Sep ZGHbb 
 
 In flfoemoriam 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2017 with funding from 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 https://archive.org/details/inmemoriamrevgeoOOunse 
 
GEORGE E. WOODHULL. 
 
 1888 . 
 
Ifn flDemoriam 
 
 A Missionary of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 
 — in — 
 
 JAPAN. 
 
 COMMISSIONED by 
 
 The Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, 
 
 U. S. A. 
 
 1888 . 1895 . 
 
 “ I heard a voice from Heaven saying, ‘ Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from 
 henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labors and their works do follow them 
 
 — Rev. 14: 1 
 
 Tn pace. 
 
A little way, I know it is not far, 
 
 To that dear home where my beloved are; 
 
 And still my heart sits like a bird upon 
 The empty nest, and mourns its treasures gone, 
 Plumed for their flight, 
 
 And vanished quite. 
 
 Ah me! where is the comfort? though I say 
 They have but journeyed on a little way. 
 
 A little way! At times they seem so near, 
 
 Their voices even murmur in my ear, 
 
 To all my duties loving presence lend, 
 
 And with sweet ministry my steps attend. 
 
 Twas here we met and parted company; 
 
 Why should their gain be such a loss to me? 
 This sense of loss! 
 
 This heavy cross! 
 
 Dear Saviour, take the burden off, I pray, 
 
 And show me heaven is but — a little way. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 It is not the purpose of these pages to present a biography 
 of Mr. Woodhull’s life, but to present to his friends, from whom 
 he has been separated these seven years, some facts concerning 
 his life work in Japan. We give, however, a few dates in his 
 life for the information of friends. 
 
 Since his death we have received many kind and loving 
 words, expressing the highest esteem for him and the work he 
 had done, and conveying warm Christian sympathy to his family 
 and friends. They come from many and unexpected sources. 
 Some are the formal and recorded action of Christian Bodies, 
 whose words should command the highest respect. So they 
 are valuable memorials of his work, sweet tributes to his mem- 
 ory and bright testimonials of his worth. As such they are 
 exceedingly dear to us. We have simply placed them together 
 — as one might bind flowers in a wreath or string pearls for a 
 necklace. 
 
 As Mr. Woodhull had given himself to his Savior, the Lord 
 Christ, and had devoted his life to Japan — where he died — it 
 was peculiarly appropriate that his remains should sleep there 
 in the Capital of that wonderful nation, and there with the 
 martyrs of the past, the Christians of the present and the 
 millions (as we hope and believe) of the future, await the call 
 of the Savior and the trumpet of the Archangel. 
 
 We desire to offer these living witnesses of his fidelity, 
 earnestness and success, not with paternal pride, as the work 
 of our son, but to the glory of the riches of His grace, who 
 wrought thus through him and in him, and by this we are as- 
 sured that 
 
 “ He being dead yet speaketh.” 
 
 G. S. WOODHULL. 
 
 Saginaw , Mich., February 7 , iSq6. 
 
1 Rc\>. (Seoroc j£. MooWnill, m>. a. 
 
 — SON OF — 
 
 IRew George 5. Moo&bull, 2). 2>. 
 
 Saginaw, /Ifttcbigan. 
 
 Born, Point Pleasant, West Virginia, October 17, 1860. 
 
 Graduated, Princeton College, New Jersey, June, 1884. 
 
 Graduated, Princeton Theological Seminary, May, 1887. 
 
 Home Missionary, West Plains, Mo., 1887-88. 
 
 Commissioned as a Foreign Missionary to Japan, by the Presbyterian 
 Board of Foreign Missions, March 19, 1888. 
 
 Married to Miss Lillie Johnson at West Plains, Mo., June 7, 1888. 
 
 Ordained as a Minister of the Gospel by the Presbytery of New York, 
 September 30, 1888. 
 
 Arrived in Osaka, Japan, October, 1888. 
 
 Died in Tokyo, Japan, October 11, 1895, leaving a widow and three 
 children -George, Mary, Caroline. 
 
 His last Sermon, Karuizawa, August 25, 1895. (Numbers 23: 9-10.) 
 
 “ From the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold 
 him: lo. the people shall dwell alone. Let me die the death of the 
 righteous and let my last end be like his! ” 
 
REV. GEORGE E. WOODHULL, M. A. 
 
 Mr. Woodhull had been laboring very hard in the winter 
 of 1894 and spring of 1895, preaching for a month at a time 
 every day, besides his incessant traveling, and was much worn 
 by his work, though apparently his splendid physique was un- 
 injured and he was unbroken in health when he went to the 
 mountains at Karuizawa in the last of July, 1895. In August 
 the weakness showed itself, but he preached on the last Sabbath 
 of August his last sermon, from Numbers 2 j: g-io. 
 
 From that day his strength failed fast. The presence of 
 typhoid fever became plain. He was moved to Tokyo, where 
 he was taken into the home of Rev. Prof. H. W. Landis, where 
 he received every attention which Christian love and brother- 
 hood could suggest from him and his most excellent wife, and 
 from Dr. Alexander and others of the Mission friends. To 
 them all I desire on my own part and for my family, and on 
 the part of Mrs. Woodhull and her friends in this country to 
 express our most heartfelt gratitude and our most sincere thanks. 
 May God reward them; we cannot. And when the end comes 
 to them (though it be in a far-off land) may they receive like 
 kindness. 
 
 His death took place on Friday, October 11, 1895. 
 
 The funeral services were held in the Chapel of the Meiji 
 Gakuin, the Mission College, at Tokyo, October 12, 1895. 
 
 A large number of the Missionaries at Yokahama and 
 Tokyo from the various Missions, and other foreigners, Japan- 
 ese Ministers and natives were present. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Ibuka, President of the College, offered prayer. 
 Rev. T. T. Alexander, D. D., delivered a short sermon. Rev. 
 Prof. H. W. Landis, the friend of Mr. Woodhull for many years 
 
8 
 
 at Princeton in America and in Japan, made some remarks, and 
 Rev. Mr.AVada, a native pastor, added a few remarks in the 
 Japanese language. 
 
 The following is a brief outline of the sermon preached by 
 Rev. T. T. Alexander, U. D. 
 
 “ Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if Thou hadst been here 
 my brother had not died.” 
 
 “ Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life : he that 
 believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” 
 
 —John II : 21-25. 
 
 I. We have here in the words, “If Thou hadst been here, 
 my brother had not died,” a cry of the human heart. The cry 
 goes up from every land and in every age. When those nearest 
 to us are taken away by death the whole face of nature changes, 
 and all the joy and gladness of life flee away, and we instinct- 
 ively cry out, “Oh, that it might have been different!” If only 
 this, or that, or the other, could have been different, perhaps 
 the precious life might have been spared. As we begin to 
 realize that the dear one is actually gone and that we can see 
 his face no more on earth, a chill creeps over our hearts and 
 grief overwhelms us. At such a time there is really nothing 
 that can afford relief to our sorrow. It is not life in a future 
 world that our nature cries out for. It is that the life taken 
 away may be restored to us. Nothing less than this can satisfy, 
 and, as this cannot be we sink deeper and deeper in our grief. 
 With Martha, we say: “I know that he shall rise again,” but 
 that is small comfort to our broken and bleeding hearts. 
 
 II. We have Christ's response to our cry. “I am the resur- 
 rection and the life,’ etc. Christ speaks to the inner want of our 
 hearts and says two things : 
 
 1. Resurrection anJ life are not future but present. He 
 pointed Martha not to an event to take place in th; far distant 
 future, but to His own person then before her eyes. Life does 
 not cease at death; it is not even suspended. It is a great river 
 which flows on in eternity, an unbroken and uninterrupted 
 stream, and death is no more than a ripple on its surface. In 
 Christ’s view life is a present and an everlasting possession. 
 
9 
 
 2. Life is ours by union with Him. He does not say, “1 
 have power to raise the dead,’’ but, “I am the resurrection and 
 the life.” Is any one united to Christ by faith? Such an one 
 cannot die. Oh, that we might realize what this means ! Then 
 might our grief be assuaged. 
 
 I wish to add a few words by way of personal reminiscence 
 of Mr. Woodhull. 
 
 First. As to his character. He was earnest, sincere, gen- 
 uine. I think those who knew him best will understand what 
 I mean when I say that as a rule he did not pass for all he was 
 worth. One had to know him very well in order to appreciate 
 him. He was like a banknote whose real value was greater 
 than its face value. His character was at a premium. 
 
 Second. As to his work among the Japanese. He had but 
 just entered upon what we hoped would be a long and useful 
 career. His earnest, generous nature made him peculiarly 
 acceptable to the Japanese. He showed love and sympathy for 
 them, and had their confidence to an unusual degree. He was 
 intensely active. Though his home was in Osaka his work took 
 him into the province of Banshu on the main island and into 
 Iyo on the island of Shikoku. In him the West Japan Mission 
 has lost one of its most earnest and successful workers. 
 
 SCRIPTURE readings: 
 
 Rev. 14: 13; I Thess. 4: 13-18; Rev. 20: 6; I Cor. 15: 20-28. 
 
 At the grave : Rev. 21: 1-4. 
 
 hymns: 
 
 “Nearer My God to Thee.” 
 
 “Safe in the Arms of Jesus.” 
 
 “ Home of the Soul.” 
 
 At the grave : “Asleep in Jesus." 
 
 We regret exceedingly that we have not received up to 
 this date the report of Mr. Landis’ remarks. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Wada, a Japanese pastor, spoke in substance as 
 follows: 
 
 To the bereaved friends our hearts go out in sympathy. 
 
 Mr. Woodhull’s earnest labors in Osaka and elsewhere will 
 long be remembered. His earnest preaching will not soon be 
 
forgotten. Even before his use of the language was such as to 
 render his meaning clear many of his hearers were impressed 
 with the sheer earnestness of the man. Many words which I 
 heard him speak years ago in Osaka are still sounding in my 
 ears. His zeal for the Master carried him into remote country 
 districts where his visits were always acceptable and where he 
 was able to do much in the way of encouraging Japanese Christ- 
 ians and workers. Even now there are people in the province 
 of Iyo who, not knowing of his death, are expecting him to visit 
 them. They will be greatly grieved as well as disappointed. 
 
 He was a man of thorough-going convictions as to the 
 truth of the Bible, and his conviction was contagious. I remem- 
 ber well his telling me years ago that the Bible was a book the 
 different parts of which were so closely woven together that 
 no one part could be taken away without spoiling the whole. 
 
 He was the kind of Missionary that is much needed in 
 Jaoan, and he was just entering upon what we fondly hoped 
 would be a long life of successful labor in this country. That 
 he should be thus sudd.nly snatched away is a mystery which 
 we cannot explain; but we bow in submission to the will of 
 God who doeth all things well. Many Japanese friends today 
 join with his family and foreign friends in lamenting his sad 
 and untimely death. 
 
11 
 
 A memorial service on account of the death of Rev. George 
 E. Woodhull was held by the West Japan Mission during its 
 annual meeting at Kyoto, in November, 1895. 
 
 The Secretary writes: “Your son was a beloved and highly 
 honored member of this body. Many were the tributes made 
 to his kindness, unselfishness, zeal and success in his work. No 
 man was ever more sincerely mourned.” 
 
 At this meeting was adopted the following 
 
 MEMORIAL. 
 
 Whereas, In His infinite wisdom our good and merciful heavenly 
 Father has seen fit to remove from our midst and take to Himself our be- 
 loved brother and fellow-worker, Rev. George Edmund W oodhull, therefore, 
 be it 
 
 Resolved, That we, the members of the West Japan Mission of the 
 Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A., in regular session assembled, express 
 our profound grief and sense of personal loss in the death of one whom we 
 loved as a brother, whose zeal and energy we admired, and in whose char- 
 acter and purpose we reposed the greatest confidence. With seven years 
 of hard, earnest work behind him ; a fine knowledge of Japanese language, 
 life and character acquired; the foundations of an extensive and important 
 work already laid, our deceased brother's future was full of the brightest 
 promise. But though his removal is a heavy dispensation of Providence, 
 we recognize in it the hand of God who doeth all things according to the 
 counsel of His will — who doeth all things well. 
 
 Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Woodhull, the world, we believe, 
 has been rendered poorer, in the loss of one who labored unselfishly and 
 with singleness of purpose for the general good of mankind, and, that Japan 
 in particular, has lost a true friend and well-wisher — one who devoted his 
 young manhood and had hoped to devote a long life to serving her highest 
 needs. 
 
 Resolved, That we express to the Church, and to the Mission Board 
 through whom he served it, our conviction that they have lost a most faith- 
 ful and successful worker, the cessation of whose labors is immediately and 
 extensively felt and whose place can be filled only with great difficulty. 
 
 Resolved, That we express our deepest sympathy with the aged parents, 
 bereft of an only son, and he one who was so worthy an object of their love 
 and pride; and our hearts go out to his stricken wife in her great grief. But 
 there is consolation in the promise that all things work together for good to 
 them that love God. 
 
 G. W. FULTON, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
12 
 
 By the Missionary Association of Central Japan, composed 
 of Missionaries from various Mission Societies and Churches 
 in England, Canada and United States. 
 
 “This dispensation has occurred at the beginning of a Missionary 
 career full of constantly enlarging work and usefulness. He lived in Osaka, 
 making it the center of direct, evangelistic work. The preaching of Christ 
 had been the one work into which he threw all the energies of a cultured 
 and sanctified manhood. As an Association, we record our high esteem of 
 his work as a faithful, zealous Missionary, his companionableness as a 
 codaborer, his unswerving devotion to the doctrines of the Cross, his uniform 
 courtesy towards all, and his unselfishness as a member of the community 
 in which he lived. We express our appreciation of the fidelity of his labors 
 and our sense of the greatness of the loss which his death has occasioned.” 
 
 REV. HENRY LANING, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 This memorial was adoptod unanimously by a rising vote, 
 with united prayer and the most sincere expressions of feeling. 
 
 From the Annual Report of the Evangelistic Work of 
 Osaka and outstations, presented by Miss Mary M. Palmer 
 after Mr. Woodhull’s death. 
 
 “Th : s work was his joy and pleasure. His work was so wide, his in- 
 terest and consecration so sincere. He always looked at the bright and 
 hopeful side of things, even in the darkest hours. At our meeting one year 
 ago Mr. Wrodhull preached the annual sermon as retiring Moderator. It 
 has seemed that those words were given to him from God as his farewell 
 words to us. The text was 
 
 “ Fear not little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give 
 you the kingdom.”— Luke 12:32. 
 
 Mr. Woodhull was exceedingly enthusiastic over his work at the factory 
 in Osaka. I am able to report now that his greatest hopes could not have 
 exceeded what has really been accomplished there. The native evangelist 
 in charge is a tireless worker, and I feel safe in saying, you cannot find a 
 man in Japan more devoted to his work than he. Really, I fear I would be 
 considered flighty if I expressed my real enthusiasm concerning this work. 
 It is grand. Since September, 1891, Mr. Woodhull has baptized seventeen 
 persons. When the evangelist, Rev. Mr. Inoye, told me that he had 
 twenty-two more persons waiting for baptism, I freely admit that my faith 
 was so limited that I felt if half that number were ready to receive baptism 
 we would have deep cause for rejoicing. When Rev. Mr. Porter announced 
 himself satisfied and ready to baptize them all, a volume of thankful praise 
 
13 
 
 rose silently from the Throne. The Spirit was evidently present in every 
 heart. It was indeed a most precious and soul-refreshing time. A number 
 of the girls and two or three of the young men spoke of Mr. Woodhull’s 
 words as having influenced them to consider the subject. This meeting 
 was held within a few days after Mr. Woodhull's death, and it did seem 
 that God was thus speaking to men His approval of his work as well as 
 glorifying Himself. This makes the number of believers brought in by him 
 during the last fourteen months thirty-nine. Bible study is a daily matter 
 and a weekly prayer meeting is held. Sunday Schools for children and 
 adults are kept up with good attendance.” 
 
 In another letter to Rev. Dr. Gillespie Miss Palmer says: 
 
 “I now realize fully his untiring zeal in this work and his devotion to 
 the Japanese people. I can most conscientiously testify that to the very 
 utmost of his strength did he devote himself to this work and tried to give 
 a just proportion of his time to each part of it. I was connected with him 
 in the work, and I realize now what a load he was carrying in the outstation 
 work. The rich harvest that we saw reaped that night seems a token of 
 God's blessing on and approval. It always seemed to me that Mr. Wood- 
 hull's heart was more wrapped up in that work than any other. The moun- 
 tain tops of privilege may be found in a small Japanese unfurnished room, 
 if only the Spirit be there to uplift us and reveal the glories from the 
 heights. The meeting commenced at 6:30, and Mr. Porter was obliged to 
 leave at 10 o'clock to take the cars to return home to Kyoto. Then I closed 
 the organ and started to leave, when I was asked to sing again. After that 
 we remained there thirty minutes, during which time prayer followed prayer, 
 all full of thanksgiving and praise to God. Mr. Inonye sat here this morn- 
 ing telling me the individual histories of these believers. Some were 
 exceedingly interesting and some most pitiful.* 
 
 The letters which have come from the country places all say — ‘We 
 are wailing, waiting, for Woodhull San’. In his own way he won the 
 Japanese hearts, and now it is evident that he held them. 
 
 In the light of all this we cannot understand why he was taken away. 
 The comfort is that it is the Lord’s work, and He reigneth.” 
 
 Rev. G. W. P ulton, of Fukui, in a personal letter, writes, 
 after describing the course of his sickness: 
 
 “The Mission is in profound sorrow over the loss of Brother Woodhull. 
 He was a pleasant man to meet, a genial companion, a warm friend, a hard- 
 working, energetic Missionary. He was accustomed to doing a great deal 
 of touring, often being absent from home three weeks or a month, most of 
 the time on his bicycle, riding through all sorts of weather, over mountains, 
 
 ♦What a side light that one word, pitiful, throws on the struggles and difficulties and 
 temptations of a soul, surrounded by all the influences of a false religion and all the social 
 attractions of national superstition and family ties. 
 
14 
 
 hills and valleys, preaching night after night. He preached a great deal in 
 the city of Osaka, when at home, sometimes every night in the week and two 
 or three times on the Sabbath. Since Dr. Alexander left Osaka two years 
 ago, the care of the whole city and country work had fallen upon Mr. 
 Woodhuli. He was well liked by the Japanese and his relations with the 
 pastors and evangelists were always pleasant. The Providence of God is 
 exceedingly mysterious, which has taken from our midst and from the work 
 in Japan such an able and qualified laborer as he. And we, his former co- 
 laborers in mission work, while feeling the burden heavier, must still press 
 forward to the accomplishment of what was also the ardent desire of our 
 departed brother's heart — the evangelization of Japan.” 
 
 Rev. Dr. T. T. Alexander, of Tokyo, in a personal letter 
 writes: 
 
 “I have come within the last two or three years to appreciate Mr. 
 Woodhuli more than ever before. Though very different in our dispositions 
 and tastes, we formed a decided attachment for each other, so that now he 
 is gone, I feel that I have lost one of my best friends, and the world seems 
 by so much the poorer. I had the melancholy satisfaction of being with 
 him in his last hours and of ministering to his very last wants. I took my 
 place at his bed side early in the evening of the night on which he died and 
 remained with him to the end. I also composed his limbs for his last long 
 sleep in death. For several hours he knew that death was very near. He 
 was conscious to the last, but showed absolutely no fear of or aversion to 
 death and no anxiety as to his future. 
 
 In his death the West Japan Mission has lost one of its very best 
 workers. He had grown greatly in spirituality and in general fitness for 
 the work within the last year or two. There are many in Japan, both 
 Missionaries and Japanese, who today mourn his loss and sympathize with 
 you in your grief.” 
 
 From Rev. A. D. Hail, D. D., of the Cumberland Presby- 
 terian Mission, Osaka, in a letter. 
 
 ‘‘No doubt you will have heard of the transition of your son and the 
 good Father’s Son from his field of labor here to the broader and better 
 field of service in the heavenly world. No event has recently occurred that 
 has thrown so general a gloom over our little community as that of the death 
 of him in whom was being realized so many of the bright hopes that were 
 centered in him. To us the loss is a great one personally. When he first 
 came to Osaka in 1888, with his young bride, we had the great pleasure of 
 receiving him into our humble home. There began a friendship which 
 nothing has changed and which now has become all the more hallowed by 
 
reason of this bereavement. After studying the language about one year 
 and a half he accompanied me on a Mission tour, and preached in Yok-kai- 
 ichi, in a theatre crowded with six hundred souls. A Japanese brother 
 preached and he followed with his first effort in Japanese, a sermon on 
 Christian Sympathy, on Hebr. 4:15. On the same tour, at Shingu, he was 
 invited to address the young men. The text was II Sam. 18:29 38, “Is the 
 Young Man Safe? ” Providence seemed to bring the sermon, the preacher 
 and his audience together at the right time and place. The sermon has 
 been remembered by those who heard it even to this day. It was a great 
 joy to me to have so companionable a co-laborer. It was a great pleasure 
 to see the zest with which he threw himself into the work and his readiness 
 in taking in quickly the salient points of the situation and its various 
 surroundings. We were thrown together in a great many very intimate 
 relations, in all of which he maintained a spirit of candor, courtesy and 
 charity that was exceedingly helpful. 
 
 One great problem with Missionaries is that of the adjustment of them- 
 selves to their Japanese co-laborers. The want of such an adjustment is a 
 constant source of danger and irritation. Mr. Woodhull had solved this 
 problem and we have had scarcely any Missionary who stood higher with 
 his Japanese evangelists and pastors than did he. He gave himself unstint- 
 edly to their welfare and service and they responded with their love for and 
 confidence in him. 
 
 When we (at Osaka) heard of his critical condition, our community of 
 Missionaries gathered together to pray for him, that his life might be spared 
 to us if it was the Divine will. I know in this hour you and yours will find 
 strength and consolation in our common faith. Blessed be the God and 
 father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Mercies and God of all com- 
 fort, who comforteth us in all our affliction that we may be able to comfort 
 them that are in any affliction, wherewith we ourselves are comforted of 
 God.” 
 
 Rev. J. R. Porter and his wife, Mrs. Porter, M. D., have 
 charge of the Presbyterian Mission and Hospital in Kyoto, a 
 large city one-halt hour by rail from Osaka. It was the ancient 
 Capital for one thousand years and is now the seat of the 
 Doshisa College, one of the largest Missionary Colleges in the 
 world, the grand memorial of the faith and labor of Neesinui, a 
 Japanese Christian, wondrously led by Divine Providence and 
 marvelously fitted for this work. 
 
 Mr. Porter writes: 
 
 “ No man in our Mission had developed more, had been able to adapt 
 himself to the exigencies of the field and to grow up to the work more than 
 your son. Since 1892 it has been really marvelous the amount of work he 
 
16 
 
 has done. Our loss has caused us to realize this more than it was possible 
 while he was living. The country work was his special care and pleasure. 
 He had also developed the work in Osaka along certain new lines, the 
 precious fruits of which were just ready to be reaped when he went to be 
 with the Lord. After your son’s death, I had the privilege of baptizing 
 twenty-two of the factory people, making thirty-nine baptisms since the 
 work began a year before. These poor Christians at the mills were very 
 deeply affected at the news of Brother Woodhull’s death. The evangelist 
 informs me that the news had led to conclusive decision for Christianity on 
 the part of several who had been faltering before. All the Japanese who 
 knew him speak very gratefully and beautifully of him. 
 
 The following I translate as literally as I can from a Japanese paper: 
 
 ‘Since Mr. Woodhull left his own country and came to ours, his ear- 
 nestness in preaching the Gospel has been evident to all. At a time when 
 the proclamation of the Gospel is just coming to a season of fruitage in our 
 country, it is a heavy grief to lose so valuable a worker. Let us pray that 
 there may be a rich harvest from his seven years of sowing among us, and 
 for this let us not cease to labor. May God’s richest grace rest upon his 
 beloved wife and children."’ 
 
 Rev. Dr. Gillespie, Secretary Board of Foreign Missions, 
 New York, writes: 
 
 “ I hasten without a moment’s delay to assure you of my deep sympa- 
 thy in this unexpected bereavement. You have the satisfaction of knowing 
 that your noble son has left behind him a record of faithful work done for 
 Christ. He was intensely in earnest, and in his long and fatiguing Mission- 
 ary tours he never seemed to think of himself, but of the grand work to 
 which he was called.” 
 
 From a letter by Miss Anna Kidder, of the Baptist Mission, 
 Tokyo. 
 
 “ * * * I wanted to tell you that the respect and love that your Mission 
 bore your son is shared by other Christian Missions. We are bereaved in 
 that a brother, strong for labor and true to the Scriptures, has been taken 
 from us just when his promise of usefulness was great. * * * He was known 
 and loved by a large number of the Japanese; for while he worked, he loved 
 and sympathized and this spirit won men. Many a Missionary, I know, feels 
 the impulse of his life and work, to do more for Christ in this empire, and 
 to be about it now.” 
 
17 
 
 We venture to present a few sentences of Mr. Woodhull’s 
 sermon before the Annual Meeting of the West Japan Mission 
 in 1894, sent to us by Miss Palmer and referred to on page 10. 
 They show the working of his mind and the development of 
 his spiritual character in a striking manner, and they suggest a 
 deep and unlooked for relation between the new song ( Rev. 
 5:9-10) and the triumpant Doxology ( Rev. 1 : 6), and the words 
 of our Saviour, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s 
 good pleasure to give you the Kingdom,” which was his text. 
 
 “ If we could go to our work this coming year in the full confidence 
 that we are kings, that God has given us the victory, would not the perplex- 
 ities that meet us have a very different effect on us and our spirits? Would 
 not the Father become a more potent factor in our every act? 
 
 My friends, my sole purpose is that we get close to God. Take Him 
 at His word and see what another year will bring forth. I desire commun- 
 ion with my God, and feel that unless I rise to my position of sovereignty I 
 can never get it. If we take less than belongs to us, we must then throw 
 away part of what belongs to us by Divine right, and to that extent reveal 
 that we are unworthy heirs of glory. I f we today can rise to our position and 
 show that we realize that we are not following cunningly devised fables, 
 that the day has dawned and the day star has arisen in our hearts, that we 
 are co-laborers with God, the maker of all things, I believe that sorrow and 
 sighing will flee away — we will become great simply because of the cause 
 we have espoused. 
 
 When looked at from the standpoint of our own resources, we will 
 still remain the same little flock. We have no fear because He has 
 hidden us in the shadow of His pavilion, because with His wings He has 
 covered us, and we are at rest. The kingdom will be ours simply because 
 we have obeyed God’s law, ourselves remaining nothing. The measure of 
 our God is the measure of the length, breadth and depth of our sovereignty." 
 
 Rev. G. E. Woodhull was ordained to the work and office 
 of the ministry in 1888 by the Presbytery of New York, and 
 subsequently, though a Foreign Missionary in Japan, he was a 
 member of that Presbytery till his death. 
 
 The following is taken from the action of the Presbytery 
 of New York, which is the largest Presbytery in the Presbyter- 
 ian Church. This action was taken upon a report presented by 
 a special committee appointed for this purpose, consisting of 
 
Rev. Dr. R. R. Booth, Moderator of the General Assembly; 
 Rev. Dr. G. Alexander, Pastor University Place Church; Rev. 
 Dr. F. F. Ellinwood, Secretary Board of Foreign Missions, and 
 furnished by Rev. Dr. Birch, Stated Clerk. 
 
 “According to the spontaneous and emphatic testimony, not only of 
 his associates in his own Mission but also of the Central Missionary Asso- 
 ciation of Japan, embracing various Missions, Mr. Woodhull’s career was 
 one of devotion and fidelity, and it had been rewarded by gratifying success. 
 His end, though attended by full consciousness, was rendered peaceful and 
 triumphant by his firm belief in the Cross of Christ. In the work of general 
 evangelization Mr. Woodhull had gathered precious fruit. In the latter 
 part of his labor he became specially interested in the factory population of 
 Osaka, made deep impressions and won a goodly number of hopeful con- 
 verts. His death, occurring in early manhood and just when fully prepared 
 for further labors by a knowledge of the language and of the people, seems 
 mysterious, and to human apprehension the loss is great to the Mission and 
 to the Church; but it is to be hoped that his good example and savor of his 
 earnest life may be a blessing which shall compensate the loss.” 
 
 Mrs. Woodhnll received in Japan a great many letters of 
 kind, Christian sympathy, and numberless acts of Christian 
 regard for herself and her children, thus left alone [yet not alone) 
 in a foreign land. 
 
 VVe have also received many letters of condolence from our 
 own friends and family friends in this country. It has not been 
 possible to acknowledge them all; but, dear friends, rest assured 
 that our hearts thank you, and surely a word of kindness, love 
 and sympathy is worth as much as a cup of cold water, which 
 our Savior tells us shall not lose its reward. 
 
 These pages have grown beyond our original design, and 
 we must close with only one more extract from these letters, 
 which was received from Rev. Wm. M. Taylor, D. D., a Presby- 
 terian minister in Mt. Jackson, Pennsylvania, whom we had not 
 seen for thirty-five years. Then he was just commencing his 
 ministerial life, and preached his first sermon, after licensure, 
 for me in Virginia. After more than thirty years of labor in 
 one field, he took a vacation and went around the world. A 
 
19 
 
 Christian globe trotter , he was not afraid or ashamed to seek out 
 the Missionaries, and met Mr. Woodhull in Tokyo and Osaka 
 and found he was my son. He writes of his deep sympathy for 
 us and then adds these emphatic words as to Mr. Woodhull: 
 
 “He was an active, laborious, untiring and faithful Missionary. I was 
 surprised to hear from him of some of his long, venturesome and brave 
 Missionary tours among the mountains and into the interior that he might 
 tell the ‘Old, Old Story’ to some of the Japanese who had never heard it." 
 
 And so he sleeps ; as the soldier sleeps on the field of 
 battle— at the front; on the color line. Is it sweet to die for 
 one’s country ? Sweeter, yes, sweeter far to die for our Saviour, 
 anywhere for Jesus, anywhere with Jesus. Then forever with 
 the Lord! This is not death, it is life; and life more abundantly. 
 
 —John 10:10. 
 
 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comfort- 
 eth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort 
 them that are in any affliction , wherewith we ourselves ate 
 comforted of God. 
 
 Xaus Beo.