cordial greeting given to the preacher. Willie is now quite a boy, roystering about the compound, making a racket with a drum or flageolet, climbing the walls in imminent danger of his neck, begging to ride my mule, tormenting his sister, now working with kindergarten materials, learning to read, wanting to ask the blessing at the table, to shave with my razor. Daily we see the growth of conscience and an appreciation of what is good and best. Emily is de- veloping rapidly, writes and reads nicely. Poor children, they have no companions and it is only occasionally they can romp with other children distant a mile or two away. Cordially yours, in the Master's service and the discipline of the Gospel, W. S. Ament. Peking^ Dec. 17, i8gi. To Secretary Smith : It is some time since I have seized the opportunity to write to you. I have been rather waiting to see what would be the upshot of recent political agitations, and to know whether or not we would all be invited to move to the sea- board. Our new little paper. The North China News, meets with a cordial reception. It keeps me rather busy, but the preparation of the paper is a respite from other labors which are more try- ing. I should be most dissatisfied if it interfered with my work as a preaching missionary, than which there is no more compensating and delightsome work under the sun. 110 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT Report of Mission Depositary for i8go-i8gi : We believe the grand desideratum in our literature to be the tract, which will do for Chinese readers what some tracts have done for English readers. Such a tract cannot be trans- lated, it must come fresh and warm from some heart which feels the need it endeavors to supply. The Chinaman will read to the finish a sheet tract, while the book, though even of a few pages, will be laid aside. The land should be sown broadcast with these sheets which contain the great essentials of our faith. The North China Tract Society at its spring meeting^ 1891, decided to begin a monthly paper for the benefit of the Mandarin speaking people of the churches. All Chinese literature tends towards the concise and classical style of composition. The scholars and others look down upon the simple and colloquial. The Christian Church could not exist upon such a basis. The Gospel must be preached and read in familiar and common forms. A real Bible in the language of the people must be the aim of translators. Thanks to this aim the common people of China have a Bible which they can read, understand and inwardly digest. Happily the best of Kuan Hua, the idiomatic colloquial of three-fourths of China, is il- lustrated in a few widely known books and in the finest of literary products. The American Board Press had for twenty years issued literature for Christian readers, aside from the Old and :N"ew Testaments, in tracts, stories, hymn-books, in a steady stream. The time had come for an advance and the Church News was the result, with Mr. Ament as editor. The little paper was made in shapely folio form, printed on heavy white Chinese paper, the printing be- ing on both sides of the sheet, an invention of Mr. Hunt, quite unique at the time. Mr. Ament had a very able Chinese writer for his teacher and assistant. He was THE RENEWAL OF LIFE IN CHINA 111 very fortunate in his selection of Chinese scholars. One of these went from Pu An Tun to Germany, recommended by Mr. Ament to the legation. He remains there now as teacher of Chinese in the Berlin University. Another, Chang Hsi Hsin, became Dr. Goodrich's very able assist- ant in translating the Scriptures. The monthly labor upon the Church News became of very deep interest to Mr. Ament. The general make-up was his, such as translation of foreign telegrams, a survey of passing political events, the editing of the news from the churches, and selection of articles sent in. The re- sum6 of the imperial edicts could be left to the scribe. Most of the articles were in simple Mandarin, others in easy classical, if such there be. The pleasure of this service to the churches was found in its increasingly use- ful character. Yet he assures his correspondents that it was a byplay not interfering with daily preaching or ex- tended tours. This editorial work continued until his furlough in 1897 and was resumed on his return the following year. Peking, Sept. 21, 1892. To THE Medina Junior Endeavor Society : My dear Young FrIends : — I am greatly delighted to hear of the prosperity of your society and trust it will meet with even greater success in the future. I suppose I am safe in taking for granted that most of the members are not those with whom I used to have such pleasant meetings. Many of those now are doubtless stalwart young men and beautiful young women, active members and loyal supporters of the regular Endeavor Society. I suppose you all know the meaning of the word ** endeavor." It means, *' on duty." The true endeavorer is always on duty, ready to do whatever comes to his hand " for Christ and His Church." You will be much surprised to learn that though I have tried to be a good endeavorer, still I do not live within a thou- ' sand miles of any endeavor society that I |cnow of. It is a 112 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT melancholy fact. I shall have to confess that the greatest Christian movement of modern times is not represented in Peking or North China. There is a reason for this. Thirty years ago there was not a Protestant Christian in this great city of Peking. There may be as many as six hundred now, but they are scattered over a large area. Most of them are very poor and have to live from hand to mouth, so they never have any time for anything outside the usual duties. On Sab- bath they will usually come for the morning service, after that we may not see them again till the next Sunday. If one of our Christians works for a heathen master, he has only to men- tion keeping the Sabbath, or attendance on any of our meetings, in order to lose his place at once. A few years in the heathen land would make you think Me- dina a perfect Paradise. I know that people are not all as good as they ought to be but still it is heaven as compared with Peking. But it is not all dark, even here. As I sit writing there is a young Chinese in my house playing on a baby organ and the sweet notes of *' What a friend we have in Jesus " come wafted to my ears, telling me that Jesus is working even here. This young man was once a '* street rat," as wild and wicked as he could be. His father was a miserable besotted opium-smoker, just ready to drop into the grave. He gave me this boy and I have now supported him more than ten years. He has fallen into many sins, been dismissed from our church, but has held on, and has been held on to, until now he has graduated from our mission college, and in a few days begins to study for the Christian ministry, one of the most hopeful young men in the mission. He has a conscience, feels the weight of his sins, and fights for victory like a hero. But such boys are rare and we cannot get enough of them together in one place to form a Christian Endeavor Society. We have Christians who come to church from homes where they are reviled for so doing. All it needs is time, patience, and the spirit of God to make these Chinese Christians as good as any you will find in the world. I hope you will pray for them and study about them so that you may know what a great work we are engaged in, and also thank God every day that you were born in a Christian land. My little Emily comes in just now and begs me to go with her to the Greek church service, which is held Saturday after- noon at four. It seems a strange hour and the service is still THE RENEAVAL OF LIFE IN CHINA 113 stranger. I do not suppose any one present understands the words which are intoned. They burn incense in a swinging lamp, and you can hardly see across the room; bow down to thirty pictures and images, kiss the Bible which they never read, and which is kept locked with a clasp on the lids, make genuflections, wear many and queer garments and withal are quite as interesting as a theatre. It makes one feel bad to see such splendid opportunities as these wasted. The Russian priests are under the protection of the government and the Emperor of China, but they make scarce any effort to spread abroad the knowledge of the truth. The Greek church has been in Peking over two hundred years and I do not suppose they have over two hundred followers now. Well, the world will be different when you and other mem- bers of the junior societies have grown up and have gone out to make the world better and richer for your Christian efforts. May the Lord bless and keep you all. Your society lies very near my heart, and when I was obliged to leave you and come away to China, I received a wrench from which I have never recovered. You know that your church is the only one which the Lord ever permitted me to minister to in a Christian land, and you are the only children I was allowed to love through service and sacrifice. Hence I am drawn to you with an un- divided affection and I trust you will never give me reason to believe or know that my labor at Medina was in vain. Keep close to Jesus in undying loyalty. Be true to your pastor and the church and you will always rejoice in the Christian life. Remember that foreign missions are the great work of the Church. You are to convert the world. I am continually starting little Sabbath-schools, churches, and helping boys and young men in getting an education. If you care to do any- thing for the boys and girls here send your contribution direct to me, and I will see that it is well expended. Good-bye and God bless you all, every one. Your friend in China, W. S. Ament. Peking, Oct. i8, i8q2. To Dr. Smith : My North Chapel has just been put in repair so it looks fit for human habitation. In spite of all that we can do it leaks badly every summer, necessitating complete repairing and 114 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT whitewashing. Being rented, we are in the hands of the land- lord and cannot make extensive alterations. The floor is three feet below the level of the street and is always black with moisture. For twenty years the room has had water standing in it every summer, till the last two years when the break-water had been built. Three fires in the winter seem to have no more effect in reducing the damp exhalations from the floors than though they were not. In the rear the rooms for the helper are no better. Certainly in the United States it would not be considered safe to stable a horse in such a place. On Sabbath days, holding meetings with the women, Mrs. Ament is often obliged to get up and go out in order to breathe. Such rooms are also all I have in which to house my station class this winter. This without exaggeration is the condition of the place we call the North Chapel and in which I am supposed to be able to build up a church. Notwithstanding all this our success has been such as to warrant me in lifting up my voice and claiming better quarters. It is absolutely hopeless to ex- pect that our few native Christians, all poor, will be able to help in this matter. The most that we can expect is that they will largely assist in the running expenses. The days at the old North Church were golden days, despite the chill of the dark rooms in the rear. There women could creep in by a side door and receive instruc- tion from Mrs. Ament herself, a wearying yet satisfying work leading to the great end, the rescue of men and women from their ignorance and sorrow. The long walks to and fro, the surly neighbors and the weariness were forgotten in the joy of touching some lives that could be rescued and brought into the kingdom of light. When Emily grew to girlhood, it was a happy trio working to- gether. Emily with the little girls, and Mr. Ament with the men, each pointing some eager heart to the way of truth and life. The home on the hilltop at the Western Hills in summer was a delight to them all. Emily and Willie would spy their father riding the white pony from the steaming city to the restful hillsides for a day or two with oc THE RENEWAL OF LIFE IN CHINA 115 them. How glad the welcome ! Far away they could see the Yak tail waving and the helmeted figure sitting so erect drawing nearer and nearer until the glad moment was reached when the father dismounting, both the children were put in his place on the saddle and so rode proudly to the door of the little cottage on the steep hill, while the carter would bring up the rear with bags of needed supplies and no doubt the longed for home mail, always so welcome. " Of such is the kingdom of heaven " : No glory that ever was shed, From the crowning star of the seven That crowned the north world's head, No word that ever was spoken Of human or godlike tongue, Gave ever such godlike token Since human harps were strung. — Swinburne. We have known sorrow — haply know it still ; Let us give reverent thanks that there is One Whose strength unfailing and whose loving will We all may lean upon ! — Scollard. VIII OUT OF THE DEPTHS Fekingf March 2, i8gj. To Medina Friends : To-day I sit down to write you with a heavy heart and eyes weary with weeping. The dread destroyer has entered our home, and our dear and only daughter has gone to her long, long home. Her long battle with diphtheria ended at 9:30 o'clock, February 27th. It seems hardly possible that this strong, hearty and laughing girl is no more on earth. The pestilence is abroad in this dirty city, and loving a shin- ing mark, it struck down our beloved one. Great grace has been given us to bear up under this terrible blow though it seemed to me for a while as though I could not breathe ; but light is dawning and God never seemed more near or more gracious than at the present time. Kind friends have minis- tered to our comfort. The funeral was one of the most largely attended in Peking, and lovely flowers now cover Emily's sleeping place. But she is not there in the cold ground ; she is basking in the light of the Saviour's presence. She is better there. Some of the friends in Medina will remember the little laughing maiden who loved all and was loved of all. Medina was the only place in the United States which she remembered, and often she mentioned it in her prayers. She was not yet nine years old, but being large and strong was often taken to be much older. She was also quite mature and already had her class of little Chinese girls in Sunday-school. 116 OUT OF THE DEPTHS 117 Her Chinese friends offered many prayers for her recovery and now weep bitter tears at her departure. One foreign friend who knew of her love for the little girls comes forward and offers to give one hundred dollars towards founding a memorial school to continue the work she had begun. What pleasure this gives us and I trust the enterprise will not fail for lack of support. May it be true of her '*she being dead yet speaketh." Dear child ; she was an unspeakable comfort to her mother, entering sympathetically into all her plans for the Chinese and being a great support because of her unfailing good cheer and happiness. But now all this energy and strength can be put to the divinest service with the Master at hand. What advantage she will have that she could not have on this earth ! Such a life may end physically but not in its moral influence and personality. I find myself trying to reproduce it by increased activity and great love in my lines of work. Little Willie, five years old, is still left to us, but he is not robust and in this malarial and pestilential atmosphere the odds seem to be against him in the struggle for life. But he belongs to God and we resign him to His Fatherly protection, and rest in that. He says he is so lonesome. A kind friend gave him to-day two white rabbits much to the joy of his heart. Our work is progressing as well as could be expected. Heathenism presses down with awful weight and no human power can move it. But God can and He is. The spreading of the Gospel is bringing forth fruits apparent to all, none more apparent than the increasing disposition of the Chinese to con- tribute for the support of the church. Our mission college has just received quite a fine sum of money, and now we can put up appropriate buildings and proceed to have a large and flourishing school. Two hundred Christian Swedes are en route for North China to engage in mission work. China must be converted and we must all do our share. Keep the missionary spirit warm in your endeavor society, for that is the secret of sure growth, to pray and work for the world as Christ did. Yours in Christian sympathy, W. S. Ament. Peking y March 21, i8gj. My very dear Miss Schirmer : Your long and lovely letter was like water to a thirsty soul and gives me a sense of fullness which I have not experi- 118 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT enced for many a day. The news of the dear old friends revived all the sweet memories of long ago when we had such unselfish association in the great city. I have here not formed such relations. All persons here are busy with their appointed tasks, representing different missionary societies, and with dif- ferent methods of work. Most of them are young, able people, and there is very little you can do for them, and you know as well as I that there is no genuine love between people where there is no sacrifice on the one side or the other. The Chinese are much dearer to me than all the foreigners put together, for the very reason perhaps that I invest my heart in them. And now I can wait no longer to tell you of the great grief that has come into our lives and from which Mary and I are slowly recovering, if that is ever possible. Diphtheria has been raging in the city. Our children had always been so well and strong that we had almost ceased to be anxious about them. On Sunday, February 19th, our dear little Emily complained of feeling feverish and of pain in her throat. Smallpox was also in the city and we called a doctor and had her examined that even- ing. But on Wednesday, on looking into her throat, the doctor saw white spots which made him anxious, and on Thursday he pronounced it diphtheria. Emily was isolated at once and Mary and Miss Russell took their places at her bedside, and worked like heroes that they are for the dear life that was so precious to us and her many friends. Gangrene developed. Our hopes gradually sank. Oh, how we prayed for the dear child ! She was as patient as an angel. The doctor said she was the sweet- est little patient he ever saw. Emily called him *' My little doctor." Everything was done that medical science could sug- gest. You know what a horribly insidious disease it is. Her heart was involved and began to beat irregularly. I was ordered out of the room, but I hung around the door and would rush in occasionally and wave a kiss to my loved child. She would smile in return. On Sunday, the 26th, we called a consultation of physicians, but all that Dr. P , of the Lon- don Mission, would say was, ''That is a very bad looking throat." That Sunday night I spent upon the floor of my study pray- ing God to have mercy on us. The doctor ordered me up, saying I would take cold, but I could not sit up, and did not care what happened to me. The Chinese prayed for us in great numbers, holding little prayer-meetings by themselves in dif- ferent places without our knowledge. Mary told the dear child OUT OF THE DEPTHS 119 that probably she would not recover. She looked up and said, " Do you think I am going to die ? " She said she was willing to die — her throat had ceased to pain her by this time — for then she would see little brother Philip, long since in heaven, and Grandpa Penfield. But she was not quite sure that it would not be better to go to America and see Grandma Ament and little Cousin Claribel. She ceased to talk, closed her eyes, turned on her side and at 9 : 30 a. m. Monday, February 27th, went to the God who had loaned her to us for eight happy years. Our cup of happiness had been full to overflowing in our two bright, happy children. Especially she was the picture of beauty and abounding health ; all little ailments were shaken off in a moment and she seemed impervious to the malaria of the city. But the pestilence that flieth m the air seized the dear throat with an invincible grip and even her strength did not avail. She was buried on Tuesday in the little foreign ceme- tery where now three little mounds contain all the earthly re- mains of our three children. One is left, little Willie, nearly six years old ; not as vigorous as his sister, nor as much given to study. But he is a rosy, happy little fellow, and will help to lighten our lives if only a good Father will spare him to us. What my dear mother will do on hearing of the death of her little namesake I do not know. I pray God she may have the strength to pass through the ordeal and still grow firmer by the trial. Mother still lives at Ovvosso, in good health and com- fort, trusting God and waiting for the kingdom. She has promised to live till I return. Miss Wyett was nearly crushed by the loss of dear Emily, and could hardly reconcile herself to the fact. Gladly would she have given her life to have saved that of the beloved child. Miss Wyett was deeply loved by the children and had a beautiful influence over them. Her own health is quite frail, but she has a charming spirit of patience and resignation and is fully prepared for all that may happen. Dear Mary holds out bravely and is full of courage and good deeds. Emily had hardly gone before Miss Russell, our colleague from Chicago and a friend of Mr, Moody, proposed that we should establish a school for Chinese children in memory of dear Emily who had tried to help these dear girls in her child- like way. Miss Russell backed up her proposition with a gift of one hundred dollars. We propose to found this school and 120 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT to perpetuate it if it be a possible thing. Already we had be- gun to negotiate for the purchase of a little place. I have sent you two copies of a little Chinese magazine 1 edit, containing a short account of Emily written by a Chinese Bible woman in our employ, Ah Nai Nai. Emily was accustomed on Sundays to teach Bible verses to little girls who came to the chapel, and this woman's little girl, about Emily's age, volunteers to carry on the work in her stead. From the '^Mission Day Spring,'' June, iSgj, ** A Little Missionary in China.'' Mv DEAR Young Friends: You may hke to listen while I tell you something of my dear little niece whom I have known so well and who has now gone to the better land. Her name was Emily Hammond Ament, and her home was in the great city of Peking, in China. The first two months of her life were spent in an old temple at the Western Hills, and before she was a year old she went with her papa and mama to America where she found many dear relatives and friends to love. When she was just four years her papa was able to re- turn to his much loved work as a missionary in China. Here everything was strange — the people, the street scenes and the language; but a little child soon feels at home anywhere, and it was not long before Emily was gaily chatting with her kind old nurse who took care of her little brother. She found many little friends near her own age among the children of the mis- sionaries and the foreign residents at Peking, and her gay sunny temperament, her abounding life and vigor, made her enter into all childish sports with great delight. As she grew older she was interested in history, poetry and art. Anything that was read or related to her she was never tired of hearing. But our Emily was a very human child and her strong will and determination to carry out any plan she had formed made giving up a difficult task. She was intense in her likes and dis- likes, but more and more she was learning self-control. Especially during the last six months of her life it had become her fixed purpose to do nothing that would grieve Jesus. Her love for her dear ones was constantly overflowing in loving words and caresses. Those who have been guests in our home will long remember Emily's warm greeting, for nothing gave her more joy than to welcome friends. The arrival of a tired, OUT OF THE DEPTHS 121 travel-worn missionary family was to her the most delightful of events, and if she was permitted to do anything for their com- fort her happiness was complete. One other event filled her with equal joy, and that was the coming of the home mail. She was one of the first to know of the courier's arrival, and soon would be heard the merry shout, " Home mail " ; and she would dance into the room with curls flying, eyes sparkling and her sweet mouth wreathed in smiles. When there were letters for her she was still more delighted, and not only did she love to receive letters, but she loved also to write to her friends. More than one children's missionary band will recall the letters she sent them ; and after her death a letter was found that she had finished just before she was taken ill, addressed to some children whom she hoped would form a band. The first two summers after Emily returned to China were spent in the old temple at the hills called Chang An Ssu. In the pretty hill country she enjoyed long walks and donkey rides and an occasional excursion to a neighboring temple. Her third summer was spent in Kalgan, the most northerly station in the mission. The long journeys made in mule litters furnished many and strange sights. The long trains of pack- mules carrying tea to Russia, and mules and donkeys laden with rugs and skins winding over the steep mountain roads, and the Great Wall with its curious gateways and towers, the wild scenery of the mountain pass, a day at the Ming Tombs, all proved of interest to her, as to us all. Her last summer was spent at our new resting place at the hills called Ssu Wang Ting, a breezy hilltop. There, with ample room within the mission grounds, she enjoyed long rambles with her little brother, while breathing the fresh air. But wherever she was Emily never lost sight of the fact that her parents were missionaries and that on all sides were poor heathen Chinese who needed to be told a Saviour's love. Im- mediately on her arrival in China, impressed by the degrada- tion of the people as she saw them, she voluntarily offered prayer that God would help us to teach them and to do them good. Often on meeting Chinese women for the first time she would ask them if they loved Jesus. One of the servants who had been instructed in the Christian doctrine, but who was not a church-member, was going to spend the Nevv Year with his heathen relatives. Just before he left Emily said to him 122 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT very impressively : *^ Be sure you do not set up a new kitchen god when you go home." More than a year ago she began learning texts of Scripture in Chinese that she might teach them to the little girls who went with their mothers to the North Chapel where her papa preached and her mama taught the women. It was touching to see how patiently she, who was not by nature a patient child, would repeat verses over and over till her small pupils had learned them, and very seldom was she absent from her post. February 19th was the last Sunday she met her class. She came home seemingly tired and complained of headache : but it was not till Thursday that the doctor pronounced her disease diphtheria. I cannot tell you of our anguish when we heard this dreadful word, or how earnestly we prayed that her precious life might be spared to us. She had always been so well and strong, it seemed hardly possible that she could die ; but in spite of all that tender love and care could do, on Monday, February 27th, she passed from earth to heaven. A day or two before, her mama told her that she was very ill and might not live. She seemed surprised, and said: "Why, do you think I am going to die?" She was answered: "Yes, dear, I think so; would you not love to go to heaven and be with Jesus?" Without hesitation she said, "Yes." She had been taught to think of heaven as a beautiful home where a little brother and other dear ones had gone and it only seemed a choice between that home and this. We had not realized until her death how widely she had been loved : every one seemed to feel a personal loss. One friend wrote, " I have never known the death of a child to be so intensely felt by an entire community." The American minister in Peking wrote a touching note to her papa, in which he said : " For the first time in many years I have wept." He ordered the legation flag to be placed at half mast in token of the general sorrow. The lovely camellias, jasmine, heliotrope, geraniums, narcissus, white lilacs, lilies and Japanese palms that were laid upon her grave would all have given her great pleasure. She was eight years and a half old. We had thought that a long and useful life was before her ; but God knew best. A plan has been formed of establishing near the North Chapel, in Peking, a day-school for little Chinese girls to be named for Emily. It is fondly hoped that it may be the means of saving from heathenism many who may be trained to OUT OF THE DEPTHS 123 become useful Christian women. Thus her memory may be perpetuated, and thus she may speak to us in changed hearts and consecrated lives. Miss A. M. Wyett. Pekingy March ij, i8gs- May, i8gj. Report of the Peking Station, i8q2 (written by Dr, Blodget) : Our little Emily, whose sweet smiles and joyous sports threw a light on every face in the compound has been taken from us. Suddenly she sank down under the force of a violent disease (diphtheria) and notwithstanding the most skillful med- ical aid and most constant care she passed away on the 27th day of February, 1893. Already her budding efforts were joined to those of her mother for the women and children of China. "Oh, Miss Russell," she exclaimed, **ifwe could only know what to say to make them believe." Sixty li to the east of Peking a new chapel has been opened in the city of Shun I. For a reasonable sum a place, formerly a medicine shop, has been secured. From the first. Sabbath services have been kept up by volunteers from the North Church, their expenses being from the general contribu- tions. Eight different men have thus given their services. The average attendance at services has been over twenty. The opening of this place has been something of an experiment, going on the principle if a place does not open, break it open. There was only one family of Christians in the district an(l none in the city. To make the beginning still more difficult, two book-sellers got into unnecessary disturbance on the street, and one of them boldly went to the yamen for redress, behaving in a most insolent manner to the mandarin. Certain enemies seized this occasion of confusion to write and post up anony- mous placards denouncing the landlord and foreigners together. The landlord, a Manchu, felt the insult and wished to retract his lease, unless his face was saved by official interference. The magistrate on being interviewed, proved to be most con- ciliatory and at his own suggestion a strong proclamation was issued and four deputy marshals appointed whose duty it was to arrest all writers of anonymous placards and prevent any trouble at the chapel. On the following day the magistrate and retinue called at the chapel upon the foreign pastor, re- ceived as a present, though desiring to pay for it, a collection of books, which, as we learned afterwards, he read with great 124 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT care. Nothing can be warmer than our welcome to this little city where we trust and pray the Lord's hidden ones may speedily come to light, Mr. Ament has had the editorial charge of a Chinese monthly newspaper, The North China News, which is printed at the mission press. A very considerable portion of the mat- ter is prepared by himself. The circulation now numbers five hundred and fifty, and is mostly among Christians and those interested in Christianity. The monthly visits of this paper are all the more valuable inasmuch as to most it constitutes the only outlook upon the Christian world in what is constantly doing and suffering therein. Peking, May 25, i8gj. To Secretary Smith ; We have just closed one of the most profitable and har- monious annual meetings ever held by our mission. The number present was larger than in previous years and the gen- eral spirit was one of great good cheer and hopefulness. The reports all indicated marked progress and all are eagerly look- ing forward to a wide and distinct enlargement of evangelistic work. Tung-chow College (now called the North China Col- lege) received a large share of attention as it deserves, and its new location and hoped-for buildings filled us all with pride. Would that the needed funds might flow in for this great en- terprise. The little memorial school flourishes. Sir Robert Hart sent us $100 and other friends gave differing sums so that we have a good nucleus towards purchasing premises for the school. Work for women has taken a great impulse therefrom and the numbers of women more than fill our cramped quarters in the old chapel. Peking, June JO, i8gj. To THE Same : It is a long time since I have written you any special particulars of our work. This has been through no lack of de- sire on my part but because of a constant rush of work which seems to accumulate in my study. What with being treasurer of the station, postmaster for Kalgan, Tung-chow and Peking (including the Presbyterian Mission), in charge of the book room for the mission, also of the Bible bookstore on the great street, editor of our magazine, the care of three churches, etc.. OUT OF THE DEPTHS 125 etc., you may imagine that the secularities which enter into my work are almost enough for the strength of one man, not to say enough to drown out his spiritual life and degrade him to a mere managing animal. But I thank God that strength has been granted so that my office of evangelist has not been wholly neglected and there are fruits of my ministry which are more precious to me than rubies. It grows upon me that the need of China is the living, warm-hearted preacher who will meet men face to face and tell them the gospel story rather than the litterateur or brilliant scholar. Western Hills, China, Aug. 2g, i8gj. Mrs. Ament to Mrs. Darnley : I was much interested in all the news you wrote and could almost fancy myself in Medina again. Thursday being Emily's birthday we went to the cemetery, Mr. Ament, Willie and I, with a friend, and covered the grave with sprays of ivy like that which grows on the Medina church. We had brought wild flowers, also, from the hillside, bluebells and a kind of purple spike that grows freely there. These we strewed all about. Miss Russell met us, bringing from our home in the city verbenas and other flowers. We read the beautiful words of Whittier in the *' Manual of Praise," the Resurrection chapter from Corinthians, and were comforted by the thought of Christ's resurrection and His promises of union through all eternity. The sky had begun to cloud over, so we gave up returning to the+iills the same day. The cemetery is an hour and a half from our compound and four to six hours from the hills according to the speed of the bearers. We found our court covered with green things, the vines and shrubs all having grown so rank since the rains. The next morning we got into our cart and rode to the Fifth Street School. Here are gathered some of the children whom Emily was interested in and who with others living near us are the nucleus of the memorial school we hope to have. The little court we rented and fitted up with needful furniture and paper, has suffered much through the last seven days' rain, and the floor is still damp. The school meets in a large wooden shelter that is raised up by bricks to escape the dampness of the kang. We would buy a place that has better advantages, since we cannot afford repairs on such a place and the land- lord is likely to do but little. Oh, the wild joys of living How good is man's life, the mere living, — how fit to employ All the heart and the soul and the senses forever in joy, — Browning. IX THE EXPANSION OF SERVICE THE summer of 1894 found many of the Peking missionaries in their summer retreat in the Western Hills. Three of the missions had se- cured permanent places, as they thought, and had erected hill houses, some miles from the Buddhist temples hith- erto rented. Our mission found such a resting spot on a high hill crest, overlooking the Hun Eiver towards the south, and wiih a fine mountain view northward up the valley of the stream. From the healthful vantage-ground of this re- treat Mr. Ament writes to Miss Schirmer. Western Hills j Aug. 4, i8g4. Startling news comes to-day. War has actually been de- clared between China and Japan and hostilities have begun. It may be best for them to fight out their grudges. If there were not a Providence overruling the foolishness of men this world would certainly seem a bedlam. I wish you could look out with me on the lights and shadows playing on our beautiful hills. The different shades of green on the fields of the plain below, the hamlets with their clumps of trees, the threshing floors, all make a picture worth going far to see. We have a beautiful view from our hill crest, pure air, good water and fine mountain scenery. Our little peak has five cottages. The Hun River runs along the base of our hill. In the distance we can see the Lu Kou bridge, very famous in Chinese history, and just beyond the Liang Hsiang pagoda cel- ebrated in history and song. Across the valley from us are Buddhist temples;. fuU^ of priests. To the east the road to Pe- king lies like a silver ribbon, and the yellow palaces of the Em- peror loom up in the dim distance. You ask about my long continuance in China. Dr. Blodget, my colleague, is about retiring after forty years of faithful serv- 126 THE EXPANSION OF SERVICE 127 ice. I am greatly needed to keep our growing work in order, to train helpers and lead in the work. For the sake of my dear old mother I should love to return. She is brave and says, " Stay out your time." To the secretaries he writes : Augusf 7, i8g4. AVar is raging. We are promised protection by the city government. Rumors of the advance of the Japanese on Peking create ferment in all minds. The British minister has ordered all English women and children to leave the city. I am glad to say that not one of our board missionaries counsels a retreat. We all hope to remain unless it becomes manifestly rash to do so. In October he writes to his mother : We are having troublous times, but we are so far safe and have little fear. Mary and Miss Russell are cool and fearless and say, '' Stay by all means." From the bottom of my heart I anticipate no trouble for us. There is rumor that peace may soon be brought about. The Japanese want a little glory at the expense of the lazy old empire. Our Chinese are a little fearful for us, but now is the time for us to illustrate the virtues we continually preach to them. Do not be anxious about us. December 4th. — The boy whom we have supported as a student for so many years, Wen Hsien, died ten days since, of tuberculosis. He would have graduated from the theological seminary next spring. God takes away our helpers, perhaps that we may rely more on Him. The autumn of the year had brought great changes to the station. Dr. and Mrs. Blodget, after eleven years of service, returned to the United States. Dr. Blodget had completed forty years in China, thirty of which had been spent at Peking. He had left a great record of work ac- complished. In leaving he felt assured that the precious charge would be in capable and efficient hands. Mr. Ament had been associated with him for fourteen years. 128 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT A new band of recruits were joining the station. Mr. John Mateer was to superintend the press. Mr. Charles Ewing and wife with Miss Hinman were assigned to the station. Thus supported, Mr. Ament took full charge of the preaching of the station, Sunday preaching at the South Church, and care of the boys' school. He was to mag- nify his office in effective service. Peki7igy ChinUf Dec. ly, i8g4. Dear Dr. Smith : Dr. and Mrs. Blodget's return to the United States throws a great burden of work on my shoulders. The two regular preaching services have to be provided for, daily preaching kept up, country stations looked after and helpers instructed and directed, besides all the temporalities of a station hke Peking. I thought I had been busy before in my life, but nothing has equalled the rush of the past two months. Mr. and Mrs. Mateer are comfortably settled. The press has started on a new career since their arrival, and turns off work in a way that bewilders the Chinamen. Already eight new men have been added to the force in the office, and orders are in hand enough to keep them busy for months to come. We have been greatly entertained by the announcements in the home papers of the massacre in Peking, also that all for- eigners had been ordered out of the city. The British minister, from his safe retreat at Chefoo, ordered all English ladies to leave the city, and they obeyed his mandate with much reluc- tance, as they were liable to arrest if they refused. But the American minister has no such authority, and would not have used it if he had, as he said the missionaries were better in- formed about the people than he was, and, being people of sense, could leave the city or not as they chose. We have been very quiet, almost monotonously so, except when the pa- pers arrived and told us what dangers we were in. Our work has gone as usual. The city authorities have been exceedingly anxious to see that we were not disturbed in our work and have posted up two or three strong proclamations which have allayed the minds of the people. Even the Em- peror has seen fit to notice the missionaries and has issued two rescripts, enjoining the officials throughout the empire to give THE EXPANSION OF SERVICE 129 complete protection to all the missionaries. During the celebra- tion of the Empress's birthday there were many officials and their retainers in the city from distant provinces and for fear of trouble the mayor placed thirty soldiers to guard our chapel and premises. The sergeant in charge of these became inter- ested in the truth and now signifies his purpose to be a Chris- tian. He is a man of fine physique and presence, untainted with opium, and as good a specimen of the Manchu banner- man as you could find in the city. Only yesterday there came another order from the Emperor, directing the mayor to see that men of higher rank than the ordinary bannermen should be set to guard our premises. No pains are spared, or have been spared, to grant us perfect protec- tion. They realize that they have their hands more than full with the Japanese and they do not wish to irritate any other foreigners. The people are so overawed by these multiplied indications of care for us on the part of the authorities that they hardly lift their eyes to a foreigner as he goes along the street for fear they will be immediately decapitated. Person- ally, I should prefer that we were left to ourselves as I have full confidence that the people have meditated no ill to us but, on the contrary, our presence here has done much to quiet them and help them trust that things were not as bad as repre- sented. The work of past years has not been in vain. We have many warm friends among the people, who from the first have assured us of our safety as they themselves were our body-guards. March 14, iSgS- My dear Mother : I am too busy and too happy to write much. Revival meetings are in progress with splendid success. The Lord is helping me wonderfully to preach to the people. Gamblers and harlots are coming in and our chapel is full. We have no outside help and the work is going on grandly. Snow is on the ground and the weather is against us but the meetings will be kept up. The Lord is trying our faith and staying powers. We hope to hold on and out. I feel strong and hopeful for the battle as the Lord is with us. All is peaceful here. It looks as though the war had spent its course. However, we are pre- pared for all that comes. The Kalgan people have come down to us, frightened out by the rumors. God bless and keep you. 130 AYILLIAM SCOTT AMENT The following letter to Madam Ament from Miss Wyett illustrates her fine personality as well as gives her view of the situation in Peking. Peking^ March 24^ i8g5. My dear Mrs. Ament: I fear that my letter will be a little too late for your birthday, but perhaps it may not be long after the 3d of May. Let me wish you many happy returns of this seventy-seventh birthday. You are so well and active that you make me think of my father, who, when he was your age, used to delight in working in his garden, and on Sunday morning when he had not that exercise would walk four miles before breakfast just for the pleasure of it. He lived five months past his eighty-sixth birthday, and never had any organic disease. He was such a dear loving father that it seemed very hard to live without him, but he longed for his heavenly home, although he was always so cheerful and happy here. I wish you could know how quiet and comfortable we keep here. It has not yet seemed duty to leave Peking, and you know that Dr. Blodget's return to America threw all the evangelistic work on William. It has been a great help and comfort to the Christians to have the missionaries stay quietly by at their posts and will do much to strengthen their faith. When one is on the field it is possible to feel a much deeper interest in the work which leads to more earnest prayer for its success. Mr. Pethick, who acts as interpreter to Li Hung Chang, and who went with him on his recent peace mission to Japan, just before leaving called on Mr. Stanley, of our mission at Tientsin. He said that although he was not a praying man himself, he believed in prayer and wished to ask that the missionaries would unite in prayer for the success of their expedition and for peace. Mr. Stanley sent word to us and to Tung-chow, and a day was accordingly set apart. But the general feeling among us seems to be that we cannot pray unconditionally for peace, but rather that the greatest possible good to the country may come out of the war, and that all things may be overruled for the welfare of the nation. There is no doubt that the utter corruption of the officials in China has reached such a pass that the government may be con- iBidered as rotten. It may be that the time has come in the THE EXPANSION OF SERVICE 131 wisdom of God for its overthrow. It is most interesting to read of the readiness of the Japanese soldiers to receive the Bible and the Christian books, and not only that the officers place no hindrance in the way, but rather help on the work of distribution. Several of the legations here have marines from the gun- boats in the Tientsin harbor in their compounds. The American marines have not been sent up as yet. Colonel Denby does not care to have them unless there are indications of their being soon needed. I am always so interested in all that Mary can tell me about the little memorial school. She goes there once a week and is now giving them lessons in geography, quite a new and interesting study for them. Mary is full of expedients and illustrates the lessons in a way to make them understood. Willie has been very well all winter and is a great comfort to us all. He is a bright, intelligent boy, and it is a great pleasure to read to him. I have been quite an invalid all winter, and it has been a sore trial to be so useless. I often think, when we can do nothing else, what a mercy it is that we can lift our hearts to God in prayer, and who knows but that He prevents us from doing other things that we may do that more earnestly. Believe me, ever affectionately yours, Anna M. Wyett. Peking, March 23, i8gs. My dear Mother: This letter will reach you about the time of your birth- day. What a grand old age the Lord is permitting you to reach ! May you be spared these many years to comfort and bless us. Last evening we closed our series of meetings and a grand time we have had. I did not believe I ever should see such meetings in China, much less that I should be permitted to lead them. Over forty people have started in the Christian way and the whole church has been quickened with a new life. Among our new people are some very interesting cases, especially one old man, sixty-four, and his little son, only fourteen. The boy is one of our day scholars and has brought in his old father, not resting till he was gained. The mother tries to hinder but they both stand firm. The keeper of an 132 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT opium den next door to our chapel has resolved to close out his business as soon as his lease expires. Our police magis- trate is a friend and wants to leave off opium. It is glorious to see things move in this way. On Easter Day our new converts are to be baptized and a great day we will have of it. Peace is still doubtful. The demands of the Japanese are fearful and extravagant, six hundred millions of dollars and Formosa, Manchuria and Korea to be independent. Peking, May iif i8g^. To Dr. Smith : Our great need now is a body of trained native Chris- tians who are alive to the situation. We need a large constit- uency to give influence by mere force of numbers as well as moral force by their superior character. Evangelistic work must be pressed as never before. We need men who count it a privilege to sit down beside a coolie and teach him the catechism and who does not count it a drudgery to iterate and reiterate the elements of Christian truth in daily street-chapel work. There is nothing very romantic in all this to some, but it is a precious work to those who love these poor benighted ones as Christ loved them. The " National Church " will come here in time. Already in Peking the native Christians have started a fund which they hope, and so do I, will grow till they can build their own church and call their own pastor. This is going on quietly in no spirit of antagonism to the missionaries and there is the greatest harmony among the Chi- nese who belong to the various missions. In March our Christians wanted a series of meetings such as we had last year. I hardly felt equal to such an undertaking but the people were not to be put off. Trusting the promises of God, we launched out into day and evening meetings. The weather was most unpropitious. The roads were bad and nights dark. Rev. Gilbert Reid rendered kind and efficient aid by occasional preaching and regular attendance. The Lord gave me great liberty in preaching, and I never enjoyed such meetings more. The chapel was crowded daily in spite of the weather and converts were added every evening. Prayers were numerous and fervent, as many as ten or fifteen often praying at once. The testimonies were often very touch- ing. One boy of fourteen years brought in his old father sixty- four years old and together they prayed for the conversion of THE EXPANSION OF SERVICE 133 the wife and mother. Our neighbors came out in good numbers and people who had lived next door to us for years but whose faces we seldom saw now became friendly and regular attendants on our services. As an outcome of the meetings we have now a regular prayer-meeting on Thursday evenings in the chapel, principally to accommodate those who cannot attend our regular church meeting on Wednesday afternoons. This is by far our largest meeting during the week and is attended by people from both churches. On Easter Sabbath eighteen persons were received into the church and five infants were baptized. August 21^ i8gS' To THE Same : Cholera has been raging for the past month in the city. Though this pest is an annual visitor yet this year it is more violent than formerly. Thousands have died — many by the roadside, and the gateways have at times been almost blocked up by the numerous funerals trying to get out. The Chinese are helpless at such times, but their recourse to their idols has been less ardent this year than formerly. The coffin shops are entirely sold out, and the dead are merely wrapped in matting and carried out. January 8, 1896. — The men's Endeavor Society furnishes two preachers each Sunday to go out with Dr. Murdock to a village about five miles from the city gate. The men are voluntary preachers and put in a day of hard work with willing minds and hearts. The crowd at the fair numbers from one hundred to three hundred people and the preaching continues for about three hours. Out-stations are opening up near Peking and the work growing beyond the power of one or two men to manage. But I thank God that the natives are taking the matter in hand and are forging ahead in the matter of sowing the seed broad- cast. In our street chapel during the last four months the whole work nearly has been carried on by voluntary preachers, Manchu bannermen who have leisure and are willing to use it for the Lord. You have read rumors of the reform movement in Peking originating among the Hanlin scholars. Peking, Feb. 26, i8g6. My dear Mother : In the midst of our second great dust storm, the air full of dust as well as our eyes, ears, noses and houses, I am 134 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT writing a lecture on '' Undeveloped Forms of Mission Work," such as federation, unpaid native agency, orphanages. Mr. and Miss Bostwick will soon return to Medina. We are wonderfully well this winter and our work going on apace. I hope to start revival meetings next week. Mr. Hayner, of the Methodist Mission, is to help. Your affectionate son, W. S. Ament. Peking, April 6, i8g6. To Secretary Smith : The opportunities for work in North China are prac- tically unlimited. The people are much more friendly than before the war. The officials are ready to listen to our re- quest for proclamations or give direct protection from the roughs of the community. The government has reached the conclusion that it is better to observe treaties and respect their foreign guests than to antagonize and restrict. At least this seems the attitude in the north. Do not interpret this to mean that the empire has set out on a career of reform and that any changes are to be made for the better. It is with the officials simply a matter of selfish policy. Reform is not in the air though a few friends of the Chinese would seem to convey that impression in their writings. The government has not taken one step in advance since the war and is more hopelessly bound to the old regime than ever in view of her financial bondage to Russia. Nothing more shows the blindness of those in authority than the way they have thrown themselves into the hands of Russia and France. Diplomatically these two powers have carried the day in the East. The Chinese see the situation and say there is no hope. The so-called reform club is now safely domiciled under the roof of the Tsung Li Yamen and will be a victim of the cus- toms which prevail in other departments of Chinese official life. Which means that its usefulness will be reduced to noth- ing, only so far as somebody can make money out of it. Peking, June 13, i8g6. To THE Same : The most successful annual meeting I ever attended closed on June 2d. A beautiful spirit of brotherly love was prevalent and business moved on smoothly and successfully. THE EXPANSION OF SERVICE 135 As you will observe, the mission voted our return to the United States next year, subject to home approval. I sin- cerely regret the necessity of return at this juncture, but the reasons are numerous and convincing. No other ordained missionary is asking permission to return in 1897 and should we delay confusion would result in several desiring to go at once. Furthermore my beloved mother, seventy-eight years old, is waiting patiently to see her only son, and my nephew and niece have been left motherless and need intelligent and sympathetic care. Then, too, my head and heart are weary with the strife with heathenism and I need to be toned up by contact with Christian civilization. We have now in this station over 600 church-members, scattered over an area 1 20 miles in diameter, with six organ- ized congregations and many other places where we preach. Four of our best men died last year and their places cannot be filled as yet. I am pushing self-support to the best of my ability and I think our people almost dread the sight of me lest I throw some new burden on them. Peking, Sept. i^, i8g6. My dear Mother : We are in the midst of our " Convention for Christian Workers." Mr. Mott, Bishop Joyce and other workers are here, and we are having a grand time. Yesterday I spoke on " Deepening the Spiritual Life of the Native Christians." We must be more in earnest, or the Church will not prosper in China. To-day we hear from Rev. Mr. Jones, a very well- known missionary of the Enghsh Baptists (in Shantung). He has on Chinese clothes, and is a noble specimen of a Christian man. He has had great success in urging the Chinese to establish self-supporting churches and has splendid success. Because the work of missions may be at a low ebb in Owosso, do not imagine it is so in all the churches. Mr. Mott has just been visiting colleges and universities in eighteen lands, and brings glowing accounts of the uprising of strong Christian young men in all lands. Over 600 are already in mission fields. He is a man of great spiritual power and lives near to God and feeds on the Bible. His principal topics are Secret Prayer and Bible Study, all of them helpful and stimulating. It is a great encouragement to have such people come this way and we hope the whole church will be quickened thereby. 136 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT The next mail will doubtless bring us our permission to return to the United States. Dr. and Mrs. Goodrich are in Tientsin and will soon be at home. With them are Mr. and Mrs. Kingman. No new recruits this year. A missionary occupied with varied cares often strug- gles with himself to find a place for pastime and byplay in effort ; he is happy if he may follow the advice of Gilder, our American poet: ''Do not neglect to rub shoulders with the immortals, with the pure idealists, with the inspired prophets, the glorious artists and the most noble poets.'' A word regarding some of these pastimes should find a place. Mr. Ament was fond of making collections of Chinese coins. His interest in historical study led him to this, for the Chinese coins open at once the study of Chinese history. The old junk shops within easy reach of his home had many a treasure, among which were coins old and new. The shop men began to search for him. Dr. Williams tells us how these coins were made. In some dynasties better cash were issued, which now are those more easily found. Cash reaching beyond the Han dynasty, second century before Christ, form the limit of size and value. Mr. Ament aimed to make his collec- tions as complete as possible. His scribe made for him, from ancient recondite Chinese books, forms of all the cash that have been known. During the last twenty years Mr. Ament gathered two or three quite complete collections. One of these was destroyed in 1900. Such collections are often of great value. A collection recently sold at Shanghai for fifteen hundred dollars. The literary work of the missionary may always be considered a byplay. Daily preaching in a street chapel, frequent consultation with native helpers, a constant THE EXPANSION OF SERVICE 137 stream of visitors, indicate the order of the day. A morning devoted to special literary work is rare. Mr. Ament became the editor of the Church News, which he carried with fine ability and careful work. The North China Tract Society, of which Mr. Ament was at one time president, and always a director, gave him op- portunity for special service. That a Christian commu- nity should be widely intelligent is the first requisite for the Protestant Church, especially in China where reading and scholarship are in such high esteem. The Chinese people have, in general, far too great a repute for liter- ary ability. It is pitiful enough for those who know the facts in the case to realize that so few are able to read in any such sense as we of the West call reading. Despite the fact that so many thousands attend their village schools, only a small proportion of those who have at- tended school for five or more years are able to read any- thing beyond what they have studied in school. As soon as the school life is over and the hard work of labor or business comes upon them, the former students soon lose much that they have gained in school and the loss in- creases unless great care is taken. For men will forget and the dictionary is not close at hand, as with us, and the characters are only found after painful search, or by calling upon some one who is the recognized authority in the village. When the daily newspapers were first in- troduced many of the former schoolboys or men took the papers for the novelty of it. They found that they had forgotten so many characters that it was useless for them to attempt to read intelligently. The aim of the Chris- tian Church in China is to have every man, woman and child instructed ; that as many as possible learn to read a little and to have a suitable literature adapted to the needs of each. A very marked degree of success has been attained. 138 AVILLIAM SCOTT AMENT Many an old woman has painfully learned to read even a whole New Testament, while the younger ones have ap- plied their active minds with astonishing zeal to the task. And many a man who had forgotten to read began again to recall his former repertoire of words. The Chinese church paper thus supplied a veritable need and was a source of great delight to an expanding circle. It was a privilege to meet this demand, and Dr. Ament found sufficient scope for all the extra time he could devote to such efforts. Like all such passing and ephemeral work the results are seemingly invisible. They are recorded in the lives and thoughts of men. They are food for the soul and enter into the permanent structure of the soul life, — into the religious and moral sustenance of men, — as food and drink pass into the body, and supply the constant loss and waste in the physical system. It is a good and often a great work to furnish the food for the famishing or vacant souls of a few thou- sand Christian members. Perhaps a definite part of the result of such work on Dr. Ament' s part was the prepa- ration for the coming fierce onslaught upon the Christian Church. During the two years preceding the Boxer out- break, the eagerness of our Christian youth and others to read the newspapers and Christian monthlies, in order to learn the true course of events, was scarcely behind that of the missionaries themselves. Among the pleasures of the life in Peking was that of association with a very considerable number of literary students not only in the missionary body but also in the legations and imperial customs. Under the leadership of such men as Dr. Martin, for a long time the most dis- tinguished among the real sinologues in China, or of Dr. Edkins, noted for his delving in archaeological lore, there was formed a literary association, called the ''Peking Association." It held its meetimgs once a month. Many THE EXPANSION OF SERVICE 139 most valuable papers were read before this society, and many discussions of current or useful topics held a place. The select papers of this Association were not infrequently published in the journal of the Peking Oriental Society, established for the purpose of archaeological and similar studies. Dr. Ament was an enthusiastic leader in the missionary association and prepared papers for it, some of especial value. One of the more important of these appears in the above mentioned journal, Volume III, Num- ber 2, Peking, 1892. The title, of this paper is : "Marco Polo in Cambaluc ; a Comparison of Foreign and Native Accounts.'^ The paper itself is an admirable example of careful and extended research of a most interesting subject, pre- sented in a literary style attractive and suggestive. The preparation of such a paper involved reading in Chinese histories and monographs of the period and commentaries by later writers. Dr. Ament' s constant interest in his- torical studies sustained him in this elaborate course of reading. The monuments at Peking and in the adjoin- ing country are themselves a stimulus to antiquarian re- search. These interests combine in this fine essay to place the actual Marco Polo before us in an active and living form. Since the paper is concealed in the afore- mentioned journal, it may be well to give a summary to illustrate the literary side of Dr. Ament' s pastimes. The literature of his subject is found in three volumes in Eng- lish, and seven Chinese books. The former are the "Travels of Marco Polo," by Colonel Yule; Ho worth's "History of the Mongols"; and Dr. Bretschneider's "Archaeological and Historical Researches in Peking and its Environs." The Chinese books referred to are sev- eral elaborate histories and the annals of Shun Tien Fu (Peking) and Cho Chou. It is known to the students of Chinese that almost every district and city in China has 140 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT its officially published book of annals, from which those who are interested may draw the most definite accounts of any district, reaching back to the dim mists of very early times. From such sources Dr. Ament drew his comparative records. The study opens with a careful estimate of the character of Kublai Khan, the Mongol conqueror of China, during whose sway Marco spent his years in China. It was under Kublai and at his direc- tion that one of the lamas prepared a written form for the Mongol language. The Nestorian alphabet and the Syrian script written perpendicularly were adopted and a literature prepared. It was under the direction of the same great Khan that the Grand Canal was constructed, extending from Peking to Hang Chou. It was still further under this active prince that the present site of the city was chosen. The essay of Dr. Ament centres about three principal points. Owing to a careful study of the Chinese histories he is able to explain some of the misunderstandings of even Colonel Yule's great book on Marco. He illustrates the reasons why Kublai failed to secure for his reign many of the great ministers who had served under the last of the Sungs. It would appear to have been a high-minded loyalty to their Chinese emperor that made it impossible for them to accept rewards from another. There is given a high appreciation from Chinese sources of the son of Kublai, who, while chosen as the successor of Kublai, died ere he had been able to succeed in the line. A second point is the fixing historically of the location of the real city founded by Kublai, known to Marco as the city of the great Khan, Khan Baligh — the Cambaluc of the histories. A third point of interest is the correction of some er- rors in the accounts of Marco's journey south from Pe- THE EXPANSION OF SERVICE 141 king as far as Cho Chou, with reference to tlie noble bridge at Lu Kou Oh'iao ten miles from Peking, as well as the splendid pagoda built in 586 A. D. , at the small town of Liang Hsiang, and finally of the city of Cho Chou itself, famous as the birthplace of three great personages, the he- roes of the Three Kingdoms. One of the most interesting references is that to the silkworm. The annals of Cho Chou assure the reader that the very ancient dwellers of that region were the original ones who may have seen the silk- worm in its native and wild state. The fact that it died away from this region, being replaced in more favorable places at the centre of China, is said to be due to some such disease as has affected even the modern worm, at times destroying them in wide regions. It needed a Pas- teur to explain how this came about in a natural way, through an insidious parasite. The Chinese annalist quaintly remarks that he knows no reason why the silk trade should have died out except the fact that the silk- worms simply refused to live there. The Chinese have a famous saying, ^' Under the heavens there is but one market town ; there is but one village, but one Chou city.'^ South of the city of Cho Chou the roads of ten provinces unite or bifurcate for their distribution. On one of the city gates there is in- scribed, " In all the world there is no place so public as this, All cares and trials centre in this One Cho Chou." Perhaps in the far distant future when Christianity is the widely established religion of the people of China, Cho Chou will again be widely known as the city res- cued from its heathenism by the diligent efforts of Dr. Ament and his well-disciplined Chinese pastor and help- ers — the final and happy outcome of the great Boxer dis- turbance in its last fierce struggle. In Marco Polo's day 142 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT the small city of twenty thousand people had no less than fifty-eight temples making it famous for its old-time re- ligious spirit. If once thus celebrated for its ancient spirit of worship, perhaps it may become so again in a larger and better atmosphere of hope and infinite longing. The Ideal is that towards which all that is noble in us is forever tending — the anticipation of that existence. — Charbonnell. X SECOND FURLOUGH AND RETURN THE spring time of 1897 found Mr. Ament and his family en route to America, to enjoy a furlougli after eight and a half years of ef&cient labor. Miss Wyett had been in feeble health and waited with desire the return. Her life in Peking had been most helpful in many ways, especially in giving Mrs. Ament more time to devote to the Chinese women and the little memorial school. It is pleasant to think of the return to the old Owosso home, and of the peculiar joy of the aged mother in having her son with her once more. The record of this furlough is sufficiently brief, owing to the happy fact that there was no necessity for the writing of many letters. The first summer was spent quietly at home. Mr. Ament found a place for his outreaching energies in the local Y. M. C. A. He became for a time an almost daily attendant and found here an excellent opportunity for those personal influences in which he was an adept. The story of work in China he also found abundant op- portunity to tell, and his message was received with great interest among the churches and the many large associa- tional gatherings which he was able to attend. Among the most noticeable of these was the annual meeting of the American Board, held in 1897 at Kew Haven, Conn. Mr. Ament' s address upon the conditions of Chinaand the hope of progress conditioned on the results of the then recent Japanese victories, and the great lesson which China had learned as to the sources of Japan's wonderful successes, attracted much attention and favor- ^•bl^ comment, This led to a wider scope through invi^ 143 144 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT tations to address the churches upon his favorite theme, which he accepted. The crowding incidents of the coming years make it the less necessary to extend the story of this furlough other than to refer to Mr. Ament's effort to create an in- terest in the rebuilding of the church in the mission com- pound for the regular Sunday services. The Sunday audience had long since outgrown the handsome little church erected in 1873. In looking forward to his early return to China, Mr. Ament felt obliged to consider more than ever his aged mother, now in her eightieth year. The youngest child of her daughter was still in her care, a responsibility which she was now scarce equal to. It became necessary for Mrs. Ament to remain, an arrange- ment the more desirable as her son also was at the proper age to attend school, and needed suitable associates. The beloved aunt who had been with them in China found her home in this happy group of young and old. Mr. Cromer gives us a pleasing picture of Dr. Ament in a farewell service at Owosso : **Once more he is standing among old friends and neighbors, before a great audience filliug to its utmost capacity the auditorium of that home church, where in early life he had uttered vows to Christ, and where later he had been set apart by or- daining hands to the work in China. These two decades of missionary activity have brought into their finest finish of development all the powers of body, heart and soul. They have laid broad and deep his sympathies with the Chinese people, have given him a statesman's compre- hension of governmental and international conditions and relations, and have brought to him rare powers as preacher and platform speaker in both English and Chinese. Best of all they have filled him full of the ideals, motives and mighty love of Jesus Christ for the world. He told us of his love for the Chinese, of his SECOND FURLOUGH AND RETURN 145 faith in them and in their future greatness as a race. In impassioned utterance he poured forth, in the presence of his neighbors and companions of former years, his soul's high loyalty and his life's deep consecration. '^ Peking, Oct. ii, i8g8. To Dr. Smith : I make it among my first duties to sit down and inform you of the progress of events and the present situation. I ar- rived in Peking Saturday, October 8th. It seems very quiet after the rush and roar of a year of active work in the States. Some of the dear native brethren tramped clear down to the distant railway station to meet me and I was immensely pleased at their enthusiasm on my return. I trust that I shall have with them a happy and useful term of Christian labor and that we together may make deep inroads in the surrounding hea- thenism. On Sunday I had the pleasure of meeting with all the church people who came, and delivering the message given me. The change in administration and the present opposition to foreigners, together with the terrifying rumors, interfered with the coming to church of many of our people. We are passing through a great crisis and no human being can predict what the outcome will be. There may be an outbreak of fa- naticism at any time and the situation seems to me more seri- ous by far than at any time during the war between China and Japan. At Yokohama we learned of the coup d'etat, the depo- sition of the Emperor, his supposed death and the supremacy of the anti-foreign party, but no one thought that the move- ment would assume its present proportions. The Emperor is still alive, but his friends and advisers are being harried from the earth. The eunuchs who bought the books for him last spring have been beaten to death with clubs. Already twelve high ministers of state have been decapitated and when the orgy will stop we do not know. The favorable edicts of the Emperor have all been rescinded and the affairs of state re- duced to the old regime. Word comes to-day that Chang Yin Huan, formerly minister at Washington and an influential mandarin, with intelligent and far-seeing views of progress, has been banished to Hi, and while en route at Cho Chou was bru- tally murdered. 146 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT I am very glad to hear from Mrs. Ament of the enthusiastic meeting of the Board held at Grand Rapids. It was a great grief to me to be obliged to leave before that meeting, held practically in my own neighborhood. We have just closed the fall session of our Peking confer- ence, a meeting which included all the native pastors and help- ers, also the local deacons. I could but notice the decided advancement made by these men during the year and a half of my absence. In the newly-made Pastor Jen there was mani- fest a spirit of consecration and bearing of responsibility for the general interests of the Church at large which would have done honor to men of much wider experience and longer service. A course of study for the unlicensed helpers was blocked out and a committee appointed to look after the examinations. The recent backward wave throughout the land has emptied some of our chapels and scattered the inquirers. It will take some time to bring back our constituency to where it was be- fore the deposition of the Emperor. It is pathetic to hear them pray for their Emperor whom they had learned to regard as their special protector and guardian. They look upon him as a martyr to the cause of progress and feel assured that only Di- vine Providence can save him from his enemies. On the 15 th the last decree of the Emperor was that a sys- tem of budgets as in foreign countries should be adopted. A week later the Emperor was a prisoner in his palace and every one was astonished to find that he was still alive. The six most progressive men in the empire were decapitated without even the semblance of a trial and every patriotic man trembled for his life and does so to-day. Such radical and tremendous changes had never been devised or thought of in the same length of time in any country of the world. The foreigners have protested against any harmful treatment to the Emperor. Peking, Sunday, Oct. 30, i8g8. My dear Wife : A hard day's work has been put in and rest is very ac- ceptable. It is a joyful weariness, as the church was well filled with interested listeners and there were several inquirers. The collection was the best yet, and on the whole things are looking up. I have been here three weeks and have had only your let- ter written ten days after I left Owosso. I have no doubt sev- eral letters are straggling along somewhere. SECOND FURLOUGH AND RETURN 147 It seems that at the row in Lu Kou Ch'iao, the foreigners in the fracas were as much to blame as the Chinese and perhaps more so as they ought to have known better. I have learned to withhold my judgment in all such cases till I have heard both sides. Sir Claude MacDonald had to retire some of his statements and demands, as it was so conclusive that Mr. Cox did the first striking that one could hardly blame a lot of sol- diers who would not stand by and see their comrade cuffed about. I saw Sir Robert yesterday and had a very pleasant call at his house. He was alone and received me cordially, and pointed out the little present he had received from dear Emily and seems to value it highly. He wanted to be remem- bered to you especially and to Willie. Monday. — Ewing preached in the evening a good sermon on the "Privilege of Suffering." To-day I took a ride to the cemetery. The weather was agreeable, the donkey easy and I reached there in good time to sit down and think and look at the three litde mounds, still green and well rounded, the stones in good shape and everything satisfactory; but they told the story which made the tears fall like raindrops. I found that I had been placing dear Emily's passing in 1894 ; it was in '93. February 27 th, that fateful day ! I felt some- what reconciled to life in China, being near their dear remains. Returning home. Deacon Kuo invited me to a feast to meet his father-in-law, with several others. We had a nice little feast, and I felt drawn to them all. November ist. — I lead prayers, at Mr. Mateer's request, with the printing office men at 7 : 30 a. m, so I am rising a little earlier. I want to record one or two of Sir Robert's remarks. He said he went to Pei Tai Ho this summer, the first time he had been out of Peking for twelve and a half years. He had not seen his wife for eighteen years. He called himself a poor, decayed old man. He looks poorly and spoke sadly. He needs the sympathy of all lovers of China, as I believe he is a real missionary of civilization. To-morrow we begin our station conference with all the helpers and deacons of the out-stations. We shall muster a little force of about sixteen. I expect to invite them all to a feast. W. H. Murray has the grand opening of his new com- pound on Thursday and we are all invited over but I do not see how I can go, just in the midst of the conference. State affairs seem to be moving on with a little dynamite in the air. 148 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT The troops from Kan-su who were brought here by the Em- press Dowager for her own protection are all Mohammedans and very strongly anti-foreign and anti-progressive. On Sunday, the opportunity for showing their teeth came when Engineer Cox, Colonel Radcliffe, Engineer Norregard, and Mr. Campbell of the British Legation happened to be down by the Marco Polo bridge, and seeing these soldiers in a railroad house where they had no business to be, ordered them away. A fracas ensued in which Cox was badly cut with stones and would have been killed except that Norregard happened to have a small pocket pistol with which he frightened away the men who were pounding Cox. Of course the British government has taken up the matter vigorously, and in union with all the other powers has demanded that these troops should be removed at least to thirty miles away from Peking. Though the Empress has promised to see that the move was made, nothing had been done up to this week and on Sunday last an ultimatum was sent in that unless notice was immediately taken of the demand something important would take place. We are all waiting in considerable anxiety to see what the Empress will do, and what those overbold Mohammedans will do who hate foreigners for no reason. Without doubt all rules of modern diplomacy are ignored, and if the Empress insists on her policy of stupidity, the empire will be divided up or will be put under a directorate. On Saturday last the Japanese minister saw the Emperor and Empress Dowager and presented them both with decora- tions from the Mikado of Japan. They report the Emperor as in fairly good health and suffering no persecution from his aunt. The French doctor who called on the Emperor at the request of the Empress, forced upon her by the French government, says that the Emperor is anaemic, and also has Bright's disease, so that his outlook for life is not very cheer- ing. He refused to take the doctor's medicine unless pre- sented in person, as of course he is in constant fear of poison. What a life they must all lead in the palace where every one suspects every one else, where there is no one to be relied on. Our Christians everywhere are praying for their Emperor who seems to be oppressed in his own home because he obeys Confucius' s rule of slavery to his family superiors, and because he is no fighter and cannot contend with a vicious woman. SECOND FURLOUGH AND RETURN 149 His is indeed a hard lot and better were he to be an ordinary farmer or laborer. Fekingy Nov. lo, i8g8. To HIS Wife: I have just learned how extensive and wide reaching were the reforms contemplated by the Emperor. Just listen to a few — University in Peking, with school boards in every city, large and small, in the empire ; imperial bannermen to travel abroad and learn the ways of the world ; Weng T'ung Ho dismissed because a conservative ; favorable report on necessity of encouraging art, science and agriculture; Wen Chang essays abolished in government examinations; Western arms and drill for Tartar troops ; patent and copyright laws ; reform in military examinations ; special rewards to inventors and authors ; encouragement of trade and merchants ; customs post throughout the empire ; general right to memorialize the throne in "closed memorials" granted; Manchus allowed to take up trades and professions; systems of budgets, as in foreign countries. A week later came the coup d'etat. No wonder ! Every- thing seemed to be on the move. The Emperor was too zealous. I did not mention the abolishment of the queue and putting on foreign dress, which even our little Pastor Jen was not suited with. Boards of mines and machinery were ordered also. Six old and useless boards in Peking were abolished. This stirred up a fearful opposition on the part of the turned- out officials. I hear that the Mohammedan soldiers have left the city and are to be kept under better discipline down in the Hunting Park. Kiss the dear boy for us all here. The Chinese are never tired of asking about him. I must go into the country and dedicate the chapel at Shun Yi (city). Our marines now help to fill up the chapel at Sunday service. Last Sunday there must have been a dozen or more blue coats there : Russian, Italian, German, French, or English marines can be met at any time on the streets. They quite variegate the scenery. Monday, November 21st. — I reached home to-day from Shun Yi. Pastor Jen was with me at Shun Yi, and we reached the chapel in time to get rested for the evening meet- ing, which Jen led. Our new premises are large and comfort- able. 150 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT I found all the church-members were making great prepara- tions for a feast, as I had sent them word that I would give the flour. But it seems the leading merchants of the city, pawn- brokers and others, wanted to present to the new chapel a banner in appreciation of the honor conferred on the city. This was to be done on Sunday, to my annoyance, and of course Helper Han and the men thought that a feast must be given in return for this honor. I was expected to shell out the larger portion of the cost for this feast, which I did somewhat grumblingly, telling Han that it must never happen again, but as this was the first meeting after my return, I would fork out the money. So after the morning service of dedication, when five men were baptized, we repaired to the outer chapel and ate our feast with sixteen of the big wigs of Shun Yi. They brought their own wine and drank it in liberal quantities. Wednesday. — To-day the wives of the foreign ministers are allowed to call upon the Empress Dowager. It will be quite an event and I shall be anxious to-morrow to hear the result. There is a rumor that the old lady has backed out. The Tract Society committee meet at my rooms and doubt- less the Monthly will be resuscitated. I am not anxious for the work, but it seems ordained that I should take it up again. The memorial school has about three hundred taels on hand now. Peking, Chinay Dec. 14, i8g8. To Dr. Smith: An account of my trip to the country regions south and west of Peking from November 26th to December 14th, 1898 : The railroad had been completed since I last saw them and I was anxious to see what impression the steam horse had made. The recent reaction must have some deleterious influence on a volatile people like the Chinese and I wanted to see how they stood when public opinion was arrayed against them. The plan was to leave Peking on the day following Thanks- giving, but a sudden rain spoiled the roads out of the city, no carts were to be had, and so I decided to take the railway direct to Cho Chou where the people were expecting me to spend the Sabbath and leave the intervening stations until my return. With the usual inconvenience of everything in China, the railroad station is located six miles from the city SECO^^D FURLOUGH AND EETURN 151 and though the train did not start till eleven o'clock, I had to be up and stirring by four in the morning, in order to make the train over these roads. We left the compound before daylight, succeeded in passing the guards at the Front Gate and floundered through the mud until about ten o'clock when we reached the station. The train was an hour late, so I visited two hours with Mr. Allardyce, of the London Mission, who was en route to one of his country stations. The first incident after mounting the train was not wholly agreeable. The engine which had gone to take on water on its return came against the train so suddenly and with such force that I was thrown violently against the corner of their board seats and struck my knee-cap with considerable force. It hurt me dreadfully and I was quite lame for ten days there- after. I inquired concerning the engineer and found that he was a wholly incompetent man who secured his position through influence. The same fatal policy of intrigue and money seems to obtain on the railroad as in all places where the Chinese have control. I talked with the foreign superin- tendent, an Englishman, and he said these things were outside his province, and all he could do was to make an occasional protest. The cars are very uncomfortable, never being swept or warmed, and the benches are very hard. But it was delightful to glide along with comparative rapidity over regions through which I had ploughed my way many times in heavy mule-carts. Cho Chou, fifty miles distant, was reached at three in the afternoon of Saturday. Without the help of the railroad I could not have met my engagement with the brethren. On Sabbath day the friends gave me a most hearty greeting back to the old work, and I felt encouraged that so many seemed pleased that I had returned to work among them. A goodly company filled the chapel and we had a delightful service. The many rumors of revolt and trouble with foreigners had succeeded in frightening away all of the inquirers, but the regular members seemed to stand firm and faithful. On reaching P'ing T'ing I proceeded to our little chapel, where resides our Li Chung Ho with his wife and daughter. Mr. Li was formerly a fortune-teller but is now a warm-hearted preacher of the truth. His daughter, a cripple, sings like a morning lark and is a great help in their meetings. A few months ago the work in this market town and vicinity was 152 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT most encouraging and the helper was full of enthusiasm. But the coup d'etat in Peking took place, the soldiers of General Tung passed along through their streets, going, as they said, to kill all the foreigners and rid the country of their presence. The fright which followed was pitiful to behold. The people were bound to believe the worst and no amount of arguing could remove their first impressions. Leaving P'ing T'ing, I proceeded twenty miles to the market town of Nan Meng, in the Pa Chou district. Here we have located our native pastor Hung, with his family. He has steadfastness of purpose and is not afraid to do right even though it results in temporary unpopularity. I left this place Monday, December 5 th, and proceeded through the city of Pa Chou. This is an unfortunate region, having been flooded for years. During the period of depres- sion the poverty of the people was relieved by the generosity of Dr. Blodget who kept the people alive. Now after many years the people seem to be responding to the call of duty. A helper is on the ground in the person of Deacon Heng, of the Peking church. From this place I proceeded to the city of Wen An, over a road which I had crossed many times by boat, but which is dry now for the first time in twenty-seven years. We first went to the village of Tung Ying, where formerly resided the first con- vert of this region, Wang P'ing. Here resided the other Wang family, two teachers from which helped us in the language twenty years ago. The son of one of these teachers is now a literary graduate and has not forgotten the instruction he received as a boy. Returning from here to Cho Chou, I made arrangements for a station class to meet at the chapel during the latter part of De- cember. I visited Pu An Tun. The litde chapel here is occu- pied by a young man and his mother. For his loyalty to Christ be alienated his wife, so that she went to her father's house with- out permission, told him of the son-in-law, in consequence of which the father-in-law led a band of men to beat the Chris- tian, but not finding him, demeaned themselves by beating his old mother. We never could stand coolly by and see an old lady beaten by a band of ruffians. We entered the village by a quiet, retired road and the young man called to his father-in- law to come out to the gate. The latter, supposing the youth had come to take vengeance, had armed himself with a pitch- SECOND FURLOUGH AND RETURN 153 fork. He found a foreigner who looked him in the face and proposed to talk the matter through. I asked him if it looked proper for six strong men to go to a village and beat a de- fenseless old woman. He said the old woman talked too much and always on her side of the question. 1 asked him what side she should talk on, if not her own side ? He agreed to send his daughter back, but not to look up the men who helped him beat the woman. I went away telling him that I would ask the magistrate to find the men. The magistrate made inquiries. The father-in-law appeared and acknowledged his evil deeds. The young man has come out with flying col- ors, forgives his father-in-law and has manifested a beautiful Christian spirit. On the same day the Empress Dowager granted the long ex- pected audience to the ladies of the legations. They report a cordial reception on the part of the Empress, who kissed them all in turn and pressed a jewelled ring on a finger of each lady. Socially this function seems a great success. The Emperor was present at the reception. Peking, Dec. i8, i8g8 {after Sunday-school). To Mrs. Ament : A day of hard work is about closing and my thoughts naturally revert to you. The church was full this morning and the collection the largest in our history — eighty-nine strings and more, that is considerably more than ten dollars. Of course some are making up their annual pledge, but the fact remains that others are learning the pleasures of giving. I preached on Mai. iii. i6, and urged them to close the year with their pledges all paid and their consciences clear. With companies like that we had this morning, we begin to think of a new meeting house. I have received my first formal notice of the granting of the degree at Oberlin. I think I shall be rather leisurely in my reply. (Oberlin College, at Oberlin, Ohio, at its commence- ment anniversary, had given to Mr. Ament the degree of doctor of divinity. It had been twenty-five years since he had graduated from the college.) Peking, Jan. 12, i8gg. My dear Wife : I am getting the report of the memorial school printed and will push it through as soon as possible. With what Mrs. 154 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT Ewing adds it makes a good sized report. Dr. Lowry's in- juries (when attacked by the mob en route from the railroad station, with Bishop Joyce and his daughters) were shght, and he suffered only a day or two interruption of his work. The city is quite excited over financial affairs, several native banks being shut, and one or two looted by mobs. The Meth- odist Episcopal people lost in the bank failure near them. The bank near us still holds out and claims there is no danger. Headland is translating in rhyme all the baby ditties he can get hold of, illustrating them, and will make a book. He can repeat his jingles by the yard. On New Year's Day we are going to go down to Tung-chow on our wheels, and still make the rounds on the same day. Wednesday, 21st. — I preach daily in the front chapel ; good audiences now; read with the teacher, old Chang of Cho Chou, a little in the forenoon ; have translated or adapted one chapter from Gladden's *' Ruling Ideas," and will send it to the Wan Kuo Kung Pao — The Globe Magazine. Our church contributions have been gathered for the year, and we find that they are nearly double what they were last year. Pastor Jen and Deacon Wan are in the country, at the expense of the native church, as a committee of visitation. It is cold weather for them, but Jen is enthusiastic over the plan, and it seems to be working well. That is the bright side to our work, the way the native brethren are taking up the re- sponsibilities of church work. It bodes well for the future. To HIS Son : We have been having some splendid meetings, and our little chapel has been crowded day after day. About thirty people taken on probation. I thought of our dear Emily Feb- ruary 27th, as that was the day she left us mourning. I sleep in the same room, and saw her dear face and Mama's anxious face and trust that God will spare us any more such experi- ences in this line. During the earlier part of the year, on May 23, 1898, the native pastor, Jen Chao Hal, was ordained as pastor of the North Church. Secretary Judsou Smith, of the deputation to China, was present and gave an address. The new pastor commanded the respect of the Chinese SECOND FURLOUGH AND RETURX 155 members and proved himself wise and aggressive in di- recting the affairs of the church. Following the lead of the Shantung station, in the spring also, a conference of the churches of the Peking station had been organized. The second meeting of this conference is referred to in the above letters of Dr. Ament. The organization was completed, by including all the deacons of the chui'ches and a delegate for each thirty members, besides the pas- tors, helpers and Bible women. Towards the end of the year a long desired location for the new South Church was secured, adjoining the former premises and to the right of the premises now opened for the Woman's Hospital and other work. Plans for the new building were drawn up, though the work was de- layed through insufficient funds in hand. The report for the station at the annual meeting showed a member- ship of seven hundred and eleven in the ten out-stations reported, the number of chapels or preaching places be- ing seventeen. As an indication of the growth of the station it is to be noted that the Bridgman School had in • creased its membership to the number of sixty-six, with an average attendance of sixty. These were a regular part of the Sunday audience. Annual Mission Meetings Tung-chow, June i, i8gg. My dear Mary : Your Grand Rapids letter came with the last mail. How you are working for the new church (at Peking). You inspire me with courage. You did grandly at Grand Rapids, and having two hundred dollars makes a big start for the five hundred seats needed. Doubtless you know by this time that five hundred will be all the chairs needed according to our present plan. Our third church outside the East Gate (Chi Hua Men) is materializing. They are putting up a new building for school and chapel purposes. We help with material from the temple and the church-members have given 156 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT one hundred and twenty tiao. So Kao will do the rest and the work will go on cheerfully. They also propose to pay part of the salary of a teacher, if we will put one there. The third church is in sight, you see. Peking makes a fine show- ing at mission meeting in all the elements of progress. Nan Meng, Shun Yi, and Cho Chou all promised to try and do something on salary of helpers stationed there. Do not have any anxiety about us out here. The Lord's work is going on and will in spite of devils and men. Meetings with the helpers are all through, ending with reports of the three who went to the Shanghai Students* Convention. They made a fine report and seemed immensely pleased with their trip. We had nine men at the meetings and I think carried the regard of all, and showed that they were making progress. I am more and more proud of my company in this mission. I do not know where you could gather a more delightful company of people. The weather is charming ; occasional rains temper the sky. The willow trees are quite large and the campus a mass of green. God calls men to be strong, to be heroic, because they are not born to be cowards, but with the birthright of an invincible courage and determina- tion. Men and women are still called to come up to the help of the Master, to share His burden for the world, — H. Kingman. XI REFORM, PROGRESS AND OMENS OF EVIL Peking, June 13, i8gQ Dear Dr. Smith : History is forming here at a rate unknown in many countries. People complain of the Chinese inertia, but to my observation the Chinese are doing more thinking to the day than they are given credit for. While visiting a yamen to-day at the request of the London Mission, their senior missionary being absent, the official, after a moment of thoughtful silence, said to me, *' We Chinese do excite the contempt of foreigners. We are truly contemptible in many ways." There had been nothing said to draw out this remark. It was evidently in his mind. That was a terrible confession for a military mandarin to make to a stranger from a foreign land. They are thinking, and thinking deeply, only the political conditions are such that we do not get the results of their cogitations. The leading anti-foreign leader in North China is Kang Yi who has recently been sent by the Empress to inspect fortifica- tions and military resources up and down the Yang Tzu. You will hardly believe that this hide-bound old conservative so hates foreigners that he refuses to go where they are at Shanghai and other places and thinks that the earthworks and old fortifications of centuries ago are sufficient for protection at the present time. The Emperor at the present time though kept in nominal confinement is allowed a large amount of liberty and doubtless is as happy as he knows how to be. The other day he was selecting an adopted son from among the children of the hereditary iron-capped princes who constitute the aristocracy of Peking. It is possible that the Empress is looking up a 157 158 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT puppet to place on the throne, as it is said the Emperor desires to retire to his ancestral home in Manchuria. There can be little hope of his doing that, as that region is practically Russian territory. The Emperor has been subjected to no cruel treatment so far as we can learn and the Empress Dowager is far too shrewd a manager to put him out of the way when she knows foreign sentiment is as strong as it is in his favor. The whole reactionary feehng in Peking is based upon the conception that the throne of the Manchus is in danger and can be secured only by holding all foreigners at a distance and pitting one nation against another. The problem before them now is how to retain progressive ideas, hold foreign methods, religions, and people aloof, and adjust China to new conditions without disturbing existing institutions. If their fears can be allayed as to the integrity of the empire, we shall see that the adjustment will go on more rapidly than in the past. You speak about the reform move- ment and deplore its sudden collapse. That Kang Yu Wei, the leader, was an unfit man for the great confidence the Emperor placed in him, there is little doubt. He was a thorough Confucianist and under his rule Christianity would not have the toleration that it has now. The Emperor seems to have been the most honorable man of the lot, as without doubt most of the others were actuated by mercenary motives and had no moral force which would have sustained them in prosperity. To impose Western ideas and customs on the Chinese at the point of the bayonet as the Germans are doing in Shantung will only lead to bad feeling and may set back the wheels of progress of all concerned. When Americans begin to see, as a few do, how intimately our interests are wrapped up with those of China and how this land is the natural outlet for our surplus products, then the study of Chinese affairs will really begin, and we shall have a sympathetic as well as material interest in the genuine reform of this nation. The coming political movement is the alliance of England, Japan and the United States along lines which will strengthen our position in the East, preserve the autonomy of Korea, help the internal development of Japan, sustain China as an inde- pendent nation, and stop this grabbing for territory which is a disgrace to the nations, and open up this whole region so rich in resources to the markets of the world. These three nations hold the key of the situation if they are willing to use it. EEFORM, PROGRESS, OMENS OF EVIL 159 Western Hills, Aug. 6, i8gg. My dear Wife : Yes, it is true, I am in our old home on the hilltop, drinking in the fresh air and revelling in scenery and breezes. I have improved every hour since I luxuriated in the air all Saturday and by evening was equal to a game of tennis, though rather antiquated in my movements. I planned to run over to-day, Sunday, to Lu Kou Ch'iao, but Mrs. Lyon said I had no wife and she knew I was too tired to go. So I am resting in writing to you, for the communion with you is the best tonic. Especially on this hilltop, where we have had so many happy days and where there are so many reminiscences of you, 1 feel as though next to seeing you was talking with you. The trees that you and I nourished with so much care are still growing though they have not attained much size. I am living in the room occupied by Aunt Anna. It is cool and delightful and my system responds immediately to nature's healing influences. I am glad that I am not so antiquated that 1 cannot build up much easier than I wear out. The house seems like an old friend, as every beam and piece of stone has a familiar look. The translators are hard at work — Drs. Mateer and Woods — the latter a very pleasant Virginia gentleman about my age or a little younger. Monday. — Waked up this morning full of praise and glad- ness, after a most restful night. This is a beautiful world and we should be in the right spirit to enjoy it. I am sending into the city to see about Teacher Tu's coming out, and we will work up the church paper. I hope the scheme talked up with Richard will pan out, and the two papers be combined into one. I think I could do some literary work of value, if I had the time, and Richard wants me to do translating work. I could do that and be in any out-station. Good-bye. Love from the people on the hilltop. Tu Hsien Sheng came out two days ago and we are getting out the next Pao. As he is a bright, quick man it makes it much easier for me. Hsueh sends seventeen dollars from Germany. Peking, Aug. 2i, i8gg. To Dr. Smith: It is some time since I have written to you. The progress of events in Peking has not been rapid but I am 160 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT thankful that after the lapse of two or three months we can have something of interest to record. On the whole, it has been rather a monotonous summer for direct work in missions. The air is full of rumors and the people seem to have a dull apprehension that in some way or other the foreigners are going to injure them or their country. The Japanese have shown a beautiful spirit of sympathy and desire to help their poor old broken neighbor. They are kinder and more Christian than some nations professedly Christian. No light penetrates the palace in Peking and the same stupid measures are being urged and plans made as characterized them five years ago. The Chinese never learn anything from history and cannot reason by induction. That Japan is seriously displeased with Russia for her designs on China there can be no doubt. It looks as though Japan wished to bring things to a crisis with Russia before the Siberian railway is finished and troops can be massed rapidly. On the other hand Russia wants to move quietly till she gets everything ready. With all this squabbling among the nations and diverson of British interests by their affairs in Africa, it looks as though the strain must be relieved somewhat. The Empress Dowager is mad after money and the expedition of her commissioner, Kang Yi, to the south in her interest is stirring up a lot of discontent and revolution may follow. He is closing up all the schools for foreign learning up and down the Yang Tzu but has struck a snag in Chang Chih Tung who says his schools are run with private funds and refuses to hand over the endowments to Mr. Kang. Peking^ Sept. 5, i8gg. My dear Wife: It is late Tuesday evening and I leave early to-morrow morning for Shun Yi. I can get away for a few days and feel the need of a change. The way is open for our school, and we shall begin at nearly the usual time. I went outside the Ch'i Hua Gate and preached to-day in a gambling shop. The gambling went on as usual. I had a good company to listen. I also settled a long standing quarrel between Deacon Wen and his wife. She had her wifely grievances and he ignored them. He confessed his error and said he never thought of things as I put them. He is a good man but stupid in his dealings with his wife and constantly irritated her. I hope REFORM, PROGRESS, OMENS OF EVIL 161 they will see better days now. I received your letter of July 23d saying you have two hundred and thirty dollars for chapel seats. You have done well. Fondly yours, W. S. A. September 26, i8gg. We are waiting for the Mateers to come into the com- pound. They are arriving from Japan. I shall rejoice when our wheels are all in working order, and I can bend to individual tasks. As it is Ewing and Pastor Jen are in the country and their work falls on rae in addition to the South Chapel, and opening the new school. The last things are being done in the schoolroom, and you would be pleased to see the new arrangements. Gammon is here looking after the interests of the Bible Society, and seems to be a man with good ideas. He is fixing up that room Gattrell used to live in, and may bring his wife up sometimes, as the room is warm and com- fortable. Gammon will find his hands full caring for his sixteen colporteurs and he will need to bend to his business or his men will run away with him. They were nearly mobbed in Shantung, and Porter tele- graphed for protection. A day was set for their extermination. The governor got troops in to head off the revolt. No one was hurt but a good many well scared. We have a new family coming, Howard S. Gait and wife. Sheffield writes to me to meet them at the station and take them for a brief visit at Peking. The Allardyces are comfort- ably settled in their new quarters just opposite us. Our bookstore is open and is doing a good business. We sold about twelve dollars' worth the first day. So, two things that have been on my mind for years are under way — the board- ing-school, and the bookstore. The new chapel is about all that remains for initiation and that looks safe for next year. I do not know what I shall do when everything seems to be in running order. I think it will be time for me to come home and see my family face to face ! Ewing is absent on a long tour to the south. It is pretty fine to have a stout, willing young fellow like Ewing, who takes most of the touring off of my hands. Of course I should be glad to go, but I have the Church News on my hands and am pastor of a church also. 162 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT Peking, Oct. iiy l8gg. Our little school is a real comfort thus far. The boys are fine fellows and Kuo Feng Kuan takes real interest in them. The old teacher is very much disgruntled that we do not allow him to teach, but I agree with Mateer that we cannot sacrifice an institution to individuals. We have to pick from now on and must take the best we can get. I am leaving for Liang Hsiang to-morrow as there is a temple fair and an opportunity to sell books and preach. Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Smith will also come, as they will be visiting at Pao Ting Fu. I trust we shall have a good time. We are a dry and thirsty station, and need the Spirit's out- pouring. I have had a burden of prayer rolled on me for our work, and asked for help as never before and I believe my prayers are answered. For the last three days a new spirit has come over the front chapel and inquirers have been quite numerous and of a good quality. I find that all works well when we are doing our part in prayer and right living. It is quite encouraging when the natives tell you of their meetings for prayer. So you may look for news of refreshment before long. The material advance which we have made through the year in the way of securing new premises, the opening of the boarding-school, would justify our year's endeavor, but I shall not remain complacent with material advancement. We must have a spiritual life corresponding. Dr. Mateer reads a paper on ''Money in Missions" next Friday evening. Mr. Gammon led our prayer-meeting last evening, taking the topic of the Holy Spirit. He made a very helpful address and grows in our estimation all the time. Your loving husband, W. S. A. Peking, Sept. 2gih. My dear Wife: The drought continues and to-day the board of astron- omy announces that great calamities may come to this country and warns the people to prepare. The people say the Empress Dowager is too lazy in her worship as she deputes all the worship and prayer for rain to some one else. They say the Emperor is the son of heaven and he is the proper one to worship. So the old stupidity still remains and it seems as if the patience of high heaven must be nearly exhausted. REFORM, PROGRESS, OMENS OF EVIL 163 September 30th. — Mr. Gammon left this morning, going off in a new jinricksha owned by Li Hai Yen, son-in-law of Deacon Kuo. He has bought ten vehicles and is going into the business. Poor church-members, that have no other resource, can pull the cart and drag out a precarious existence. Last evening Dr. Mateer took a very conservative view of the use of money, steering us between its use and abuse. In educational work he believes in its free use, just as we do at home. The foreign church will have to carry the work for some time to come. Money spent in support of well-trained, enthusiastic preachers is well spent as it saves foreign strength and is legitimate expenditure. He thought missionaries were drawing further away from the Chinese than they were years ago. Parlors are too clean for the Chinese and we do not want them around. He thought that was a mistake and a bad tendency. He had seen the fallacy of the Nevius methods, also the Gospel Mission Southern Baptist position. There was little dissent from his views ; in fact all felt about as he did that money must be wisely used and the more of it used that way the better. Our ladies had a fine spread and we all went away feeling that we had spent a profitable evening. The grading of the streets has gone on to nearly the London Mission. Won't it be fine when we have a good bicycle drive to all places in the city ? My school has assembled, and I think we have a fine set of boys. Wish you were here to assist in looking after them. Love to all the household, W. S. A. November igth. They are having a serious time near P'ang Chuang. A sect of spiritual Boxers, who hate foreigners, has sprung up and seduced many to follow them. Two fights have taken place and more than a hundred Boxers have been killed and yet they are strong and P'ang Chuang is in danger. The schools are not called together as yet and they feel as though they were in great danger. Tell Willie his letters do me good like a medicine. I am glad he is doing so well in music. The ferns and maple leaves were like the arrow that once pierced my heart. Miss Douw has promised another hundred taels on the church. The five hundred taels, payable in ten years, the 164 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT man put us at three hundred and fifty if paid at once. We have paid it, and the place cost us sixteen hundred taels. Our plans will be here in January, then we can order the chairs. December 6th. — You know the memorial school is now at the Sixth Street North Chapel, and not at our premises at Fifth Street. It seemed best to transfer until we could find a satisfactory teacher who could reside at the school. The rooms there are rented and bring in a little revenue for the school. We had a good meeting last evening. Dr. Reid spoke of the toleration of the government and the divisions of Christians as though we were all wrong and our troubles were well brought on. We did not accept his ideas, for I recall how a few years ago he said his first work would be to get the govern- ment to be tolerant. I mentioned the fact to him after meet- ing and he smiled at his own inconsistency. The good news of our church at Owosso cheers me. Love from one to all. December 13th. — Mr. Richard writes that he approves of my plan for a coalition of two or three of the numerous church pa- pers in China and let one man do what two or three are doing, and have one respectable paper on which we can all unite. Then no one will be specially burdened and there will be a pa- per which will be an honor to the Church and of general in- terest. Miss Russell has just returned from Shun Yi, and is in a glow of enthusiasm and good spirits. She was a httle blue on going away over several lapses among the church-members of late, but now she sees that we are not going entirely to pieces. I took five men on probation last Sunday and did not know till afterwards that one of them was a keeper of an opium den. He told it of himself and I trust he will have the courage to abandon the business. I am much pleased with the man, as he is clean looking and intelligent. No man has ever taken in more truth and committed it to memory in the same time than this man. A nice talk this evening with Kuo Feng Kuan, who teaches the boys' school. He and Miss Sheffield are getting up a pro- gram for Christmas which will be unique. It is fine to find a Chinaman who has some ideas of his own. I am beginning to feel that our hope of permanent success must lie in the coming generation and the best work is that done with the young. REFORM, PKOGRESS, OMENS OF EVIL 165 Good-bye, old sweetheart. May roses spring up in your path. W. S. A. Peking, December 20ih. Since writing you last I have taken a short trip to Cho Chou and Liang Hsiang. Helper Tang wrote that there were several people desiring baptism, and also that Chang Hsiu was to be married, and wanted me to perform the ceremony. As Ewing has returned from Pao Ting Fu with Marion in better health, I rushed down. I had a very pleasant time, barring getting sick with coal gas, so that I was hardly able to stand up on Sunday and preach. Three persons were baptized and we had a fine congregation. If some of those Cho Chou brethren do not get into heaven and wear a crown, I do not think there is any hope for the rest of us. On Monday, the Changs sent a cart for me, an 1 1 attended their swell wedding, talked with the visitors some time and had an opportunity to meet men who would not otherwise be in my line. Mrs. Liu is the Bible woman at the North Church and seems happy in her work. Christmas is near at hand and the dea- cons are hard at work getting things ready for the children. We also have a tea meeting and the spirit of Christmas is grow- ing in our midst. Love to all. Peking, Dec, 2J, i8gg. A Merry Christmas to you. I hope you are having as sweet a time as we are. I am just out of services which began at 9 A. M. Deacons Wan, Wen and Kuo, also Mr. Ewing, made interesting remarks and the schoolboys and girls sang sweetly. Our boys have nearly worked their throats out in practicing, so that they are really not in good condition for the day. Their enthusiasm is remarkable. Still, yesterday they made them- selves disagreeable as they thought they were not going to get things good enough to eat to-day. We are to have great ex- ercises at one o'clock when the little folks come to the front. Mrs. Ewing is a charming worker and is most successful with the outside school. The North Church have their celebration to-morrow, and I hear they have made elaborate preparations and will have a good time. Whole-hearted striving and wrest- ling with difficulty; laying hold with firm grip and resolution, and toiling to-day, to-morrow and the next, until the task is done — this is the greed of forward, ever forward, and the bigger the work, the greater the joy in doing it. —H. M. Stanley. XII RUMBLINGS OF THE BOXER EARTHQUAKE THE opening of the "Keng Tze Men" of the Chinese Cycle was ominous in the extreme. For more than a year the Ta Tao Society had been nesting in the most uneasy corners of Shantung, somewhat in the east, and more especially in the south- west, in connection with disturbances in the northern counties of Honan. The whole countryside was in a state of alarm. There was an active irruption in a region southwest of Lin Ching, arising from the absorp- tion of a village temple in the rebuilding of a Catholic church. So great was the violence on both sides, that the provincial government sent out several battalions of soldiers to force the situation. From that time forward there was a steady rise of feeling against Christians of all sorts, and the training of bandits in hundreds of village camps. In June, 1899, the London Mission at Hsiao Chang was in great peril. In August the German minis- ter was hurried away from the seaside retreat, Pei Tai Ho, to attend the hurry calls of the German Bishop An- ser. From the 12th of September onward the American Board station at P'ang Chuang, Shantung, found itself in the midst of tumult, a storm centre until the final catas- trophes in June. The looting of the Protestant Christian villages began September 13th, continuing through the 166 THE BOXER EARTHQUAKE 167 year with increasing virulence. The first known use of the now well-known name ^'Boxers" was in a telegram from P'ang Chuang on the 18th of September to Mr. Aiken at Tientsin : ''Secure immediate protection from the attacks of the Boxer fanatics. ' ' The governor of Shan- tung felt constrained to send a considerable force to Ping Yuan City to watch the threatened movement of a great band of banditti that had destroyed one Protestant centre. A battle occurred on the 15th of October which stayed the Boxers for a week or two. When it became known that Yii Hsien was in full sympathy with the anti-foreign sentiment, and perhaps the authorities at Peking, the at- tempt to stay its progress came to an end. The move- ment then gathered impetus by passing into the province of Chihli. Early in December the excitement had reached to the Roman Catholic region of Hsien Hsien. The Lon- don Mission station at Hsiao Chang was fully protected by troops fresh from Tientsin, but the outlying villages, even those of the American Board Mission, were assaulted and the members dispersed. The missionaries were in- cessant in their communication with the legation and consular authorities at Peking and Tientsin. Owing to this, the governor of Shantung was replaced by the vig- orous and vigilant Yuan Shih Kai. He had sent a large body of his well -drilled cavalry and other troops to se- cure the way for him. It was not till nearly the end of December that the seals of office were transferred to him. He was thus in no way responsible for the murder of Mr. Brooks of the Anglican Mission December 30th. The chief culprit in the murder of this lovely young mis- sionary was Meng Kuang Yen. He was from the region west of P'ang Chuang and on the 5th of December tried, unsuccessfully, to induce one of the Christians in that region to lead him to Pang Chuang that he might go to the mission quietly and destroy the missionaries. He 168 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT was told that the station was too well guarded and thafc it was futile. Hence he hastened southward and meeting Mr. Brooks wreaked his hostility on him. Yuan Shih Kai, while greatly handicapped, receiving private mes- sages not to pay attention to the official orders to pre- serve quiet and order, exercised a fair restraint upon the people. In an interview with the missionaries at Chi Nan Fu in February it was intimated to him that Tung Fu Hsiang, the ruffian leader of the Mohammedan braves, was the idol of the popular heart, and not him- self. He felt it at the time, but was helpless until his opportunity came. No other missionary lost his life during the subsequent months. But the welter of de- struction swirled on to its climax. Peking, Jan. g, igoo. My dear Mary : On Sunday evening three letters from you came to Peking. It was a great grist and I did not sleep till midnight. First there was mother's sickness to think of. Of course I learned that she was better before I was through. I send you the letter from Mr. Ackerman showing how one church is praying for me. I am glad to know this fact, and am sending them a warm letter. Week of prayer meetings is progressing a little better than usual. We also have a daily evening meet- ing in our chapel. Our foreign meetings are not very lively and could be improved. I took part in the meeting and told how I was moved by the sympathy of the Portland pastor and suggested that we might help each other more and might have broader sympathies. I had a present of a fine pair of scrolls given by Wang Yuan Ch'i, the man who has been in Germany and whom I helped in his extremity. His wife is trying to leave off opium and then they may come to church. The Boxer troubles continue in Shantung, and our mission is in a state of confusion never before known. A good many chapels have been looted, both Protestant and Catholic. Your loving husband, W. S. A. THE BOXER EARTHQUAKE 169 January 14^ igoo. Mrs. Ewing's heathen Sunday-school is growing so that we have just decided to transfer the regular Sunday-school to 12 : 30 and give the chapel at two o'clock to outside women and children. I think we shall have a full house. I shall ask Deacon Wan to be assistant superintendent. Dr. Goodrich preached a sermon in English this evening. We had the largest number of people I have seen in chapel in years and the communion service was a real uplift. Our natives are raising a sum of money for Shantung sufferers from "Boxers." One man handed me ten tiao and one three taels. There will be a good sum. Peking^ Jail. 16, igoo. To Secretary Smith : We must admit the fact that the pressure from the government is wholly adverse to us and has weakened the interest of many of our people. One or two of our most well- to-do members who were Manchus feel the burden too heavy and have practically left the church. We greatly grieve over this, but must face the fact. We have had sixty additions during the year and our contributions from native sources are more than double any previous year. Last year we reported less than ^200, while this year we shall report the goodly sum of ;^5oo. This will include the gift of two chapels and several goodly sums for our new church in which the people are deeply interested. Last evening our people brought us seventeen taels to be sent to P'ang Chuang to help our poor people who have been so persecuted by the secret societies. Doubtless Mr. Arthur Smith has written of their trials, which awaken the sympathy of all. Mr. Conger, the United States minister, has called me over for consultation several times, and I am certain he has expended all his resources in pushing the cause of the persecuted people. But our government does not allow any threats or strong measures to be taken and the Chinese foreign office fears nothing but force. Their blindness to their own interests is something incomprehensible. They have offended all the foreign governments, and now assume that because England is occupied in Africa, there are no claims to which they should pay attention. The palace is issuing almost con- tradictory edicts, so we are in ignorance of the real intentions of the Empress Dowager. You have doubtless heard of the murder of the English missionary Brooks by the "Boxers" 170 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT near the city of Tai An in Shantung. His head was chopped off and his body cut into fragments and thrown into a ditch. He was a young man and had little acquaintance with the people or the language. The Chinese are quibbling as usual, but the British minister cannot bring the pressure that is neces- sary. The Empress Dowager seemed greatly disturbed by this dastardly murder and ordered punishment of officials and the murderers. But the sufferers from many bands of freebooters, who now hunt our Christians like wild animals, receive no sympathy at her hands. She says her people have a right to practice military tactics for protection, and if these people get in the way they must expect to be hurt. It seems to be the policy of the government and the people of China to make foreigners and all connected with them as miserable as possible in the hopes that their misery will drive them from the country. Kang Yi, the notoriously anti-foreign official, is in the ascend- ency in Peking and his influence is felt everywhere. He is one of the men who will not ride on the newly paved streets be- cause they smack of foreigners. Another official, living nearly opposite the French Legation, will not have a huge pile of gar- bage removed because that would spoil his Feng Shui, or good luck. My little paper has had to be refused at the doors of certain progressive men because they were afraid to continue taking it. There is not the beginning of what might be called a party of progress in Peking at the present time. No reaction could have been more disastrously successful than the one which began in the autumn of 1898. January f igoo. Dear Mary : Our churches will make a pretty good showing for last year. Our contributions more than doubled and our numbers would have increased, only so many were dropped. I trust our spiritual temperature may rise and we may have a good year before us. Good news comes from Pao Ting Fu of enlargement of the church. In fact, the outlook is not so dark as some would make out. I nearly broke down in leading the meeting on ''Famihes and Schools." I spoke of the true home as indivisible, though some were in heaven and some on the other side of the earth. The plans for the new church are not here yet. I am growing a little anxious. Your true love, W. S. A. THE BOXER EARTHQUAKE 171 Peking^ Jan. ji, igoo. My dear Mary : To-day is Chinese New Year, and I am somewhat the worse for wear, having been up till two o'clock last night. First, 1 showed lantern pictures until lo : 30, then we had a watch-meeting till midnight. About fifty people were out, not as many as I had hoped for. Ewing helped out on the address. He had just come from Tung-chow, having been down to at- tend Pastor Chang's funeral. The visit and service had given him a very tender state of feeling, and he spoke with great earnestness and effectiveness. The death of Pastor Chang affects us all. He was such a fine man and officer. He was only thirty-five, and leaves five children. The church has voted to give his widow five tiao a month. He also left a little property, and the family will not be destitute. The Boxers are so rampant at Pao Ting Fu that the helpers think it will not be safe for foreigners to go to the country. I had a pleas- ant trip to Shun Yi, east of Peking. The chapel was full on Sunday and four were taken into the church. I found three fine new boys for the school. P'ang Chuang, Jan. jo, igoo. From Rev. Arthur H. Smith. Dear Dr. Ament: — Your two short letters were re- ceived yesterday and made us open our eyes with astonish- ment at the unexpected generosity of so many people. I shall not be able to write to all the friends, and indeed I do not know all their names, but 1 shall be glad to say for us all that they have our most hearty thanks and they would have had the most hearty thanks of the recipients also, if we had been able to let them know who it is that is helping them. But the beneficiaries are scattered over a wide territory, many of them inaccessible and some still unable to get to their homes. Not a few of them have lost everything, and others are not so badly off. As there has been almost no wheat planted anywhere this autumn, the spring is certain to be a time of peculiar trial to every one, and it will be then that the pinch of poverty will be most felt. The certainty that we shall be able to do all that it would be wise to do for every one will relieve us in a way. The London Mission refugees are more than twice as many as ours, some forty, and those in the American Presbyterian Mis- sion at Chi Nan Fu are about one hundred families. Pillage 17^ WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT is still going on, as we heard only by this mail a wealthy member had just been fined i,ooo tiao. Mr. Hamilton had just seen an Italian father who had charge of the district east of the capital, who says that about five or six hundred families had been looted there, ten persons killed and fully five thou- sand made refugees. In vast regions of territory there is not a single Roman Catholic chapel left, and not a member who has not suffered. The days of the Epistle to the Hebrews seem to have returned, but there will eventually be a blessing emerging from it all, and even now we see some signs of it. To-day I sent a man over to the village of Lu Wang Chuang and they came to see what this meant about money, never having ex- perienced such a windfall before. The money is on deposit here, and I will try and get a receipt when it has been paid. None of us have been to any outside village for months, except when I went to a funeral. It is very hard to say whether there is much improvement in the situation in this province. It seems to be certain that the Empress and Tung Fu Hsiang (as has been confidently claimed from the start) are in favor of some kind of rising, and this has made it exceedingly danger- ous, as it is still. We have been confident from the first that the only adequate solution was for "Four Legations" to unite pressure, but we do not hear that two of the four are doing anything whatever, and the other two are apparently acting quite independently. Even in our own county there are blatant ''camps" of Boxers, after the publication of the most severe proclamations, the issue of a history of similar risings to every village, and the despatch of men from the magistrate to forbid all practice of the drill, and ordering the instant and complete abandonment of the whole business. But as yet no one is punished, or very few. It seems still to be thought to be a huge joke. Peking, Feb. 7, igoo. My dear Wife : I must have a little talk with you to-night. I am in- clined to discouragement, owing to the devil having such a swing in and about us. The burden of keeping up a spiritual tone in this compound is a heavy one and Ewing has been away a good deal and has not felt the responsibility, nor should he do so. We need bet- ter material in the front chapel, and I hope we shall have it THE BOXER EARTHQUAKE 173 when the two fine fellows, Li Pen Yuan and Wang Wen Shun, come from Tung-chow. Li Pen Yuan seems to have a real spirit of the pastor and all speak well of Wang Wen Shun. They should be towers of strength. A letter from Smith last evening seems to indicate that the troubles in Shantung are by no means settled and that the offi- cials are as inefficient as ever. It seems true that the encourage- ment comes from the palace in Peking and every official who stands out for the Chinese as against foreigners is promoted. The Germans took up their own case and gave the yamen five days ultimatum to settle matters, otherwise their soldiers from Chiao Chou would settle it for them. There was no delay then. Well, the Church News is given up and I shall be free. I shall be careful to keep out of such entanglements. You may expect to hear of me as at Cho Chou or some country station about half the time. Then too I shall be seriously trying to translate a few more chapters from Dr. Gladden's book, <' Rul- ing Ideas." Still it is better to write a book on the hearts of men than on paper ! Pekingy Feb. 27, igoo. My dear Mary : You may recall that this was the fateful day when our beloved Emily left us years ago. This month always seems as the very consummation of cold, dreary winter weather, since those days when our hearts were dragged out of us and deposited in the cemetery. It seems sometimes as though I couldn't wait to solve the mystery of the Beyond and rejoin those on the other side who are almost as numerous as those on this. 1 am just beginning the agonies of moving again. It will take considerable time to get things into shape and I begrudge the time. The plans for the chapel have not come and we will start in next week on our own plans. I have just seen Mateer and he will have the floor plans ready to make out the order for the Grand Rapids chairs in a few days. Pekingy March Si igoo. To Mrs. Ament : To-morrow I am going to Tientsin to give my lecture on "King Alfred and the Making of England," I shall remain 174 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT several days and have a little outing. After that I shall return and go to Cho Chou for a month. Perhaps Gammon will go with me. Our school has got up to twenty-seven boys and still they come and we seem to have room for them, though I thought we should be crowded with eighteen. The Methodists have been having very successful revival meetings. Pyke has gone home tired out. Work has begun on our chapel and Mateer will give me order for chairs for this mail. We order only 350 now, as we think it better to go slowly and contract no debt. The memorial school is prosperous and so is the North Chapel work. It removes quite a load off my mind. The Boxers have reached Pa Chou and Wen An. At our request the gov- ernor sent down a deputy to investigate. It will do much to re- assure the minds of the church-members. March 9, 1900. — Just back from Tientsin. Had a good time. I had a fair audience though the wind was blowing a hurricane down the Taku road. That frightened away most of the Chinese. I brought home the plans as worked over by Mr. Bellingham, the architect at Tientsin. You will be pleased that at Tung-chow they are in the midst of a gracious revival. Li Pen Yuan has come up here and hopes to take back with him all the old students and hopes they may be filled with the Spirit. Some of the schoolboys have made remarkable confession of sins, such as resolving not to have anything to do with the rehgious life of the college and in- fluencing others to do the same. The ground seems thoroughly broken up. Pekingy March 77, igoo. My dear Wife : Back from Shun Yi, with that affair amicably settled. I think the Chinese all approve of what I did. It was bitterly cold and I have not suffered more this winter. Last evening Major Conger read a paper before the missionary association on "A Layman's View of the Work." It was appreciative and sympathetic. He suggested more union for political pur- poses and more care about getting into trouble and appealing to the yamens. He thought our work successful and worthy the support of the churches. The people in Wen An and Pa Chou are greatly disturbed about the Boxers who are organized in their districts and I asked Mr. Conger about the advisability of my going down and THE BOXER EARTHQUAKE 175 comforting the Christians and seeing if I could not allay the rumors somewhat. He told me he thought it safe to go, ad- vised caution, and thought a visit from me might do more than the officials. 1 asked Mr. Stelle if he did not want to go with me and he jumped at the chance. I am glad to have his com- panionship, taking him to be a brave and judicious man. I am writing a letter to the Fu (prefect) magistrate in Peking telling him that I am about to visit the distant portions of his field and requesting him to inform his subordinates, so that they can be of assistance if necessary. I do not anticipate trouble. I am well acquainted there and our people have a good reputation for order and decency. I hope to go to the extreme limits of our field and comfort the members and cheer them in their faith. The Tung-chow revivals are going on with renewed power and Tewksbury writes that he wants our people to come down and stay over Sunday. I trust they will come back filled with the Spirit and on fire for souls. April 3d. — The meetings are over. Miss Andrews has gone, but I trust not the results of her interpretation of the Spirit-filled life. I do hope and pray that our people will not slump back to where they were before. Mr. Mateer is in for a run of fever. Peking J April 10, igoo. To Secretary Smith : The happenings during the last two months have been many and interesting. I must first mention our meetings, which have been of unusual power. During the Chinese New Year I invited two young students, warm-hearted and ardent Chris- tians from Tientsin, to come to Peking and assist in a few meet- ings. They proved to be men of considerable spiritual power and wisdom. They were not puffed up with that spiritual pride which some possess on leaving the rudiments and reach- ing out after the best things in the Christian life. We held three meetings a day for eight days when I totally gave out, as I had to interpret for one of the students who was a Cantonese. After that the Methodist people had meetings of great power in their mission. The sacred fire was communicated to Tung- chow and something never witnessed before took place. That was a breaking down of those students under the power of the spirit in a way which indicates its reality. Men long alienated 11Q WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT were brought together and sins confessed which had been stumbUng-blocks for years. The whole school was stirred to its depths. After two weeks of splendid meetings the students went ouf to the neighboring stations and held meetijigs with the native Christians and proved what I have long hoped for, that natives without foreign aid can co?iduct, wisely and welly revival meetings. Our stations of Chou Chou and Shun Yi were greatly helped in this way. Our two young men who grad- uate from the Seminary this spring, I feel assured, will come to us with added power and helpfulness. There was not a large ingathering from outsiders except in Tung-chow, where there was a goodly company waiting as a result of their medical work. The whole movement only shows in newer light the capability of the Chinese to receive spiritual impressions and the adapta- tion of our glorious religion to all their needs. All this time the Boxers were harrying our country regions, and as the meetings closed messengers began coming in numbers informing us of the growth of the movement and the urgent need of help. After consulting our minister, Mr. Conger, I de- cided to go down to these regions and see for myself just what the condition was. I could find no colleague, till finally Mr. Stelle, of the " Mission to the Higher Classes," a brave, chiv- alric young man, consented to go. After we had boarded the train for Cho Chou a letter was handed me from Mr. Conger which practically recalled the encouragement he had given and threw the responsibility on us. After putting our hands to the plough we could not turn back. The Cho Chou official had magnified his office and had succeeded well in keeping the Boxers out of his district. Fifteen miles beyond atP'ing Ting we found the people in the throes of the well-cleaning craze. It was reported that the wells had been poisoned by the Christians and they all had to be cleaned out. Having been a very dry season, this wasting of a large quantity of good water will be a serious matter. Our enemies had thrown little packages of purported medicine into the wells. They also claimed that they alone had antidotes to this poison and sold their medicine in great quantities to the deluded people and reaped large gains thereby. The people were greatly excited and we were repeatedly warned not to proceed. Five miles from P'ing Ting we came to a large fair and were surrounded by hundreds of people. They seemed anxious to know whether or not we v/ere Catholics. On assur- THE BOXER EARTHQUAKE 1Y7 ing them that we were Protestants they became friendly. This movement, if it does nothing else, will teach the people the difference between the Romanists and ourselves. Proceeding to Nan Meng where Pastor Hung is, we were informed that the Boxers had been invited to that market town and were in the first stages of enthusiasm. We looked well to our firearms (very modest revolvers) as we had no desire to be put out of the way as poor Brooks was by cowards who would run from a pop-gun. Here we passed a camp of Boxers who caine out and stared at us, starting the report that we were the advanced guard of a large army, and that accounted for our boldness. We found most of our Christians, including the pastor, in a pitiable state of fright, and they assured us that we should certainly be killed if we did not leave immediately. The pastor had already sent away his family. Going southward we reached Pao Ting Hsien and found the Christians in nearly the same state of fright, thank heaven not all of them. Men with knives and guns had come to their doors and reviled but no one had been hurt as yet. We spent the Sabbath here and they and the helper begged us to go no further. Many Boxers were returning from the battle-field in Jen Chiu where they had been defeated by the Romanists and imperial soldiers. Dead men were carried past us and some wounded. At least one thousand Boxers had gathered at a place called Liang Cho to exterminate the Catholics. A hun- dred soldiers had been sent to calm them down but they were afraid of the Boxers and refused to fight. About seventy Cath- olics were behind their walls. They had good guns and when the Boxers with no guns, only swords and spears, came on, the Catholics shot them down. The Boxers seemed devil-possessed and did not know what they were doing, going up to the walls and hacking at them with their swords. The brave soldiers, seeing that the Boxers were not really impervious to bullets, took a hand in shooting after the Catholics had gained the victory. The i,ooo Boxers scattered taking their dead and wounded with them. Many were discouraged and asked what good it was to go out and get injured with no one to look after their families or repay them their losses. We went on to Wen An still nearer the battle-field and found four persons who were brave enough to accept baptism and enter the churchy having been probationers for some time. The little chapel just outside of the city of Wen An had been brick- 178 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT batted by some Boxers on a previous night, but no special in- jury had been done. The official punished three men for com- pHcity in the attack and the window was repaired. No injury was done us here though Boxers abounded. Returning to Nan Meng we found that in the village of Sha Cheng a prominent Christian was about to renounce his Chris- tianity and pay a blackmail to the Boxers, a camp of over eighty being in his village. We planned to visit this village though begged not to do so. This was a greater risk than we had yet run. The Boxers were practicing in their camp at one end of the village while we were exposing them on the other. They thought this was incongruous * and sent word that we were to be caught and bound. We showed the messengers our weapons and told them we preferred not to be bound that day. We spent the afternoon there, receiving several messages, but came away unhurt. We did not prevent this weak brother from paying his mulct but we did brace up his two sons who said they would die rather than recant. Though we have a very good list of the Lapsi, as they were called in North Africa in the days of Cyprian, yet we were encouraged that there are so many who have been true to the end and sometimes it has been a bitter end. We breathed a little easier after leaving this region, though it was a grief to leave the Christians to be still harassed by their enemies. We reached home in safety and Mr. Conger was very glad of the reliable information we could give as to the unworthiness of the officials and the spread of the movement. Within two days a strong protest had been sent to the Tsung Li Yamen demanding greater activity on the part of the offi- cials in stopping the persecutions of the Christians. Dr. Coltman yesterday pronounced Mr. Mateer's sickness Bright's disease and thinks there is little hope of his recovery. Mr. Gait is up from Tung-chow assisting in the care of the sick man. The building of the new church is temporarily sus- pended but if Mr. Mateer does not recover we must proceed at any rate. The walls are raised about six feet. It will make a fine building and will be the Protestant cathedral of the city. At least that was the remark made by a professor in the Im- * I regard this as a most important document revealing the man as al- most no other letter does. The final paragraph written in the face of facts given above shows his unquenchable optimism. — M. P. A. THE BOXER EARTHQUAKE 1Y9 perial University yesterday. I trust it will be a centre of help- ful influences to all within the radius of its light. As to the Boxers I am convinced that all reports from native sources must be discounted from fifty to seventy-five per cent, in order to get near the truth. I think some foreigners have done much harm by stirring up our legation by testimony wholly from native sources. It cannot be relied on. It is al- ways overdrawn. The Boxer bubble is practically burst, and the officials have understood the movement from the beginning better than the foreigners have. Prof. G. F. Wright is ex- pected here in a few weeks. We shall be glad to see him. Also Dr. F. E. Clark to represent the Endeavor movement. I like the man who faces what he must With heart triumphant and a step of cheer, "Who fights the daily battle without fear ; Sees his hope fail, yet keeps unfaltering trust That God is God. He alone is great Who by a life heroic conquers fate. — tiarah K. Bolton. xni THE BREAKING OF THE STORM THE illness of Mr. Johu Mateer became increas- ingly ominous about the middle of April. The doctor gave little hope of his recovery. On the twenty -third of the month, Mr. Ament writes of his death after five weeks of suffering. ''He talked beautifully and the spirit of heaven was about him.^^ On the 30th of April, a Christian Endeavor convention was held in Peking. Dr. Francis E. Clark, with his wife and son, were present. It was Mr. Ament' s privilege to do much of the interpretation into Chinese for Dr. Clark, both at Peking and Tientsin. At the convention held in Tientsin, Dr. Ament was elected president of the North China Christian Endeavor Union. Early in May Prof. G. F. Wright of Oberlin passed through Peking. He preached on Sunday, May 6th, and went on next day to Kalgan. Dr. Clark had paid a visit to Pao Ting Fu and had returned. "The Boxer Bubble'^ of which Dr. Ament had for- merly written refused to burst at the touch of any diplo- matic wizard. On the first of May, he writes, ''The Boxers are becoming a serious menace in all North China. A spark might stir up a mighty conflagration." Peking, May ip, igoo. My dear Mary : Back from another Boxer excursion and my report to Mr. Conger was at the Tsung Li Yamen in less than an hour, 180 THE BREAKING OF THE STORM 181 and produced, according to Mr. Conger, an impression which will lead to some movement. In fact the Boxers are assuming large proportions and taking defiant attitudes, so that the gov- ernment is finally frightened. In Cho Chou many Catholics have been killed and chopped to pieces. At Kung Ts'un, ten miles from Cho Chou, two Protestants were killed and thrown into the river. They were London Mission people. At Cho Chou we found the official in such a state of fright because we were alone in the chapel. He asked as a personal favor that we leave at once. When we called upon him in the evening he did not dare to have us leave by the front way, so we returned to the chapel by way of his kitchen and horse sheds. We were told that there were three hundred Boxers in the north suburb who had just returned from chopping up four Catholics only ten li distant. In the region of Huai Lai, fifty li beyond, sixty-one Catho- lics had been killed and we learned in the morning that troops had passed en route to that place, as usual in China, reaching the place after the people had been killed and the Boxers had scattered. I learn that in nearly every instance where the people have been killed, it is because of some old grudge. It is showing people the value of a good reputation. Even the London Mission chapel-keeper was killed, it is said, because he had used too strong words concerning the Boxers. Stelle and 1 left the next morning as we could do nothing and might make matters worse for our people who are in hiding. The annual meeting of the mission was held as usual at Tung-chow. The missionaries from Shantung, perhaps unconscious of the perils en route, had safely arrived. Miss Gertrude Wyckoff, detained at Tientsin, had seen a stranger at the Feng Tai station. Later it was known that Dr. and Mrs. Hodge were those she had seen, and they were en route for Pao Ting Fu. Their friends had not forewarned them. Four days later rail communica- tion with Pao Ting Fu was cut off. Tung-chow, May 2g, igoo. My dear Mary : Our meetings are going on nicely, but outside affairs seem to be going from bad to worse. Miss Russell sends a 182 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT messenger to say that Feng Tai, the nearest station, has been burned and one foreigner has escaped to Peking, being badly cut. Thousands of Boxers are nearing Peking and it is said the telegraph wires have been cut. I am not certain that this letter will reach you as the mail did not go last evening. Three Methodist families have been murdered near Pa Chou only twenty li from our station at Nan Meng. Mr. Pitkin writes from Pao Ting Fu that he dares not come and leave the station. I preached the annual sermon last Sunday in Chinese, and Mr. Smith took me aside after it and told me how much he enjoyed my preaching. It was a new sermon on Isaiah vi. : "The vision of God and its effects." The foreign ministers have a meeting in Peking to-day to take measures to compel the yamen to wake up to the situation. We await the result with some anxiety. Only God knows what is in the immediate future. A slight rain will do some good and if God would send a copious shower it might do more than armies. We shall have a splendid addition to our preaching force in Li Pen Yuan and Wang Wen Shun. They are both in good spirits and harmonious with my general ideas of work. Fen Ch'i, one of our boys, died last night. Too much study, too little exercise. Tung- chow f June i, igoo. Dear Mary : I have so driven during this week of meetings that I could not find time to write to you. We are still untouched by the fiends in human shape, as these Boxers are proving them- selves to be. The Tao Tai has sent soldiers to guard the col- lege. They were a sorry lot and brought no guns, saying they proposed to persuade the Boxers to leave us alone if they came. It seemed quite certain that we were singled out for attack once or twice, and Roberts and I were appointed to go into the city and help protect our place. The Chinese were in a great fright and something must be done. Our Peking field has been badly harried by the enemy and God only knows when our work will ever get into shape again. Our Nan Meng people are pouring into Peking and our people are practically refugees everywhere. Foreign soldiers are now in Peking to the number of three hundred; more are ready to come unless the yamen moves quickly. The foreign ministers did not leave the yamen until 2 A. M. on Thursday, working to get permission for soldiers to THE BREAKING OF THE STORM 183 be sent, and finally saying that soldiers will be sent whether we get permission or not. Then the railroad refused to take the soldiers and they were coming by boat, but finally the rail- road gave in and there was no special opposition in Peking. The Boxers are evidently preparing for some large move and no one can predict what is in the immediate future. Our chapel in Nan Meng is now a Boxer encampment and perhaps Cho Chou is in the same condition, as we have heard nothing for a week or so. We have had very pleasant meetings this year. I never en- joyed an annual meeting more. Perhaps it is in part because I have had so little to do, being only on the devotional com- mittee. Every one seems in a serious state of mind and heart, and the Boxers may sweep us all out of existence. Four p. M., Saturday, June 2d. — Terrible news has come in from Nan Meng of the murder of Catholic Christians and the looting of the homes of several of our people. They do not seem to be so incensed against the Protestants as against the Catholics, and do not kill our people except in special cases, where they resist, or have enemies. Sunday evening, June 3d. — We have had a quiet day. Tewksbury and Ingram went to Peking to see Mr. Conger and see if anything can be done to protect the people in Kalgan, also to see if an escort could be provided for Roberts who has received a telegram from Sprague which said "Boxers threaten- ing. Roberts come quick." I think we shall get through with our business to-morrow so that I can go to Peking on Tuesday. I suppose our hill houses are in danger and the Ingram house has been robbed. The United States flag is flying from the Tewksbury house in this yard. Some think it will do more harm than good. It looks a little defiant, as though we were a kingdom inside China. Of course that is one of the charges they make. Tewksbury and Ingram are back. No foreign soldiers can come to Tung-chow. Thirty engineers at Pao Ting Fu started for Tientsin by boat and seven are missing. They had a terri- ble time and many are wounded. Cossacks have been sent to bring in the missing men, if they can be found. Thousands of Boxers are gathering at Cho Chou, and say they are going to march on Peking and Tung-chow, then Tientsin, till all for- eigners are gone. No foreign government seems to want to take a hand in the affairs of China. A telegram from Wash- 184 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT ington has come inquiring for Mr. Horace T. Pitkin. It is our Pitkin who is safe (sic !) at Pao Ting Fu. We celebrated the Lord's Supper this evening, and our hearts and minds were soothed by coming in contact with the pure soul of Christ. The aroma of His hfe seemed to fill the room and for a moment the sounds and turmoil of this world were lost in the growing glory of Christ. We have a refuge here, which none can invade and we are safe in Him. Do not be anxious about me. These were anxious days in America for those having friends iu North China. Mrs. Ament had gone to Oberlin to consult with others who were as anxious as herself. The missionaries who fled from Pei Tai Ho arrived safely at Chefoo. A telegram purporting to come from Eev. Fred Brown at Chefoo mentioned Mr. Ament as having arrived there. The mistake was made by in- cluding Dr. Ament' s name in the list of those who escaped. Mr. Brown left Peking on the early train June 4ihy the last train before the destruction of the rail- road, after which it was impossible to withdraw. A party of refugees in Shantung reached Chefoo on the 4th of July. A cable arrived the next day asking for news regarding Dr. Ament, Professor Wright and others. The answer to this was : ''Ament and Whiting still in Peking; Professor Wright on his way through Man- churia." British Legation, Peking, July jo, igoo. Dear Mary : I did not write you for weeks after beginning this, as 1 never had a quiet spot in which to write. Where shall I begin and what shall I write? You will hardly believe that it is now just forty days since we have been shut up in this legation with no communication with the outside world. I can hardly remember when I wrote last to you. It must have been some time early in June. I have been dreaming for a month or more. Let me go back to the beginning. Mission meeting ■If IWr ■^ MEMORIAL ARCH TO VON KETTELER MENG CHI TSENG AND FAMILY THE BREAKING OF THE STORM 185 closed June 4th. The following day, Tuesday, I went to Peking, but many of the ladies did not dare leave because of the Boxer troubles. They were murdering and burning only ten or more miles from Tung- chow. On Thursday there came a strong telegram to Mr. Conger saying that the people in Tung-chow were in great danger and requesting an escort of marines to bring them to Peking. They also wanted twenty carts. Mr. Conger did not feel as though he could spare the marines as he had so small a force. So I hired fifteen carts, borrowed a double-barrelled shotgun of AUardyce and went as escort to the carts, as otherwise they would not have gone. We reached Tung-chow in safety about 11 p. m. and left Friday before daybreak. We reached Peking about eight o'clock and went to the Methodist Mission, as that was the appointed rendezvous for Protestant missionaries. The college premises at Tung-chow as well as the city residences were left without a soul in them. It looked like deserting a sacred trust and I offered to go back, and stay alone to defend them, but they all protested and we left the property to its fate. On the following day the houses were looted by Chinese soldiers from Tung- chow — not Boxers — and were burned soon after by Boxers. So went up in smoke those beautiful buildings erected at so much ex- pense of time, money and love. In Peking our poor Christians began to pour in from the country stations. Deacon Liu of Cho Chou came with a broken kneepan, as in running from the Boxers he had fallen from the Cho Chou wall and broken his knee. A Tung-chow helper was brought with half his face and hands dreadfully burned. Mr. Conger sent to the Methodist enclosure twenty marines to act as guard and Mr. Gamewell set to work to fortify the premises. Our people moved down, schoolgirls and all except myself and a few Christians, old Helper Hung and others. On Tuesday June 1 2th a strange Chinese gentleman came to Teng Shih K'ou, and told me we foreigners were all to be killed. He told me he had accidentally met me twice, was pleased with me, and wanted to offer me an asylum in his grain shop. I thought this was very kind for a heathen and a stranger. I was the last missionary still out of the rendezvous and they kept sending me messages to get in as soon as pos- sible. On Wednesday, June 13th, at 4 p. m. Ewing sent me an imperative message, as there was certain information of an attack that evening. I hired a cart, put in a few things and 186 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT told my boy to push my bicycle ahead of me as I set out. The streets were filled with an excited crowd and my bicycle drew attention. I did not know as we should be able to get through. I had succeeded in purchasing a repeating rifle and a good revolver and was well armed. Our guards had been out and had shot in a temple about forty Boxers engaged in cutting to pieces several Christians. Not a Boxer escaped from that temple. I reached the Methodist Episcopal compound in safety. About seven o'clock there was a tremendous clamor at the Ha Ta Gate and we were told that the Boxers had entered the city, and we must prepare. Our soldiers formed a line in "Filial Piety " Lane and charged the Boxers who ran on to the great street, but as no foreigners had been attacked our marines did not think they had a right to fire on the crowd. The Boxers set fire to the street chapel and then went north- ward to the London Mission, then Kou-lan Hu Tung, and then Teng Shih K'ou. All were burned that night. In fact all abandoned foreign places were burned that night, Miss Douw's place, Anglican Mission, West City London Mission, blind asylum, Presbyterian Mission — two places, our North Chapel, Fifth Street premises, and every place where foreigners were accustomed to do business, money shops and all. The devil was let loose. Our people were chopped to pieces and men and women who escaped came to the Methodist Episcopal Mission wringing their hands over lost ones. Some had marvellous escapes, as Mrs. Yin and Li Pen Yuan and family, which some day will be written up. The Catholic churches all went except the cathedral, which was guarded by French and Italian marines. The legations had their guards, but all felt uneasy, as all the foreign soldiers together did not number 400. We fortified the large Methodist Episcopal chapel, mak- ing it a regular fort and stocked it with provisions. Trenches were dug about it and barbed wire fences put up. Our Chris- tians were in the premises of the girls' school, but the girls slept every night in the chapel, as did many of the foreign ladies. Soon we learned that the railway was destroyed, and the telegraph wires all cut and bridges burned. So we were entirely shut off from the world. Thousands of armed Boxers surrounded us. We learned that the government took the side of the Boxers and were lending their aid. Ships at Taku landed 1,500 marines hastily, and started them for Peking and reached the half-way point — Ho Hsi Wu — when from continu- THE BREAKING OF THE STORM 187 ous fighting their ammunition gave out and they were obliged to return to Tientsin. Our ships attacked the Taku forts and the Chinese government declared war on all foreigners. Did such a mad act ever emanate from intelligent men ? The crisis was reached when Baron Von Ketteler, en route to the Tsung Li Yamen, June 19th, was killed and his interpreter, Cordes, was severely wounded. By great exertions and miraculous preservation Cordes succeeded in reaching the Methodist Episcopal Mission where the German marines found him. On June 20th Captain Hall, United States Marines, told us we must leave the mission to go to the British Legation, leav- ing our Christians and taking only what we could carry in our hands. We all refused to leave our people and resolved to share our fate together. Then arrangements were made to care for our Christians in the Fu of Prince Su, just opposite the British Legation. Then we started from the mission, a long and sad procession. We did not know but that we should be compelled to go to Tientsin as best we could overland. Pao Yu's mother, Liu Nai Nai, is not known to be alive, and so Pao Yu clung to me and helped me take food and clothes, also Brother Tung, of Cho Chou, shared with me. It was a hot, dusty day and many with little children were tired out in getting to Legation Street. We found that our ministers had resolved that we should not start for Tientsin to be murdered. Now it occurred to me that as we had left every- thing at the Methodist Episcopal Mission, if we stayed in Peking we ought to get that stuff. I proposed to go back to the mission, but no one would go with me, and said my life would pay the penalty. I finally decided to take the risk. I reached the lane in safety and climbed over the wall and found some Manchu soldiers in possession. They were as scared as I was, but I told them not to fire, gave them a silver bill, and got their help to get out things. The first thing I took was my chainless bicycle, which saved my strength in riding back and forth. The soldiers agreed to take charge of the premises while I went back to Legation Street. I collected all the Chinese and foreigners that I could and we went back and succeeded in saving a great many trunks and canned goods, for which the ladies were duly grateful to me. All the legations were to concentrate at the British Legation, but I spent the first night on a lounge at our own legation. 188 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT There was great confusion at the British Legation and all the missionaries had to be stowed away in the chapel. The ladies and children at least were there, and the men slept wherever they could. I found a dry corner in the garret of the chapel, which I swept out and have slept there ever since. The whole garret is now occupied by missionaries, Tewksbury, Chapin, Fenn, Smith, Ewing and others. 1 have thus escaped wetting from rains which have injured the health of others. Our Chinese Christians were housed in Prince Su's palace and were comfortable till the Boxers discovered them and made frantic efforts to kill them. The Japanese marines have pro- tected them and in so doing ten men have been killed besides many of the Christians. Mr. James secured the place and in so doing lost his life. As he was returning from the palace to the British Legation he made a mistake and went round by the bridge over the canal where he was taken prisoner by Chinese soldiers and it is reported that he was beheaded. We all regret his loss, as he was public spirited and fertile in resources for the good of all. Dr. Morrison, correspondent of the London Times^ is determined that the family of Professor James shall secure a large indemnity. Now I cannot write all the particulars of our siege. We came here June 20th and for twenty-six days we fought night and day for our lives. We were about 800 foreigners, half civilians, half marines. Our lines extended from the French Legation on the east to the Russian Legation on the west. Of course our fortifications were too extended for our small force. The ladies made sand-bags all day and we made barricades at night. They tried to burn us up and in so doing burned the Han Lin Yuan and many valuable buildings. They tried to mine and blow us up but we countermined. They did blow up the best part of the French Legation. We have lost sixty- five men by death, and over one hundred wounded. Only one missionary has been hurt thus far. Gilbert Reid was shot in the leg below the knee. He is about at the present time. I have been under fire, but have not been injured. Four foreign babies have died, including Mrs. Inglis' dear baby who loved me. Many children are ailing. We have had only horse meat for weeks and it is poor at that. We are out of milk and many of the necessaries of life. I have been on guard daily in the sun from 2 to 4 P. m. You know how hot it is here. I sup- pose I drank too much cold water and found myself down with THE BREAKING OF THE STORM 189 bowel trouble. Mrs. Tewksbury was my good angel and gave me what could be found for my comfort. We have had a truce now of about two weeks' duration and Chinese soldiers, for the sake of money, have sold us eggs and some vegetables. These are doled out to sick people and hence my supply. It is a strange anomaly ; people who one day are trying to murder us the next day will sell us eggs for four or five times the regular price. In fact the Emperor sent our ministers two cart loads of watermelons. Some one suggested that as we could not be killed with bullets they wanted to kill us with cholera. We have kept in wonderful health consider- ing that so many sleep on brick floors and have so much im- proper food, poorly cooked. The ministers of the eleven nations are cooped up here and have to take the chances with the rest of us. Austria, Holland, England, Germany, Belgium, Japan, Spain, France, Russia, United States of America, and Italy, all have missions, and most of them legation guards. All the legations are practically in a state of wreck. It is a sad sight to see in the German Legation the fine buildings torn to pieces by shot and shell. The Empress kindly (?) would not allow her soldiers to use the largest cannon as they might injure the people beyond in the southern city. The Chinese always fire too high, and many of their shots must have done great damage to their own peo- ple. I suppose our troops are now en route from Tientsin, coming to our rescue. Perhaps you know more about that than I do. We are surrounded by enemies on all sides ; only an oc- casional messenger can creep through. Li Chin Fang, our brightest college boy in Tung-chow, bravely volunteered to go as messenger to Tientsin, and has not been heard of since. Doubtless he has been killed. The first and most reliable mes- sage was brought by a poor little boy from our front chapel day-school, whom I picked up in the street. He got through to Tientsin and back in seventeen days, played the part of a hero, brought back important information, and now the general committee of safety talk of putting a thousand dollars in my hands with which to educate the boy. He is now sitting near me in nice clean clothes and is not spoiled by all the attention he receives. I have just made up our list of losses for Peking station of the American Boards and the total foots up to $71,000 gold. 190 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT Word comes to-day of hard fighting near Tientsin, and the Peking Gazette reports a victory for the Chinese. The same Gazette reports that the two ministers of the yamen somewhat favorable to foreigners — one ex-minister to Russia — have been beheaded without trial. So it goes. Patriotism is at a dis- count in this wretched land. We learn that the ladies have left Tientsin, mostly going to Japan. The "Snipers" are at work, and though we are at truce, the Chinese continue to snipe any neglectful foreigners or natives. We are strengthening our outposts, August 2d, and preparing for the worst, as it is possible the beaten Chinese troops will try to exterminate us. Pastor Jen, Li Pen Yuan, Wang Wen Shun and Chang T'ing Kuei are with us to our great joy. Helpers T'ang, Old Hung, Pastor Hung and Deacons Wang and Kuo are outside and their fate is unknown. Word comes of Boxer outbreak as far away as Shansi, and it is feared that missionaries throughout the empire have been massacred. August 4th. — Two messengers have crept through and bring letters from Tientsin. July 31st Japanese troops, 1,500 United States, 4,500 Italian soldiers are to come to our rescue. I certainly hope they will not delay on the road, as I am tired of horse meat and coarse porridge. Many are sick and the hot weather is prostrating many children. The smell of dead bodies is fearful near the gates, as many Chinese, also dead dogs, horses, etc., are still unburied, and we are not safe in getting where they are. I am gathering in "confiscated goods" and distributing to needy Chinese. The selfish side of human nature comes out in the work as- signed me. Good garments are greedily called for, and many want more than their share. I am afraid that too serious a draft is made on my religion, and I am growing callous and cynical. I must go now and hold morning prayers in the chapel, invited by Miss Andrews, who has charge of that work. August 7th. — Last night quite a sharp attack was made on us notwithstanding the truce. The Chinese seem afraid that we will break out and escape. It is rumored that they are hiring carts and expect to pack us 800 people off to Tientsin. They do not know that we have made up our minds not to go till the troops arrive. It is possible that we shall have to fight for our lives if we remain. We are having quiet days in gen- eral but life in the legation is exceedingly monotonous. THE BREAKING OF THE STOEM 191 Yesterday was Sunday and I was to preach to our assembled Chinese. I was ill and had to give it up. We are in doubt as to our future. If we get out most of the missionaries talk of going home as they have no place to go to here and have no clothing or articles for housekeeping. As I am only a " shining stick," I think I shall remain here and gather up the fragments that are left. August nth. — I have had no opportunity to write the last few days. The heat is intense, rains are rather frequent and duties onerous. Daily attacks are still made and I have stood till two days ago when my post was closed. A better one was opened near by, a cannon mounted and marines put in charge. So I was set free to my great relief. My committee work of disposing of *< confiscated" or "looted" goods has kept me busy. These goods I had to arrange and have sold at auction ; often many garments had to be given to the poor Christians. Our auction — Herring, auctioneer — netted about ^800, Mexi- can, which will doubtless be distributed among the poor Chris- tians. I am called the friend of all, as when any one wants anything he asks of me. Our troops are reported half way or more to Peking and are fighting their way up. An occasional messenger has crept through our lines. The Boxers are losing their courage and dispersing to their homes taking off their costumes. They are a set of cowards and well merit the punishment they will re- ceive. Just think of it ! The people of twelve nations have been shut up in this legation for eight weeks, fed on horse meat and poor rice, and have all run down in health. Six babies have died, and sixty men have been killed and one hundred and twenty wounded. This work is still going on and we are nearing the twentieth century ! Mr. Conger told me to-day that on the arrival of the troops he would see that we — our mission — had given over to us that Mongol Fu — palace — ^just east of us on Teng Shih K'ou. Ewing will go home and per- haps the ladies. Possibly the Tewksburys will remain in Pe- king temporarily. Most all of the missionary body will leave. It will take some time to settle political complications. I do not suppose that much missionary work can be done for a year or two. Our poor people — those who are saved — not many, must be settled in homes and efforts made to secure indemnity for them as well as for ourselves. My heart bleeds for them. They are aliens in their own country and pronounced as 192 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT ** bandits" by imperial decree. Deacon Wan is reduced to poverty and one child has starved during the siege, I imagine that the stories we shall hear on leaving this place will harrow our hearts. There has been no such horrible persecution since the days of Nero. Even he did not tliink of all the forms of mutilation to which the Boxers have subjected our people. August 1 6th. — Praise the Lord ! Two days ago, the 14th, we were relieved. The first soldiers to enter the city were the Sikhs from India, then the Americans. Our people were first at the gate, but the fighting fell to them, and they came in tired and fagged, as the 14th was one of the hottest days in the history of the world. The Empress was allowed to escape, as there is a dissension among the allied forces, as always happens. 1 saw our American troops storm the three gates of the imperial city. The Chinese made quite a fight but our cannon discomfited them. Volumes could be written. I was very busy getting ready to leave the legation, as Sir Claude MacDonald seemed to want our room for officers of the Brit- ish army. I picked out the Mongol palace just east of our former residence. They were all Boxers and if seen would be shot. Most of our people are going away and I feel lonesome. I am tired out. Have not taken my clothes off for some time and the heat is terrific. Then I have no clothes, and my one pair of shoes are dropping from my feet. I have not worn a linen collar or shirt for two months and feel as rough as our soldiers look. Well, we are free, for the present at least. I am under the Japanese flag in this part of the city ; may soon be under the flag of Russia. The political situation is very complicated and I see no light at present. Perhaps Peking will be a desert be- fore they get through with it. The Japs, Russians and Hin- doos are a greedy set and steal and break into houses on all sides. "Hell has broken loose" and "war is hell," even when civilized. The Chinese will expiate their sins in blood and the old empire will gradually come to the new light. Our General Chaffee is not friendly to missions and is a rough, grizzled warrior to whom I am not drawn. He has that kind of conceit you often find in men of his training. It is late and I must ride the horse formerly belonging to the Boxer prince over to the British Legation, and see if this letter can go. There is no postal service and all say letters can only go once in two weeks. Foreigners all killed by THE BREAKING OF THE STORM 193 Boxers in Pao Ting Fu. It is awful to contemplate. Sixty missionaries killed in Shansi. Love to all. Hugs and kisses for my dearest ones. Chinese neighbors seem glad to see me and I had some good things to eat to-day. Ta T'ung and family all killed, six children, except one boy. (This man, a quiet and lovely fellow, had been a servant for many years in the mission compound. He had married the elder daughter of the Kung family, two of whose brothers were graduates of the college. They lived close to the compound in a house owned and rented to them by the missionaries.) Pa Shih, the carter, and family are safe, also Deacon Ku. Ch'ang Nai Nai (a Bible woman) and dear old Ch'ang were killed. Chang Hsiang, who had been a washerman in the compound, was the worst of the Boxers, for he knew all the people. Your resurrected husband, W. S. A. Mr. Tewksbury's Story : In the late forenoon of August 15 th (the British Lega- tion had been relieved on the afternoon of the 14th) Dr. Ament and I felt an immense longing to get out from behind the brick walls and barricades that had surrounded us for so many weeks. Perhaps to the neglect of regular siege duties, we mounted the city wall at the back of the American Legation. Going up by the *' zigzag " on the ramp, where but a few days before we would have been the target of many Chinese soldiers, we examined with interest the defenses on top of the wall, where Americans and Russian and British so gallantly held in check the enemy for many weeks. As we passed over and through the barricades we watched the Chinese in the south- ern city crossing by the beggar's bridge. Towards the south lay the vast area devastated by the fire that destroyed the outer tower of the Chien-men. Hastening on towards the gate we saw before us the attack on the gates of the imperial city. Captain Riley and the United States artillery with a part of the Ninth (?) Infantry had been stationed on the top of the Chien-men wall. Facing them across the open entrance passage were the Chinese troops, along the top of the first gate to the imperial city. The work of our artillery could be watched as the shots took effect on the marble balustrade fronting our position. Volleys were interchanged at intervals between the gates. I remember how interested we were in this our first look at a 194 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT real fight on the part of trained forces. Crouching down be- hind the battlements we worked towards the centre of the American position. A soldier shouted at us, " You , why don't you keep your heads down out of the way? A man was shot right there only a moment ago." For the moment we for- got that our position was exposed to a flank fire from the west, from that part of the wall still occupied by the Chinese. Looking down under our feet we saw blood and through the open gate of the Chien-men tower had just been carried the body of Captain Riley. The Chinese were soon driven from their position on the first gate to the north and our infantry took position in the tall grass of the long passageway leading from the Chien-men to the first gate. Dr. Ament and I went down and lay with them in the grass while the artillery broke the fastenings of the gate. As soon as this was accomplished the infantry in column ad- vanced down the passage. We followed, under the eaves of the long line of granaries to the east of the road. Just as we reached that part of the entrance where roads branched to the east and west a sweeping volley came in from the enemy. For this we were not prepared and accordingly ran for some sort of shelter. Running to the east along the line of the granaries, we rushed in to the first open door. For an hour or more we kept quite closely with the soldiers as they forced the gates by the aid of artillery. It was at the third gate that we had another exciting experience. It was the custom to bring our cannon within fifty or one hundred feet of the gate and point it directly at the place where the gate-bar, usually a huge log of wood, crossed on the inside. Our cannon-balls would pierce the gate and after a while break this log of wood. The gates would then be pushed open and the infantry march in. As this particular gate was pushed in, the customary long tunnel-like passage through the wall re- vealed itself. Not anticipating any resistance from an enemy within, the advance guards started through this gate tunnel. The colors followed and about the color sergeant were grouped quite a number of civihans, among whom we found ourselves. About half-way through the tunnel, apparently within a few inches of our heads, came a sudden cloud of rifle bullets from the enemy. The advance had been unwisely ordered, for the inner court was still defended. As all of us rushed back through the passageway I can hear now the whack of thq THE BREAKING OF THE STORM 195 bullets as they passed almost through our hair and buried themselves in the half shut gate through which we had come ! Several of the advance guard were wounded in this encounter. Skirmishers were put at work, ladders run up to the top of the flanking walls and the inner court cleared before another ad- vance was ordered. Dr. Ament and I remained with the soldiers until the attack on the fourth gate had been arranged, when Major Conger told us that there was no use of remaining longer, for the attack was to be called off. We then returned to the British Legation. I think it was late the same afternoon that the ** call of the open " again mastered us. This time it was to try and find what there might be to see of the old mission compound we loved so well. I never shall forget the weirdness of it all as we two walked slowly up the Hata Gate Street. This ordinarily populous street was absolutely deserted — even uncanny in its vacancy. There may have been hundreds of eyes watching our movements through the cracks of the shut doors, but we could only feel them. Apparently every one had fled from that part of the city, anticipating the lust of the conquered and the conquering. The dusk was fast com- ing on and I urged Dr. Ament to give up Teng Shih K'ou for that day. He however had little place for fear, and of course was anxious to see what might be left of home and chapel. Hastening on we rounded the corner towards Teng Shih K'ou and here again the strangeness of it all smote to our very hearts. The deserted street, the ruined chapel and com- pound and opposite on the further corner a burning lumber yard ! Dr. Ament suggested that we push into the Pei Le Fu, the premises of a Mongol duke, adjoining our mission com- pound. This was known to have been a Boxer rendezvous. We threw open the outside gate and rushed into the outer court, not knowing what resistance we might meet. Only the dead body, perhaps of one of the gatemen, lay in our way. One of the rooms of the inner court seemed almost a small arsenal. We secured what guns and ammunition we might need, then tried to plan what was best to do. It was fast getting dark, but evidently this compound would be an emi- nently suitable place in which to care for the Chinese ref- ugees of the Peking mission, when on the morrow it would become necessary for them to leave their siege quarters near 196 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT the British Legation. It was fitting not only because it was near the ruined mission compound, but whose home would better accommodate the persecuted Christians than that of one of the dukes who was responsible for the Boxer terror that had destroyed their homes and martyred their families and friends ! Dr. Ament, brave as always, insisted on remaining through the night in the Fu, so that no one else might take possession of the houses. This did not appeal to me as wise, especially as my own family was at the British Legation and, not knowing where we were, would be caused needless anxiety. I therefore returned alone to the legation and informed Major Conger of Dr. Ament' s location and hopes. Major Conger did not feel that he could give a guard that night to so distant an outpost. He asked me, however, to lead a detachment of American soldiers to Pei Le Fu and either bring in Dr. Ament or make sure that he understood that if he remained it was at his own risk. We found him sitting peaceably in the arsenal of the Fu, but the commander of the guard finally convinced the brave fellow that nothing would be lost by returning for the night to the legation. On the next day Dr. Ament and I found that we were to be the two American Board leaders who were to remain to care for our Chinese refugees, arrange for the indemnities and pos- sibly lay again the foundations of our Peking and Tung-chow compounds and mission work. With Miss Russell, Mr. Stelle and the Peking native Christians he took up his task at the Pei Le Fu. With Dr. and Mrs. Smith, several of the single ladies and our Tung-chow refugees, I was allowed to take pos- session of the Yii-wang-fu and there take up our work in the reconstruction period. Many times in the days and months that followed did we meet new and unlooked-for problems and often discussed them together. His strong sturdy common sense and utter fearlessness, as he pushed boldly through the unattractive wastes of Chinese official promises and delays brought him finally through to victory for his persecuted flock. He won for them homes and protection and new friends. For himself he sought no reward, but found it a thousandfold in the love of those he helped and in the respect and honor of those he had to compel to help. The following letter has its special interest as being the first one definitely dated from the well-known Fu. THE BREAKING OF THE STORM 197 Mongol Fu, Pekingi '^^g- 20, igoo. Dear Mary : I am settled in this old Fu. Miss Haven, Miss Russell and Miss Sheffield are here for the present. Stelle has come to remain, dear old boy that he is. The political situation is unsettled. Russians and Japanese are supposed to be at enmity. The Russians have already be- gun to clear up this east side of the city and soon things will begin to put on a new face. Pillaging goes on all the time and the city is desolate in her ruins. I have here about two hun- dred Christian refugees, poor worn persecuted ones whom I am feeding on food taken from the rich famihes near by. They ought to suffer in view of all the misery they have created. To-morrow morning early the first batch of foreigners will leave Peking for Tientsin under escort of United States ma- rines. In two weeks' time there will hardly be a foreign lady or child in Peking. The customs ladies are all leaving. I have suddenly developed into a man of influence as I have charge of the Fu, and the neighbors treat me as though I were a prince. They have brought me in eggs, chickens, ducks, and grapes galore. They taste good to a tongue grown used to horse meat and poor rice. Our poor people come in with their tales of woe which would break a heart of stone. Many have been killed and I shall act as avenger if I can meet the brutes in human form. No one thinks that mercy should be shown them. When I am rested I will write more fully. Arthur Smith will be the historian of this historic period. I hope he will do it well, though his views are pessimistic. Peking is a medley of nations and no such sights are visible in any part of the world. The city may be reduced to a desert. It looks that way now. Two thousand eight hundred Germans are coming north and shooting every man, woman and child they meet. They can hardly be blamed, as their minister was shot dead in such a dastardly way. Our people have stood well and deserve the support and care which I am now giving them. Only this word more. Pet Le Fu, Aug. 25, igoo. Dear Mary : I am driven with work in looking after my refugee Christians ; about two hundred in all are in my charge. Tung- chow people are in another place. The Russian soldiers are 198 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT ravishing the women and committing horrible atrocities. Very little redress. Stelle is with me. The city is stagnant and only very slowly are people coming out of hiding. I shall soon begin some punitive measures on Boxers. China seems a ruined country. We may all have to leave. Our people from the country and the region of Shantung come with horrible stories of Boxer cruelties. Our churches are simply wiped out. Only a small remnant will remain. We must reconstruct as best we can. We find buried silver in good quantities and plenty of grain, so that our people have plenty to eat and to wear. Deacon Wan is the only man who can live in his own house. Kuang and wife were both killed. Boxers made little distinction between good and bad. Some of our worst people are gone and some of our best. Ta T'ung, wife and six chil- dren were killed. Some of the old schoolgirls are killed. We have a remnant of twenty girls left with us. Most are from Pao Ting Fu. Sixty-one foreigners were killed in Shansi ; doubtless our whole mission there was wiped out. Pao Ting Fu is a desert. The foreign soldiers will not leave for some months perhaps. The powers are divided in counsel and little is being done to settle matters. We can only hold on to our fragments and wait. August 27th. — I am trying to write you a daily letter but am too driven to think of anything but crushing duties. The cemetery was despoiled by Boxers. Mr. Mateer and other newly buried bodies were dug up and burned by Boxers. I am going out to see, as Mrs. Mateer is wild to know the facts before she leaves. Everything is in confusion. The women are afraid of the Russian soldiers. The devil is abroad. New refugees in this morning. Went to see the cathedral en route. The Catholics suffered more than we did. All in distress. No union among the powers and no light in the darkness as yet. August 28th. — To-day foreign troops entered the forbidden city. Civilians were not suffered to be present, but I secured a pass from Mr. Conger and with Miss Haven, Miss Russell and Miss Sheffield, went on to the coal hill where we had a magnificent view. Troops of seven nations went through the city from north to south. Only a few eunuchs were on the premises. It was a grand sight and one to be remembered. Am still busy buying, getting grain, as we may see a famine next spring. Boxers still busy at Cho Chou. My mouth is still sore from scurvy contracted in legation during siege. We THE BREAKING OF THE STORM 199 had so few vegetables that nearly all foreigners are suffering in that way Neighbors who desire my protection still bring in chickens, eggs, ducks, etc. We are quite well provided for the winter. I think I have grain enough for my nearly two hundred Christians to last for the winter. I have worn myself out ia that service. One of Ta T'ung's children has been found and will be brought in this evening. Villagers are be- ginning to offer to restore houses so far as they can. Boxer lead- ers must be sought out and punished so far as possible I shall begin in that line soon. It would not be right for such men to remain unpunished. No decision as yet as to disposition of the Empress or the political future of China. Am very busy and ^^^August 2Qth.— Now that we are freed from the Boxers, the burden of our lives is the Russian soldier. He comes in at pleasure, handles our things and makes himself generally dis- agreeable. It is our misfortune to be under Russian jurisdic- tion To-day I found in a loft, where the former owners of this place kept their valuables, four watches, some sycee and oceans of jewelry. We shall get it all over in the strong-room of the American Legation as soon as possible. Tui Hsi has returned and said while acting as a beggar at the Northwest Gate he saw nine Presbyterian Christians killed, among them Feng Lin's fiancee. One was not dead and asked for water when a soldier ran her through with his sword boi- diers and Boxers were all the same. Humanity shudders at the atrocities. Yet Russia, indeed none of the powers, feels called upon to avenge the slaughtered saints. I am just off to see Mr Conger, to see if we are to submit to the insults ot the Russians. Perhaps a guard can be placed in our gateway. At any rate something must be done, or I may hurt some one. 1 send you a letter written by a neighbor, student o the Tung Wen Kuan (Dr. Martin's former college). No letter from you since the one received June 4th. Do you imagine "^ Good-bye. Love and kisses from your old husband. It will soon be two years since I left your cheering presence. Peking, Aug. 22, igoo. Dear Dr. Ament : . , u ^f ^.r Many thanks for your protecting the "^e^\bers of my family, thirty-one in number including the servants. Durmg 200 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT these last few days I have been ordered by my superior officers, their Excellencies Kun Kang, Ching Hsin, Huo Te, Ah Ke Tan, Na Tung, Shih Hsu, and Wen Lien, the ministers of the Tsung Li Yamen, and different boards. They desire me to in- terpret their language to the ministers of foreign powers. First of all they made an apology for my government, second they ask favors of foreign ministers, and generally for the Chinese creatures. Since I have no leisure to learn lecture from you, I beg to ask what will be your convenient hour, within a few days, so I may show my respect to you. Last evening when I re- turned home I was told by my sons that they have committed a sad fault because they were ignorant of European customs. They thought they were right to buy some coarse rice from the grain shop without getting your order. Being so tired that I have got no time to explain to them the rules of Western nations, I am sorry to say that I have also committed a fault. However since we are under your protection and you are our kind neigh- bor I hope you will forgive us. Yours most respectfully. Wen Jin. There is nothing on earth sweeter to think upon than the divine pity and tenderness and longing that looked out from the eyes of Jesus upon suffering men and women who came to Him for help. — Henry Kingman. XIY FLOTSAM AND JETSAM IN PEKING Miss Russell's Narrative : The annual meeting came in June and Dr. Ament went to attend one or two important sessions. For days the church members had been coming in from the country, many of them dirty, destitute, sick, injured and as helpless as children. Homes, clothing, food, money, hope and courage, all gone. One dark night one of the country church-members, who had two sons in the palace as servants, came to the compound and on learning that Mr. Ament was away came to me and said : " Tell the pastor to leave the city to-morrow and take you all with him ; it is going to be very dreadful and unless you go quickly, you cannot escape." I assured him that the pastor would not go and leave them and added, '' What about you? " "Oh," said he, "it does not matter if we are killed, but if anything should happen to the pastors, who then would love the Chinese and want to work for China? " I assured him: " God would raise up others if the present friends were re- moved." Again and again, with tears running down his face, did he urge that we leave the city immediately. He was so afraid that he would not come into the house but stood on the porch in the shadow. Timid at that time, a few days later courage came to him to die rather than deny his Master. On the 6th of June the Christians in the city met at the American Board Mission to discuss plans and to pray for guidance; no one but church-members were allowed, as the people were afraid of spies. Plan after plan was proposed, but these did not meet the approval of the foreign pastors present. These latter did not then realize the danger in the city or the magnitude of the movement and felt that the Chinese were overanxious. It was a meeting I am sure no one could forget. Just before the close, Dr. Ament came in from a call at the American Legation and seeing the distress of the Christians, in- vited them all to come to the American Board Mission and 201 202 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT said: '*We will live or die together. We shall not forsake you." These words will always be remembered by those there that day and the wonderful prayer by Pastor Teng of the Pres- byterian Mission which closed that session gave courage to many who with him and his entire family were called to lay down their lives for the Master during the next few days. Dr. Ament's rescue of the Tung-chow friends is well known, and many a man has been given a Victoria Cross for a less brave deed. He was quite unwilling to leave the American Board Mission and go with the others to the Methodist Mis- sion. He felt that he, with some of the other helpers and men in the printing office, could hold the place. One day when all alone in his study, a man from a large grain shop came to call. After asking if he were alone in the house he said in a whis- per : " It is going to be very bad in the city and we cannot save the others but you come and we will hide you and protect you with our lives." This man was a friend whom Dr. Ament had made one day by dropping in and asking for a string when his bicycle gave out near his shop. On Wednesday, June 13th, Dr. Ament conducted the reg- ular service at prayer-meeting ; it was the last gathering of many, as a church. How tender and sympathetic would be the message of such a pastor at such a time. Four hours later the place was in flames, some of them struck down, the rest fleeing from the city. About an hour before the burning of the missions in the city, Dr. Ament went down to the Metho- dist Mission in response to a called conference. He was planning to go back, when word came that the Boxers had entered the city and were burning the Methodist Street chapel. All night long the heavens were aglow with the light of burning homes and churches, and the noise and din of a shouting, frenzied mob filled the ears. The next morning Dr. Ament, with only his cane as a weapon, at daylight went alone from the Methodist Mission to his own a mile away. Going by back and side streets he reached the old place without many people seeing him. On his return he said, in speaking of the ruin and desolation : "There is not enough left to make a match-box." He went all through the ruins to see if any one was injured that he could rescue. While standing at the entrance of the little alley leading to the mission and wondering which way to go, he noticed men looking at him and running towards a large FLOTSAM AND JETSAM IN PEKING 203 residence where many Boxers were located. Knowing that unless he moved quickly it would be too late he started a few steps down the big street, when looking up he saw a company of Boxers standing in the entrance of the Mongol palace just to the east and seemingly waiting for him. He turned at once and entered a small alley just south and made his way to the back gate of the mission to the blind. This was all in ruins and finding no one he went to the great street. Walking quickly he heard his name called and looking round saw a boy who had at one time been in the boys' school, but had left to learn a trade. Because he was a Christian he had been turned out of the shop and had spent the night on the street. Seeing Dr. Ament he asked him to take him with him which he accordingly did. Later on, when volunteers were asked for to attempt to take a message to Tientsin, he was the only one to respond. In speaking of it afterwards, he said, ''The pastor saved my life and wouldn't I do anything I could to save his?" During the siege, Dr. Ament was appointed to take charge of all Chinese clothing taken from the Chinese shops and homes about the legation and to distribute what was needed to the destitute Chinese. A few days after the foreigners had removed to the British Legation, he was stand- ing at the gateway of the Russian Legation with six bottles of water in his hands, when a bullet came whizzing along and broke two of the bottles. This frightened him so that he dropped the other four. He said afterwards: "That jump was the highest I have ever made, I think, and I am sure it was a record breaker." The night but one before the relief came, I walked with him for an hour in the compound of the legation. It was a beauti- ful moonlight night and all was quiet. Our hearts were most anxious over the Chinese Christians who had not been with us in the siege. ''Where were they? Who were left? How many had been faithful ? Where should we go when we left the legation ? How should we and the three or four hundred Chinese who were directly dependent on us, live ? The little churches in the country, what of them?" It was impossible for all to stay at the legation after the allies came, and Dr. Ament had been talking with Mr. Conger, our American minister. It was decided to take possession of the large Mongol palace, east of the American Board Mission. This had been one of the strongholds of the Boxers. It was they 204 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT who had burned the American Board Mission and killed many of the Protestant Christians. From this place we early went to our old compound. Noth- ing but ruins everywhere. Not a tree, not a shrub, or vine left. Could order ever be brought out of such desolation? Ah, that night we entered into sympathy with the Jew^s as they came back from their exile and saw the destruction of homes and sanctuary. I shall never forget the flash of Dr. Ament's eyes as in response to my saying : "This place but represents the condition of the church ; we shall not live to see it regain what has been lost," he said, ** Don't be discouraged; in ten years it will have more than regained." I am glad God did not take him away until he had seen his prophecy more than fulfilled in less time than that. Pekingy Sept. i, igoo. Dearest Mary : Last evening Mr. Wells of Tengchofu came from Tientsin and brought our mail which had been waiting there for some time. No man was ever more heartily welcomed. How hungry I was for a sight of your writing, not having seen a word since June 4th. I just learned of your telegram which never reached me, getting no further than Chefoo, where it was piled up with hundreds of others. Your anxiety for me has been great. I am afraid your health has suffered. You may never know how wonderfully I have been sustained — good health, grace and spirit to do a little for others. You may see some time in the London Tifnes of my rescue of the Tung- chow people. Dr. Morrison telegraphed it long ago and many have spoken to me about it. Brother Li of the North Chapel just comes in crying to say his wife, mother and three children were killed by Boxers, and property divided up. Those wretches and he had no feud. Gamewell covered himself with glory during the siege. He was our engineer. I am interrupted all the time and can only write a few words. I am holding the church together but a relief will come some day. We have about two hundred Christians whom I am carrying as they have neither houses nor means of livelihood. Pastor Jen is my right hand man and keeps the respect of all. To-morrow is our first communion service. Communion service plates and goblets were stolen by the Boxers. I have no clothes for a change, practically what I have is on my back — no shoes, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM IN PEKING 205 stockings, neckties, no trunk. We left the Methodist Episcopal Mission with what we could carry in our hands. Fruit is coming in, for which we are glad. My scurvy mouth is well. Peking, Sept. j, igoo. It will be just two years to-morrow since I left you and my heart behind in Owosso. It seems an age. Passage of time makes it no easier to be separated, but these poor people need me and I cannot leave them. About the time I finished your letter who should turn up but poor old Wen Ma and Moses — Willie's nurse and her grandson — who came to say that they had come in from the mountains where they had been hiding. They were a sorrowful looking set and have suffered for their faith. I gave them room here and will feed them for a while. Four men left this morning for Cho Chou and will try and look up the church-members there, also at Liang Hsiang. I am busy looking after my people and hope soon to see some of them reinstated in their homes. In some places people are offering to rebuild homes of Christians and restore grain and animals. Of course they cannot bring back the dead to life. I cannot act as avenger in so many cases, and one may forgive vile rascals who pretend to repent. Still I prefer to err on the safe side. A man brought me last evening six mules and one donkey as he had no food for them — the Russians stripping him of everything. So his animals were starving. I gave Deacon Li of the North Church three mules and Deacon Kuo will take the other three. In this way our people are getting some com- pensation for their losses. I have now nearly twenty horses and mules. You see the need of gathering grain. Famine may be on us before the winter is through. Dr. Martin is very poorly to-day, out of his head till nearly noon. He is hurrying home to his children as he now realizes his weakness. Fruit is coming in now and we are supplied in every respect. I am getting a pillow made and may sleep comfortably after three months of discomfort. I may be able to get shoes and underclothes from the army commissary. I am very destitute. I need books, as I have nothing but my Bible left. September 8th. — Stelle, Miss Haven, Mrs. Mateer and Wells, Dr. Mateer's nephew, left this morning under an escort of Ameri- can soldiers for Tientsin. Troops are preparing to spend the winter here. Boxer trouble is by no means past. Anywhere within twenty miles Boxers can be found and they propose tg 206 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT keep up the fight. The crops are good and fruit comes in abundance. The city is getting quiet though the diplomats seem to have settled on no "modus operandi." Two of our people started for Cho Chou and I am afraid met Boxers near Liang Hsiang and are killed. It is too bad after they have escaped so many dangers. Two correspondents are with us, one the son of Dr. Keen, a Methodist Episcopal preacher. Very pleasant men. God bless you all and always. W. S. A. September lo, igoo. Gattrell has been here but I was out. Your present was beautiful, appropriate and opportune. Many thanks and em- braces also to Anna and dear Willie. Everything is needed and in order. I can barely get along with what I have. You see we left the Methodist Episcopal compound with what we could carry in our hands and we had to take food. I am so sorry you have had the terrible anxieties concerning me and had really given me up. I am very much alive and have been all the time. We should have been exterminated with a brave foe, but the Chinese however numerous will not attack several hundred armed men. At the Roman Catholic cathedral after a wide breach was made in the walls the Chinese were too cowardly to enter, though there were only four rifles to oppose them. Then we must not leave out our providential protection. A mine has been discovered, which by some unexampled stupidity ran in the wrong direction and if exploded would have killed their own men. Did the Lord confuse their minds and blind their eyes ? Our missionaries in Pao Ting Fu and Shansi have been killed, also Dr. Taylor and others whom you have not met. The final reports will fill the world with horror. The Japanese section of the city is most prosperous. Orientals understand each other. I may lead a punitive expedition to San Ho and Shun Yi in a few days. Two of our people have been chopped up lately. Murders are going on continually. Sol- diers must go to the country and scatter the Boxers. Stelle has gone to Japan. He must have a change. I am well and getting in food for our people during the winter. Cheer up and keep brave; a better day is at hand. Must haste, W. S. A, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM IN PEKING 207 Peking, Sept. i8, igoo. The war is by no means over and there are Boxers gathering between here and Cho Chou, and to-day or to-morrow there will be fighting. The English soldiers are waiting for the Boxers to get as many together as possible and make a big slaughter. Twenty miles from Peking in almost any direction you can find Boxers in abundance. Our soldiers are wonder- fully quiet, but I think there will be aggressive movement before long. The Misses Wyckoff are coming to stay with us after Mrs. Mateer and Miss Haven go away. They leave in two days for Tientsin. Dr. Mateer is rather impatient. The Tung-chow people have to leave their fine residence, as the Russians want it. I am glad we are in a place the Russians cannot covet. We are getting in provisions for the winter. I have been absent on an expedition for five days. No letter on my return. Captain Forsythe and two hundred cavalry troops went— I as guide and interpreter— to Sha Ho and other places east of Peking. We burned two Boxer head- quarters, destroyed some arms and brought in sixteen refugees, Christians who had been in hiding. It was a hard trip for me and I was worked in looking up the road and getting food for the troops up to the limit of my strength. Crossing rivers is a serious matter at this season of the year. The Boxers ran like wild deer from us, and w^e found it impossible to catch them in the high grain. The expedition did great good in stilling the people and causing bad people to fear and good people could see how well our soldiers behaved when on the trip. Am called away to see about Swedish missionaries murdered in Shansi. Many were killed en route to Kalgan. About the 27th of September the bric-a-brac and other valuables found in the Mongol compound now occupied were offered for sale for the benefit of the destitute Christians. The sales amounted to about fifteen hundred taels, a small amount considered pro rata to the several hundred refugees that were being cared for. Among those who shared in the hospitality of Dr. Ament was the correspondent of the Sun. At the time it was impos- sible to get foreign foods, so much needed, except through the army commiss?bry. The correspondent through the 208 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT courtesy of the army could draw for such foods as were needed, which proved a great help at the time. The political situation was very uncertain. The Eus- sian forces had been suddenly withdrawn, with an ulterior object, and the American troops were also withdrawn. But fifteen thousand Germans were coming in and the Japanese would remain. Miss RusselFs narrative continued : The conditions existing in Peking during that autumn re- mind me of what Paris was at the time of the French Revolu- tion. After the Christians had been sought out by a house to house inspection, there came a time of blackmail and revenge. This was so great that the government appointed certain places where alone people should be tried. So great was the disorder that all weddings were either put off, or conducted with little ceremony, which was also true of funerals. Many besides for- eigners were glad to have the soldiers from abroad. Day after day Dr. Ament held an impromptu court. Men from villages who had been guilty of destroying either chapels, or the homes of the Christians, came to him. It was as good as a theatre to see him administer justice, and there were many ludicrous scenes. He was like a father. Many of them he knew by name or reputation. Often, while we were at meals, the door would suddenly open and some one would drop on his knees, saying : " Forgive me, old pastor ; forgive me." Some he scolded roundly, especially the gentry and men who should have known better. He made his settlements according to Chinese law, dealing directly with the offenders, saving thereby all costs of lawsuits and the extra squeezes of the underlings. This was a method that appealed to all the Chinese and they felt that he cared for them and did not intend to be hard upon them. It is needless to say that not all of the Chinese who worked with Dr. Ament and whom he trusted to carry out his wishes were true and upright, and there were things that stirred him to the deepest anger and sorrow. As early as possible he went to Cho Chou and Liang Hsiang. For twenty years he had gone back and forth in this region and knew the gentry and leading men as well as the officials. He was thus able to save the city from destruction. He found his old friend the magis- FLOTSAM AND JETSAM IN PEKING 209 trate in a state of nervous prostration. He saw the head men and advised them to bring in the food and grain which the French and Germans demanded and to help their official in every way. The entire winter was spent in the reestablishing of the Chris- tians in their homes. In every case this was done in such a manner that no root of bitterness was left and not one family felt they could not go back and live with their old neighbors. Dr. Ament personally saw each family re-located. He called on the head men of the village and made them responsible for peace and quiet. It is needless to say that he gave plenty of ** sound words" to the church-members, and exhorted them with many "good words." In all this settlement he showed that he understood the Chinese character, and if any proofs were needed they may be seen in the many beautiful silk um- brellas and banners that were presented to him. One of the hardest struggles Dr. Ament had with himself and some of his flock was when a noted Boxer was caught and brought to him to be handed over to the Germans. This man had killed eleven members of one family. For a night and a day he was kept bound in a side room while the pastor was seeing what was best to do. Much to the displeasure of the men who caught him Dr. Ament told him that if he would pay enough money to support a young widow and her little child he would spare him. This the man agreed to and the next day the money was brought. When the allies came and the siege was over not one of the church-members had any way of making a living. Their homes and shops were in ashes, and they had no business in the city. Knowing that the people, if idle, would be in mischief, he set to work at once to start them in legitimate business. The country people had to be clothed and looked after, as they could have nothing until the next crops. Dr. Ament advanced on their indemnity money and thus tried to get them into normal conditions. Thus it came about that long before the church-members of other denominations or places were settled, Dr. Ament had restored old conditions as far as possible. This was not an easy thing to do. Many of the country people had never had any amount of ready money in their hands, and on receiving their indemnity were reckless in expending it. Others were wild to locate in the city, some wanted to go into business, while some were revenge- 210 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT ful, and wanted an eye for an eye. Dr. Ament, knowing their inability, and the conditions of the times, had to insist on their going back to their farms. It took great patience and tact to bring this about. Many of the women were unwiUing to go back to the hard Hfe of the farm, after a winter of being cared for in the city. Some of the men would not take his advice, and lost all they had in their unwise investments. In the midst of all this care, when he was weary in body and mind, there came like a thunderbolt the article by Mark Twain in the North Ainerican Review. I remember that that day I went to his study on a matter of business, and found him sitting- at his desk, as if stricken at the heart. I exclaimed, ** What is it ? Are you ill ? " ** If I am what that man says, I am not fit for you to speak to me ! I feel as though I should go off and hide myself in a cave in the mountain, never again to be seen of man." I thought he had gone out of his head with all his cares, and I replied, ''What you need is rest and a doctor, and I am going to send for one." If the writer of that article could have seen how he suffered he would have felt that every cent he received for that article would be a red hot coal of fire. A brave, masterful man he was, ever ready to relieve, not to add to the sum of human suffering, and while in some things he may have been unwise, his mistakes, whatever they may have been, were of the head and not the heart. With great patience he searched out all that could be found of the martyred church -members. The remains or ashes were gathered and services were arranged for. Dr. Ament all his life believed in settling all questions according to their indi- vidual merits, and at this time there were no wholesale deci- sions in regard to those who were weak in the faith. Those who had recanted were sought out, and each one was helped or re- proved as it seemed best to the pastor. Not once in all the set- tlements did I see one thing that looked like revenge. He gave himself for all alike, in and out of the church. Is it any wonder the people said, '' He loved the Chinese " ? The past eight years he has worked to strengthen them, making them more and more feel that the church is their own, and trying to encourage to stronger growth the desire for self-support. Last autumn, in speaking of his feeling that his work for China was over he said, ''I have worked for one thing in my missionary life and that is to establish self- DR. AMENT RECEIVING VILLAGE DEPUTATION FLOTSAM AND JETSAM IN PEKING 211 supporting churches as far as possible, or at least to get that idea implanted strongly so that with time and the natural growth they will come of themselves to desire self-sup- port." Dr. Ament established seventeen of the twenty-two churches connected with the Peking station. These little churches were as dear to his soul as children to a parent. He knew the names of all. — men, women and children. Many were the problems which awaited him in his country visits, some easy of solution, but others, owing to jealousy, or a desire to save one's face, required the utmost tact and patience. One of his deacons said, "Dr. Ament would reprove us severely, but no man ever went away in anger. He would always put his hand on the man's shoulder and say, ' Come, let us pray about this,' and in his heart, whether the man did what Dr. Ament wanted him to do or not, he always went away wishing he could be as good as the pastor wanted him to be." One of the native pastors, using a Chinese simile, said, ** Dr. Ament always gave a man a chance to get off the stage if he had done wrong. He never let a man go away feeling he had Most face. ' " Dr. Ament felt that the best was none too good to give to the country people. He sought to interest them in newspapers, in all new lines of agricultural development, and in all things that might open their minds and add to their prosperity and happiness. His knowledge of the Chinese classics and history, his admiration for their heroes, all made him a welcome guest either for the official and literary classes or in the humble homes of the common people. His magic lantern was always his companion, and the joy and delight it brought to the people in the country who never had such treats can best be imagined. It was always a trial to him not to see things moving ; the nat- ural inertness of the Chinese in the country wore on him and yet he had large charity for them. As a pastor, he knew his people. They were dear to him and he to them. He might speak of their shortcomings, but woe to the other man who did. The man or woman who was down, or from whom others turned, were his special care. He knew how to be a true friend, and sought to find the best in a man and cultivate that into a living power transforming the life. *' Came the whisper, came the vision, came the power with the need. Till the soul that is not man's soul was lent to him to lead." Ask God to give the skill For comfort's art. That thou may'st consecrated be, And set apart Unto a life of sympathy For heavy is the vi^eight of ill For every heart, And comforters are needed much Of Christ-like touch. XV WHEN WARS CEASE Fekifig, Oct. 75, igoo. My dear Mary : Your letter of September 4th just in. I now find that letters written the first part of June did not get through to Tientsin. I wrote almost every day and did everything I could to keep you informed. Your telegrams did not reach me and no private telegram could be sent from this end. I have been as anxious as you, but it does no good to worry. Two columns of soldiers, French and English, have gone to Pao Ting Fu and that city will be punished. / leave on Monday or Tuesday for Cho Chou, takuig back church-mem- bers and settling them. If Wilder can come here, you may see me at home next spring. No aggressive work can be done now and I may as well leave as not. Only the Christians must be settled and claims paid in some way first. Boxers are get- ting their deserts in many places. A letter from the Cho Chou magistrate says he has a large place on the ?nain street to give me. The French soldiers are in Cho Chou, and I am afraid the place has been severely punished. Several Catho- lics were killed there. Li Hung Chang is in the city but there is no light on the situation. Reported punishment of Prince Tuan is false. American policy is too weak and does not help solve problems. Cho Chou, Oct. 18, igoo. To Mrs. Ament : I reached here to-day quite worn out. I have not been well for some days. The Cho Chou people were glad to see me, and the gentry gave me quite a reception. They think it was my words that kept the foreign soldiers from burning the 212 WHEN WARS CEASE 213 city. Perhaps it was. I spoke to the advance guard and told them tliat the magistrate was a good man and pro-foreign. It would take volumes to tell of my settling Boxer matters. Box- ers are all scattered but their ravages are seen on every hand. To-morrow I am to pick out a place from Boxer property for a new chapel for us. The Boxers in Cho Chou were not so much for killing as for making money. Some of our members are re- duced to poverty by paying fines. In Pu An Tun where they wanted to kill me, I have cleared the idols out of the temple used by the Boxers and will turn it into a chapel. The magistrate here called on me to-day, before I had rested up to go and see him. I reside at present in a Kung Kuan, or public cafe. My reception was quite royal. The gentry came out to meet me and sent presents of fruits, etc. I looked over the list of names of donors and crossed off the Boxers. This made a panic and I am told they want to pay to be let off from my wrath ! I am pastor and judge at once. It was pitiful to see some of my people cry on seeing me. Some of them said they would have gladly died could they have seen me first. Some of them were hid in holes for two months and others spent nights and days in the fields. It was a mercy that it was summer and the grain was high, otherwise many could not have hid. It will take several visits to straighten out all affairs. Twenty Boxers have been beheaded by the French soldiers who patrolled this region and others driven away, and property confiscated. We are not through with them yet. The devil overdid himself this time in this masterpiece. It will recoil on his own head. No religion ever had such an advertisement as ours has had. I could open the doors and take in multitudes. I imagine our faithful ones will still be among the poor. My pony went lame and I had to walk. I have no appetite, only a sense of weakness. Always expect the best until you know the worst. Take cheerful views and think of your old husband who pines for a sight of you. University Club, Fifth Avemie and 54th St. Neiv York, Oct. 22, igoo. My dear Sir : I have just been reading Dr. Morrison's letter to the London Times in which he gives you a deserved credit for your daring and humane work in the relief of the missionaries 214 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT at Tung-chow. While I am not sure that I met you, although I Hke to believe I did, when in Peking about a year ago, I still want to write you a line of cordial thanks and congratula- tions over your exploits, on the occasion referred to and other- wise. Men like you not only hold up the name and repute of Americans abroad, but, on professional sides, do vast good for the missionary cause in China and at large. To you perhaps your work was done as a simple duty, but you did it while others held back, and when, in fact, it was a daring effort. I would be obliged to you for a hne at some time, if only to establish a more intimate relation with a man of your stamp. You may identify me as the counsel to the American China Development Company, who was in Peking last October and November, on the affairs of the Hankow-Canton Railway. I think I was introduced to you by Dr. Lowry, whom I have since met here. I know I have met Mr, Gamewell, who also appears to have done good work and to whom please give my congratulations. You appear to have rescued Mr. Smith, the author of the ''Chinese Characteristics." If so, you did a good thing for the world at large, if only in this regard. Again with cordial regards, and best wishes, I remain, my dear sir, Faithfully yours, Clarence Carv. Nan Meng, Thursday evening. (No date to this ; probably in November, after the visit at Cho Chou— about the 17th.) Dear Mr. Stelle : Thanks for your letter and the reassuring tone. I am glad things are O. K. in Peking. In Wen An and Pao Ting I have simply had a splendid time. The officials and people are grateful for everything and the affairs of the church are ami- cably settled. The Pa Chou magistrate talked very well on my way down, but I find that it is all talk. I delay here to- morrow to see him again and talk justice straight at him. I cannot palaver much longer. There is to be the greatest opportunity in these regions for the Gospel that the world has ever seen. The time is ripe and the need imperative. Men should be planted at once in these regions. Your prayer was answered as to a pleasant Sabbath. I spent the day in Nan Meng and we had sweet times together. WHEN WARS CEASE 215 We had a memorial of their Pastor Hung. Many eyes were wet as we recounted what he had done for the people. I saw Mrs. Hung and she thinks that she and the children will come to Peking next week. Six hundred and eighty Christians and Catholics were killed in Jen Ch'iu District, and the priests have fined the region 750,000 strings of cash, about a quarter of a million dollars, gold, — a huge sum for them to pay. I wish Miss Russell would write a few lines to my wife to fill in the gap ; as I have no ink or pen I cannot write to her. I have suffered from the cold. I tear along on my horse and then wait for the cart in a sheltered nook. Our great need is for trained men to put into the field. We ought to have one in every market town. I have arranged for two new chapels in Wen An and Fao Ting cities and we are back in the old chapel in Nan Meng. I hope to spend Sunday in Cho Chou and reach home Tuesday or Wednesday. I have thought the street sprinkling need not be contracted for now that it freezes. Yours fraternally, W. S. A. Peking^ Nov. 4, igoo. My dear Mary : Every hour brings nearer the time when I shall see your face again. That thought fills me with a sublime contentment, so that I can wait patiently for a few paltry days that remain to pass. Only those who have had our separation can know the exaltation of our joy in reunion. Roberts has been written to and as he is in good health there is no doubt that he will come and give me a vacation. I am needing one now. Jaundice claims me for its own and will not loosen its grip on me. Dr. H. H. Lowry told our people that I ought to be sent right away. Of course our people must be established in some way before it would be right for me to leave. I do not see much light in the general settlement of the country. In fact it looks as if there might be some more uprising and foreign soldiers may have to scour the country for the malcontents. The Chinese are so stupid that they will not believe in the power of foreigners until they feel the strong blow on their shoulders. I have now a very convenient desk and a sunny corner in which to sit and write^ as I have only three books to my name, 216 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT except the Bible. These books by Professor Jordan were sent to me by Professor Lyman of Shanghai. We have service in Chinese with no hymn-books and no Bibles. Four Bibles have been received from Tientsin and these with the books which the Christians have dug from their gardens constitute our library. Already we are enlarging our chapel and if all goes well we shall yet see our best days in mission work. Pao Yu [his table boy] has just learned the particulars of the death of his mother and Mrs. Tuan, — two Bible women. They were cut to pieces outside the Ha Ta Gate, and the man who knew them risked his life in burying them. There is a report that the Empress Dowager has killed her- self. At Hsi An Fu the conditions were all unfavorable. The Mohammedans were threatening a rebellion in her immediate vicinity and a famine was on hand. Her trusted advisers turned out to be the real enemies of the state, and foreign pow- ers were making serious demands for the punishment of her friends. Her outlook was gloomy. No one could sympathize with her. It is possible she is still living, but if she is gone the settling of the affairs of the country will be far more easy. I have two stoves in which I burn coal balls, and a foreign stove in which I burn wood. I keep comfortable and have nothing to complain of in material surroundings. I have a good pony and two good mules which I do not consider my personal property. These and many others were turned out on the street by owners, as they had no grain to feed them. To- morrow an agent from Li Hung Chang comes to me to talk over plans for the settlement of church affairs. The Chinese are beginning to realize that missions have some concern with their prosperity and that their best friends are missionaries. I think most of the remaining cases can be settled without my working so hard. Dr. Sheffield took supper with us. Wish you could do the same. Peking, Nov. 14, igoo. Dear Mary : I am very sober over what I hear as to the behavior of the German soldiers in Cho Chou. They behave more like demons than men. The city had been fairly well punished. Boxers had been decapitated. Others had been fined and passing troops had taken grain and animals to eat it. Then these Germans come along, with no right, as it is really French WHEN WARS CEASE 217 territory, and strip the people of even the clothes they wear, and it is cold weather. To-morrow I shall see Mr. Conger and secure his interference on the ground that these Germans robbed my premises (in Cho Chou). We hear nothing of peace ne- gotiations. Perhaps you know more than we do. I am sur- prised that Peking is recovering as rapidly as it is from the ravages of Boxers and foreign soldiers. The streets in some places are as animated as ever and business is prospering. Whether or not the grain will hold out till spring I do not know. I have quite a stock of rice on hand, but I am pro- posing to keep it. To-morrow I go with Stelle and others into the forbidden city on General Chaffee's permit. More Ameri- cans are seen drunk than other nationalities and in many ways our soldiers are a disgrace to the republic. I have been protecting villages from our soldiers. The villagers are very grateful. Dr. Sheffield is opening up his schools, also the Methodist Episcopal people. It will be interestiDg at this point to refer to the ar- raDgements for the Tang-chow missionaries and the church -members of that station. Mr. Tewksbury, with like efficiency to that shown by Dr. Ament, had at once discovered a large palace which had been partially looted by the Russians. It belonged to the family Yii, and was known as Yii-wang-fu, palace of the Prince Yii. The father had died and there remained the little princelet and his mother with other members of the family. The place was accepted by Mr. Conger as suitable for the large company of missionaries and members from Tung- chow. They left the British Legation at once and found a comfortable quarter in the many courts of this fine place. It was about half-way between the legation and Teng Shih K^ou, on one of the narrower lanes. Ere long, in the general division of the city into quarters and the assignment of these quarters to the several national com- manders, the east side of the Tartar city was divided between the Italians and the Russians. The southern half of this section was assigned to the former. As soon 218 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT as the Italian commander received his assignment, he found it desirable to ask for the Yii-wang-fu for his officers. Mr. Tewksbury ere long found a most con- venient palace for rent somewhat to the west and north of Teng Shih K'ou, known as the Chao Kung Fu. It had been for many years the residence of the brother of the Empress Dowager, whose family name was Chao. The record of the few years following the Boxer troubles will show few such interesting incidents as that of the change of feeling in the Chao family and even in the Empress Dowager in view of this close contact with the foreign mission work. Peking^ Nov. 28, igoo. Dear Mary : Just back from Liang Hsiang. It is cold weather and I have not yet received my skin overcoat. Yet I get along and have not suffered from the cold. Villains abound in Liang Hsiang. Scamps are selling permits from foreigners under false pretenses. Others are fining the people for supposed rob- bery of the railroad ; then the Catholic church comes in and claims indemnity for Boxer outrages and the magistrate must borrow money to assist him to entertain foreign soldiers. Surely their condition calls for sympathy and I think all will agree that I am doing what I can to make their position easier. The worst of it is that the miscreants under the flag of the Catholic Church are collecting money from the people. With the aid of a Catholic priest and twenty-five soldiers, French, thirteen men were shot in Tou Tien including one church- member. He had been warned that his course would lead into trouble, but he continued and his life pays the penalty. I want to hasten down to Cho Chou where doubtless another member will lose his life for his crimes. The news is that peace negotiations have broken off and an expedition will be organized to go to Hsi An Fu and bring the Empress if she can be brought. Germans and French are harrying the country and the peo- ple are ground between the upper and the nether millstones which they set up themselves. Most of them acknowledge their stupidity but it is rather late in the day. To-morrow I WHEN WARS CEASE 219 am off for Cho Chou and Wen An and Fan Chia Chuang where Old Fan was killed, and where the helpers find it difficult to settle matters alone. Back from there I go to Shun Yi and thus I trust all the country work will be settled. Then before the Chinese year I expect the work in the country will be in running order and I can sniff home in the air. You know I can work hard and ride swiftly when I am going towards home. Blessed words ! Mrs. Sheffield is expected in a day or two. I am getting a warm riding-jacket from the British commissary. I am in good health and travel mostly on horseback. I have a swift mule for the cart and a very fine pony to ride. I have a soldier's cot to sleep on and it is strong and comfortable. If I had a colleague the work would speedily be closed up, but everything has to come to me for settlement and the questions are many. I will try and write you from the country. Peking J Jan. i, igoi. My dear Mary: All the dear ones, a Happy New Year. The day and the year open auspiciously in every respect. It is bright and clear, an omen for better things for this distracted empire. The conditions of peace are reported accepted by the Chinese with no exceptions taken. We are all invited to call on General Chaffee from eleven o'clock to one. There have been some fresh outbreaks in the country, especially those visited by the foreign troops and not properly punished. You may not know that I led a troop of horsemen through San Ho District, and because I wanted certain Boxers hunted out and punished I was spoken of as vindictive and bloodthirsty. Now it comes out that this expedition has to be repeated, because of the softness of the Americans in dealing with the Chinese ! A newspaper is to be started and Mr. Cowen, the editor, wants all our printers. He seems a pleasant man and it seems a good opportunity for our men, some of whom are out of employment. All Legation Street is reserved for foreigners, and no Chinese allowed. Our legation is greatly enlarged, as are all the others. Last evening for some officers' guests, we had native acrobats and magicians. We were all surprised at their skill. They were remarkably successful. One of the men would make a fortune in the United States in a short time. They have gone to Tung-chow to-day for the soldiers there at Stelle's expense. Our soldiers are in need of amuse- 220 AVILLIAM SCOTT AMENT ment. The canteens are too generously patronized and two murders have taken place. The Germans are the best drilled men in Peking and easily take the prizes. However, our cavalry beats them all. 1 hope to go to Tientsin to-morrow for a little change. Your old husband hopes that our little family may have a rich and glorious year at the top of this new century. May kind Providence allow me to see you before its close. Now, for General Chaffee's reception. January 6, 1901. — Sunday morning, the first Sabbath of the new year. I returned last evening, with Miss Wyckoff, from Tientsin. We had a miserable, cold ride on the train, taking eight hours to make eighty miles. Our first snow is on the ground. I had a pleasant visit in Tientsin and lectured on Chinese history to the Y. M. C. A., mostly soldiers present, a goodly company. I felt like a boy let loose from school, spent money freely, bought stove, new cap, boots for riding, etc. To reach the train and to leave it are the quintessence of inconvenience. It is all for the military, and civilians have no rights. Russians squeeze you on one hand and Germans on the other, and you are helpless. Dr. Arthur Smith has been elected pastor of Union Church and is doing good work. Prayer-meetings are well attended. Mrs. Smith still dis- tributes tracts to foreigners and Chinese alike on the streets. Wilder has taken hold of the native work so that Tientsin was never in so good condition. We shall observe the Week of Prayer. Pen Yuan has prepared a program, though there will be no union meetings of the Chinese. Good news comes from the country districts. In Cho Chou we are occupying our new premises right in the centre of the city and in Nan Meng the members are enlarging the area of the chapel. I suppose the French have reached Tai Yuan Fu, and I trust they are making that miserable place smart for its crimes against unarmed foreigners. After morning service Li Pen Yuan preached a fine sermon on: "Lo I am with you always." The house was crowded. I begin inquirers' classes to-morrow after the regular week of prayer meeting, led by Deacon Kuo. I think we shall have a fine series of meetings. I am glad now I can bend to the legitimate work of the missionary. Dr. Phipps, Y. M, C. A., insists that I must take a regular service for the soldiers. So I begin next Sunday evening and give up my enjoyment of writing to you. I trust your loss may be their gain. WHEN WAES CEASE 221 Sunday^ Jan, 27, igoi. Dear Mary \ I am doing what I do not recall that I ever did before, remaining at home deliberately and missing all the services. I need the rest and felt that it was imperative. You see there is no let up for me. It is a constant strain from morning till night. Gilbert Reid will doubtless give up his scheme and en- gage in regular mission work. He wants Stelle to go with him, but he is too late, as Stelle's fortune is linked with ours and he would not leave Peking under any consideration. I must make one more trip to Cho Chou before the [Chinese] year closes, and expect to set out next Tuesday. Peki7ig, Feb. 11, 1901. To THE Same: I am back from my Cho Chou trip. Messrs. Back- house and Peachey went with me and proved very interestmg and profitable companions. Backhouse is from a Quaker family, very rich, but he is very democratic in spirit and has set out on a career for himself as an independent student of Eastern languages. Peachey was a student in the British Legation. ^ . r • ^ ^^ j The new chapel at Cho Chou is dedicated and is fairly lined with the banners and umbrellas presented by the gentry and officials. The whole city seemed to interest itself to provide us a good time. They did this in part to show their regret over a false arrest to which we were subjected by the French and Germans, an account of which may appear in some of the papers. There was not the shadow of a shade of a reason for gathering me in. One of the Chang boys was staying on the new premises and he was wanted on the serious charge of extorting money, which was not sustained at his trial. Our claims for indemnity had been long settled and I was there to dedicate the chapel and to marry the poor boy whom the French condemned to five years' imprisonment, just to save their face and to make people think they had a case. In Cho Chou I baptized Teacher T'an whom you may recall as an inquirer of some years' standing. He has taken a bold stand as the first one received since the great persecution. Pastor Jen and the young helpers all seem to be developing in sohd graces of mind and heart. Who should come in just now but Sung Yu Tung. He was our chapel keeper and with 222 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT his mother was the last person to leave our courts. They managed to escape to their old home in Shantung. I am glad to see him, as he was a reliable fellow. My plans are not definite, scheming to get home as soon as possible. W. S. A. Pekingy Feb. i8, igoi. My dear Mary: The last day of the [Chinese] old year. I sincerely trust the day of reconstruction will not forget the calendar. Yester- day, Sunday, was a beautiful day. I preached to a crowded chapel and the whole service seemed uplifting and helpful. I spent the afternoon with Dr. and Mrs. Sheffield and had a good home visit and spiritual consolation. I reviewed my whole work in collecting indemnity and they fully approved and are prepared to defend the course taken. The corre- spondents who have written were all in the dark, and had made no proper inquiries. I have invited correspondents to come and see what was being done, but they did not come. I have been very unjustly treated by these writers, and my friends are coming to the front in defense, as all the missions have done the same things, and all believe they are right. So also does Mr. Conger, who is our good friend. Do not be disturbed by anything you see in the papers. The corre- spondents jump on to the missionaries when they are out of matter, and news has been very scarce this winter. Dr. Sheffield thinks it better for the work that I return home now than wait a little longer and make my class reunion in 1902. He does not think that of sufficient importance to warrant any delay now. So perhaps in a month or so I shall be on my way home. I am in good health and cannot claim a change on that account. On Thursday next, Dr. Edwards writes from Pao Ting Fu, they will try and find the bodies of Miss Morrill and Miss Gould and properly bury them. They were buried under the debris of the city wall, when it was blown down by the German troops. Dr. Peck is here and has been requested to go to Pao Ting Fu temporarily. Let nothing disturb thee ; Nothing affright thee ; All things are passing; God never changeth. — Longfellow. If you are slandered never mind it ; it will come off when it is dry. — C. G. Finney. XVI AN EPISODE IN MISSIONARY EXPERIENCE THE War Correspondent in mission fields was a new thing under the sun. For half a century the missionary work had gone on slowly bur- rowing its way into Chinese life and experience. No special incident had elicited any large interest in the de- tails of mission work. But conditions were chang- ing. The Japan-Chinese war of 1894-1895 hastened a considerable number of correspondents to the Far East. The brilliant efforts in China at reform in 1898 served to enhance a world-wide interest, and to bring the news- paper correspondent into a realm that was new. There was therefore nothing strange, when two years later eight nations moved to the rescue of their ministers in Peking, in the coming of many correspondents. Every considerable newspaper in the United States sent out a writer to gather up every item of available news for the benefit of its readers. In the early autumn of 1900, our American military of&cers were in haste to leave !N'orth China. They had made little effort to understand the real con- dition of affairs. The burden thrust upon them had the semblance of war, for which there seemed to them no adequate reason. It was natural that the correspondents should be much influenced by the opinions of the army. Out of this anomalous situation there arose an episode 223 224 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT in Dr. Ament's career demanding a detailed study. When Dr. Ament and Mr. Tewksbury entered the Mongol palace on the 16th of August, they found one dead body and two little sleeve dogs in charge. Deserted by its owners, the Fu was secured as a temporary resi- dence for the Christian refugees of the American Board Mission, of whom there were two hundred and more en- tirely dependent upon Dr. Ament's care. Here for two years and three months the work of re- cuperation went on. In October, 1902, the mission oc- cupied its own premises, rebuilt and expanded. During the siege and at its close the clothing of the Christian refugees had been replenished in part by goods gathered from within the legation defense circuit. The better class of goods had been sold at auction, while the inferior garments were distributed according to the need of the refugees. It had been agreed upon by Mr. Conger that whatever was found in the quarters deserted, and occupied after the siege, should be sold in like manner for the benefit of the sufferers, including those who had been driven from their homes and had finally returned to be cared for. Thus it was that all the various goods found in the Mongol palace were placed upon sale. Many of these were of considerable value, and Dr. Ament's quarters became the resort for a few days of many visitors, civil and military, who were desirous of securing some memento of the siege. From the funds thus obtained and the resources of indemnities which began to be secured, a sufficient amount of grain was purchased to carry the people gathered in the Mongol Fu through the winter. A second step in settling the affairs of the Christians followed closely upon that of securing sufficient food and shelter. This was seen in the visiting of the centres AN EPISODE 225 where the depredations of the Boxers had been most de- structive and violent. It was desirable to find out the true conditions as early as possible, to learn the amount of devastation and to rescue any who were still in peril. The Boxers were still rife within ten or fifteen miles of Peking. They were apparently unsubdued by the pres- ence of the foreign armies. Many Christians were still liable to slaughter and it was not without peril that any foreigner exposed himself freely in the villages. The several military commanders were constantly hearing of Boxer clans meeting and destroying in the villages. It was necessary to send out expeditions to scour the country and break up if possible the Boxer gatherings wherever they infested the villages. It is to the credit of the American soldiery that they did not do this work in any disorganized way, but infrequently, and only when it seemed absolutely necessary. The French, the Eussians and finally the Germans, when they had fully arrived, marauded the outlying districts indiscriminately, looting and killing as they pleased, and making exorbitant demands upon the people and the officials. One of the early expeditions of the American soldiers was to the northeast of Peking to the city of Shun Yi Hsien. The American Board had had in Shun Yi and in the country near at hand a considerable following. In the city itself there had been for some years a preaching chapel, and there were no less than sixty-five commu- nicants in this out-station. Of these fifty persons had been most brutally killed, and every remnant of chapel and homes of the members had been burned or destroyed. The mere presence of the military force had a direct effect, however incidental, in the settlement of the indemnities which came later. Dr. Ament bears testimony to the kindness and courtesy of Captain Forsythe, a southern 226 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT gentleman, and of his troopers. The latter were in strik- ing contrast with the Eussian and French and later the German soldiers, who looted and killed on every hand, often taking delight in shooting every person visible. The Boxers themselves, as Dr. Ament graphically writes, dissolved like smoke. Perhaps it was this expedition, and the witness of the paralyzing effect of the presence of foreign military which determined Dr. Ament not to go again with soldiers in his efforts to secure the replacing of the Christian in their homes, or to enforce the reasona- ble demands for indemnity for the great losses sustained by the church-members. It is true that others found it necessary to go under the protection of a few soldiers, due partly to the purpose of the local of&cials not to endanger any foreign life again if possible. How perilous this might be was shown two months later when Mr. Stone- house of the London Mission was shot down at a ferry crossing while visiting the church communities south of Peking. The expedition to Shun Yi was on the 18th of September. A month later we find Dr. Ament visiting Cho Chou and the mission out-statious scattered along for fifty miles southeast of Cho Chou. A few of the refugees from Cho Chou had been with him in Peking. Eeturning to their homes they had been overtaken and shot by the French punitive expedition hurrying on to Pao Ting Fu and towards Cheng Ting Fu, where the French priests had successfully defended themselves and a few Belgian engineers who had escaped thither in their hurried exit from the city three months before. Dr. Ament' s letters record that he was received by the people and the officials of Cho Chou with great enthusiasm. They had the idea that owing to him the fierce exactions of the French military had been in a measure stayed. The sub-prefect — Chih Chou — had hastened to assure him that full indemnity would be given for the destruction of AN EPISODE 227 the mission chapel and other property in the city, and every facility offered for indemnities to the church people. Dr. Ament was happily able to secure in this way a fine place on the main street, and other property in city and country in lieu of the chapels and homes cruelly destroyed in the summer time. He was able, unattended, except by church-members, to visit the furthest Christian vil- lages in his district and see the local officials, each of whom was desirous of settling the losses of the Christians in the readiest and simplest way possible. The Eoman Catholic priests were securing indemnities by making ex- cessive demands upon the officials. In a single district south of where Dr. Ament went, they demanded half a million of dollars for the Christians who had been killed. A month or more later, a German expedition passed through Cho Chou, en route towards Pao Ting Fu. Their depredations and exaction were a severer tax upon the people than that of their mobile predecessors. Towards the end of November Dr. Ament made a second trip to Pa Chou and Wen An and made a final settlement of the indemnity claims, in accord with the plans laid down in his conference with the deputy appointed by the grand secretary, Li Hung Chang, whose arrival had made it possible for the foreign powers to reach the far fleeing government. The Chinese principle of responsibility for wrong, or injury done to another, was the underlying principle which was accepted by the commissioners and acted upon by the missionaries. Early in December, Dr. Sheffield had written to his society in Boston, "Dr. Ament and Mr. Tewksbury have done and are still doing admirable work for the Christians in bringing order out of confusion and delivering them from manifold troubles. The conditions are very strange and are not improving. The province is in a more disturbed condition than three months ago. It should be remarked that everywhere the 228 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT people feel themselves responsible for what has happened, as with rare exceptions they welcomed the Boxers and helped on their work of plunder and destruction. Of- ficials in the army and outside foreigners generally are only too ready to find grounds to condemn missionaries for things that they themselves are ready to do." On his return from his second visit to the distant places, Dr. Ament reported to Mr. Conger, giving in detail the results of this final effort to secure a peaceable settlement of claims for each of the little communities that had suf- fered the loss of their homes, and where many had been killed in the Boxers' attacks and destruction. It was probably about this time that Mr. Chamberlain, the cor- respondent of the Sun, and at this time the chief in charge of Laffan's News Agency, having heard of the settlement of the indemnities, went to Dr. Ament to secure as full an account as he cared to give of his recent trip. Dr. Ament had been on very good terms with several of the corre- spondents, some of whom had lived on the premises with him and had enjoyed his hospitality. From the state- ments of Dr. Ament, Mr. Chamberlain made up his tele- graphic letter, dated Peking, December 22d, which ap- peared in the Evening Sun of December 24th. It seems unfortunate that Dr. Ament did not ask to see the manu- script of the message before it went. Mr. Chamberlain had apparently no purpose of criticizing either the meth- ods or the results of the settlement of the indemnities. A precaution would have wholly avoided the misconceptions of the correspondent, if not the mistakes in transmission. Later on, as we shall see, when making a more elaborate statement. Dr. Ament looked over Mr. Chamberlain's document before it was sent, and expressed himself quite satisfied with the statements made. The following is the crucial part of the statement in the Sun : ''The Eev. Mr. Ament of the American Board of Foreign Missions has AN EPISODE 229 returned from a trip which he made for the purpose of collecting indemnities for damages done by the Boxers. Everywhere he went he compelled the Chinese to pay. He says that all his native Christians are now provided for. He had seven hundred of them under his charge and three hundred were killed. He has collected three hundred taels for each of these murders and has compelled full payment for all the property belonging to the Christians that was destroyed. He also assessed fines amounting to thirteen times the amount of the indemnity. Mr. Ament declares that the compensation he has collected will be used for the propagation of the Gospel, that the compen- sation he has collected is moderate when compared with the amount secured by the Eoman Catholics, who de- manded, in addition to money, ' head for head.' They collect 500 taels for each murder of a Catholic. In the Jen Chiu country 680 Catholics were killed, and for this the European Catholics here demand 750,000 strings of cash and 680 heads." Any one at all familiar with the situation in China would detect on first inspection the errors in this reported interview. A few words indicate the newspaper correspondent's working over the inter- view as he understood it. Even so intelligent a news gatherer falls into his own pitfalls. He uses the word ** compelled," which was never true of Dr. Ament. He says the native Christians are now provided for. That merely means that he had secured due payment for the great losses, in money, enabling them to start anew. He says this new fund was to be used for the propagation of the Gospel. Whereas it could be used for no other pur- pose than to provide for each individual, or as each com- bined with the others, for the rebuilding of chapels destroyed. He says finally, or the despatch says, '*He assessed fines amounting to thirteen times the indemnity." It will be interesting to note, in passing. Dr. Ament' s 230 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT own version of the trip thus summarized, as seen in his letter to Dr. Judson Smith of December 27, 1900. This was before any intimation had reached him of the criti- cisms which arose in the United States concerning alleged looting, and securing excessive indemnities and funds for the treasury of the American Board. His letter shows that no funds had been secured except for Chinese Chris- tians who had been injured in person and property. Dr. Ament writes : " After a month of very hard work, I am glad to report progress to you. I visited — begin- ning on the south — Wen An, Pao Ting Hsien, Pa Chou, P'ing Ting, Cho Chou, Liang Hsiang, and on the east, Shuu Yi. I found the officials in all these places exceed- ingly friendly and anxious to settle the affairs of the con- verts, recognizing the right and the need of such claims. I have made no use of foreign soldiers and brought no ex- ternal pressure to hear, relying on the justice of our claims. Mr. Conger has supported us in the measures and meth- ods taken, though the military people have not failed to make criticisms. The survivors in all our country sta- tions have been recouped for all their losses, again rein- stated in their villages, with some money in hand, and a promise of houses restored next spring. Over and above restoration for the converts there has been gathered a fund for the support of widows and orphans, who have no homes and have no one to look after them.^^ This brief summary of three months^ effort in recon- struction shows simply that no funds have been secured except for Chinese Christians who had been injured in person or property. The Sun^s despatch from Peking was not widely known or distributed at the time and little attention was paid to it un- til Mark Twain, in the North American Review for Fehrusiryy in an article eu titled "To the Person Sitting in Dark- ness," made it the basis of some fierce charges against the AN EPISODE 231 character of Dr. Ament, and incidentally against the mo- tives and actions of missionaries in China. A humorist is the victim of his own risibles. He has the advantage of any who might disagree with him. He has the first laugh and when it becomes catching his victim feels the scorching, true or false. Now our genial humorist, so attractive to us and to others that even staid Oxford could not resist him, but must shower him with its honors "just for fun," has always been ''roughing it.'^ Of course no humorist could investigate any fact. That would be too late for him. He must be like any lively wasp. He need not declare war. He must sting and sail away. And so it came about that on the 6th of February, the reading world learned of Dr. Ament through the courtesy of Mark Twain. The feelings of the victim are described in the graphic record of Miss Eussell. Dr. Ament compared himself with Byron as being the direct opposite. ' ' Byron, ' ^ said Ament, *'woke up one morning to find himself fa- mous. I woke up to find myself infamous.'^ With a curious leer in his humorous eye, Mark Twain repeats his emphasis, upon the ''character-blasting despatch." It did not take long for the proof to come that the despatch from Peking was full of erroneous statements, and that the implications were still farther from the truth. The direct attack upon their missionaries brought the Ameri- can Board at once to the defense of Dr. Ament. The in- evitable discussion involved made it essential for a word direct from Dr. Ament himself. The following despatch was cabled him from Boston, February 13th : '* Ament, Peking. Laffan's News Agency reported New York Sun, December 24th, your collecting thirteen times actual loss, using for propagating the Gospel. Are these statements true ? " The reply to this despatch was received from Peking two days later ; 232 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT Statements untrue. Collected one-third for church pur- poses, additional actual damages now supporting widows and orphans. Publication ' thirteen times ' blunder cable company. All collections received approval Chinese officials, who urging further settlements same line. Ament. On the 9tli of February there appeared in several newspapers a letter to Mark Twain from Rev. Dr. Judson Smith, foreign secretary of the American Board in charge of the missions in China. It is dated Boston, February 8th. Its courtesy and candor makes its own appeal : My dear Mr. Clemens : In common with multitudes in this country and else- where, I have a great admiration for your genius, and read whatever comes from your pen with delight. Your brilliant article, ** To the Person Sitting in Darkness " in the February North American Review will attract wide attention and exert a strong influence. Its keen, lightly-veiled sarcasm is well adapted to its purpose and will produce an effect quite beyond the reach of plain argument. I observe that in commenting on affairs in China you select the Rev. Mr. Ament, D. D., one of our missionaries at Peking, to give your point of view, and that you base all you have to say of him on a single press despatch printed in the Eveni7ig Sun of December 24th, and that you assume the accuracy of this despatch as though it were Dr. Ament's frank and full confession of deeds and motives. The arraignment is severe, the effect on Dr. Ament's name and reputation must be very damaging. The prejudice thus awakened against the mission- aries, mission work and the American Board is serious and likely to be of long consequence. It should require, as you will see, the ample warrant of unquestioned facts to justify a public arraignment of so wide a scope and far-reaching influence as you have made against this man — a man of hitherto unblemished character, of singular Christian devotion, of heroic courage and splendid deeds. He shared in the siege at Peking with other missionaries and in the encomiums which Minister Conger pronounced upon them. By an act of rare personal bravery he saved the lives of eighteen of his fellow missionaries with eight children and AN EPISODE 233 brought them into Peking just before the Boxers fell on their premises and destroyed their homes. In doing this he risked his own life, and went in spite of the fears and remonstrances of Mr. Conger and the soldiers at Peking. You are too experienced an author to rest so terrible an accusation against a man whose reputation is as dear to him as yours to you, and who is engaged in missionary work on the other side of the globe, upon a single newspaper despatch. I wonder what other information you possessed, what inquiries you made concerning Dr. Ament's record and of whom these inquiries were made. Dr. Ament has been a missionary for twenty-three years and my correspondent above sixteen years, and I have heard from him frequently during these last months since he escaped from the siege of Peking. The last letter from Dr. Ament was written November 13th, and gives a full account of the events to which presumably the Siiti's despatch refers. This letter was given to the Associated Press soon after its arrival, January 7th. In it he says : *' I have been in Cho Chou. This time I proposed to settle affairs without the aid of soldiers or legations. It was a complete success. Every one of our dispossessed church -members has been reinstated and a money compensation made for his losses. This has been done by appealing to the sense of justice among the villages where our people lived and where they are respected by all decent people. The villagers were extremely grateful because I brought no foreign soldiers and were glad to settle on the terms proposed. After our conditions were known many vil- lagers came of their own accord and brought their money with them." Nothing is said of securing '' thirteen times " the amount of the losses. There is not a word about using the indemnity * o. T3 £- O o O) QC °-">». Never to tire ; never grow cold ; to be patient, sympathetic, tender; to look for the budding flower and the opening heart ; hope always ; like God to love always — that is duty. — Henri Frkderic Amiel. XXVI MEMORIAL SERVICES AND TRIBUTES TO THE MEMORY OF DR. AMENT M RS. AMENT and her son, William Sheffield Ament, hastened with their precious charge, , through the cold days of early January, to Owosso. There a city full of sorrowing friends were to commit him to his mortal rest. Less than a year before these friends had committed the aged mother to her rest, little thinking they would be called so soon to a like sorrow on his behalf. The burial service was held in the Congregational Church on the 12th of January, in charge of the Rev. C. S. Hanks, for many years the pastor of the church. There was a peculiar fitness in the memorial services that followed. Four communities upon which his life and work had had a special influence for good were glad to pay their loving respects to his precious memory. The church at Medina held their service upon the Sun- day following his interment at Owosso. The pastor. Dr. Kirbye, made a commemorative address. The Dwight Place Congregational Church in New Haven held their service upon the same day, the record of which is given later in the appropriate letter from the clerk of the church. Memorial services were held at Owosso on Sunday the 17th of January. The last and in some respect the most significant was held in his own church in Peking on Sunday, February 14, 1909. 349 350 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT From the Owosso Times of January 22d we select a brief account of the services in his native city. The members of the Congregational church and society to- gether with many old time friends gathered at the church Sunday evening to honor the memory of the late Dr. William S. Ament, Owosso's most distinguished son. The service was deeply impressive throughout, the words of the speakers carry- ing a lesson to all which will not soon be forgotten. It was indeed a fitting memorial to a man who was loved and respected not alone by the people of Owosso, but by hundreds all over the country, and across the sea where he gave his life for the cause of the Master. The pastor, Rev. C. S. Hanks, in open- ing the service said it seemed appropriate that the service should be held and that some of those who had known Dr. Ament during all the years since his young manhood should express their appreciation of him. Mr. S. E. Parkhill was called upon and said : "Of all who called Owosso their home, he knew of none who left his impress upon more of the boys, his play- mates, who had become men of the city than did Dr. Ament. Like all strong personalities he was quick to resent an injustice, to defend an absent friend, and the propaganda for which he spent his life." Mr. J. C. Shattuck was introduced as having been present and having a vivid recollection of his ordination. "Will Ament embodied in his character the essential elements of a successful pioneer — -self- mastery, boundless energy, courage, faith, hope and charity. He possessed a wonderful constructive imagination. He clearly saw the great work he was afterwards to perform. He never waited for things to happen — he made them happen. Difficulties and dangers only stimulated him to greater and more determined effort. His life exemplifies the power of an idea. Add to these a cultured and scholarly mind, a simple, natural, unaffected personality, a nature full and overflowing with a generous love for mankind, a big heart and broad in sympathies, a devotion to duty that was simply sublime and we have one of earth's noble men, whom all the world delights to honor." To the foregoing Dr. Hanks added his meed of praise. He spoke very tenderly of the love and affection which Dr. Ament had for Owosso. "Dr. Ament was a great lover, and his life and work, his letters, emphasize the depth of his love and the sincerity of his affection for those MEMORIAL SERVICES AND TRIBUTES 351 whom he held dear. ' ' The secular and the religious press have praised him and Dr. Hanks read an extract from a long edi- torial in the New York Tribune upon his death. The pastor of the Medina Church, Dr. J. Edward Kir- bye, sent as his share in these memorial services a sum- mary of his address in Medina at the memorial service there. The main portion of that address will be found in the chapter, ^' A Pastorate in America." Dr. Kirbye re- fers to many of his letters and their hopeful and beautiful spirit. He closed with the following estimate : **When Michigan enfolded to her breast the silent form of William S. Ament, she received one of her noblest and best sons. He was a foreign missionary but not in a narrow sense, — he was a hero, a statesman and an empire builder. The great commonwealth of Michigan never gave the world a man with more heroism, with better ideals and with more ability to accomplish large tasks. When the history of modern China is written, he will have a place with the great men who have wrought nobly and wisely for the re- demption of that great empire. His message to us all would be, were he here, ' China must be converted and we must all do our share. ^ " The final memorial services were held in Peking, also upon a Sabbath day. Two services were held, each in the beautiful church which he had seen erected and where he had taught so many congregations the way to that eternal life upon which he had now entered. The Chi- nese services were held at two o^ clock, followed by those for the foreign residents at Peking who wished to honor their companion and friend. It seems appropriate that extracts from the little pamphlet issued in commemora- tion should find a record in this volume also. The service in Chinese was held at 2 p. m. The prin- 352 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT cipal address was by Dr. Sheffield. The English service •was held at 4 : 30. Dr. Wilder, of Tung-chow, gave a full estimate of Dr. Ament's life and character. The fol- lowing paragraphs illustrate the kind of man whom his missionary associates admired : His work was in the main strongly evangelistic and pastoral. He believed in the new birth and was never content unless souls were being born into the kingdom of love under his min- istry. A preacher by birth and training, a good speaker of Chinese, his enthusiasm for preaching to the heathen was deep and abiding. The street chapel at Teng Shih K'ou never had a regular paid Chinese preacher, for he was ready to devote his afternoons daily to it, whenever he was at home. His ex- ample inspired sufficient voluntary effort by the native Chris- tians to keep the work there going whether he was present or absent. He believed in a '' far flung battle line " and distant trips to the country fields. With a statesman's eye he seized on strategic centres for establishing his out-stations. He was unsparing in the use of his own money to open stations when the home Board was unable to develop new work. He had a knack of finding the influential rich man of a given town, or the local bully who tyrannized over the place, or the scholar who led public thought and by winning the respect of these he would gain an open door for the Gospel. In these things he was full of resources. His straightforward nature could not abide the Chinese custom of using middlemen, and he would often astonish friend and foe alike by going to the enemies of the Gospel or persecutors of the Christians and settle matters face to face. While mainly engaged in evangelistic eff'ort he was also interested in other forms of work. He believed in Christian education for the Chinese. He was an active mem- ber of the Board of Managers of the Peking University (Meth- odist) from the beginning and always had a number of proteges in the college of his own mission at Tung-chow, The large part he took in developing the North China Tract Society and his faithful labors for that organization are well known. He was interested in the work for the higher classes and by reason of his knowledge of Chinese literature, etiquette and social forms, he was able to enter into intercourse with them and to do much in breaking down prejudices in higher circles and MEMORIAL SERVICES AND TRIBUTES 353 building up confidence in all classes. His active mind was constantly delving in the stores of Chinese history and literature. The result was a number of well written articles and many lectures on historic themes. He early saw the advantages of the Christian Endeavor Society in developing the infant church and is known as the '' Father of Christian Endeavor in China." * This great field is the enduring memorial to Dr. Anient. Everywhere he made friends, remembered them and followed them with books and messages. In the lowest and most de- praved, he saw the new hope of life. He held on to people when others had given them up, still hoping and praying for the turn to a better life. He leaves to us his work and his splendid example. Let us live as he lived. Let us turn now from what he did to what he was. Dr. Ament's mind was prompt in action, keen in memory, well developed in imagination and poetic faculties, well stored with classic literary forms and historic events. These qualities, combined with a gift for expression, made him a ready and fascinating speaker. He depended not in vain on his fund of information and on the inspiration of the moment to produce attractive and convincing sermons and addresses. When he squared his shoulders and threw back his head with kindling eye, his audience could expect a mental treat and moral uplift. The basic element in all his lovable and admirable qualities, as well as the secret of his success as a missionary, can be found in a deep conviction of the reality of spiritual things and a genuine love for God and for men. He was deeply religious, without cant. He admired the mystics among religious thinkers and had a mystic strain in his nature, tempered by a strong sense of the practical. He was thoroughly imbued with the doctrines of the Oberlin school of ethics and theology. From Dr. Sheffield's address we may extract the follow- ing : Dr. Ament had well rounded out thirty years of constructive work in China, and he has made a mark deep and permanent on the New China, writing his name in the first rank of China's moral and spiritual benefactors. Dr. Ament was a man of rich endowments. He had a body of unusual strength and vigor, ^ Hubbard of Foochow was the founder of the first society and is regarded by the United Society as the founder of the work in China. 354 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT a mind of wide culture, of restless activity, and an equally ac- tive religious nature. In English he was gifted both as a speaker and writer. With a quick imagination his thoughts clothed themselves, seemingly without effort, in appropriate words, and his living sentences flowed as on a dancing stream, delighting the ear and enriching the minds of hearers. Dr. Ament was distinguished as an excellent speaker and preacher in the Chinese language. He had a wide and ready vocabulary and with his abounding spontaneity he compelled interest in what he was saying. He stood among the few who had such mastery of the Chinese that he made it a living medium of great thoughts and noble feelings. Among his most valuable gifts to the Christian Church, the writer would venture to place the high quality of his sermonic power as a standard to stimu- late effort in imitation among the Christian leaders in China. Dr. Ament was distinguished for both physical and moral cour- age. Such courage seemed to be spontaneous in its expression, springing from a permanent mental habit. Following the Boxer upheaval, while the hand of law was still paralyzed, he went boldly among the people everywhere demanding a just repara- tion to the native Christians for the frightful wrongs done them. He rescued men and women from the hands of their persecutors, gathered together broken families, set little companies of Christians in their places, inspiring them with hope and cour- age in the new conditions of life. New Haven, Conn., Jan. 12, igog. To Mrs. Ament : Dear Friend: — At a meeting of the Dwight Place Church held this evening it was the expressed desire of the church that you receive from us this brief testimony of the grief we feel with you in the death of Dr. Ament, our honored missionary and your dear husband. From the 20th of December, 1901, when by a vote of the church we were permitted to call him our "Foreign Mission- ary Pastor," he has been more and more commending himself to our admiration as a great counsellor and administrator in the things of God's kingdom, and coming closer and closer to our hearts' affection as a true Christian brother. On Satur- day, January 9th, we heard that he had passed away beyond our reach, to higher service. Sunday a. m. our pastor preached upon the text, Psalm Ixxxiv. 4, " Blessed are they MEMORIAL SERVICES AND TRIBUTES 355 that dwell in Thy house: they shall be still praising Thee," and in the sermon he appropriately spoke of your husband's place in the missionary movement of to-day, his splendid char- acteristics as a man, and how he still would praise God through the influence of his life in China, on all who knew him in America, and especially on the Dwight Place Church. We hope you received our telegram before you laid away his body, for we wanted you to feel that we were in spirit standing be- side you there. Oh, how great is the number of those who stood there, even of the Celestials redeemed, and coming up, many of them, out of great tribulation. Surely such a life was not lived in vain, cut off as he was in his years of strength. God's ways are not ours. We bow as you do, and own that all must be right. We bow in tears and we bow also in thank- fulness for the blessed work God permitted him to do, and in reverence, for we are in His hands, who knows the end from the beginning. We commend you and your son to God and His grace. You have known in other days of storms ''that the anchor holds." May it keep us all till the morning dawns and the shadows flee away. Sincerely, Your Friends of the Dwight Place Church, William S. Todd, Clerk. Peking, Feb. 14, igog. My dearly loved Friend : They are just having the Christian Endeavor meeting in the church and we ladies have come away, having done all we could to make it beautiful for our two memorial services this afternoon. On the pulpit, with the top just even with the reading desk, hangs the fine framed picture of Dr. Ament, reminding me that he "yet speaketh," and always will speak from that pulpit. All around the picture trails a vine, wandering Jew, from a con- cealed pot, and a slender vase of daisies and rose geranium leaves stands just above the picture. The platform and the communion table and organ are beautiful with green and our few white flowers, chiefly daisies, of which I have three pots in blossom, I think nothing in Dr. Ament' s life and home-going has touched me so much as the beautiful poem found on his desk, which Miss Russell will send you. The reading of it towards the close of the English service was most impressive. Perhaps 356 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT it was partly because, lately, I have had to live in such a heart- tiring rush that the " Valley of Silence " appealed to me so. The words of the speakers on Sunday were not a more beau- tiful tribute to Dr. Anient than the sympathetic audience. The very air seemed fragrant with living memories and I real- ized more than ever before what the loss of Dr. Ament means to Peking. Our girls could not sing very well that day, for their voices were too choked. Still, ''The Lord is mindful of His own" sounded very sweet. We chose it because it was one of Dr. Ament's favorites. Very lovingly, LuELLA Miner. From Prof. F. W. Williams, son of Dr. Williams, the secretary of the United States Legation, Peking, who for seventeen years filled this distinguished position : JVew Haven, Jan. 7, igog. My dear Mrs. Ament : I am distressed to learn of the illness of Dr. Ament and of the necessity of your return with him to this country. I left him in Peking hardly six months ago apparently so well that the news comes to me as a sort of shock, involving as it does the welfare of one whom I have learned to consider as a very dear friend. Dr. Ament was so good to me during my stay in Peking, adding so greatly to the pleasure and profit, as to associate his name with all my memories of the place. I recall the dozen days spent in your house there as among the most delightful in my whole long journey. I need not tell you how sincerely I hope and pray for you. We cannot see the light far beyond our human vision while we struggle in the dark, but we know it is there, we must know it is there to guide us, or how unutterably miserable we should be. Believe me to be, Very sincerely yours, F. W. Williams. Presidenf s Room, Western Reserve University, Adelbert College, Cleveland, Jan. ig, igog. My dear Mrs. Ament: I learned only last night that you had arrived in Ober- lin. Since I knew of the sickness of your husband and of the MEMORIAL SERVICES AND TRIBUTES 357 end, my heart has gone out to you and to your son in tender sympathy. Mrs. Thvving can never forget what he was to us in Peking, only a year ago. He seemed not only one of nature's noblemen, but also one of Christ's heroes, so vigorous, so strong, so alert, so effective in service, so helpful to every one and to every cause was he. Your husband, Dr. J. P. Jones and I roomed in the same entry at Andover, thirty years ago. His going breaks another tie which binds us to that happy past. Will you convey to your son my sense of blessedness for him that he has such a father, as well as accept for yourself my gladness that you have such a husband. Believe me, with great regards. Ever yours, Charles F. Thwing. Racine J Wis., Jan. 26, igog. Rev. Dr. J. Edward Kirbye, Medifia, Ohio. My dear Friend : — Mrs. Ament writes me of your memorial service planned for next Sunday for my dear friend and Andover classmate, Dr. W. S. Ament. As class secretary of the Andover class of 1877, with whom he graduated from the Seminary, permit me, in behalf of us all, this brief word expressive of our love, sympathy and appreciation of the man and our sense of your and our deep bereavement. His bright, happy face and unconventional Christian spirit were always a good cheer to us in student days. We knew his life plan, yet he seemed quite happily unlike the traditional type of mission- ary candidates. We have watched his growth and achieve- ment through the years, as he has contributed his periodical offering to the class letter going round the world. His Chris- tian heroism during the siege of Peking commanded our won- der and admiration as did his statesmanship and breadth of vision in the days that followed, while he endured hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ from men of narrower vision who misunderstood him. His work is its own crown. His depart- ure seems to us untimely and deplorable, but God, no doubt, has larger things for him to do in His limitless kingdom, and God knows best. To the church of his early love and devo- tion in the home land, to the wife and son so deeply bereft, to the missionary circle belting the globe who loved him and who mourn his loss, and to the far-away people of his great parish 358 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT in the Orient, to whom his loss is irreparable, our hearts go out in sympathetic grief. He was " facile princeps " in our swiftly narrowing class, though we were proud of our four missionaries in Japan, Turkey and China. We shall miss him here, but we shall meet him yonder in God's good time. With sincere regard, Samuel T. Kidder. From Dr. J. P. Jones, of Madura Mission, India : It is thirty-three years since Dr. Ament and I first met at Andover Theological Seminary. I have known him and re- joiced in him ever since as a brother missionary — a man whom God has greatly honored as a servant in the Far East. Seven years ago we spent together our furlough at Oberlin and in my frequent intercourse with him I was charmed by his combined force and attractiveness. During the last few years I had frequent correspondence with him, especially with reference to the vital problem of church union in China and India. His broad Catholic spirit made him a leader among his peers in China in the advocacy of comity and federation among the Christian forces of that great land of China. The missionary body wisely chose him as the chairman of the Committee on Christian Union, of the Shanghai Conference. Few know how thoroughly and eagerly he studied this fundamental question, but we all know how eloquently and convincingly he advocated the cause of union in his report at the great conference. And Chris- tian union in that far-off land will owe more to his sagacity and eager advocacy than any one can now realize. In his last letter he dwells upon the situation in China revealing a keen understand- ing of the true inwardness of officials in that land such as only a man of his long experience and statesman-like views and vision could possess. The missionary body feels deeply its loss in the death of Dr. Ament, one of the most able, consecrated and heroic men of God. An appreciation, Eev. William B. Stelle : Look at Dr. Ament' s picture and you see the man. God gave him a constitution abounding in vigor and kept him grow- ing. Energy multiplied in him. There was always the stir of advance. He was at home out-of-doors. Men were his MEMORIAL SERVICES AND TRIBUTES 359 chief interest. Children fascinated him. Even the Chinese wondered at his memory of faces and names. He was fond of music and though not a musician, his soul sang. Many tedi- ous hours over rough Chinese roads were enlivened with hymns, generally in Chinese. Humor thrilled him, and the stories of his experiences imparted to his associates convulsed the mirth centres. Not only was his home a veritable asylum of cheer, but his time seemed to have no other course than to flow for his fellow men in distress. This man, gaining rare friendly inter- course with some of the most prominent officials of the empire, directly connected with almost every possible philanthropic or- ganization in the capital, frequently aiding in like movements in the neighboring cities, the chairman of an important mis- sionary committee for all China, this public man the hoodlums of the neighborhood counted as their chum, and they were right. More than the efficient shepherd of his flock of a thousand in a neglected community of three million, he was the slave of any man who seemed to need a friend. And no pastor ever seemed more exclusively to belong to his parish. There was no troubling of the waters when he did not carry the most needy soul to the brink. Holy Week was a God-given festival when he led his people in psalms of ascent. All of the twenty small churches frequently heard his gospel message and entered with him into the Holy of Holies as the child of God truly communed with the Father. Dr. Ament's greatest talent was the power of prayer. To him prayer was the act, almost an art, in which all of life culminated. His usual pulpit was at the large city church, a college church at the capital, and with its average congregation of five hundred worthy of the best of preachers. He felt the responsibility and rose to the privilege. Day after day, also, at the street chapel, he fished for men, and on Sunday, with some of these new in- quirers present, a life-giving process throbbed through the sermon. The form differed but the theme was Christ, our way to God. His rugged faith conveyed itself through his words and God seemed near. The best thoughts that have entered into the hearts of men, lighted up with love, were presented so simply and clearly that the schoolboys were interested. Feel- ing was strong and the common duties of life were portrayed in warm colors. Large sections of truth were dealt with, which by their very bigness were attractive. And when preparation had been legitimately forced to the minimum, Dr. Ament could 360 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT take the subject of the Sunday-school lesson and with almost Socratic freedom carry the discourse to heights of apprehension and desire which enabled the congregation to separate and feel that they had worshipped in the house of God and received strength from on high. In the special pastoral functions of baptism and communion Dr. Ament was at his best and his thought was happy and impressive. His English sermons, preached in turn with other missionaries to a congregation largely of preachers and teachers, were eagerly anticipated, and always suggestive and uplifting. A signal legacy of great worth which the Peking church and the twenty lesser churches received from Dr. Ament is the prayer-meeting training, given by this master of leaders. The boys' school, the training classes, the annual meetings, all were fused with the evangelistic spirit of this apostle at Peking. Dr. Ament was always ready. He kept himself in condition. His possessions were for the most part at hand. This made him an interpreter of exceptional power. The fine beauty of his personality, high virtues become habits, the atmosphere of the man, those who were nearest to him know best. And the younger missionaries associated with him are his most ardent eulogists. If there be a chance to serve in heaven, he is now giving his strength to such high service. Christ was to him a Hero, and the revelation of God. He is with Christ and the Father. Tientsin^ China, Feb. 27, igog. My dear Will : Ever since your father was taken seriously ill last sum- mer I have wanted to write to you. But I hoped and prayed for his recovery, and most of the time definitely expected it, and I wanted to wait till recovery was quite assured before I wrote, so that my letter might be full of good cheer and promise. I heard of your father's death on the morning of February 3d, when I was just starting for the country. Dur- ing your father's illness I had the privilege of being much with him. Of course extended conversation was not wise and in the early part of each night he was drowsy and often slightly delirious, but towards morning he would often wake up bright and talk to me freely. Perhaps he talked more freely to me than to others, because I had been with him so much in the old days in Peking. The whole impression was of a man who had MEMORIAL SERVICES AND TRIBUTES 361 done his work well, had practically finished the hardest part of it and was content now to leave it. That such an opinion was justified, I gather from every evidence. As to the Peking station — it is the largest station in the mission, without question the best organized, and the growth, development and organization were principally his work, — though (at this time) he had the cordial cooperation of Mr. Stelle, Miss Russell and others. There have been raised up three Chinese pastors, who got their example and inspira- tion from your father, principally, and who are fitted now to carry on the work efficiently, with their memories of him and his precious legacy to them. Your father was a remarkable man. The active side of his nature was so vigorous, so constantly in evidence that it was a continuing source of surprise to me that he was scholarly also. The combination is so rare that one could hardly credit it at first. I believe it took me a long time to apprehend that one who was always on the alert, ready for anything, and '*up and at it," could be anything more than superficial in scholarship. But there were constant evidences that the studious side of his life was genuine. During his illness he wondered why God had called him to suffer so much. But was he not even at the close of his earthly life made perfect through suffering ? We can but rejoice for him, but you cannot know how much he will be mourned and missed in Peking and throughout our mission. He was the most effective evangelistic worker and the most suc- cessful organizer we ever had. Yours faithfully, Chas. E. Ewing. Resolutions of the !N"ortli China Mission, June, 1909 : ^ * The members of the North China Mission of the American Board wish to express their sorrow and deep sense of loss in the departure from earth of Rev. W. S. Ament, D. D., for more than thirty years a member of this mission. Dr. Ament^s executive ability and untiring energy, his fine scholarship and earnest and eloquent preaching, his fidelity to the great evangelical truths of Christianity, his high ideals of character and conduct, his quick and warm- hearted sympathy, his readiness to help the poor and dis- 362 WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT tressed, and his courage and promptness in action made him a power for good in the city of Peking. Here and in the surrounding region his great life-work was done. The Peking church, with its more than a thousand mem- bers, a large number of whom were baptized by him, is his lasting memorial. Both among his own people in the homeland, and among those to whom he ministered in China, he had a rare power of communicating the impulse to purer and better things, and to a higher and nobler life. Eespected and loved by multitudes of the Chinese for whom his life had been spent, he has passed, we believe, into the more immediate presence of the Master, with " Life's race well run, Life's work well done, Life's crown well won. *^ His sorrowing wife and son, and his mission associates, the Chinese Christians, to whom as pastor and guide he was a tower of strength, and his many friends on both sides of the ocean have in their grief and sorrow the peace and comfort of believing that he has entered into the infinite reward and blessedness of the Master's service in those realms where there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, but are all one in Christ Jesus ; and where we be- lieve he is with many who have been brought into God's kingdom through him." THE SONG OF THE MYSTIC {Found tacked up in Dr. Amenfs desk.) I walk down the Valley of Silence — Down the dim voiceless valley — alone, And I hear not the fall of a footstep Around me, save God's and my own, And the hush of my heart is as holy As hovers where angels have flown. MEMORIAL SERVICES AND TRIBUTES 363 Long ago I was weary of voices Whose music my heart could not win ; Long ago I was weary of places That fretted my soul with their din ; Long ago I was weary of places Where I met but the human and sin. In the hush of the Valley of Silence I dreamed all the songs that I sing ; And the music that floats up the valley Till each finds a word for a wing, That to hearts, like the dove of the deluge, A message of peace they may bring. Do you ask me the place of the Valley, Ye hearts that are furrowed with care? It lieth afar between mountains, And God and His angels are there ; And one is the dark mount of sorrow, And one is the bright mount of Prayer. —Father Byan, Appendix From the Oberlin Review, Jan. ig, igog : WILLIAM SCOTT AMENT An Appreciation — Preacher, Teacher, Statesmatiy and in a Sense, Martyr, for China Oberlin has a long list of honored missionaries, but not one more worthy of distinction than Dr. Ament. This veteran of the North China Mission had completed full thirty years of serv- ice when he entered into rest at San Francisco, on January 6, 1909, while on his way home for medical advice. Dr. Ament' s service — nearly all of it in Peking — was in many and varied forms. He was not only pastor of the South Congregational church, attended by many students and the American Board missionaries in Peking, but was at the head of a large evangelistic work centering in Peking, and reaching out into a wide range of country about the capital. He was a trustee of the Peking University (Meth. Episcopal) ; an ex- aminer of students preparing for diplomatic service ; depositary of the Tract Society ; chairman of the Committee on Comity and Federation for all China ; and for several years, president of the National Christian Endeavor Union of China. Dr. Ament had a deep and human interest in all classes of people. His friendships were not on a horizontal stratum, but up and down. To every one he met he gave his interest and often practical help, as well. He inspired very many boys to desire and get an education — often having to encounter the lack of interest, or the active opposition of their friends to their attending school. Though not a physician, he carried simple remedies on his country tours, and relieved many ailments and won many friends to listen to his gospel message. He fully believed in the Christian ministry as the noblest form of service, and could not comprehend why so many of these best equipped for such service should turn aside to other pursuits. 364 APPENDIX 365 He was a fine linguist. At the opening of the Union Medical College in Peking, he was given but five minutes to read over the manuscript of United States Minister Rockhill's address, which he then interpreted to a select audience, largely made up of high Chinese officials. To overstate the object or plan of the college would be to invite official opposition. Many Americans left the meeting full of praise of his skill and tact in rendering the speech into Mandarin. From the Congregationalist : A LOSS TO BOTH CHINA AND AMERICA By Rev. J. L. Barton, D. D, Rev. William S. Ament, D. D., entered into missionary service in China under the American Board in 1877, and on January 7, 1909, in Lane's Hospital, San Francisco, while upon his way home for special treatment, he entered into rest. These thirty years mark the span of service of a man who was freely accorded a great place, not only among the missionaries of the American Board, but among the missionaries of all denominations in China. Few missionaries in these later years have been more wedded to the Church and the direct work of its propagation. He per- mitted his feet and his hands to be tied by no other institution, so that the Church as an organization and as an expanding, growing body could command his time and his best strength. He was naturally a preacher of the Gospel. Soon after reach- ing Peking, he was to take me about one evening to see various phases of Christian work. He said he was leaving his street chapel near his house in the care of two Chinese preachers. As we started out we came first to this chapel. We sat for a iQ'N moments while a Chinese preacher was addressing the company. Dr. Ament grew uneasy, and turning to me he said, "I think 1 will have to say a little something to them," and then he spoke with wonderful force for more than a half hour. He then hurried me off, saying, ** If we don't start I shall preach all the evening." He was equally at home with a city or a rural audience. No one's preaching was more sought than his at Peking, and no man in China could better call and hold the crowd for hours 366 APPENDIX in the remote interior villages. He seemed to understand the heart of the Chinese and know how to satisfy its cravings. The cruel and baseless attack made upon him in this country by Mark Twain, in 1901, left a deep wound in his heart, in spite of the fact that it was clearly shown that his acts had been above criticism. He said one night, as we were sitting in a Chinese inn upon our way to Shansi, " I presume there are many in the United States who regard me as little better than a thief and a robber." I tried to assure him that no missionary was more honored than he, none more absolutely trusted, as it had been proven that the charges had no foundation in fact. He replied, "That is true, but do the people beheve the proof, and will the truth ever catch up with the charge? " I had heard that he possessed a large number of elaborately prepared silk banners and official umbrellas, given him by the people of the different towns to which he had rendered distin- guished service in adjusting financial losses incurred by the Boxer troubles. While in his house frequently, I saw none, and asked him if he had them. He said, "Oh, yes, I have some packed away in a trunk." I asked him if I might see them some time. He replied, "Yes, if you wish." The day before I was to leave the city I went to his house and said : " Dr. Ament, you have not yet shown me those banners ; what is the reason? Do you not wish to let me see them?" "Certainly," said he; " you can see them if you desire, but I don't care to make an exhibit of them." There was a large trunk packed full of the collection of elaborate and rich silk tokens, made up of hundreds of yards of silk. These were covered by thousands of names of residents in the different towns and cities, officials and common people, who had taken this Chinese way of expressing the gratitude they all felt because what threatened to be an expensive and long drawn out in- ternational complication had been quietly adjusted by this man of God to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. As he would take no remuneration for himself, they could but present him with their expression of gratitude, emblazoned in colossal characters of gilt paper upon Chinese silk, to which their names, in black, were attached. There were official um- brellas in the lot that would have commanded homage in any city or town in China, and yet that modest missionary had almost to be forced to drag them out from their place of secret hiding to show them to his secretary. APPENDIX 367 I asked, "What are you going to do with these?" He replied : ''I have no use for them. Of course I cannot show them." I asked, **Will you let me have one?" He said, with animation, ** Why, yes; take them all and do with them what you will." I have from that lot one umbrella and two banners, almost enough to put me in the Mandarin class, if only my name were Ament. Is it any wonder that the Chinese and the missionaries and the officials, native and foreign, loved that man, and with one accord acknowledged his masterful leadership, and to-day mourn his death with a profound consciousness of the loss they and the cause of Christ in China have sustained ? Where is the man who will go out to take the place thus made vacant ? From the Advance, January 28 y igog : A FALLEN HERO By A. N. Hitchcock, D. D. It is suggestive of the fortunes of war that, at a time when our Congregational hosts are planning the greatest campaign of their history, one of their most honored commanders, long at the far front of the battle, is silently borne homeward lying upon his shield. It was far into the night of Monday, January nth, when a belated Illinois Central train rolled almost noise- lessly into the great Twelfth Street Station, bearing the remains of Dr. Ament. His heart-broken wife kept silent vigil through all the long journey from San Francisco, where, on January 6th, in Lane Hospital, after a somewhat prolonged illness, which necessitated his return from North China, he fell on sleep. From Chicago the little sorrowful group proceeded by next train to Owosso, Michigan, where our honored brother was laid to rest in the family burial ground. W. S. Ament was a man of action, of quick decision, of high conscience, and of resolute courage. With these qualities he combined a certain breadth of judgment and a kindness of heart which gave him wide influence in North China, and indeed throughout the various Protestant missions of China. Standing one day in the spring of 1907 in Tung-chow among some of the ruins of the awful desolation caused by the Boxer uprising, and walking over the same road leading to Peking 368 APPENDIX along which Dr. Ament escorted the missionaries and native Christians, I realized as never before the peril of the under- taking. The legations and many missionaries were shut in at the capital. The Chinese soldiers, the Boxers, and the howl- ing mob outnumbered the foreigners and native Christians fifty to one. At that juncture Dr. Ament applied to United States Minister Conger for a detachment of soldiers to rescue the American missionaries in Tung-chow — twelve miles away — and conduct them to Peking. But the American forces were already too few and Minister Conger declined. Nothing daunted, Ament got together something like a dozen carts, with mules and drivers, and under his personal escort they proceeded to Tung- chow, took the missionaries and Christians aboard and returned to Peking in safety, after the lapse of only twelve hours. It was as if some flaming sword of an angel had guarded them on their way. For no sooner were they out of Tung-chow than the fury of the mob broke loose and both college and missionary homes were quickly laid in ruins. The man of such rugged courage was also a man of kindly patience and of restraint under provocation. I well recall an occasion, just after his return to America, following the libera- tion from Peking, when he addressed an audience of several hundred at a noon hour in Chicago. At the close of his address a prominent lawyer came to the platfoim and asked the writer to introduce him to Dr. Ament. This was done, whereupon the lawyer invited both of us to lunch with him. We had not been long at the table before our host, who was saturated with the criticisms of Mark Twain, turned upon Dr. Ament a most irritating fire of cross-questioning. These questions did not seem intended to bring out information, but were adroitly constructed for the evident purpose of entangling the missionary and involving him in misdemeanors if not in crimes. It was a flagrant abuse of courtesy and I have never been able with perfect calmness to recall the incident. But this brave missionary bore it all in patience, spoke calmly and kindly, set forth clearly the exigency of conditions in Peking and the plain instructions of the United States minister, under which he was acting at every step, and withal revealed such a wealth of knowledge, as well as of humane sympathy and practical judgment, that the keen lawyer seemed a moral pygmy in comparison. One of the latest services rendered by Dr. Ament to the APPENDIX 369 growing cause of missions in China was his able paper on *' Christian Comity" at the great conference in Shanghai, in 1907. I had seen him on various other occasions, but never before had he seemed to me quite so much the Christian states- man as when he outhned and enforced, with eloquent and powerful argument, a great plan of essential union for all the Christian forces of the empire. Ament is gone. There are many circles of admiring friends in America who sorrow over his departure. But next to the loved ones of his own family there are none who will feel a heavier lonesomeness than his associates in the North China Mission and especially the large company of Chinese Christians to whom he was a tower of strength and a steadfast friend. Index Adams, Rev. W. M., D. D., rec- ommendation, 33 Aiken, Rev. E. E., 98 Aitcheson, Rev. W. H,, assistant interpreter to ambassador, 56 Ament, Winfield Scott, moves to Owosso, 15; trip to New Or- leans, 16; marriage, 17; business activity, 18; death, 19 Ament, Mrs. Emily Hammond, ancestry, 17 ; marriage, 18 ; home life, 34 ; Dr. Lindley's visit, 34 ; with son at Medina, 88 ; return to Owosso, 93-96 ; removes to Ober- lin, 310 ; death, 336 ; letters from her son, work among the people, 47 ; summer touring, 48 ; study of language, 51 ; temples at hills,^6o ; death of his sister, 68 ; trip to Fang Shan, 73; Emperor goes to Temple of Heaven, 270 ; mission meeting, 274 ; Cho Chou premises, 287 ; Pu An Tun, 287; Wen An, 288; Christ- mas, 297 ; Manchu pupil, 308 ; pianola playing, 308 Ament, William Scott, ancestry, 14, 17 ; birth, 14; boyhood, 22; life at Oberlin, 23, 27 ; seminary life, N. Y., 29-30; Andover Seminary, 31-35 ; marriage, 35 ; ordination, 36 ; sails for China, 36 ; life at Pao Ting Fu, 37 ; re- moves to Peking, 60; life in Peking, 71 ; touring in style, 76 ; Christmas in Peking, 79 ; tours to Cho Chou, 81 ; pastorate in Medina, 88-96; return to China, 97 ; death of Emily, 1 17 ; opens Shun Yi, 123; studies on Marco Polo, 140 ; second fur- lough, 143 ; work at Owosso, 143 ; address at American Board meeting, 143; farewell ^t Owosso, 143 ; receives degree from Ober- lin, 153 ; conference of native churches, 155 ; reported escape, 184 ; secures Mongol Fu, 191 ; work in siege, 201 ; messenger boy, 203 ; restoration, 205 ; in- terprets for Captain Forsythe, 207 ; bric-a.-brac sale, 207 ; at- tacked by Clemens in North American Review, 210; arrest at Cho Chou, 221 ; methods re- garding indemnity, 230 ; defense of the people, 239 ; rescues an elderly lady, 240 ; efforts to assist, 241 ; New Haven church adopts, 250 ; sympathy with the Chinese, 251 ; called home to report, 255 ; returns to Owosso, 255 ; address at New Haven, 257 ; banquet in New York, 260 ; campaigning in America, 263 ; returns to China, 268 ; sunstroke, 282 ; attends Viceroy's reception Tientsin, 283 ; popular lectures in Peking given, 305 ; interview Viceroy Tuan Fang, 307 ; Committee on Federation, 311 ; trip to Shansi, 317; attends Centennial Memo- rial, 321 ; presents resolutions, 322 ; meets Wang Chao, 328; aids independent church, 329 ; trans- lates " Passion Week," 334 ; death of his mother, 336-337 ; annual meeting, 1908, 340 ; coun- try trip, 340; summer training school, 341 ; goes to seaside, 342; attack of disease, 342; Mrs. Ament arrives, 342 ; return to the United States, 344-345 ; death at San Francisco, 348 ; memorial services, 349-35 1 ; burial at Owosso, 349 ; memorial estimates, 352 Ament, Mary Penfield, marriage, 371 372 INDEX 35 ; illness and return to United States, 62 ; home at Peking, 69 ; birth of son, 75 ; home at Medina, 89 ; birth of William Sheffield, 92 ; home life in Peking, 103 ; hillside home, 114; death of Emily, 1 14 ; life in Owosso, 143; return to China, 268; interprets for Mrs. Conger, 276; life at Oberlin, 310 ; plans return to China, 340; arrives at Pei Tai Ho, 342; returns with invalid husband, 343 ; Ovi^osso memorial service, 349; letters from, coun- try trip, 271; Pastor Hung, 272; funeral customs, 273 ; Mr. Thurs- ton's illness, 282 ; letters from her husband, troubles in Shantung, 168 ; death of Pastor Chang Chun Jung, 17 1 ; Boxers increase, 180; arrival of Marines, 182; Nan Meng looted, 183 ; story of siege, 184-192 ; rescue of lega- tions, 192; entrance to Mongol Fu, 192 ; refugee work, 197-198 ; march through imperial city, 198 ; Boxer atrocities, 199 ; London Times story, 204 ; gathering of food, 205 ; reports of Shansi and Pao Ting Fu massacres, 206; in- terprets for Captain Forsythe, 207 ; French and English soldiery, 212 ; reception at Cho Chou, 212 ; confers with agent of Li Hung Chang, 216 ; German and French soldiers, 217; General Chaffee's reception, 219; trip to Tientsin, 220; Christmas gifts, 312; in- dependent church, 329 ; Feder- ation and Term question, 330 ; press in Peking, 330 ; " Passion Week," 334 Ament, Margaret, buried at Pao Ting Fu, 53-54 Ament, Philip Wyett, birth, 75; illness and death, 76 Ament, Emily Hammond, birth, 86; teaching little girls, 114; death, 116, 123; character and influence, memorial school, 119; story of, 120; visit to grave, 125 Ament, William Sheffield, birth, 92; letters to, 297, 312, 315 ; meets his parents at San Fran- cisco, 34S American Asiatic Association, re- ception at, 260 Angell, Hon. J. B., Minister to China, 65; Treaty of 1881, 64- 65 Angell, Mrs., Memorial Training School, 267, 313 Annual Meeting, North China Mission, 1905, 303; 1907, 320- 321 ; 1908, 340 Annual Meeting, American Board, Hartford, 262 Anser, Roman Catholic Bishop, 166 Backhouse, E., trip to Cho Chou, 221 Barton, J. L., feast given for, 315 ; trip to Shansi, 319; estimate of Dr. Ament, 365-366 Barton, W. E., " Little Book," 334; letter from, 335 Bashford, Bishop, views of Federa- tion, 323 Blodget, Rev. Henry, opens Peking station, 54-56; death, 288, 293 Boston Journal, " Humorist Astray," 236 Bostwick, H, J., discovers Rocky Point, 92 Boxers, origin of name, 167 ; " Bub- ble," 180 Bric-i-brac sale, 207 Bridgman, Mrs. EHza C, buys mission premises, 57 ; starts school, 57 ; Bridgman School, 267, 292 Brooks, murder of, 157 Brown, Rev. Fred, 184 Buddhist, temples at Fang Shan, 73 Burial service at Owosso, 349-350 Cable to Ament from Boston, 231- 232 Cary, Clarence, letter to Ament, 214 INDEX 373 Gary, Otis, 33, 255 Centenary Memorial Conference, 321 Chamberlain, correspondent Sun, 22S ; cable to Sun, 229 ; cables plan of ministers, 235 Chang Chih Tung, Viceroy, 160 Chang Hsin Tien, Australian preacher, 314 Chang Hsi Hsin, translator, 1 1 1 Chang Yen Mao, Commissioner, 235 Chinese coins, 136 Cho Chou, ancient spiritual inter- est, 141 ; silkworm origin, 142; chapel, 221, 226; official, 226, 249, 250 Christian Endeavor Society, Ament founder in North China, 291 ; elected trustee, 290 ; Ning Po Convention, 302 ; Hubbard, founder, 353 Church benevolence, 153 Church News, 109; need of, 1 24; editorial work, 137 Clark, Rev. Geo. N., letters to, application for appointment, 32 ; arrival in Pao Ting Fu, 39 ; famine relief, 43 ; summer ex- perience, 45 ; signs of progress, 49; an official inquirer, 53; transfer to Peking, 60; Mrs. Ament returns to United States, 62 ; Roman Catholics at Hsien Hsien, 66 ; reception at Peking, 67 ; country floods, 78 ; Cho Chou as a centre of work, 82 ; rivers of Chihli, 86 Clark, F. E., 179-180, 291 Comity and Federation, 311 ; com- mittee on, 322-324 Conference, Shanghai, 1890, 105 Conference of powers, 235 Conference of native churches, 155, 303 Confucius, elevation to deistic honors, 320 ; school in ancestral city, 320; Duke, seventy-fifth generation, loi, 301, 321 Conger, E. H., United States Minister, 169, 185 ; interview at Kobe, 253-254; interest in mis- sion work, 254 ; reception in New York, 260 Conger, Mrs. Sarah P., <' Letters from Peking," 275 ; reception of princesses, 276, 289 Convocation of workers, 303 Corbin, Rev. P. L., 316-317 Coup d' etat, reforms proposed, 149 Cowles, Rev. Henry, 35 Cox, railroad engineer, attack upon, 148 Creegan, Rev. C. C, account of New York reception, 260 ; esti- mate of Shanghai Conference, 325 Criticism of missionaries, 239 Cromer, Rev. J,, 26, 144 Cunningham, Rev., regard for Ament, 346 Darnley, John, letters to, 108, 125 Davis, Hon. J. W., Ambassador to China, 56 Devins, Rev. Dr. J., visit at Peking, 281 Duncan, Rev. Moir, rescues mis- sionaries in Shensi, 244; inter- cedes for Tuan Fang, 244 Dwight Place Church, adopts Ament as its missionary, 256 ; memorial service for Ament, 349, 354 Edwards, Dr. J. H., 222 Emperor, French doctor reports health, 148 ; Christians pray for, 148 Empress Dowager, audience to legation ladies, 153; present to Miss Sheffield, 275 Estimate condition of church, 339 Ewing, Rev. C. E., letter in memory of Ament, 360-361 Fairchild, Rev. J. H., commend- atory letter, 24 Famine of 1878, 40 Federation conference, 303 ; news report of, 331 374 INDEX Fen Chow, trip to, 318 Finney, Rev. Chas. G., comment on, 24 Floods in Wen An, 78 Forsythe, Captain, U. S. A., expedi- tion to Shun Yi, 207 French priests, 63 French war, 80 Fries, Dr., translator, 329-330 Gailey, Rev. R. R., aids in revi- val, 300 Gammon, C. F., agent Bible So- ciety, 174 Gait, Rev. H. S., arrival in China, 161 Gladden, Rev. Washington, " Rul- ing Ideas " translated, 154 Golden Tartars, epoch of, 55 Goodier, Russian linguist, 297 Goodrich, Rev. Chauncey, reached Peking, 58 ; paper on " Terms," 293 Gould, Daniel, uncle of Ament, 19 Gould, Miss Anna A., body found at Pao Ting Fu, 222 Gray, Dr. Geo,, British Legation, 342 Greek Church, ceremonial, 1 12, 1 13 Gulick, Rev. John, enters Mongol work, 57 Hall, Prof. L. B., companion at school, 23 Hall, Captain, U. S. Marines, 187 Hammond, family genealogy, 17 Hart, Sir Robert, gift to memorial, 108 ; summer at seashore, 147 ; estimate of war, 284," 295 ; gift to church, 295 ; leaves, 337 Hartford Courant, editorial, 237, 2b2 Haven, Miss Ada (Mrs. C. W. Mateer), 74, 197, 198 Hayner, 134 Hemingway, Dr., 317 Heebner, Flora K,, 316 Herring, Sergeant, auctioneer, 191 Hicks, Harry W., visit at Peking, 334-335 Hinman, Rev. G. W., secretary Y. M. C. A., 283, 290 Hinman, Miss Susan, 128 Hitchcock, Dr. A. N,, «« A Fallen Hero," 367-369 Hodge, Dr., killed at Pao Ting Fu, 181 Holcombe, Chester, opens North Chapel, 58, 59 ; builds Tank Chapel, 59 Hsiao Chang, London Mission station, 167 Huai Lai, Christians killed, 181 Hung, Shan Tung, native pastor, 152, 177, 272; funeral of father, 273 Hunt, P. R., arrives in Peking, 58- 59 ; skill in printing, 59 ; death, 59 Hymnology, translations, 69 Incendiary fires, 333 ; alarm of Empress, 334 Japanese as educators, 300 Jen Chao Hai (Hsueh Hai), work at Pu An Tun, 106 ; ordained at Peking, 154, 273, 289, 296; trip to Mukden as evangelist, 300 Jesuits at Hsien Hsien, 66 Jones, Rev. A. G., visit at Peking, 135 Jones, Dr. J. P., letter to, 338 ; esti- mate of Ament, 358 Joyce, Bishop, in danger, 135 Jung, first helper at Peking, 58 Kang Yi, imperial commissioner, 157, 160, 170 K'ang Yu Wei, Reformer leader, 158 ; unfit for such, 158 "Keng Tze Nien," cycle year, 1900, 166 Kidder, Rev. Samuel T., fellow student, 31 ; estimate in memo- rial, 357 Kingman, Rev. H., 136 Kirbye, Rev. J, E., estimate of Ament's pastorate, 95 ; memorial address, 349 INDEX 375 Kublai Khan, studies regarding, 140 Kung Chun Fu, native pastor at Tung-chow, 321 Kung Li Hui, " Congregational church," 321 Leete, Rev. W. W., letters to, 256, 263-264 ; account of jour- ney, 277-280 ; federation, 292- 293; Tuan Fang, 307-308; church-membership, 309 ; uni- versity extension lectures, 309 ; centennial conference, 310 ; com- mittee work, 310; spirit of con- ference, 327 ; Yang Tze River, 327 Leggat, Clarabel, letters to, 63 Li Chin Fang, messenger to Tien- tsin, 189 Li Hung Chang, Viceroy, 227, 235 Li Pen Yuan, second ordained pastor, Cho Chou, 300 ; estimate of Ament as pastor, 344 Lindley, Rev. Daniel, visits home of Mrs. Ament, 34 Lu Kou Ch'iao, Marco Polo bridge, trouble on railroad, 148 ; Cox hurt, 148 ; station opened, 269 MacDonald, Sir Claude, 192; interview, 244 Mandarin version, 59 Mann, Prof. A. S., drowned at Kuling, 330 Marco Polo, 55, 81 ; literature con- cerning, 139 Marines, at Peking, 149 Mateer, John L., superintends the press, 128, 161 ; illness, 175; death, 180 Mateer, Rev. Dr. C. W., 162 Mateer, Ada Haven, 74, 197 Memorial service for Dr. Ament, at New Haven, 349, 354; at Medina, 349 ; at Owosso, 349 ; at Peking, 351-354 Meng family, 37 Meng Chi Hsien, Pao Ting Fu pastor, 102 Meng Chi Tseng (Chang So), 46 Miner, Miss Luella, 290 ; •« Ap- peal," 356 Mint, defense of, 246; transfer to Germans, 246 Missionary Association, cable to North American Review, 236 Moffat, Dr., affirms diagnosis, 347 Money in mission work, 163 Mongol Fu, 191, 221 Mongol Princess School, 306 Moore, Prof. E. C, 320 ; estimate of conference, 325 Morgan, Rev. John, Oberlin, 26 Morrill, Miss Mary A., 222 Morrison, Dr. J. G., estimate of new empire, 284-285 Morrison, Dr. Robert, Centennial Memorial, 321 Mott, J. L., spiritual work among students, 135 Nan Meng, church at, 183 New Haven Journal and Courier^ 257 Noble, W. C, superintendent of press, 60 North American Review, 210, 230 North China Mission, 55 ; memorial resolutions, 361-362 North Church, organized, 59 ; new chapel, 288 Oberlin College, 23, 26, 153 Oberlin Review, obituary of Dr. Ament, 364 Ordination of second pastor in Pe- king, 296 ; of Wang Wen Shun, 299-300 Owosso, early appearance, 19; first church built, 19 P'ang Chuang station, 54, 163, 166 Pao Ting Fu, 37 "Passion Week," 334; "His Life," 334 Patchin, Rev. J., 22 Payne, Miss Jessie, 346 Peachey, 211 Pei Le Fu, 196 376 INDEX Pei Tai Ho, summer school, 280 ; Federation Conference, 311 Peking, 55; association, 194; church-members, 269 ; changes in, 304 Penfield, Prof., 35 Penfield, Mary Alice, 35, 67 Perfectionists, at Oberlin, 26 Pethick, W. N., peace commission to Japan, 130 Pettee, Rev. J. H., 337 Pierson, Rev. Isaac, 35, 37 Ping Ching (see P'ing Ting) P'ing Ting, out-station, 176 Popular lectures, 305-306, 332 ; for women, 306 Porter, Rev. H. D., 54 Porter, Miss M. H., 58 Porter, Rev. L. C, 343, 347 Portsmouth, Treaty of, 304 Prayer Hall, Peking, 267 Press of American Board, 59, no, 128 Prisons, 100 Pu An Tun, out-station, revival, 106; persecution, 152 Punitive expedition, 226 Purchase of land, 266 Pyke, Rev. J. H,, 345 Reid, Rev. Gilbert, shot, 188 Richard, Rev. Timothy, 164 Roberts, Rev, James H., visit to Hsien Hsien, 66 ; Andover class, 337 Rockhill, W. W., United States Minister, Christmas in Peking, 313 Roman Catholic, battles with Boxers, 177 ; indemnities, 227 Russell, Miss N. N., story of siege, 201-204; messenger boy, 203; Mongol compound, 207 ; restora- tion, 208-211 ; a pastoress in Pe- king, 289, 312 Russian- Japanese war, 285, 294 Russian Church, 297 ; service in, 298 Ryder, Rev. C. J., pastor at Medina, 89 ScHiRMER, Miss M, G,, letters to, 29 ; Feast of Lanterns, 39 ; first summer in China, 41 ; winter touring, 46 ; Roman Catholic work, 48 ; work in Medina, 90 ; return to China, 93 ; changes, 98 ; home life, 103 ; death of Emily, 117; retreat at hills, 126; cam- paign work, 263 ; death of Miss Wyett, 270 ; seaside, 294 Seabury, Rev. Mr., drowned at Ruling, 330 Shanghai, second missionary con- ference, 105 ; Memorial Confer- ence, 321-326 Shansi, trip to, 87, 319 Shaw, Rev. William, 54 Sheffield, Rev. D. Z., letter to Dr. Smith, 227 ; memorial address, 353 Sheffield, Elizabeth, interprets for Mrs. Conger, 275 ; gift from Em- press Dowager, 275 ; marriage, 275 Shen Ta Jen, official, feast with, 328 ; zoological garden, 329 Shun Yi City, new chapel, 123; opening feast, 150, 247-248 Silkworm, original home, 141 Smith, A. H., 54, 171, 197, 220 Smith, Rev. Judson, letters to, 86, 90, 99, 104 ; church people, 106; death of Prince Chun, 109 ; North Chapel, 113 ; Tung-chow college, 124; mission press, 128; fear of war, 128 ; special meetings, 132; cholera spreading, 133; new openings, 133 ; Peking mem- bership, 134; coup d'etat, 145; reform, 157 ; Emperor and Boxers, 170; Church News gXvtx\ up, 173; plans for church build- ing, 174; Boxer craze, 176; methods regarding indemnity, 230 ; return to Peking, 268 ; church-membership additions to church, 273; new church build- ing, 299 ; Peking conference, 299 ; Home Mission Society, 300 Soldiers' depredations, 225 •* Song of the Mystic," 362 INDEX 377 South Church, premises enlarged, Squiers, Pargo, 295 Squiers, Herbert, 294-295 Stelle, William B., joins mission, 176; marriage, 275; apprecia- tion of Anient, 358-360 Stewart, Dr., sold premises, 57 Stewart, Mrs., story of ordination, 36 Stimson, M. L., 68 Stonehouse, Rev. J., shot, 226 Strong, Rev. E. E., 319-320 Student Volunteer Conference, 156 Sun, New York, admits error, 230 Su, Prince, palace used, 188; sons in school, 328 Ta Tag Society, 166 Tai Ku, 87 Tang Chia Lane, Pao Ting Fu, 38 Tang Shao Yi, interview on opium, 314 Tank, Madam C. L. A., gifts to North China Mission, 59, 267 Te, Duchess, at Chao Kung Fu, 276 ; son a pupil, 333 Teng Shih Kou, street, 58 ; premises burned, 186; losses, 189; chapel and mission en- trance, 265-266 Tewksbury, story of, 193-196; at Chao Kung Fu, 218, 303 Thurston, Lawrence, 267 Thwing, Rev. C. F., letter to Mrs. Ament, 357 Tombs, imperial, eastern, 74; western, 74; Tze Hsi, 75; Kuang Hsu, 75 ; T'ung Chih, 75 Tract Society, North China, 107 Translators of New Testament in Mandarin, revision, 159 Treat, Rev. S. B., 34 Treat, Dr. A. O., 37 Tuan Fang, Viceroy Shensi, 244 ; premises entered, 245 ; commis- sioner to United States, 245 ; in- terview, 307 ; school and pupils, 313 Tung-chow, annual meeting, 181 Tung Fu Hsiang, General, 168, 172 Twain, Mark, article in North American Review, 210, 230, 234; Dr. Smith's letter to, 232-234 Union College of Arts, 292 ; for men, 292 ; for women, 292 ; of medicine, 292 ; of theology, 341 Union of Chinese Christians, New Year greetings, 332 University extension lectures, 305 Waldersee, Count von, 250 Wang Chao, reformer, 328 Wang Wen Shun, ordained pastor, 299-300 War correspondents, 223 Wen Jin, letter from, 199 Western Tombs, 74 Wilder, Rev. Geo. D., referred to, 19 ; memorial address, 352 Williams, Prof. Fred W., letter of esteem, 356 Woman's Daily, Peking, 306 Woman's Union College, 267 Wright, Rev. Geo. F., 179, 184 Wyckoff, Miss Gertrude, 181 Wyett, Miss Anna M., 97, 103 ; story of Emily, 1 20; letter t£> Madam Ament, 131 ; death, 270 Young, Dr. C. W., 267 ; decides to send Ament home, 342-343 Young, Mrs. C. W., Christmas tree, 297 Yuan Shih K'ai, 167 Yli Hsien, Governor of Shansi, 167 Yii-wang-fu, 196 CHINA £&St of the B£Urrier : Manchuria in Miniature Illustrated, $i.oo net. REV. J. MILLER GRAHAM The mission of the Scotch United (now United-Free) Presbyterians in Manchuria is one of the best illustrations of effective mission work in any land. This book, by one of the missionaries, brings before us very vividly the country and its people, as well as its missions. Mission Methods in Manchuria Illustrated, ismo. Cloth, $i.oo net. JOHN ROSS, D.D. Dr. Ross, the senior missionary in that most interesting field, gives here the result of long years of experience, illus- trating the problem* faced, the results achieved, especially as emphasized by the Boxer troubles. All together constitute, in the opinion of Robert E. Speer, "the most interesting devel- opment of modern missions." A Winter in North China Map, i2mo. Cloth, $1.50. REV. T. M. MORRIS 1» The story of a visit by two American pastors to a field of which they had known, but which, as they saw it, aroused a new enthusiasm. Among the incidents of peculiar interest, is an interview with L,i Hung Chang. China and Formosa REV. JAMES JOHNSTON, F. S. S. Illustrated, 8vo, Cloth, $1.75. The record of the work of the Presbyterian Church of England in South China and North Formosa, by one who was formerly a missionary and since has had large experience in missionary literature. Youn^ People's History of China l2mo. Cloth, $1.00. W. Q. E. CUNNYNGHAM, D.D. An effort to supply the lack of books of general informa- tion about China adapted to the needs of the young, par- ticularly the early history. Demon Possession and Allied Themes JOHN L. NEVIUS, D.D. Index, Appendices, etc., Cloth, i2mo, $1.50. 'One of the best contributions to the natural history of the subject" {New York Nation) by one who for forty years was a missionary in China, a careful observer, an impartial witness. "A significant and impressive volume." INDIA. BURMA. TIBET SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN INDIA Probably no country has had as much written about its social conditions as in India. Yet so diverse are the different sections, so widely separated are the castes, so varied is the lite that the various books supplement rather than repeat each other. Each has its own place, fills a certain need. Village Work in India Illustrated, i2mo. Cloth, $i.oo net. NOR/IAN RUSSELL. India is pre-eminently the land of villages. In no other ^°""try do cities play comparatively so unimportant a part. 'Tu- if , ' ■^^''^Se work, are the key to missionary success. This booi- does not aim "to present history, statistics or even argument, but to delineate the life and condition of those Indian masses among which our work is carried on. This is admirably done." — Interior. The High Caste Hindu Woman i2mo. Cloth, 75c net. PANDITA RAflABAI A powerful presentation of one of the most tragic features of Hindu life, child marrage and enforced widowhood, by one who knows better than any foreigner can, its terrible suffer- ing,- "To Americans it will be a revelation," says The Critic, and one which ought to come to every Christian woman. Wrongs of Indian Womanhood riRS. HARCUS B. FULLER Illustrated, lamo, Cloth, $1.25. Wider in its scope than Pandita Ramabai's book, this gathers up the records of all classes, "lifts the curtain, and lets us see the awful degradation which characterizes mil- lions of women in India." — Missionary Review of the World. Things as They Are AMY WILSON CARMICHAEI. Illustrated, i2mo, Cloth, $1.00 net. One of the most vivid pictures of heathenism as it exists to-day, despite the assertions of some, that has ever been given. No one who reads it can fail to realize the great, im- mediate need of Christian work for that land. Our Sisters in India Illustrated, i2mo. Cloth, $1.25. REV. E. SfORROW "Almost a text-book on woman's life in India; the condi- tions that oppress her; the all-consuming need for her deliver- ance; the best methods of approaching her; the results of mission labors in her heh2.U."-^Standard. INDIA, BURMA, TIBET An Indian Priestess Illustrated, 12 mo, Cloth, see net. MRS. ADA LEB An impressive and absorbing story of Chundra Lela, the daughter of a Brahmin, married at seven, a widow at nine, who seeks peace in a pilgrimage, crowded with awful auster- Chr • ities, and becomes a Christian. The Cross in the Land of the Trident REV. HARLAN P. BEACH, M. A. 12 mo, Cloth, 50c; Paper, 25c net. A Manual of Missions in India, by the well-known Sec- retary of the Student Volunteer Movement, now Professor of the Theory and Practice of Missions, in Yale University. Among India's Students i8mo, Cloth, 30c. ROBERT P. WILDER, M. A. "A charming little book" {The Independent) by one of the founders of the movement for students. The Great Religions of India i2mo. Cloth, $1.50 net. Hinduism, Past and Present i2mo. Cloth, $1.60. J. MURRAY MITCHELL, LL.D. These two volumes, by one of the most profound scholars Scotland has had in her missionary force, have never been surpassed for clear, thorough presentation, and they are uniformly recognized on every hand as authoritative, and indispensable to the scholar of missions. Among the Burmans HENRY PARK COCHRANE Illustrated, i2mo, Cloth, $1.25 net. A familiar picture of life, customs, religion, etc., as found in Burma; written in a fascinating styie by a mission- ary of many years' residence in that land. "First and only book covering all Burma, which gives a comprehensive ac- count of the land and its people. It tells how the country looks, what the newcomer's experiences are, and what he has to learn. The history is outlined and the different races described, with accuracy, liveliness and humor." Soo Thah ALONZO BUNKER, D.D. Illustrated, i2mo, Cloth, $irfK) net. The Story of the making of the Karen Nation. In his Introduction, Dr. H. C. Mabie, speaks of the Karens as "a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men, the promise and the prophecy of an ultimate transformed humanity." In the form of a story the "history of a down-trodden and despised race which became a nation of valiant soldiers if told, with many romantic incidents." TRAVEL, MISSIONARY JOHN W. ARCTANDER The Apostle of Alaska ITie Story of William Duncan of Mbtlakahtla. Illus- trated, i2mo, cloth, net $1.50. A record of the phenomenal life-work and thrilling ex- periences of William Duncan during fifty years among the Indians in British Columbia and Alaska. Marvellous is this story of the reformation in the Indian character and its di- version to useful, practical pursuits as Duncan tells of how he originated industrial enterprises, such as boat-building, saw- milling, and established a large and lucrative salmon cannery, acting all the while as instructor and overseer, besides being school-master, preacher and pastor. It reads like a romance as it narrates the wonderful story of his missionary work and industrial labors among his loved chosen people. GERALDINE GUINNESS Peru : Its Story, People and Religion Illustrated, 8vo, cloth, net $2.50. Miss Guinness, from an extended tour of Peru, has pre- {>ared a wonderful volume of description. She pictures a and of great extremes of climate; gardens flourishing at altitudes higher than Mt. Blanc and deserts at the sea side, and a people sadly in need of the touch of Christian civiliza- tion. The author's father, H. Grattan Guinness, has provided for the book 45 illustrations, photographs, maps, photograv- ures. G. Campbell Morgan says: "From whatever standpoint I approch this work, I find it impossible to speak too highly in praise of it. Its literary style is full of charm, and withal full of life. Its grouping of facts is superbly done." MANUEL AND U JAR Spain of To-day from Within With Autobiography of Author. Illustrated, i2mo, cloth, net $1.25. An instructive, interesting narrative of a native of Spain, who knows his country well. He was brought up a Catholic, and later on embracing the Protestant religion, he became a minister of the Gospel. The stories of his travels in Spain will be found entertaining as well as instructive reading, as will be his glad narrative of the progress of evangelical work in that priest-ridden nation. The book is delightfully illu»- trated, and will be sure to be widely and eagerly read. MISSIONARY The Foreign Missionary ^° ^^'^'Movemin?* ^°'*** izmo, Cloth, $1.50 net. ARTHUR J. BROWN Dr. Brown, out of a long and intimate experience deals •with such questions as. Who is the Missionary? What are his motives, aims and methods? His dealings with proud and ancient peoples. His relation to his own and other governments? His real difficulties. Do results justify the expenditures? How are the Mission Boards conducted? etc., etc. The book is most intelligently informing. The Conquest of the Cross in China JACOB SPEICHER W5th Chart and Illustrations, i2mo, Cloth, $1.50 «et. The contents of this book were first delivered as lec- tures to the students at Colgate University. Mr. Speicher has the true instinct of the news bringer. He has lived in South China long enough to know it thoroughly. He is distin- guished by common sense in his judgments, made palatable by a free literary style. China in Legend and Story i2mo. Cloth, $1.25 net. C. CAMPBELL BROWN By one of the C. M. S. best known missionaries. It consists of seventeen stories, true to legend or to fact, ten of them studies of the Chinese people as they are when heathen, and seven of them of the same people when they become Christians. The stories cover a wide range of social life, representing every class in the community, from mandarins to thieves and beggars. As Mr. Campbell Brown is a keen observer, and wields a graceful pen, the book is unusually interesting and valuable. A Typical Mission in China X2mo, Cloth, $1,50 net W. E. SOOTHILL" "The book is comprehensive, instructive, well written, interesting and valuable in every way. Those who read it will get such a glimpse into Chinese life and methods as they may never have had, and will certainly be edified and stimu- lated to a new zeal in the work of missions." — Herald and Presbyter. Robert Clark of the Panjab ^^^rr^'smlmaf " 8vo. Cloth, $1 75 net HENRY MARTYN CLARK "The record of one of the makers of Christian India: as fascinating as a novel, and immensely more profitable. The more widely this book is circulated and read, the better it will be for the missionary enterprise. A book of this character is the best apologetic that can be written,".— Mwjtonar;' Intellir fenctr. TRAVEL, MISSIONARY H. G. UNDERWOOD The Call of Korea New Popular Edition. Paper, net 350. Regular Edition, i2mo, cloth, net 750. "As attractive as a novel — packed with information. Dr. Underwood knows Korea, its territory, its people, and its needs, and his book has special value which attaches to expert judgment. Particularly well suited to serve as a guide to young people in the study of missions." — Examiner, WILLIAM 0. CARVER Missions in the Plan of the Ages Bible Studies and Missions. i2mo, cloth, net $1.25. As Professor of Comparative Religion and Missions in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at Louisville, Dr. Carver has prepared in these chapters the fruit of many years' study. His aim is to show that the foundation prin- ciples of the Christian task of world conquest are found in the Bible not so much in the guise of a commanded duty as in the very life of the Christian faith. ANNIE L. A. BAIRD Daybreak in Korea Illustrated, i6mo, cloth, net 6oc. There can never be too many missionary books like this. A story written with literary skill, the story of a girl's life in Korea, her unhappy marriage and how the old, old story transformed her home. It reads like a novel and most of all teaches one, on every page, just what the Gospel means to the far eastern homes. ISABELLA RIGGS WILLIAMS By the Great Wall Selected Correspondence of Isabella Riggs Williams, Mis- sionary of the American Board to China, 1866-1897. With an introduction by Arthur H. Smith. Illustrated, i2mo, cloth, net $1.50. "This volume is a little window opened into the life and work of an exceptionally equipped missionary. It was at Kalgan, the northern gateway of China, that a misssion station was begun amid a people hard and unimpressible. It was here that Mrs. Williams won the hearts of Chinese women and girls; here that she showed what a Christian home may be, and how the children of such a home can be trained for wide and unselfish usefulness wherever their lot is cast. No object-lesson is more needed in the Celestial Empire than this. Many glimpses of that patient and tireless mis- sionary activity which makes itself all things to all men are given." — Arthur H. Smith, Author of Chinese Characteristics, Etc. iiitniinn IIHIUHIE Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library lllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllll 1 1012 01036 1147