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MEMOIRS
OF THE
REV. WALTER  M. LOWRIE,
MISSIONARY TO CHINA.
EDITED BY HIS FATHER.
PHILADELPHIA:
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION,
No. 265 CHESTNUT STREET.




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by
A. W. MITCHELL, M. D.
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court, for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania.
JESPER HARDING, Stereotyper,
Philadelphia.




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
FEBRUARY, 1819-JANUARY, 1842.
EARLY LIFE-COURSE AT COLLEGE-COURSE IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY-ACCEPTED AS A FOREIGN MISSIONARY-SAILS FOR CHINA.
LETTERS.
PAGE.
To his Father, Duty as to Foreign Missions —The Question Decided-through College, Grade. To John Lloyd, College timesSwartz. Comfort in Christ —To his Mother, daily employments
-To John Lloyd, personal religion. Love of Christ. Missions.
Western Africa. India. China-To John M. Lowrie-Study of
the Bible. To John Lloyd, studies. Works of God. To his
Mother, Journey West-Executive Committee. Missions-To his
Mother, the country. Journey. To his Father, change of field
to China-To his Mother, flowers. Niagara. Missions. Journey
West. To Wm. H. Hornblower, presence of Christ. To John O.
Procter, on leaving for China,-To John Lloyd, feelings, faithTo John M. Lowrie, on the eve of sailing.                   9
CHAPTER II.
JANUARY 19-MAY 27, 1842.
VOYAGE TO CHINA-JOURNAL IN THE HUNTRESS.
Parting from  friends-Sea sickness-a Gale-Pleasant daysSermon on board-Wisdom of God-Stars-Trade winds-the
Sabbath-a Shark-Birth-day-Sunsets-the Sailmaker-Stars
-Magellan clouds-Missions-the Ocean-Home-a Gale-Albatross-a Ship-Trade winds-Sabbath-Preaching to Sailors3




4                       CONTENTS.
PAuB.
Rain-Sea Gnats-Thunder-Heathen-Ships-Angier-Learned
Sailor-China Sea-Gales-China-To his Mother, with his
journal.                                                62
CHAPTER III.
1842.
LANDING IN CHINA-VOYAGE IN THE SEA QUEEN-SHIPWRECK IN THE
HARMON —RETURN TO MACAO.
To his Mother, Macao. Hong Kong-To John Lloyd, Mission to
China-To his Mother, China Sea-Journal-Embarks-Lascars
-Alone-Calms-Monsoon-Currents-Gale —Delays-Currents
-Storms-Faith-Providence-the Parting-Scenes in Manilla
-To his Brother, Voyage on the China Sea-Shipwreck in the
Harmony-To his Father, first Letter from Home-To his Mother,
Letters from Home-To James Lenox, Romanists in ChinaTo his Father, early Instruction-To John Lloyd, Missions in
China.                                                  98
CHAPTER IV.
1843.
RESIDENCE IN MACAO-VOYAGE UP THE COAST-AMOY AND CHANG-CHOW —RETURN TO MACAO.
LETTERS AND JOURNALS.
To his Mother, Home. Heaven. Sabbath-To John Lloyd, Chinese
Language-To his Father, effects of Heat-Preaching-Chinese
Dictionary-Journal to Amoy and Chusan. Opium-Infanticide
-Grave of Mrs. Boone-Monsoon-Kulangsu-Budhist Temple
-River — Chang-Chow- Mandarins - the City-Bridges - Temples-Villages-Multitudes-Chobey-Haetang-Return to Amoy
-Remarks-Return to Macao-Storm-Danger-Good News
from Home-Death of Rev. Mr. Dyer-To Society of Inquiry,
Western Theological Seminary-To his Mother, Chinese Customs
— Society of Inquiry, Princeton Theological Seminary. To his
Father, Sir Henry Pottinger's censure.                 164




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
1844.
RESIDENCE IN MACAO-CHINESE PRINTING WITH METAL TYPE-ARRIVAL
OF NEW MISSIONARIES-THEIR FIELDS OF LABOUR.
LETTERS.
PAGA.
To his Mother, his Teacher. Idolatry-To his Father, Chinese
Language-To John Lloyd, Christian friendship —To his Father,
to visit China-a Solemn Question by his Teacher-Recollections
of a Missionary-To Rev. John M. Lowrie, English Preaohing —
To Rev. James Montgomery, trials.                       221
CHAPTER VI.
1845.
DIFFERENT MISSIONS ESTABLISHED-LEAVES MACAO-VOYAGE UP THE
COAST —NINGPO.
LETTERS AND JOURNALS.
To his Father, leaves Macao-Voyage up the Coast-ChangesSailors-Shanghai-Chusan-Books injured-Ningpo-Idol worship-Festival-Proverbs-Monks-To Mrs. Hepburn, Love of
Christ-To his Father, Ningpo-To his Mother, Psalm xxv-To
his Father, various Thoughts-Visit to Teentung-Visit to
Pootoo-Females-To Society of Inquiry, Princeton Theological
Seminary-To his Father, Chinese ignorance.              240
CHAPTER VII.
1846.
MISSIONARY LABOURS AT NINGPO-HEATHEN CUSTOMS-SUPERSTITIOUS
FEARS-PREACHING IN CHINESE.
LETTERS AND JOURNALS.
To his Mother, deaths, New Year-To John Lloyd, Chinese tones —
To his Father, heat, teachers-To his Brother, superstitionsTo his Father, Shangte, Shin-To his Mother, reminiscences



6                        CONTENTS.
To his Father, Chinese Dictionary —To James Lenox, music, cuts,
return of Missionaries. To John Lloyd, religion-Journal, fear
of Evil Spirits-Earthquake-Cruelty-Chinese audience.    802
CHAPTER VIII.
1847.
MISSIONARY LABOURS AT NINGPO-VOYAGE TO SHANGHAI-MANCHU LANGUAGE-CHINESE TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE-IMPORTANCE OF SELECTING PROPER TERMS-DEATH AND CHARACTER.
LETTERS AND JOURNALS.
To his Brother, Chinese Language-To his Mother, labours, loneliness-Minutes of the General Assembly, 1846-To his Father,
Translation of the Bible-Journal, preaching-Labours-Chinese
Language-Worship of Ancestors-To his Father, Bible translation, dictionary-To his Brother, translation of the word GodTo his Father, Manchu language-To Joseph Owen, translations
-Letters from A. W. Loomis —Bishop Boone-John LloydJoseph Owen-John M. Lowrie-Remarks by Dr. Alexander.   849




PREFACE.
This edition of the Memoir of the Rev. Walter
M. Lowrie is made up of a selection from the letters
and journals printed in the larger editions of the
same work. The plan adopted was to let him speak
for himself in his letters and journals, and the editor has done little more than to select and arrange
the papers of his beloved son. A few remarks
have been made with the view of noticing his early
years, and connecting the different periods of his
short but active and not unvaried life.
His letters, for the most part, were hastily written,
many of them in the confidence of Christian and
endeared friendship. His journals also were written at the dates mentioned, and his other engagements gave him no time to correct and copy them.
(7)








MEM O I R.
CHAPTER I.
February 1819.-January 1842.
Early Life-Course at College-Course in the Theological SeminaryAccepted as a Foreign Missionary-Sails for China-Letters, &c.
WALTER MACON LOWRIE, the third son of Walter
and Amelia Lowrie, was born in Butler, Penn., on
the 18th of February, 1819. Until his eighth year,
his father was absent from home during the winter
months. This left the principal part of his early
training and education to his excellent mother, and
well and faithfully did she perform this responsible
and sacred trust. From his infancy he possessed a
mild and cheerful temper. He was a general favourite with his playmates, and always ready to
engage in the usual sports of the play-ground. It
was often the subject of remark, that he was never
known to get into a quarrel, or even an angry dispute with his associates. To his parents he was
always obedient and kind, open and ingenuous; he
was never known to use deception or falsehood.
His brothers and sisters shared his warmest affection
and love, and his time with them seemed to be made
up of pure enjoyment.
At an early period he was sent to school, where
he learned the usual branches of a common English
education. It was soon perceived by his teachers,
that it required but little effort on his part to get
(9)




10        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
the lessons assigned to him; and the place he
usually occupied was at the head of the class. In
his tenth year his parents removed to Washington
city, and for a part of the year he was taught by
his father in the higher rules of arithmetic, in geography, and ancient and modern history. In his
eleventh and twelfth years, he spent two terms
under an able teacher in a classical grammar school.
At this period the health of his beloved mother
was gradually declining, and her physicians advised
that she should spend the summers in Pennsylvania, and the winters in Washington.  In these
circumstances it was deemed best that Walter,
although not fourteen years of age, should be sent
to Jefferson College. Two of his brothers had
already graduated at that college, and his father
was well acquainted with the president and the
professors. A home was found for him in the
family of the Rev. Professor Kennedy, who watched
over him with a parent's care. The same month in
which he reached the college, in November, 1832,
he received the sad intelligence of his dear mother's
death. Most deeply did he feel this severe bereavement, and bitterly did he mourn over the loss of
one so very dear to him. The account of her calm
and peaceful departure, full of faith and trust in
her Saviour, which he soon afterwards received,
whilst it made a deep impression on his mind, tended
much to relieve the bitterness of his grief. After
spending a year in the preparatory department, he
entered the freshmen class in October, 1833, and
continued in the college, with some interruptions
for relaxation, till he graduated in September, 1837.
In the summer of 1834, he was at home from
the first of August till the last of October. IHis
father was somewhat apprehensive in regard to his
health, and believed that some relaxation from his
studies would be of service, even if it should
require him to spend another year in the college.
He retained his place in the class, however, and




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       11
kept up with the usual studies without difficulty.
The family were then spending the summer in
Butler. Here he first met with his second mother,
and he seemed almost at once to transfer to her the
affection he had entertained for his own mother.
Nor was this a transient feeling. His affection and
deep respect and esteem for her continued till his
lamented death, as the letters and journals addressed
to her will abundantly show.
During this visit he accompanied his parents and
one of his brothers, and a sister in declining health,
to the falls of Niagara. He greatly enjoyed the
company of his friends on this journey, and was
filled with wonder and awe at the stupendous displays of God's power in this mighty cataract. He
accompanied the family to Washington, and was
present at the calm and peaceful death of his beloved sister, in the last of September, 1834. In
November he returned to the college, his health
much improved by his temporary absence.
Soon after his return, that seminary and the
neighbourhood were blessed with a precious and
powerful revival of religion. Many of the students
m the college, and large numbers in the congregations of that region, were added to the church.
Most of these students afterwards entered the
ministry. The history of this revival and its subsequent results, if they were written, would show
how important a period of life is the college course
of every student. Probably the attention and the
prayers of the church have been too little turned
towards her young men in the different colleges.
The remark will be generally found true, that "as
is the piety of the student in college, so will it be
in the theological seminary, and in the ministry."
In this revival, after a time of deep conviction
of sin, he obtained a hope of peace with God in
the Saviour. He was then in his sixteenth year,
and he gradually became more and more instructed
in Christian experience and warfare. With a num



12       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
ber of the students who were admitted to full communion in the church at the same time, he formed
a most endeared and lasting friendship, and with
many of these he kept up a correspondence till his
death.
On leaving college, the subject of this memoir
returned home, his father's family then residing in
the city of New York. His expectation was to
enter the Theological Seminary at Princeton soon
after his return. The Seminary year, however,
commenced in September, when the regular classes
were formed; and his father, still somewhat solicitous respecting his health, deemed it best that he
should have a recess from study; and he spent the
winter at home. Having few acquaintances in the
city, his winter's residence at home was a season of
retirement and quiet, and his time was profitably
employed in reviewing his previous studies, and in
miscellaneous reading. He had also a good opportunity of improvement in vocal music, under the
able instructions of Mr. Thomas Hastings. During
the winter he took charge of a class of young men
in the Sabbath-school, who became greatly attached
to him, and were much benefitted by the care he
bestowed on their instruction.
In May, 1838, he entered the Seminary, and
afterwards joined the regular class formed in September following. In his whole course in the Seminary he pursued his studies very closely. He was
never absent from a single recitation; and with his
studies, and other necessary duties, his time was
fully employed. By persevering industry, he was
able to superintend a Sabbath-school at Queenston,
a few miles from the Seminary, and also to make a
Catalogue of the books in the Library, and arrange
them anew.
Before leaving college, as is seen by his letters,
he had fully decided to go as a missionary to the
heathen, and during his last year in the Seminary,
his mind was settled on Western Africa as his




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       13
chosen field of labour. In December, 1840, he was
received as a missionary of the Board of Foreign
Missions of the Presbyterian Church. No objections to his preference tor Africa were made by his
friends, and for several months the question of his
field of labour was considered as fully settled. In
the spring and summer of 1841, however, the exigencies of the China mission induced the Executive
Committee to review the question of his field of
labour. The mission to China was then but commencing, and was encompassed with many difficulties.  That great empire was at that tihne closed
against the Christian missionary; and Singapore
had been selected as the most suitable place where
the language of' China could be learned, translations
made into it, schools established, and other missionary work carried on. The Rev. John A. Mitchell,
and the Rev. Robert W. Orr and his wife, had
arrived at Singapore in April, 1838. In the following October, Mr. Mitchell was removed by death.
The next year Mr. Orr's health failed; a visit to
the Nilgerry Hills, in India, did not restore it; and
in 1840, he set out on his return home. The same
year, the Rev. Thomas L. McBryde and his wife
reached Singapore; and in 1841, he was joined by
J. C. Hepburn, M. D., and his wife. In one year,
Mr. McBryde's health had declined so much, that it
was evident he also must soon withdraw from that
sphere of labour, and thus leave Dr. Hepburn alone
in the China mission. In these circumstances, and
having at that time no other suitable man to send,
the question in the view of the Executive Committee was clear, that China, and not Western
Africa, was the proper field of labour for the new
missionary.  It was believed, also, that from the
tone of his piety, his cheerful temper, his thorough
education, his natural talents and untiring industry,
he was peculiarly fitted for the China niission. It
was, however, with many misgivings, and much
reluctance at first, that he contemplated this change
2




14       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
in his field of labour; but as there was a perfect
unanimity of sentiment in the Executive Committee,
the professors in the Seminary at Princeton, and
other ministerial brethren, all of whom he greatly
respected, he yielded cheerfully to their judgment —
viewing these things as a call from God to labour
in that great and destitute part of the Saviour's
vineyard.
On the 5th of April, he was licensed to preach
the Gospel by the Second Presbytery of New York.
After leaving the Seminary in May, he spent a few
weeks at home, preaching on the Sabbath in different churches. In July and August he was sent by
the Executive Committee to the most distant land
office in Michigan, to secure the pre-emption right
to the mission station among the Chippewa Indians,
as the government had advertised the Indian reservation for public sale.  The sale, however, was
postponed before he reached the land office, and on
his return he spent some time among the churches
in Western New York. Late in the autumn he
visited his friends in Western Pennsylvania for the
last time, and by these various journeys his health
was much improved.
He was ordained on the 9th of November, 1841,
and on the evening of the last Sabbath of the same
month, a deeply interesting farewell missionary
meeting was held in the Brick church, New York.
Addresses were made by the Rev. Gardiner Spring,
D. D., pastor of the church, by the missionary, and
by his father. These addresses would possess much
interest now, but no copy of them was preserved.
It was expected that the vessel would sail early in
December, but she was delayed till January, and
in the interval his time was chiefly spent at home.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       15
Jeferson College, March 10th, 1837.
MY DEAR FATHER:-In my last letter I mentioned
that as far as I could see, if nothing providential occurred, I had made up my mind on the question,
" Should I become a missionary?"  It never seemed
to present any great difficulty to my mind, and I don't
know that I could give any particular account of the
reasons, which led me to believe that it was duty on
my part to spend my life among the heathen. The
question always seemed, though a very important
one, to be-Can I do more abroad than at homne?
There were no providential hinderances to prevent
me from going. Indeed Providence seemed rather
to point to the heathen as the proper place. My
own inclinations and feelings pointed the same way.
If I have piety to fit me for being a minister at
home, I might hope to have it for being a missionary abroad. Of my talents and qualifications for
the work, others must judge.  Almost the only
difficulty was in regard to my health. My constitution being weak, it seemed almost unable to bear
much fatigue; for even the labour of study is preying on it in some degree. But though the case
seemed so clear, do not think, dear father, that it
was on account of my vanity that it appeared so.
For almost always when the duty of being a missionary appeared strongest, I felt my own strength
or my own fitness to be least. And even now,
when the troubles and deprivations and duties of
missionary life come up to view, the question involuntarily occurs, "Who is sufficient for these
things?" Yet if I know my own heart, I am willing
to live or die for the heathen. It is now nearly
two months since I came to the determination expressed above, and never yet has a single emotion
of regret crossed my mind on account of it. Nay,
a load has been thrown oiff; and I feel a deeper
interest in everything that concerns the extension
of the Redeemer's kingdom. Pray for me, dear




16        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
father; unless I have more piety than I now have,
I am not fit for the missionary work, nor for the
ministry at home.
Your affectionate son,
W. M. LowRIE.
Pittsburgh, September 13th, 1837.
MY DEAR FATHER-We finished our examination
eight days ago, but I have been so busy, I have
not had time to write to you.  At the close of
our examination, I expected to be told that I
might have my Diploma, but further or higher,
I had not directed my thoughts. Judge of my
surprise then, when on the next morning, Dr.
Brown gave me the enclosed as my standing.*
i had never thought of standing more than respectably, but this grade is equivalent to what was
once called the first honour.  There were two
others in the class who were marked equally high.
I have been appointed Valedictorian, which is
considered here the most important post at the
Commencement. I hope, however, you will not
consider me to be a very excellent scholar, on account of the high standing I have with the Faculty.
In languages especially, I do not consider myself to
be much above mediocrity.
As soon as Commencement is over, I shall set
out for home. Though I should like very much to
enter on the study of theology immediately, yet I
do feel almost afraid to commence without a longer
recess than common. During my collegiate course,
I have not, on an average, studied three hours a day;
but at the Seminary, I would wish —indeed, it seems
* WALTER M. LOWRIE,
Grade.                    Grade.
Languages,  1.          Natural Science, 1.
Moral Science, 1.       Mathematics,  1.
M. BROWN.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      17
essential-that at least four hours daily be spent in
study. Still, with an opportunity of daily systematic exercise, I should not feel much hesitation
about the Seminary studies. Others with far worse
health than mine, have gone through as severe a
course; and as I may probably never have very
strong health, it may not be worth while to delay
on that account, especially if my youth be not considered too strong an objection.
I remain your affectionate son,
W. M. LOWRIE.
New York, November 21st, 1837.
MR. JOHN LLOYD-DEAR BROTHER: —Though this
method of communication is but a poor substitute
for that "sweet counsel" we have so often enjoyed,
yet as it is the best that now remains for us, I gladly
embrace the first good opportunity that has yet
occurred, to renew our friendship.   or it does seem
as though it had to be renewed, when I think that,
though you and myself have often "held sweetest
converse about what God had done for our souls,"
and that though our eyes have brightened and our
hearts warmed, as we "talked by the way," yet
now we are separated by a distance of more than
four hundred miles, and are without the prospect of
seeing each other for months, and perhaps years.
Yet though separated in body, I trust we are often
present in spirit, and especially that, at the throne
of "our Father," we can still enjoy communion,
and be the means of profit to each other, perhaps
even greater than that which our mutual conversations could have afforded. It is surely consoling
to know that there is One who watches over us, and
over our dearest friends, far better than we could
possibly do, and that at all times he will do all
things well. Yet, were it consistent with duty, I
should like again to spend a few hours with you,
2*




18       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
and again partake in those social joys that kindred
spirits like yours and mine so much delight in. My
situation here, though fully as pleasant as I expected
it to be, is very different from what it was at Canonsburg. I have as yet very few acquaintances
here, and do not expect to have many. Those that
I have, I know not what they are, for the rules of
fashion are so trammelling, that one cannot at once
make those friendly advances which are common
among you. Consequently when I would enjoy the
holier Joys of friendship, I mutst draw off my attention from things around me, and return to past days
and scenes, in many of which you and one or two
others held a conspicuous part. Do vou remember
that day after our missionary meeting of the Society
of Inquiry, last March, when you and I took that long
walk "over the hills and far away," and in our convrersation seemed to have some foretastes of "glory
begun below?"  Many and many a time has it risen
to my mind, and if it has not drawn tears from my
eyes, it has done what is better-encouraged me to
go forward, and caused me to gird up the loins of
my mind anew for the heavenly race, and made me
sometimes to remember a friend, a fellow-expectant
of what "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive."
I am very glad to find that comparative solitude
agrees so well with me; for I was really afraid that
after being so used to meetings of one kind or another every night, it would be difficult to get along
without them. In fact, it does require some effort
to keep alive the spirit of piety, when one has nothing like the Society of Inquiry or the Brainerd
Society to excite to action; nothing but the stated
ordinances of God's house to nourish the soul. Yet
on that very account I prize my present situation
the more, because I am thereby enabled, or perhaps
I should say required, to live more by faith and less
by sight, or frames and feelings. And to a missionary nothing can be more important, than to be able




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       19
to live without any thing to keep the soul in constant excitement; for, as it has been well remarked,
"when he gets to his field of labour, he can attend
no crowded meetings to hear some eloquent orator
descant upon the magnanimity of the missionary
enterprise." All the "romance of missions" must
then be laid aside, and in its reality, he may almost
be tempted to forget for whom and for what he is
labouring, and becoming discouraged, lay down his
weapons, and retire vanquished from the field to
which his Master called him.
It seems to me, on looking back on the last two
or three years of my collegiate course, that we all
lived too much by excitement, not enough by simple
faith. Our religious societies were precious and
profitable, and I should be sorry to give them up,
but perhaps we depended too much on them, without remembering that "Paul may plant and Apollos
water, but God alone can give the increase; and
this dependence on these means, (at least in my
own case,) was productive of a spirit of action more
resembling the "crackling of thorns," than the
steady, intense flame that consumed the Jewish
sacrifices. Oh, my brother! guard against this
spirit of trusting to any thing in preference to the
revealed will of God, and his ordinances, for animation in the divine life.
What is the state of missionary feeling now
among you?  Do you yet hear the voice, "Come
over and help us," and the wailing cry, "And what
then?" as it rises from the death-bed of the Hindoo, and, borne across the waste of waters, reaches
our ears both from the east and the west, swelled as
it is, and heightened and prolonged by the addition
of innumerable others?  Oh, does the "cry of the
nations," echoed and re-echoed from the distant
mountains, still sound among you? Or does it die
away among the crumbling ruins of heathen temples,
unheard and unheeded, save by the infidel and the
deist? Oh, who is there to come up to the help of




20        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
the Lord against the mighty?  There is nothing in
all my course for whichI reproach myself so much,
as that I did so little to excite a missionary spirit
at College. I do not mean among those who were
already determined as to the path of duty, but
among those who had not decided the question; for
very rarely did I press upon any of them as I should,
the importance of the work, the necessity, absolute,
increasing, and alas! almost irremediable necessity
now existing for labourers, and their own duty in
this great matter. Dear brother, can you not do
something?  You have the confidence of most of
the pious students, and could you but muster courage
enough to determine to do something in this matter,
unborn millions would bless you for it. Let me
transcribe for you a few lines from an appeal of
some missionaries in India; you have perhaps seen
them before, but they will bear reading and praying over again:
"The soil is ready for the seed, and the seed
ready to be sown, but where are the husbandmen?
In some places it has been scattered abroad and the
fields.are white for the harvest, but where are the
reapers?  Congregations large and attentive might
be procured every day, but we have no men. Schools
might be established on Christian principles, but we
have no men. Humanly speaking, souls might be
saved, but'how can they hear without a preacher?'
You can increase the number of these queries to an
almost indefinite extent, but the answer will almost
always be, we have no men! We have gone to the
colleges and seminaries of learning, but we found
few to answer our demands. We went to the
haunts of society, but one was busied about his
farm, and another about his merchandise, and another with the sweets of domestic society. We
went to the schools of the prophets, and asked if
on any of them rested the spirit of Elijah? but
there were few to answer the call. Despairing, we
looked to the heathen, and as we saw them go down




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       21
by crowds to the darkness of the second death, we felt
as if yet another effort should be made. Oh, who
will go for us?"
Wishing you all temporal and all spiritual blessings, and sympathizing most sincerely with you in
your afflicting bereavement, (of which I have only
just heard,)
I remain your brother,
W  M. LOWRIE.
New York, January 1st, 1838.
MR. JOHN LLOYD-A happy new year to you,
friend John! and may you see many more suc, if
the Lord will! What are you doing now, whilst I
am writing to you? Cousin John tells me you have
holidays (old times are in that word) at present;
so I will just let my imagination try if she can find
where you are, or what you are doing. But as you
are pretty much of a home-loving creature, I suppose I need not go far to find you. Probably you
are going about, paying some fifteen minute visits,
for you were never famous for long ones; or very
probably you are standing by the side of the old
mill-dam, and watching the fellows skating. I
hardly think you would adventure yourself on the
ice, for you are almost too grave for that. But noI forget; this is the first Monday of the month, and
of the year, and therefore you are probably stuck
up in a corner of your room, reading all the missionary pamphlets you can lay hands on. By the
way, have you read the life of Swartz? If you
have not, let me "lay my commands" on you to
read it immediately. You know how much our experience resembles each other's-now rejoicing, and
now, again, discouraged and without heart. Swartz
was always on the proper pitch; constantly in the
exercise of strong, unwavering, childlike confidence
in God, and therefore he was always ready to employ




22        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
himself in his Master's business. He was always
busy, always cheerful, and always useful. Dear
brother, may we strive to be like him, and may we
have the same success in our labours that he had in
his! I can ask for few blessings greater, either for
you or for myself, than is contained in that wish.
I read Bedell's memoirs some time ago, and have
just now finished those of Hannah More.  They
are both of them most excellent. The former I was
delighted with. The memoirs of the latter are also
very interesting, indeed. They are compiled from
her letters almost entirely, including a great many
from various celebrated characters who were cotemporary with herself; and are, I think, excellent
models of epistolary correspondence. The style of
almost all is very good, and, what is far more important, through most of them there is a strong vein
of deep-toned sensibility and piety. I really began
to entertain a considerable degree of reverence for
her before I got quite through the memoir. She
was an extraordinary woman, possessed of more
than common talents, and able to do almost what
she pleased; vet, so far from indulging herself in
this liberty, her whole life was spent in a most quiet
manner, without any flashes, or romantic adventures
or pursuits, or anything inconsistent with the character of a plain, common-sense woman.
Mitchell and Orr, missionaries to China, sailed
nearly a month ago. How soon will you be ready?
Do you still think of China in preference to India?
It seems strange that this is the beginning of
another year. How the time rolls around!  Yet
to me the thought that time is rapidly passing away
is pleasant. It is solemn, and yet most delightful,
to think that my "salvation is nearer than when I
believed;" that, if I am a Christian, I am three
years nearer to my heavenly home than when first
the light of truth beamed on my darkened and distressed mind. True, of many misimprovements
and much waste of precious time, I have to accuse




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       23
myself; yet still the Lord is full of compassion,
and the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin; and
through him I can look death in the face, and exclaim, when Satan, and doubts, and fears assail me,
"I know that my Redeemer liveth." By the way,
I heard a sermon on that text yesterday, from an
Episcopal minister. He said that the word translated
Redeemer in this passage, was the same as that
used in Ruth iii. 9, "A near kinsman," or, as the
margin has it, "One that has a right to redeem."
The mention that such was the meaning of the word,
led me into a train of very pleasing and profitable
thought. If we had been taken captive by enemies, and knew that our father, or mother, or brother,
were aware of it, we should be sure that they would
use every exertion to ransom us. But there is a
friend that sticketh closer than a brother: this friend
is our Redeemer, and this Redeemer is the omnipotent God. Can there, then, be any doubt of our
final salvation?
The last two or three months have been very
pleasant ones. I seem to have had more nearness
of access to God, greater confidence in the Saviour,
and more of the influences of the Spirit, than I
have usually had. Among other reasons for these
great blessings, I have no doubt but the prayers of
my many friends in Canonsburg and its vicinity
have had much effect. I still need your prayers
very much, for I am prone every moment to fall.
And now, brother, my paper tells me I must
close; and commending you to the grace of God,
which is able to keep you through faith unto salvation, I remain,
Your affectionate brother in Christ,
W. M. LowRIE.




24       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
Princeton, July 4th, 1838.
MY DEAR MOTHER —... I get up every morning
at half past four, often sooner, but rarely later, and
take a walk of one or two miles. It is most invigorating to the whole system, while the fresh air,
singing birds, pleasant fragrance of the fields, and
the thousand and one nameless pleasures of a morning walk, concur to make it a most delightful custom. When I get back it is near breakfast time.
The appropriate duties of the morning over, I commence study at seven, and continue till half past
ten, or perhaps eleven, at Latin, Greek and Hebrew,
singing a little at intervals by way of relaxation.
Dinner is ready at half past twelve, and miscellaneous employments occupy me till two; then some
regular reading connected with the course here, till
half past four. Prayers and supper at five, and company, talking, walking, singing, meetings, bathing,
reading, writing, thinking, and not thinking, &c.,
till nine. Generally I manage to be asleep soon
after ten. My next door neighbour has an alarm
clock, which usually awakens me in the morning,
and if it did not the old bell would at five. Though
not pursuing the regular studies of my class, I find
abundance to do, and my time generally passes in
the way above described.
There is here, as may be supposed, every variety
of character. The variety is fully as great, if not
greater, than it was at College, excluding of course
those who were not professors of religion.  There
is a good deal of reserve among the students towards new comers, though perhaps not greater than
one would expect. As yet I have not made many
intimate acquaintances, and do not wish to, for a
short time. There are, however, some lovely spirits
among these brethren.
Yours affectionately,
W. M. LowRIE.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       25
Princeton, February 22d, 1839.
MR. JOHN LLOYD-On the subject of personal religious feeling, I suppose I can sympathize with you
as formerly. It is distressing to feel that we ought
to be more engaged in the service of God, and yet
feel a deadness, a numbness of all the moral feelings,
when we contemplate divine things. In such a condition, the word of God, while we see that it has
force, makes no impression on us; prayer seems
more like a task than a pleasure; meditation is a
tedious, tasteless thing. And yet we cannot feel
happy in the world; that does not satisfy us; that
cannot fill the aching void. But it is profitable to
be left thus, at times; for then we feel more and
more our own weakness, and perhaps it would not
do for persons constituted as you and I are, to enjoy
too much of mere comfort: we would place our
hearts too much on the pleasure, and be in danger
of forgetting Him from whom it came.  On this
subject there is great danger, too, of our making
mistakes, and because we do not enjoy religion as
much as formerly, of thinking we are not as engaged as we were then. The truth, I suppose, is,
that we are not to measure our standard of piety
by our enjoyment, so much as by the steadiness of
our purpose of self-consecration to God. The more
willing we feel to renounce all for him, to submit to
him, to be anything or nothing as he chooses —indeed, to have our will entirely swallowed up in his,
just so far, and no further, do we grow in grace.
Like John the Baptist we shall say of our Saviour,
"He must increase, but I must decrease." And
there is a pleasure in lying down at the feet of
Jesus, and yielding ourselves to him, which may
not be accompanied with tumultuous joy, but it
brings a calm and holy peace which the world never
knew. At such times we look on death and the
grave without fear, nay, almost with desire; for,
though we are willing to labour our three score
3




26        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
years and ten, yet we feel that "to be with Christ
is far better."  Dear brother, when you feel your
heart so cold, does it not rejoice you to think that
in heaven it will not be so?-that there you shall
know and love as much as you wish, and that these
vexing cares and trying experiences will be no more?
"There is an hour of peaceful rest
To mourning wanderers given;
There is a joy for souls distressedA balm for every wounded breast:'Tis found above-in heaven."
Wherefore, my brother, comfort your heart with
these words. The Psalmist, in his affliction, remembered God "from  the land of the Hermonites, and
the hill Mizar." There is a land and a hill to which
you can refer with feelings of joy-I need not say
where nor when.  I commenced the preceding page
with my own heart in the dust; but these thoughts
have gladdened it and refreshed me.
I think you will be highly delighted with the
Seminary course, especially the study of Hebrew;
nothing ever delighted me so much, in the way of
study, as that venerable language; and the facilities of studying it are now so great that any one
may acquire it.  Get Nordheimer's Grammar by all
means, and don't think of any other; it is a real
treat to read that Grammar.
I must close, but only for want of time to write
more. The Jefferson students here are all well,
and, if they knew I was writing, would doubtless
ask to be remembered to you.
Farewell. —Pray for me,
In Christian love, yours,
W. M. LowRIE.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       27
Princeton, June 24th, 1839.
MR. JOHN LLOYD-DEAR BROTHER:.... I am
very sorry you cannot come here in the fall. To
me nothing would afford greater pleasure; for one
of kindred spirit with myself, to enter fully into all
my feelings and sympathize with me, I have not
found since we parted-at least, none like yourself.
It pains me now at times, when I think how much
more profitable we might have been to each other in
the Christian life. But it also rejoices me, to think
of our seasons of Christian intercourse, and of the
long walks we had over the hills, when we talked
of heaven, and our hearts burned as our Saviour
met with us by the way. Do you ever now enjoy
such seasons? Yesterday Dr. Alexander preached
on 2 Cor. iii. 18; "We all, with open face," &c.
While preaching, a few thoughts of the astonishing
condescension and love of Jesus, the great God,
taking our nature upon him, and living "manifest
in the flesh," seemed to fill my mind. I could
readily conceive of a Christian's soul being swallowed up in contemplation of God's character and
the Saviour's love. Oh! the riches of boundless,
endless grace! Yet it is not often this icy heart is
thus melted, and oh! it is much easier for the flame
once kindled to die away, than to mount up and
reach towards heaven. IDear brother, pray for me.
The Christian's life is a warfare, and more and more
do I feel that every day must witness conflicts and
battles sore and long. Why should the soldiers
slumber when the enemy is upon them? Especially
why should the leaders be remiss when the danger
is so urgent?
The subject of missions receives some attention
here, but not what it deserves. Last term the interest was considerable, and there were twelve or
fifteen who looked forward to the foreign field as
their future destination. How flourishes the spirit
of missions at College? You have never mentioned




28       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
this in any of your letters. I hope the Brainerd
Society prospers. That band of brothers might do
wonders; they ought to do much. So we all should.
But oh! how cold our love, how weak our faith is
found. "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ."
Most truly yours,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Princeton, August 21st, 1839.
To MR. JOHN LLOYD-DEAR FRIEND:-Your letter
did me good like a cordial. It convinced me, though
I did not need that, that there was one person in
the world who cared for so useless and insignificant
a creature as mvself; that I was affectionately remembered when the lowering clouds without were
but an emblem of the deeper gloom within; and
when despondency seemed to paralyze the energies
of the soul, that still there were those who would
pray for me, and sympathize with me. It was good
news from a far country; and, if you will pardon
the comparison, as Jonathan stripped off his own
robe and gave it to David, so did the disposition
and frame you seemed to be in steal over my mind.
There is not much missionary spirit in the Seminary at present, and few, if any, have lately decided
to go abroad. Still there appears to be an undercurrent of feeling on the subject, which, we hope,
will soon manifest itself openly. I have not yet
decided where to go, and do not expect to, for some
time. But let me whisper in your ear, for I don't
want it known, that I look to a field nearer home
than China, or even North India. Don't hold up
your hands in astonishment at this-I mean Western
Africa, the white man's grave. There has been a
great change of feeling in the Seminary, in regard
to this field, since I came here. Last summer, at
the first part of the session, there was not one




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       29
student who even thought of Western Africa as a
missionary field. But during the course of the last
winter, one, and then another, of the brethren determined to go to Western Africa, and they have
now gone. May our Father go with them! I look
on this experiment with deep interest; —it is yet an
experiment, but I hope it will be successful.
My religious feelings are exceedingly cold at
present. It is difficult to be always engaged in the
critical study of the Bible, and collateral objects of
inquiry, and not have the mind at times drawn
away from the spirit to the mere letter of the commands. Yet I do at times,.even in recitation, obtain
a glimpse of Him whom my soul loveth; and 0,
how sweet is his countenance! Thd doctrine of justification by faith has appeared to me in a clearer
light this summer than ever before; and though
sometimes the " old man" seems to revolt against it,
yet it always seems the most glorious to God, and
worthy of acceptance.  It gives an immovable
ground of confidence, and removes every reason for
despair. 0 that we may both heartily embrace it,
and be saved for Christ's sake only!
Write to me soon.
Your brother in Christ,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Princeton, December 11th, 1839.
MR. JOHN LLOYD-DEAR BROTHER:-Your very
welcome epistle was taken up principally in proposing objections to Western Africa as a missionary
field; and I was glad to read them; not that they
have altered the current of my desires, but they
brought the subject fully before me again.
Your objections were —lst. The unhealthiness of
Western Africa, and 2nd. The  rospects of usefulness in North India or China. The first is a strong
one, and even stronger, perhaps, than you suppose;
3*




30        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
in one point of view, and to one ignorant of the
facts, it is so. Of one hundred and ten missionaries
sent by the Church Missionary Society, in the
course of thirty years, a very large proportion died
in two or three months, and vastly the majority
before they did anything: yet the very first one
who went out lived twenty-three years, and several
others shorter periods. But the question is, why
so many died so soon? Answer: 1st. Because of
the unhealthiness of the climate. 2nd. Because far
less was known of the climate of Western Africa
by medical men than of almost any other tropical
country; and therefore their remedies were not so
skilfully applied, nor preventives so effectually used
in the first ins'tance. 3d. Because many of the
missionaries acted exceedingly rashly when they
first commenced operations.  They came from Endgland and Germany, and, in some cases, with insufficient accommodations on their voyage. They commenced their labours immediately. During the hot
summer they preached two or three times every
Sabbath, superintended schools during the week,
worked at hard work often.  Others, particularly
females, died of complaints not peculiar to any
climate. As to the first reason, it is with me a
question whether the climate of Africa is at all more
unhealthy than that of India.
Now for the second.-The prospect of doing a
great deal of good in India is very flattering. But
is Africa to be left until India is evangelized? Perhaps, also, we do not at all know what the prospects
are in Africa.  I am inclined to think them very
extensive.  Certainly our missionaries have their
hands full, and much more. What else can they
say in India? Again, the human heart is the same
everywhere; yet I apprehend that there are not so
many obstacles in Africa to the conversion of the
natives as there are in India.  They are a ruder
people; they have less to pride themselves upon in
the way of science, arts, and wealth, than the Hin



MEMOIR OF WALTER M, LOWRIE.       31
dus; and we know that not many noble, not many
mighty, are called., True, the Lord is able to convert the learned and proud, just as well as the ignorant and degraded; blessed be his name for it: yet
still, do we not commonly find, that among the latter
there are more cases of hopeful conversion than
among the former? But I have not time now to
continue the subject. These are some of the reasons,
barely mentioned, and thrown together without any
order, that combine to make me prefer Western
Africa. China, I fear, is to me out of the question.
My life will probably be short at best, and I certainly expect the greater part of it would be gone
before I could master that language. Siam I might
like on some accounts. I have talked of India often,
and while my brother was there, I thought of that
country; but it has never appeared to me in so inviting an aspect as it has to some others. My sympathies are awakened for Africa. My judgment,
perhaps influenced somewhat by my sympathies,
speaks for her; the prospects of usefulness call
loudly; objections do not seem so strong to me as
to some others; and "Here am I, Lord," is all I
have to say about this subject. My mind is not
made up, and will not be, till I have more carefully
examined the subject. The Lord direct my inquiries, and yours also, my dear brother.
We are now engaged in studying theology —an
interesting, delightful, and infinite subject.
Yours in the most cordial Christian love,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Princeton, February 21st, 1840.
MR. JOHN M. LOWRIE-DEAR COUSIN:.... I
was reading Turrettin's Theology this morning, about
the tree of life, and the comparison he instituted
between the tree of life and Christ was really most
delightful. I could almost believe I was in heaven




32        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
partaking of its fruits, numerous and varied and
rich as they are; sitting under its shade, and quaffing of the river of the water of life, that flows from
the throne of God and the Lamb.  Oh for that
happy time when faith shall be turned to sight, and
expectation to the full fruition of the holy joys of
heaven! But alas! the language of mourning and
sorrow suits me best. I know but in part, and I
am sanctified but in part.  I see but through a
glass darkly, and eternal things fade away in the
distance, while earthly trifles fill the mind. But it
will not always be so. The Lord prepare us, both
living and dying, to glorify his name!.... With my present views of the holy ministry, I would rather spend four years than three in
preparing directly for it, and certainly I think there
will be no reason to regret having spent a session
extra in reference to it.
I find that in every place I have still the same
evil heart, the same proneness to depart from God;
and I fear very much, lest after a while, the exercises of this place, admirably calculated as they
appear to be for the cultivation of piety, should
degenerate with me into a mere round of formal
duties. Nothing but constant dependence on God,
and constant renunciation of ourselves, can possibly
secure us from danger.
I am more and more convinced that the Bible,
the word of God, should be the great study of the
minister of God, and that all other studies should
be subservient to this. Even theology is only valuable so far as it gives us clearer views of what the
Bible teaches, and connected views of its great
doctrines. With a comprehensive and extended
knowledge of the Bible as a whole, and in detached
portions, we shall be workmen that need not be
ashamed.
Your affectionate cousin,
W. M. LOWRIE.




1MEMO1IR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     33
Princeton, September 3d, 1840.
MR. JOHN LLOYD-MIY DEAR BROTHER:-.... At
the time I received your letter I was not very well,
and shortly afterwards went home and spent a week
there. I was at that time received under the care
of the Second Presbytery of New York, and had
my pieces assigned me. My Latin piece is, "An
Christus pro electis solum mortuus sit?" on which I
have written an essay, and translated it into something that professes to be Latin, and is so long that
it covers five foolscap pages. This, with many and
various other duties, has kept me very busy for
several weeks past.  My health is now very good,
and I hope, Deo volente, to be licensed next April,
and ordained soon after..... I have just been examining a little insect
on my window, and comparing its body with those
of other insects and with my own. It is wonderfully different from them in shape, size, materials,
uses, and objects. It has some members I do not
ossess, and wants others granted to me. It has
fe, though not an inch in length, and it appears to
enjoy its existence. It is but one of an infinitely
numerous class of beings, each species of which is
so different from every other, that we can hardly
conceive of them as possessing any qualities in common. Yet they have some, for they all live, they
all enjoy life, and they were all made by one great
and glorious Being.  How condescending must he
be, who has so curiously wrought their little frames!
How wise, thus to fashion their bodies! How kind,
thus to grant them life and happiness! How infinite
in knowledge, to know all their actions, to direct
and govern all their motions, to foresee and provide
for all their wants! Will he look with indifference
on men! Will he neglect to attend to them when
they lift their eyes to him, and cry, Abba, Father?
Surely not.
But how humbling is the thought, that with all




34       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
our boasted wisdom and vaunted power, we cannot
understand the hidden mysteries of these little
insects, nor frame another like them! But then it
is a glorious truth, that hereafter we shall know all
we wish to know; and our knowledge, instead of
puffing us up, will humble us, and cause us to love
our God and Saviour more. And even now, we
may look on these little living things, and say, "My
Father made them all." I thank thee, little fly;
the sight of thee has filled my soul with pleasant
thoughts; and I write them here that my friend
may share them with me.....
Farewell.-The Lord be with you and bless you.
W. M. LOWRIE.
Princeton, November 16th, 1840.
MY DEAR MOTHER —Your letter from the distant
south, came to me like good news from a far country.
You left New York September 30th, I left it the
next day, and had a pleasant journey to Philadelphia, Canonsburg, Pittsburgh, and Butler, going and
returning, a thousand miles of travel. I spent a
most pleasant Sabbath with the church at Miller's
Run, where my old Sunday-school is. At Pittsburgh the Synod was in session, and, both in that
city and in Butler, I saw and spoke to many dear
friends. For particulars, I refer you to the inclosed.
On the 5th of November I arrived at my old room
in Princeton, prepared to say with gratitude, Hitherto the Lord has helped and blessed me.
I have now got pretty fairly settled down to study.
This is my last session; I can scarcely realize that
so short a time as six months will finish my theological course. It would not take much to induce
me to begin it again. At present, other duties seem
to call me hence; but who is sufficient for these
things?
I shall probably offer myself to the Board as a




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       35
missionary soon, unless something of which I know
nothing, should occur to prevent. Don't stay so
long in the south, that you cannot be back in time
to see me off.
Yours most truly,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Princeton, December 10th, 1840.
To THE EXECUTrVE COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF
FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-It
has been my wish and intention for several years to
spend my life as a missionary to the heathen.  Believing that it is the duty of the Church in her
organized capacity to prosecute the work of missions, I offer myself to you as a candidate for that
work; and if accepted, shall hold myself in readiness to enter on it shortly after the close of the
present session of the Theological Seminary.
I am now in my twenty-second year, and have
been a professor of religion for nearly six years.
The work of missions has always appeared to me to
be identical with that of the ministry, requiring the
same talents and preparation, and demanding that
those who engage in it should be actuated by the
same motives which influence those who enter on
the ministry at home. The considerations which
have influenced me to believe I ought to enter some
foreign field, are, a desire for some such field, considered as a means of being more useful, and the
fact, that while comparatively a large number are
willing to enter the ministry at home, few will go
abroad. The call from heathen lands is loud. It
must be answered, and knowing no particular reason why I should settle in this country, I feel prepared with humility, and yet with cheerfulness, to
say, "Here am I, Lord, send me." In addition to
this, the leadings of Providence, ever since I first
joined the church, and particularly since I entered




36       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
this Seminary, have seemed to direct my course far
hence to the Gentiles.
In making you this offer of my services, I shall
leave it to the Committee to decide on my field of
labour. My own preferences however are strongly
towards Western Africa, and I am perfectly willing
to take on myself the responsibility of going to that
field. It has been before my mind distinctly for
two years and a half, and before either of your present missionaries to that field had decided to go
there. Still, if it be probable that my usefulness
would be greater elsewhere, I shall willingly go to
any other field. My health is not robust, yet commonly it is good. L believe myself to be more in
danger of pulmonary diseases than of any other,
but should probably be less liable to them in a more
southern climate than this.
Praying that the Lord would bless and prosper
the cause of missions, and all those engaged either
at home or abroad in furthering it,
I remain with Christian respect and esteem,
Yours, &c.,.              W. M. LowRIE.
Bedford, N. Y., May 26th, 1841.
MY DEAR MOTHER —I have spent the week here
very pleasantly. On the Sabbath I preached twice,
and attended a funeral, five miles off. These exercises wearied me very much.
I have just had one of the longest jaunts among
the rocks I have had for some time. After ascending a number of small hillocks, each higher than the
preceding, and each crowned with several large rocks,
I reached the top of the highest hill. The prospect
was beautiful, and on several sides extensive. Whilst
resting, I began to observe more minutely the top
of the hill. Several large rocks shot up obliquely
from beneath the ground; a few moderate-sized trees
were growing among them; and I found several




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       37
little delicate flbwers-a violet, a little white flower,
and various kinds of grasses. What a contrast between the everlasting rocks and the fading flowers,
and yet both were found side by side! I could not
help thinking of the way in which the Bible sometimes groups together the grandest, and at the same
time the most lovely of God's attributes; for example" Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy
dominion endureth throughout all generations. The
Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all that
be bowed down." -PSALM CXlv. 13, 14.
So admirably do the book of nature and the book
of revelation agree, when they speak of our heavenly Father. Pursuing my observations further, I
found several busy ants tugging away at their several loads, a little wood spider, and several delicately
formed little flies, all busy, and all apparently happy.
Yet though so small, God-the same God that
founded the hills, and hardened the rocks-was
watching over them, and supplying their wants. I
admired the wisdom and goodness displayed in
everything there, and with, I trust, a good deal of
the spirit of a true worshipper, I knelt down on the
hill-top to offer praises and prayers to him, whom
the heaven of heavens cannot contain, and who yet
dwells in the humble and the contrite heart. Such
seasons are like foretastes of heaven. I may never
revisit that solitary place, yet I hope often to remember it.....
Yours most affectionately,  W. M. LOWRIE.
Oqdensburgh, July 31st, 1841.
MY DEAR FATHER-I have just received yours of
July 28th, and as it was the first news I had fromn
home, it was a very agreeable visitor. I have made
appointments to preach to-morrow at Morristown,
and at the second church of Oswegatchie, and the
4




38       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
Sabbath following at Evans' Mills, so that I shall
not be able to leave for home until the 9th or 10th
of August. I hope, however, to be home about this
day two weeks. Thus far my visit has been very
pleasant, and profitable to myself at least, if not to
others. The people have everywhere received me
cordially, and seemed quite gratified at my coming.
In regard to the object for which Mr. Orr wishes
to see me, I suppose I know what it is, and am half
inclined to think that it can be settled as well in my
absence as otherwise. My mind was turned very
strongly to Africa three years since, and the considerations that induced me to wish to go there were
-that very few are willing to labour in that field,
and that my talents seem to fit me peculiarly for
such a people as the Africans are. I like to deal
with an ignorant and yet affectionate people, who
are not self-conceited. My acquirements, preparations, &c., seem to qualify me for that field. Another consideration that weighs a good deal with me
is, that every one expects that I shall go to Africa.
It is not vanity that induces me to believe, that
both Canfield and Alward will be greatly disappointed should I go to any other field; and I fear
that many of those who know what my intention
has been, will attribute any change in my destination to fear of the climate. For myself, I should
not care about any such suspicions; but the effect
on others may be unpleasant, as it may induce some
who have thought of going to Africa to hesitate.
There is still another consideration of a personal
nature. The mission to Africa is considered rather
a dangerous experiment, and if I should now decide
to go elsewhere, would it not give some captious
spirits the opportunity of saying, that the Corresponding Secretary was willing to let others go there,
but not to let his own son expose himself? These
considerations make me unwilling, with my present
views, to take on myself the responsibility of determining to go to any other country. If the Ex



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       39
ecutive Committee, however, think my services are
more needed in China than in Africa, and that, all
things considered, I will be more useful in the
former place; then I have nothing further to say,
but will cheerfully submit to their decision; and
shall hold myself in readiness to go this fall, if
necessary. I shall, in that case, wish to have it
stated in the Chronicle, that "my preference was for
Western Africa, but the wants of the China mission
being such as to induce the Executive Committee
to change my destination, I consented," &c. Such
a statement, I think, would not be improper, while
it would shield me from the charge of "lightness,"
or wishing to avoid an exposed station.
This letter you may consider either as addressed
to yourself personally, or to the Executive Committee. Mr. Orr's statements may perhaps induce
me to take some other course than the one above
mentioned, but at present, I do not see that I can do
otherwise.
I remain your affectionate son,
W. M.. LOWRIE.
Steamboat St. Lawrence, Lake Ontario, July 13th.
DEAR MOTHER-When riding in the wild woods
of Michigan, I found so many ideas comingo up, that
I concluded to write you a long letter. I have it
all to write yet, and the steamboat shakes so, that
I write like Mr. Hopkins in the Declaration of Independence.
From Detroit by railroad to Ann Arbor, it is a
dreary country part of the way, heavy timber and
thick underbrush, and any quantity of marshes. I
left Ionia July 1st, and took the road on the north
side of Grand river. Next day the road lay through
a beautiful country, though thinly inhabited, and
with a profusion of flowers, some of which were
very beautiful. I saw whole fields quite blue with




40        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
the "four-o'clocks," which Reuben watches so carefully in your little garden. Then there were wild
roses, red lilies, sweet-williams, yellow marigolds,
wild peas, and many others, red, blue, and white,
which I had never seen before. Some were very
beautiful, especially the mocassin flower. It is a
large lady's-slipper; the flower is red and white,
and has a very fine appearance. All this was in
the wilderness.
"Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air."
But are they unseen? Is their sweetness wasted?
Would this be consistent with wisdom in that glorious Being who makes nothing in vain?  Yet of what
use are they?  Well, they are the houses of a great
many insects. It is said that several different kinds
live in every plant. Then, their seeds are food for
the little birds. Who can tell us, too, what effect
their perfumes have upon the winds that sweep
over these solitudes, and visit, in all their freshness
and healthful influences, the abodes of men? Then,
how do we know but that these wild woods are the
school-houses of other beings, who come down and
learn lessons from the flowers as they spring up in
their beauty, and open towards the pure light of
heaven? It is a very contracted view of things to
suppose that the productions of the earth are intended only for man, and are lost if he does not use
them. But there is another thought of far more
weight-these flowers are grateful to God himself;
he "delights in the work of his hands."  What
skill, and wisdom, and goodness are displayed in
these little flowers! He "clothes the lilies of the
field." Surely, if God delights in these works of
his hands, they were not made in vain —their beauty
is not unseen —their sweetness is not wasted.
The following Sabbath I spent in Buffalo, and on
Monday I started off for the Falls of Niagara, de



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       41
termined that this time, I would see both sides. I
spent several hours on the Canada side, and got my
face wet with the spray on Table Rock, but did not
feel inclined to go under the Horse-Shoe fall. I soon
began to drink in the spirit of the place, and to feel
my soul expanding with the emotions it was so
well fitted to produce. I will not inflict a description on you for several very good reasons. I spent
the night and the next day till 2 P. M., on the
American side. Every step about the falls was as
familiar as if I had traversed them but yesterday,
and yet it was seven years since our hasty visit to
the place. The little bridge on the Terrapin rocks,
where we all sat down, and looked over into the
boiling abyss, is broken down. You will recollect
how we all admired that magnificent scene. I felt
melancholy almost all the time. Where were those
with whom I had formerly walked over these scenes?
Two of them were already in their graves. I saw
many others there, like our party was seven years
ago-husbands and their wives, —parents and their
children,-brothers and their sisters. As we did
then, thev seemed to enjoy their visit the more from
the society of each other. But I was now alone,I knew no one, and scarcely spoke to any one. "A
stranger and a pilgrim," my thoughts turned to our
everlasting home. Here 1 was surrounded with the
evidences of the power and glory of God. The
dashing, roaring waters; the foam and the silver
bubbles that floated on the waves; the bright rainbow that played in quietness over the scene; the
old trees on the island; and the little flowers that
grew out of the fissures of the everlasting rockseach seemed to have a tongue to speak the praises
of the great Creator. My heart was full; and as I
felt almost overpowered by the solemnly joyful feelings of my soul, I could not but ask-will there be
such scenes as these in heaven? The only answer
I could give was, if not, there will be that which
will produce the same emotions that these do, in a
4*




42       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
more enrapturing degree. We can know the character of God on y in his word and in his works, for
himself we cannot see. Here we learn his power,
wisdom, and goodness, by such sights as these. In
heaven we shall know far more of these same attributes. What the works which shall declare those
attributes shall be, we may not presume to say.
But if they are not such as we see on earth, they
will be so much more glorious, that we shall not
wish again to see these mighty displays of his
power.
From the falls I went to Ogdensburgh, and was
most kindly received by the Rev. Mr. Savage and
his lady. I remained in this neighbourhood from
the 20th of July till the 3d of August, and preached
in a number of the churches. Some of our meetings were seasons of deep interest, and I formed
accuaintances which I will remember while I live.
With Mr. and Mrs. Savage and their children, I
could not but feel at home. I saw a good deal of
that dear patriarch, the Rev. Mr. Rogers, and
preached for him several times. I enjoyed our intercourse very much, and I trust was profited by
the privilege of being with him. When speaking
of the Saviour he said: "Whenever the Bible
speaks of Christ by way of metaphor, it is always
with some term expressive of divine excellencies.
If he is called a tree, then it is the tree of life. If
he is called a vine, then it is the true vine. If he
is called a shepherd, then it is the good shepherd.
If he is called a plant, then it is the plant of renown."  The remarks may not be new to you, but
they were new to me, and they brought to my mind
the idea, that the flowers of the Bible are like the
flowers of the field, the more closely they are examined, the more beautiful do they appear.
The river St. Lawrence is the noblest river I
have ever seen. Opposite Ogdensburgh it is about
a mile and a quarter wide.  I had a good view of
it from the window of my bedroom. It flows on




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.         43
in its majestic calmness; the waters are beautifully
clear, and very deep. The opposite bank looks
well in the distance, much better indeed than when
you are close to it.
July 31st. A letter from home; all well. Mr.
Orr has returned from China, and wishes to see me.
I suppose he wishes me to go to China. Well, I
am ready if it be necessary, but I would rather go
to Africa. However, here am I, and God is everywhere, and I will go wherever he sends me.
August 2d. My time in this pleasant neighbourhood is nearly up, and in two days I set off for
home.  Yet why do I talk of home?  "Strangers
and pilgrims" —such we all are, and who more than
I? Idon't know whether this lonely feeling that
so often comes over me is the cause of it, but  love
to walk in graveyards, and read the names on the
tombstones. The influence of such places seems
to come over my soul with a quietness and calmness that is really pleasant. When I was in Rochester I visited Mount Hope cemetery-a beautiful place. The inscription on a grave of a mother
and her daughter, struck me as very beautiful:
"The night dew that falls, though in silence it weep,
Shall brighten with verdure the grave where they sleep;
And the tears that we shed, though in secret they roll,
Shall long keep their memory fresh in the soul."
Denmark, N. Y., August 9th. I preached yesterday three times at Evans' Mills, and was pretty
well tired. These ministers have no mercy on a
wayfaring brother when he comes along.  I left
early, and arrived here at eight p. M. I have now
before me sixty-one miles by stage, ninety-six by
railroad, and one hundred and forty-five by steamboat; three hundred and two miles, to be passed
over in  thirty-six  hours.  However, rest after
labour is sweet. If we were all as eagerly anticipating the rest of heaven, as I am the close of my
present journey, it would be well.
Most affectionately yours,    W. M. LowRIE.




14       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
Pittsburgh, September 24th, 1841.
MY DEAR MOTHER — Since leaving New York on
this, most probably my last visit to this side of the
mountains, I have been so constantly on the move,
I have not been able to write to you. Indeed there
has but little occurred that is worth notice. I came
by way of Washington and Canonsburg, spending
a Sabbath at Miller's Run, my old parish when I
was a student in college. It was a time of deep
feeling both to them and to myself, especially when
I told them I never expected to meet them again in
this world. I preached on Monday in Canonsburg,
and on Tuesday came to Pittsburgh. After two
days with our friends there, I set off for Butler and
Venango counties. I spent the Sabbath in Butler,
and preached once for Mr. Young. I need not go
over my visits to our friends. Very pleasant and
very painful they were. 0 how affectionate and
kind my dear aunts were; and painful as was our
parting, it was brightened with the blessed hope of
meeting again in peace, when time shall be no more.
I returned to Butler on Saturday, and preached
for Mr. Young on the Sabbath. In the morning, on'"I am a stranger in the earth;" and the afternoon
on missions. in the evening, a very large number
came to the Monthly Concert meeting, and Mr.
Young and myself both addressed them. Much
feeling was manifested, and many tears shed. My
text in the morning seemed to my own feelings to
be appropriate, even in this the place of my birth.
I left the place so young, and have been so long
absent, that my earliest playmates are strangers to
me. I walk through its str6ets, and feel myself
almost alone. I meet but few I know, and the
houses of old friends are filled with strange faces.
The school-house looks unnatural, from the changes
in the neighbourinog buildings, and the thickets and
the forests where f played have been cleared away.
Even the church, with which some of my earliest




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       45
recollections are associated, has been removed, and
another stands near its former site. In the graveyard alone, I felt at home. How my deepest affections clustered over the grave of my own sainted
mother; the letters on her tombstone are not more
faithful to their trust, than is my memory to her
pure and lovely virtues. There, too, were many
whom I knew slightly, or of whom I have learned
much from others. How sweet the thought that
many of God's children are sleeping here, and their
dust is precious to that Saviour who never sleeps,
and who has the keys of death in his hand.
Next day I came to Pittsburgh, and after staying a few days with my sister, I will set out for
home....
Affectionately yours,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Princeton, September 3d, 1841.
THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST WITH HIS PEOPLE.
(Written in a book of Extracts, for Winm. HI. Hornblower.)
That Christ Jesus is constantly with his people,
is a fact declared with surprising frequency both in
the Old and New Testaments. It was he who
appeared to Isaac, and said, "Sojourn in this land,
and I will be with thee, and bless thee:" Gen.
xxvi. 3. It was he who appeared to Jacob, as he
lay upon the cold ground, and said, "I am with thee
in all places; I will not leave thee:" Gen. xxviii.
15. It was he who appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and sending him to the court of Pharaoh,
said, "Certainly I will be with thee:" Ex. iii. 12.
And when David, in the sweetest strains of poetry
and piety, sang, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want; yea, though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou




46       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
art with me," there is no doubt but it was the presence of the Saviour which he so gratefully acknowledges.
For a time Christ was with his disciples in the
flesh, and they saw his glory: but it was "expedient" that he should depart. And yet he is with
his people still. By his Spirit, by his providence,
by is own personal and abiding presence, he is
with them still, and will ever be with them. Almost
the first thing recorded of him by Matthew is, that
his name is "Emmanuel, God with us." His own
last words on earth to his disciples were, "Lo, I am
with you always." And this is not all. His prayer
to the Father is, "Father, I will that they also
whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am,
that they may behold my glory."
That this Saviour may be ever with you, my
dear brother, enlightening you, sanctifying you,
sustaining you in sorrow, temptation and trials,
making yJu useful in life and happy in death, and
glorifying you with himself for ever,-is the earnest
prayer of the writer of these few lines.
We have lived and laboured together pleasantly
and profitably I trust, for a few short years. We
must soon separate, but we will meet again. Till
then, pray for me.
W. M. LOWRIE.
New York, November 30th, 1841.
MR. JOHN 0. PROCTOR-DEAR BROTHER:-YOU will
probably begin before now to suppose, that amid the
many cares and labours preparatory to a final farewell to home and country, I have forgotten you;
but I have not. I often think with great pleasure
of the few days spent in Carlisle a year ago. How
soon our pleasures vanish! yet when they are
rational, and especially when they are Christian,
they leave a savour behind them that survives their




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       47
freshness, like the rose, which, though withered,
still yields its fragrant perfumes.
My ordination took place Tuesday, November
9th, and the farewell meeting was held last Sabbath
night in Dr. Spring's church. Addresses were made
by Dr. Spring, my father, and myself.  I feel at
present very cheerful, and think I have seldom
passed my time so pleasantly as within the last two
months; yet it is not insensibility, nor want of
affection to home and friends, that makes me so
cheerful; for tears will flow at times at the thought
of going far off, no more to return. Who knows
what a day may bring forth? I am going out into
the wide world, expecting to be gone for life; yet
I know not but that a very few years may see me
again at home. However, that is not probable;
and now I do not desire it. It is a responsible step
I am taking, and I never felt more in need of sustaining grace, and of the prayers of my friends to
secure that grace for me.
Dec. 9th. The time of sailing is still uncertain.
However, such a disappointment is not very grievous,
for it gives the opportunity of being more at home;
yet I should not talk of home, for there will soon be
no such place in the wide world for me; and, indeed, for many years, I have spent but little of my
time at home. Long a wanderer, I am a stranger
in the place of my birth, where I spent my boyish
days. When I was out there this fall, I felt alone
as I walked through the streets, for a generation
had grown up that knew me not, and almost all my
old playmates were gone: some were dead; others
married and settled in life; others moved far away;
and, save here and there a gray-haired patriarch or
a mother in Israel, I knew very few. I went into
the church where my grandfather preached, and my
parents had worshipped, and felt that I was almost
alone; and I Preached on the text, "I am a stranger
in the earth, for no other passage of Scripture
seemed to suit my own feelings so well. Now "' the




48       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
world is all before me, where to choose my place of
rest, and Providence my guide;" though the poet
was wrong there, for men can no more find a place
of rest in this fleeting world, than the dove could
find rest for the sole of her foot, when the waters
of the deluge rolled round the earth. Like her we
must fly, and that towards heaven, if we would
avoid being buried in the waves of worldliness and
spiritual death. Blessed be God, there is for us,
also, an ark, where the weary may resort for shelter
and defence, when the storm is abroad; and when
the heavens and the earth shall have passed away,
we may still repose with unshaken confidence on
him who now walks on the waves that threaten to
engulph us, and who then shall be our everlasting
portion! I did not intend to have talked so much
about myself, but at present nothing else occurred
to me that I thought would interest you. I shall
hope to hear from you very soon after I get to
Singapore. Pray for me.
Your brother in Christ,
W. M. LOWRIE.
New York, December 29th, 1841.
MR. JOHN LLOYD —DEAR BROTHER: —I expected
long ere this to have been on my way, but I am yet
detained, and having a spare hour this afternoon, I
can spend it very pleasantly in having a talk with
you; though, unfortunately, the talking must be all
on one side. The Huntress, which was to have
gone a month ago, will hardly get off in less than
two weeks from the present time. I am now all
ready, or could be ready at a few hours' notice;
and as my mind has become familiarized to the idea
of departure, I begin to wish that it were over.
As to my "feelings" in the prospect of departure,
which you are so anxious to know, they are really
so commonplace that they are scarcely worth the




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       49
writing. I could hardly help being amused at the
way in which you asked me to tell you what my
feelings were at present; you seemed to attribute
so much importance to them. I did not say much
about my feelings, &c., in my last letters to you,
because f had not time, and did not feel then just in
the humour for that kind of writing. To tell the
truth, there are so few persons to whom I care
about telling my feelings, either orally or by letter,
that lately I have got much out of the habit of saying anything about those deeper feelings that are
known only to God, and my own soul.
Another thing that makes me say less about them
is, that I have learned not to rely upon them so
much as I once did; and indeed, I so often find it
necessary to act without, and even against feelings,
from a sense of duty, that this makes me less careful about them.  They are certainly important;
when we are in a proper "frame," and our "feelings" are urged on by a favourable impulse, there
is a great deal of pleasure connected with them.
But too much dependence upon them will often
unfit us for duty. A man's feelings may take their
colour from many things besides his religious state.
He may be melancholy, from a low state of health,
when he thinks it is a sense of sin that makes him
sad. He may be cheerful and feel very grateful,
as he supposes, from a sense of God's favour; and
yet the greater part of his joy shall be caused by
the mere flow of animal spirits. Our feelings arise
very often, indeed, from something in ourselves;
but our standard of duty is not anything in ourselves, but the eternal word of God. That is liable
to no changes, and does not fluctuate with the evervarying tide of human passion, but flows on ever
the same. I do not undervalue the importance of
feelings; they are like the perfumes that sweeten
the gales which waft us on our course; and at times
they may even be compared to the gales that assist
the galley-slave, as he toils at his oars. But we
5




50       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
are rowing up stream, and it will not do for us to
lie on our oars, every time the breeze lulls.  "Time
and tide wait for no man," and we, on the other
hand, in our heavenly course, must toil on without
waiting for time or tide, or wind or wave. "Faint,
yet pursuing." As John Bunyan says of religion
among men, so may it be said of religion in the
heart, "We must own religion in his rags, as well
as when in his silver slippers, and stand by him too
when bound in irons, as well as when he walketh
the streets with applause."
But I did not intend to write so long a lecture on
the feelings, nor do I want you to understand that
I will not tell you my feelings, nor be glad to hear
yours: —far from it; for some of the pleasantest
hours I have ever spent, have been when communing with you, as we told each other what the Lord
had done for our souls. I do think, however, that
you attach more importance to the state of your
feelings, than you ought; and hence, one reason
why your harp is so often tuned to the notes of
woe. I have often been struck with the remarks
of Dr. Doddridge, in his Rise and Progress, chapter
xxii. ~ 2, —" Religion consists chiefly m the resolution of the will for God," &c. That section is well
worthy of your attention. But I must stop writing
on this subject, or it will fill up my whole letter,
and I have a good deal more to say.
This (December 29th) is the ever-memorable day
in my history, when a "hope of heaven first budded
in my heart.' Seven years have rolled away since
then. It seemed a long time then, to look forward
seven years; now, to look back, how short! I have
been looking backward to-day, and, amidst much
that is painful and humiliating, I find also much
that is very pleasant. I think that the most delightful object on which I fix my eyes, during all
that time, is the walk you and I had one early
spring morning, over the hills about Canonsburg.
We talked of heaven, and it seemed as if while we




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      51
talked, heaven was opened, and we could see its
glories. Perhaps you have forgotten the time, but
it seems to me I never shall. Every time I think
of it, the scene comes up vividly before my mind.
"I remember thee, oh my God, from the hill Mizar."
Shall we ever enjoy another such hour? I almost
fear at times, that added years have taken from me
the power of appreciating so sensibly the pleasures
enjoyed in the days of my "first love."  Perhaps
it is best they should. At any rate the instability
of youth is well exchanged for the sobriety of riper
years, when the latter adds to our capacity for glorifying our Father in heaven, even though it may
take away the sense of novelty and delight once
experienced. I have been trying to look forward
seven years, but who knoweth what a day may
bring forth?  I can see nothing certainly, yet I
can imagine enough to make me tremble. What
should such creatures as we are do, if we had not
an Almighty Saviour near?
I feel very much disappointed at not having seen
you, and would ask you to come over new year's
day, but I shall be out of the city for two or three
days about that time. Farewell.
Your brother in Christ,
W. M. LOWRIE.
New York, January 18th, 1842.
MR. JOHN M. LOWRIE  DEAR COUSIN: -After
long delay, the Huntress is to sail to-morrow. We
are all well here, and I believe all in good spirits.
Very seldom have I found my own mind so perfectly calm and peaceful, as it has been since last
Friday. The Sabbath was to me one of my bright
days, or rather, as I very seldom have bri ght, dazzling days, it was one of those calm, peaceful days,
when the soul rises insensibly above the world, and
dwells with the assurance of faith on unseen reali



62       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
ties. Unexpectedly to me, but very gratefully, it
was communion Sabbath in Mr. Smith's church, the
church of which I have been a member here. He
preached an excellent sermon in the morning on
"'As oft as ye eat this bread," &c. After communion, I made a few remarks, and the exercises were
closed with prayer by my brother John. It was
good to be there, and one of the elders remarked to
me afterwards, "Truly we have had a feast, and a
good day."
Yours in haste, with true affection,
W. M. LOWRIE.
CHAPTER II.
January 19 to May 27, 1842.
Voyage to China-Journal in the Huntress.
Ship Huntress, Wednesday, Jan. 26th, 1842.
At sea, N. lat. 330 38', W. long. 540 04'.
MY DEAR MOTHER-As it is just a week to-day
since leaving home, and circumstances are favourable, I shall commence my promised journal; though
I have so much to write up from my pencil notes,
that the very idea of it almost appals me: —so much
by way of preface.
We got under weigh at half past twelve last
Wednesday, and, with three hearty cheers from the
crew, proceeded down the bay. The novelty and
excitement of my situation kept me from any very
unpleasant feelings at parting.  I ought to say
more than this, however. The conviction that I
was in the path of duty, and the felt presence and
sustaining influence of an all-gracious Saviour, upheld me and carried me safely through a scene that
I had dreaded almost as much as death itself:




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      53
As there was little or no wind, the captain and
pilot thought it best to anchor for the night in
Prince's Bay-a large and very beautiful and safe
bay, just inside of the Hook, and wait till morning.
Accordingly the steamboat left us at 3i P. M., andI
felt really glad, when I saw Mr. B. parting from
his father and brother, that I had come alone. The
quietness and deliberation of such partings are killing. Farewell speeches read very well, but when
one is swallowing his feelings and choking almost
with emotion, and doing his utmost to retain his
calmness and composure, the sooner in such circumstances the better. A silent shake of the hand and
away is enough for me. It is bad enough to think
of it now.
After reading my Bible with more than ordinary
interest, I went to bed at ten P. M., as quietly and
calmly as if I had been at home, and dreamed of
you all before morning.
Thursday, January 20th. I was wakened early
by hearing the men at work on different parts of
the rigging, weighing anchor, &c. I dressed and
went out on deck before sunrise. I found Mr. K.
there, and the captain soon came out. There was
as yet no wind, but the pilot, who was "wide awake,"
thought a breeze would spring up about sunrise, and
they were preparing sail, to catch the first breath.
We did not get fairly started, however, until after
nine A. M., when a light breeze filled the higher sails,
(topsails and top-gallants,) and we slowly moved
away. Several other vessels, outward bound, had
anchored near us, and they followed close in our
wake. We soon got outside of the Hook, and when
fairly under weigh, the pilot left us, at a quarter
before twelve. I had hastily written a few lines
to you and father, which I sent back by him. He
sprang lightly over the side of the vessel into a row
boat that was waiting for him, and the last link was
broken! We kept on in somewhat of a south-east
direction, and soon the only object that could be
5*




54       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
seen, was the Highlands, south of the entrance of
the channel to New York. I could hardly realize
my situation.
I soon found Mr. B. standing at the stern, looking rather pale. I could not help laughing, though
I pitied him, and wrapping myself in my cloak, as
there was a fresh breeze, I sat down on a stool in
the stern of the vessel. The motion soon began to
affect me, and when I went to dinner, there were
none at the table except the captain and Mr. K. I
found I was "too far gone" to eat anything, and
feeling very dizzy, went out into the open air.
Though I felt more and more sick, I could not help
being struck with the extreme ludicrousness of the
appearance of a sea-sick passenger. How the old
sailors must laugh among themselves at the pale
faces and wo-begone countenances and staggering
gait of the "men with gloves on!" I was quite
sick on Friday, and till three P. M. on Saturday,
when I went out on deck, and staid about two
hours. We were then about the middle of the
Gulf Stream, and the air was quite mild and pleasant. Thermometer, about 63~. I saw a shoal of
fish playing in the water. Mr. K. said they were
porpoises, but I could not see their shape.
i felt a great deal better; went to table and ate a
light supper, and immediately after turned in for the
night and slept pretty well. Dreamed about home,
and my trip to Ogdensburgh, and fifty other things.
There! I have got safely to the end of last week,
and I'll now turn in for this night. It is now past
four bells, i. e., past ten o'clock, P. M., with us, while
my watch, which I have not altered since leaving
home, says it is a little past nine with you. I suppose you are now at family worship. Am I right
in thinking, that the absent one is remembered at
this hour? But I need not ask the question, for I
know it. Good night.
Sabbath morning, January 23d. Rose and went
out about six o'clock, New York time, but here it




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      55
was past sunrise. The air was very mild and pleasant, and I found little use for my cloak. Temperature of the water 71~; air, about 63~. Was out
on deck most of the morning, when it was cool and
pleasant. The sky was covered with clouds almost
all day. I thought of trying to preach in the afternoon, but felt almost too weak. The captain, too,
was quite unwell; and as he and I had concluded
nothing definite when we spoke of the subject before, I did not like to make any move, without consulting him further. Could not read much; it made
me light-headed to read more than two or three
pages.
Monday, 24th. Quite a gale rose soon after midnight, and took us all aback. The captain was just
getting into a refreshing sleep, when he heard the
sound, and, rushing out on deck, he was wet through
in an instant by the rain and the sea; and though
he came back soon, yet he was much the worse or
the exposure. I heard the loud and rapid orders
of the mate, and the quick tread of many feet
about deck, but, knowing I could be of no use, I
kept my berth. Went out about seven o'clock,
though there was so much motion in the ship, that
I was nearly sick, and could hardly dress myself.
It was blowing quite a gale, and the ship was driving
on, and rolling like an egg-shell. Only think of a
vessel whose weight must be several hundred tons,
probably 1200, tossing about like a cork! What
immense power to produce such effects! And how
great and powerful must He be who holds the winds
in his fists, and the seas in the hollow of his hands!
I stood and gazed on the dashing and rolling waves;
and thought of Him who "walked on the waters.'
How sweet to think his name is "Emmanuel, God
with us."
The gale continued all day Monday and Tuesday,
and, as may be supposed, we had a dreary time.
Not being perfectly recovered from sea-sickness, we
all felt it more or less. There was a constant gale,




56       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
the wind roaring and groaning through the rigging,
the foam and spray breaking over the forecastle,
and sometimes over the after-parts of the vessel.
The decks were dripping wet all the time, and
showers of rain falling every half-hour.
During the morning the wind tore our jib to ribbons, and we were obliged to take in most of the
sails, and drive on under close-reefed topsails, and
reefed mainsail. (To "reef a sail" is to take in
about-one third of it; to "close-reef" is to take in
two-thirds.)
I do not know what our crew think of their passengers, but many sailors think that ladies and
clergymen are very unfortunate people to have on
shipboard. We tried to talk some in the evening,
but it would not do, and we turned in to hope for
better days.
Tuesday, January 25th. Gale still continued,
though not so hard, perhaps, as yesterday; but still
severe, and the motion of the ship, if possible more
unpleasant. I could eat but little at breakfast, and
after it was over, I leaned my head against the
mizzen-mast, which comes through the table just aft
of my seat, and felt very uncomfortable. The Bible
was lying just under my face, and I opened it
almost mechanically. It opened at Job xiv., and I
read that touching and melancholy passage with a
deeper experience of its truth than almost ever
before:
"Man that is born of a woman is of few days,
and full of trouble.
He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down:
he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
Man lieth down and riseth not, till the heavens
be no more. They shall not wake, nor be raised
out of sleep.
Thou prevailest against him and he passeth, thou
changest his countenance and sendest him away."




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       57
Wednesday, 26th. A splendid day! After a few
light showers, it cleared off gloriously; the sea became smooth, and the sun shone out pleasantly; and
with a pleasant breeze, that soon dried up the
moisture of the decks and rigging, we held on the
" even tenor of our way."  We sat in the sun, and
all felt decidedly better.  The captain was out,
and seeing me reading, "Two Years before the
Mast," he said, "That's one of the greatest books
ever written. It is a real masterpiece. There's a
great many men, and officers, and captains, just as
they are there described, though they don't all like
to own it."
A pigeon or gull followed us for several hours today, flying with almost no exertion.  It was as
large as a duck, though longer, ash-coloured above,
and white beneath, with a long bill.
Took the opportunity of speaking to the captain
about religious services. He was perfectly willing
to have service on the Sabbath, and seemed anxious
to know if we could have singing. He said there
was no objection to the passengers.having prayers
as often as they chose in the after-cabin; but when
I spoke of having the men attend once a day, (which
the mate recommended,) he answered in such a way,
that I considered it prudent not to afford him the
opportunity of giving a direct refusal, at least for
the present.
A light shower in the afternoon cooled the air a
little too much.  Thermometer during the day
ranged from 68~ to 72~ in the shade. The wind
has increased some, and the vessel rolls a good deal.
Saw a sail on our stern to-day, a great way off,
which may have been the same one we saw yesterday.
Finished "Two Years before the Mast," and lent
it to the captain, who wants to read it. Overhauled
some of my papers, and began to lay out brother
Owen's route to India. Read a page of the Brother
Jonathan, gazed at the deep blue sea for a long




58       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
time, listened to the canary bird, and talked with
Mr. B., whom I find a very pleasant companion indeed. Saw a gull flying about and sporting in the
waves. Its flight was
"O'er the mountain wave,
Its home upon the deep."
Yet methinks like the dove that Noah sent out from
the ark, or like the Christian pilgrim in the world,
it would here 1"find no rest for the sole of its foot."
Saturday night, January 29th. How many
thoughts of past, of distant, of high and holy and
heavenly things it brings! It speaks of the Sabbath-of rest. But I am tossed on the wide and
heaving sea; there is no rest on earth, not till we
come to the heavenly world, where "there is no
more sea."  Now the ship is rolling in the waves,
everything here is moving. I am a stranger and a
pilgrim in the earth. I look about in vain for some
solid, unmoving foundation, but I see none below
the skies. Upwards, I see the heavenly host, and
they appear fixed. I know that the things of the
invisible heavens are firm. That city hath foundations. Its builder and maker is God.
o "Heaven is the Christian pilgrim's home,
His rest at every stage."
Our passengers have begun to amuse themselves
with talking and planning about their return home,
but I do not join them in this. Even now, my outward condition is better than His, who "had not
where to lay his head;" and for his sake, willingly
do I "confess that I am a stranger in the earth."
Good night; I am pensivb, but happy. It is now
near your time for family worship; and though
absent in body, in spirit I will join with you. The
peace of God keep you all!
Monday, January 31st. Yesterday was the Sabbath; the sun rose clear and bright, and the day




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      59
was fine, with sufficient wind just to keep the sails
tolerably full. The men were all free soon after
nine A. M., and soon after ten, we met for preaching
in the fore-cabin.
I took my station by the door of my room, where
I could hold on to the back of the seat round the
table. The two ladies sat on the bench just before
me, and the mate next to them, the captain on a
chair at the corner of the table, Mr. B. and Mr. K.
on my right hand, and the men along the side and
end of the room opposite me. They were all present, I believe, except the man at the helm and the
second mate, who had to keep on the lookout. The
room was quit6 full. The services were commenced
by reading 2 Kings v., then followed prayer and
singing. I set the tunes myself, and was pretty
loudly accompanied by several of the crew, some
two or three of whom knew the tunes, while others
guessed at them; on the whole the singing was
tolerable, but I hope it will improve. After singing the hymn, I preached on Luke xvii. 11 —19;
Christ's healing the ten lepers. My hearers were
very attentive indeed, especially one of the men,
whom I had spoken to several times, and whose
jolly air and hearty singing at the ropes had attracted my attention. I was, however, a good deal
embarrassed. My head almost touched the ceiling.
My audience was almost within arm's length; some
were in fact so; the room was small, and not being
sufficiently accustomed to the motion of the vessel,
I had to hold on all the time to the back of the
seat to keep my balance. Then by having to lead
in the singing, there was no time to compose my
thoughts, and I suppose I made but blundering
work of it. After preaching, there was prayer and
singing again, and the benediction-the whole exercises taking about fifty minutes.  I wanted to
have them as short as possible, and not knowing
exactly how much time they would take, this contributed a little to embarrass me. I assure you, I




60       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
felt for a while after the services were over, as
though I should like to hide myself from the sight
of everybody. However, I could not but believe,
that I had endeavoured to do right; and though for
a while half tempted to think that such services
were of no use, yet on the whole I was glad that a
beginning had been made. We shall probably do
better hereafter.  Soon after service, Mr. Gillespie
told me that just before service, he had gone into
the forecastle to see if all the men had come forward. He found one there who was not quite ready,
but said he was coming.  "Ah, Mr. Gillespie, it is
seven years since I heard a prayer." It was the
same man who appeared so attentive.
Saw a couple of flying-fish to-day, and thought
at first that they were little birds; one of them flew
with an irregular flight more than forty yards before
it touched the water. The sight of them made me
think of a passage in Henry Martyn's diary, where
he says that he thought his own aspirations after
holiness and heaven, were short and low and uncertain, like the flight of the flying-fish. The sight
and the thought made me condemn myself.
Had prayers in the cabin at eight P. M., and afterwards a long talk with Mr. Gillespie about the Wallstreet and Middle Dutch churches, and about a voyage Mr. G. made from Liverpool to New York with
135 steerage passengers, several of whom died on
the voyage. He had almost the whole care of them,
and dates his first serious impressions to what he
then witnessed. Then we talked about the difficulty of maintaining the life of religion on shipboard, and in places of trial, the danger of worldliness, &c.
Friday, Feb. 4th. Another glorious day. Up
and out before the sun; saw him rise. My vocabulary wants words to express the richness and
beauty of the clouds
" Which sat about the East,
And wantoned with his golden locks."




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       61
After tea, looked over a little school-book in
astronomy, with maps, &c., and concluded to try
some of the constellations; was quite charmed with
my success, for I made out the whole constellation
of Orion, and single stars in four or five others.
The ladies, who were promenading the decks, joined
me, and after showing them my newly acquired
knowledge, we spoke of him "who loosed the bands
of Orion, and sent forth Mazzaroth in his season."
I became quite enraptured with the study, and
promise myself a good deal of pleasure in pursuit
of it. Do you remember how, one night, as we
were going to church, I pointed out to you the
North Star, and Orion's belt? I have been looking
up so long, that my neck fairly aches. How little
we know of the stars! They are, doubtless, at
least that is my own firm conviction, inhabited
worlds,-all displaying the power, and wisdom, and
goodness of our Creator. What wonderful and
varied displays of his attributes would be seen by
one who could visit them all! I am inclined to
believe-though, of course, it is mere conjecture —
that every one of them is arranged in a different
order, inhabited by different kinds of rational and
irrational beings, with different genera and species
of plants and minerals; aye, and different kinds of
things for which we have neither names nor conceptions. Who shall limit the works of Him, whose
understanding is infinite, and who is wonderful in
working?
Monday, Feb. 7th. Yesterday was a very calm,
delightful day.  Sufficient breeze to carry us on
from five to seven miles an hour, and so steady,
that there was very little motion. Had service in
the morning, at ten o'clock. Preached on Psalm
xxxvii. 5; and being less embarrassed, I got on
much more comfortably than on the preceding Sabbath. The attention was very good indeed. After
service it was quite pleasant to look to the forward
part of the ship. The forecastle doors were open,
6




62       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
and some of the men were lying in their berths or
sitting on their chests, reading. Others were sitting
on the windlass and spars, or standing by the sides
of the ship, reading or talking, all neatly dressed,
and apparently all at their ease, and very comfortable. I think our crew are a very good-looking
set of men indeed. One of the boys was sitting
by the ship's side, doing nothing. The mate went
past him, and as he passed, pulled out a tract from
his pocket, and gave it to him. Afternoon and
evening passed of pleasantly and pretty quietly.
The passengers were talking together in the lower
cabin, in the evening, where they had cakes and
nuts, &c., and sent for me to join them, but I excused myself, and retired to my own room. It was
Monthly Concert evening, and I thought of the
many Monthly Concerts I had attended,-of the
last one, and of the work before me. Commenced
an essay, or address, or-I hardly know what yet,
- but something for Sabbath-schools, which, if it is
ever finished, I'll try to have published, provided I
think it worthy of that honour.
This morning I mustered up courage enough to
climb up to the main-cross-trees. You may be sure
I held tight to the ropes, when I had got so high.
I was surprised to find how small everything looked
on deck. The ship seemed no broader than a common row-boat, and the men on deck only like
children.
Saturday, Feb. 12th. Trade-wind still continues,
and we have come over a thousand miles in five
days-pretty good sailing that.  Calm, pleasant
day, and rather warm; looked very much like rain
for several hours, but it has cleared off beautifully,
and we have the promise of another pleasant Sabbath. This afternoon, as I was standing by the
gangway, I observed another kind of fish, the
"skip-jack." There was a large shoal of them,
playing about in the water, and leaping sometimes
ten feet, though commonly not more than three




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       63
or four. I could not observe the shape or size
very distinctly; they were perhaps as large as a
shad.  Saw  a very large flock of dark-coloured
birds, but they were too far off to be distinctly
seen.  Star-gazing to-night, and saw a couple of
stars you never see in the United States-Canopus
and Acherner. The north star is fast sinking, and
we shall soon lose sight of it.
Saturday night again! The past week has fled
away swiftly and pleasantly. Soon the Saturday
night of life will come, and the unending Sabbath
of eternity will dawn.
Sabbath, Feb. 13th. A calm, beautiful, and glorious day. Quite clear all morning, and light fleecy
clouds in the after part of the day, which tempered
the air. Preached at ten, A. M., on 2 Cor. v. 21.
Audience very attentive. I still lead in singing,
and must say, it was to-day quite respectable.
Sung the last hymn (we only sing two) to Old Hundred, and almost every one joined in. Heard a
voice I had not heard before singing, and, looking
up, found it was the captain, singing with a good
deal of earnestness. After dinner went up to the
main-top, where I could feel myself alone, and,
sitting down, read and sang, and looked out on the
blue sea for an hour. It was good to be there. I
was above the cares and the business of the deck.
A light breeze made my station pleasant, and I
looked out on the calm and gently heaving sea,
where the sun shone down with bright and yet undazzling rays. I felt as a Christian sometimes feels
when all around is calm, and the Spirit's influences,
like gentle breezes, move upon his soul, and the
favour of God, like the sun's glad beams, comforts
his heart. Yet still it was not home; the rolling
sea was still there, and no one could say how soon
the calm might become a storm. It was not heaven, it was only a foretaste of the eternal rest.
My meditations, however, were disturbed by the
sight of a large fish making his way after the ship.




64       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
The sailmaker said it was probably a shark, because
we were now in the "shark country."
Tuesday, Feb. 15th. Rain during the night, and
quite a heavy shower in the morning. Caught
about 100 gallons for the stock, and the men and
boys washed a good many of their clothes, and
hung them about the rigging to dry. It then fell
dead calm, and the ship lay lke a log on the water.
The captain said it was just the kind of weather
for sharks, and he got the shark-hook rigged out,
and baited with a piece of pork, and hung it out
astern. Very soon a small shark showed himself,
and seized it; the line was drawn in, and he was
quickly on deck. He floundered about at a great
rate, but was soon hauled to the middle of the
vessel, and a handspike thrust down his throat; he
then received several blows on the back of the head
with a heavy iron hammer, and lay quite still. Although he was dead, and the second mate opened
him, took out all the entrails, and washed the inside
of his body-would you believe it?-after all this,
he floundered about, and beat the deck violently
with his tail, and looked so savage, that it was found
necessary to thrust the handspike down his mouth
again. He very soon became quiet, and we looked
at him. He was five feet four inches from the nose
to the end of tail; fore fins, fifteen inches long;
back fin, nine inches; tail, eighteen inches: quite a
young one. He had evidently been feeding pretty
heartily, because in his stomach we found several
large pieces of squid, a fish that is said to grow to
as large a size as any in the ocean. There were a
couple of little fishes swimming about him and clinging to his back, while in the water, and one of them
clung so tight, that he came up on deck with him.
It was a sucker, whic~h I have in spirits, and will
try to send home.
In the afternoon the mate caught a bonito, a fish
about two feet long, and perhaps six inches in diameter in the middle. IHe was perfectly round in




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       65
every part from the head to the tail; on the back
he was of a most beautiful purple, and the belly
was white and golden yellow mi streaks, the colours
gradually mingling with red. Altogether I do not
wonder that the Portuguese called him bonito, the
beautiful. The fins on the back and side fold up
like a fan, and can be laid so close to the body that
you may pass your hand over them without feeling
them. Its great peculiarity, however, consists in
the heart, which is double, the largest part being
red and the other white. The abdominal cavity is
very small, and the fish is almost a solid mass of
flesh. We had part of it cooked, and it formed a
not unpalatable dish.
Thursday, Feb. 17th. To-day I paid a visit aloft,
and went out to the end of the main-top-gallantyard, which is considerably higher than the crosstrees; but the reason I did it was, I found they had
fixed a ladder from the cross-trees to the royal-mast,
so that there was no difficulty. Being now used to
being aloft, I sat on the yard-arm for some time and
enjoyed the prospect. It is like being at the top
of a steeple. I went up again by moonlight, an
the view was very beautiful, even sublime.
We crossed the line sometime last night, and
were at twelve M. in lat. 27' south.  That is a very
good passage. It was just four weeks yesterday
since leaving New York, and four weeks to-day
since leaving Sandy Hook. This is one of the great
divisions of our voyage. We shall now begin to
ask how long it will be before we pass the Cape,
and then, how long to the straits of Sunda.
Friday, Feb. 1Sth. Took the south-east tradewind, about four o'clock this morning, and we are
now moving off gaily in a south-west course. We
shall run down now towards South America.
This is my birth-day. Another mile-stone in the
journey of my life is past. I have come by a
smooth road so far, and it does not seem long; but
I cannot tell what my road shall be hereafter, nor
6*g:




66        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
how long. I often feel, when I look back, as Milton
did on a similar occasion.
"' My hasting days fly on with full career,
But my late spring no bud or blossom showeth."
But let them fly" If I have grace to use them so,
As ever in my great Taskmaster's eye."
Aye —and let them speed their flight. I would
not be impatient, I would not desert my post, however incompetent to fill it, nor however great its
dangers, till my discharge comes. But if they
hasten on,
"They'll waft me sooner o'er
This life's tempestuous sea,
Then I shall reach the peaceful shore
Of blest eternity."
This has been a very pleasant day; too warm to be
in the sun, but in the upper cabin we had a cool
breeze all day, and the awning and sails keep the
sun from beating on the roof. A shoal of porpoises
were playing under the bows of the vessel for some
time, but they were "old fellows," and kept out of
the harpoon's way. In the evening, saw the Southern Cross for the first time. It has not been visible
before, until after I had gone to bed. I do not
think, however, that any of the constellations I have
seen are as splendid as that of Orion.
Sabbath, Feb. 20th. A very delightful day, except that we are becalmed most of the day. However, that made it all the pleasanter for me, on account of its being the Sabbath, and thereby giving
us a quiet time. Preached on Ephesians v. 16,
"Redeeming the time," —a duty greatly neglected
on shipboard. In the afternoon we did see a sail,
homeward bound, but ten or twelve miles off, and
the breeze so light, that there was no chance of our




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.        67
speaking her. The captain was greatly disappointed.
He came away from home almost sick, and is very
anxious to write to his wife. He is a very kindhearted man, and often speaks of his family with
very great affection.
Our sunsets now are very splendid. The sky is
quite as beautiful as I ever saw it at Princeton;
and if there were only the green fields and waving
forests to receive the last rays of light, the prospect would be quite as fine as it commonly is on
land.  Captain Lovett is a great admirer of such
scenes.  After tea, I sat out at the stern alone, and
sang over a number of our old favourite tunes.  No
one here cares much about music; and I generally
go by myself when I wish to sing; but in a ship,
with so many around, it is impossible to be all alone.
Thursday, Feb. 24th. A delightful, pleasant day.
Captain "never knew so much fine weather at once
on an outward-bound voyage."   Having finished
Neal's History of the Puritans, I commenced Bancroft, which is quite a relief. The evenings are so
beautiful, and the moon shines with such brightness,
that I have spent several of the past evenings on
deck; sometimes gazing on the evening sky, and
suffering all kinds of calm  imaginations to float
through the mind, remembering and repeating scraps
of poetry, like this —
" How many days with mute adieu,
Have gone down yon untrodden sky,
And still it looks as clear and blue
As when it first was hung on high;"
sometimes learning the names of different stars, and
comparing their colours and positions. You know
what the Apostle says-" one star differeth from
another star in glory." I often wonder I never observed that before, for the glory of Sirius, with its
more than lunar brightness, difers widely from the
red blaze of Arcturus; and Canopus and Capella,
and Regulus and Aldebaran, have colours that the




68       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
vocabulary of the earth can hardly name. Truly
the heavens declare the glory of God. At other
times I walk on deck, and think of the past, and
the present, and the future. Sunshine and showers,
and smiles and tears, and lofty oaks and little
flowers, mountains and valleys, and rich and poor,
— where was the one ever seen, that the other was
not near?
Had a long talk with the sailmaker to-night. He
is by birth a Swede, but left Sweden at the age of
four years; has been at sea twenty-eight years;
shipwrecked three or four times; once, off Cape
Horn; once, seven days without a mouthful of food;
another time, seventeen days on so short an allowance, that at the end of that time hardly one of the
crew could walk; once, nearly dead from an attack of
fever caused by giving up tobacco, the use of which
he was obliged to resume. He seems to be a serious
sort of a man; has a number of pious phrases, and
said that, "he could spend two Sundays as easily
as one; always plenty to do on Sunday,"-meaning that the Sabbath never hung heavy on his hands.
He says he reads his Bible a great deal, but often
wishes he could get a great many parts of it explained, "which worry and bother" him. This was
just what I wanted, and it was in fact the reason why
I commenced talking with him, that I might propose
the formation of a Bible class. I accordingly did
so, and he seemed very glad, and said he would try
and get some more to join him, and we shall probably make a commencement next Sabbath.
Monday, Feb. 28th. Fine weather still continues.
On Saturday, saw a " Portuguese man-of-war," i. e. a
little semi-transparent bubble, of a pale rose colour,
floating on the water. It is a sea animal substance;
is something like jelly. In fine weather, a great
many are occasionally seen about ships. They are
of a triangular pyramidal form, and are very pretty
little things. The captain prophesied that we should
see land on Sunday, and also a sail.  Sunday came




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       69
— a fine day. "We always have fine weather on
Sunday." Preached in the morning on the Messianic prophecies of Genesis; attention not so good as
heretofore, and I was afterwards a good deal disappointed when the sailmaker told me that he had
spoken to several of the men about forming a Bible
class, but they were ashamed to be seen in such an
employment; several "would like to, but if they
did all the rest would be at them." However, I
have not given up hope yet. We had hardly got
through with the service in the morning, when the
second mate, whose look-out it was, said that land
was in sight. It was the Island of Trinidad, and
the rocks of Martin Vas-Lat. 200 28' S. Long.
200 50' W. When we saw them first, they were
twenty or thirty miles off; but we afterwards, in
the course of the afternoon, passed within ten or
twelve miles of the rocks of Martin Vas.
Wednesday, March 2d. Rain in the morning, and
a much pleasanter day.  Progress slow.  Have
already lost all the comparative advantages of our
speedy passage to the line, and the officers would
now be willing to compound for ninety ddys to
Angier, or even more.
After prayers I went out to gaze at the stars,
paying particular attention to those about the south
pole. I think that this is the most splendid part
of the heavens; or at least, that it will very well
compare with that part of which the constellation
Orion is the centre. These stars are all seen at one
view. The Southern Cross is a very beautiful object. It is more like a boy's kite, however. And
the Southern Triangle is also very conspicuous, because there are almost no other stars near it. The
most remarkable, however, of all these stars, is
Bungula. It changes colour every two or three
minutes, from a bright red to a beautiful sea-green,
and is constantly twinkling. Looking at it through
the captain's spy-glass, it showed the red and green
colours combined. The captain says he can see




70        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
only the twinkling, but Mr. B., the mate, and myself, have all remarked the alternations of red and
green.  These stars, however, are not the only
wonders of this part of the heavens.
In clear nights when the moon is not shining, we
see also the Magellan clouds. These are three in
number, in the form of the letter V.
A, at the vertex of the letter, is situated between
Acrux and Beta in the cross. It is black, but right
in the middle is a single star or luminous opening,
that may be seen with the naked eye, and, examined through the telescope, is quite bright. B, is
a large white cloud, but no stars are seen in it, at
least not with the naked eye; and C is about one
third as large. B and C are about as bright as the
milky-way.
After gazing at these wonderful objects, I turned
the spy-glass to look at the Pleiades. One has no
idea on looking at them with the naked eye, of the
number and beauty of the stars in the cluster, as
seen through a spy-glass.
Thursday, March 3d. A little rain and wind in
the morning; a dead calm from ten A. M. till after
sunset; a sea as smooth as glass, all the while;
showers after dark, and a light wind afterwards,
which continued all the night, were the external
appearances of this day. A solitary porpoise showed




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       71
himself under the bows of the boat, but after playing about a little, as if in mockery of our motionless condition, he swam away. The motions of the
porpoise are exceedingly rapid, and when the ship
Is going ten miles an hour, they will frequently collect together and sport in the foam directly under.
neath her bows.
Saturday, March 5th. The men were at work on
the rigging all day yesterday and to-day, and their
long-drawn and strange cries, the development of
the muscles of their limbs as they pulled and hauled
about the rigging, and the numerous knots and splices
and contrivances to secure the rigging, have afforded me a good deal of instructive amusement.
A sail has been in sight all day; an English top-sail
schooner, going the same course with ourselves, but
not so fast; she has fallen astern.
It seems strange how the time passes away. I
have never on land found it fly more swiftly than
it has done this voyage.  Sabbath comes and Monday, and, almost before I know it, Saturday night
is back again. My employments still occupy all
my time. I commonly prepare a sermon every
week; and as I meet the ladies in a Bible class on
Sabbath afternoon and Wednesday morning, that
also takes time. I had hoped to have a class formed
among the men, but am afraid I shall not succeed.
They seem ashamed to be seen engaged in such
an employment. I stand very much alone as to
religious exercises; and the worst of it all is, that
though I am engaged in the business, I have not
the spirit of Paul. I look forward with much fear
at times to this Chinese mission. It hardly seems
possible, that I should do anything in less than
twenty or thirty years; and yet I have never seriously allowed myself to anticipate that length of
life. But " sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." I do not regret in the least the course I have
taken. I have never wished since I left home, that
my face were turned back to the land of my fathers.




72       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
Not that I have forgotten you, not that I do not
prize its privileges. I feel most sensibly even here,
that I should rejoice to go up once more with the
great congregation to the house of God. I feel
most deeply that there is an influence in the society
of Christians to sustain the man of God, which he
is not aware of, till removed from it. But when I
look back on my short life, smooth and unruffled and
unvaried by any striking occurrence as it may seem
to others to have been,  can mark the way in which
I have been led along by an unseen hand, severely
tried and almost bowed to the earth, when others
thought me gay and unconcerned. Yet upheld and
impelled onward, time after time, when the indolence or the quietness of my own temper would
have kept me back, I can say, "Thus far hath the
Lord helped me;" and surely I can say, "Not unto
me, but to thy name give the glory." If my Master has so long led me and fed me in the wilderness,
if he has so long guided me on the voyage of life,
and has showed me so many favours hitherto, he
will surely still keep me and bring me at length to
my "desired haven."  If I might but give some
proof that the religion I profess is not in vain, if I
might but glorify in some feeble degree the Saviour
who has so graciously redeemed me, then I could
rejoice and die. Yet perhaps it is best for me to
see little fruit of my labours in my lifetime, that I
may not depend on anything short of the righteousness of Christ Jesus. It would be dangerous for
me to be looked up to as some great one. "The
Lord reigneth —let the earth rejoice." It is well
that he chooses our lot, and appoints us our work.
My life has not been long, but it has been amply
long enough to show me that I should fail most wofully, if I had the sole care of my own course.
Monday, Mlarch 7th. Yesterday was a beautiful
day, and my mind was at peace. I preached on
Phil. ii. 6-11, with more ease and fluency, and
was listened to with more attention, than at any




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       73
time since coming on board; and when the evening
shades came over the sea, I was happy still. During
the day I brought out a copy of the Pilgrim's
Progress, and laid it on the table. In a very short
time Mr. B. was reading it very busily, and when
he laid it down, the captain took it up.  "The Pilgrim's Progress!" said he, "I read this a long; time
ago; I think I would like to read it again.'  He
commenced right away, and has been reading at it
very busily since. He said this evening that he
liked his book very much. Yesterday evening the
sunset was very beautiful. I would try and describe it, but can give you no adequate idea of it.
You will perhaps wonder that I write so much about
the sky and stars, but except in our own little
world on board there is nothing but sea and sky to
write about.
I went up to the cross-trees to look out on the
ocean, and the scene was indescribably grand. For
several miles all around, the sea was covered with
large waves, each wave breaking into masses of foam
many yards in extent, and the noise of the winds
and waves together made it impossible for me to
hear Mr. B., who called to me to "'go up higher."
The sun was shining almost all day, which added
greatly to the splendor of the scene. Several albatrosses have been flying about the ship, and, though
she goes eight or ten miles an hour, they make
nothing whatever of flying around her, sailing off a
mile or two on each side and astern, and then coming
up again. It is wonderful with what ease they fly.
They will go a mile without any apparent motion of
their wings, and that too in the face of a gale, that
sent us ploughing up the waves at the rate of ten
or eleven miles an hour. In fact they fly better
when there is a gale than in a calm. It is very
hard for them to rise off the water, unless there is
some wind going, but if there is any wind, they
turn their heads to it, and are speedily in the air.
They will skim over the water when it IS rough with
7




74        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
waves six or eight feet high, and never wet a feather.
The captain says they have several joints in their
wings, (which are prodigiously long,) and when the
wind is strong, they "take in a reef and shorten
sail." I used to think they were all of one size
and colour, but they are not. One that I saw was
of " the first magnitude,"-wings extending ten feet
or more. There are others of the second, tfird, and
fourth magnitudes. They do not appear, however,
nearly so large when seen flying as when on deck.
Some are white, some are dusky brown, some are
brown on the backs of the wings and white on the
body above and beneath, and on the lower part of
the wings. Some have a dark belt or ring round
the neck, and some are somewhat mottled. I have
not seen any other varieties of colour. One old
brown fellow flew so close to the ship's stern, that
I could see the white of his eyes.
Monday, March 14th. Preached yesterday on
Phil. iii. 1 —11. But it being quite a calm, the
swell caused the ship to roll so much, and the rudder
creaked so constantly, as it always does in a calm,
that I had not much satisfaction in the exercises.
Bible class as usual. Mr. B. always attends, though
he takes no active part. I find this quite an interesting and profitable service.
The weather, after being very cold for three or
four days, began to moderate yesterday morning,
and now is very comfortable. The wind is from
the north; which in this part of the world is our
warm wind. I think the sunsets in this part of this
hemisphere are different from those in the United
States, but I have not yet observed them sufficiently
to state wherein that difference consists. It would
be endless to describe every sunset, to say nothing
of the impossibility of giving you any idea of sights
which I can find no words in any language I know
to describe.
It is just eight weeks to-day since leaving New
York, I hardly feel as if I ought to say, "since




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      75
leaving home," because it seems as if I had no right
to say "home." Psa. cxix. 19.
Yesterday evening as I was looking up at the
stars, one of the sailors, a young man of very
intelligent countenance and pleasing manner, with
whom I had exchanged a few words several times
before, came up to me and began to speak of the
stars; then of the delight one finds in knowledge.
This led me to remark, what a proof that was of
the immortality of the soul, that it was constantly
expanding in capacity. He then asked me in a very
serious manner, what I thought of the question,
"Are any of the heathen saved who never heard of
Christ?" I told him I thought not,-speaking of
adult heathen; and mentioned several passages in
Romans, that induced me to think as I did. This
led him to say, that he had been in the habit of reading the Bible every day on this voyage, but he found
a great many things he could not make out or understand. Ioffered him any assistance in my power,
for which he seemed very grateful, and said he would
avail himself of it. He then said, "What is it to
be religious? A young lady asked me when in
New York last time-' Are you religious?' I said'Of course I am. I believe in Christ,-that he is
the Son of God,-that he did live on the earth, and
that he died to save men's souls'-was I right in
saying I am religious?'"  I told him that what he
believed was not all that was necessary; that many
bad men, and even the devils, could say they believed that much. "That's true," said he, with a
good deal of emphasis. I then went on to explain
what true faith was, but much to my regret the
watch was soon changed and he had to leave me.
I hope to see him again, however, before long. I
could not help thinking at the time, how little one
can tell of what is passing in the minds of others.
A few weeks ago, as I was thinking over the character of the men on board, I had set it down in my
mind, that this young man would be the least likely




76        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
to think of religion of almost all on board. There
seemed to be a sort of "don't care about it" air in
him. I regret that I have very few opportunities
of much intercourse with the men. There are
almost always several of them together. Indeed I
scarcely ever see one alone, except the man at the
wheel; and it is against the rules to talk with him:
consequently I have few means of influencing them
except on the Sabbath. The ship is so well supplied with tracts, through Mr. Gillespie's care, that
I find but little use for mine.
Sabbath, March 20th. A  fair pleasant day to
commence with, but soon clouded over. Preached
on 2 Tim. iii. 16; but as there was some wind, and
a heavy sea, which there is constantly here, the mizzen-mast creaked dreadfully, and I had little satisfaction in the services. Besides, I saw it was growing darker, and the men were looking out occasionally, as if a squall were coming. The services were
no sooner over than they were called to the ropes to
take in some of the sails. So we had it, showers and
sunshine, the rest of the day. About 9 A. M. the
breeze freshened, so that we went on ten miles an
hour. This has continued till the present time, Monday, P. M. About dark, things looked so squally,
that it was thought necessary to send down the
main royal-yard-the fore and mizzen-royals had
been sent down several days ago —and we had showers
and squalls till I went to bed, after ten r. M. Going
out about seven A. M., I found that the greater part
of the sails were furled, and we were driving on under
close-reefed topsails. The ship looked very bare with
so many of her sails taken in, and as the sea was
high, she rolled more than I ever knew her to do
before. The wind whistled through the rigging, and
our ship dashed on like a frightened bird; but everything is snug and secure, and as far as we can see,
there is no reason for alarm.  Several little birds
are flying about, and apparently enjoying the commotion of the water. As I looked at them, several




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       77
times to-day, I thought of the words of our Saviour,
"one of them shall not fall on the ground without
your Father. Fear not therefore; ye are of more
value than many sparrows." It is pleasant to be
thus reminded of the presence of our all-gracious
God.
Tuesday, March 22nd. The waves were even
higher than yesterday, and were much broken, so
that to look out astern, or off from the side of the
ship, there seemed to be a large number of rocky
hills in the sea, and the ship was making her way
over and between them. I have seen nothing so
grand since the voyage commenced. The waves
would mount up twenty feet or more, and burst
into a wide sheet of foam; while still further off, the
white foaming tops of others would lift themselves
up in the horizon, and the constant dashing and
roaring of the waves combined together to fill the
mind with exalted ideas of Him, who holds the
waters in the hollow of his hands, and stilleth
the noise of their waves. "An undevout astronomer
is mad," but surely a careless sailor is worse: with
the tokens of God's power and presence everywhere
around him, one would think he could not move a
muscle without thinking of his Maker and Preserver.
Yet alas! he does not like to retain God in his
knowledge. But though the scene was grand, it
was not very comfortable on board.  Such constant
rolling and tossing and pitching of the ship, made
it almost impossible to study; and it was very
fatiguing either to sit, stand, or walk. To lie down
was useless, unless one was bolstered up on both
sides.
I think the sailing of the albatross is one of the
most beautiful sights I have ever seen, and when sevTeral of them are together, it is really grand. The
other day I saw eight of the largest size close together,
and they flew up and down, and one way and the
other, and in circles, and crossed each other's paths
so rapidly, that the eye could hardly follow them in
7*




78       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
their flight. They move with such perfect ease, and
have such complete command over their motionsat one time darting off like an arrow from a bow full
bent, then slowly rising in the air and floating almost
motionless in the sky, then careering round the ship
when at her full speed, as if contemning her comparative sluggishness,-I have watched them by the
hour. The beauty of their motions amply compensates for what may be called the ungracefulness of
their bodies. I do not think their shape handsome,
though, doubtless, it is the best for their modes of
life. How pleasant it is for the Christian to think,
when he looks at these birds, that they are not
beings in which he need feel no interest; they are
made by his best Friend, and he sees in them new
proofs of the wisdom and goodness of God. It is
transporting to be able to say, "My Father made
them all."
Saturday, 26th. Last night we had a strong wind,
which kept the ship steady. This afternoon the
wind gently died away; for an hour we had a perfect calm. The ocean, however, even in the most
perfect calms, is never still. The surface may become glassy, but there is a constant heaving; and
commonly, in calms, we see what Edwards calls
"continual, infinitely various, successive changes of
unevenness on the surface of the water." The sun
is setting in a cloudy sky, and we shall probably
have a gale in a very short time.
Tuesday, April 5th. Strong breeze and very
heavy swell.  The sea is "troubled, and it cannot
rest, but the sun is shining down brightly, and we
speed on our way across the foaming waves. A
shoal of porpoises were playing about the ship this
afternoon. The vessel was going nine miles an
hour, and dashing the foam away in immense
volumes, but they played about under her bows and
in the foam, as if she were at anchor. The mates
tried to harpoon some of them, but did not succeed.
The harpoon went into one of them, and he was




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.        79
hauled several feet out of water, but the iron did
not hold, and he got off. Sailors say the porpoises
play about that way before a gale of wind. Saw
also an albatross sailing up very high in the air;
another sign. Quite a flock of albatrosses showed
themselves a little after sunset. I saw seven of
the largest size flying close together; but it was too
cold to stand and watch them.
Thursday, April 7th. Yesterday was a very pleasant day, though rather cool; sun shone all day,
and a moderate wind carried us gently on. To-day
the wind is strong, and in fact is increasing so that
we have had a reef taken in each of the topsails,
and all the sails above furled. The wind is so
nearly ahead, that we cannot keep our course, but
are going more to the northward than is desirable.
It is surprising to see in how many different directions one can go with the same wind, or how one
may make winds that blow in opposite directions
send him forward in the same course. This is done
by shifting the yards, so that the sails may obtain
the full benefit of the different breezes.  Thus, one
going from west to east, as we are, can proceed with
any one of the winds
represented by the arrows A, B, C, &c., to
G.  Of these winds,
C and E are the best,
because they strike all
the sails, while a wind w  _D
from D would not. Pilot boats can go with
the wind H and J, i. e. 
within "'four points;              \
ships cannot go within- six points." Each             s
of the quadrants above is supposed to be divided
into eight points, as in the mariner's compass.
The wind we have to-day is G, or S. S. E. I'm at
a loss to know how you will receive this disquisi



80       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
tion. If you did not know these things before, I
take it for granted you will be glad to learn them;
but if you did, then I beg pardon for troubling you
on the subject.
Saturday, April 9th. After rather a restless night,
owing to the ship's rolling so much, I went out in
the morning and found all sails set, and studdingsails out; so we are "out of the woods now," with
a fair prospect before us. This has been a very
pleasant day, though our course has been rather
slower than usual. However, "we are glad, because
we be quiet," and hope soon to be brought to our
"desired haven."
Sabbath, April 10th. Preached on John iii. 3: the
nature and necessity of regeneration; and was very
attentively listened to. The mate told me afterwards he was talking with "Boston Bill" about my
sermon, and asked him if he did not think there
was a great deal of truth in it.  He answered, "he
believed there was;" but he quoted from my sermon
the remark, that Christians would try to do good to
others, and then said, "Now I've been with men
who said they were Christians, and yet they were
trying to injure others all the time."  This is one
of the many excuses men make for continuing in
impenitence. Another that has equal weight with
the better educated part of our company is that
"Christians are always quarrelling among themselves." I think I shall prepare a sermon on the
text, "And they all began with one consent to make
excuse."  Bible class as usual in the afternoon; so
plass away our Sabbaths. I sometimes wish I could
again go up to the sanctuary with the great congregation; but I find that that God, who is " the confidence of all the ends of the earth," is also the confidence " of them that are far off upon the sea." I have
taken "the wings of the morning and dwell in the
uttermost parts of the sea."  Yet, even here "his
hand leads me, and his right hand upholds me."
What a glorious thing it is to serve such a God! to




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      81
be able to say, "This God is our God for ever and
ever!"
Tuesday, April 12th. Pleasant weather still. A
sail in sight about two o'clock; soon came near
enough to make out that she was a whaler. She
ran up the star-spangled banner, and we the same;
presently she crossed our bows, and coming, or
rather falling nearer, ran up her flag again-a sign
that she wanted to speak; so we took in all our
light sails, and put the yards round so as to make
the ship go slower, and she came up astern but in
speaking distance. Asked us where we were from,
and if we had any papers to spare.  Captain
answered, "Yes," and we held on till her boat
could come alongside. They speedily lowered one,
and halfa dozen men jumped down into it, and came
dancing over the waves to us. Their boat was
sometimes almost hidden by the waves, but they
did not seem to mind them at all. They were soon
alongside, and their mate and a couple of men came
up on deck. They were rough-looking customers
compared with our crew, though the latter were in
their every-day dress. It was the ship Palladium,
of New Bedford; out eight months; had 1000 barrels of oil from sixteen whales; had not seen land
for four months; had been south among the icebergs;
were going to New Holland soon; crew of thirty
men. I asked the mate if they had any books.
"Well, yes, some; but what we have, have been
read pretty often." Captain gave him two or three
dozen of newspapers, and I hastily wrapped up a
handful of Tracts, and Doddridge's "Rise and Progress," and Pike's "Religion and Eternal Life," and
with a silent prayer for a blessing on them, gave
them  to him. He then asked the captain if he
could spare them any vegetables; and got a keg full
of potatoes and onions, &c., and then off again. They
have men constantly aloft, one at the fore and one at
the main-mast-head, who are relieved every two




82       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
hours. In this way they saw us several hours
before we saw them.
Friday, 15th  March. A  strong breeze was
blowing all day yesterday, and had not the news
been almost too good to be true, we should have
thought it the south-east-trade. However, it continues to-day, and there can be little doubt that we
have the looked-for wind. Thus we are going gaily
on our course, without having to beat about among
the variable winds that are commonly found between
the regular western winds in lat 40~ and the tradewind, which commonly is taken in lat. 28~ South.
We had anticipated being delayed thus for three or
four days, whereas we had no sooner lost the
western winds, than this wind took us upl These
are very curious things. In lat. 400 north and south,
and for several degrees on each side, the wind
blows from the west almost constantly; from about
300 to 100 or 5~, north and south, they blow from
the north-east and south-east respectively; these
are the north-east and south-east trades. On each
side of the equator for a few degrees, variable winds
prevail; and commonly between the western winds
and the trade-winds there is a space of several
degrees where the winds vary a good deal. It has
been by these regular winds that we have made the
greatest part of our voyage.
What grand things these winds are! Just to
think of one breeze blowing steadily for days
together over a space of a thousand or fifteen
hundred miles, ruffling the surface of the old ocean,
and playing with a giant strength among his hoary
locks! And then when the rain comes down in
wide-spread torrents, and the voice of the thunder
sounds along the waves, how does the grandeur of
the scene put to shame our bellows and our
watering-pots, our mimic experiments, and our
boasted inventions for controlling the laws of nature!
Who can talk of the greatness of man, when surrounded by such proofs of the omnipresent power




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.        83
of God? True, it is a wonderful thing to see a little
ship urge onward her course among such mighty
elements, and some may say, "Behold here the
power of man! superior to the winds and the
waves."  But who filled  man's heart with  the
wisdom  to invent and  guide a vessel over such
abysses, amid such contending forces? He may
laugh when it is calm, but when storms arise, and
he is " at his wits' end," he will acknowledge that
there is a God who reigneth in the earth; and,
blessed be his name! he is " Our Father."
Saturday night, ten o'clock. We are now directly on the opposite side of the globe from you,
or within one degree of it, so that with you it is
ten, A. M. Saturday night, and the Sabbath draws
near. If I could spend every week as pleasantly
as I have spent the past, I could rejoice in long
life; but it is pleasant to think, that there remaineth-after all the privileges of this worldstill, "there remaineth, over and above them all, a
rest-a  oaa wavtS o, — a keeping of Sabbath, for
the people of God." Rest is sweet; and 0, to
think of rest from sin, rest from temptation, rest
from disappointment, rest from sorrow, rest in the
peaceful haven after long toiling over the uncertain,
restless ocean, and long struggling with adverse
winds! Surely it is well we have thus to labour and
to suffer, it will make the end more joyful. Yet it
is hard at times to resist the desire to "fly away
and be at rest." But it is well that the all wise
God holds our times in his hands. He will give
the signal when it is the best time to cease from
labour, and therefore" Here my spirit waiting stands
Till He shall bid it fly."
Sabbath, April 17th. A dull, rainy Sabbath, with
a light wind; pleasant enough, however, in other
respects. Saw a flock'of flying-fish, the first I have
seen for several weeks. Cleared off beautifully




84        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
before sunset, and the trade wind came back again
strongly.
Preached on Luke xiv. 18,'And they all began
with one consent to make excuse." Spoke of the
principal excuses men make for not repenting and
believing: as, 1. "I have not time."  2. c" Religion
is a gloomy thing, and a hard and mean service."
3. " The Bible is so hard to be understood, and some
of its doctrines, as election, &c., so absurd." 4.
"Christians are hypocrites, and there are so many
sects, so that there is no truth in religion." 5.
"c There's time enough yet-I do not mean to die so."
The attention generally was better than I have yet
seen among the men, and several of them I observed
watching me very closely all the time. I understood
they had rather an argument about the sermon afterwards in the forecastle, though I did not hear the
purport of it. Yet alas! it seems almost hopeless to
preach to these people. Like the prophet of old, I
seem to be "'in the midst of the valley of bones
and, lo, they are very dry. Can these dry bones
live? 0 Lord God, thou knowest." Yet in his name
would I "prophesy upon these bones, and say unto
them, 0 ye dry bones, hear ye the word of the
Lord." And I would also "prophesy to the winds,
and say, Come from the four winds, 0 breath, and
breathe upon these slain." I wonder if Christians
at home, who know that a missionary is on his way
to the heathen, ever think of praying that he may
be a blessing to the almost heathenish sailors, as he
sails with them week after week.  How little success would commonly attend the minister's labour
at home, if he had not the prayers of his people to
assist him! Yet in cases of this kind, the missionary
most commonly stands alone, and has to preach to
some who scarcely know what are the very first
principles of Christianity-to some who, like one
of our crew, "have not had a Bible for many years,
nor heard a prayer for seven years;" to some who,
like another, "know not that there is any difference




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.        85
between the "faith the devils have," and the faith
that'"works by love, and purifies the heart;" to some
who, like another, think that "if a man goes to
church, he is safe enough," and  that "those
Christians are mistaken, who say that men are naturally averse to religion;" to men rendered reckless
of danger by long familiarity with it; who will
curse and swear when out in a little boat on a
raging sea, seeking if they may find a comrade who
had just fallen overboard in a dark night. This is
a fact that occurred in this ship on the last
voyage! —to say nothing of the evil habits they
acquire on shore, and the evil examples they there
see, and of the effects these must have upon them.
They have long felt that "no man cared for their
souls," and they make this an additional excuse for
continuing as they are. Surely it is " casting bread
upon the waters' to preach to such.  Yet God is
all-powerful, and some things that have come to my
knowledge of late, make me think that the Holy
Spirit has not yet left this ship's company to
themselves.
Tuesday, April 19th. Warm  sultry day, and
several heavy showers. What is the use of rain
on the sea? why should the water, after having
been so carefully drawn up by the sun, be poured
down again to the place from which it came? Surely
this was all foreseen by him who causes the rain to
fall, and he had some design in it. It is hardly a
sufficient answer to say, that these showers at sea
are of great service to sailors, for vast quantities fall
where no ships are, and fell for thousands of years
before ships sailed over the ocean. Yet surely
they are of use. I have been puzzling my brain
for a long time to find out the final cause, as theologians say, of this phenomenon, but I fear with very
little success. Perhaps fresh water is as necessary
for the inhabitants of the sea, as salt is for us along
with our food. Perhaps those winds which, after
sweeping for so many thousands of miles over the
8




86        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
salt water, and in such hot climates as this, need to
be purified and to have their unwholesome qualities
thus acquired removed, by having the rain come
and pass through them, filtering away, if I may
use such a figure, their impurities, before they blow
upon the land or influence at all the air men breathe.
Who knows what influences are necessary to preserve
the atmosphere of the earth in its purity?-and
what part of those influences is excited by the rains
that fall on land, and at sea, and "in the wilderness
where no man is?" But this is one of the "things
that are too wonderful for me." Men pass over
such things oftentimes as uninteresting, because of
their ignorance of what is really in them.  So it is
in regard to everything. We are often told that
the life of such and such men is uninteresting, void
of incidents, and dull. Professors of rhetoric, and
critics, tell us that only great subjects and the lives
of great men, furnish suitable themes for an epic
poem. But surely the life of every man, however
poor and mean he may be, could we but know it all,
would furnish such a subject for an epic poem as
would astonish even Homer and Milton. There
would be the secret counsels of God respecting him
from all eternity; the unnumbered and almost
the innumerable incidents in his birth and in his
after life, when good and evil angels watched over
and influenced him, and when the providence of
God was busied about him; the narrow escapes from
evil; the woful falls, or the triumphant victory; all
the feelings in his own mind, and their varied
causes; the plans of others with respect to him, and
their influence over him; the effects of his actions,
outlasting his own life, and reaching far off amidst
almost infinite ramifications to the end of time; the
various crises of his life; and the endless realities
of the eternal state. What created intellect could
fully comprehend, or rightly describe, all these?
God knoweth them all. We hardly ever even think
of them, and yet our whole life is spent in influencing




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.        87
and being influenced by such wonderful beings.
Verily this is a, fearful and wonderful thing.
About sunset the ship was very nearly becalmed;
her motion was barely perceptible; and I was leaning
over the gangway, looking down at the little bubbles
on the deep blue sea. While thus engaged, my attention was arrested by a number of little insects, no
longer than the gnat you sometimes see sporting in
the evening air. They moved about over the calm
surface of the water with great rapidity, just as the
little water-bugs and spiders play about in the eddy
of a brook in summer.  Where do these little
creatures come from? whither do they go? where
shelter themselves when storms arise? Or are they,
like ourselves, mere creatures of a day, floating
about on the fathomless ocean of eternity, one
moment sportive and busy, and cherishing great
hopes, the next swallowed up by the dark waters,
and seen no more? *
It was a lovely night, calm and clear, a few clouds
in the sky; but the moon shone down brightly, and
the large stars beamed out, like a queen in her
royal robes with her maids of honour around her.
Underneath was the boundless sea, quiet and
smooth —"a great still mirror-sea," and the moonbeams and starlight were reflected back from the
surface of the water. But how different the direct
and the reflected light! The one camle down and
gave a clear image of the heavenly bodies; thus we
see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But the other was distorted and broken by the
constant swell of even that calm sea; so it is with
all our views of things in the invisible heavens.
If our faith can only gaze steadfastly thereon, our
hearts will burn within us; but the moment we
turn our sight to earthly things our vision becomes
confused, and we see no more clearly; at best it is
but "through a glass darkly."  I could hardly
* "Light mortal, how you walk your light life minuet, over bottomIess abysaes, divided from you by a film."-CAULYLE.




88        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
think of going to bed; again and again as I turned
off to retire, a new appearance of beauty or a
brightly shining star arrested my attention, and
kept me under the open sky. Once the moon was
slightly obscured by a white cloud, that passed like
a veil over her face; but that only made her more
beautiful, for immediately a triple circle was formed
around her, of white, bright orange, and pale green.
Saturday, April 23d. Raining almost all the night.
Towards four o'clock this morning I awoke; it was
pouring down heavily. Several very loud claps of
thunder, that came roaring and reverberating over
the waters, reminded me of the words of the
Psalmist:
" The voice of the Lord is upon the waters:
The God of glory thundereth;
The Lord is upon many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty."
April 27. In the Straits of Sunda. Altogether
it has been an exciting and interesting day. The
sight of inhabited land, and those inhabitants being
heathen; the effort to enter the straits, and failure;
the mortification of seeing others pass us with a fair
breeze, while we, not half a mile off, were becalmed;
then the pleasure of catching up and passing again;
the sight of so many ships, and of the native prows;
the smell of land; the sight of noble mountains; the
preparing of letters for home; and the lifting up of
the heart in gratitude to God, that through so many
dangers, and along so lengthened a course, he has led
us and fed us,-surely here will I raise an Ebenezer,
for hitherto the Lord hath helped me. And then to
think, that in precisely one year from the day I was
first licensed to preach the gospel, I was permitted
to see the land of nations sitting in darkness, to some
of whom at least I hope to preach the gospel! Is it
not a day much to be remembered?  The host of the
enemies are numerous and powerful, but I may well
use the words of king Asa and say, "Lord, it is no



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      89
thing with thee to help, whether with many or with
them that have no power; help us, oh Lord our God;
for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against
this multitude. Oh Lord, thou art our God; let not
man prevail against thee."
But if the day had so many things to be remembered, the evening was still more magnificent. About
sunset, we were about two miles from shore, directly
off from the Karang mountains. We were gliding
swiftly over the smooth waters; nine other ships
of different nations, English, American, and Dutch,
were in sight on the western side, and six of them
in full view. On the other side, a dozen Malay
prows were hugging the shore. Some shoals were
to be passed over, which required close watching:
dark and thick clouds, many and large, were overhead, but most of them tinged of the deepest orange
and red by the sun's rays; high mountains, five or
six in number, loomed up in various directions, and
above the highest, Crockatoa, was the darkest mass
of clouds; but beyond all these was the evening star,
"mildly beaming on the forehead" of the calm blue
sky, diversified and enriched as it was with the glorious sunset tints. I looked and gazed with almost
speechless, certainly with an unutterable admiration;
and as the bright colours faded, the ardour of my
thoughts subsided to a quiet comparison of the varied scene before me, with what may perhaps be
the course of my future life. What is before, I know
not; but I thought that a swift, though perhaps a long
voyagoe over the uncertain sea of life, was before me;
that I should have fellow-labourers, perhaps of different nations, striving together to benefit the poor heathen whose representatives we here saw on the same
sea with ourselves; that secret dangers might be in
my way, which it would require prudence and care
to avoid; that many sorrows are impending over me,
but they shall be tinged and beautified with the
favour of God; and thus the
8*




90       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
" Clouds I so much dread,
Are big with mercies, and shall break
In blessings on my head;"
that difficulties are before me like mountains, and
over the greatest and the least of them, it may be,
the most impenetrable darkness now overhangs; but
that above them all, shines brightly the star of hope;
and, having at last surmounted them all, the peaceful
and glorious rest of heaven will open upon my
delighted view. However I may be mistaken in
some of these anticipations, I trust and pray that the
last may prove true.
After dark my attention was called to the many
fires kindled along the coast, probably by the natives,
catching fish.  They looked very cheerful, after
having been for so long without seeing any traces
of human beings, except those in our own little
vessel.
Walked out with my umbrella; saw some men
catching fish with a long net, but they caught only
about two gallons full of them, and all very small,
none, I suppose, more than an inch and a half long,
shaped mostly like sun-fish, and coloured like silverfish; I should suppose that they are very delicate
eating. There were a large number of children
playing on the beach, either entirely or nearly
naked, and all bareheaded and barefooted; their
greatest amusement seemed to consist in pursuing
and catching a small crab, that ran with exceeding
swiftness and burrowed in holes in the sand. I
was surprised to see how very quick it could runmuch faster than they could. When they had
chased one to its hole, they would sit down and
try to dig it out, if the hole was not too deep. I
began to pick up some small shells on the beach,
and among the stones at the water's edge, and half
a dozen of them gathered round me, and began
talking, and asking me questions. Some of them
were quite good looking, and had very beautiful
teeth; but they will soon spoil them by chewing




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      91
betel nut, as all the grown-up people, men and
women, do here, at least among the Malays; I did
not observe whether the Chinese use it or not. I
did not understand a word they said; but they were
evidently in great spirits, and very good natured;
so I talked away to them, asking questions, and
making remarks, and laughing and talking with as
great glee as any of them. They helped me to pick
shells, crying out "Gubboosh!" "Yes!" "Karang!"'
&c. I felt almost sorry to part with them, and
having nothing else to give them as a reward for
their services,  took out my pin-cushion and gave
them a pin a piece. They were quite eager to get
them, and stood round me in a half-circle, holding
up their little hands and chattering away. They
waited very patiently, each till his own turn came,
and followed me some little distance afterwards, till
I turned and waved my hand-and then off they
went.
Sabbath morning, May 1st. When I went out
before breakfast, we were away out in the Java
Sea, and the only land in sight was the high peaks
of Rajah Bassa, which must have been seventy
miles off. During the day, saw a ship to the eastward that looked very much like the Oneida. A
pleasant breeze all day, and tolerably good progress;
out of sight of land all day. Sea about thirteen
fathoms deep; it varies from eight to thirty fathoms,
all the way from Java to the island of Banou; is
generally about eleven to fifteen fathoms.
Preached on Luke xxiii. 33; " There they crucified him." On the death of Jesus Christ. Was
favoured with great fluency and good attention. In
the afternoon, one of the men came and asked me
to lend him a Greek Testament. He said he could
read it. I was just preparing for my Bible class,
and could not talk with him about it then. I got it
for him, and he took it off to the forecastle, and
seemed to be reading it very busily for some time.
In a day or two afterwards, he came back with a




92       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
translation he had made from the Greek to Latin,
of Matt. ii. 1-12, which was very well done. He
had been at some German schools and universities,
and understands more languages than any one on
board; Greek, Latin, English, French, Danish,
German; yet he is not more than twenty two years
old.
Monday, May 9th. Preached on John xvi. 7, to
an attentive audience, though they were not so
much interested apparently, as they were for two or
three late days. It is hard at times to repress
unbelieving fears, or to avoid giving way to the
suggestions of the enemy, that "it is of no use to
preach to such people." Truly, it is like casting
bread upon the waters. How many difficulties of
the same kind must I experience in China! My
heart sinks within me at times, and then again I am
encouraged. But, so far, I have had no desire to
go back, but constantly a willingness to go forward
and see what God would have me to do. Looking
over the account of Dr. Morrison, in the Chronicle,
I could hardly tell what to think. I cannot plod
away as he did at a language.
We hope to be at the end of our voyage in two
weeks, and you will perhaps think I must be very
glad of it. I can hardly say, however, that I am. For
a few days after leaving Angier I did wish pretty
heartily that we were safely moored; but now I
feel almost sorry to think of.ending the voyage so
soon. Having been now nearly four months at sea,
I feel quite at home; and I know, on arriving in
China, I shall then again be a stranger, with responsible duties to perform, and no fellow-labourer to
counsel with in regard to them. My faith and
hopes fluctuate considerably in regard to the future.
When I cast my cares upon the Lord, I can wait
with calmness and peace, knowing that he will
bring it to pass; but too often I suffer my mind to
dwell upon the future, without reflecting that my
8trength is all from on high, and the consequence




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       93
almost invariably is, that I am disheartened by the
prospect. When shall I learn to live by faith, and
not by sight? I am sad, and almost sick at heart,
to-night, for I have been thinking of difficulties, and
of myself. But that it would be wrong, I could
wish, " Oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then
would I fly away, and be at rest."
Monday, May 16th. Preached yesterday on
Luke xviii. 19, to a very attentive audience. I
have rarely seen in America a more attentive and
well-behaved congregation, than our sailors here.
Yet the truths they hear from me are as plain and
evangelical, and as much calculated to bring down
one's high thoughts of himself, as I know how to
make them. I believe they sometimes think I
preach hard doctrines, yet they are very respectful.
Yesterday there was hardly an eye turned from me
for the whole time, though I was not conscious of
being more than usually interesting or fervent. But,
alas. "who hath believed our report, and to whom
is the arm of the Lord revealed?" "They came
before me as the Lord's people come; they hearkened to my words, but their heart goeth after idols."
How can any one think that almighty power is not
necessary to change the hearts of men? How can
any one take credit to himself, if success attend his
efforts? I lent my "Holy War" to the sailmaker
the other day. He was greatly pleased with it, and
was telling me last night how much he liked it. I
asked him if he understood it all. "Oh, yes, sir!
it's very plain; and if it were not, I could understand it, by overhauling my Bible a little." He
seems to be a good man, and I am always sure of
having at least one attentive hearer on the Sabbath.
I believe he never takes his eyes off me while I am
preaching.
Friday, May 20th. A fine breeze for two days
past has carried us on finely, and if it holds out, we
shall probably be at our "desired haven" in a week.
Consequently all are in fine spirits, and it is quite




94l MEMOIR OF WALTER M.; LOWRIE;
amusing to see how eager every one is to hear the
latitude. For my own part, I cannot say I am
anxious either way. The responsibility of my station, and of the steps I may take at Macao, sometimes weighs me down a good deal; and, like Jeremiah, I say,'Ah, Lord God! I cannot speak; for
I am a child." With a very slight change, I find
Solomon's prayer very appropriate for myself. "Oh
Lord God  thou hast made me a messenger to a
people like the dust of the earth for multitude; give
me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out
and come in before this people: for who can instruct
this people that is so great?" But the promises to
Moses, and Joshua, and Jeremiah, and Paul, have
sustained me, and the recollection of the providence
of God in times past, cheers me, and I am going
forward. A great work is before me, and its greatness appals me at times; but the reflection of the
pendulum, "I have to tick so many thousand times,
that I cannot count them all, but then I have a
moment for every tick," encourages me again.
Monday, May 23d. Preached yesterday what I
suppose is my last sermon on shipboard, from 1 Cor.
i. 23, 24, with as much fluency and feeling, and as
good attention as at any time yet. The seed is
sown: how or when it shall spring up, or what
shall be the final results I know not.  Sometimes
I hope it may spring up and produce much fruit;
but I never think so, when I recollect the unworthiness of the instrument by whom it was dispensed.
Tuesday, May 24th. Had our last Bible class,
probably, this morning. I have been writing up
various things; among others, a preface to my journal.
Thursday, May 26th. Yesterday was a pretty
gloomy day. We had gone on so finely during the
night, that we expected to have been at Macao by
noon. About six o'clock, however, A. M., the wind
increased to a gale; had to double-reef the topsails.
There was a heavy sea, and the ship groanedc and




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       95
rolled, and pitched after the fashion of the Cape of
Good Hope. We had had so much fine weather,
and so smooth a sea for six weeks before, that the
change took us all aback, and all the passengers were
quite sea-sick. About eight o'clock, A. M., yesterday,
we saw land ahead, probably the great Ladrone
Island, a few miles south of Macao; but just then
the gale came out dead ahead, and we had to put
back to sea. Two or three other ships, that were
nearer in than we, had to do the same. Wore ship,
and stood in for land again at noon; saw it very
distinctly about four, P. M.; but the wind being still
ahead, had to put off to sea again, and soon lost
sight of it. We are now trying again to go in, but
the wind is unfavorable.    may be several days
yet before we can get in, though we are not probably six hours' fair sailing from iIacao. "The worst
coast," says the captain, "in the world; nobody
knows when we will get in, and yet, I dare say, the
gale does not extend fifty miles.' I could not help
thinking how often we see such things in common
life. Just as we are on the point of acquiring what
we long labour and hope for, we are disappointed,
and again made to urge on our rough and stormy
course. What a blessed place heaven will be, where
"there is no more sea!" no more storms; no more
wearisome calms; no treacherous shoals; no disappointments. It is the haven of eternal rest, and
doubly sweet, because entered "through much tribulation."
China Sea, May 26th, 1842.
MY DEAR MOTHER-So here it is, the long promised, and I flatter myself, the long expected journal. Before you decide that it is too long, just
imagine yourself in my situation, with a charge to
tell you all I do, and see and hear, seeing and
hearing a great many things new and strange, or
amusing; and having hardly any connection with
home, or home folks, except this journal. As




96       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
long as I was writing it, I seemed to be holding intercourse with you; sometimes sitting down for a
long chat, sometimes running in to tell you a little
story, sometimes pointing out a splendid scene on
the sky, sometimes giving you a picture of social
life on shipboard,-was it any wonder that my pen
sometimes loved to linger on the paper, when it
thus brought up before me so many tender, and so
many pleasant associations; and when it caused me
to think the oftener of one-yes, of many whom,
though I love, I dare not expect to see any more
on earth?
If you find it badly written in some places, you
must consider, that it was sometimes so damp, that
my paper seemed to be almost wet; and especially
the ship often rolled so prodigiously, that in my
efforts to maintain my own position, I had enough
to do without minding whether I wrote backhand or
slopehand, or whether the strokes went perpendicularly or horizontally. I think, if you had seen me
sometimes, laying my writing desk in my berth,
bracing my foot against the sides of my room, and
holding on with one hand to the berth board, while
I wrote with the other, and after all getting knocked,
now against the berth, and now against the partition
of my room, you would think I did pretty well.
This is no fanciful description, for such things happened to me again and again, when off the Cape of
Good Hope.
As to publication of extracts-No.  I set my
foot down there. Keep it out of the way of that
little omnivorous monster that they keep in the Mission House-[the Missionary Chronicle.]  There is
not a line of it that was written for publication.
and very few lines in it that I think fit for publication,
They are mere unstudied and unlaboured accounts of
what happened to myself, in a voyage that contained
few or no striking incidents. I have not that
squeamishness about the publication of letters and
journals that some missionaries have; but still I




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       97
would rather not appear in print for several years
yet. The less I am known for a while-at least
until it is known whether I am likely to be of any
use in this part of the world-the better. If I
should prove a worthless vessel, a useless labourer,
there will be fewer disappointed in me. I know
that some would laugh at me for feeling such an
anticipation, but with me it is no laughing matter.
My coming to this part of the world is but an experiment. If it succeeds, there will be time enough to
become as prominent as is needful; if it does not,
it will be better by far, both for myself and the
Church, that as little be said about it, and as few
expectations disappointed, as possible.
What more shall I say?  I might fill page after
page with expressions of attachment and affection.
I might say how often I think of you all, and recall
to mmnd the many, many proofs of love, and tokens
of kindly feelings, I have received from you. I
may say how much I would delight to hear from
you, and about all that concerns you, especially those
things that relate to the spiritual welfare of each
and every one of the family, and of other dear
friends. But why should I? You already know
all this nearly, if not quite as well, as I could tell
you. When you think of me, or speak of me, do
not think or speak of me, as if you thought I were
unhappy, or repented of the course I have taken.
I may be sick I may be in outward distress, I may
be, I often am dejected and despondent, but I never
yet have regretted that I am away from home, and
never yet felt the wish (however much I should like
to see you all) to leave the path I am now treading, and turn my back upon the heathen. What
may be my feelings hereafter, I dare not presume
to say. I may be "troubled on every side; "perplexed," oftentimes; "persecuted," it may be; "cast
down," even. But, I trust not to be "distressed,"
not to be " forsaken," and, far firom being c" destroyed,"
to come off at last conqueror, and more than conque9




98        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
ror, through him that hath loved me. With such a
confidence, and with the hope of being sustained by
many influences from the land of my birth, more
precious than gold and silver, I may well rejoice;
yea, I do rejoice.
Most affectionately yours,
W. M. LOWRIE.
CHAPTER III.
1842.
Landing in China —Voyage in the Sea Queen-Shipwreck in the Harmony-Return to Macao.
AT the period included in this chapter, hostilities
existed between Great Britain and China, and the
result of the contest, or even its duration, could not
be known. On reaching China, the new missionary
was instructed to inquire particularly, in view of
the state of things then existing, the practicability of establishing a station at Hong Kong, or
any point on the coast further north. Having obtained this information, and joined his colleagues at
Singapore, they were authorized to decide the question of removing from Singapore, and concentrating
the whole missionary force in China.  On landing,
he found that the Rev. T. L. McBryde had been at
Macao for some months, having left Singapore in
hopes that a sea voyage would recruit his health.
having made himself acquainted with the existing
state of things in China, Mr. Lowrie left Macao on
the 18th of June; and after four months of unavailing
efforts to reach Singapore, he returned to Hong
Kong on the 18th of October. The account of these
distressing voyages, and his perilous shipwreck, is
fully given in the following letters and journals. It




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      99
is matter of regret that one-half of his journal in tAhe
Sea Queen was some years ago destroyed by fire,
when the house of one of his relatives was burned
down. The loss cannot be supplied, as no copy of
this impressive journal was taken.
During the time of these disastrous voyages, the
providence of God had made the question plain, on
which the missionaries were seeking for light. The
war between Great Britain and China had been terminated by a treaty of peace, with which the contending parties appeared to be satisfied, and by
which five cities on the coast were opened to the
commerce and enterprise of Western nations, as well
as to the labour of the Christian missionary. The
time had now fully come when the labours of the
church of God, in behalf of China, needed no longer
to be carried on at a distant outport.
Macao, May 28th, 1842.
MY DEAR MOTHER — We anchored yesterday at four
p. M. in Macao roads. Here I found Mr. and Mrs.
McBryde, who had reached China several months ago,
having taken the voyage from Singapore on account of
his health. I was greatly delighted to find him here,
and was much relieved by having his counsel and assistance in deciding the various questions before us. I was
most cordially received by the different missionaries
here, and found a temporary home with the Rev.
Mr. Bridgman.  At a late hour I got to bed, under
musquito curtains, but could not sleep for a long
time. It was so strange to be lying min a large or
wide bed, to be in a large room, to feel that I was
on heathen ground. I greatly missed the ship's
bells, which strike every half hour on board. The
noise of the gongs, and drums, and rattles, and other
strange sounds in the town, and the many, many
thoughts of hundreds of things, past, present, and
to come, that crowded rapidly through my mind,
kept me long awake. It is Saturday night again; —




100      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
I am a stranger in the earth, but Ebenezer-Emmanuel.
Honq Kong, June 7th, 1842. I stayed in Macao
from Friday evening till VWednesday morning, and
saw a good deal of the place. The population is about
35,000, principally Chinese, with perhaps 5000 of
Portuguese descent. The streets are narrow and
crooked; very few are more than ten feet wide, and
some not more than six. They are commonly full
of persons passing along, hucksters and pedlers,
with their wares and cries of various kinds. I saw
a poor girl, who had lost both her feet by the leprosy, and was moving about on her hands and knees.
Very few women are seen in the streets, except
that in the mornings and evenings a number of welldressed Portuguese women, with a servant behind,
holding a large umbrella over them, go out to walk.
The ladies, and a good many of the foreign male
residents, commonly pay their visits in sedan chairs,
borne by two Chinese. I used to pity some of the
bearers as they went panting along under the weight
of some fat fellow. These bearers commonly go in
a little short trot, though it is very seldom that you
see a Chinaman run. The houses of the foreigners
are commonly large and roomy; the servants live
in the basement, and the owners in the upper floor.
Few or none of them are more than one story high.
Most of them have one or more punkahs. I went
out one morning to bathe, in the place where Mr.
Stanton was captured, and in the way passed through
a large Chinese burying ground. Most of the graves
were very carelessly attended to. A great many
of them had pieces of Chinese paper at the head.
It is but a short time since the Chinese had their
ceremony of worshipping the graves of their ancestors. It is their custom then, to put such a piece
of paper on the graves, to serve as money for their
departed ancestors in the other world. I also visited the Protestant burying ground, where Dr. Morrison and his first wife are laid. It is a small, and




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     101
rather a pretty place, now nearly full. I suppose,
however, it will not be much used hereafter, as
probably most of the Protestant foreigners will remove to Hong Kong.
There is a little chapel owned by the British in
Macao, where one of the missionaries usually preaches every Sabbath, using the forms of the Episcopal
church. Mr. Boone preached on the Sabbath, on
"Train up a child," &c.-He had first baptized the
daughter of Mr. Swords, an American Episcopal
merchant there. This, I believe, was the first public baptism ever performed by an American in
Macao. The missionaries usually have their children baptized privately. There were two punkahs
in the church, so that, though the day was warm,
we were quite comfortable. There were probably
forty persons present. The Chinese, however, have
no Sabbath, and were going about vending their
wares, and uttering their cries as usual. As for the
Roman Catholics here, their Sabbath is over after
mass, which is performed early in the morning. In
the evening I preached to an audience of some twem.
ty or thirty, at Mr. Brown's house,-on Psalm cxix.
19. As Mr. McBryde was to leave Macao for
Amoy on Wednesday, June 1st, together with Mr.
Boone and Dr. Cumming, we had a missionary meeting at Mr. Brown's on Tuesday night. The vessel
in which they were to go to Amoy, was lying at
Hong Kong, and I accompanied them to this place.
Having a head wind the whole time, we had to
beat all the way, and were twenty-nine hours coming
forty-five miles, the distance from Macao to Hong
Kong. I suppose in our beating about, we went
at least a hundred and fifty miles. Mr. B. and Mr.
McB. were neither of them well; their wives were
even more weakly, and in addition were sea sick;
their children were uneasy and fretful, and two
ayahs or female servants, whom they had engaged
to go with them to Amoy, were so sea-sick they
could not hold up their heads. There they were,
9*




102       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
among tables and boxes, and chairs, and plates,
with scarcely room to stir, sick, going to a strange
country and far away from the comforts of home
and friends. I assure you I began to think more
seriously than before of the personal trials and discomforts of missionary life. Yet there was not a
murmur uttered, nor as far as I could see, an emotion of impatience or regret felt. We arrived at
Hong Kong harbour about three P. M., on Thursday.
On Saturday morning I tried to go up one of the
hills-I assure you that it was up-hill work, and I
had hard tugging to get myself up. It was so steep,
I concluded to go no further, and sat down to rest
on a rock before descending. My toil in ascending
the hill, naturally reminded me of the circumstances
of the mission, which we were trying to establish
here, and of the work that is yet before us. The
difficulties are great-high as the mountains, and,
apparently, as hard to be removed as the granite
upon them; and after all, what is it to the eye of
man but a barren prospect, like the bare side of the
hill I had been climbing? And yet, as I ascended
I had seen little plants and flowers, and insects, and
shells, and recognized in all of them traces of the
presence and power of God; and as I looked around
I saw that some Chinese women had ascended the
hills to gather firewood to sustain their earthly
lives, and that civilized men were toiling at great
expense to found a city here, where apparently,
there was so little prospect of one being founded.
If they spare no expense for a mere earthly object,
why should Christians grudge their money or labour
in endeavouring here to build the temple of the
Lord? There are great difficulties in the way, but
when I looked round, and saw these vast hills piled
up on all sides, and covered over with the immense
blocks of granite as if in sport, just as a child heaps
up little sand hills in its play, and disposes its pebbIes and its shells on their sides and their tops, I
could not but exclaim, The God who formed these




MEMOIR OF WALTER 14. LOWRIE.    103
hills, and placed these rocks upon them, is all-powerful; and though they seem immovably fixed, yet
even men, by slow and patient labour, may take
them away; and he himself, by means that he can
well employ, can remove them at once. The difficulties of our mission, God could remove at once;
but if he chooses to employ us in this work, the
probability is, that for the present we shall proceed
by slow, and perhaps for a time, almost imperceptible
steps. But the work shall be done, for the mouth
of the Lord hath spoken it. The granite rocks
around were a little sanctuary to me, and I did not
regret my toil in climbing up the hill.
The Sabbath-day to me was a very pleasant day,
though I saw many things to pain me. I could not
but feel that I was in a worse than a heathen country.
It is a heathen land under the control of Christians,
where the heathen are allowed, and even required
by the Christians, to work for them on the Sabbathday. How can the missionaries urge the natives
to keep holy the Sabbath-day, when the merchants
and the Government send them to count money,
store away goods, open roads, hew granite, and
build houses, on that day; and when the Roman
Catholic priests, who are now exerting the greatest
influence on the natives of any of the foreigners,
consider that the Sabbath is over as soon as a mass
is said? The merchants go to their counting-rooms
as usual, and the Sabbath is emphatically the day
for visiting.-" Woe is me that I dwell in Mesech,
and sojourn in the tents of Kedar!" My heart is
sick at the sight of the wickedness around. 0 Lord,
show thyself. I felt almost afraid to establish a
mission here, for how can a city prosper whose
foundations are laid in the desecration of the Sabbathday? " Sin is a reproach to any people," and how
much more to England and America!




104       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
China Sea, June 24th, 1842.
MR. JOHN LLOYD-MY  DEAR BROTHER:-I am
often thinking of you, and, especially of late, often
wishing I had you out here along with me. You
must come out to China...
Here I am all alone, and rather lonely, going down
the China Sea against the monsoon, and wishing
most heartily that I were on terra firma again, and
settled down at my Chinese studies.  Excepting
sea-sickness, and a very slight attack of fever at the
commencement of this last trip, I have been uniformly
very well since leaving New York; and have been
enabled to see and hear a good deal, and to collect
a good deal of information respecting China as a
missionary field. I know you will be anxious to
hear what I think of it in that respect, so I propose
to tell you, in as few words as possible, what 1 think
of it. You know how very unexpected it was to me
that I should ever be a missionary to China. It is
not a year yet since my station was assigned to me
in this part of the world; and I came out with many
fears and misgivings, and many doubts as to my
fitness for such a station, and as to its suitableness
for missionary labour at the present time. But what
I have seen and what I have heard has shown me
many things I never knew before, has opened up
to me views of its vastness as a field for labour
almost overpowering, and has taught me that many
of its difficulties have been greatly overrated. It has
its difficulties, and some of them, such as the evil
influence of foreigners, though I knew of them
before, are far greater than I expected; but on the
whole I am greatly encouraged. There is a great
work to be done, and the men are now wanted to
perform it; and it is not required that these men
should be angels "greater in might and excelling
in power" the rest of mankind, in order that they
may perform it. The language can be learned, the
people can be approached; and I verily believe that




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     105
China is now opening; certainly it is more open now
than it has ever been before. Missionaries can now
labour in Macao much more freely than ever before.
Hong Kong will soon be perfectly open. Missionaries are now at Amoy and Chusan, places where no
Protestant missionaries have ever been before; and
those at Amoy and Chusan, where the people have
not been as yet corrupted by the evil influence and
example of foreigners, represent them as an uncommonly interesting people, easy of access, and
free in their manners. They are heathen of course,
and have the vices of heathen; but I am inclined to
think that there is no people except the native
Africans, among whom I would more readily labour,
and with more hope of success, than among the
Chinese; and this I think is saying a good deal.
You know how promising a people  have always
thought the Africans are.
I am not able now to give you the facts on which
I base the above conclusion. Perhaps I may at
some other time. But I never felt so anxious to
live long as I have several times in China, when I saw
the Chinese around me, and wanted to preach Christ
to them. I think I should rejoice to wear out a
long life in Christ's service in China.
formed some very pleasant acquaintances among
the missionaries in China, most of whom I have seen,
and some of them frequently...
There is an infinite fund of wisdom in our Lord's
saying to his apostles, "Be ye wise as serpents."
Missionaries above all other men, it seems to me,
need to be men of prudence; not actuated by impulse, but influenced by steady and enlightened
principle. Certainly nothing else will atone for the
want of prudence, in a missionary to China at the
present time. A " prudent counsellor" is invaluable,
especially now. And yet there is very great danger
of having prudence degenerate to timidity, and thus
overpower our zeal. Surely we have need of wisdom from on high to direct us. I often think of




10       MEMOIR OF WALTER 1M. LOWRIE.
Solomon's prayer for wisdom, when he was appoint,
ed to rule over the numerous people of Israel.
How are you coming on in matrimonial affairs?
Let me whisper in your ears a good piece of advice.
Keep your eyes open; if you see one who would
make you a good and prudent wife, by all means
try and secure her. If you cannot find one that
would be an helpmeet for you, consider it an intimation of Providence that you are to remain unmarried for the present, and come out single. Such
was the principle I acted on in the United States,
and after all I have felt and seen, I am more and
more convinced that it is the proper course to be taken.
The missionaries here all recommend that a man
should be married, but I believe they all abhor what
are sometimes called' missionary matches," and I
think most justly. I hope you will by example and
precept discountenance all such things.
How I should like to see you, and chat with you
for a while! Where are you? what doing?  How
are you getting on?  What are your prospects?
When will you be licensed? Are you ready to
come out here? or do the Nestorians still call forth
your sympathies?  Do you still remember "the
love of your espousals?" and that bright and happy
season at Jefferson College, with our many pleasant
interviews, and the walks we took, and the prayers
we offered, and the many conjectures and plans for
future usefulness we laid?  Some who started with
us, and for a while promised as fair, have already
gone back; while others have already entered into
rest. Why are we spared?  What are we doing?
Could we now rejoice to give up the account of our
stewardship?
Farewell-and may the Lord we have so often
delighted to worship together, still watch over and
bless thee.
August 12th. Dear brother, if you ever come to
China, I hope you may not have to go up or down
the China sea against the monsoon. After fifty-three




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      107
days' hard work, we have been obliged to abandon
the effort, and are now going to Manilla, to lay in
fresh provisions, and prepare for another effort.
The monsoon will be nearly over in a month, and then
perhaps we may succeed. How often have I thought
of you on this voyage, and wished you were here!
Affliction is a good thing to make one study the
Scriptures. I never understood them half so well
before, nor relished so much their precious promises.
This has been a pretty severe trial to me: alone, with
no Christian friend; a boisterous sea; hope deferred
until the heart became sick, and then entirely cut
off. But I have become pretty well reconciled to
it, and can even rejoice, "for the Lord reigneth."
Why he has thus disappointed my expectations, I
cannot yet tell; but no doubt for wise reasons. This
affliction I trust is doing me good, and I shall yet
justify him in all his ways.
Very truly yours
W. M. LowRIE.
China Sea, June 22d, 1842.
MY DEAR MOTHER-I have a prospect of a long,
lonely, and perhaps tedious passage. And I know of
nothing that may contribute better to cheer at least
a few of its lonely hours, than to keep a quiet journal, connecting me once more with " home and home
folks;" so I pray you to receive this little manuscript,
as another proof, if proof were needed, that I have
not forgotten you, and do not think of you with the
less affection, though my letters may not at all times
be composed with so many laboriously sought expressions of affection, and longing desires to see you
again, as you may sometimes meet with in the case
o home-sick travellers.
Late on Saturday, word came that the " Sea Queen
goes to-morrow morning at daylight, and you will
have to go aboard to-night." There was no help
for it; so I hastily packed up my trunk, said good



108      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
bye to my kind friends, to all of whom, and especially Mr. and Mrs. Brown, I had become very
much attached, and at half-past six, got aboard
another Chinese boat to go out to the vessel. It
rained several times pretty hard, yet we got out in
two hours and a half. It was rather a stormy, uncomfortable preparation for the Sabbath; and I could
not think without longing remembrances of the many
pleasant Saturday evenings on board the Huntress,
and particularly of the "preparation," as "the Sabbath drew near," at home. I wondered what you
were all doing; and whether you had any idea of
my situation,-alone, weary, and half despondent.
However, my troubles seemed to be over when I got
safely on board, and I thought I should now in these
splendid accommodations," have at least a quiet
and pleasant voyage to Singapore. But I began to
think very soon, that I had reckoned without my
host. My room is a good, large, airy apartment,
and high enough for me to stand upright; but it has
no berth, though a large transom supplies the place
of that; no table, no wash-stand; not even a washbasin; no lamp, no shelves, only one or two hooks,
and one stool; these are its "accommodations."
The first thing I saw when I went in at night, was
a host of large cockroaches, which made themselves
perfectly at home there; a quantity of spiders and
spider's webs in every corner; and a very unpleasant odour, caused, I suppose, in great part, by the
cockroaches, to which, after three or four days' experience, I have not yet become accustomed.
We were to have sailed at daylight Sabbath mornilg, but did not get off till ten o'clock; had a head
wind and a rough sea; and by ten o'clock, P. M.,
we had gone only ten or fifteen miles, and had to
anchor just outside of the great Ladrone Island.
Next day we did very little better, and beat about
in sight of land all day. Meantime I felt very poorly, Sabbath morning, though not unwell. I could
not fix my thoughts on anything. The business of




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     109
our mission, and various plans, kept crowding into my
mind. I tried to read the Psalms, Life of the Martyrs, &c., but could not with any ease or pleasure.
Afternoon, my head ached, tooth ached, hands and
face were sore from being sun-burnt the day before,
and I had a good deal of fever, which kept on me
for several hours. I was tired lying down, yet too
weak to sit up; and it was too wet and unpleasant
to be out. The officers were too busy to attend to
me; and Chun Sing, who is going with me to Singapore, was quite sea-sick himself.
Oh, how often I thought of the Huntress, with
her nice clean sweet cabins, her kind captain, pious
mate, intelligent and quiet crew, and pleasant passengers! Everything seemed different here.  I
could hardly avoid murmuring, though at the same
time I felt that I had many, many more comforts
than I deserved, and after a while I became rather
more satisfied. Next day, I kept getting better;
got several refreshing naps, and in each of them
had a sweet and pleasant dream. I dare not tell
you the first,-it would amuse you too much. In
the second, I dreamed that father and yourself had
come out to Macao to see me. He wanted to go to
Singapore in the Sea Queen, but I told him to go in
the Huntress by all means. We had to part for a
while, and I was very anxious for him to read the
letters, and particularly the official one, which I had
that morning left in the hands of a young friend to
be sent to America by the first vessel.  I hope you
have got them before now. I had some trouble to
get the letters for him in time, and just as I.got
them, I awoke, and behold it was a dream.
Next day, Tuesday, I was better still; and to-day,
Wednesday, June 22d, I am quite well, and have
things a little more comfortably fixed. I have told
Chun Sing to come to my room every day, and read
the New Testament, and learn the Shorter Catechism, &c. This is the strength of the S. W. monsoon, so that we have the wind strong and right
10




110      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
ahead, and shall have it so all the way.  Consequently, we have to sail one hundred and fifty miles
at least, in order to make fifty on our course.
Saturday, June 25th. Here we are still beating
down the China Sea, but on the whole making very
fair progress. As good success as we have had
thus far would take us to Singapore in twenty
days, and I should be pretty well satisfied to be
assured we should be no longer. My situation, on
the whole, is tolerably pleasant; though I do sometimes feel sadly out of sorts. In the Huntress,
when I had no other employment, I could sit and
watch our sailors; they were always busy, either
working, or talking, or reading; and what they did,
they seemed to do heartily. But these Lascars are
the poorest set of human creatures I have ever
seen; they are not to be compared to the Chinese.
There must be near fifty of them aboard, though
the vessel is not much more than half as large as
the Huntress, which had only twenty men and
boys; and yet these fifty do not do their work half
as well as those twenty. So many of them seize
hold of a rope, that they are actually in each other's
way, and they pull as if they were afraid of hurting
the rope's feelings. And then, so dirty; I have
not seen one of them with a clean article of dress
since I came on board. I must except the carpenter, who is a pretty decent looking-fellow. He is a
Chinaman. It does me good to look at him. I do
not want to see our butler at all, however, and least
of all when I am eating,-with his soiled turban and
faded shawl, dirty trowsers, and apparently unwashed face and hands. I was always fond of
potatoes, but I like them now better than ever, for
they come to the table with their coats on, and I am
sure they are clean; cannot say the same of anything else at table. But, a man must eat, and there
is no use of being so squeamish; besides, I am
usually hungry at breakfast time, half-past eight,
and at dinner, half-past two; and these are the only




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      111
meals I eat. At tea I take but little, the tea is so
abominable that I can not drink it. And the dry
ship biscuit, the only bread we have, is not very
inviting by itself.
I could bear these little matters if other things
were right. Our officers are to me quite gentlemanly, and personally, I have no complaint; but,
they evidently consider the men as of an inferior
caste. And the men feel that they are looked upon
as such. Some of the men have rather fine countenances, but almost all of them betray vacant
minds, or, at least, minds filled only with the least
important cares of this passing and perishing world.
How can I be sufficiently grateful that I am made
to differ from them? As to religious services, at
present there are none; and this, more than anything else, makes me feel alone. The most pleasant
occupation I have, is to spend an hour every morning in teaching Chun Sing the New Testament, and
the Shorter Catechism. And perhaps I may give
another hour hereafter to other studies. Then I
read Hengstenberg's Christology, History of Scotland, The Middle Ages, &c.; study a little Chinese,
and about China, &c. I write some every day;
expect to have a host of letters written when I get
to Singapore; and if a vessel should be going thence
to the United States direct, they will arrive sooner
than those I wrote at Macao.
The thermometer has stood about 84~ all week;
to-day, 85~, but owing to the strength of the wind,
the air has been quite pleasant. Numerous flocks
of flying-fish are constantly starting up, as our vessel in her course disturbs them. What immense
numbers there must be! We probably startle some
thousands every day, and yet the course of our ship
is a very narrow line in the midst of a very wide
sea. Sea sights have lost much of their novelty for
me now, and I have to seek amusement and employment principally in myself. It is well for me that
I can do so, and still better that there is One above




112      MEMOIR- OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
me to whom I can always go. For three or four
days after the voyage commenced, I could hardly
bear the thoughts of its lasting thirty or forty
days; —but now I am disposed to say with cheerfulness, "The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice!"
Let him hasten or retard the end of this voyage, as
seems best to himself, for He doeth all things well.
Sabbath evening, June 26th. At the close of a
silent Sabbath, my thoughts turn back to the land
of my birth, and I cannot help asking, how are you
all? And what are you doing? In a few hours I
suppose you will be going up to the house of God.
You have opportunities of communion with fellow
Christians. Your hearts are cheered at the sight of
churches, and though pained at the prevalence of
wickedness, yet you can believe that the Lord has
much people around you. It is not so here. I am
alone, as far as Christian society is concerned, and
almost alone as far as any society is concerned;
surrounded on all sides by lands where there is no
Sabbath, few churches, few Christians. In such a
situation I find it a very hard thing to keep up the
life of religion. At home one depends for the state
of his religious feelings very much on the general
tone of the churches around him; here there is
nothing of the kind to depend upon. Perhaps this
is an advantage, for it causes one to feel more entirely his dependence on God, the great Author of all
true religious emotions; but it is hard at first, to
become reconciled to such a state of things, and like
David of old, I can well say, "I had rather be a
door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell
in the tents of wickedness." When you go up with
the great congregation to worship God, do not forget
those that are in the ends of the earth, and that are
far off upon the sea. True, God, your God, is our
confidence; but it is pleasant to think that we are
thought of by you, in the midst of your privileges.
The tears fill my eyes, and my heart is full, when I
think of you and your enjoyments; but I have no




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      113
wish to go back. Blessed be the name of Christ for
that precious promise, "Lo, I am with you always."
And yet it is good to be in such circumstances
occasionally. There are passages of Scripture that
cannot be understood otherwise. I have often read
over, and dwelt upon the eighty-fourth Psalm, and
yet all my previous meditations, and all the commentaries I have read upon it, have not shown me
its sweetness and beauty, so much as this day's experience.
Truly, " Blessed are they that dwell in thy house;
they will be still praising thee." But those who
enjoy these external privileges, do not monopolize
all the blessings.  "Blessed  is the man whose
strength is in thee, in whose heart are the ways of
them.' Even in the most unfavourable circumstances, when far removed from the refreshing dews of
God's house, they shall enjoy his favour. "Passing
through the valley of Baca, (weeping, Bochim,) he
maketh it a well; the rain also filleth the pools."
("As the rain cometh down from heaven, so is my
word," &c.) Such are the consolations of wanderers
here; and hereafter, after they have gone from
strength to strength,'Every one of them in Zion
appeareth before God."  Such truths and encouragements may well strengthen a lonely wanderer
to run with patience the race set before him; and
while he cannot but feel, that a day in the Lord's
courts is better than a thousand, yet even here "the
Lord God is a sun and shield; no good thing doth
he withold from them that walk uprightly."  How
far superior is such a lot to that of the proudest of
this world's favourites! Truly "my soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoiceth in God my
Saviour."
Monday, June 27th. I did not expect to have
been becalmed in the strength of the monsoon;
but we are. Have hardly gone twenty miles in the
last twenty hours. I do not think, however, it will
last long, but it tries the captain's patience a good
10 *




114      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
deal. I have been busy to-day, and happy, though
alone.
Tuesday, June 28th. We made eight miles
yesterday, and from present appearances shall not
make much more to-day; though a little squall we
had this afternoon, may have carried us on perhaps
five miles. I was very glad the squall came, for in
the rain our dirty Lascars got a washing, that improves their appearance very much. I have'now
got to feel pretty well contented and at home, but
would notwithstanding be very glad to be at Singapore, and better pleased still to be at Macao, or
some place nearer China.
As you wanted to know what we live on, I will
give you the account of one day's fare. It has been
precisely the same, every day since I came on
board. Breakfast, at half-past eight; tea, fowl or
duck, salt beef, salt tongue, potatoes, rice and curry,
guava jam. Our only bread is ship-biscuit. For
dinner, at half-past two; soup, commonly pea soup,
fowl or duck, salt beef, salt tongue, potatoes, rice
and curry, pudding, generally of some kind of dough
and rather heavy, cheese, preserved ginger, or some
similar sweetmeats. For tea, at six o'clock; tea
and biscuit. I have a wonderful appetite at present,
and eat my salt beef and potatoes with very great
relish. I suppose the above bill of fare will last all
the voyage, unless the fowls and ducks should happen to give out.
Wednesday, June  29th.  With reading and
writing and eating and sleeping, my time passes
quite comfortably, though I often catch myself
wishing to be at Singapore. Yet there is no use
of being impatient. My principal reason for wishing
to be at Singapore soon, is that I may the sooner be
at my appointed business. But surely the Master
on whose business I am sent, knows best when I
ought to be there, and it is in his power to hasten
or retard my arrival. He holds the winds, and can
cause them to waft me on speedily, if he sees best.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     115
If he does not choose to have it so, certainly he
has wise reasons for doing as he does, and I ought
contentedly to submit. With such considerations,
I try to allay the impatience I sometimes feel, at
being delayed by these calms.
Saturday, July 2d. Still progressing slowly.
Had calms every day of greater or less duration,
from Sabbath till to-day. Though, as we commonly
had a little wind at night, and that such a wind as
enabled us to proceed directly on our course, we
have probably gone quite as far as we should have
done, had the monsoon been blowing in its strength.
Yesterday we did uncommonly well. We had a good
breeze during the night, that carried us eighty miles
directly towards Singapore. To-day we are going
perhaps faster, but not so directly; we are running
now between south-east and south, or to speak
according to the compass, we are going S.S. E.
Having been pretty busy, my time has passed away
rapidly and pleasantly, though I do at times feel
the monotony of this voyage quite sensibly, and
often think of the Huntress.  To increase my pleasure, the captain said that two months ago, as he
was going from Singapore to Macao, he was becalmed ten whole days in sight of a small island
near Singapore, and he believed he was fated to
make long voyages in the China Sea. There! while
I am writing I see the sails flapping against the
masts, and we are becalmed again! What is so
helpless a thing as a ship at sea in a calm? HIow
vain is all human power in such a case! and oh,
how much more dreadful, is the spiritual case of
those who are deprived of the influences of that
Spirit, which is like the wind that bloweth where
it listeth! If Christians were half as anxious to obtain the influences of the Spirit, as sailors are to
catch the breeze, what a different appearance the
church would have!
Wednesday, July 6th. The calm I spoke of Saturday P. M. lasted but a few minutes, and we have




116       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
had the monsoon strong ever since; strong wind,
heavy sea, and slow progress. Yesterday we went
fifteen miles west and fifteen south; to-day, thirty
miles west and twenty north; so that, as far as
latitude is concerned, we are worse off than we
were two days ago. This morning the wind was so
strong that it broke our main top-gallant-mast, and
the men have been all day employed making a new
one. There has been so much motion yesterday
and to-day, and that of so unpleasant a kind, that
I could not study Chinese. Just as I get my pencil ready to make a neat stroke, away goes the ship;
and while I am busy holding to whatever I can
catch, the ship staggers off, and leans over on the
other side, and a wave rushes in at one of the lee
ports. Still, on we dash on our foaming way, and
as yet no harm has befallen any of us. My situation is as pleasant as that of any on board, indeed
more so; a good large room, plenty to eat and wear,
plenty of books and papers, and at present no
responsibility. Yet I would like to be at the end
of this voyage. We have now been out sixteen
days, and are not half way yet.
These poor Lascars have rather a hard life; their
only food is rice, with a very little curry. They
sit on the deck, and eat with their fingers, three or
four out of the same dish. They sleep on deck, in
the open air, with only a coarse piece of flannel for
a covering. No provision at all is made for their
accommodation in the "country ships," no forecastle
nor berths. If it rains, they must let it rain, and
sleep through it, or else keep awake. All hands
are employed all day, and no watches are kept, as
on board vessels manned by English or Americans.
They may sleep all night, unless they are wanted,
when the "tindals, or overseers, of whom there
are four, answering to boatswain and boatswain's
mates, sound their whistles, and call all hands. Six
of them, however, at a time, watch for two hours
during the night, and when the bells are struck,




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     117
every half-hour, the one nearest raises a yell, for I
can call it nothing else, which is repeated bv the
next, and so on through the whole six. This is to
show that they are awake; but, for all the watch
they keep, they might as well be asleep.
the "glorious fourth" passed away without a word
being said on the subject. I thought of it, and of
the last fourth of July I had spent at Marshall,
Michigan, and how little I then expected to have
ever been tossing about on the China Sea. Who
knows what a day may bring forth?
Saturday, July 9th. The close of the third week
of our voyage, and we hardly can say that we have
gone half way! We have come ten degrees of latitude, but we have ten degrees more of latitude, and
eight of longitude, still to traverse: if we run west,
we cannot go south; if we run south, we must also
run east; thus making our distance in longitude
greater. But why should I complain? If hope is
deferred, should my heart be made sick thereby,
when I know that a Father's kind hand defers it?
I felt greatly reproved this afternoon, as I sat on
the stern, and saw a large sea-fowl slowly slailing
over the waters. Our heavenly Father cares for it,
and feeds it, even on these wide and rolling waters.
Am not I of more value than many such? Is not
the work I am engaged in more for his glory, than
the preservation and sustenance of the fowls of the
air and the fish of the sea? And if he cares for
them, will he not much more care for me and carry
me on? Surely he knoweth what is best for me,
and most for his own glory. I will therefore commit my way unto the Lord, and trust also in him.
He will bring it to pass. Forgive me, dear mother,
if I bring these things improperly to your eye; I
have no one here of kindred spirit with myself, and
it is pleasant, even though on paper, and afar off; to
give utterance to sentiments that I know will find
a response in your own feelings. It seems to me,
were I once more in the society of fellow-christians,




118      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
1 should prize much more highly than I have ever
done, the opportunity of talking of these things,of "speaking one to another."
Monday, July 11th. For two days we have
been running west, and have made over three degrees; but a strong current yesterday carried us
more than a degree to the north of our position on
Saturday. The officers are beginning to shake their
heads, and predict a lono passage. We have all, I
think, made up our minds to six weeks instead of
four. The mate told me to-day, that the Sea Queen
had never had a fair wind for a whole day since she
was launched, about fifteen months since! However, I do not know but that this voyage will prove
a very profitable one to me. It reminds me of several facts that had almost entirely escaped from my
memory. I had quite forgotten that the Apostle
Paul, after being in journeyings often, in weariness,
in painfulness, &c., had also "thrice been shipwrecked, and spent a night and a day in the deep."
So it seems even the best of missionaries did not escape from some troubles on the seas. I wonder if he
had as fine a state-room as I have, and whether, in
his voyages, he had to live on salt provisions and
hard biscuit! We have no journals nor diaries and
the like, from the times of the Apostles, to tell us
how they managed on such occasions; but the more
I think of the matter, the more I am inclined to
believe that I am better off as to outward things,
than Paul, or almost any of his fellow-labourers;
and therefore, so far, I have not much reason to
complain. Still, I must say, I should not be sorry
to exchange this ship's fare for a short residence in
Singapore. However, the Huntress has spoiled me.
The Sea Queen is a great deal better ship than the
Anna Watson, in which Mr. McBride went to Amoy.
I have since found a passage of Scripture much
more to the point than the one above. Acts xxvii. 7.
"And when we had sailed slowly many days, and
scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     119
not suffering us," &c. It has taken such hold of
me, that I have laid it up for future consideration.
We had quite a gale last night, with a very heavy
sea; so much tossing and pitching, that I scarcely
slept the whole night. For the time it lasted, it
was more uncomfortable than the gale off St. Paul's,
where we had to lie to for twelve hours. We were
almost lying to, the greater part of the last night,
but now (P. M.) we are going on rather pleasantly.
Monday, July 18th. About six A. M., on Saturday, the wind rose again with great force, and it
was the middle of the day, yesterday, before it
abated. In the gale on Friday, the wind split our
fore-topsail and jib, and others had to be put up in
their places. On Saturday the wind split the second
fore-topsail, main-topsail, and spanker.  Ship rolled
prodigiously, and for a while things looked rather
dark, as you may well suppose. A strong gale and
heavy sea, and the wind dead ahead, are not very
pleasant things. At the middle of the day on Saturday, we were not more than one degree further on
our course than we were seven days before; with
a slight variation, we might almost have adopted
Peter's words: "We have toiled all night and
caught nothing."
The wind is such to-day, that we could go almost
in a south course-S. by E.-but unfortunately
there are a number of shoals in that direction, and
this wind would carry us among them in twelve
hours; consequently, we are obliged to put off to
the north-west, and the wind being strong, we "lose
a point" in our course, bv lee-way. Such are some
of the troubles of the voyager's life. Do not forget
to pray for the sailor.
Tuesday, July 19th. Wind more favourable still;
we can go south, and sometimes even S. by W.,
but being still too near the shoals have to run W.,
and N. WV. by N., more than half the time. Yesterday was the best day's work we have made in a
long time, thirty miles west and sixteen south,




120      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
equal to about thirty-three on our course, i. e., if
the captain's observation was a good one, of which
he is doubtful. We are now very seriously expecting that our trip will be of two months, instead
of one month. But the Lord reigneth. I trust 1
can rejoice thereat. We certainly have evidence
that He is watching over us. To-day, as I was
lying on the transom, (there has been so much motion for a week, that it is very unpleasant to sit,
and I spend more than half the time lying down,)
very quietly reading one of Irving's sketches, I heard
a great and unusual cry on deck. As it continued,
I ran out and found a man had fallen from the bowsprit into the sea. Most providentially, he caught
one of the ropes thrown to him, before the ship had
gone too far, and was drawn in. The sea was so
rough, that the captain could hardly have let a boat
down for him. Had it been night; had the sea been
rougher; had he fallen on the other side.of the vessel, where the waves would have carried him from
her; had he not been able to grasp the rope; in any
of these cases he would have been lost. But the
poor heathen, if he thinks at all about it, will ascribe
his escape to chance, or to some of his idols, as blind
and helpless as chance. These poor fellows have a
great horror of the sea. It is only for high wages
that they will serve as sailors. These men get fourteen rupees monthly, or nearly seven dollars, a large
sum for such sailors; and after all, the greater part
of the crews of the "country ships" are impressed
by force, and carried off without their own consent.
July 21st. Here we are, fifty miles north and
thirty miles west of our station day before yesterday. Quite a gale came on yesterday afternoon,
and we have been almost lying to for twenty-four
hours. We have one duck, and ten fowls left, and
nearly a certainty of having only salt meat for a
few weeks to come, unless Providence so order it
that we get to Singapore next week, which might
be done, even in this monsoon, under favourable cir




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      121
cumstances. The captain has begun to talk of allowances of wood, water and provisions. Outward
things look gloomy. I do not say these things by
way of complaint, for I feel less disposed to complain now, than at any previous part of the voyage,
but to give you some idea of our situation. As to
myself, I find the promises increasingly precious,
and I think I shall soon have Acts xxvii. by heart.
It becomes more and more instructive. Still, hope
has not yet left me, that we may make a reasonable voyage as to time, though the prospect is
more and more discouraging. Stch times as these,
head winds, tossing tempests, and adverse currents,
make me think of that happy place, where "there
is no more sea."
The most unpleasant thing about our present
situation, is its uncertainty. We may have a favourable wind to-morrow, and soon reach our "desired
haven." We may toss about here for weeks, and
at last not be able to make the port after all. But
"the Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice.  Clouds
and darkness are round about him, but righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne."
July 22d. Worse and worse; after running for
eighteen hours to the N. W. and W. N. W., and six
hours S. S. E., at the rate of four miles an hour all
the time, we find ourselves twenty miles north, and
ten miles east of our station yesterday! The current here must be tremendous. We are almost at
our 4" wits' end." We have now been beating about
for a week, most of the time under double-reefed
topsails, and have made almost no progress. Indeed,
we are very little farther on than we were two
weeks ago. Yet I am thankful to find that my own
mind is calm and peaceful most of the time. I
should greatly regret to be obliged to put back to
Macao; and should be most heartily glad to be at
Singapore, or to be assured of getting there in three
weeks; but it is the Lord who has "raised the
stormy wind," and he has wise ends in view, It is
11




122       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
not very comfortable being here. My health may
suffer for want of exercise; there being so much motion, it is hardly possible, with safety, to take any;
the affairs of the mission may be retarded somewhat
by my detention; Dr. Hepburn may be in need of
the funds I have with me, so may Mr. Buell; our
removal to China, should that be resolved on, may
be delayed a good while, &c.; but all these things
are known to Him who controls my course, and He
will care for his own cause. Cowper's hymn,
"' God moves in a mysterious way,"
is a very precious one, especially the last lines:
"God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain."
Saturday, July 23d. Twenty miles to the east of
our station yesterday; same latitude.
Monday, July 25th. I see the China sea in an
entirely different aspect this voyage, from what it
was in May, when we went up. Then all was
calm; now all is stormy. We are lying to to-day
again, after splitting three or four more sails. Yesterday and to-day have been so cloudy as to allow
no observation, and we know not where we are. I
almost begin to doubt whether we shall arrive at
Singapore at all, during this monsoon.  We have
now been out the usual time required to make the
trip, and the prospect is darker than ever. The
captain talks of going to Manilla to lay in fresh
stores. We shall be obliged to do this before long,
if we do not soon arrive at Singapore, as we have
provisions for but little more than a month longer.
However, I am not discouraged.  "Jehovah J)ireh.
In the mount it shall be seen.' God is accustomed
to reveal himself when his creatures are at their
greatest extremities. I have been comparing my
condition with that of the Lascars on board; ill-fed,
ill-clothed, ill-treated, working hard, few social, no
intellectual, and, worse than all, no spiritual privi



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       123
leges. How much is my condition better than
theirs!
Friday, July 29th. We are now near two hundred
miles further north than we were last week, and
about sixty miles further from Singapore than we
were fifteen days ago.  I thought that I undertook
this voyage in obedience to the intimations of Providence, but hitherto they have almost all been
against us.  One gale this week drove us eighty
miles to the northward in less than twenty hours;
head winds and adverse currents make it nearly
impossible to proceed. Our provisions will last us
but a month longer, and it would require almost all
that time in favourable circumstances to make the
remainder of our voyage.
To be sure all anxiety, even on these points, is
quieted by the recollection that Christ is "head
over all things for the church," and that all things
shall work together for good, to them that love
God; but sometimes I forget these things. * I would
not willingly undertake another such voyage as this,
and yet I must say, so great have been the benefits
which I have received from this trial, that they far
more than counterbalance all the inconveniences
hitherto endured. Still we are not required to seek
afflictions, and I should greatly rejoice to be once
more on solid ground; yet while detained I hope to
be sustained.
Saturday, July 30th. The pleasantest day we
have had for weeks: a light clear sky, blue sea,
little motion, and pleasant breeze. At noon, the
captain put his head into my room, crying, with
great glee, "Hurrah, she springs it again! We have
made ten miles southing!  The first time we have
been able to get to the south for a week, though we
have had more favourable winds.  This is a "little
reviving in our bondage," among these currents. If
* I am not quite sure that I recollect right, but I think Bunyan
makes Mr. Forget-good Mayor of ManIoul in place of my Lord Understanding, which is very appropriate.




124       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
it will only continue! In a case like this, one is in
danger either of building too much on such a prospect as we have to-day, or, on the other hand, of
"despising the day of small things," and being
cast down, because it is no better.
I was much struck with Isa. xxvi. 4, yesterday
evening.  The literal translation of the Hebrew is,
"Trust ye in Jehovah even for ever, for in Jah
Jehovah is the rock of unending ages." No translation, however, can give the force of the original.
It is, I think, even more emphatic than "the five
negatives," Heb. xiii. 5, on which you may have
seen some very delightful remarks in Nevins's Practical Thoughts. I think if I ever know enough of
Chinese to be of any service in translating the Bible
into it, I shall find it a very pleasant employment.
I find that in proportion as I closely examine
almost any passage, it presents gems more and more
sparkling. Thus, in the above passage, in addition
to the triple mention of the name Jehovah, the
peculiar name of God, as the Covenant God of his
people, the first "for ever" is literally. "eternities of
eternity;" and the last expression is "the rock of
everlastings." Well might the Psalmist (Ps. cxliv.
15,) say, "Happy is that people" (literally, 0 the
blessednesses of that people,) "whose God is
Jehovah."
Monday, Aug. 1st. Delightful weather and fair
progress; yesterday, forty-six miles direct; to-day,
fifty-six to the east, and three to the south; and
wind getting more favourable. If this weather continues, we hope to be in Singapore in less than three
weeks.
Tuesday, Aug. 2d. Still progressing at a very
fair rate. Saw the coast of Cochin China to-day,
about thirty or forty miles off. It is high and mountainous, but we have not gone near enough to see its
features very distinctly. The part we saw was Cape
Varela, or the Pagoda Cape-so called from a very




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      125
large rock on the side of the mountain, just behind
the cape. It has a very singular appearance.
Saturday, Aug. 6th. After going on swimmingly
for four or five days, we found ourselves beset by a
current yesterday, which became very strong to-day,
and has sent us a long way to the eastward. This
casts rather a damp over our spirits. Where we are
now, Lat. 110, is the narrowest part of the sea, and
if we meet a current anywhere it is likely to be
here. Could we only get two degrees further down,
we should probably be safe enough. To-day finishes
our forty-ninth day, and yet we are hardly more
than half way; yet the weather is fine, and we still
hope for the best, though I assure you it is quite
trying.  What shall the end of these things be?
Here I am all alone; no, not alone; for God is here,
and He whose Providence did so remarkably arrest
me a year ago, and turn my course from Africa to
China, and has brought me hitherto, will not now
desert me. Nothing encourages me so much in
regard to my labours in this mission, as the recollection that I have been sent here.  I should
never have come of my own free choice; and I am
sure that He who has sent me has work for me to do,
for which he will strengthen me. It may be he has
sufferings for me-to endure, and though the thought
of them almost makes me tremble, for the rod I have
felt on this voyage has been hard to bear, and for
the present grievous, yet will his grace therein be
sufficient for me. If he has neither work for me to
do, nor trials for me to bear, then my course is
almost done. And it is no further from this rough
sea to heaven, than from the soft beds, and the kind
and soothing attentions of home; and never, I trust,
either in this world, or in the world to come, shall I
regret that I have left father and mother, and
brethren and sisters, for the kingdom of heaven's
sake.
I could wish I had a Christian friend near. Even
this communion with you on paper, with "pen and
11 *




126       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
ink," when I "have many things to say," and cP 
write but a very few of them, is refreshing. How
often I think of you! —of the hasty breakfast that
morning; how Reuben was like a silent cricket all
the time; how Jane burst into tears when I came
away; of the meeting in the Mission rooms, and the
kind friends there; of the walk down to the ship,
when the sun shone out so clear; of the crowd, and
the bustle, and the hurry there; the parting!  I
can see you yet, waving your handkerchiefs for the
last time; brother John's last bles-sing yet sounds
in my ears; and I think how poor Elizabeth was
watching over Samuel's sick couch at the time.
Again, r see you, and father, and Reuben. Now,
the ship has moved, and I see you no more! It is
too much. I do not often weep; but sometimes:
and yet they are not tears of sorrow, but of affection,
and fond remembrance. In this world there are partings and sorrow. In this world there is perplexity
and disappointment; in this world we "shall have
tribulation."  But in heaven there is no more parting, and "no more sea;" no more tribulation, for
"sighing and sorrow shall flee away," not go away,
but flee away.
[The rest of this Journal was destroyed, as stated
on page 99.]
Manilla, September 1st, 1842.
MY DEAR MOTHER-... When my journal comes
to hand, which I hope it will before very long, you
will have a fuller account of the various adventures
and hair-breadth escapes, of the voyage from Macao
to this place. It is rough and uncouth in many
ways, but it has been a companion to me in loneliness and in dangers, and in pleasures. It made me
think of home and of friends when the storm howled




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      127
around me, and the billows tossed our ship as if
they would overwhelm her and us in the black
gulf beneath us. It made me think of home, too,
in the calm sunset hour at sea, and it brought the
tears to my eyes more than once, as the quiet hours
of the Saturday and the Sabbath closed around me.
I have laughed over some of its little tales, and wept
over others, and insensibly it grew like a friend in
whose welfare I was deeply interested, and when I
sat in my silent cabin and was sorrowful that I had
no friend to feel for me, or sympathize with me in
my solitude, I laid my hand upon its pages, and
said, Wait awhile; when she to whom it is addressed
has read it, I shall lack no sympathy; and the very
anticipation relieved me. Thus, though in itself
it has small merit, yet its associations and nameless
influences give it a value in my eyes, that I trust
will not be wholly wanting with you.
The houses here cover a great extent of ground,
and are two stories high; the ground floor is used
for offices, storage, servants' rooms, stables, &c., and
the people live on the second floor. A verandah
from  four to six feet wide runs all round the
second story of the house; about four feet of the
verandah from the floor is boarded up, and the rest
up to the eaves of the roof is occupied by sliding
frames, which are glazed, if I may use that word,
with mother-of-pearl shells, instead of glass. The
shells are cut into pieces about three inches square,
and being semi-transparent, admit abundance of
light, even when the verandah is all closed up.
GIass windows are not used at all, and as'there is
no winter here, there are neither stoves nor fireplaces. Just before my window there are two or
three plantain trees, shooting up their broad leaves.
One of the leaves before me, I should say, is nine
feet long, and two feet and a half broad, of a beautiful green, and gently waving with the wind. By
the side of the plantain is an areka tree, with
branches of leaves of a much darker green, the




128       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
branch of leaves being about half as long as a single
plantain leaf. Half a dozen or more plantain leaves
grow from the top of a plantain tree, and half a
dozen branches of leaves from the top of an areka
tree. Among the leaves of the areka tree, a couple
of little brown sparrows are now building their
nest; beyond these are a few tropical plants,
the names of which I do not know. By the side
of the house, in front of my window, flows a
branch of the river Pasig, in which I see a custom-house boat, with its sail-cloth awning; several bankahs, or row-boats, with mat awnings; several canoes, and several heavy boats for carrying
off cargo to the ships. On the other side of the
water are several houses, with their shell-glazed
verandahs, red tile roofs, and each house is surmounted by a cross; while over the roofs of the
houses I see the high steeple of the Binondo parish
church, once white, but now blackened and discoloured by age, with grass growing out of the cornices, and several bells in the cupola. One of the
houses opposite is the place for depositing cocoanut wine, where several large boats are loading and
unloading. This being a government monopoly, several sentinels are keeping guard at the gates.  This
being one of the hottest parts of the day, eleven
o'clock, A.M., very few Europeans are to be seen;
but there are a number of native men about. They
are very cleanly: their dress consists of a pair of
trowsers and a shirt, which hangs outside, and either
a handkerchief or a hat on the head. They use a
variety of colours for shirts and trowsers, but are
always very clean....
Yours, most affectionately,
W. M. LOWRIE.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     129
Manilla, Sept. 14th, 1842.
REV. J. C. LOWRIE —DEAR BROTHER-After spending about three weeks in Macao, and Hong Kong,
very busily, but very pleasantly, and accomplishing
all that seemed necessary at that time for the prosperity of the mission, a rather more than usually
favourable opportunity of proceeding to Singapore
was offered, which it seemed proper that I should
embrace. It was a clipper bark, built near Calcutta,
expressly for the trade between India and China,
and intended to run up and down the China Sea,
both with and against the monsoons. It is probably
known to most persons, that the monsoons are
periodical winds that prevail in the Bay of Bengal,
and among the islands that separate the Pacific and
the Indian Oceans.  Those that prevail in the
China Sea, are called the north-east and south-west
monsoons. The north-east monsoon is commonly
preceded by about a month of variable winds and
frequent calms, and commences blowing from the
north-east steadily in October. It continues till
some time in April; then follows nearly a month of
variable winds and calms, and about the first of
May the south-west monsoon sets in, blowing till
the middle or end of September, and sometimes to
the middle of October. This is the general division;
but these winds are subject to great irregularity in
their commencement and termination. For example;
when we went up the China Sea in May, in the
Huntress, we expected to have had the south-west
monsoon steadily, though gently, in our favour; but,
to our great disappointment, experienced calms and
light and variable winds during the whole of that
month. It was formerly thought useless for vessels
to attempt a passage through the China sea, against
either of the monsoons, but of late years fast-sailing
vessels, and particularly clippers, and clipper-built
ships, have very frequently succeeded in making a
passage in the course of from twenty-five to thirtyfive and forty days. In the year 1841, several ves



130       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
sels passed down the China Sea, from Macao to
Singapore, in the months of June, July, and August,
without any difficulty. Among others, the captain
of the Sea Queen, in which I took my passage, who
was then chief mate of another vessel, had made
the passage in thirty days, with delightful weather
the whole time.
The prospect of another month at sea, after having
just finished a four months' voyage, was not very
pleasant; but the instructions of the Committee and
the state of the mission seemed to require it, and
full of hope, and anticipating a pleasant voyage, and
safe arrival at Singapore,  embarked in the Sea
Queen, June 18. Our progress for two or three
weeks, though slow, was still tolerably good; and
as nothing else of special interest occurred to occupy
my attention, I had an opportunity of learning
something of the character and regulations of a
"country ship."  This is a term applied, not to vessels belonging to the natives of these countries, but
to vessels built in the East Indies, owned and commanded by Europeans, and manned by Hindus or
Malays.  The greater part of them  are built in
India, of the teak, and other hard woods of that
country, and their cordage is made of the fibres of
the husk of the cocoa-nut. They trade principally
between India and China, touching, however, at the
intermediate ports. They carry rice, opium, and
other articles to China, and return with teas, silks,
Chinese manufactures, and the like, to India; frequently making two, and occasionally three voyages in a year....
It is of course necessary for the officers to acquire
some knowledge of the Bengali language, as the
crew cannot be expected to learn English. A very
small smattering, however, commonly serves their
purpose, consisting simply of the nautical terms
necessary for the regulation of the ship: (barra bras,
mainbrace; garva bras, topsail-brace; deman, sheet;
stringee, clewline; bobber, weather; barraka, sea, &c.)




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       131
The serang and tindals are supposed to know so
much of what is needful, for the management of the
ship, as to require but little direction from the
higher officers......
For ten days we made tolerably good progress;
we then had a week of calms.'Nothing is more
trying at sea than a calm: yet it is true that
scarcely any sight is so beautiful as that of the
ocean in a perfect calm,-provided it does not last
too long. The water then becomes of a blue colour,
as beautiful as that of a field of flax in bloom: a few
light or golden clouds float in the sky, or mirror
themselves in the sea: while all around the surface
of the water is calm, and smooth as glass, varied
only by a heaving, as gentle as that of a sleeping
infant's bosom. 7Now and then a faint light air
causes a gentle simmer or a ripple on the water, like
the smile on an infant's face when dreams are pleasant in its soul. Especially is the sight beautiful
in the evening, when the sun's last rays are
reflected from the resplendent wave, and a sea of
liquid  gold seems to mingle with the bending
heavens. I have sat by the ship's side for hours,
gazing around, and mentally exclaiming: No earthly
painter, and no earthly pencil, ever drew such gorgeous, such delicate, and such beautiful scenes as
these, and yet, they are but transient reflections of
that glorious polace, where, though "there is no
more sea, such as here we cross, yet there is a
"sea of glass, clear as crystal," and that glass not
frail and perishable as ours; but "pure gold, transparent as glass."  Surely to stand on that sea of
glass, having the harps of God, and to sing the song
of Moses and the Lamb, will amply repay a few
years of toil, and disappointment, and suffering, on
the restless sea of life.
Yet, beautiful as were many of the scenes witnessed in the calms, nothing is more wearisome,
and we were soon so tired of them, that we wished
for any other kind of weather. The S. W. monsoon




132      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
soon recommenced, and blew very strongly. The
weather became unsettled, and during the course
of a month, we had almost constant gales, during
which we lost our maintop-gallant-mast, and had so
many- sails torn by the wind, that sometimes we
had not a topsail to spread. In addition to the
strong wind, and heavy sea, (for three weeks we
had not a dry deck to walk upon, on account of the
constant breaking of the sea over it,) we were exceedingly embarrassed by adverse currents. Several
days, when we thought we had made tolerably
good progress to the south-west, we found, by
observations, that we had actually been carried ten
and twenty miles to the north-east. If our ship had
not been almost new, she could scarcely have sustained the strain that came upon her. As it was,
it was necessary to have the men at the pumps two
or three times every day. As may be supposed, in
such circumstances, our progress was exceedingly
slow. We frequently lost as much in one day as
we had gained in three or four; and after beating
about for thirty-one days, we found ourselves,
August 11, only one hundred miles nearer Singapore than on the 10th of July preceding.....
It has often been said, and with truth, that no
trial which a missionary experiences, is greater
than that of being deprived of the advantages of
Christian society, and of the privileges of the sanctuary. Such I found to be the case; and it was
difficult at times to refrain from tears, when the
Sabbath came round, and the recollection of its
peaceful and hallowed scenes at home rose before
me, in contrast with the solitude of the dark and
foam-crested waves, where, alone, I had no fellowChristian with whom to worship God. Truly,
"blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they
will be still praising thee." But it was pleasant to
think, and to experience that those who enjoy these
external privileges, do not monopolize all the blessing.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      133
"Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, in
whose heart are the ways of them....
Finding at last that we could not make head
against the currents, and that our provisions were
nearly exhausted, we very reluctantly turned about,
and shaped our course for Manilla, where we arrived
safely, August 3d, sixty-six days after leaving
Macao. And yet, great as was our disappointment,
we found abundant cause for gratitude. The bad
weather we had experienced had extended over a
large part of the China Sea. An English vessel had
been wrecked, not far from ours. Her captain and
mate were drowned, and the crew obliged to go to
Manilla, in their boats. Several other vessels had
been driven back with damage, and almost all the
vessels in Manilla Bay had dragged their anchors,
while one or two of them were driven on shore.
Yet we had escaped without any serious injury.
I arrived at Manilla a perfect stranger, not knowing even the name of a single person here. There
were no Protestant missionaries in the Philippine
Islands, and Manilla is almost the only port from
Chusan in China to Calcutta in India, where I could
not have found persons whom I knew, or with whom,
from similarity of pursuits, I could not speedily
have formed an acquaintance. Yet I had not been
ashore an hour, before I found myself most perfectly
at home in the house of Mr. Moore, a merchant
from Boston, and at present acting as United States
vice-consul.
Such, dear brother, is my story. It may give
you an idea of some of the difficulties of the navigation of the China Sea, and lead you to unite your
thanks with mine for the goodness of God which
has so manifestly attended me.....
Your affectionate brother,
W. M. LowmLE.
12




134       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
SHIPWRECK OF THE HARMONY.
Having engaged a passage from Manilla to Singapore in the Harmony, I went on board with the
captain about noon, September 18, 1842, and found
Messrs. M. and G., my two fellow-passengers,
already there. It was quite calm, and we did not
start till eight o'clock, P. M., when a fine breeze
sprang up, and as the moon was shining brightly,
we got under weigh, set studding-sails alow and
aloft, and went off in full sail. The ship was deeply laden with more than six hundred tons of sugar,
and drew nineteen feet of water. She was counted
one of the fastest sailing British merchantmen in
the Chinese waters; but with such a cargo the captain feared she would not sail as well as usual.
However, she kept up with the Cecilia, a swift
English bark, and not- near so deeply laden. It
was a lovely night, and everything looked so favourable that we were all in high spirits, and had great
hopes of a speedy voyage. By daylight next morning* we were fifteen or twenty miles outside of
Corregidor, which was much better success than we
had allowed ourselves to anticipate.
It was quite calm during Monday morning: but
in the afternoon a breeze sprang up. The Cecilia
had gone ahead of us; but when this breeze fairly
set in we caught up with her, and in three or four
hours had left her five miles astern.  This settled
the point of the Harmony's sailing, and gave us
great hopes of her future performances. The breeze
gradually increased to a gale, and on Wednesday
morning we were under double-reefed topsails, with
a tremendous sea astern.  I was strongly reminded
of the waves in a gale off the Cape of Good Hope.
* We sailed on Sabbath, September 18th. It was Manilla Saturday,
and I observed Monday, September 19th, as Sabbath. The day before
had been observed as Sabbath by the men, who had nothing to do
except to get the ship under weigh in the evening. As we sailed on
Sabbath the "morning" above mentioned was Monday morning.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      135
The vessel being very deeply laden, shipped a great
deal of water: immense waves piled themselves up
several feet above the bulwarks, and came tumbling
in on deck, and the cabin was flooded with water
several times. I was standing by the cabin door
once, when a sea came over the ship's side, and
before it was possible to escape, the water was up
over my knees. The gale increased to a storm by
noon, (Wednesday,) and though we were going right
before it, its violence was so great that we were at
last obliged to lie to, under a close-reefed main-topsail, and foretopmast-staysail. Being from the east,
it had helped us on wonderfully in our course.
The gale moderated during the night, and the sun
shone out the next day, though the sea continued
rough. Friday was a pleasant day; and my seasickness being now over, everything was agreeable.
Being now pretty well acquainted with the ship,
the comparisons I made between her and the Sea
Queen, in which my last voyage was made, were by
no means favourable to the latter. The Harmony
was a superior vessel in every respect, except that
her cabins, though all on deck, were not so well ventilated as those of the Sea Queen. But the masts,
rigging, and sails of the Harmony were stronger and
neater. She was a better sailer; her crew were
Englishmen, and her steward, (an important consideration to a passenger,) though by no means a neat,
driving fellow, was so far superior to the filthy
butler of the Sea Queen, that the two should not be
named on the same day. There were a few cockroaches, but no ants or centipedes. Her captain
was a stout, hearty, good-humoured Scotchman, with
somewhat of the Scotch pronunciation and accent.
He was an intelligent and independent man, a perfect sailor, full of sailor phrases, and as fond of his
ship as if she were his wife. He was kind and yet
strict with his men, and was therefore liked and
obeyed by them. He used no profane language,




136       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
(certainly never in my presence,) and was very
attentive to the wants of his passengers.
Saturday, September 24, was a cloudy day, wind
from the west, and our course nearly south. The
captain could not get an observation of the sun, but,
by his reckoning, we were at noon in lat. 11 deg.
53 min. N., and long. 114 deg. 20 min. E. This was
a very unpleasant position, being but fifteen or
twenty miles north of the North Danger-a small
island, with not a tree on it, and a reef all around,
which marks the north-western limit of the dangerous archipelago of shoals in the China Sea. Accordingly, every effort was made to get to the westward,
but the wind now became unsteady, veering about
so much, that it was hardly possible to keep the
ship on any course, except to the north-east, which
was directly contrary to the course we wished
to go.
Sabbath morning (Sept. 25) was dark, cloudy, and
squally: there was a heavy sea, and a rolling ship,
with frequent showers, a hazy atmosphere, and
exceedingly baffling winds. About ten o'clock A. M.,
the wind became steady at S. W.; ship went off W.
N. W. five or six miles an hour, under doublereefed-topsails, and the weather began to look less
threatening. At noon the captain came down and
changed his wet clothes, being the third time that
day, and said the prospects were more favourable.
We had tiffin, and he remarked incidentally, that
he had just been sending men aloft, but no dangers
were to be seen, as the sea was clear on all sides.
We were all in excellent spirits, and amused ourselves with conjectures as to the probable length of
our voyage. After tiffin the captain took his segar
and went on deck, and the passengers exchanged
a few more sentences as to the time of arrival at
Singapore, and were about quietly reclining on the
sofas to read, when the ship struck against some
obstacle with tremendous violence. It impeded her
onward motion in a moment. We started to our




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      137
feet; again she struck, and again she reeled like
a drunken man. The deck quivered beneath our
fleet; and on going out we found the men running
about, the officers giving their orders, and the terrified steward groaning and wringing his hands at the
cabin door. So violent were the strokes, that I was
apprehensive of the ship being broken to pieces,
and ran to get my life-preserver. By the time I
had it half inflated, the ship had beaten over the
shoal, and I went up on the poop-deck. The captain had changed the ship's course, and I found him
giving his orders, and pacing the deck in great agitation. The shock had been so sudden and unexpected, that he, as well as every one else, was
taken completely by surprise. I had scarcely time
to speak to him, or to reply to some observation
that he made to me, when the vessel struck again
with even greater violence. The sea was boiling in
short uneasy waves on all sides, and we seemed to
be above some deeply sunken rock, on which the
ship's bottom was dashed every time she sunk in
the hollow of the waves. Through the violence of
the blows, large pieces of her keel were broken off,
and rose to the surface; and the copper was torn
off in masses from her bottom. At one time we
could both see andfeel the middle of the ship rising
up, while her stem and stern sank down. In sailor's
phrase, her "back was broken," and for a moment I
fully expected she would break in two.
It was an awful. time: a strong wind; a heavy
rain falling, and an unquiet and restless sea; yet
there were no breakers and no discoloured watersthe usual signs of a shoal, —and although in the
intervals of rain we could see at least ten miles on
every side, yet there was neither island, rock nor
breakers in sight; nor any other sign of danger.
Of this I am certain, for the captain requested me
to look round and see; nay even when we were
upon the shoal we could see nothing, for I looked
over the ship's side when she was striking most
12*




138      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
heavily, and nothing was visible beneath the dark
waters. Such shocks must be as dreadful as those
of an earthquake, perhaps more so. They were the
blows of an unseen enemy, and we could not tell at
what moment we might receive another which
should send us at once to the bottom.
The pumps were immediately manned, and the
water that came up tasted sweet; it had already
reached the sugar in the hold. On sounding the
well, threefeet of water was found. The four pumps
were kept constantly going, the main hatchway
opened and sugar thrown overboard to lighten the
vessel, but this was soon abandoned. Some of the
men were employed in getting the boats ready in
case of emergency; we packed up a few clothes
and valuables in as small a compass as possible, and
waited in suspense for the result. As you may
well imagine, I was on my knees more than once.
It was a solemn time: but my mind was kept in a
calm and composed frame.
We struck about half-past one, P. M. In less than
an hour the vessel had three feet of water in the
hold. In two hours more it had increased to six
feet; in less than another hour there was seven, and
in twenty minutes more sevenfeet and six inches; and
this though the four pumps were kept constantly
going, and all drawing well. It was now near five
o'clock, P. M., and it being evident that the ship must
sink, the pumps were abandoned and the boats got
ready. It was very providentially ordered for us
that the masts had not fallen when the ship struck
so violently, as, in that case, it would have been
difficult to get the long boat out. It was after dark,
perhaps nearly seven o'clock, when the boats were
ready, and we found it a work of difficulty and danger to get into them; for with the heavy sea running they rose and fell more than ten feet every
minute. It was arranged that twenty-one, including
the captain and passengers, should go in the long
boat, and the mate and seven men in the jolly boat.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     139
We managed to get in about seven o'clock, and
pushed off from the ship. She was then settling
fast in the water, which was already nearly on a
level with her deck. The lights were left urniag
in her cabin, and the noble ship, which on that
very day one year before commenced her first voyage, was left a shattered, sinking wreck. We
wanted to see her go down, but as the sea was
rolling heavily, wind high, and a drenching rain
falling, it was neither comfortable nor safe to stay
by her, and we kept the boats before the sea by
means of small pieces of canvass. They had four oars
in the jolly boat, and we had had as many, but three
of them were broken in keeping the boat from dashing against the ship's side: thus we found ourselves
in the open sea, four hundred miles from land,
with only a single oar. A heavy rain fell almost
constantly till midnight, from which we could have
no protection, and in a few minutes we were
drenched with the rain and the spray, which every
now and then dashed over us. The boat, with so
many persons in, was very deep in the water; and
to add to our discomfort and apprehensions, leaked
a good deal, so that one person was constantly
employed in bailing her out. About midnight the
wind and sea abated somewhat, the clouds dispersed
a little, the moon dimly glimmered in the sky, and
we kept on slowly to the north. Owing to the weather, I had slept almost none the night before,
and exhausted with want of sleep, anxiety and fatigue, I managed to rest a little towards morning,
though how or where it would be hard to say.
On Monday we rigged a couple of masts, and
with a royal studding-sail, and main sky-sail, which
had been thrown into the boat, we mustered a very
respectable foresail and mainsail, using our whole
oar, and one of the broken oars for yards. The
boat was then lightened, by throwing overboard
everything that could possibly be spared; the baggage and provisions were packed as neatly as possl



140      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
ble, and a man and boy taken in from the jolly boat,
which made our whole number nineteen men and
four boys; a large number for a boat only twentyone feet long, and eight feet broad. The provisions
were then examined, and we found there was bread
enough to last a week or ten days, but that we had
a very small quantity of water. There could not
have been more than eight or ten gallons. This
was a cause of no little anxiety, for by our calculations we could not be less than four hundred miles
from Manilla, (whither we now directed our course,)
and at that season of the year, calms, and even
head winds, which would make our passage long,
were not unlikely to occur. Accordingly all hands
were put on an allowance of half a pint of water
daily, and bread in moderation.  The water was
served out twice a day in a cup which held a gill,
and all drank out of the same cup. I had put a
little keg of crackers on board, which kept dry
when all the rest were wet with rain and salt water,
and also a small box of raisins, which proved very
acceptable. We had a few cheeses and some cocoanuts, the milk of which served us for two davs,
thus making a great saving in our little stock of
water.
This (Monday) was a tolerably pleasant day.
Pieces of canvass were nailed round the sides of the
boat to keep out the spray, and having a fair light
wind, we made some progress on our course. The
sun shone out brightly in the afternoon, and dried
our wet clothes, and most of us slept well that night.
We began to cherish hopes of arriving at some land
ere long.
Tuesday was a terrible day. Not a cloud in the
sky; scarcely a breath of wind, and the hot sun of
the torrid zone beating full upon us. There was
but one umbrella in the boat, and we could not hoist
an awning: but being sunburnt, and even blistered,
was the least evil. Half a pint of water on such a
day, when tantalized by the sight of an ocean of




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      141
water, so clear but so salt, was a small allowance,
and I almost prayed to be swallowed up in the
raging sea, rather than be suffered to linger in so
dreadful a condition. Yet there was no murmuring,
and we all kept up our spirits.
As the jolly boat sailed much faster than ours,
it was thought best she should go on ahead. She
could be of no service to us, nor we to her, by
keeping company, and by going on, she might escape
danger, and even find means of assisting us. Accordingly she left us this afternoon, and we afterwards regretted deeply that she had not done so
sooner. This night I slept badly; the baggage
had been shifted to put the boat in better sailing
trim, and there was not room to place one's self
comfortably; lying down was at any time out of
the question, for want of room. A fine favourable
breeze sprang up soon after dark, and we made
good progress.
On Wednesday the breeze became stronger, with
a heavy sea. We went rapidly on, and in our lonely course found amusement in watching the large
flocks of boobies that in some places almost covered
the sea. They came around us in great numbers,
and alighted on the yards, and even on the sides of
the boat. In his eagerness to catch one the boatswain fell overboard, affording us all a hearty laugh
at his expense. Several showers fell near us about
dark, and we hoped to have caught some water, but
could not.  Slept miserably.  In the part of the
boat where I was, which was about six feet by
eight in size, there were four persons to sleep, and
one constantly employed in baling out the water.
Thursday morning commenced with rain, which
soon wet us to the skin; but we did not mind that,
for we caught several buckets-full of water, which,
in the low ebb of our water-cask, gave us great joy;
and we ate our breakfast in high spirits. For fear
of suffering from thirst, I ate but little, seldom




142      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
taking more than three small crackers a day, and a
mouthful of cheese with a bunch of raisins.
From the progress we had made the night before,
we had great hopes of seeing land either to-day, or
early on the following, but we soon began to think
of other things. About ten o'clock the wind rose,
the sea ran very high, and frequent squalls of wind
and rain darkened the heavens and drenched us to
the skin. The captain sent the best helmsman to
the tiller, and sat down himself by the compass, and
for eight long hours he did not move from his seat.
Conversation ceased; and scarcely a word was uttered in all that time, except the orders from the
captain to the helmsman, "Port! Port your helm,
quick! Hard a-port! Starboard now! Mind your
port-helm," &c. Many a longing, anxious look did
we cast before us to see if there were any signs of
land; but still more to the west, to see if the gale
gave signs of abating. But no! Darker and darker
grew  the heavens over us; higher and higher
rose the sea; louder and louder still roared the
waves as they rushed past our little boat, and faster
fell the rain. If a single one of those waves had
come over the boat's side, it would have overwhelmed and swallowed up the boat, and every one
on board; and it was only by the utmost care and
skill that she was kept before them.
Death never seemed so near before. An emotion of sorrow passed through my mind, as I thought
of my friends at home who would, probably, be long
in suspense in regard to my fate; and of regret, as
I thought of the work for which I had come; but
for myself, my mind was kept in peace. I knew
in whom I had believed, and felt that He was able
to save; and though solemn in the near prospect of
eternity, I felt no fear, and had no regret that I had
perilled my life in such a cause.
Thus the day wore away, and night approached
without any signs of more moderate weather. The
wind was now so strong, and the sea so high, that




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      143
it was with the utmost danger that we could hold
on our course. Everything was wet, and we tried
in vain to get a light for the compass; besides, by
our calculations, we could not be more than thirty
or forty miles from land; and at the rate we were
going, should reach it about midnight; but to attempt to land in such a sea, in the dark, would be
madness itself. What could we do?  Backwards,
or sideways, we could not go, on account of the sea;
to go forward was to throw our lives away; to
remain where we were, even if it were possible, seemed
to be remaining in the very jaws of death. It was,
however, our only hope, if hope it could be called,
and accordingly preparations were made for heaving
the boat to.  The foresail was taken down, and
securely fastened to the yard; the largest cord we
could muster (about thirty fathoms) attached to this
and to the boat. The mainsail was then lowered.
and watching our opportunity, the foresail was
thrown overboard, cord paid out, and the boat's
head turned to the wind.  This last was a most
erilous operation; for had a wave struck her while
er broadside was exposed to it, all would have
been over with us. The plan, however, succeeded
admirably.  The little foresail being between the
wind and the boat, it served to break the force of
the waves; and as it lay flat on the water, it was
not acted on by the wind; and thus served also as
an anchor to keep the boat's head to the wind.
We then had the mainsail hoisted up in the form of
a staysail, to keep the boat steady, and thus we
were hove to.
For a while, the result was very uncertain. The
wind howled past us with a force that made every
plank in the boat quiver; the rain fell in torrents,
with the violence of small hailstones, nearly all the
night; and we could hear the great waves as they
formed and rose away ahead of us, and then rushed
toward us, with a sound like the whizzing of an immense rocket. Sometimes they would strike us as




144       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
if with a heavy hammer, causing the boat to jump
bodily away; and then again, their white, foaming,
phosphorescent crests would be piled up by our
sides, as if, the next moment, they would dash in
and overwhelm us in an instant. There we lay,
packed together so closely that we could scarcely
move; while every now and then, a dash of spray
came over us, covering us with pale phosphoric
sparks that spread a dim and fearful light for a few
inches around. Oh, it was a dreadful night! There
was distress and perplexity, the sea and the waves
roaring, and men's hearts failing them for fear.
Not one of our company, I will venture to say, had
any expectation of seeing the light of another day.
For myself, I thought deliberately of each and every
member of our family, and breathed a silent farewell to each: of many of my friends by name, of
former scenes and seasons: of various missionary
fields, and offered prayers for each and all: of my
own past life, and of the certainty, for so it then
seemed to me, that in a few hours I should enter on
the untried realities of which I had so often thought.
I know not that my mind was ever in a calmer
state, or that I could more deliberately reflect on
what I wished to fix my thoughts upon: and though
I could not feel those clear convictions of my safety
I have sometimes felt, yet my faith was fixed on
the Rock of Ages, and death seemed to have but
few terrors for me. In such a night, and with such
expectations, it was wrong to sleep; and though
benumbed with the rain and cold, and almost exhaiusted for want of rest, I did not close my eyes
during the whole time. Many precious Scripture
truths passed through my mind; such as-" When
thou passest through the waters I will be with thee,
and through the rivers, they shall not overflow
thee," which I applied to myself in a spiritual manner; for, situated as we were, I could scarcely expect to have them literally fulfilled. I know not
when I felt more strongly the delightful sublimity




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.    145
of the expression, "He holdeth the waters in the
hollow of his hand," or the feeling of security even
for the body, which for a moment it gave me.
As you may suppose, there were few words
spoken, and the only sound we heard, besides the
wind and rain and the roaring sea, was that of the
boys baling out the water. Towards two or three
o'clock in the morning, (by our conjectures, for we
had no light to see with,) the wind and sea seemed
to abate, and finding we shipped very little water,
we began to hope that our lives might yet be spared.
The morning slowly dawned, but as it dawned the
wind and sea increased. As soon as we could see,
the foresail was hauled in and hoisted to the wind,
and the mainsail spread, and we commenced again
our perilous course. Soon the cry, "Land ho!" was
raised, and when the morning had fairly dawned,
we saw it stretching along right before us, about ten
miles off. We must have been driven many miles
during the night to be so near it. Soon our hopes
were greatly excited, for the land had the appearance precisely of that about the entrance of Manilla
Bay. We could see what we took to be Point Hornos, Mount Mariveles, the island Corregidor, and
the Lora Mountains; and we were filled with joy
at the prospect of so soon ending our voyage.
We steered directly for the land, meaning to get
behind some projecting point, and wait till the sea
became calm. Meanwhile, however, the wind and
sea rose again; the heavens became black behind
us, and there was a great rain. To our sorrow,
also, we found that we had mistaken the land, for
none of us had ever seen it before. But it was too
late to go back, the squall was upon us; and though
the rain fell so fast that we could not see more than
twenty yards, yet on we must go. There was a
little island on the right, and the captain was on
the point of steering the boat so as to get round
under its lee, when we saw heavy breakers right
ahead. We turned off to the left, though at an
13




146      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
imminent risk, for this brought our broadside to the
sea, and several light waves dashed over us.
There were breakers on the left too, but we were
directed in a channel, between them, and rounding
a projecting point of rocks, we saw a little cove
sheltered from the wind, and as smooth as an inland
lake. Soon our boat touched the bottom, only a
few yards from the shore. We jumped overboard,
secured her by ropes to two or three trees, and we
were safe! It was a time of joy. With one consent, we gathered together under the trees, and
offered up our thanksgiving and praises to God,
with prayers for future assistance and protection.
It was a scene worthy of a painter's skill, —our
little boat fastened to the trees, our scanty baggage
piled upon the shore, and ourselves under the custard-apple trees, standing with upturned faces,
while the rain dropped upon our bare heads, as we
lifted up our voices, and I trust our hearts also, to
that God who had held the winds in his fist, and
the waters in the hollow of his hand, and had
brought us through dangers which we never expected to survive. It was well we came in when
we did, for it was then high tide, and a few hours
later the channel through which we had passed,
was itself one mass of breakers. Our boat would
inevitably have been dashed to pieces there, and
some, if not all of us, would have perished among
the waves.
After all due attention to our boat, and having
refreshed ourselves with biscuit, raisins, cheese, and
plenty of water, (for there were several streams only
a few yards from our landing place,) our next care
was to find where we were. We knew it to be an
island, for as we came in we had seen land at a
great distance eastward, which we supposed to be
Luconia; but we were not certain whether we were
north or south of the entrance of Manilla Bay.
From a little point hard by the landing-place, we
saw a telegraph station on a hill, and thus con



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWR1E.     147
eluded that the island was inhabited, and probably
by Spaniards. Accordingly, Captain Smith,. Mr.
G., (who spoke both Spanish and English,) and myself, started to discover what we might. Chun Sing
brought me a cutlass that had been saved in the
long boat; but being a man of peace, I told him to
take it to the captain, and armed myself simply
with a walking-stick.  Thus accoutred, we set off;
but Mr. G., weakened by exposure and want of
food, broke down in less than three hundred yards,
and declared he could go no further. He went back
to the company we had left by the boat, and the
captain and myself went on alone to the telegraph
station. We found it deserted. Thence we kept
on, and soon saw a bullock tied by the nose, a pile
of boards and some paddy (rice) fields; sure signs
that inhabitants were near. We were now joined
by about a dozen of the sailors, two of whom had
cutlasses, and the rest walking-sticks, and a Portuguese, who had been in the long boat, and spoke a
little Spanish and English. Altogether we were a
remarkable looking company, and being high in
spirits from our late wonderful escape, we went on
right merrily, save that our mirth was often checked
by allusions to the other boat. We all thought she
was lost, judging it impossible she could have
weathered such a gale, and that all on board must
have perished.
Finrding a narrow path, we followed it over a hill
and down a little valley, and presently came to a
pumpkin field, in which was a little native house,
and some Indians eating boiled pumpkins. They
very kindly gave us some, and one of them who
spoke Spanish told us there was a village about a
mile ofi; where the Resguardo, (an officer under the
Spaniards,) would receive and entertain us. He
went along to show the road, and off we went, but
instead of one mile it must have been three. We
crossed hills, went through valleys, picked our way
among bushes, through mud half-knee deep, and




148      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
along the sea-shore, fording a great many small
brooks, and being wet several times with rain; but
we were used to the rain, and did not regard that.
The sand got into my shoes, and I had to go barefoot most of the way. We passed several natives
cutting wood; met several riding on bullocks, one
of whom was so polite as to take off his hat when
he saw us; and at length came to the village. It
was a collection of some twenty or thirty huts by
the sea-shore, and all the windows and doors of the
houses were crowded with women and children, who
gazed at us as if we had fallen from the skies.
Our guide led us to the house of the Resguardo,
when who should come running to meet us but Mr.
Fillin (the mate) and one of the men who had gone
in the jolly boat. "Oh, captain," said the former,
"is this you? How  many of you are saved?"
"Thank God, we are all safe, but I thought you
were lost! Are you all alive?" "l've lost four men,
sir!"
They had arrived in sight of land the previous
afternoon about four o'clock, and when some four
miles off, a tremendous sea came upon them, turned
the boat clear end over end, and threw them all
into the sea. Two or three clung to the boat, but
were washed off by the waves; another (the best
swimmer in the ship) tried to swim ashore, but must
have been dashed against the rocks and carried out
by a back current; while the mate and this other
man, taking each an oar, had made for the land, and
succeeded in getting ashore, through the surf,
though with great difficulty and danger. Mr. F.
was much bruised and cut about the feet by the
coral rocks, and for two or three days was scarcely
able to move. They had spent the night upon the
rocks near the place where they landed. The next
morning they found their boat and the oars, but saw
no signs of their companions. They then started
to find a house, and after several hours of very
laborious walking, arrived at this village, only half




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     140
an hour before we did, and were just telling the
people they supposed all the rest of the ship's company were lost, when we came in sight. It was a
Joyful, yet a sorrowful meeting.
The people of the house received us kindly, and
gave us hot coffee, eggs and sweet cakes, which, in
our condition, dripping wet and cold, were very
acceptable indeed. The house was crowded full of
people, old and young, to gaze at us, and a big Manilla bloodhound in the corner gave us surly growls
by way of music. It was Friday, Sept. 30, when
we landed. We stopped in the village of Loc,
island of Luban, at the house of Senor Nicolas Perralta, the chief man of the village, and an Indian,
there being no Spaniards on the island. We stayed
there two days, and were treated with much kindness by Senor Perralta, who gave us his own best
room for our lodging. It was not furnished with
beds, but we slept on the bare and not very even
floor with much comfort, when we compared it with
the crowded rough bottom of the long-boat. The
inhabitants were poor, and we bought our own provisions, which our own cook and steward prepared
for us.
But my story is growing too long, and I must
draw it to a close.  We remained in Luban two
days; then hired a potine, or native schooner, with
" mucho mulos velos!" amazingly torn and ragged
sails, for $100, in which we left Luban on Sabbath
morning, Oct. 2, for Manilla, (according to Manilla
time, which we then used, it was Saturday.) We
reached Manilla about two o'clock, P. M., the next
day. The silly captain of the potine had almost
wrecked us again in a squall off Corregidor at midnight, and had it not been for Captain Smith's presence of mind, who sent one of his own men to the
helm, and took command himself, we should certainly have been cast away on the rocks of Point
Limbones.
Mr. and Mrs. Moore and Mr. G. Sturgis were
13*




150      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
seated at the fruit table when I re-entered their
house. For a while they could scarce believe their
eyes, and it was not till I spoke that they could
believe it was the same person who had left them
only two weeks before in full hope of a speedy voyage to Singapore. They received me most kindly.
Great was the sympathy expressed by all classes
in Manilla. The news of our shipwreck and wonderful escape spread like wildfire, for every one had
seen and admired the Harmony, and every one knew
and liked her captain. I received my full share of
sympathy; but as an offset to this, had also the
satisfaction of hearing that many of the sailors in
the harbour attributed the loss of the vessel entirely
to her having that -   clergyman on board! The
long-boat was visited and inspected by many in
Manilla, who could scarce believe it possible that
twenty-three persons had been stowed away in so
small a space; and how we weathered such a gale,
which was severely felt in the roads at Manilla,
where many ships had dragged their anchors, was
a wonder to all. Captain Cole, of the Delhi, a large
American vessel, which had been obliged to lie to
in the same gale, told me he considered our escape
little less than miraculous. Indeed the more I have
heard of the ravages of that gale, the more I am
astonished at our escape. During the very time we
were most exposed to its fury in the long-boat, a
Spanish vessel, was driven ashore on Luconia and
lost, and the Conrade, an English vessel, was thrown
on her beam ends, dismasted and finally foundered,
while one-half of her crew were drowned.
When I look back and consider how many wonderful circumstances conspired to secure our safety
in the midst of most imminent danger, it is hard to
believe that it has been a reality. It seems, even
now, like some terrible dream from which I have
hardly yet awaked.
It was most providential for us that the ship
struck by day, and not by night; that her masts




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      151
did not go overboard when she struck, as they certainly would have done, had she not been a new
and strong vessel; that we got safely into the boats
in the dark with that heavy sea running; that we
had provisions enough, and sails when our oars were
broken; that we weathered that severe gale; that
by daylight we were so near the land; that we
escaped the breakers by coming in at high tide;
that we found that little sheltered cove; that we
met such kind treatment at Luban; that we arrived
safely at Manilla, notwithstanding the dangers of
Corregidor, and that none of us (so far as i know)
have suffered any serious inconvenience from so
much exposure to sea, and sun, and wind, and rain.
All that 1 experienced was a soreness in my limbs
and a slight fever for several hours after we
landed on Luban. I cut a walking-stick the day we
left that island, which has been mounted and sent
to my father as a memento of that wonderful deliverance, and I am sure that all our family will join
me in the prayer, that the life thus spared may be
devoted to Him who first gave it to me, and now
has rescued it from the engulfing sea; that though
I shall not attain to the eminence of that Moses
who was drawn out of the waters, I may yet, in
some humble degree, be like him-a leader to rescue God's chosen people in China, and lead them
like a flock in the green pastures of his holy word.
I must not omit to mention two other items of
great importance, in which the hand of God was
manifested for our preservation; the first was that
the cord, which, by means of the foresail, held the
boat's head to the wind, did not chafe or give way,
notwithstanding the constant strain upon it. We
were very apprehensive of this, for it was not as
thick as a man's thumb, and our lives seemed to depend upon that little cord. The second was that
the heavy gale we had on Thursday and Thursday
night was from the west. Had it been an easterly
gale, like the one we experienced in the same place




1.52     MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
only nine days before, it would either have entirely
overwhelmed us, or else have sent us half way to
Cochin China. Even the heavy rain, uncomfortable
as it was, tended to our safety, for it kept the sea
from raging as it would otherwise have done. A
heavy rain has something of the effect of oil on the
waters. It keeps the waves down.
As so manv persons were to go in the long boat
it was impossible to save anything, except absolute
necessaries and valuables of small size. All I saved,
therefore, was my watch, my pencil case given by
Mr. B., what little specie I had in the vessel, (about
$100 in gold,) the clothes on my back, and a few
other articles of dress, my Bible, and my cloak.
Everything was wet through by the rain and salt
water, except my Bible, which I had taken the precaution to envelope in the thick fold of the cloak,
and which was thus only slightly damp. Everything
else was abandoned. Fortunately I had but a
small part of my books with me, perhaps one-fifth.
Among these were all my Chinese books; a volume
of Flavel, which I prize above its weight in gold; a
number of valuable papers, and all my written sermons. With my clothes and other articles thus
abandoned, were some parcels sent from the missionaries in China to their friends in Singapore,
Bangkok and Malacca.
Arrived at Manilla, it was with some difficulty I
Gould muster a suit of clothes to "go ashore." I
had my coat and pantaloons, a pair of slippers, a
shirt without bosom and collar, a pair of woollen
stockings, and a cap that barely covered my head.
I had no vest, but that was concealed by buttoning
the coat; collars are not indispensable, and
borrowed a rusty black cravat from Capt. Smith,
who happened to have two or three. In such a
suit, with my sunburnt face, (from which the skin
all peeled off in a few days,) my Luban walkingstick, and my cloak on my arm, I set foot in Mlan



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       153
illa again. But I was among kind friends. Mr.
and Mrs. Moore supplied every want.
I was at some loss, then, what course to take, but
finally thought it best to return to China. Mr.
Elgar, the brother of Mrs. Moore, gave me a free
passage to Hong Kong, in a vessel of which he was
part owner, and for that place I embarked October
10th, with several fellow-passengers. When we left
Manilla, in the Harmony, the port-captain, who
came off to give the ship her clearance, was very
merry, and said to me, "Ah, senor padre, vengas
casar senor Moore i" (Ah, sir priest, you only came
here to marry Mr. Moore.) But when he came to
give the Diana her clearance, his manner was quite
altered, and almost melancholy, as he said, "Ah,
senor padre, no otro' matrimonio! no otro matrimonio!
We reached Hong Kong safely, though after a
rather rough passage, on the 17th of October; just
four months after I had left Macao for Singapore.
Through what varied scenes I had passed, yet out
of them all the Lord delivered me. In the Sea
Queen I had an opportunity of studying the first
part of Acts xxvii. From my experience on board
the Harmony, I have come to a better understanding
of the latter part of the same chapter.
" Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children
of men. And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of
thanksgivings, and declare his works with rejoicing.
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in the great waters, these see the works of the
Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth
up the waves thereof. They mount up to the
heavens, they go down again to the depths; their
soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and
fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at
their wits' end. Then they cry unto the Lord,
and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He




154      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof
are still. Then they are glad, because they be
quiet. So he bringeth them to their desired haven."
W. M. LOWRIE.
Macao, December 17th, 1842.
MY DEAR FATHER-The Bazaar arrived here today from Singapore, of which I was infornmed by
having a packet of letters sent to me. Opening it, I
found letters for Mr. Buell, Mr. McBryde, Dr. Hepburn, and to my great satisfaction, two for myself,
one of which was from you, dated May 12th. I read
it very speedily, and could hardly refrain from tears
as I did so. Had you known precisely my feelings
at the present time, you could hardly have written
anything more appropriate than its conclusion. It
was written to encourage me in trials, and to point
me to the sure source of consolation.  Trials have
come upon me within the last twelve months, wave
after wave, and each one, like Job's messengers,
more severe than the preceding, and for awhile I
thought I could hardly sustain them. My leaving
home was a trial, but for that I was prepared by
long expectation, and sustained by special communications of grace. My delays in the Sea Queen, and
the exceedingly unpleasant accommodations there
tried me much more severely; but it was profitable,
and taught me many useful lessons, the benefit of
which I experienced when shipwrecked in the Harmony. Besides these outward trials, I have experienced much anxiety in deciding on the best course
to be pursued in relation to the China mission. In
these circumstances you can scarcely understand
how much I was encouraged by that train of thought
which connects our tribulations here, and our poor
weak services, with the glory of the Saviour, and




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     155
the inconceivable displays of his wisdom, justice,
love, and mercy, as manifested to the universe on
the judgment day!
Affectionately your son,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Macao, December 24th, 1842.
MY DEAR MOTHER —Yesterday was a happy day
for me. You know how I have been disappointed
hitherto about getting my letters.  They had all
gone on to Singapore, and when the Bazaar came up,
and did not bring them, I was afraid that I might
have a long time to wait yet, before they came to
hand. Yesterday morning Mr. Bridgman's servant came over from Hong Kong, and brought me
a packet that had been sent there by mistake. I
opened it, and behold, one, two, three, four, yes,
fourteen letters, from father and mother, and John
C., and Elizabeth, and John M. I put up my Chinese books in all haste, and sent off to tell my
teacher he "need not come to-day," and then-did
not I have a feast? You do not know in the United
States what a letter is worth. When you are separated only a few hundred miles, and have regular
mails, it is nothing very special to have a letter once
a month or so. But when the sun is shining on
you, while your friends are sleeping on the other
side of the world, ah, that is a different thing. My
first emotion was one of sincere gratitude for such
a favour; and my second, perplexity which to open
first; and you would have been amused could you
have seen me, while I was reading. Sometimes I
laughed till the tears came into my eyes; sometimes
a sentence brought other tears, and yet not tears of
sorrow these; and sometimes a sigh escaped me, as
I thought of the blasted hopes and disappointments
implied in some of the various items of news that




156        MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
met my eye. I seemed to be among you again, and
lived over the day of parting, and the few preceding weeks. And yet, eleven months and more have
passed since then! and what remarkable things have
happened in that time! at least to myself, for as fai
as I can gather, you have had but few important
changes since I left.
I am well, and contented, and happy,
though still sometimes lonely, and occasionally perplexed. My future movements are still uncertain.
With much affection, and many fond remembrances,
I remain truly yours,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Macao, December 27th, 1842.
JAMES LENOX, EsQ.-MY DEAR  SIR: —I have
lately received, by the Bazaar, a volume of the
British Reformers, which my father informs me is
from yourself. The receipt of it gave me much pleasure, not merely on account of the intrinsic worth
of the book, but principally because it assured me
I was still kindly remembered in a family, with
which my intercourse, though short, was very pleasant.
A missionary to China, I find, has need of a good
many qualifications; and at present it seems probable that one qualification of which he will find peculiar need, is a thorough acquaintance with the
writings and spirit of the ancient Reformers from
Popery. One of the very greatest difficulties with
which we shall have to contend, will arise from the
opposition of the Roman Catholics. It is impossible
to say how many native Roman Catholics there are
in China. Probably the accounts their priests give
of their numbers are exaggerated; but it is certain
there are many.  Their priests, too, are far more




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWrIE.    157
numerous than the Protestant missionaries; and
being all unmarried, and many of them zealous and
active, and enterprising, they bid fair to go far
ahead of Protestant missions. I do not think that
their celibacy is any advantage in the long run, nor
would I wish to see many unmarried Protestant
missionaries here; but a few of the right spirit are
greatly needed. If we had some twenty or thirty
single men, of thoroughly cultivated minds, and
prepared to submit to trials and privations to which
a lady ought not to be exposed, I should not,
humanly speaking, be much afraid of the contest
with Popery in China. At present, however, there
is no prospect whatever of such a band coming out
to join us; and the few who are here are scarcely
able,-indeed we are not able,-to occupy the ports
already thrown open, but must stand still and see
the Popish priests go, not two and two, but by
sixes and tens, and establish themselves in every
place where a foothold can be gained. Already
they have erected a bishoprick at Shanghai, though
I have not heard that a single Protestant missionary
is going there. I do not think that many of the
priests in China, or in that swarming Romish hive,
Luconia, are men of much ability, or of extensive
acquirements. Some of them, however, are; and
they will easily make up in numbers what they
lack in mental culture, while the perfect subordination of their system gives them advantages which
we look at, but cannot hope to equal. There is,
indeed, scarcely anything in reference to China that
gives me so many distressing apprehensions as the
activity of the Romish priests, contrasted as it is
with the apathy of Protestant churches in England
and America. England has only three, and America
only thirteen missionaries actually in China; and if
the whole number labouring for China were collected,
they would not amount to thirty, of whom not more
than one-half are qualified by acquaintance with the
language for efficient labour. It is true that the
14




158      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
God we serve is able abundantly to produce the
greatest effects by the fewest and simplest means,
but the tinme does not seem yet to have come when
a nation shall be born in a day; and till that time
comes, perhaps I should say, in order that it may
come, we must use means in some degree proportioned to the results we hope for. But I have filled
up my sheet with what, perhaps, will not be very
interesting to you. I had no intention of writing
at all on this subject when I took up my pen, but
the mention of the British Reformers led my mind
to a subject that often has a painful interest to me.
I cannot see through it, but I feel that we who
labour in China will have great need of the "faith
and patience of the saints" of olden times, if we expect to maintain our standing here against the last
efforts and long-protracted dying agonies, for such
I believe they will be, of the man of sin.
I often think of you, and of the pleasant Sabbath
I spent at New Hamburgh. It would give me great
pleasure to hear from you at any time; a letter, in
these ends of the earth, is an object of great value.
I am, with much respect and esteem, truly yours,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Macao, December 29th, 1842.
MY DEAR FATHER-Since my letter of December
17, sent by the Delhi, I have received yours of
February    and March 12, May 3 and June 4,
for all of which I am under very great obligations
to you. It is a little remarkable, that though you
have probably less time for writing than any of the
family, yet you have written more than all the rest
of them put together, and given me more news.
Many particulars in your letters have interested me
very deeply, particularly those concerning the
funds, and your efforts to increase them, and your




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      159
accounts of Princeton students, and the prospect of
more missionaries. As to the former subject, I fear
it will be many years before the Church comes up
even in a moderate degree to her duty. Indeed, 1
have long thought, that the present generation of
Christians will never do all that may be expected.
As long as a Christian man is allowed to give five
dollars for his annual subscription to the missionary
work, and the next day buy fifty dollars' worth of
tulips, and yet retain his standing in the Church, I
have little hopes of seeing the right spirit prevail.
I have thought, therefore, for years, that our hopes
are in the Sabbath-schools. None are so easily
interested in missions as children, and none may be
so easily trained to proper principles as they. I
have sent by the Akbar four letters to Sabbathschool children. They are just such as I used to
speak to the children of my Sabbath-schools, and
nothing that ever I said interested them so much.
They are intended for the " Foreign Missionary,"
and I shall probably send some more soon. If they
are judged suitable, I can furnish a good number of
them gradually. Of course originality is not the
main thing in such articles, although I know that to
four-fifths of the Sunday-school children, in our
churches, even to those at your very doors, the
facts I have stated, and may yet state, will possess
all the freshness of some new discovery. I have
seen a whole school staring with eyes and mouth
open, at the narration of the commonest facts in
regard to the heathen; and it is mainly for want of
early instruction and training in regard to the facts
and principles of missions, that you find it so difficult to bring the churches to give freely of their
substance to further them. This opinion is formed
on a more thorough knowledge of the real state of
the case, than is generally possessed. I hope to
send soon some thoughts on this subject, founded
mainly on facts that I have seen, and inferences
that seem to me to be justly drawn from them.




160      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
I propose to study Chinese pretty diligently for the next three months; by that time 1
hope to hear from you, and to know definitely who
is coming, if anybody, and when. After that I
may have to go to Hong Kong, as all the missionaries will probably leave this place in March.
With much love for yourself and all the family,
I remain your affectionate son,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Macao, December 29th, 1842.
MR. JOHN LLOY —MY DEAR JOHN: —Though I
have several friends, who, if they knew I was writing
to you, might think they had a prior claim to yours
just now, yet the associations and recollections of
this day lead my mind most strongly to yourself;
and though I have written one letter of some length
to you since I came out, yet I feel as if I wanted
to send another....
This day is the anniversary of my spiritual birth;
eight years ago to-day! What would I not have
given eight years ago, to have been assured that I
should persevere thus long in the Christian course?
If any one had shown me all the temptations and
trials I was to experience in that time, and then
assured me that I should survive thenm all, and be
the better for them, I could scarcely have believed
him. Yet it has been so, and having obtained help
of God, I continue to this day, and humbly hope,
that through him I shall persevere even to the end.
I trust he has taught me to look upward both for
strength and for happiness, and more so lately than
ever before. My soul doth, therefore, magnify the
Lord.
I spent the greater part of this afternoon in reading over your letters. I wish I had yourself here
to talk to, for I sometimes feel a little lonely; especi.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      161
ally as both my colleagues are at present at other
stations, and it will be some little time before we
can get together.
So many things crowd upon me, that I hardly
know what to write about. I could easily tell you
a long story of adventures and perils, and strange
sights and scenes, and wonderful deliverances, but
I have not time for that, and you will probably see
some of them in the Chronicle. Many of them I
must reserve for your private ear, "when we meet
in Pekin, China," as you said in one of the letters I
read this afternoon. I am now devoting some five
or six hours daily to Chinese; and though as yet I
have made little progress, (it is only a month since
I commenced it regularly,) yet I feel somewhat
encouraged. It will be long, however, I fear, before
I can speak it at all; and I fear that at best, I shall
have to speak "with stammering lips and another
tongue, to this people." Owing to uncertainty as
to my future location, I have thought it best to
commence the Court dialect, (commonly called the
Mandarin,) which is not spoken, except by the literati and public officers. My progress will, on this
account, be slower at first, but I think more rapid,
steady, and successful in the end.
I know you are anxious to know how I feel about
matters and things in general, and though it is yet
too soon to speak definitely, yet to you I can speak
freely; for you will know how to account for it, if
I should afterwards change my opinions. So far,
my fears have been mostly disappointed, and my
expectations more than realized. I think that for
two or three years before leaving the United States,
I had as little romance in regard to missions, as any
one could have, who had never been actually on
heathen ground. Consequently I have not been
disappointed. Parting with friends was a sore trial,
but I had so long expected it, and prayed for sustaining grace, that I found it far less difficult to
bear than I had anticipated. It was a great relief
14 *




162       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
to me that it was quickly over. The ship left the
wharf at half-past twelve, and I was truly glad that
none of my friends came with me to the Hook. I
have at present no wish to return. Since I landed
in China I have, as you are aware, had a pretty full
share of trials. Now no chastisement for the present is joyous but grievous. So I found them.
Nevertheless, although the remembrance of them is
yet fresh, and the unpleasant effects of them still
continue to a degree, yet from what I have already
felt, I am fully assured that afterwards they shall
yield to me the peaceable fruits of righteousness.
In general the year, (it is nearly a year,) which
has past since I left New York, has been one of the
happiest I have ever spent; and I now look back
on it with as much satisfaction as any other equal
portion of my life, perhaps I should say with more
satisfaction. I came out almost unwillingly. I felt
loath to leave a field I had long desired to occupy:
I have not found everything here arranged as I
desired, nor have I been able to accomplish all that
I wished. I have been in unpleasant society: I
have suffered in body: I have hung in the jaws of
death for hours together, not expecting to live from
one moment to another: I have been obliged to wait
for months and months for letters from home, and I
am now in a station where I have no colleagues in
the same mission, and do not expect to have for
some months; and yet with all these adverse circumstances, I am glad I came, and pray that I may
be suffered to remain. The work is great; there
is plenty of it. A wide and effectual door is opened,
there are few to enter, while the enemy is very
busy sowing tares. I do not think there is that
promise of immediate usefulness here that there is
m many other places. I hardly hope to see such
churches formed here soon as have been formed in
Africa, and in India, and in the islands of the sea.
Indeed, I may never have the privilege of seeing
any Christian church formed here; yet, notwith



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      163
standing all this, I think the prospect of usefulness
is very great indeed; and for men of the right spirit
and qualifications, who are willing to wait for the
fruit of their labours till they enter heaven, if it be
their Master's will that they wait thus long, I know
of few fields so inviting. At present, I think the
great difficulty is the language; but every year this
difficulty is becoming less, as new facilities in the
way of books for its acquisition are being prepared,
and places are opened where free intercourse with
persons who speak it in its purity is allowed. In a
few years I think it will not be considered a very
difficult task for persons of good common sense, perseverance, and ordinary abilities to acquire it. At
present, however, let nobody who cannot study
Latin and Greek, and who is subject to the dyspepsia, come out to China. They had better go
elsewhere. Such being my views, dear brother, I
have some commands to lay upon you,-the first
and chief of which is, get ready to come out here
as quick as you can. I am going to write to father,
and tell him to catch you by the back of the neck
and put you down in the hold of one of Mr. Olyphant's ships, if you ever talk of going to any other
part of the world. I'll take charge of you out here.
Seriously, though, I want you and      to come
out to China; and if either of you do not come, I
shall expect a very satisfactory and lengthened communication from you, showing good reasons for not
doing it. I speak of you two in particular, because
I think you as well qualified as any of the missionary students I know in the Seminary, for this field.
The second command is, to pay considerable attention to the Roman Catholic controversy; you may
find need for it here. Thirdly, in regard to wives;
if you can get good ones, get them by all means;
but I beg you not to delay coming for want of them.
Shall the heathen perish, and your period of active
labour, short at best, be rendered still shorter,
because you cannot come alone to labour, where




164       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
merchants spend their ten, twenty, and thirty years
in celibacy, for the sake of gain?....Spend your
vacations in looking for wives, (Dr.'s advice
to the contrary, notwithstanding,) but do not keep
the ship in waiting. I do not know how I shall
get along without one. There is at present no prospect of my getting one, but I am not sorry that I
took the course I did in this matter. My opinions
may change hereafter; when they do, perhaps I'll
tell you.
I could write much more-indeed, I feel loath to
stop, but I must write another letter or two to-night,
as the vessel goes soon. Dear brother, how often
I think of you, and long to see you! The memory
of joys that are past is sweet to my soul.
That the richest of heavens blessings may ever
rest upon you is the prayer of
Your brother in Christ,
W. M. LOWRIE.
CHAPTER IV.
1843.
Residence in Macao-Voyage up the Coast-Description of Amoy and
Chang Chow-Return to Macao.
IN the early part of the year, Mr. McBryde and
his wife were obliged to leave China on account of
the failure of his health; and in the summer, Dr.
Hepburn and his family arrived at Macao, from Singapore. Mr. Lowrie spent his time chiefly at
Macao, engaged in the study of the Chinese language, and preaching on the Sabbath to the American and European residents of that place. In
August he commenced a voyage to the north, with




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE,     165
the intention of visiting all the newly-opened cities,
to make inquiries as to their relative advantages for
missionary labour. His description of Amoy and
Chang Chow, will be found in the following journals. Proceeding from Amoy to the north, owing
to contrary winds, the voyage was slow, and they
were several times driven to seek for shelter on the
coast, by stress of weather. After almost reaching
Chusan, the vessel was driven back by the northeast monsoon, and the voyage was then relinquished.
In the meantime the Executive Committee had
decided to occupy three stations in China,-one in
the Canton province, one at Amoy, and the other
at Ningpo or Shanghai, as might be found most
eligible. Dr. Hepburn was assigned to Amoy, and
after being once driven back by a severe gale, he
reached his field of labour in October.
During his residence at Macao, the correspondence of Mr. Lowrie with the Executive Committee
at home was very full, and contained much information of great service to them in deciding on the
various questions relating to the missionary work
in this great field of labour. Active preparations
were made by them during this year to send out
a large missionary force, which will be noticed in
the proper place.
At the close of this chapter will be found a proclamation of Sir Henry Pottinger, "'Her Britannic
Majesty's plenipotentiary, &c. &c.," censuring the
visit of Messrs. Abeel and Lowrie, to the city of
Chang Chow. This proclamation, and the letter to
the Chinese authorities, are extraordinary papers,
in more respects than one. They were uncalled
for,-no complaint had been made, and Sir Henry
himself became the informer. They were insulting
and arrogant, for he censures American citizens,
who were in no respect amenable to him, or subject
to his jurisdiction. They were based on a false
assumption, for the supplementary treaty had not




166       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
then been published, and no law or regulation had
been infringed. The inference that they passed
themselves for Englishmen was equally gratuitous,
and was contradicted in the very account that drew
forth his impotent rebuke. There is something
ludicrous, moreover, in the charge that two unarmed
and peaceable men had forced their way among fifty
thousand men, and there bearded their highest
officers. Mr. Abeel was absent, and the duty
devolved on his associate in the alleged trespass, to
assert their rights as American citizens, and to decline the jurisdiction so arrogantly assumed. Had
he used much stronger language, few of his countrymen would have been displeased.
Macao, February 24th, 1843.
MY DEAR MOTHER-.... I have just heard that
Mr. Canfield [of the African mission) is dead. This
was unexpected and most distressing news, though
I never thought that either he or Mr. Alward would
endure that climate as well as I probably would
have done. If the hand of God's providence had
not so remarkably brought me here in spite of myself; and preserved me through dangers, when time
and again it seemed as though I should be overwhelmed in the waves, I should almost wish that I
had gone to Africa. The curse seems still to rest
on Africa. Ethiopia stretches out her hand, but
her teachers are removed far off. She still sits in
darkness. Oh that light may speedily arise upon
her! At times I can hardly help wishing myself
there, if it were only to escape the drudgery of this
terrible language. Yet I do not see much reason
for discouragement so far; counting up the other
day, I found myself master of more than six hundred
characters, which, for only three months of uninterrupted attention, is pretty good progress; better




MEMOmR or WALTER M. LOWRIE.     167
than I expected. By the time the Chinese tailor
"rubs a crowbar down to a needle," I hope to understand the language pretty well. But when will
that be?
February 25th. Saturday night! How many,
many thoughts of former days and former joys
crowd around me, as I lay by my books and papers,
to prepare for the coming Sabbath! How the time
rolls on! It seems but a day since the ship left the
wharf, in my own native land; yet more than a year
has flown away, and I have passed through scenes
that make me feel as if many years had been
crowded into one. I have seen joy and sorrow since
that time. I have felt my heart uplifted as on
eagles' wings, and again it has sunk to the earth.
I have looked upon the ocean when calm as a sleeping infant's slumbers. I have laid my hand upon
its foam-crested waves, and felt that a half-inch
plank and a slender cord alone preserved me from
going down like lead in the mighty waters. I have
seen plan after plan fail, and hope after hope disappointed. I have stood a solitary stranger amidst
thousands who spoke a different language, without
being able to utter a word that they could understand. Again and again have I been taught to say,
"I am a stranger in the earth." Yet, withal, light
has arisen to me in darkness, joy has come to me in
sorrow, and hope has sprung up after disappointments; for "tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope
maketh not ashamed." The love of God is shed
abroad upon me, by the Holy Ghost, and the grace
of Christ is sufficient for me. Would I go back?
no! Do I regret that I came? no! Lonely I am
at times; sorrowful often; perplexed, but not in
despair; cast down, but not destroyed. The past
is gone, but its pleasant remembrances and painful
lessons remain; and deeply as some of them have
been felt, already I can say,




168       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
" The sunshine to the flower may give
The tints that charm the sight,
But scentless would that flow'ret live
If skies were always bright.
Dark clouds and showers its scent bestow,
And purest joy is born of woe."
The future is still future, long or short, happy or
mournful, "all to me unknown;' but I know what
is far better, " The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice."....
Yours affectionately,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Macao, May 14th, 1843.
MY DEAR MOTHERR-... It is Sabbath night, and
though I do not often write letters on this day, yet
occasionally I feel it a privilege to spend a part of
this day in epistolary correspondence of a particular
kind. I do not do it for the sake of saving time,
but on the same principle that would induce me, if
in America, to diversify the exercises of the day
by Christian conversation with those around me.
Before breakfast this morning, a Chinaman came to
my door with a couple of letters, sent to me from
Hong Kong.  They were from father, dated Aug.
30th and December 13th, 1842, both overland, but
delayed a good deal in arriving. After breakfast, I
spent some time in preparing for preaching. I
preach now every Sabbath in the chapel here, being
the only clergyman in Macao except Mr. McBryde,
who is not able to preach. Just as I was about to
go to the chapel, a bundle of letters and papers from
the " Paul Jones," came in.  I had a week ago
received half a dozen letters, and supposed there
were no more; these had gone to Canton by mistake, and now were returned. It was quite a temptation, but I left them unopened till I returned from




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     169
church, and then found one from brother John, one
from father, and one from yourself, dated December 28th and 30th. Dear mother, I cannot express
my thanks to you sufficiently for that letter. You
seemed to fear that it would afford me little gratification, but it has been the most interesting letter I
have yet received from you. I like "news" very
well, but I like kind words and warm expressions
of affection a great deal better, when I know that
they come unstudied from the heart. I cannot
describe to you how much I value such a sentence
as "It is past nine o'clock, and all are waiting for
me for prayers, where we always remember'him in
a foreiqn land.'"  It brought the warm tears to my
eyes, (I can hardly see now,) pictured before meoh, how distinctly! the scenes of other days, when
I too knelt with you, and when my voice was
heard among you. I could see again the quiet room
with its cheerful fire, and the table with its wellremembered cover and lamp, and the family Bible
with its broken binding, and each familiar face, aye,
and the accustomed seat in which each one sat. I
could hear the voice that read; I almost fancied I
could join in the familiar tune that was sungand so I can, though separated from you by half
the circumference of the world. The praises we
sing, though sung on opposite sides of the globe,
ascend to the same gracious God, and the prayers
we offer reach the same mercy-seat, and the same
grace that sustains you is sufficient, more than
sufficient, for me. Tell Mrs. C., if you see her, that
it has greatly cheered me to hear that her prayers
have been offered for me, for I have learned to
place a high value on the prayers of others,
however unknown they may be to the world.
How do we know but that in the world to come, we
shall find much of our usefulness attributable to the
prayers of those who remembered us, when we knew
not that they ever thought of us?
"Little Sam is gone, ald you are gone, and soon




170       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
it will be said, they are all gone;" and if soon, why
regret that one has finished his journey a few hours
sooner than the rest, and another gone by a
different route? Are we not strangers here, and do
not strangers sojourn but a short time in the land
of their pilgrimage, and are not pleasant companions
often obliged in their voyages to pursue different
roads? When the journey is over, we will recount
our toils, and how we have been led by ways we
knew not. Oh, how true is that! I have been led
like a blind man, by a way I knew not, but already,
if I am not mistaken, I see it was the best way.
My journal has afforded you pleasure, more than
I thought it would; but in heaven we shall need no
journals, and shall then rightly estimate the importance of every step we took. We shall then see
through what dangers we have passed, when we
least suspected they were so near; we shall see
how an angel was sent in this place to sustain us,
and in that an evil spirit was driven away. We
shall see how influences that we did not dream of
were directing our course, and as we contemplate
the wonderful network of our history, we shall more
and more admire the wisdom and goodness of Him
by whom our bodies were so "curiously wrought,"
and our actions so carefully ordered. We shall be
at home then, and shall " go no more out."
How pleasant is the Sabbath!  It comes to me
in this heathen land, to tell me that even here God
is gracious; but there, where one unending Sabbath
prevails, there shall be no painful sights of unhalIowed desecration, no strivings with inbred sin, no
weariness; we shall go no more out, nor wish to go,
for there is fulness of joy in the presence of God,
and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore. I
sometimes feel as if I did not want to live any
longer; surely c"I would not live always;" but
when I look round and see these poor heathen, I
think that perhaps I may do something. I am
willing to stay, and when I think of Him who hath




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     171
done so much for me, I am dumb. Here am I,
Lord; do with me as thou wilt.
But I must close for the present.
Affectionately yours,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Macao, May 17th, 1843.
MR. JOHN LLOYD —MY DEAR JOHN: —Your long,
long expected letter reached me eight or nine days
ago. I was very glad indeed to hear from you, for
I had not expected to be sixteen months without a
letter from my old crony.  But no matter, I'll pay
you for it when you come out here. I shall expect
to see you in China before the end of next year,
without fail. The various items of your letter were
very satisfactory to me, as they recalled many old
associations. I proceed to answer some inquiries
you have made.... As to the Chinese climate, I
have not as yet sufficient experience to speak fully
about it. I have been nearly a year here, and
during that time have not had one day's sickness,
and have taken only one dose of medicine. I think
it probable, however, that new corners will be liable
to fever and ague in most of the new ports, until they
become acclimated.  The heat of summer is great;
the thermometer now ranges above 80~; but it is
not as bad as that of India, and we have cool and
bracing winters. There is not commonly any frost
or snow in this latitude, or at Amoy, but ice and
snow are both found at Chusan, Ningpo, and Shanghae, where I think we shall have our principal
stations.
As to the language, I suppose it pretty certain
that the Chinese is the hardest language in the
world, except the Japanese; which is harder,
because one must learn Chinese in order to learn
Japanese. But then a good many considerations




172      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
remove the terror that some of the Singapore
missionaries were so anxious to excite on this subject.  1. The language has been learned, and
spoken fluently and intelligibly, though not of
course perfectly, by a number of persons within the
last forty years; and I have yet to learn that any
one of those persons possessed any remarkable
talent for learning languages. My impression is,
that not one of' them possessed such a talent to any
great degree. 2. The facilities for learning the language, in the way of elementary books and free
access to the people, are vastly better than they
were twenty years ago; and every year they are
getting better. 3. The dialects spoken in the north,
are said to be easier, decidedly, than those spoken
in Canton and Fokeen provinces; and it has been
with the dialects of the two latter, that foreigners
have been most conversant. Several of those who
have learned Chinese, were over thirty years of age
before they commenced it; two, I believe, were over
forty; yet they are making progress. I have not
made any "considerable attainments" yet. Owing
to my various wanderings, of which you have heard
somewhat, it was six months after I got here,
before I began to study regularly. I have now
been studying regularly for about six months. I
can read easy sentences; can talk a very little with
my teacher; and I look forward with hope to the
future. Yesterday I told my teacher that the Chinese was a hard language to learn, and I feared it
would take me four or five years to talk it well.
He said, no, it was not hard; and that in one year
I should be able to converse satisfactorily. I told
him he was flattering me; but he said, "No, I am
a very old man, why should I flatter you?" So I
said no more. I only believe the half of what he
says; but even that is better than I expected. At
first the study was prod?,qiously dry —worse than
anything I ever undertook; but now I begin to feel
a good deal of interest in it.  Come out and study




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     173
with me, and I can give you a good deal of assistb
ance. I am obliged to study with almost no assistance from others, as the Pekin dialect, to which
my attention is now directed, is not attended to by
any of the missionaries whom I have access to.
With your talents, I know you need not be afraid
to commence the language. Tell Hugh Brown I
expect him to come here also; and I wish you
would turn the attention of Dr. Culbertson to this
field. A person, however, who does not make
pretty reasonable progress in Latin, Greek, and
Hebrew, had better not come to China for the present. The case may be different a few years hence,
when a greater variety of missionary labour can be
employed than is at present practicable.
1 am serious when I say that I wish you and
Brown and Culbertson to regard this letter as a
direct call to each of vou to take China into careful
consideration before you conclude to go elsewhere;
and I trust you will be well satisfied that it is your
duty to do so, if you decline coming here. I would
not speak so decidedly if I did not think I had
grounds for my opinion; but knowing you three,
and this field as well as I do, I think it has very
strong claims upon you.
I recommend you to learn the radicals immediately,
so as to be able to write the whole of them off, and
give the name and meaning of each, without once
looking on the book. You will find it of incalculable advantage. I speak from experience. I also
advise that by all means you learn to speak in the
way that --- recommends, i. e., by using the abdominal and intercostal muscles. I am convinced that
if you do so, it will facilitate your progress in the
most difficult part of the spoken language, the tones.
The reason why we find it so hard to use the Chinese tones easily, is because of our habit of using
the lungs instead of the abdominal and intercostal
muscles. I wish I had known this in America.
The time you spend in learning this will be by no
15*




174      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
means lost, while, if you neglect it, I fear you will
always regret it.
But it is past ten o'clock, and I must close for
the night. Would that I could see you. Pray for
me; but I know you do so, and I thank you for it.
It does not surprise me to hear that I have fallen
into the general mass, and only come in under the
general prayer of "Lord, bless the missionary."  It
was to be expected. But there are a few who, I
trust, will not so soon forget me. The Lord ever
be with you, and keep you, is the prayer of your
friend and brother in Christ,
W. M. LOWRmE.
Macao, July 20th, 1843.
MY DEAR FATHER —.... I find myself obliged
to confess that the warm weather has its effects
upon me. For a month after it commenced I felt
as strong and as much disposed to study as ever;
but, for the last two weeks, I do not feel able to sit
at my books nearly so constantly as before, nor to
take such long walks as usual. I have lost a good
deal of my appetite, and they all tell me I look pale,
and thinner than usual. Such is the worst side of the
picture; on the other hand, I am not sick, not low
spirited, suffer no manner of pain, can read and
write, and laugh and talk as usual, and do anything
that does not require long and close mental effort.
I sleep soundly, and the time passes away rapidly.
I don t expect to do much studying for a couple of
months to come. I had hoped to be on my way to
visit Amoy and Chusan ere this, but have not yet
found a suitable vessel, nor do I know of any. If
one does not offer soon, I shall be obliged to postpone it till some time in September or October....
Your journal of a day interested me very much.
I would give you something of the kind in return,




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      175
but am really so ashamed of each day's work for
the present week, that I would rather not. I manage to keep up what little I know of Chinese, and
to add a little to my stock; to read some; and write
some; to take a walk every day; and to preach
once a week to the English and American residents.
As I have not yet brought myself to read other
men's sermons, I have commonly to prepare one
every week. This takes a good deal of time and
thought, and I sometimes feel as if I ought not to
do it, as the strength thus employed could be used
in fitting myself for my missionary life. Yet as
there are some who seem to feel an interest in attending, and as I am the only minister here, it does
not seem right to neglect them altogether. I should
like to be among the Chinese.
Your suggestions about a Chinese dictionary are
important, but I hardly know what to say in regard
to them; it will be time enough for me to think of
such a thing, when I can call myself a Chinese
scholar. I make no pretensions to that name now,
nor can I even guess when I shall deserve it; and
if I ever do deserve it, I may prefer some other
kind of labour, besides dry dictionary-making. Still,
I consider it a duty to keep something of the kind
in view. You of course will not mention that I do
so, as I do not wish it to be known. The thought
that I may perhaps be of some assistance in that
way, is one thing which, with others, induces me to
study the Mandarin, and to prefer one of the northern ports.
I cannot tell you, my dear father, how much I
value your letters. The spirit of kindness and affection they breathe, is to me most truly refreshing
and delightful, and I sometimes almost feel as if it
was worth while to be separated from. you in order
to enjoy them. But I do not altogether give up the
hope of seeing you again, though I have little expectation of seeing you in the United States. When
Iget into my own house at Ningpo, or some other




176         MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
regular Chinese place, I mean to send you and
mother a special invitation to come and see me. I
rather think, too, that you will find it hard to refuse
my invitation. With many affectionate thoughts of
you, and of all the members of our beloved family,
I remain as ever,
Your affectionate son,
W. M. LowRIE.
JOURNAL TO AMOY AND CHUSAN.
August 31st.  Got under way from  Hong Kong
about nine o'clock, A. M., but having light and
unfavourable winds made very slow progress.
Obliged to come to anchor at night opposite Chek
Chu, on the soulhern side of the island.
During the voyage from Hong Kong to Amoy
we passed in sight of three of the great opium depots along the coast.  These three were Tong-san,
How-tow-san, and Namoa. At these three places,
the opium dealers in Canton and Macao, have ships
constantly stationed to keep supplies of opium, and
to them  the smaller vessels, or " opium  clippers," as
they are called, resort for cargoes, which they carry
to different parts of the coast and dispose of always
for silver. The number of vessels employed in this
traffic is very great. A single mercantile house
in Canton and Macao, employs about fifty vessels,
ships, barks, brigs, and schooners, while another
house has thirty or more.* These vessels carry
* The amount of capital embarked in the opium trade is enormous,
as may be judged of from the number of vessels employed. The
smallest of these vessels probably costs the owners upwards of $ 5,000
annually. A schooner like the   ~  or --- costs from 800 to 1200
dollars a month merely for her sailing, i. e. wages, wear and tear; so
that the annual expense of one of the least of these messengers of evil,
is greater than the whole expenses of our mission in any year since its
commencement; while the brigs, barks, and ships cost still mlore. This




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.        177
almost nothing but opium, and receive almost
nothing in return but silver. The laws of the Chinese against the introduction of opium are very
severe, but at present they are a mere dead letter;
the opium smugglers laugh at them, and carry
their vile drug recklessly to all parts of the coast,
where it is purchased by the Chinese, and carried
into different parts of the country. The Chinese
officers themselves, instead of striving to prevent
its introduction, connive at it, being frequently
bribed for that purpose by the smugglers. One of
the very greatest difficulties in the way of Christian
missions in China, arises from the prevalence of the
use of opium; and it is to be feared that it will long
continue in the way.  When a man acquires a
taste for opium, there is nothing he will not do
to gratify it; and its use is most deleterious. It
injures his bodily health, it stupefies his mental
powers, and it deadens his moral feelings, and when
the habit of using it is once confirmed, it is almost
impossible to abandon it. The fondness for opium
is one of the strong chains in which Satan has
bound this great people, and it is a heart-sickening
reflection, that this evil luxury is supplied to them
by the merchants of the two nations which profess
to be actuated by the purest Christianity. It is
almost impossible to find a vessel going up the
coast which does not carry it.
September 5th. Reached Amoy, and was received with a hearty welcome by the Rev. Mr.
Abeel and Dr. Cumming. They were the only
missionaries then residing at Amoy, or rather at
Kulangsu, which is a beautiful little island not
more than one-fourth of a mile from Amoy.
In the evening after reaching Kulangsu, Dr.
Cumming and myself went over to Amoy, to see
the place. We crossed from Kulangsu to Amoy
is merely for wages of the men and officers, and the wear and tear of
the vessel, and is exclusive of all the money expended in purchasing the
opium, storing it, and packing and repacking.




178       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
for ten cash a-piece, (it takes eleven or twelve
cash to make a cent.)
"Multitudes, multitudes," was the impression
that forced itself upon me in walking through the
crowded streets, and looking out over the closebuilt environs of this great city. The suburbs are
much larger than the city itself, and most of the
merchants' shops are there.  Each street, both
within the city and in the suburbs, is closed at each
end by gates every night; all are narrow, and all
are dirty. It is hardly possible for foreigners to
live in the close filthy quarters generally occupied
by the Chinese. We can live in houses like theirs
with but little difficulty, but their position is generally low and damp, and their being so dirty and so
closely crowded together, combines to render them
unhealthy.
Nine opium ships were anchored close alongside
of Amoy, and also two vessels that had no opium
on board. I was told, on good authority, that
every man in Amoy who could afford to buy opium
was in the habit of smoking it. The Chinese officers make no effort whatever to prevent its introduction, and I saw opium pipes openly exposed for
sale in the streets. A few years ago it would have
been almost as much as a Chinaman's life was
worth, to have been detected in the sale of anything used in consuming the prohibited article.
Infanticide is very common in this province; very
many inquiries have been made by the missionaries
and all the testimony goes to prove that it prevails
to a fearful extent. It is not saying too much to
affirm, that in the districts around Amoy, one-fifth,
or one-sixth of the children perish by the hands, or
with the consent of their parents. One poor man
said to Mr. Abeel with an air of the greatest simplicity and sincerity, " Teacher, before you came, I
killed five of my children; I would not do it now,
for you have showed me that it is wrong, but before
you came I did not know that —who was there to




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE;      179
tell me?"  Alas! who was there to tell him? The
opium smugglers are dealing their poison all around,
but very rarely does a missionary appear amongst
them, and those who do come, have difficulties to
contend with as they sit upon the damp tiled floors
of the native houses, and breathe the unwholesome
air of the swampy fields, such as rarely enter into
the minds of those who dwell in their ceiled houses,
and talk in their own native language.
I visited the grave of Mrs. Boone. It is in a
beautiful quiet garden, a little tree stands at the
foot, and an immense banian spreads its shade over
the whole. She died August 30, 1842. It was
a time of sadness and sorrow when that first member of the missionary band here fell; but I could
not regard her lonely grave in any other light than
as a pledge that the kingdom shall yet be the Lord's.
For not alone shall that Christian wife and mother
sleep here; others of the missionary circle shall
also toil, and lie down here, and around them shall
sleep those saved by their means, and sooner or
later we shall look upon graves, even in this heathen
land, with the same feelings of calm and joyful
hope with which we behold them in Christian lands.
May the Lord hasten that time! for it is a sorrowful
thought as we look upon the countless graves that
throng every hill-side around us, "Not one of all
these myriads ever heard the name of Christwhere now are their souls?" It was a pleasant thing
in my native land to go to the grave-yard on Saturday evenings, or the Sabbath morning, and sit
upon the tombs, and think of heaven; but I cannot
do that in China.
We left Amoy on Thursday, September 7. I
could scarcely take my eyes away from the first of
the gently rising hills that was seen. It was so
different from all that I had witnessed for nearly
twenty months, and reminded me so strongly of
objects seen in my own native land, that it required
but little stretch of fancy to cover the scene with




180       MEMOIR OF WALTR M. LOWRIE.
the peaceful homes, and smiling villages, and solemn
churches of America. But, alas, how different the
reality! Multitudes, multitudes of immortal beings,
but all ignorant of the truth! An opium clipper
followed us out of Amoy, and being a faster sailer
than we, soon passed us on her way to Chimmoo
Bay, another great opium depot. It reminded me
sadly of the truth that the men of this world are
wiser in their generation than the children of light.
But I found consolation where I had not looked for
it. We were sailing on the wide sea. The whole
expanse of the Pacific Ocean, with its unfathomed
depths and uncounted waves, was rolling on our
right, and its waters washed the shores of the most
populous empire on the earth. Behold! "The earth
shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the
Lord as the waters cover the seas,  Hab. ii. 14. What
though men, for the sake of gain, follow practices
that injure their fellow-men, and impede the progress
of the Gospel, it shall not always be so; for thus
saith the Lord, "They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full
of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover
the sea," Isaiah ix. 11. With such an assurance
from such a source, what more do we want to confirm our faith and encourage our hope?
Friday, September 15. When within one hundred and twenty miles of Chusan the monsoon
changed, and after beating about for several days,
and making no progress, we anchored at the Island
of San-pan-shan, in order to replenish our watercasks, and wait, if perhaps the weather might become
more moderate. The island of San-pan-shan is in
north lat. 28 deg. 5 min., and east long. 122 deg.
Just above our landing place, and near the principal collection of huts, was an idol temple, dedicated to Ma-tsoo-po, a favourite Chinese goddess.
There was nothing remarkable about it, except its
filthiness, and two figures about two-thirds the size
of men, standing on a block of wood near the door.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRBS.      181
They were painted black, with red and glaring eyes,
and horribly-distorted mouths, all begrimed with
smoke of incense-sticks, and dirt; they were fit
representations of the horrid character of him whom
this deluded people worship. There were several
brazen incense-stands on the altar, one of which I
wished to take away, but the people would not
allow of it. "No, it was Ma-tsoo-po's." I would
give a good deal to be able to transport the two
black images as they are, to the Mission House in
New York.
Wednesday, September 27th. Finding that our
vessel was in no condition to beat against the monsoon, and that our prospect of reaching Chusan in
her was very poor, we reluctantly turned about,
and arrived at Amoy yesterday. It is a mysterious
dispensation of providence, but doubtless He who
holds the winds in his fist has wise ends in view,
in disappointing my hopes: "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter."
Took a boat and went to see a Budhist temple
about two or three miles south-east of Amoy. It
stands at the foot of the high ridge of hills running
from the city of Amoy into the interior of Amoy
island, and is about half a mile from the shores of
the bay. In front of the temple is an enclosure
containing four open buildings, in each of which are
two gigantic stone tortoises six feet long and four
feet broad. Each tortoise supports a white stone
tablet, ten feet high and four feet broad, and
covered one with Chinese and the other with Tartar inscriptions; the Chinese characters are certainly very well adapted for inscriptions, and I
have rarely seen any specimens of cutting in stone
so beautifully executed as these are. The purport
of the inscriptions seemed to be maxims and moral
sentences: but as to their particular meaning, I forbear to interpret it. Directly behind these tablets
was the entrance of.the temple, with all its array of
dingy paintings, grotesque carving and queer dra.
16




182      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
gons above the door. On entering, the first object
seen was a gilt statue of Budh, of gigantic size,
with a green veil over the window of the inclosure
where he was seated. Behind him was another
gigantic image, and on either side were two other
giants; on one side a male and a female with a
guitar in her hand, and on the other side a female,
and a black and horrid-looking male attendant.
Each statue is said to be eighteen feet high, and of
one solid stone. Here we were met by two of the
priests, pale in countenance, dressed in white, and
of rather pleasing manners. Only one of them
said anything, but he was quite talkative. They
gave us tea without sugar or milk, and promised
to call at the mission house in Amoy, after which
we left them.
Near this temple, I saw what is rather uncommon
in  China, regularly-inclosed graveyards.  There
were a great many uninclosed tombs all around, but
here were three graveyards; each of them had a
large tomb in the centre, and a great many of common appearance regularly arranged around, completely filling up the inclosed spaces. The buryinggrounds were all small, but extremely full. The
largest was only one hundred feet square, and yet
it had three hundred and fifty graves in it, all of
which seemed to be of about the same age. It is
not known to foreigners, and not to any Chinese of
whom we made inquiries, who are buried there.
The inscriptions at the entrance of each would perhaps tell, but it requires time and patience to copy
and translate them. Just within the entrance of
each was a stone with the inscription fuh shin, happy
spirits!  Alas! are they happy?  None were children's graves.
October 1, Sabbath. In the morning attended
Mr. Abeel's Chinese service; about twenty were
present, which is a smaller number than usual.
Among them was a Budhist priest, and several very
respectably-dressed gentlemen. Most of them at



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     183
tended well. In the evening preached to the soldiers; owing to the sickness prevailing at present,
the congregation was small; only about seventy
were present, yet it was the largest number I have
preached to at one time since leaving New York.
October 2, Monday. Monthly Concert to-night.
I conducted the services and made the first prayer,
then read Psalm lxviii., and made some remarks on
the frequency with which the promises of the conversion of the world are followed by glorious ascriptions of praise to God, as shown:-Ps. lxviii. 31,
32, Is. xliv. 23, and xlix. 12, 13. Mr. Roberts
then prayed, and made some remarks on the necessity of faith in Christ, and of entire dependence on
his grace, rather than trusting in feelings and frames
of mind. We sang a hymn, and Mr. Abeel prayed.
It was a pleasant time.
JOURNAL TO CHANG-CHOW.
October 3. Mr. Abeel and I have been talking
for some days of making an excursion into the interior, some thirty or forty miles, and to-day we
went off to engage a boat.  There are so many
rivers and streams along the coast of China, and the
Chinese so commonly live near the water, that almost all travelling is in boats. Hence the expression, Haou fung shwuy, literally meaning a fair
wind and tide, is equivalent to saying, "Good luck
go with you," or "May you have a prosperous time."
After a deal of chaffering and bargaining, and being
almost deafened by the noisy Chinese we had to
talk with, (when talking earnestly, the common
people actually s/hout their words,) we arranged
with an old man to be taken to Chang-Chow, a city
of the second order, and said to be.twice as large
as Amoy, for three dollars and a half. One of our
Chinese friends promises to accompany us.
On the 4th about one o'clock, P. M., we arrived at
the city. It was soon evident that we were some



184      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
thing "uncommon."  Numbers of people came in
with us, and as we passed through the streets and
were discovered by those ahead of us, the wonder
and the crowd increased. Our complexions and
dress, our stature, and my spectacles, at once drew
the attention of everybody. The shopkeeper turned
away from his customer, the carpenter dropped his
plane, and the shoemaker his last, the tailor his
needle, and the apothecary his pill-box, and even
the beggar forgot his vocation; the women peeped
out from the doors, and the children ran on before
and stopped to have a good look at us; old and
young, high and low, were filled with one common
feeling of surprise, and gazed at us as if we had
fallen from the clouds.
Thursday, Oct. 5. The morning being bright and
pleasant, we started for a walk before breakfast,
and the lower bridge being hard-by the place where
our boat was anchored, we went there first. It is
built on twenty-five piles of stone about thirty feet
apart, and perhaps twenty feet in height, above the
surface of the water. Large round beams are laid
from pile to pile, and smaller ones across in the
simplest and rudest manner: these are then covered
with earth, and the upper part is paved with bricks
or stone. One would suppose that the work had
been assigned to a number of different persons, and
that each had executed his part in such manner as
best suited his own fancy, there being no regularity
in the paving; bricks and stone were intermingled
in the most confused manner, and the railing was
sometimes of wood, and sometimes of stone. The
length of some of the stones used in paving the
bridge was very remarkable; some of them were
eight, others eleven, others fourteen, and three of
them eighteen paces each, in length, so that these
last must have been about forty-five feet long, and
two or three broad. They were of unhewn granite,
but from the constant crowd of passengers for a
hundred years or more, were worn quite smooth.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      185
The bridge averages eight or ten feet in width, and
about one-half its length on either side was occupied
by shops in which various articles, principally eat.
ables, were exposed for sale. I may remark here
that the short account of this city contained in the
work of Abbe Grosier, on China, which is compiled
from the memoirs of the Jesuit missionaries, contains several mistakes.  The work referred  to
speaks of but one bridge whereas, there are two;
it gives that one bridge thirty-six arches, whereas,
there are but twenty-five, and they are not, in any
sense of the word, arches, being simplytimbers laid
from pier to pier. It also speaks of the " two ranges
of shops furnished with the most precious things of
China, and the rarest merchandises of foreign lands."
If this account were true in the days when the
Jesuits went through the land with the utmost
freedom, it is not so now, for the articles we saw in
these shops were of the commonest and coarsest
kind. It also says, that since "the tides reach
regularly to Chang-Chow, this place has become the
resort of a multitude of vessels, by means of which
a commerce is held with Anloy, Pow-hou, and Formosa, and from hence depart all the Chinese who
go to traffic at the Philippine islands;" —all this is
to be taken with large allowance. The tide does
reach Chang-Chow, but even at high tide, only the
smallest vessels can come up so far-and when the
tide is out, a common whale-boat is in danger of
grounding. I take it for granted, therefore, that no
vessels go from this city either to Formosa or the
Philippine islands; and certainly, though there are
a goodly number of small boats in the river, there
are no vessels there fitted to encounter a svea-voyage.
From Amoy vessels do go to all the parts mentioned
above, and to many others, and the goods they
bring back are conveyed in smaller vessels to the
city of Chang-Chow; but the statements just referred to (see Grosier's "La Chine," vol. 1, p. 96)
are not sanctioned by what we saw. If the accounts
16 *




186      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
the Jesuits have given of other cities of the empire,
are equally defective and erroneous, we have small
reason to thank them for their contributions to our
stock of knowledge of China. The reader of Abbe
Grosier will not find one of the particulars of the
following account in his work.
There were many persons passing and repassing,
as we crossed the bridge, and the various odours
that filled the air were not the most agreeable.
Having crossed the bridge, and passed through a
village at the end of it, we went along the southern
bank of the river to the second bridge, which is
about a mile from the first, and similarly constructed.
On coming to it, our guides pointed a little further,
and told us there was a temple there worth seeing.
We accordingly kept on, and were soon well repaid
for our additional walk, by a sight of one of the
oldest buildings I have ever seen. It was a temple
said to have been built in the Suy dynasty, about
twelve hundred years ago. The various gateways
and small buildings usually found in front of Chinese temples, were decayed and in ruins. Two
pools on either side of the main entrance, were
covered with the broad-leaved water-lily. The main
building, which is of wood, is very high, and every
pillar, board, stone, and tile, bore the marks of extreme age. On going in, we were utterly astonished.
Seven gigantic images, in sitting or standing postures, gilded and painted, but faded and dusty, and
tarnished with'age, were arranged across the middle
of the temple; while on either side was a row of
fifteen Chinese worthies, either sitting or standing,
and as large as life. Behind the seven first images
were three others: the very smallest of the ten was
at least eight feet in height, while the largest, if
they had been standing, would have been fifteen or
eighteen. An immense drum occupied one corner
of the room, and a bell another. The roof was
most curiously composed of carved wood, and
inscriptions in various styles of Chinese writing




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     187
were painted, and gilded, and carved on the pillars,
walls, ceiling, and tablets of the temple. It had
been repaired in Kang-he's time, though it was now
in a sad state from age and neglect. It was sickening to look on the gloomy monsters whom this
people worship as their gods, and to witness the
ingenuity and expense lavished on these dumb idols,
and to think of the dreadful degradation of the
people that can worship such works of their own
hands. Yet it is also cheering to think that their
superstitions are old, and many of them seem almost
ready to vanish away. Not a great many new
temples are built, and those already existing are
often in very poor repair. The people appear to
have little reverence for their idols, and their worship consists of little else than a heartless round of
unmeaning ceremonies. Oh, for that time when
idols shall be utterly abolished!
From the main temple, we went to a small side
building, which contained a single idol, standing,
with one hand folded on the breast, and the other
hanging open by the side. I got up on the pedestal, which was three feet high, and reaching with
my umbrella, could barely touch the hand that was
laid across the breast. The open hand was two
feet long, and the whole image could have been
little less than twenty feet high. It was cut out
of one solid rock, which formerly occupied this
spot; without removing it, they hewed out the
image and erected the house over it.
Breakfast being over, we entered the chairs provided for us, and being escorted by the interpreter,
and two or three of the officers, proceeded through
the city. We were carried through several streets,
some of which were narrow and offensively filthy,
but many of them were wide, i. e. for a Chinese
city, say eight, ten, and even twelve feet, and lined
with pretty good-looking houses.
We were carried to the north-west corner of the
city, and presently found ourselves in an open space




188      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
with rising ground beyond, and a very large temple
directly in front. It was built in the Tang dynasty,
from nine hundred to twelve hundred years ago,
and bore the marks of age, though in much better
repair than the one we had previously visited. The
scene presented when the doors were thrown open
and we entered, was quite unexpected. Eight
gigantic figures, even larger than those we had previously seen, were arranged across the temple.
Some of them seemed almost to support its high
roof on their heads: thirty-six Chinese sages occupied either side, in rows of eighteen each. The roof
of the temple was constructed in the most elaborate manner, and was supported by several noble
wooden pillars. The most curious things we saw,
were a couple of large lockers or cupboards, closed
and locked.  They were about eight feet square
and two feet deep, and their contents were unknown.
The people all declared most seriously that they
had not been opened for years, and if they should
be opened, death would surely come out in some
terrible form, or some dreadful plague would visit
the people.
Behind the temple the ground rose steeply, and
three of its summits were crowned with little open
towers. We climbed up in the hot sun, expecting
to obtain an extended prospect, but the scene that
met our eyes greatly transcended our expectations.
Fancy an amphitheatre thirty miles in length by
twenty in breadth, hemmed in on all sides by steep,
bare, pointed hills, a river running through the
plain, an immense city at our feet, with fields of
rice and sugar-cane, noble trees and numerous villages stretching away in every direction.  It was
grand and beautiful above every conception I had
ever formed of Chinese scenery. The eye wandered
over that immense plain, and returned again and
again to the contemplation of particular points, till
we were almost wearied by the sight of so much
magnificence: and when we came to particulars,




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      189
the wonder was increased rather than diminished.
Beneath us lay the city. We could trace its walls
in nearly every direction. It would have been
nearly square, had not the southern wall curved
outwards from following the course of the river.
It was very closely built, as almost all Chinese
cities are, and had a vast number of large trees in
every part, within and around.  On inquiring the
number of inhabitants, our guide answered, that in
the last dynasty it had numbered seven hundred
thousand souls, and now there were more.  He
thought there were a million of people within the
walls. This is probably a large estimate, though it
is the one commonly given by the Chinese:-yet
allowing only half their estimate, how large a number is even that! The villages around also attracted
our attention, and I tried to count them, but after
enumerating thirty-nine of large size, distinctly visible, in less than half the field before us, I gave
over the attempt. It is certainly not going too far
to say, that in that plain, there are at least one
hundred villages; some of them may be small, but
many of them would number their hundreds and
even thousands of inhabitants. Oh, what a field
for missions is here, if the country were but open,
and the churches ready to enter it! How many,
many souls there were beneath our eyes, all ignorant
of the true God, and of the way of life! The prospect before us was surprisingly beautiful, but alas,
for those who dwell amidst those fair scenes, where
" Every prospect pleases, and only man is vile!"
Oh, how often does the thought come across the
missionary's mind in China, "multitudes, multitudes!" but alas, they are scattered, as sheep having
no shepherd. Oh, that Christians could but see
them, and have compassion upon them! Then
would they pray the Lord of the harvest to send
foir h more labourers into his harvest, for the harvest
truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few. This




190       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
country will yet be opened. The doors have already
begun to unclose, and no human power is able to
shut them again. What though they move but
slowly, and grate harshly as they turn on their
rusty hinges, they move none the less surely for all
that; and the field that is opened to us, by the first
unclosing, is so vast that our numbers are quite
insufficient to occupy it. What then will be the
case when the whole country is thrown open?
When we have properly occupied the five ports now
open, and are ready to extend our efforts beyond,
it will be time enough to wish for a larger field.
Doubtless God will give us a larger field before we
are ready to enter on it.
After dinner we went up in a boat some distance
above the city, and walked among the rice-grounds
and sugar-canes. How much the latter reminded
me of the luxuriant corn-fields of Maryland! We
saw several men watering the rice-grounds by means
of the chain pump, which is worked by the foot,
and is described in Davis's China, ch. 19.  This
may be the same contrivance that was used in
Egypt, and is referred to in the Scriptures: "thou
sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot
as a garden of herbs;" Deut. xi. 10. The people
gathered around us, and Mr. A. addressed them in
two different places. Some of them attended carefully, but most of them seemed more disposed to
examine our dress than to listen to religious discourse.
Friday, October 6. Arrived at Cho-bey before
daylight, and soon after sunrise went ashore to see
the place. It is a walled town, but the part within
the walls is by no means so extensive as that
without. Here, as elsewhere, crowds followed us,
noisier too, and ruder than those of Chang-Chow,
though they offered us no manner of insult, and
most readily allowed us to pass wherever we chose.
We found it quite a large and populous place,
stretching at least a mile along the shore, and I




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      191
know not how far back from the river. It is a
busy, bustling place of trade; the shops were
crowded with goods, commonly of a very coarse
quality, and the streets thronged with people. For
dirt and filth, it excels every other place I have
seen, and some of the streets were actually sickening. Several persons who had been to Amnoy,
recognized Mr. A., and one of them, who had been
a patient of Dr. Cumming's at Ku-lang-su, volunteered to guide us through the streets, which are so
narrow, from three to twelve feet wide, and so
crooked, that we should have found it difficult to
proceed alone. The number of fresh fish in the
markets was really surprising.  The river is here
not one-fourth of a mile wide, and hardly six feet
deep, and yet as far as we could learn, it supplies
the whole of the teeming population of both its
banks, including those of the cities of Chang-Chow,
Cho-bey, and  Iaeteng. Here we saw immense
numbers of fine large fish, fresh from the water, and
excellent in flavour, as we proved by experiment.
After walking till we were tired, we stopped in
front of an idol temple, and Mr. A. addressed the
crowd that gathered around us. They were quite
attentive, and the questions asked by several of
them, showed that they understood what was spoken to them.
It was now noon, the sun was hot, we had been
wearied at Cho-bey in the morning, besides being
almost overpowered by the excitement of the two
previous days, and the wind being ahead, it was
important to secure the favourable tide, which was
now making for Amoy. Accordingly we turned
our faces homeward, and at sunset re-entered our
houses in Ku-lang-su; glad and thankful for the
wonderful things we had seen, the favours received,
and the mercies enjoyed during our three days' excursion.
In looking back over this excursion, and over the
whole of my voyage, there are several points that




192       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
deserve to be prominently brought forward; and
though my journal is already long, a few remarks
on each will not be out of place.
The attentive reader of this journal will have
been struck with the frequent reference to the
amazing populousness of the country; but it is impossible to convey any adequate idea of the real
state of the case. If the cities of Boston, New
York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore were situated in
a valley forty miles long, and ten or fifteen broad,
and the whole intervening country were so thickly
covered with villages that a man should never be
out of sight of one or more of them, still the population of that valley would not be as great as is the
population of that part of China, of which the preceding pages speak. At seven o'clock in the morning, we were at Amoy; by two o'clock P. M. we had
passed Haeteng and Cho-bey, and were anchored
at Chang-Chow. Here were four cities, any one of
which would be a city of the first size in the United
States, and around these four cities, there must be
at least two hundred villages and towns; and this
is not all, for within thirty miles of Amoy, in
another direction, is the city of Ttng-an, said to be
twice as large as Amoy, with, I know not how
many towns and villages in its neighbourhood.
The mind is overwhelmed to think of this immense
population, numerous as the sand on the sea-shore,
and all so closely crowded together, and so easily
reached, by water communication, for in a boat you
may go to any one of those places in less than a
single day. If the country around each of the
other ports is as populous, as we now know that
around Amoy to be, and the probability, from all I
can learn, is that it is quite as populous, then what
fields are here for Christian effort! I am astonished
and confounded, and even, after what I have seen,
can scarcely believe the half of what must be true
respecting the multitudes of people who live in




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       193
China, and the multitudes who are perfectly accessible to the efforts of the missionary.
It has been strongly and repeatedly impressed
upon my mind, from what I have lately seen, that
to no country in the world will our Saviour's words,
"to the poor the Gospel is preached," be found so
applicable as to China. Many people look on China
as it were some great mine of gold and jewels,
where every man is clothed in silks and faring
sumptuously every day; but nothing can be further
from the true state of the case. There are many
wealthy men in China, and wherever the missionary
goes, he will meet them, and associate with them.
But the great mass of the people are poor, in the
strictest sense of the term. It cannot but be so,
where a country is so crowded with inhabitants,
that there is sometimes hardly room to bury their
dead out of their sight, the great majority of the
people must be poor. You see it here, in the coarse
clothing they wear, the food they eat, the homes
they inhabit, the furniture they use, and the wages
they receive. You see it in the fact that their only
coined money is so small that it requires twelve
hundred to make a dollar, and happy is he who receives two hundred of these for his day's labour.
Let the missionary who comes to China, bear this
in mind.  The brightest talents are needed in
preaching to the poor, but especially will he need
the graces of humility and self denial, of faith and
of patience, in his intercourse with this people, and
his efforts to instruct them.  This is a point that
admits of much enlargement, both in proving the
poverty of the people, if that be necessary, and in
speaking of the qualifications necessary to one who
labours among them. But a word to the wise and
the thoughtful, is sufficient.
It is a sad and melancholy thing to be obliged to
refer so often as I have done to the prevalence of
the use of opium in China. The number of vessels
employed, and the amount of capital embarked in
17




194      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
the opium trade, have been slightly referred to in
the preceding pages. At some other time I may
give fuller statements on this subject; but at present,
all that need be added, is, that the half has not been
told. The connivance of the Chinese officers at the
traffic, and the eagerness of the Chinese people to
procure the drug, have also been referred to.  I
have only further to say, that wherever I have been
in China, I have seen it used. In all the opium
depots along the coast, it is of course freely used.
At Amoy, "every man who can afford to buy it,
uses it." In the little island of San-pan-shan, the
only question the people asked of the Christian
missionary, was, whether he had opium to sell, and
there he saw the floor of the idol temple covered
with the half-stupefied smokers of opium. While
at Chang-Chow, one of the officers came on board
the boat where we lodged, and while he was on
board, I perceived the peculiar smell of opium, and
looking down, saw two men smoking it in the hold
beneath my feet. I have been made sick by the
smell of it, in an opium house at Canton, and have
held my breath as I passed the opium dens in
Macao. I have walked on the steep hill-sides of
Hong Kong, and there have seen common begqars,
who dwelt "in cliffs of the valleys, in caves of the
earth, and in rocks" —and who were too poor to buy
an opium pipe, smoking opium out of a little
earthen vessel in which they had drilled a hole,
that it might serve as a substitute for a pipe! And
what hope can' there be for such a people?  Men
of the world, honourable and upright men too, will
sell them opium for money.  The Chinese will buy
it, let the emperor thunder against it as long as he
chooses, and the smoker wil use it, though it
weakens his body,'impairs his mind, stupefies his
conscience, and renders him miserable when not
under its influence. There is no help for them but
in God. The use of opium in China will never be
abolished, until a reformation, similar to the tem



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     195
perance reformation of America, commence among
the people themselves. And that reformation I
fear will not commence, and certainly will not be
completed, till the religion of Christ takes deep root,
and becomes the predominant power in China.
Let Christians, then, cry mightily unto God, in
behalf of this ancient people.  His hand is not
shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy
that it cannot hear.
Hong Kong, October 16th, 1843.
After getting back to Amoy on Friday, I spent
part of that night and the next day in writing. A
little vessel of some thirty tons burden, here called
a'lorcha, being about to sail for Macao and Hong
Kong, I found Mr. Roberts had taken passage in
her. As there was no prospect of a vessel soon for
Hong Kong from Amoy, and as I was anxious to
reach home soon, I concluded to take a passage in
her too. Mr. Abeel did not want me to go so soon;
and certainly, although she promised a safe and
quick passage, there was every prospect of its being
an uncomfortable one, the vessel being so small, and
likely to roll so much. No danger, however, was
apprehended, and the price of passage, only twenty
dollars, was an inducement. I should probably
have had to pay forty or fifty dollars, besides
waiting some time, if I went in a ship.  The lorcha
was manned by three Englishmen and four Chinese,
had mat sails, and had recently come up from Macao
against the monsoon.
Monday at noon, though the wind was very high,
we started. Soon got to the mouth of the harbour;
but there we found the wind so strong, and the sea
so high, we were afraid to go out, and therefore put
back to wait for better weather. The wind abated
during the night, and the next day, we started




196      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
again, got to sea, and were fairly on our course.
The wind was still strong, and the sea rough, but
we went on finely, and in six hours were a long
way off from Amoy. Soon after dark, however,
our rudder was broken by the violence of a wave
that struck it. The rudders of all the Chinese built
vessels are very large awkward things, and very
apt to be broken. We found ourselves quite helpless, as we could not direct the vessel's course at
all.  Being quite dark, there was nothing we could
do but heave the vessel to and let her drift till daylight. In so small a vessel, and in such a situation,
I considered it a little unsafe, and kept awake
nearly all night, to see how she would behave.
But though the wind and sea were strong and rough,
she rode:ike a duck, and though rolling very much,
took in little water. Mr. Roberts was very seasick.
Wednesday morning, the weather continued clear
but rough, and we found ourselves drifting along
the coast. The men tried to make a new rudder
with two bamboo poles, but it would not work.
They then slept several hours, and tried to repair
the broken rudder; but did it so awkwardly that
it also was useless. They seemed disposed then to
do nothing but wait for calmer weather. At this
season of the year there was no prospect of the
weather growing worse than it then was. I knew,
also, that the course of the wind and current would
cause us to drift down along the coast in sight of
land as far as Pedro Branca, a rock forty-five miles
from Hong Kong. After reaching that rock, there
would be danger of being driven out into the open
China Sea; but at the rate we supposed we were
going, we did not expect to see Pedro Branca for
five or six days, and we were pretty sure in that
time that the weather would moderate. I concluded,
therefore, that there was no immediate cause of
apprehension, but it was very unpleasant to think
of spending so many days in that little rolling damp




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      19 7
lace. Yet there seemed to be no help for it, and
J tried to nerve my mind to bear it. A little spray
occasionally dashed over us, and sometimes a few
drops forced themselves through the windows, and
made our sleeping place wet, but altogether, it was
very far superior to the long-boat. During Wednesday night I found Mr. Roberts was a great deal
alarmed. However, I was an older sailor than he,
and my former "experience" now wrought "hope,"
so that I had little fear.
Thursday we drifted on, gradually however edging
off further from the land. One of the men had been
along the coast frequently, and said he knew where
we were, all the time. According to his account,
we were drifting at about thirty miles a day.
Thursday night also Mr. Roberts was much
alarmed, and I confess I did not myself like the
idea of our getting out so far from land as we
evidently were. However, I slept well, as I had
done the night before. The weather too seemed to
be a little better; wind abating some, though the
sea was still rough.
Friday morning at daylight we could scarcely see
the land, and by nine o'clock, we were out of sight
of it.  Findingo the men were disposed to do very
little, I took the matter in hand, and representing
the danger of being out at sea, urged the propriety
of running the boat on shore if possible; and if
nothing better offered, of trying to go to Hong Kong
by land. This stirred them up, and they agreed to
try and repair the rudder a little better, and do
something in that way if possible. We saw several
fishing-boats going out to fish, a pretty sure sign
that the fishermen anticipated a calm time. After
a little while the men got their rudder repaired.
She worked adflirably, and we went on our course
finely.  " Thank God," said one of the men, "we
shall see Pedro Branca to-night."  This was before
eleven o'clock A. M. In half an hour or so, I said
to the captain, "Is that an English or a Chinese
17*




198      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
vessel, away off there?"-" Well, I was just a
lookin'; oh, I'spose it's a Chinese vessel.' The
mate looked at it steadfastly, " That! that's Pedro
Branca! forty-five miles from Hong Kong!" So it
was, we had drifted a hundred miles further than
we thought, and had come altogether one hundred
and sixty miles in less than three days! How providential it was we got the rudder repaired at the
time we did! If we had not, the probability is we
should on that day (Friday) have been in the China
Sea; and then almost our only hope would have
been to have been picked up by some vessel. Truly
goodness and mercy have followed me hitherto.
Saturday morning at daylight we were within ten
miles of Hong Kong. An American vessel was
just before us. As soon as the men saw her, they
said, "That's an American ship."  "How do you
know?" said I. "Oh, any one who's accustomed
to vessels can almost always tell an American vessel, they always look so clean." The remark is one
often made.
We anchored at nine o'clock A. M. in Hong Kong
harbour, and having breakfasted, and called the men
into the cabin to render thanks to God for the goodness and mercy received on our voyage, we went
ashore; we were only one day longer in coming
than we had expected to be, notwithstanding the
loss of our rudder.
Most of my friends in Hong Kong declared they
never would go to sea with me, as the elements
were leagued against me, and that I must consider
myself as settled in Macao or Hong Kong.  The
ship we saw, which got in just before us, was the
Zenobia. I did not get my letters till evening, and
it kept me till bed-time to get through with all,but oh, what news! a beloved brother hopefully
pious; a donation of ten thousand dollars for China; five new missionaries preparing for the same
great field! My heart was full. For hours after I
went to bed 1 could not sleep. Oh how I thought




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     199
of the past, the present and the future! I got up
and walked about the room; being "merry," I sang
a hymn; and knelt down to pray. Oh, it is worth
a great deal to get such news, and so delightful
after the unpleasant contrast of the week previous.
Found the Hepburns had started about ten days
before in a very fine vessel for Amoy; was very
glad to hear it, though I knew that with the winds
they had had they could make little progress, and
would have a dreadfully rough time.
Sabbath (yesterday) I preached in the chapel
here in the morning, and talked to the boys in Mr.
Brown's school in the evening.
To-day I meant to have gone to Macao, but not
being able to get the specie on board the Zenobia
safely deposited, I found it necessary to remain
another day. Just about four o'clock, who should
come in but Dr. and Mrs. Hepburn, driven back by
the bad weather?'! They were far more surprised to
see me than I to see them. They have had dreadful weather, and a rough time. Poor Mrs. H. was
very sea-sick, but looks quite as well as when I left
Macao. They will probably start in a few days to
make a second effort.
Macao, October 22d, 1843. The gale in which we
lost our rudder in the lorcha, and drifted so far,
was quite terrific further south.  The vessel in
which the Hepburns were, had to put back with the
loss of spars, sails, &c.; several other vessels had
also to put back, and this last week in Hong Kong,
we heard that the vessel in which Mr. Medhurst
and Mr. Milne were proceeding to Chusan, had lost
her top-masts, had her captain swept overboard and
drowned, and was finally obliged to put into Manilla
in distress. Mr. Milne, describing the gale, said
that "for ten hours they expected nothing but
death."
This week I have had a regular attack of chill
and fever, the first for thirteen years. It was
brought on, I have no doubt, by the exposure of




200      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
the last six weeks. Last Thursday was the first
day I have spent in bed from sickness, for more
than eight years.
October 24th. How sad and mysterious oftentimes are the dispensations of Providence! I must
close my journal with the death of the Rev. Mr.
Dyer, who has been so long engaged in preparing
Chinese metal type. He came up here in July
with the other missionaries of the London Missionary Society, to attend a missionary meeting ordered
by their society in Hong Kong. After transacting
all the business required, he went to Canton to see
the place, and was there taken with the disease
that has prevailed so fearfully in Hong Kong this
year. He began to recover, took his passage in a
vessel going to Singapore, and came down to Hong
Kong; I saw him there on board his ship, the day
I got back from Amoy. Hle was recovering rapidly.
The vessel came over here, and was unexpectedly
detained several days; he had a relapse, was brought
ashore to our house, and died this morning at ten
o'clock. Yesterday his mind was wandering all day,
but this morning he was sensible, knew us all, knew
he was dying, said he felt "very happy," and often
repeated "sweet Jesus, sweet Jesus.  I was with
him when he died.  His spirit seemed to depart
with scarcely a struggle. He had been out in this
region seventeen years, and there is no one who can
take the place he occupied. He has left a wife and
four children. Humanly speaking, his death is a
very great loss. He was a man of piety and prayer,
and of a most catholic spirit.
Thus we go: one after another is called to his
long home. In one respect, the death of these servants of God is even cheering. Their work is
finished, and thus another part of the great work
God has to do on earth is accomplished. It will
not have to be done again....




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      201
Macao, November 4th, 1843.
To THE SOCIETY OF INQUIRY IN THE WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
DEAR BRETHREN: —On the 27th of July, this
year, a letter was put into my hands, addresed to
my colleague in this mission, the Rev. T. L. McBryde.
As you will have learned before now, he sailed for
the United States, early in the month preceding its
arrival. He left with me, however, a discretionary
power to open his letters, and suspecting from the
postmark that it was from your society, I opened
and read it. I suppose that a letter from myself in
reply, will be nearly equally acceptable, especially
as I was brought up almost in sight of your Seminary, and have spent more than half of my life
within thirty miles of it.
I can assure you, that it will ever afford me great
pleasure to correspond with you. I have been a
theological student myself, and know the interest
that such students feel in letters from missionaries;
and I can sjpeak from experience too, when I say
that a missionary is glad to receive letters from a
society like yours. It was interesting to me to read
your accounts of the revivals of religion in the West,
for it recalled the memory of other days, when I
also shared in such precious seasons. Dear brethren,
you cannot too highly value, nor too sedulously improve, the opportunities you now have of intercourse
in Christian society,-of labouring for the good of
souls, and especially of being present where the
Spirit of the Lord is poured out. Should you ever
become missionaries to the heathen, there is nothing
that, in the review, will give you more real delight
than to recall such times. I have in my native land
mingled in various scenes; I have gone to the
literary feast, the crowded assembly, and the cheerful social circle, and found pleasure in all; but I
now recall, with far more satisfaction, the solitary




202       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
walk over the hills with a single Christian brother,
the visit to the poor old Christian negro's cottage,
the little prayer-meeting in the house where the lame
mother in Israel joined in the song of praise, and the
country Sabbath school. I have forgotten many
other things, but I have not forgotten the Brainerd
meetings of Jefferson College, nor the time when, in
one of the rooms in your seminary, a classmate and
myself bowed the knee in prayer to our common
Father. Lay up a store of such things for recollection,
and they will cheer many a lonely hour in your
future course.
Your letter asks several questions, which I will
answer, and also, if you permit, will add some other
items. You ask what special preparation is necessary for the field of labour? I think, principally
those of a spiritual nature. I mean, strong faith to
believe God s promises that the world shall be converted, for you will find little in the outward aspect
of things to make you think so; patience and perseverance, for both are needed. You may have to
labour here for many years, and see little apparent
fruit of your labour. Above all, put on charity,
which is the bond of perfectness.  Cultivate the
spirit of love and forbearance, for you will find
abundant occasion for its exercise. I trust you have
none of those romantic notions that will induce you
to think a missionary a superior being. We are
men of like passions with others. We come from
different parts of the world with different views,
from the influences of very different states of public
feeling. We come to a country where there is no
public feeling, where each man must judge for himself, where there is no standard of public opinion
such as you have at home. In such circumstances,
it is natural to expect great diversity of views, and
nothing but the spirit of meekness, and forbearance,
and love will enable you to live happily with your
fellow-labourers.  The longer I live, the more I am
struck with the expressiveness of those reiterated




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     203
commands of our Saviour in his last address to his
disciples, to love one another. Brethren, study and
practise the thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians,
and it will do you good wherever you are.
As to other preparations, the more you know on
all subjects, provided you know it well, the better.
There is hardly an item of general knowledge of any
kind that I ever acquired, which I have not already
found occasion to bring into use. On subjects of
general knowledge, it is important, if you come to
this field, to know pretty well the histories of
England, France, and India. I take for granted
that you know the history of our own country
thoroughly, and can tell why the American flag has
thirteen stripes, and twenty-six stars. Study Geology and Botany by all means. These two sciences
are of prime importance, and you will almost daily
find the benefit of an acquaintance with them. I
do not think a knowledge of medicine necessary to a
missionary to China. If you have an opportunity
of learning something about it, very well; but you
will not, I think, find it advantageous to unite an
extensive medical practice with the preaching of the
Gospel. The two should go together, but it seems
better that they should be performed by different
persons.
I think the climate of the ports of Ningpo and
Shanghae will be found most suitable for persons
from the United States. Persons disposed to bilious
complaints and dyspeptics will suffer a good deal
in the Canton and Fuhkeen provinces. I think
a confirmed dyspeptic might almost as well not come
here. Persons liable to consumption would find the
Canton and Fuhkeen provinces delightful residences,
and I think that even those of bilious habits would
be nearly as safe in Ningpo and Chusan, as in the
United States. They have ice and snow there in
winter. The Chinese language is very difficult, and
I am disposed to say, that one who cannot make
some tolerable progress in Latin, Greek, or Hebrew,




204      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
may as well not come here. The language is the
difficulty in China. I do not think it unattainable.
I think its difficulties have been exaggerated. I
think that every year its acquisition will be found
easier, because more facilities in the way of elementary books, and access to the people, are being
afforded. In other respects, I do not consider the
field as "peculiarly arduous." On the contrary,
it is a peculiarly inviting one. I came here almost
unwillingly, for 1 wanted to go to Africa, but what
I have seen has made me glad I came; and if I
know my own heart, its desire is to live and die
among this people. One thing is very certain, missionaries who come to this people will find them in
general poor and ignorant. Here, emphatically, "to
the poor the gospel will be preached." You must
therefore make up your minds to become teachers
of babes when you come to this people. There are,
I admit, many exceptions, and you will often meet
men of considerable learning and tact, but the mass
of the people are as above described. Your own
experience has probably already taught you, that
it is more difficult for an educated man to come
down and instruct the ignorant, than it is to instruct
those who already know something. This suggestion, therefore, may assist you somewhat in judging
of' the qualities a missionary needs, in instructing
this people: they are patience, a facility in finding
comparisons, a talent for simplifying, an engaging
address, &c. &c..... There are many items of intelligence I might
communicate to you; but you will see in the pages
of the Chronicle and Foreign Missionary, much
more than I can possibly write at this time, and
therefore I shall refer you to them.  I do so the
more readily, because I have nothing of especial
interest to communicate to you, except what this
letter contains, which will not appear in one or other
of those publications. My own progress in the language has been but small. Nearly one-half of the




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       205
time, since my arrival in China, has been spent in
voyages, and other engagements connected with the
mission; so that altogether I have given but eight
or nine months' close attention to it. Still I am
encouraged, arid hope ere long to have a tolerably
good acquaintance with it.
Allow me, in conclusion, to make some remarks
on your own duty in reference to the heathen, and
these I trust you will receive not as coming from a
superior, but from one himself recently a theological
student, and still remembering the feelings of such.
Your letter speaks with just severity of the inconsistency of those who pass resolutions to do something s ecial for the cause of foreign missions, and
yet make no special efforts to accomplish their resolutions. You speak too of the apathy of the
churches on this subject, and, as I think, partly lay
the blame at the door of the pastors of the churches.
I am convinced from what I have seen, and I saw
a good deal before leaving the United States, that
the fault is with the ministry. "Like priest, like
people," is an ancient and true proverb. But I do
not mean to blame the ministry in general, nor to
pass an indiscriminate censure even on those of
them who have done little or nothing. My object
rather is to forget the things that are behind, and
to press forward to those that are before. Hence
it has ever appeared exceedingly important, that
the students in our theological seminaries should
have the right spirit in the matter. Could I but
see the right spirit prevailing in our theological
seminaries, I am almost certain that in ten years
our whole church would assume an entirely different
appearance, as it regards the cause of foreign and
domestic missions. Why? Because in that time
I suppose our seminaries would have supplied five
hundred pastors of churches at least, and they
would be settled in all parts of the country. Suppose now that those five hundred pastors had the
right spirit, and joined their influence heartily with
18




206      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
the ministers already earnestly engaged, and what
would be the effect? Their influence would be felt
in all our Presbyteries and Synods. When the
Assembly passed resolutions, there would be men
enough to respond to them. We should no more
hear that more than half our churches give nothing
at all to the cause of Christ. The whole appearance
of things would be entirely altered. Now, brethren,
you form a part of those five hundred ministers.
The most of you, I suppose, will become pastors in
different parts of the country. What is your spirit
now in regard to the benevolent operations of the
day? What do you intend to do when you are
settled over your several charges?  Shall the theological students of 1853 make the same complaints
of you, that you make of your predecessors?
I have no doubt that many of you, I trust all of
you, intend to do something at least for foreign missions. Your own personal duty as to becoming missionaries, is a subject I shall not now touch upon.
I wish to refer to the influence on behalf of foreign
missions, which you may exert on the people.
Your intentions are doubtless good, but what preparations are you now making? What do you know
of missions? Do you think you will be able to keep
up the interest of your people in the Monthly Concert? Do you think you will be able to teach
them the true principles of missions; not romantic
views, but sober, common-sense, Christian principles? Do you think you will be able to sustain
the interest of your people from year to year, and
not merely to sustain it, but to cause it to grow; to
take deeper root; to become more and more a matter of principle, and less and less one of mere impulse? Do you think you will be able to do without the visits of agents? I trust you will pardon me
if I say, I fear that some of you cannot answer these
questions in the affirmative. I do not know any of
you personally, and therefore you will not of course
consider my remarks as personal. I only speak




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      207
from my knowledge of theological students in
general, and that has been pretty extensive, and
sufficiently accurate to justify me in making the
above remarks. It is no easy thing to bring the
church up to the mark, and to keep her there, and
you will find this very soon after you are settled
in the ministry. You will find that without a
tolerably thorough and extensive acquaintance with
the history and principles of missions, you cannot
do it.
Do you ask me, then, what you are to do? I say,
first learn. Now is your time, while you are in the
seminary.  Layr a deep and broad foundation of
missionary knowledge; study the prophecies of the
Bible in reference to this point, and study them
specially. See what prophecies relate to Africa;
what to the Jews; whether there are any for
China. Learn the history of the progress of the
gospel in all ages and countries, but particularly
within the last fifty years. Study the history of
particular missions. I take it for granted you will
study the history of our own Board and its missions,
but I hope you will not confine yourself to them.
God has blessed other societies, both in America
and England, abundantly; and now, when the
means of information are so accessible, why should
you not avail yourselves of them? Study the Bible
with reference to this point. Why is it that some
men at Monthly Concerts read only the seventysecond Psalm, and the sixtieth chapter of Isaiah?
They really seem to think that there are no other
parts of the Bible that speak of missions. Having
learned these things-and you see from this hasty
outline that there is not a little to be learned, and
that you can best commence learning it while in the
seminary-the next thing will be to teach.  This
will be your duty in the public services of the sanctuary, in the Monthly Concert, in friendly visits
among your people, and, above all, in the Sabbathschool. Let it be a special object with you to




208       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
interest the young, and you will certainly succeed.
But I have written till my hand is wearied, and
perhaps have wearied your patience. What I have
written, however, though hastily penned, has not
been hastily gathered. I trust it will not be hastily
passed over by you. I shall be most happy to hear
from you as soon as you wish to write, and shall
prefer that you ask me questions, which I shall
answer as I can. I have some questions to ask
you in return, to which I shall be glad to receive
answers. What is the order and nature of your
exercises in the Society of Inquiry, and the Monthly
Concert? Do your students make it a point of conscience to inquire into their own personal duty to
the heathen? And is this done in the early part of
your theological course? Do your students generally read the missionary publications, particularly
the Chronicle and Herald'? I don't mean, do you
take them? for I have known many students to
take, who scarcely ever read them. Is your Monthly Concert well attended? Do you have any missionary exercises in your Sabbath-schools? And if
so, what and how frequently? Have any of your
students ever written one or more missionary sermons before leaving the Seminary?
If you publish a catalogue, I shall be glad to
receive a copy. And now, dear brethren, I must
close. I make no apology for the plainness of my
remarks and questions, and trust you will receive
them in the same frank and Christian spirit with
which they are made. Pray for me. That the
choicest blessings of God may ever rest upon you,
is the prayer of
Your brother in Christ,
W. M. M. LowRu.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.    209
Macao, December 15th, 1843.
MY DEAR MOTHER —... It has become so cold
within a day or two past that I have to think of
old times.... My teacher comes in with half a
dozen jackets on, and draws his hands into the longlined sleeves of the third of them, sitting as snug
and cosy, as if he had a little fireplace under his
elbows. By the way, it is extremely common for
Chinese of any wealth to carry a small metal vessel,
as large as a man's fist, with live coals in it. It is
used to warm their fingers with, and when covered
up in the long sleeve must diffuse a very grateful
warmth up the arm. Frost and snow are so seldom
met with here, that neither the Chinese nor the
Portuguese ever build fireplaces in their houses.
If necessary they use a brazier with charcoal, but
commonly adopt the expedient of heaping on additional clothes. Did I ever describe to you the winter dress of the generality of the Chinese about
here? You would laugh if you saw them. I do not
know what they have next to the skin, but from the
waist to the ankle the outside dress is a pair of very
closely fitting drawers, which show exactly the form
of the whole of the lower extremities.  Then the
upper part of the body is covered with the loose
jacket, of which they wear as many as the weather
requires, or their means permit.  Their appearance
is consequently next thing to ridiculous. The
whole of the upper part of the body looks like a
barrel with a head on the top of it, while the legs
stick out beneath like a pair of compasses. What
adds to the effect of the whole, is, that the drawers
are of various colours blue, green, yellow, black and
white. Many a time I have laughed at the comical
appearance of a young dandy, who thought he was
making a grand display in his new clothes and wellturned limbs. I should like to see one of them in
Broadway, with his thick soled shoes and green
tights, his wadded vests, and round cap and long
18*




210      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
tail behind. Yet, after all, I am a great admirer of
the Chinese modes of dress. Their drawers, and
the thick-soled shoes, and the tails are the worst
parts; but the better classes do not wear the
drawers, or at least they wear another garment over
them.....It would amuse you to see how universal the use of the fan is. I have seen a coolie
or common labourer, sweating along the streets
under a heavy burden, and fanning himself all the
time. It is funny to see some of the mechanics, and
others a grade or two above the coolies, fanning
themselves in summer. Their dress then consists
of a pair of very loose trowsers fastened round the
waist by a string, and an upper garment reaching a
little lower than the top of the trowsers, and hanging loose over them. You will see them every now
and then putting their hands behind them, and fanning up their backs, under this jacket.
My teacher is quite intelligent for a Chinese,
though he knows almost nothing of anything beyond
China. He thinks it very strange that we say
north, east, south, and west, for the Chinese say
east, west, south and north. It is also very strange
to him that we say north-east, south-east, &c., for
the Chinese say east-north, east-south, west-north,
&c. I was amused at a talk we had yesterday about
the Chinese queue, or tail, as we commonly call
it. He said that formerly it was not worn, but that
the present fashion of shaving all the front of the
head and leaving it to grow long and braiding it
behind was introduced about two hundred years ago,
by the present Tartar dynasty.
I told him about the death and resurrection of
Christ, at which he seemed much surprised. He
asked if Christ was not a man like Confucius. I
told him no, but the Son of God. As his curiosity
seemed to be somewhat excited, I told him I had a
biography of Christ which I would lend him, if he
wished to read it. He said he would, so I gave him
a New Testament, which he took away with him.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     211
Oh that the Spirit of God may make it a blessing to
him..
him.    ith love to all the family, I remain,
Yours affectionately,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Macao, November 20th, 1843.
TO THE SOCIETY OF INQUIRY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
DEAR BRETHREN:- It is now rather more than
two years since I finally left your institution. I
did not intend that so long a time should elapse
without writing to you, for both my own inclinations,
and a kind request from your corresponding secretary, have made me wish to hold a correspondence
with you. Circumstances, however, over which I
have had little control, have induced me to defer
writing till the present period. You may be sure it
has not been for want of interest in your institution
that I have so long delayed. On the contrary, the
thoughts of hallowed seasons in the old Oratory
where you meet, have been among the most pleasant of the many pleasant recollections I have
brought from the land of my birth.
You have doubtless heard marvellous accounts of
the difficulty of the Chinese language, and the time
necessary to gain even a'smattering' in it. Ten,
fifteen, twenty, and even twenty-five years have I
heard assigned as the time in which a person may
hope to gain some little acquaintance with it. Now
all this is certainly incorrect.  There is no doubt
it is a very hard language. If any of you come
here, you will need a great deal more resolution and
spirit than you found needed for Hebrew. It is, I
suppose, the hardest language in the world, and




212      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
perhaps no foreigner will ever acquire it perfectly;
certainly no foreigner ever has acquired it perfectly.
But I have seen several men who have been here
much less than ten years who do speak it with great
fluency, and are quite intelligible, not merely to the
teacher who has become accustomed to their pronunciation and modes of thought, but to the people
in general, and that too in the most difficult of all
the dialects. Nor are those who have made such
acquirements men of the most splendid talents, and
wonderful facilities in learning languages. They are
little, if anything, superior to the most of those who
become missionaries. It is also a most important
consideration that the facilities for learning the language are now vastly greater than they have ever
before been, so that at the northern ports especially,
a person may hope to learn the language in twothirds of the time that was formerly requisite. By
facilities I mean, books, teachers, and especially
opportunities of access to the people. I do not wish
to give you the impression that it is a light work to
learn it. If any of you come here with that impression, you will be sadly disappointed. But if you
come, and sit down manfully to the task, determined
from the outset to be satisfied with nothing less
than an accurate acquaintance with the tones, and
with the sounds, and with the idioms, you will find
yourselves in two years' time proceeding with profit
and pleasure. By that time you will have gained
much acquaintance with the character of the people;
you will be astonished at the vastness of the field
open before you, and you will thank God that he
has sent you to labour for this great and ancient
race.
If you come here as missionaries, you must expect many trials. They will come upon you in unthought-of ways, and where you looked for most
joy, you may perhaps find most sorrow. I am led
to make this remark for two reasons. It is a fact
that Chinese missionaries have been remarkably




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      213
tried, some by sickness, some by loss of relatives,
some by personal inconveniences and disappointments. There are some twenty or more missionaries to China, not including females; of these twenty, there are scarcely three who have not met some
sore trial within the last fifteen months. I do not
know whether missionaries to other countries have
been so generally afflicted; but very many of them
have, and you may be called to experience the same.
There is also another reason that induces me to
think that missionaries to China must expect trials.
We have a very great work to perform. If China
contain, as it probably does, one-third of the population of the globe, and if this people is to be converted to God, then no words of mine are needed,
as no human words are able to express the greatness of the work before us. But when was it ever
known that any great work was accomplished without labour and toil, self-denial, sacrifice, and oftentimes the acutest mental anguish? Has not every
great work that ever has been performed for God
in the world been watered by the sweat, and the
tears, and the blood of his servants? And can we
expect that the conversion of the most populous
nation of the globe shall be accomplished with ordinary efforts and ordinary sorrows?  General experience is against it. The experience of missionaries to China is against it. And the example of
God our Saviour, who, to accomplish the world's
redemption, became "sorrowful even unto death,"
should teach us, who are to be " partakers of his
sufferings," not to expect it.  We need to be
humbled in the dust before we can be trusted with
success, where success is to be so glorious.  We
need to be purified in the furnace before we can
labour with acceptance, where our acceptable labours
are to redound so much to the glory of God; yet
do not think that these trials will make you unhappy. For a time they will be hard to bear; but
"He giveth more grace.  And great as have been




214      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
the trials of the missionaries here, I have seldom
associated with persons who seemed so truly happy
as do most of my fellow-labourers in China. These
trials are necessary for us here, and it was well
remarked to me by one who was herself called to
bear the yoke, " Trials are one of our most precious
means of grace."
If I may judge from what I have seen in the
papers, the impression is gaining ground, that missionaries should be unmarried men: and some of
the principal reasons adduced for this opinion are,
that it will cost much less to sustain them; they
will be much more free to move about and embrace
favourable opportunities of doing good; they will be
less likely to go home; and after all, the wives of
missionaries do not do so very much, in the way of
direct labour, and would not be very much missed.
Those who are in favour of the marriage of missionaries insist very much on the direct usefulness of
the wives of missionaries, and there are many who
seem to think this is the chief reason for sending
them. Now, with all due deference to the advocates of both sides, it strikes me that these arguments place the subject on the wrong ground, and
present it in a false light.
Missionaries are men of like passions with others,
and in the present day, when miraculous influences
have ceased, I know not why they should be judged
of in a different way from other men; or why the
broad principles of the Bible are not as applicable
to them as to other men. Now one of the first
principles of the Bible on this subject is, "It is not
good that the man should be alone." This principle,
I conceive, was recognized by our Saviour when the
disciples said, "It is not good to marry."  He who
knew what was in man, said, "All men cannot receive this saying-he that is able to receive it, let
him receive it." This is the rule by which this
cquestion must be decided. It is not good for the
great majority of men to be alone; first, because, if




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      215
alone they are exposed to temptations, which sad
experience proves that most men cannot withstand;
secondly, because, though they may by grace withstand the temptations to actual sin, yet they are
not contented; and they want those solaces of affection which the human heart craves, and those counsels of intimate friendship that are so grateful to
him that is separated from the influences of Christian society. If, then, you can live sinlessly in the
unmarried state; if you can be contented; if you
can be satisfied without the kindly influences of
female society; then I say, it is probably your duty
to be an unmarried missionary, but not otherwise.
The expense is not the question; and as long as
the Church is so abundantly able to bear it as she
now is, it is a shame to mention such a consideration, or to ask, why does not the missionary live as
the whalers and fur-hunters do?
There is force in the consideration, that an unmarried missionary is more free to move about, and
at times to occupy stations where married men cannot easily go, and the consideration should have its
own weight with those who think of this subject.
But there is equal force in the consideration, that
permanent good, and visible effects have most commonly followed where the married missionary has
settled, and by his settlement concentrated his
efforts. The direct usefulness of the missionary's
wife, is by no means the main point in deciding this
question. Her first duty in all cases is to attend to
her husband and children; and -if she have time and
strength for more than this, then that is all clear
gain. Let her preserve her husband from those
temptations to which unmarried men are exposed;
let her soothe him in his hours of despondency; let
her relieve him from the household cares that must
interrupt him if unmarried; let her soften the disposition that without her influence would become
rough and rude; (for as Bacon says, "Certainly wife
and children are a kind of discipline of humanity;")




216       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
let her show by her silent example what a Christian
wife and mother is, and how she should be treated;
and if she never learns a syllable of the native language, or teaches a single heathen child a letter, she
has accomplished a work worth ten times more than
the expense of her outfit and support. These observations may excite a smile, but they are not written
in levity. They may appear strange, and halfromantic, but only to those who have romantic
views of missions. Much thought and the acquaintance of several missionaries, convince me that they
are the words of truth and soberness. As to the
question whether it is the wife who causes the return of the missionary, although the general opinion
seems to be that it is, yet I have my doubts. Certainly the experience of the Presbyterian Board does
not say so; for of all their missionaries who have
returned on account of ill health, Mr. Rogers of
North India is the only one who has yet been
taken back by his wife's ill health; in every other
case it is the husband's ill health that has taken the
wife back. The experience of the American Board
seems to be different; but I should be glad to see a
fuller array of facts, than the celebrated paper of
Dr. Anderson presents. It does not strike me that
the whole of the facts, in regard to the return of all
who do return, is there presented. If I remember
rightly, that paper speaks of the return of so many
married missionaries, but does not say anything
about the return of unmarried missionaries.
I have been exceedingly pained by some articles
I have seen lately in the papers, in reference to the
claims of the domestic and foreign fields. The spirit
of the articles referred to has not been of the right
kind.. I have no doubt their authors meant well,
but it appears to me to be an exceedingly erroneous
course, to attempt to set the claims of foreign and
domestic missions in array and in opposition against
each other, or to say that too much attention has
been given to the one, to the neglect of the other.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      217
The attempts I have seen in some of the papers to
show that literally more has been done for foreign
than for domestic missions, I pass by, as unworthy
of an answer: you can count every cent that is expended for the foreign field, but you have not the
statistics for one-half the expenses of the domestic
field; and yet it is easily shown that even the half
of those expenses is much greater than all that is
expended abroad. These men talk of the vastness
of the domestic field, of the favourable openings, of
the need of labourers; and they tell us that these
men are our brethren, and have special claims upon
us. I admit it all, and if I could add anything to
the force of what they say, I would beseech you, by
the mercies of Christ, and by your love for the
souls of your brethren, to do with your might what
your hands find to do for them. But why should
this be done by disparaging the claims of the foreign
field?  0 brethren, if I could show you what I have
lately seen,-the numerous openings where the
gospel may be preached, the unnumbered thousands
who are accessible with far more ease than the scattered inhabitants of the West, the fewness and
feebleness of the labourers sent by the Church,-and
if we could all feel that these, too, are our brethren,
seeing God hath made us all of one blood to dwell
on all the face of the earth, you would give little
heed to such unworthy comparisons. If the church
were now doing all in her power; if every nerve
were strained as much as the gospel requires, then
there might be occasion to pause, and ask-, Are we
not doing too much here, or too much there? But
as long as more than half the Church is doing
nothing, absolutely nothing, let there be no more
complaints that too much is done for the heathen.
I object to the papers referred to, because they give
countenance to the idea, that the interests of the
foreign and domestic fields are not the same. If
there is any man who renounces such an idea, it is
the missionary to the heathen. Our hearts rejoice
19




218       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
within us when we hear of the extension of the
cause of Christ at home, and that the gospel is
preached to the poor and the destitute.  Why?
Not only because of the amount of actual good
accomplished, but because we know that thus new
funds, and new men, are raised up for the foreign
field, and additional prayers ascend on our behalf.
Every conquest at home increases our strength
abroad.  But if we are told that these conquests
are to be gained henceforth by diminishing the
efforts abroad, and disparaging the importance of
the work in which we are engaged, then we have
small reason to rejoice. But I will not believe that
such one-sided views shall ever gain general currency among those who see and know, that one of
the surest ways to promote vital piety at home, is
to make it active and expansive; so that, while it
rejoices to do good to those around, it embraces the
world in the wide arms of charity.
I observe that one of the " standing requests" you
propose to your foreign correspondents is, " Can ou
send us any curiosities?"  To this I answer, "Yes,
plenty; if I had the money to buy them with."
Such things are not easily to be procured without
paying for them; and as a missionary's salary does
not commonly give him a great deal of spending
money besides his necessary expenses, he cannot
easily send many curiosities to all who would like
to have them. I will, however, keep my eyes
open, and endeavour to make some addition to your
cabinet. Allow me to suggest whether it would
not be better for you to make an annual appropriation of ten, twenty, or thirty dollars, and request
some of the missionaries to procure articles for your
cabinet? I will most cheerfully undertake any such
commission for you, and will procure either such
articles as you may specify, or myself select such
as may be interesting. There will be no difficulty
in remitting the money, for all that is necessary is
to pay it at the Mission Rooms in New York,




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      219
stating that it is "for curiosities, &c., for the Seminary at Princeton." Have you a set of the Chinese
Repository?  I know you have one or two of the
volumes; but it is very desirable that you have the
whole set, for there is no work, ancient or modern,
that gives so much information concerning China.
If you will give me instructions to that effect, and
tell me what volumes you have, I can easily procure you the others. There are now twelve volumes;
the first and second are six dollars each, and the
other ten three dollars each, being forty-two dollars
for the set. It is continued yearly at three dollars
a year.
I must now bring this long epistle to a close.
That every blessing from above may rest upon you,
may direct your future course, and crown your
labours with success, is the prayer of your friend and
brother in the gospel,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Macao, December 30th, 1843.
MY DEAR FATHER. —.... The principal occurrence
of interest during the month has been some rather
public discussions of the visit paid by Mr. Abeel
and myself to Chang-Chowfoo. After my return,
Mr. Bridgman and others importuned me to write
an account of it for the Chinese Repository. I declined at first, from a dislike to make myself so
prominent as such an account would necessarily
make me. Being still urged I consented, and Mr.
Bridgman and myself looked over it carefully to
see that there were no incorrect statements; and,
not to offend our English friends, omitted all reference to the manner in which the officers at ChangChow spoke of Americans. The article was read
with interest, and among others an English officer
of some influence in Hong Kong spoke of it quite
favourably. Judge, then, of my surprise, when a




220      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
few days afterwards Sir Henry Pottinger published
a proclamation expressly referring to it, pointedly
condemning our conduct, and informing the Chinese
authorities of the Provinces of Canton and Fuhkeen,
that the "party, &c., were Americans!"  This excited no little talk, and I heard many persons condemn Sir Henry's course as impertinent and uncalled
for, though I found that the insinuations of the proclamation were leaving unfavourable impressions as
to my conduct. I accordingly prepared a reply, and
sent it to the " Friend of China."  A cautious friend
in Hong Kong,  without my leave, withdrew the
article. When he gave me his reasons, I did not
deem them sufficient. I could not see how a plain
and manly defence of one's course against uncalled
for and injurious charges was improper. I considered too that our American citizenship and freedom
from the surveillance of English authorities, were
important circumstances in our favor in carrying on
the work of missions here, and were to be defended
and maintained. Accordingly I wrote another article, which appeared this week in the Friend of
China.
In consequence of Sir Henry's letter to the governor of Canton, the latter addressed a lettei to the
American consul, informing him of the affair, and
urging him to enforce on his countrymen the necessity of obedience to the treaty.  MRr. Forbes wrote
back that his countrymen would always obey the
laws when made known; but that when we went to
Chang-Chow, the supplementary treaty was not
known to us. Ile also wrote me a very gentlemanly letter, more, I suppose, as a matter of form
than anything else, informing me of the communication of the governor of Canton.
The notoriety attending this affair has been not
a little unpleasant and annoying to me, but I do not
feel that I have done anything to be ashamed of. I
suppose it is to be considered as one of the necessary trials of this state of warfare, and a wholesome




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       221
discipline to prepare me for future trials. Pray for
me that I may have wisdom and prudence to guide
me in all my ways.....
Your affectionate son,
W. M. LOWRIE.
CHAPTER V.
1844.
Residence in Macao-Letters-Chinese Printing with Metal TypeArrival of New Missionaries —Their Fields of Labour.
DURING the year 1844, the missionary force in
China was much enlarged. In February, D. B.
McCartee, M.D., and Mr. R. Cole, printer, and his
wife, reached China. The Rev. R. Q. Way and his
wife arrived in July, and the Rev. Messrs. J. Lloyd,
A. P. Happer, M.D., A. W. Loomis, and M. S. Culbertson, with Mrs. Loomis and Mrs. Culbertson, in
October.
The location of these brethren at the different
missions, was a subject of much importance, and of
some delicacy.  In relation to it, the officers of the
Board had conversed freely with the new missionaries, after which, with some general suggestions
from the Executive Committee, the matter was left
to their own decision.  Though younger than some
of his colleagues, yet as the missionary longest in
China, much of the responsibility rested on Mr.
Lowrie; and until their respective missions were
fixed, it was to him a time of much anxiety and
care. After a season of prayer for Divine direction, with much harmony they arranged their places
at the different missions.  At Canton were settled
Mr. Happer, and for the present, Mr. Cole, with the
press; at Amoy, Mr. Lloyd and Dr. Hepburn, who
19*




222       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
were to be joined by the Rev. H. A. Brown, when
he should arrive; at Ningpo, Mr. Lowrie, Mr. Way.
Mr. Culbertson, Mr. Loomis, and Dr. M cCartee.
This arrangement involved the separation of two
friends, Messrs. Lloyd and Lowrie, and most deeply
was it felt by both. Both were convinced, however,
that the interests of the Master's cause required
this trial, keen as it was, and after a short interview of two weeks, they parted to meet no more on
earth.
The printing press and the Chinese matrices were
received in February, when Mr. Cole arrived. The
theory of printing the Chinese language with metal
type-a large portion of them being divisible characters-was to be reduced to practice, and tested
by actual experiment.  The type were to be cast,
and four thousand different characters were to be
arranged in cases for the compositor. To be convenient, the characters most frequently used required to be placed together, whilst regard was to
be had to the principles of the language, as arranged
under the different radicals or keys. Mr. Cole was
experienced in English printing, but he had no
knowledge of Chinese, and the entire arrangement
of the Chinese characters devolved on Mr. Itowrie.
Everything was new. Some of the characters occur
very rarely, others occur repeatedly on every page;
hence some approximation of the relative number of
each had to be made, before the type could be cast,
and the difficulty of this work was increased by a
large part of them being divisible. After months of
labour, these difficult matters were accomplished, and
the press went into successfiul operation in June.
Besides attention to the press, much of his time
was required on behalf of the other missionaries.
He was their general treasurer. He was in a measure at home; they were in a strange place; their
business affairs necessarily fell to his share, and his
services were of much benefit to them. His correspondence with the Mission House was also very full.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      223
Much to his regret, these various items greatly
interfered with his Chinese studies.
During this year, Mr. Lowrie prepared a series
of articles on the history of the missionary work in
China, with a brief account of the Jews and Christians in China, which were published in the Chinese
Repository. They were afterwards reprinted in the
United States, under the title of the Land of Sinim,
or an exposition of Isaiah xlix. 12.
Dr. McCartee left Macao for Ningpo in June, and
Mr. Way and his wife in August. Mr. Lloyd left
for Amoy in November. Owing to the north-east
monsoon, the other missionaries for Ningpo did not
set out till the February following.
Mfacao, January 18th, 1844.
MY DEAR MOTHER-This day finishes two years
since I left the United States. I know not how the
time has seemed to you, but to me it appears under
a very singular aspect. It has gone so rapidly that
I can scarce conceive so much has really elapsed;
and yet it has led me through so many strange
scenes, that I can scarcely crowd them all into it.
I like to look back occasionally, for the immediate
effects of all I have seen have passed away, and
they come up before me quietly and calmly to be
thought about. I try to look forward, but in vain,
for I know not what a day may bring forth. I am
just as uncertain as I was two years ago, where my
lot shall yet be cast, or whether I shall ever find a
"place of rest."  It is not an easy thing to learn to
live by the day, or in "patience to possess one's
soul."'  I want to be moving, to be doing something,
to see results; but my mouth is closed, and at
present my feet are bound. Sometimes it is, "Oh,
that I had. wings like a dove, for then would I fly
away;" but then again the word comes, "c The husbandman hath long patience." This is a trial of




224      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
missionary life that did not at first enter much into
my thoughts, its comparative inaction. I am busy
as I can well be, yet my life is as quiet as it was in
the Seminary, and I see even less of company. It
is nearly three weeks since I have spoken to a lady,
and it is three months since I have spent a day in
a house with one. So we pass away. We are
strangers here, at one time walking in the crowded
streets, and at another threading the wilderness path
alone, but ever pressing on to the end of our course.
Shall it be long or short? painful or pleasant? But
these are not the questions for us to ask. It is
ours to take no thought for the morrow.
January 19. As clear and bright a day as it was
two years ago, but a good deal warmer. After
reading a page or so in the San Ko Che, or History
of the Three States, I started off about eleven
o'clock, with my teacher, to visit the temple of Wakok. (I wrote a description of it some time ago for
the Foreign Missionary.)  I had been there often,
but wanted my teacher to explain some things
which I did not understand. As you may suppose,
I talk with him in very broken language, and can
understand only a part of what he says, but we
make out to talk a good deal together. I think I
can see his respect for the superstitions of his own
country perceptibly decreasing, though I fear that
it is only to make way for an indifference to religion
that is even worse. A couple of well-dressed and
respectable-looking men were bowing and kneeling,
lighting incense-sticks, and burning paper before the
images. He said they were praying for wealth;
but he acknowledged that the images could not hear
them. They went to several of the images, and as
they went to each one, an attendant struck the bell
and the drum several times. I asked him what
that was for? He said, to "rouse the attention of
the idol, and make her hear!" I asked him what
sort of gods these were, when it was necessary to
awaken them to make them listen to their worship



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      225
pers? He said, with a good deal of earnestness, "I
don't worship these; I worship only the spirit that
is represented by them."  However, he acknowledged that most of the people worshipped the idol.
He then asked me, if we used no images of Jesus
Christ. I said, no; that the Roman Catholics used
a crucifix, but that I thought this wrong, and that
it was folly to worship any image. "It had eyes,
but could not see; ears, but could not hear; nose,
but could not smell; feet, but could not walk."  It
is just so here. 0 that he were a Christian! He
is a very amiable man, a man of some learning, and
simple-minded, and might do great good if converted.
I like him far better than any teacher I have yet
had, and he seems very well satisfied to stay with
me; though he does get tired sometimes, when I
ply him with questions, and keep him sitting by me
for three or four hours together. I told him the
other day, that in the United States we elected our
own Hwang Shang and Tsung Tuk, "Emperor and
Viceroys."  (The Chinese have no word corresponding to President and Governors.) I think I never
saw a man so astonished. He held up both hands,
and stared at me, and at last exclaimed, "Hi yah!
Astonishing! I never heard of such a thing!" He
said at first it was a very bad plan, for the people
would be always fighting. But after I had shown
him that in this way we secured the election of just
officers, and men who would not oppress us, while
their officers, according to his own acknowledgment,
were extremely venal and extortionate, he said,
"Well, perhaps it may be good for you, but I am
sure it would not be possible to do so here;" which is
very true. It is wonderful how ignorant the Chinese
learned men are. I believe he looks on me as a sort
of Baron Munchausen, though I have told him very
little that is not known to every school-boy in the
United States.....
Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain, as ever,
Yours affectionately,     W. M. LowRIE.




226      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
Macao, February 1st, 1844.
MY DEAR FATHER-It seems to me, the more I
think about the matter, that there must be a
radical change in the literature and literary style
of China, before it can be made the vehicle of
permanent and extensive usefulness.  A  great
deal is said of the fact, that so many in China
can read, but it is to be feared that a great deal
too much is expected from this. Their literature
at present, and the style in which it is written, reminds me very much of the state of Europe before
the Reformation. There were learned men then,
and they had a learned language, different from that
of every-day life, which the common people did not
understand. This learned language was known to
the learned all over Europe, and even some of the
poorer class could read it, for the alphabet was the
same in most places; but they did not understand
what they read, and of those who did understand,
and wrote in the learned language, the less that is
said the better. Who reads their writings now, or
cares for their opinions? A new mode of thinking,
and speaking, and writing was introduced after the
Reformation, and the old has disappeared. Very
much the same revolution, in my humble judgment,
must occur in China. They have a learned language
here, and unless a book be written in that language,
it has little favour. That language may be learned
by many years of study, but it is not the language
of the people, nor of nature. Many who can pronounce the characters do not understand them; and
the world will be never the worse, if nine-tenths of
the books at present in circulation here be lost for
ever. Some Chinese Bacon must arise, and do for
China what Lord Verulam did for Europe.
I speak with a good deal of diffidence on these
points, for I am only forming my own opinion about
them, and others who ought to know more think
differently. I am, however, very far from supposing




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     227
that the Chinese styles, either of printing, or speaking, or writing, or acting, are always the most tasteful, or the most convenient, or the most practically
useful. In general I think them very much like
their thick-soled shoes, which my teacher says "are
very good-looking, but not so good to walk with."
There can be no doubt of the truth of the latter
part of this remark, while each one must judge for
himself of the good looks..... I send you my Luban walking-stick, which
you must take good care of, though I hope it will
be long before you need to use it. I do not want
to use it myself, for it might get broken or be lost,
and therefore, for safe-keeping, I will put it in your
hands.
That every blessing may ever rest upon you is
the prayer of
Your affectionate son,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Macao, February 10th, 1844.
REV. JOHN LLOYD —-MY DEAR JOHN:... How
it made my heart beat to think that this year I may
see you here! I fell into a reverie just now, and
thought I was walking along the beach and you
landed. What a shaking of hands and an embracing there was! Then I began to ask you questions;
but though you talked fast, you did not talk half
fast enough to satisfy me....
Many thanks for your long, kind letter. It is
the second I have received, and I hope I may have
another soon. I am glad my journal gave you so
much pleasure.
How many things we shall have to say to each
other when you come. Yet sometimes I fear we
shall not be allowed to meet; or if we meet, shall
have to part again; and I feel as though I ought




228      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
not to hope for too much. How often we are disappointed in the very place where we expected
most! I have learned some deeply painful lessons
since I came here, though not more painful than
needed.
Why do d ou give way so much to melancholy
forebodings.
" Why should the children of a king
Go mourning all their days?"
Our gracious Father has now led you along for
more than nine years, and are you still afraid to
trust him?  HIow much would you and I have
given, nine years ago, to be told we should persevere till now! yet here we are. Thus far the Lord
hath led us on, and will not he whose hand has
ever been around us still lead us? Can he not
take as much care of us hereafter, as he has hitherto
done? I know, would that I felt it more, that at
best we are very unprofitable servants; but can we
ever repay God for his mercies? must we not at
last enter heaven in the righteousness of another?
Oh, let us look to Christ, in whom is all our strength
and hope; and while we labour, never forget that
we are accepted, not in our own works, but in the
Beloved.
I am very well, very busy, and commonly very
happy.  Chinese is beginning to look inviting, and
many a hearty laugh I have with my Chinese teacher. He does not speak a word of ]English, and my
Chinese is broken enough; but we make out pretty
well on a good many points. Do not be afraid of
this language. It is hard enough, but can be learned.
Give my kindest regards to Brown and Culbertson, whom I expect to see with you before this
year rolls away.  The sooner you come the better,
for I suppose 1 must be unsettled till you all come
out, and I am getting tired of that; so be in a
hurry.
It is nearly ten o'clock. My hand is so tired,




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      229
that I can scarcely write legibly, and if I had five
hundred things to say, they would have to stay
unsaid....
Commending you to God and the word of his
grace, which is able to build you up and keep you
until the appearing of our Lord, I am as ever your
brother in Christ,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Macao, May 14th, 1844.
MY DEAR FATHER —-.... My letters to the committee will have shown you how often I am embarrassed and at a loss how to decide the various
important questions occurring here. I wish you
would come out here; you will find enough to call into
exercise all your experience. You may lay the
foundations of this mission on a better basis than we
who are here can do. My wish is to be prudent
and thoughtful, and to do all for the best; but I am
young and inexperienced, yet I have more experience of the Chinese than any of my colleagues.
I have no disposition to decline responsibility, and
have frequently to take more than my share. What
can we do? There are things which must be done,
and our fears are that they may not be done in the
best way. You are not yet sixty years old, yet
Ricci was fifty when he came to China; and you
have had ten years of thought about this country,
and are younger in constitution than most men of
the same age. Your coming might do more good
than for twenty boys to go abroad before their constitutions are settled, and who may die before they
come to their prime. It often seems to me that we
are commencing at the top instead of the bottom,
when we lay light and untried materials in the foundation. If you can come for life so much the better,
but at any rate come for five years. Live here and
20




230      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
spy out the land. I have not made this request in
a spirit of levity, but after a good deal of thought
and prayer. I know how important your presence
is at head-quarters, and I know you will consider
the matter calmly. God will direct you; and for
myself, I will remember what the old farmer said,
"I can't go with you, but God Almighty will."
My teacher was reading the New Testament today, when he observed, " this Jesus must have been
a very benevolent man. How kind it was in him
to heal those sick people, and to provide them food
when they were hungry! Truly he was a good
man."  "Yes," I observed, "he was all you say,
and far more, for he was God as well as man, and
came from heaven to save sinful men, and without
him no man in the world can be saved."  "What!"
said he, "can none be saved in China without him?"
"'No, not one."  "Do you believe this?" he asked.
"Yes, most certainly; and I have left my father
and mother, to come to China to tell you of this
blessed Saviour."  "And how long has this been
known to the Western nations?" "O, a great many
hundred years."  " Why, then," said he, "was not
this knowledge sent sooner to China?".... —A
solemn question for every Christian...
I am your affectionate son,
W. M. LOWRIE.
RECOLLECTIONS OF A MISSIONARY.-NO. I.
-It was a very hot day in August, 184-, and I
was lying on a couch, suffering from debility induced
by the heat of a tropical summer. While thus reclining, the physician of the place, a serious and
moral man, but at that time making no profession
of piety, called to see me. He said he had a patient
recently brought from a neighbouring city, and dan



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     231
gerously ill of a disease at that time prevailing, who
expressed a wish to see an evangelical clergyman;
and that he, (the physician,) would be much pleased
if I would call on him. I went immediately, and
on being shown into the sick room, found a young
looking man, who held out his hand and expressed
much gratification that I had called. His Bible was
lying on a chair at his bedside, and it was not many
minutes before he had told me fully and frankly his
state and feelings. He was the son of a pious man,
who had done much for the cause of missions in his
own land. He himself had united with the Church
in his youth, and for several years maintained a
fair character, and thought himself a Christian. Of
late, however, and especially since coming to this
heathen land, he had greatly backslidden, and as he
said, had so far forgotten his profession as to fall
into open sin. While in this state he was attacked
with a disease which had already proved fatal to
several persons; and though there was at first
nothing very alarming in his own case, yet it had
aroused him to think on his ways, and the Spirit of
God seemed to have brought his sins strongly to his
remembrance.
When I saw him he was in great distress, fearing
lest he had committed the unpardonable sin, and
that there could be no hope for him. A few minutes'
conversation showed that the instructions of his
excellent father had sunk deep into his heart, and
that he was tolerably well acquainted with the doctrines of religion, so that it was an easy and a pleasant duty to give him the instructions his case
required. Doubtless there are those in our days
who commit a sin for which there is no repentance,
and for which we are not commanded to pray; but
there was no evidence that such was his case, and
on this point his mind was relieved. He feared,
however, that he was not one of the elect; —could
there be hope for him? I told him my belief in the
doctrine of election was as firm as my belief in my




232      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
own existence, but God's secret decrees were not
the rule of our faith and practice. Repent and
believe, and be saved; let him make his calling
sure, and the question of his election need not
trouble his mind. To this he freely assented, and
then with tears in his eyes, and the utmost earnestness, asked if I thought it possible God could or
would forgive so vile a backslider as himself.
Taking up his Bible, I opened it at the beautiful
passage in the fourteenth chapter of Hosea: "Take
with you words and turn unto the Lord: say unto
him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously, &c.," and read and explained the whole
chapter. Never did it appear so rich and precious
to my own soul, and the sick man heard it with
entranced attention. When it was finished, he
exclaimed, "What precious words those are! Will
you not pray with me?" After prayer, and a little
further conversation, I left him, promising to see
him again in the evening.
About sunset I called again, and found his disorder making rapid progress, so that occasionally he
seemed to be wandering in mind. But his thoughts
were on his soul's concerns, and towards Christ;
his mind was calmer than when I first saw him, and
though he expressed much fear of death, yet he
seemed to apprehend fully that the grace of Christ
was his only refuge, and I could not but hope that
his faith was fixed on the Saviour; and with a
mind much lightened in regard to him, I returned
to my room. The exposure and exertions of the
day in my weak state were too much for me, and a
sleepless night left me with but little strength in
the morning. As the day proved stormy, it seemed
imprudent to venture out, and accordingly I wrote
a note to the physician, requesting him to inform
me if his patient should wish for me, as otherwise I
could scarcely leave the house. The kind-hearted
physician himself had some conversation with him,
and finding him in the intervals of his delirium, to




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     233
be much more peaceful, and apparently hopeful, did
not send for me. He died in the night, and when
I called early the next morning I found him laid
out, with an expression of countenance like one who
had gone in peace.
Among strangers, we buried him in a stranger's
grave; for excepting the physician and myself,
there were none in the place who knew him. He
had but recently arrived in this country, and as we
found in a day or two after, his partner died of the
same disease on the same day.
Soon after his death I wrote to his mother, his
father being dead, an account of his last moments,
and of the hope I had that "the root of the matter
was found in him." Several months passed away,
and amidst other events the above was almost forgotten, when one day a small package from a distant land came into my hands. It contained a beautifil copy of the Memoir of McCheyne, and a note
breathing "the most heartfelt gratitude," and the
assurance of "earnest and constant prayer for my
welfare."  For some reason unknown to me, the
writer wished to be unknown; but I could not avoid
associating her, (for it was a lady's hand,) with the
person spoken of above. Is it not true that bread
cast upon the waters is found after many days-and
that often in a way not anticipated?  The,parents
of that young man "bestowed much labour' in forwarding the cause of missions, and the dying hours
of their son were cheered and consoled in a strange
land by a missionary of a different country, and a
different denomination. I went in weakness to visit
him, without a thought of reward, but how often
has the thought cheered me since, that in a distant
land there is one or more whom I have never seen,
whose fervent prayers are offered up on my behalf!
20 *




234      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
RECOLLECTIONS OF A MISSIONARY.-NO. II.
In December, 184-, I was requested to visit a
dying ship captain. This was Saturday evening.
I went immediately, and on entering the house
where he lay, found an elderly man in the last
stages of consumption. He was a pious man, and
amidst all the temptations and annoyances to which
such persons in his situation are exposed, had in
good measure kept himself free from reproach, and
had made his ship a house of God upon the sea. Of
late he had been quite unwell, and was brought
ashore to the house of the consignee of his ship,
where it is to be feared there was little care or
respect for religion. Being a stranger, he did not
know there were any missionaries in the place, and
it was not till this day that he was informed that
there were. One of the boys from his ship was
attending him with the faithfulness of a son; and
finding that he was drawing near his end, informed
him that I was residing not far off, and had me
sent for.
He was not able to bear much conversation: but
the little I had was satisfactory, and he appeared
exceedingly grateful to have met a fellow-believer
to speak with him in his last hours. After prayer
I left him, promising to call again. The next afternoon, while administering the Lord's Supper to the
little band of fellow-labourers, and fellow-Christians
in that place, I received a hasty summons to see
him. On going to the house, I found the yard just
before his window filled with native workmen, in
the employ of the Christian owner of the house,
busily packing and nailing boxes for a ship's cargo!
Passing through the crowd, so unseemly on such a
day, and in such a place, I went to the sick man's
room, but found him nearly speechless. He knew
me, grasped me by the hand, and to my inquiries
as to the state of his soul, gave me to understand,
though more by looks than by words, that all was




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      235
well within. After a short prayer he fell into a
doze, from which he did not again return to consciousness, and in a few hours his spirit departed.
To him I have no reason to doubt heaven was as
near even in that land of strangers and heathenism,
as though he had died among his friends. The
next day he was buried. A part of the ship's crew,
one or two of the merchants of the place, and myself,
were, the only spectators; and few or none of those
who now read the inscription over his tomb, in the
field that was c"bought to bury strangers in," have
any knowledge of the person who sleeps beneath.
Many such graves are there, for many have come
from far distant lands to rest there.
"He that watereth others shall be watered himself;" and in the pleasure that this event afforded
me, I found the first mitigation of one of the greatest
sorrows that a gracious God has ever been pleased
to lay upon me.
At another time I was called to visit another ship
captain, but my memory recalls few of the circunmstances connected with the occasion, except the following: After his decease, at his request, a sum of
money, amounting to about twenty dollars, was put
into my hands for any charitable purpose to which
I might choose to apply it. On the very day it was
received, a poor heathen woman, one of whose sons
had been of some service to a fellow-missionary,
came to me to beg for assistance in the case of another son, who was afflicted with the leprosy. She
was in great distress: for the neighbours, apprehensive of catching the disease, had told her she must
either place him in the hospital for such cases, or
else leave her house, and seek another abode.  She
was poor, and knew not where else to find a house,
and to place him in the hospital required an admission fee of twenty dollars, a sum she could not hope
to borrow, nor to earn for many months. It seemed
a providence: the money just sent was at once




236      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
placed at her disposal, and with a light heart she
went on her way rejoicing.
But a few weeks before leaving the place where
I had been residing for more than two years, I was
requested to visit another ship captain, who had
been brought ashore with a dangerous illness, and
was supposed to be near his end. Unlike the one
mentioned in the first part of this paper, the owner
of this house was seriously disposed, and had not
only spoken faithfully to the sick man himself, but
induced him to send for a clergyman. On being
shown into his room, he seemed very glad to see
me; but I was painfully impressed with the eagerness he expressed for "comfort."  He was a welleducated, intelligent man, and had thought some for
himself; but I was sorry to find, was quite skeptically disposed. Ile could not believe that mankind
were so bad as clergymen commonly thought they
were. He could scarcely believe that the Son of
God had come down to suffer for the inhabitants of
this petty world, which was, in the greatness of the
universe, "but as a single leaf in the forest."  Surprised at these remarks, I asked if he was not a
believer in revelation.  "Oh yes," said he; "yes,
but sometimes these thoughts will come into my
mind." I besought him to exchange these thoughts
for others better suited to his situation, and after
some further conversation and prayer, left him with
my mind ill at ease; for all his anxieties seemed to
be for comfort, and none for pardon and reconciliation with God. Yet he professed much gratitude,
and begged me to call again. I did so in a day or
two, and found his disorder had taken a favourable
turn, and with it his seriousness had nearly gone.
It was difficult to induce him to speak of his soul;
but having no reason to hope that he would recover,
as his physician thought the disease would soon
return, I endeavoured as faithfully as possible to
warn him of his state and prospects. He listened
politely, but with little interest, until a fit of coughs




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      237
ing seized him, and I thought it best not to say
more. I called once or twice after, but he declined
seeing me, and the gentleman of the house with
whom he was staying, told me that as soon as he
began to think himself getting better, his thoughts
returned to earthly things. Poor man! A few
days after this, he embarked in a vessel for his
native land, and the next notice I had of him was,
that he died soon after getting out to sea, and was
buried in the ocean.
Macao, December 27th, 1844.
REV. JOHN M. LOWRIE-MY DEAR COUSIN:Since April, 1843, I have preached in English, once
a week, to a small congregation of English and
Americans, some of whom are pious. It is the custom of most of the missionaries just to take printed
sermons and read them off, which is well known by
the people. I have done so myself several times,
but never liked the plan, nor felt comfortable in
adopting it. As the people who attend are very
intelligent, I found it required a good deal of care
to prepare sermons that would be profitable; and
that r could give most instruction in the fewest
words, and with least labour to myself, by writing
out my sermons. I have done this commonly, and
have now nearly fifty written discourses, besides
several skeletons. As I lost all my written sermons
when shipwrecked, the preparation of these has been
attended with some degree of labour, and takes as
much time as I can at present afford to give. I felt,
indeed, some scruple about giving so much time to
a work ndt directly the one for which I came here,
but felt satisfied about it on considering that I am
still young, and the labour and study of preparing
sermons would be of essential benefit to me; and 
have found it so. Preaching is a very delightful




238      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
work, and I have only regretted that I could not
give more time to it... 
It was a great disappointment to Lloyd and myself not to be together, but it seemed to be clearly
the will of Providence that we should deny ourselves
that gratification, and it is quite uncertain whether
we shall ever see each other again. As it was, we
could be together less than two weeks, and in that
time I did not learn half as much as I wanted.
Hugh Brown, too, will go to the same station with
Lloyd, and as Happer will be at Hong Kong, I shall
be "a stranger in the earth."  So be it! It is good
to feel that this is not our home, nor our rest.....
I am your affectionate cousin,
W. M. LoWRIE.
Macao, December 28th, 1844.
REV. JAMES MONTGOMERY —MY DEAR BROTHER:Your letter of January i5th, which came to hand
August 6th, gave me great pleasure, for it told me
that though you had not written, your heart was
still unchanged. I observed one thing in it, which
has struck me in a number of other letters I have
received. Speaking of my shipwreck, you remark,
that you could scarce help thinking that I was preserved for some great end in this part of the world.
The same idea has been expressed to me by several
other of my correspondents, and I can sometimes
scarcely avoid thinking it may be so; and yet the
thought of it almost makes me tremble, for what a
responsibility does it throw upon me, and what a
foreshadowing, so to speak, is there in such an expectation of great trials and conflicts? It is through
much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom
vf heaven. It is in the way of "much tribulation,"
that great good is commonly effected; and if I am
to be the instrument of good here, I cannot expect




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      239
to avoid trials and sorrows, greater perhaps by far
than any that have yet come upon me. I do not
murmur at this. If I know my own heart, I do not
wish to shrink from any cross or any burden God
sees good or needful to lay upon me; but oh! how
much do I need grace, yea, "more grace," to fit me
for the trials of my work here. Pray for me, that
having done all and suffered all, I may stand
accepted in the merits of Jesus Christ. I have had
some little experience of tribulation since leaving
the United States. I have known what it is to bear
with long delays and hopes deferred, making the
heart sick. I have gone through perils on the deep,
and have been tried with the perversities and waywardness of some who had made the warmest professions of attachment.
Whither do all these things tend? Is the trial
over yet, or am I to go through the furnace again?
Dear brother, I confess my heart sometimes trembles when I ask myself these questions. For after
all this sifting and searching, and refining, I still
find so much of dross and impurity, that I sometimes
think the furnace must be made "one seven times
hotter," before I am fit for my work. If I have a
work to do here, God will certainly prepare me for
it. I do not wish to shrink from the preparation,
but I do feel that without more grace I cannot
endure it. Yet I dare not give way to fear.
Hitherto the Lord hath helped me. In every trial
hitherto, grace has been sufficient, and shall I not
trust him for the future? And when I look back I
am obliged to say, that notwithstanding all the sorrows I have felt since leaving the United States, no
period of my life has been so happy as the last three
years. As the sufferings have abounded, so have
the consolations; and were it not for some undefined
anticipations of the future, I should be ashamed to
speak of my sorrows that are past at all....
Surely it is a wonder of sovereign grace, that God
saves any of such a sinful race as ours is! We fight




240       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
against him, and provoke him, even when he has
shown us his love.
We have now a pretty large mission here, and I
trust will soon be settled and all at work.  Cannot
you come? I should rejoice to have you with me;
and I can assure you that I do not think your age
a sufficient reason for not coming, if you have no
other. Farewell, pray for me, and believe me,
Ever yours, in Christian bonds,
W. M. LowRIE.
CHAPTER VI.
1845.
Different Missions Established-Leaves Macao-Voyage up the CoastNingpo-Letters and Journals.
DURING this vear the missions of the Presbyterian
Church in China began to assume a more settled
form. In the first part of the year, the missionaries
had all reached their respective stations, and commenced their work under favourable and encouraging
circumstances. In April, Messrs. Culbertson and
Lowrie arrived at Ningpo, and Mr. Loomis at Tinghai, on the island of Chusan; and in July the printing-press was removed to Ningpo.  In May, the
Rev. H. A. Brown reached Amoy. During the
year, a boys' boarding-school was commenced at
Macao, and another at Ningpo, under circumstances
of much promise. During the summer, their number was lessened by the return home of Dr. Hepburn and his wife, on account of the failure of Mrs.
Hepburn's health. This was a great trial to the
mission at Amoy. Dr. Hepburn had acquired a
knowledge of the Chinese language, and was greatly




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE;       241
~esteemed both by the native population and foreign
-residents.
The missionary labours of the year at Ningpo,
the description of the country, and the general
aspects of this new field of' labour are so fully related in the letters and journals of this period, that
nothing further need be added here.
In connection with the account of the missions
in China, it is proper to notice the Edict of the
Emperor, dated 28th December, 1844, giving full
toleration for the exercise of the Christian religion.
This remarkable document is one of the great events
of the age. It was granted at the request of M.
Lagrene, the French ambassador, on a memorial to
the Emperor, from Keying, the Imperial Commissioner. It gives full toleration to all who profess
the religion of Tien Chu, or the Lord of Heaven.
This is the term used by the Roman Catholic missionaries to denote the Christian religion, and when
the edict was issued, it was considered sufficiently
comprehensive to embrace the Christian religion as
professed by Protestants.
By later proceedings of the civil authorities, this
construction appeared to be erroneous. On the 2d
of November, 1845, proclamations were issued by
the authority of the Imperial Commissioner, and
the Lieutenant Governor of Canton, stating "that
the religion of the Lord of Heaven consists in periodically assembling for unitedly worshipping the
Lord of Heaven, in respecting and venerating the
cross, with pictures and images, as well as in reading aloud the works of said religion."
1By this explanation Protestants were excluded
from the benefits of the edict of toleration, and
much dissatisfaction was felt and expressed at this
restriction. But this feeling was of short duration.
On the 22d of December, 1845, Keying, the Imperial Commissioner, in a letter to the Consul of the
United States, at Canton, states, "that some local
magistrates had made improper seizures, taking and
21




242       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
destroying crosses, pictures, and images, and after
deliberation it was agreed that these might be reverenced. Originally, I did not know that there
were among the nations these differences in their
religious practices. Now, with regard to the religion of the Lord of Heaven, no matter whether the
crosses, pictures, and images, be reverenced or not
reverenced, all who, acting well, practise it, ought
to be held blameless. All the great western nations
being placed on an equal footing, only let them
acting well practise their religion, and China will
in no way prohibit or impede  their so doing.
Whether their customs be alike or unlike, certainly
it is right that there should be no distinction, and
no obstruction."
Thus did this subject come three times before the
civil authorities of China, and the important distinction between Protestants and Roman Catholics was
thus brought to their notice; and much to the credit
of the Chinese government, all are equally protected.
Hong Kong, February 12th, 1845.
MY DEAR FATHER-Your very welcome letter of
August 30th, came to hand last Sabbath, being the
first I have received from you for four months, the
longest period of not hearing, since my first letters
reached me. It does begin to appear as if years had
elapsed since I saw you. Letters written home and
answers received, answers written back, and replies
to those answers received, and soon I shall have replies to these last.
Having finished all I had to do in Macao, I left
that place January 21st, and came here to take passage for Chusan.  I expect to have as a fellow-passenger, the Rev. T. McClatchie, missionary of the
Church Missionary Society, of whom I have formed
a very good opinion.  The Rev. George Smith, his




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     243
colleague, is in very poor health, and I fear can do
no more than visit the different ports, and then return to England. I shall regret this exceedingly,
for I have conceived a very high opinion of him.
The connection of these excellent men with the
Established Church of England, gives them much
influence with the people from England in China;
but at the same time it requires them to be doubly
cautious not to give any ground of complaint against
themselves. On this subject, however, I feel daily
that we have reason for gratitude in our American
citizenship, and the perfect freedom of the Church
from all connection with the State. It is not by
might nor by power, but by God's Spirit that our
work is to be done. May God grant the time soon
to come when the kingdoms of this world shall
become the kingdoms of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Your affectionate son,
W. M. LOWRIE,
THE VOYAGE UP THE COAST.
Macao, January 19th, 1845.
It is three years to day since I left my father's
house. Many changes have come over me since
then; trials and afflictions have befallen me, but out
of them all the Lord hath delivered me, and having
obtained help of Him I continue to this day. For
nearly two years I have been preaching to a small
congregation of Enolish and Americans, once every
Sabbath. To-day I preached my last sermon to
them, and bade them farewell. How many of them
shall I meet in peace at the great day of reckoning?
As far as they are concerned at least, I feel myself
pure from their blood. I have not shunned to declare unto them the whole counsel of God. And to




244;     MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE,
some at least it has been a blessing; would that the
same could be said of all!
January 21st, 1845. I bade farewell to Macao,
and turned my face to the north. It was not without apprehensions that I contemplated another voyage, and that against the strong north-east monsoon;
for nearly every voyage I have made since arriving
in China has been attended with disaster, and not a
few of my friends shook their heads ominously when
I spoke of tempting the sea again. Yet the path
of duty seemed clear. Nothing further of any consequence remained for me to do in Macao, and it
was desirable, on several accounts, that I should as
speedily as possible proceed to Ningpo. Committing my way, therefore, to that God who had
heretofore led me, even through the deep waters,
and preserved me in the most imminent perils, and
led me by paths that I knew not, I left Macao, a
place that had become endeared to me by many
associations and recollections.
It was far from my intention to have spent so
long a time in Macao; but various intimations of
Providence had kept me there nearly two years and
a half. How many events have occurred in that
time! When I arrived, there was war between
England and China, and most men thought it would
be of long continuance. Yet in a few months the
war was ended, a treaty of peace was negotiated,
and five ports in China were thrown open to
foreigners. Extravagant hopes began to fill men's
minds, and many expectations were indulged, which
have not been realized. When the supplementary
treaty was signed, (Oct. 8th, 1843,) boasts long and
loud were uttered, and hopes rose yet higher. But
had men been wise and studied God's law and providence, they must have seen there was reason to
fear that treaty could not prosper. The C7hristian
Plenipotentiary who negotiated it, agreed to the proposal of a heathen statesman, and signed it on the
Lord's day!  There was all the parade and circum



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWREI.       245
stance of military pomp, and men in their joy forgot
that there is a God who will not suffer his law to be
violated with impunity. This treaty, far less than
the treaty of Nanking, has satisfied the expectations
at first formed. Rather it has bitterly disappointed
them, for some of its clauses have nearly crushed
the commercial importance of Hong Kong.
What changes and accessions in our own mission!
I have seen McBryde go home, and have welcomed
here, Hepburn and Cole, and McCartee and Way,
and Loomis and Lloyd, and Culbertson and Happer.
Several of them are already settled in their appointed stations, and now our Chinese mission, after
various fluctuations, wears a more settled and promising aspect, than at any former time.
What changes in the other missions! Mrs. Boone
and Mrs. Dean, Mr. Dyer, Mr. Morrison,* Mrs.
Ball and Mrs. Shuck, have gone to their reward.
Some have gone home on visits, one no more to
return. Others have come in their places. More
than half the missionaries now in China have arrived
within the last three years, though of these several
had been labouring in other parts for the Chinese.
lt has been a time of breaking up and settling down
again; but like the sea whose waters heave, even
when the storm has died away, there is a heaving
and a motion yet. What shall the end of these
things be?  Little do we know, and still less can
we foresee, but "the Lord reigneth, let the earth
rejoice." Whatever changes may occur, all shall
accomplish good.  "I will overturn and overturn
and overturn, until he come, whose right it-is: and
I will give it him." —Ezek. xxi. 27.
Comparatively few vessels sail for the northern
ports of China during the N. E. monsoon, and I was
detained nearly a month in Hong Kong.  Yet the
delay, though tedious, was not unpleasant, for there
* Although Mr. Morrison was not a missionary himself, he was one of
our warmest friends, and his death was as much a loss to the missionaries, as to any other class in China.
21*




246      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
were many friends there, and letters from home
brought me cheering news. At length I succeeded
in getting a berth on board the Rob Roy. She is
a clipper bark, built in Calcutta, to trade between
India and China. The captain and mates are
English, and her crew a motley mixture of Bengalis,
Malays, Manilla men, with one or two Arabs, two
Chinese, and a Portuguese from Goa, who is the
blackest man on board.
I regretted much that the vessel sailed to-day,
which is the Sabbath, but this I could not prevent;
all my baggage of course was put on board yesterday,
and had she sailed early in the morning, I should
have slept on board.  But knowing that there
would be much bustle and confusion, I thought I
could spend the Sabbath morning more profitably
on shore. Got a note from the captain, saying she
would leave anchorage at eleven, A. M.; so about ten
I bade my kind friends farewell, and came on board.
It looks but little like the Sabbath here. The men
were washing the decks, officers busy, merchants
and clerks from the town on board, and altogether
it was far, far from pleasant.  Shortly after eleven
we started, but were detained nearly two hours in
getting out of the harbour, by the consignees not
having all the papers ready. How little of the Sabbath was kept by the consignees, officers, and sixtythree Lascars and other persons concerned in the
sailing of this single vessel!
We left Hong Kong on the 16th of February,
with a fair wind, which carried us out of the harbour,
but it soon fell calm, and then we had the N. E.
monsoon directly in our teeth. Our vessel is a
very fast sailer, and consequently in " beating passages," very wet, and her deck was seldom dry.
On the 18th we passed immense numbers of fishingb)oats; I counted one hundred and ninety-five at
one time in sight, and that was not nearly all. We
kept close along the Chinese coast for several days,
beating against the wind, and making tolerably good




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      247
progress. After reaching Breaker Point, we stretched
across the Formosa Channel. The wind was strong,
and the sea high, and for two or three days we were
uncomfortable enough. In eight days after leaving
the port, we saw the high land on the southern end
of Formosa. This large and populous island, which
may be called the granary of some of the eastern
provinces of China, is as yet without the presence
of any missionary, either Protestant or Roman Catholic. The western part is under the dominion of
the Emperor of China, but the inhabitants of the
mountains in the centre have not been subdued, and
the eastern shore is almost unknown.
We were so'much favoured in the first part of
our voyage that we reached the latitude of the Chusan islands in sixteen days, which at this season of
the year is a very quick run; but the remainder of
our voyage was not so speedy. We had then less
than two hundred miles further to go, but a succession of baffling head winds caused us to spend a
whole week in going that short distance. It was
not till Tuesday, March 11, that we cast anchor at
Woosung, twenty-three days after leaving Hong
Kong. In the favourable monsoon the voyage is
made with ease in less than ten days. It was a
very rough voyage, and except in urgent cases
should not be attempted, especially by females.
The roughness of the passage renders it nearly impossible to spend one's time profitably, and three or
our weeks, or even five, for the voyage is often
that long, is too much time to be thrown away.
There is also all the risk, which is not small, and
the exposure, which, coming from the warm latitude
of Canton, to the colder climate of the north, is riot
a little disagreeable. Yet men of the world submit
to all this, and much more, for the sake of earthly
riches, and the missionary should not hesitate to do
the same, when the great object of his life call be
gained by the sacrifice of some personal ease or
comfort.




248       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
Most persons dislike the sea, and it is common
to speak of the monotony and tedium of long voyages. There is little to be seen that is new after
the first few days, and without caution and watchfulness, one is apt to become impatient and fretful.
Yet with due care, it need not be so. The best of
all expedients to make the time pass pleasantly, is to
have something to do, and to do it. It requires
some resolution to keep one's self constantly employed, but the exertion is amply repaid. And
there is much, even amidst the sameness of sea life,
that is deeply instructive. God has so ordered all.
things in nature, that they form a constant commentary and illustration of invisible and eternal
things. That more of such analogies can be traced
in the sailor's life than in any other I will not presume to say, but I have often been surprised, and
oftener still instructed as well as gratified, with the
illustrations of the Christian's course which the voyage of a ship affords. The various changes of the
weather, now calm and sun-shiny; now stormy and
dark; now rapidly speeding on with prosperous
breezes, and anon, painfully labouring against the
wind; who has not felt such changes as these in his
Christian course? —The unceasing diligence of all
concerned, especially the captain and officers, their
constant study of the charts and books of directions,
and their anxiety to secure observations of the sun
and stars, that they may know their daily progress
and position; who does not recognize in this the
duty of the Christian to study carefully the great
chart and book which God has given to direct us on
our way, and by earnest looking upward, to gain wisdom from on high to lead our steps?-The constant
look-out for danger, and the anxiety to avoid hidden
shoals, to mark the progress and direction of the
currents, and to take advantage of every wind
that blows; how often have they reproved me for
being so careless of danger, and so negligent where
Christ said,' "Watch!'" and so indifferent to the




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       249
Spirit's influences, which, "like the wind," must
waft the soul to heaven. When the ship has
dropped her anchor in the port, universal joy pos.
sesses every heart. The dangers and watchings
and fatigues of the voyage are over, the rewards of'
labour are now to be enjoyed, and the quietness and
peace of home to repay the toils and perils that are
past.  "They are glad because they are quiet, and
because theyare brought to their desired haven,"
but how much more real and satisfying is the
Christian's joy, when he enters the haven of rest,
his home in the skies!  There "there is no more
sea."
The entrance of the great river Yang-tsze Keang
(child of the ocean) is rather difficult, especially to
vessels drawing much water. So much earth is
brought down by this immense stream, and deposited
in the sea, that the water is quite shallow for many
miles, and a vessel is in danger of running aground
long before the land is seen.  The coasts of China
in this latitude are low, and perfectly level, and the
land can scarcely be seen more than ten miles off.
The strength of the tides is also very great, and
several vessels have already been lost on the sands
and rocks off the entrance of the river. Until lighthouses are erected, and buoys properly placed, more
than ordinary caution will be required of the officers of vessels visiting Shanghai.
After enteringo the river, the course is north-west,
to Woosung. "Entering the Woosung river, the
course is south-west, about fourteen miles to Shanghai.
The whole country for many miles around the
city is a perfect plain, having only sufficient elevation and depression to carry off the water. There
is not a single hill within twenty miles of Shanghai,
which of course, renders the appearance of the country uninteresting. The soil, however, is rich and
productive, and excepting the space occupied by the
graves, is in a high state of cultivation. There are




250      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
no stones, nor even small pebbles, for in a trip of
some twenty miles along the Woosung river, not a
stone was to be seen, except such as had been
brought from a distance. Farm houses and small
villages dot the country in every direction, and
clumps of bamboos, with orchards of peaches
and plum trees, and willows by the water-courses,
relieve the sameness of the ground. Two crops,
one of wheat, and the other of cotton, are raised
every year, and in some parts a third crop of rice is
also procured. Rice, however, is not so much cultivated here as in the more southern parts of China,
and as there are few paddy fields near the city, the
ground is not so marshy as to render it unhealthy.
The city of Shanghai is pleasantly situated at
the junction of the Woosung and Hwangpoo rivers.
It is of a circular form, surrounded by walls, about
fifteen feet high, and nearly four miles in circumference. The suburbs near the rivers are thickly
inhabited, and the population is estimated at about
two hundred thousand inhabitants. By the Woosung river it is connected with the city of Soochow,
the capital of the province, and one of the most
luxurious and wealthy in the empire, and also with
the Grand Canal which reaches to Peking. Hence
its situation is one of great importance, and its trade
is immense. Rows of junks are moored for nearly
two miles along the bank of the Hwangpoo, on the
east of the city, and vessels are constantly arriving
and departing. Already it is attracting a large
share of foreign commerce, and many suppose that
it will soon rival, if not surpass Canton, as a place
for foreign trade. Sixty-five foreign vessels have
already entered the port, though it is but a year
and a half since business commenced to be done
there. The great tea and silk districts of China are
nearer to Shanghai than to Canton, and if proper
encouragement be held out, a large part of those
articles which were formerly carried at great ex



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      251
pense to the latter place, will find their way either
to Shanghai or Ningpo.
Every foreigner who has visited this place, gives
the inhabitants a much better character than those
of Canton. They are rather taller, of a more ruddy
complexion, and much more civil and well-disposed
than their southern countrymen. In passing through
the streets one is rarely insulted, and the opprobrious epithets so common in Canton and Macao are
scarcely ever heard here.
The Roman Catholics once had a strong footing
in Shanghai. Paul Siu, an officer of the highest
rank, and his daughter Candida, who were the two
most powerful and liberal friends the Jesuits ever
possessed in China, were natives of this city, and
several monuments to his memory are still found
within the walls. In one place, the heathen descendants of Siu offer incense to his image. One of the
idol temples in the city was formerly a chapel of the
Roman Catholics, and is even now commonly called
the "Teen-choo-tang," or "Hall of the Lord of Heaven," the name they give their places of worship in
China. There are many Roman Catholic converts
in the province of Keang-su, and several foreign
priests, who dress in Chinese clothes, and live as
the Chinese do. The R. C. Bishop of Keang-nan
and Shantung, an Italian, and a nephew of the Pope,
by the way, resides within five miles of Shanghai.
Saturday, 30th March, 1845. Left Shanghai on
yesterday, and reached Woosung to-day about eleven
o'clock. I went ashore, and strolled up the banks
of the Yang-tsze Keang about three miles. The
river is so wide, you cannot see the other bank.
The country being very low, high embankments are
raised to protect the land from the high tides.  The
embankment along the Yang-tsze Keang, is faced
with solid masonry four feet thick and about fifteen
feet high, for several miles-how far exactly I cannot say, but as far as I went or could see, it was so.
The termination of my walk was the little city of




252      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
Paouhau, which is walled and has four gates. The
city is square, the circuit of the walls very little
more than a mile, and nearly all the houses are
ranged along the two streets that extend from the
gates and intersect in the centre of the town. The
rest of the space within the walls is occupied by
gardens. I should not think the population was
more than two thousand. The houses outside the
walls were larger and more numerous than those
within. I went right through the town, then out
at the same gate, a crowd of boys at my heels, then
half round the walls, and then back to the ship.
Tuesday, April 1st. About eleven o'clock in the
morning, cast anchor in Chusan harbour, and my joy
at finding myself safe at my journey's end, was only
equalled by that of finding the Isabella Ann with
Loomis and Culbertson safe on board. She arrived
on Saturday, after a thirty-eight days' passage,
which, from the accounts they have given me, was
not only very unpleasant, but even dangerous; but
we are all safe here. Thanks to God, who holds the
winds and directs the storms.
In the day-time went through the city of Tinghai.
Loomis and his wife remain here for the present.
The Culbertsons go to Ningpo to-morrow. I shall
remain several days and go to Ningpo early next
week.
Tinghai is in the centre of a large valley, with
high hills on three sides. At this time the valley
is all green and yellow with crops of beans, barley,
and cabbage in flower, and looks very well. The
streets are, I think, cleaner than is usual in Chinese
towns. In the evening I walked with Loomis and
Culbertson over the little island just opposite Tinghai; a splendid view from the top; quite delighted to
find some blue and white violets growing on the hill.
Wednesday, April 2d. Went to the Isabella Ann
to see about my freight. Found my mattress was
missing, and several boxes of my books wet. Had
not time to open them, but shall doubtless find them




MEMOI OF WALTER M. LOWRMI.       253
much spoiled. The Rob Roy being so full, I could
not bring them in her, and had to send them by the
other. Mr. Bates, an American merchant, the only
American here, has very kindly offered me a room
while I stay here.
Thursday, April 3d. I had my boxes from the
Isabella Ann taken to Mr. Loomis's house, and as
they had got wet on board the ship, I had serious
misgivings about their condition. I opened them
to-day; but, oh, what a mess! My books, my noble books, on which I prided myself so much; some
were utterly ruined, more than half are seriously
injured, three-fourths are greatly defaced, and not
one-fourth have escaped without some damage. Five
hundred dollars would not replace the injury they
have suffered.
The mate of the vessel who stowed them away,
"thought they were spirits of wine," and put them
in the part of the vessel where such articles are
kept, where, if water should come, no harm is done!
I fancy he had some spirits in his head when he
thought so. Well, there was no use of crying, or
scolding, or fretting; so I did not lose my temper.
I only wished I had not brought so many; but as
wishing was of no avail, I commenced to rub and
air them. I got two Chinese to help me. They
will be a pitiable sight when all is done.
Friday, April 4th.  A  wet, rainy  forenoon.
Went to Loomis's house, and spent several hours
among my damaged books.  Alas! alas!
Thursday, April 10th. Packed up my books, or
at least part of them, to take to Ningpo. About
two hundred volumes were in such a state that I
must leave them here for a while, arid some fifty or
more are about useless.  "Three removes are as bad
as a fire!"
Left Chusan at half-past nine, A. M., with fair tide
but light wind. Chartered a native boat, and took
most of my goods and chattels, making twenty-one
packages in all; paid three dollars for the boat,
22




254      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
which is about one-third of what I should have had
to pay in Macao. There were only a few passengers, as I told the owner he must not crowd the
boat. Among the passengers were two inhabitants
of the mainland from near Chinhai, a farmer, a Budhist priest, and a Fuhkeen merchant, decidedly the
most intelligent of the whole. There were several
others, but I saw none of them except one, who
came to me once with his breath smelling so strong
of opium, that I gave him a lecture thereupon.
Friday, April 11th. Breakfast at eight o'clock.
After prayers I soon found Dr. McCartee, who is
living in a monastery. Then took a walk through
the city, admired the straightness and width and
comparative cleanness of the streets, and afterwards
went to the Pagoda, or Tower of Ningpo, an immense tall tower, a hundred feet or more in height.
Vast numbers of swallows have built their nests in
holes in the walls. Going up to the top, I enjoyed
a magnificent view of the country around. lNingpo
is in a vast plain, a perfect level; but high hills are
in sight on all sides but one. The plain is so level
that the hills look quite near, but they are really
from fifteen to eighteen miles distant.
At six o'clock, P. M., took a walk with Way and
Culbertson, and their wives. There are but few
houses in this part of the suburbs, and we walked
about perfectly unembarrassed with people. The
vegetation is very luxuriant here.  Saw  several
tombs erected in the time of the Ming Dynasty;
there was first a pair of stone rains; then of' dogs;
then of horses saddled and bridled; then of monks;
and then of tombs. I have seen many of them at
Shanghai.
April 14th, 1845. After a visit to the city, we
sailed some distance up the north branch of the river,
whose course is quite crooked a short distance above
the North Gate. At the distance of twelve le,* we
passed a large distillery, known by the usual sign
* Three le are about one mile.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      255
of a tall pole, with a small round bamboo sieve near
the top, and a small flag above it.  Passing three le
further, we went ashore at a temple where the keeper
received us full civilly, and gave us tea to drink.
The temple contained nothing of interest, but we
were amused in watching a boat as it passed over a
sluice. As the tide rises and falls several feet in
the river, the small streams and canals that empty
into it would be nearly useless at low water. To
prevent this, they are all dammed up at the mouth,
and thus the water is made to stand always at nearly
the same level, so that they are always useful for
irrigation and navigation.  To enable boats to enter
the river, and come back into the canals, the dam is
rounded off, and by means of two rude capsterns
and bamboo ropes, the boats are hauled up to the
top of the dam. It consists simply of mud, beaten
smooth and hard, and rendered slippery by pouring
a little water over it. As soon as the boats are
once at the top, their own weight carries them down
the other side, and they enter the river like a ship
launched from the stocks.  Each sluice is attended
by two men and several boys, and it requires but a
minute or two to pass a boat in either direction.
By these economical locks there is no loss of water,
and the wear of the flat-bottomed boats is small.
The toll for passing these sluices varies from five to
eight cents, according to the size of the boat.
18th. Took up my quarters at the Yu shing
kwan monastery, belonging to the Taou sect, which
is situated just within the north gate of the city.
There are, in all, five monks, in the establishment.
As soon as my baggage was brought in, the old
abbot sent in a wooden waiter with a pile of sponge
cakes, and four cups of tea, together with a red
card, on the top of which was written "Congratulations," and beneath, "The resident supporter of the
Yu shing kwan monastery.  Hwang che hwuy bows
his head and worships." A small present was sent
back in return.




256      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
In the morning, had an opportunity of seeing a
"small foot" uncovered. One of the female patients
had some disease, which made it necessary to take
the bandages off the foot, a thing they are commonly
unwilling to do before strangers. The sight was by
no means pleasant. All the toes except the largest
were turned under the sole of the foot; the instep
was greatly elevated, and the hollow between the
heel and the ball of the foot much deeper than in
the natural state. All the women here, excepting
the nuns, have their feet thus unnaturally compressed, and in consequence, you never see a woman
able to walk with even tolerable ease and grace.
They all go hobbling about like cripples, and frequently have to depend upon an umbrella, or the
shoulder of a female attendant whose feet are not
quite so cruelly hampered as their own, to support
their steps.
For several days past, green peas in abundance
have been sold in the markets.
19th. Went to the Hwuy-Hwuy Tang, or Mohammedan Mosque. The keepers of the building
were from Shantung; and one old woman spoke
Mandarin beautifully. (The purest Mandarine dialect is poken in Shantung.) The mosque is a small
building, with many Arabic incriptions, and we were
informed that there are some five hundred Mohanmmedans in Ningpo. They have a larger mosque, and
more numerous population in Hangchou, the capital
of this province. There was formerly a Jewish
synagogue in Ningpo, as well as one in TIangchou,
but no traces of them are now discoverable, and the
only Jews known to exist in China, are in Kaifung
foo, the capital of Honan.
20th. Preached this morning to the largest congregation of foreigners that has yet met in Ningpo,
sixteen persons in all.
21st. Dr. McCartee having occasion to go to
Chusan to-day, I am left alone in the monastery;
but a smattering of Mandarin, of which the people




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      257
all understand a little, enables me to get along without difficulty. Dr. McCartee has three boys under
his care, the two elder of whom are very interesting
and affectionate; and his teacher is a kind-hearted,
excellent man, "almost persuaded to be a Christian."
We have prayers morning and evening in Chinese,
when the teacher reads and explains a chapter in
Chinese, and repeats or reads a prayer; after which
we have a prayer in English. A-chang, the second
boy, was greatly delighted with my barometer, and
repeated several times, " Heaou teh fung! heaou teh
yu 1"  "It understands the wind! It understands
the rain!" and finally, he declared there was nothing
so admirable in all Ningpo.
23d. Arranging my rooms, and putting my clock
up. Got a servant to-day, who seems to be a very
simple-hearted, good sort of a fellow, and who looked
with unbounded admiration at the clock. Seeing
one of the monks, he called out to him, "Here is a
clock!"  It has been a great object of admiration
all day.
25th. Along with Dr. McCartee, and Messrs.
Way and Culbertson, went out several miles into
the country to see a patient of the Doctor's, who is
confined with a broken leg. The country is intersected with innumerable canals, which supply the
place of high roads in other countries.  Much
ground is also covered with tombs, so that the common saying, that the Chinese use no ground for
tombs which can be cultivated, is incorrect. In the
south, where barren hills abound, and only the valleys are fit for cultivation, the remark is true; but
about Shanghai, Chusan, and Ningpo, it is not.
The canals are full of fish: to catch them, bamboo fences are staked across them in numerous
places, with only an opening for boats. The opening itself is staked with flexible reed, which allow
the water to pass through, and boats to pass over,
but effectually prevent the fish. Commonly, the
fences are formed into a kind of labyrinth, so that
22*




258       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
when the fish are driven to them, they enter a trap,
from which it is difficult to escape, and they are
then scooped up with a small hand-net. The appearance of the country is very beautiful; crops of
wheat and barley nearly ready for the reaper,
patches of clover, beds of rice for transplanting,
young fields of reeds for mats, (a very important
part of the trade of Ningpo,) water-wheels, worked
by buffaloes or men, the latter sort somewhat on the
principle of the tread-mill, a few water buffaloes and
oxen, quiet farm-houses and numerous villages, with
some old trees, form a picture of great beauty. Oh!
that this were indeed Immanuel's land! that those
whom we meet were partakers of the same faith
and hope with us! "How long, O Lord! Return
and visit these long desolations!"
30th. Invited to a Chinese dinner. The dishes
were brought in bowls, everything being cut up, and
ready for use. Each guest was provided with a
small wine-cup, a spoon, and a pair of chop-sticks.
The guests were Dr. McCartee and his teacher, the
old abbot and one of the monks from the monastery,
and myself.  The dishes were: —stewed chicken,
cold goose, duck and bamboo-sprouts, pork, fish,
cherries, water-chestnuts, pea-nuts, soup, beche demer, ginger, preserved eggs, spinage, and rice and
tea to close with; besides, hot spirits distilled from
rice. It was my first effort with chop-sticks, which
are awkward enough at first, especially when you
try to take up a hard-boiled egg. Several of the
dishes were very palatable, but one or two of the
customs were not particularly pleasant, e. g., the
old abbot, after putting his chop-sticks several times
into his mouth, picked out a tempting piece of goose,
and offered it to me with the same sticks. I begged
to be excused, though it is a mark of polite attention to make such an offer; also a wet cloth was
handed round after dinner to wipe the fingers and
mouth, the same cloth for all.
May 3. In the afternoon a respectable and in



.MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     259
teresting-looking Chinese came to the Yu shing kwan
temple to perform some ceremonies on the sixth
birth-day of his son. The little fellow was dressed
in his best clothes, and seemed to enjoy the whole
affair. His father had brought gilt paper, printed
prayers, and a large number of bowls full of various
meats, rice, vegetables, nuts, cups of wine, and the
like, which were spread out before the idols. The
ceremonies were performed in the apartment of the
Tow-moo, or Bushel Mother, who has special charge
of young people, both before and after birth. The
old abbot clothed himself in a scarlet robe, with a
gilt image of a serpent fastened in his hair. One
of the monks wore a purple, and another an ashcoloured robe. A multitude of prayers, seemingly
little else than a round of repetitions, were read by
the abbot. Occasionally he chanted a little, when
the attendants joined in chorus, and every few minutes a deafening clamour of bells, cymbals, and hollow blocks of wood, was raised. Genuflexions and
prostrations innumerable accompanied the whole
ceremony. The most singular part was the passing
of a live cock through a barrel which had both ends
knocked out. This was done several times by two
assistants, who shouted some strange words at each
repetition of the ceremony.  The meaning, as I
was afterwards told, was something like this:
Prayers had been offered to the idol that the child
might escape certain dangers through which he must
pass; and each passing of the cock through the barrel was intended to symbolize his passing safely
through one of these perils. It was a melancholy
sight. In conclusion, some of the prayers were
burnt, a cup of wine poured out as a libation, and a
grand chorus of bell, and gong, and drum, and
blocks, closed the scene.
May 14. A wet, rainy day. In the evening
Dr. McCartee was called in a great hurry to see a
man who had poisoned himself by taking opium.
On going to the house, found the family in much




260       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
alarm. The man was in bed, looking very stupid,
and his wife attending him with some appearance of
anxiety and care. He had had a quarrel with his
mother-in-law, and in revenge attempted to make
away with himself by taking opium. There was,
however, some reason to suppose that it was partly
a feint to frighten the old woman, and after an emetic
being given, we came away. The Chinese have but
little to deter them from the commission of suicide,
for they have very faint ideas of a future state, or
of punishment beyond the grave.
May 17. A great Hwuy, or festival of Too-shin,
all the gods, has been celebrated for the last day or
two. Saw a part of the procession to-day, though
the narrow crowded streets gave but a poor opportunity of seeing the different parts. There were
innumerable lanterns, three or four gaily ornamented
dragons, a boat, several chairs, idols, little boys carried on men's shoulders, and various other sights.
The most interesting were several gaily dressed
girls, who seemed to be standing on almost nothing
at all. One girl standing on a chariot, carried a
branch of a tree carelessly on her shoulder: on one
of the twigs of the branch stood a little girl, on one
foot, with the other in the air. Another girl held
up in her hand a plate of cakes, and a smaller girl
stood with one foot on the cakes, and was thus borne
along.  Of course all this was done by means of
iron or brass supporters around their bodies. The
crowd of people was immense, and numerous policemen seemed to be busy, or rather to make themselves
busy, for I never saw so large a crowd, and so little
disorder.
It was a curious sight to look over the crowd and
see the forest of pipe-stems.  Nearly everybody
carries a pipe with a stem from two to four feet long,
and when held up to keep them out of harm's way,
they looked like a forest of small sticks, or perhaps
like a cane-brake stripped of its leaves.
May 27. It is amusing to observe the commo



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      261
tion excited by the appearance of a foreigner in the
retired parts of the city, where few have yet wandered.  Every one cries out,'Hung ma nying!
hung ma nying!" a red-haired man! a red-haired
man! this being the name for all foreigners.  The
women and children scatter in all directions; the
men stare and gaze, or pass their comments, as the
fancy strikes them. It is melancholy to witness the
fear of foreigners that still exists, especially on the
part of the women and children.  Some of the men
look as if they would be glad to hide, and if you
look at them, seem ready to sink into the ground.
Commonly, however, this fear is giving way to
curiosity; and nothing is more common than for
those who see the stranger to beckon to the women
to come and have a look also. One little boy, in
his haste to do this, dropped his basket, overturned
his playfellow, and running to the door, clapped his
hands and called out, "Here's a red-haired man!
come! quick, quick!"  The titles they give, and the
remarks they make, are sometimes amusing, and
sometimes provoking.  "Mantele!" for mandarin.
"Wailo fuhke, wailo.  Be off with you! "'Lailo!"
Come here. "Hung ma nying!" are the common
terms; and sometimes "Pah kwei," and " Kwei
tsz," white devil, and devil's child! Some few, on the
other hand, are polite enough to say, " Hungma seen
saung,"' foreign teacher; and the beggars say,
"Hungma laou yay," foreign esquire.
The sun is sometimes called Kin woo, or "golden
crow," from its spots, which are thought to be crows;
and the moon is called the Yuh too, or "jewelled
hare," because they say a hare is distinctly seen in
it. Hence, in poetical style, the setting of the sun
and rising of the moon is expressed by "' The golden
crow sank in the west, and the jewelled hare arose
in the east."
May 29. Went out with Dr. McCartee several
miles into the country, by water of course. Stopped
at a small village, and went into a temple, when a




262      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
crowd soon came round us, and notice being given
that Dr. McCartee would prescribe for the sick
gratuitously, a number of patients applied for medicine and advice. After this Dr. McCartee and his
teacher both spoke to the people on religion, and
were listened to with good attention. Tracts were
then given to the eager crowd, and we took our
departure, much gratified with our visit and the
behaviour of the people.
Returning, saw a large house in the western
suburb on fire. It seemed to be the family mansion of some wealthy person; but the Chinese have
little skill in putting out fires, and the owners were
removing their furniture, and leaving the house to
its fate. The Cheheen (mayor of the city) and
several other military and civil officers, were speedily
on the ground with their retainers. Being tired and
hungry, we did not stop to see the end, but were
informed that by breaking down parts of the adjoining houses, the flames were prevented from
spreading.
May 30. Spent part of the day in visiting acquaintances among the Chinese, then went to the
house of a Mr. Lin, to see his garden, which is
spoken of as very fine; but were rather disappointed,
as it had nothing remarkable in it. While in the
garden Mr. Lin came out to see us, and politely
took us over his house, which is large, airy, and
well furnished. He had some six or eight large
clocks of European manufacture, but all out of order,
with numerous beautiful scrolls of writing and painting. His father left him a fortune of some three
hundred thousand taels, (over four hundred thousand dollars,) but his extravagance has diminished
it to one hundred thousand. He smokes opium
freely, and looks sallow and thin. Some friends
were with him at the time, and he had an opium
pipe, and lamp burning in the room to which he led
us. This opium is the curse of China. It is draining out their money from the land, sucking the




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      263
heart's blood of their industry, and destroying thG
constitutions and the lives of their people.
June 3, 1845. On Saturday, May 31st, Dr.
McCartee was called to see a woman in the couintry,
who had poisoned herself by taking opium, but shu
was dead before he arrived. It seems she was the
concubine, or second wife, and had a quarrel with
the first wife, which led to her destroying herself.
This evening, another case of poisoning occurred but
a few doors from our residence. In this case he
was in time, and some sulphate of zinc soon relieved
the man's stomach. The cause was a quarrel with
some of the neighbours.
Yesterday and to-day have been wet and cold.
Thermometer down to 64 deg., which is eightden
degrees lower than it was the day before.
June 5. Reading in the Kea Paou, or "Family
Jewels," I came across the following sentences, which
are rather remarkable. " If your parents treat you
with unkindness, or even do what is wrong, you
must still, with the utmost quietness, submit. And
if they will not hear your attempts to correct their
errors, you must not become angry, and scold them;
but bear it in silence. For, remember, that below
the skies, there is not such a thing as a father or
mother that does wrong. Your father is heaven,
and your mother is earth, and where is the man that
dares to contend with heaven and earth?  Is it
right to do so? Therefore, it was well said, by an
ancient sage,'Although a father should ill-treat his
son, yet must not the son cease his filial obedience.'"
The following sentence is equally remarkable: " Let
not your love for your wife and children prevent
your paying all due respect to your parents. Should
your wife and children die, you may yet procure
others; but if your father and mother depart, whence
will you replace them?" Kea Paou, vol. i. p. 6.
The sentiment of this last line must remind the
student of history, of the saying ascribed to a Persian lady, whose whole family had been condemned




264      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
to death. The monarch, permitting her to save the
life of any one she chose, she selected a brother.
On being asked why she had not rather chosen to
save one of her children, she replied,'"I may have
other children, but another brother I cannot have."
To-day being the first of the Chinese month,
several people have come to worship at the temple.
Several travelling monks assist at the devotions.
Among the worshippers were some respectably
dressed females, one of whom took her little child,
that knew not its right hand from its left, and
making it kneel before the idol, taught it to lift its
hands and worship.
June 7. Another case of opium poisoning to-day.
It' was a young man who could not collect money to
pay his debts on the fifth of the month, when
according to custom here, all debts must be settled.
The application for assistance was too late, as he
was dying when Dr. McCartee reached the house.
June 16. A visit from sundry official persons,
and some scholars, to-day.  They were civil, very
inquisitive, and not at all backward in asking for
anything they took a fancy to.  One of them
requested a few sheets of writing paper, as a
curiosity, and when I took out half a quire, meaning to give him a sheet or two, he held out both
hands, and took all. exclaiming, "Oh, thank you,
thank you!" We gave them tracts, several of which
were printed on our own press, with the Parisian
type. They expressed much pleasure at the beauty
and clearness of the type, as I have more than once
or twice heard scholars do, when they opened one
of our tracts.
June 18. An animated discussion with my teacher to-day on idolatry. He is the most zealous
defender of' their idolatrous rites that I have ever
met among the Chinese, and does not, as most of
them do, assent to everything that we say on the
subject. According to what he says, idols were not
formerly worshipped in China, nor are they now, by




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRI.       26 5
the literati, who pay their adoration only to the
souls of the deified persons, and not to the images.
When pressed in argument, he admitted that it was
of no use, except to show reverential feeling, for
the souls of the idols being in heaven, could not
hear or enjoy the worship paid to them. At last
he confessed that it was only "long established custom." I rejoiced to be able to tell him distinctly,
that it was only by renouncing all idols, believing
on Christ, and worshipping him, that any man could
be saved.
It is curious to see how they use the same arguments in favour of their worship, which the Roman
Catholics urge for the adoration of the saints.
Among other things, he said that it was better to
worship heroes, and such like, because God is too
great to be troubled with our prayers, and therefore,
we must approach hinm by means of persons greater
than ourselves. When asked if there were any
good and sinless men on earth, he replied with emphasis, "There are few  indeed!"  When asked,
"Did you ever see one?" he replied, "Never."  At
this point he seemed to feel uncomfortable, and admitted that man's natural disposition is not good,
though he was hardly willing to say this, without
some qualification.
June 19. Another long conversation with my
teacher, on religion, in which I could not but admire his independence. He freely admitted the
difference between Christianity and the religion of
China; but unlike most Chinese teachers, he would
not compliment me, by saying that ours was the
best. He listened with interest, while I spoke of
the way of salvation, through the sufferings and
death of Christ. Oh, that he were himself a Christian! He is acute to detect the inconsistencies of
professed Christians, and asked some questions today, respecting some, which were hard to answer.
June 21. Went into the main building of the
temple to-night, and found all the monks busy at
23




266      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
their devotions. Some person was making an offering, and his gifts were spread out in order before the
idol. Fourteen candles were burning. The old abbot was beating the drum, and twelve monks, more
than half of whom were visitors, were chanting from
the Skiangtekling, or Classic of the Supreme Ruler.
Each wore a long yellow, or orange coloured robe,
fringed with black, and read from a copy of the book
beautifully written with red ink. They chanted,
beat their bells and blocks of wood, knelt, and rose
again, and bowed their heads Oh, how melancholy
to see it! Some of the monks were old and grayheaded. One was young, with the ruddiness of boyhood still on his cheeks. I thought of the command,
"Thou shalt not bow down unto them-" and my
heart sank within me, as the question rose, "How
long, oh Lord, how long?-" Will this kind go out
except byr prayer and fasting?
June 26. Several conversations with my teacher,
of late, on religion, which seem to have made some
impression on him. He was much struck with the
idea of missionaries coming here, not to make money,
but simply to teach religion, and after a pause, said
seriously, "It requires great faith to do all this. I
do not think our Chinese would do it." Giving him
an account of my being shipwrecked some years ago,
he was much interested, and remarked, "Truly you
would not have escaped, if Jesus had not preserved
you."
July 1. The warmest day we have yet had.
Thermometer at 91~ for a while, and now at nine
o'clock, P. M., at 88S. Little wind, and weather
very damp. It is what the Chinese call the wcang
mazy teen, or yellow plum season, because the plums
are then ripe, when the atmosphere is so overloaded
with moisture, that even when the sun is shining,
the stone and wooden floors are as damp as if they
had but lately been scrubbed, and had not time to
dry.
July 6th, Sabbath. Greatly disturbed in our




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     267
morning worship, by a number of Chinese carrying
alum, the property of a Christian merchant, out of
a neighbouring store-room to load a ship, the property of a Christian owner. Verily, there is but'
little fear of God in the eyes of many who do business in this heathen land. Alas! for our work
among this people, who know not how to distinguish
among the professed and the real followers of Christ.
Very rainy, damp weather for some days, and so
cold, notwithstanding the heat a week ago, as to
render thick clothes and woollen stockings comfortable. But it is the last, probably, of the cold weather for a while.
July 24. Had a visit to-day from a Mr. Lefevre.
a French Roman Catholic missionary, who has spent
five years in Keangse, one in Nankin, and three in
Macao. He seems to be about fifty-five years old,
and is now on his way to Tartary, to take charge of
their theological school at Siwan.  He  speaks
Chinese, the court dialect, fluently, and tolerably
well, but with rather a French accent. As he
knew no English. and I but little French, we talked
together in Chinese. Hle goes first to Shanghai,
there changes his garments and puts on a queue,
with Chinese spectacles, to conceal his eyes.  From
Shanghai he goes by the grand canal, and expresses
no fear of being detected on the way. Though he
speaks fluently, he knows but little of the written
language, not being able to write so common a character as Kung, (noble,) which he has occasion to
use every day.
He speaks in the highest terms of Mr. Ramnaux,
Roman Catholic bishop of Keangse, and says he
speaks Chinese better than even his own language.
(I have since heard that Mir. Ramaux was lately
drowned in Macao. From some of his letters, I had
formed a good opinion of him.)  The Roman Catholics in China call their priests Shin foo, spiritual
fathers, and the bishops, C(hoo Keaou, lords of the
religion.




268       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
July 25. Went into the temple with a bundle of
thirty or forty gospels and tracts in my arms, and
found many worshippers. Presently some came and
asked what books I had. On giving one away, there
was instantly a crowd of eager applicants, and in a
few minutes all were disposed of. A hundred more
would have been taken, if I had thought fit to give
them; but it seemed better to stop while they were
eager for more, than to give them to satiety.
July 28.  This is the birthday of the god of
thunder, though, as my teacher laughing said, "No
one knows how old he is." A crowd of men and
women were in the temple. My teacher says,
"Most of the worshippers are women, who greatly
fear the thunder, thouoh there are some men. The
women like these worshipping days, because it gives
them an opportunity to see, and to be seen in their
fine clothes; and most of the men who come, come
to amuse themselves, and look at the women.'
Among the crowd of the common folks, there were
many men and women in silks and embroideries.
Stalls were at every corner, where men were selling
candles, incense sticks, and paper for offerings.
The temple was full of smoke; and the crowd,
together with the smoke and the burning paper,
renders the place almost insupportably hot.  I took
some forty or fifty tracts, but the crowd was so
great, and the eagerness to get them so excessive,
that there was little satisfaction in distributing
them.
In the Kea Paou, vol. i., line 562, is this sentence.
"Ancient men have well said,'A relation afar off is
not so good as a neighbour that is near.'"  Almost
word for word with Prov. xxvii. 10.  "Better is a
neighbour that is near, than a brother afar off."
My teacher was greatly shocked to-day, when I
said that "Abraham was the friend of God." "How
can it be?" he exclaimed; "how can a man be the
friend of God? for a friend implies equality.  Such
a thing ought not to be said." These poor heathen




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     269
have little idea of the exceeding grace and condescension of God. The other day, talking with
him, he advanced the sentiment that the affairs of
the world to come, being beyond our personal observation, are of no importance to us; that if we attend
to our own business in this life, the future may be
safely left to take care of itself. In confirmation
of his opinion that the future world is entirely
beyond our knowledge and concern, he quoted the
saying of Confucius, "Not knowing even life, how
can we know death?" How truly it was said of
Christ, "He hath brought life and immortality to
light through the Gospel;" for they were not known
before, and are not known where the Gospel is not
heard.
Ningpo, April 30th, 1845.
MRS. C. M. HEPBURN-I have little sympathy for
those who delight to say that our blessed Saviour
never smiled, for when he'"rejoiced in spirit," and
when he heard the little children cry, Hosanna! it
seems to me as if a smile, strangely and yet sweetly
blending the divine and hunman, must have played
upon those features. How pleasant, more than
"pleasant," to see those features, once marked with
the impress of pain and suffering and sorrow! They
are not so marked now, for a, glory covers them,
such as the disciples saw when they were with him
in the holy mount, and that glory I trust we shall
ere long see.
My previous letter will have informed you of my
arrival at Chusan, April 2. I stayed there a week,
enjoying greatly the scenery and appearance of the
place. It quite surpassed my expectations, and is
vastly more beautiful than anything I have yet seen
in China, always excepting Chang-Chow and the
country around. You have nothing at Amoy or
Kulangsu equal to Chusan.
283 *




270      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
There are some pious soldiers at Chusan, and,
among others, I was surprised to see Corporal R
who used to be such a constant visitor of yours at
Amoy. He asked very earnestly about you all.
They all seem very glad of Loomis's going there,
and he now preaches in the chapel there every
Sabbath. I left Chusan on the 10th of April, and
go there the next day. Stayed a week with Br.
Way, and then came over to the Yu-Shing-Kwan
monastery, which is just within the north gate of
the city. Dr. McCartee has been here for some
three or four months, and I got a suite of rooms
just like his, on the same terms.
This is a very quiet part of the city, as there are
few houses near; the mass of the population lies off
in other parts of the city. I calculate the inhabitants at two hundred and fifty thousand, including
the suburbs at the east and west gates, which are
very extensive and populous....
We propose observing next Friday as a day of
fasting and prayer, both for the mission, and as preparatory to the Lord's Supper, which I am to administer on the Sabbath following. Miss Aldersey
has a fine girls' school, numbering fifteen pupils, and
sustains herself well. I hope for much good from
the organization of a church in these extreme ends
of the earth. I trust that ere long we may admit
some of the inhabitants of this place into our fellowship..
Iay 1st. "The laughing month of May;" though
we might almost apply to it the term given to the
following month, "The rose encumbered June."
One of the monks brought me a bouquet of roses
to-day, which I have arranged in a tumbler beneath
iny looking-glass. I have been busy fitting up my
rooms to-day, and have everything now arranged
much to my mind..... I hope we are all settled now, and will not
have to move about any more, or make any other
changes. I would like to see you all; but when




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      271
shall it be? As my sister E. says in her last letter
to me, " I am prepared to say, I hope you will not
leave your field of labour, even to come and see us."
I am sure I am so glad to be at my long-desired
haven, that it would require no slight inducement
for me to leave it. How nervous I used to feel
sometimes, on my last trip, for fear I should not get
up after all. By what strange ways we are led
along, and sometimes hard ones to travel.  "Oh
there are some rough ways to heaven." "In the
world ye shall have tribulation." So our blessed
Lord himself said.
Friday, May 2d. We have been observing this
as a day of fasting and prayer for the mission, and
also as preparatory to the Lord's Supper. We met
at 10 o'clock-only ourselves-six in all. Bro.
Culbertson conducted the services, and made some
very good remarks on the duties before us, and the
disposition we should have. I read a long letter
which I have just received from my father, in which
he gives his views on several points in relation to
the missionary work in China. I wish you were
nearer, I would lend it to you. We all led in prayer.
In the afternoon we had another meeting at four
o'clock, which 1 conducted; subject of my remarks,
I Cor. xi. 23; the administration of the Lord's Supper. What a beautiful and forcible passage it is!
The Lord's Supper was instituted "the same night
in which he was betrayed." Oh what a night was
that! It was the crisis in the world's history. Had
our Saviour then drawn back, had the cup passed by
him, where had we been? Earth never saw a night
like that. It was on that night that Satan's malice
and man's wickedness rose to their highest point;
and on that night the love of Christ was specially
shown in the appointment of this solemn and tender
ordinance. How the love of God in Christ stands
in shining contrast with the wickedness of man and
Satan! And what a beautiful sentence that is:
" Ye do show the Lord's death till he come!"  He




272       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
will come again " in the clouds of heaven." Yea,
he has told us, he will "come quickly."  It will be
"with power and great glory.'  We who are alive
and remain, shall be caught up with the risen saints
to meet the Lord in the air. Now we are expecting it. " We love his appearing," is the characteristic of Christians.
"Let the vain world pronounce it shame!With joy we tell the scoffing age,
He that was dead hath left the tomb.
He lives above their utmost rage,
And we are waiting till he come."
Herein is a beautiful feature of this ordinance. It
was instituted in the time of Christ's degradation
and sorrow, as a memorial of the same; but it is to
be observed until the time when he comes in power
and glory and joy. Every time we observe it we
are carried back to the scene of his sorrow, and
pointed forward to the time of his and our joy, when
it shall be said to us, " Enter ye into the joy of the
Lord." Oh that when the bridegroom cometh, we
may be ready to enter in before the door is shut!
Our servants are greatly at a loss to find we have
eaten so little to-day. We tried to explain it, but
they could not comprehend why it was. I have a
very simple-hearted servant, and as soon as I came
back from the morning service he said, "Mr. Lowrie,
don't you want something to eat'?"
May 3.  I have been witnessing an idolatrous
ceremony in another part of the monastery where I
live, which has made my heart sick. The old grayheaded Taou priest and three of the monks were
reciting prayers, beating gongs, cymbals, and the
like, and bowing before their idols. A man had
come to offer thanks on the birth-day of his son, and
the little boy, six years old, sat and watched the
whole proceeding. Who made me to differ? Why
have I such glorious hopes? What have I done to




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     273
deserve them? What am I now doing for him who
died for me, and called me into the ministry?
It is a rainy afternoon. The sky is all of one
dull, sombre hue; the rain comes gently yet quickly
down. A light wind blows the damp air into my
apartments, and some noisy birds are chattering
under the Kwai hwa trees in the court. I should
like to have a social chat with you at such a time as
this; but we are far away, and, moreover, the day
draws to a close, and after hearing the boys say
their lesson, I must finish my preparations for the
services of to-morrow. Oh, how pleasant to sit at
the Lord's table rather than at the table of devils;
to hope for God's favour rather than that of idols
which cannot save!
With my love to your husband, and to Lloyd and
Brown, I remain yours, ever affectionately,
W. M. LOWRiE.
Ningpo, May 30th, 1845.
MY DEAR FATHER-The city of Ningpo lies nearly
in the centre of a large plain, surrounded on all
sides by mountains, and intersected by innumerable
canals, which are nearly all navigable, and serve the
double purpose of irrigation and travelling.  A
covered boat and boatmen can be had for a whole
day for twenty-five cents, and whenever we want to
extend our ramble any distance beyond the city, we
find it most convenient to make use of them. The
plain is at least twenty miles in diameter in its narrowest part, and much wider in other places. The
whole of this great amphitheatre is thickly studded
over with villages and farm-houses, and has two or
three large cities besides Ningpo. Foreigners are
not allowed to wander beyond the heen, or district of
which Ningpo is the capital. Its exact dimensions
we do not well know, but we can go at least three
miles on every side, and in one direction as many




274       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
as twenty or thirty. By a little prudence and care,
we shall doubtless obtain a wider range for our excursions. For the present, unable as we are to
speak with fluency, the field is vastly larger than
we can profitably occupy; and whenever we can
speak well, we doubt not that the door will be
opened wider. Should it not be opened, the question will arise, whether obedience to a higher authority and covenant than any of human devising,
will not justify us in exceeding the limits that have
been fixed, and preaching in other cities the kingdom of God.  On this point there is some diversity
of opinion amongst us; but I am disposed to think
that a blessing would attend our efforts, if carried
on, occasionally at least, where the prince of this
world now exercises supreme authority. Opposition and excitement on the part of the rulers would
but rouse attention to our work. But it may be
thought that this is looking too far ahead.
The foreign trade of Ningpo is not so great as it
once was. It once carried on an important comn-merce with Manilla, when South America belonged
to Spain, as well as with other parts of the Chinese
Empire. But of late years Shanghai has greatly
surpassed it, and the latter city is likely to possess
by much the largest share of trade with western
lands. When the treaty was formed in 1842, it
was supposed by Sir Henry Pottinger, Mr. Morrison, and nearly every other person, that INingpo
would be the most important of the five ports; but
it has been found, that the vicinity of Shanghai to
the city of Loochow, and to the grand canal, give
it great advantages over any of the other ports.
The best days of Ningpo are probably past, and
painful evidences of decay are visible on all sides.
Still it has a considerable trade with Fuhkeen, and
with the northern provinces; and numerous junks
are constantly lying in the river. It offers more
advantages to Americans than to the English, as it
lies nearer to the green tea district, and offers a




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      275
good market for the sale of American manufactured
goods.
The people are as civil and obliging as could reasonably be expected, considering the severe and uncalled for treatment they received during the war,
and the thoughtless course of some of the English
officers, in destroying the public buildings for firewood. We are better treated here, by far, than a
Chinaman would be in New York or London; though
it does occasionally ruffle one's temper to hear himself called a pah-kwei, or white devil, with some other
such choice epithets. So far as I have seen, there is
little difference between this place and Shanghai in
that respect; and the difference in favour of this
place, which was observed not long ago, was probably owing to the fear of foreigners then fresh in
mind, but now wearing off.
We have lately organized a church here, under
the title, "Presbyterian Church of Ningpo," of
which Mr. Culbertson has been elected pastor. It
consists of seven members, to wit: D. B. McCartee,
Hingapoo, a Chinese servant of Mr. Way's, together
with Mrs. Way, Mrs. Culbertson, Miss Aldersey,
Ruth Ati, and Christiana Kit. The two latter are
Chinese girls whom Miss Aldersey has educated,
and who were baptized by Mr. Medhurst in Java.
Dr. McCartee was elected ruling elder, and Mr.
Way and myself also act as ruling elders for the
time being. The church was regularly organized on
the 18th inst., when Mr. Culbertson preached a sermon on Acts ii. 42-47, and Dr. McCartee was ordained as ruling elder, with the laying on of hands
of the bishop, and the right hand of fellowship from
Mr. Way and myself, in our capacity as ruling elders.
It was a good day to us all; and though the beginning is small, we trust the latter end will greatly
increase. It is a dayfof small things, but a day not to
be despised. As this is the first Presbyterian church
in China, pray for us that the small one may become
a thousand, and the weak one a strong nation.




276       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
May 31st. In regard to the facilities for dis.
tributing tracts a good deal might be said, but the
nature of it would depend much on the disposition
of the person who writes. Any number might be
given away. I would undertake to give to eager
applicants more than as many as our press could
possibly print, but the misfortune is, that they would
be just as eagerly sought after, if they were copies
of Paine's Age of Reason, or any other book in the
world. I think each member of our mission disapproves of indiscriminate distribution. We do not yet
know the proportion of the people who can read,
though it is probably small; yet we have an excellent opportunity here of circulating tracts and gospels, and there is rarely a day that Dr. McCartee
and myself do not give away one or more, where
we are pretty sure they will be read. We regard
this, therefore, as an important means of circulating
the principles of our religion, though greatly inferior to the oral preaching of the word.
I remain your affectionate son,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Ningpo, July 22d, 1845.
MY DEAR MOTHER —.... Did you ever notice
Psalm xxx. 5? " His anger endureth but a moment,
in his favour is life. Weeping may endure for a
night, but joy cometh in the morning." Is not that
beautiful? But here is a literal translation of it,
which is, if possible still more beautiful and expressive:
"A moment in his anger,
But lifetimes in his favour:
In the evening, weeping will abide;
But in the morning there is shouting."
Observe the force of the expression. "In the
evening, weeping will abide."  It "will abide."  It




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      277
threatens to remain long with us; sorrow seems as
if it were about to take up its abode. Night is
before us, and we see no sun, no day, no joy beyond.
But the night quickly passes, "as a dream of the
night," and what then? "In the morning there is
shouting." And how true it is! Just compare
Isaiah liv. 7, with 2 Corinthians iv. 17.
That a person can be a Christian, and yet afraid
of death, f have no doubt. Indeed, I suppose most
Christians are so. But why should it be so? It is
hardly correct to say, "The Bible says'Death is
the king of terrors.''  Bildad the Shuhite said so,
or something like it, for I am not sure that he meant
death by that expression; but if he did, I would
not like to take all he said for the Bible. The New
Testament does not so represent it.  It says that
Christ "gave up the ghost,' and that Stephen "fell
asleep."  The apostle says, even of the offending
Corinthian Christians,'many sleep;" and of deceased Christians generally that they "are asleep."
Asleep! what is so peaceful! quiet repose in Christ!
how long or short it matters little. Soon the Lord
will come again, and them that are asleep will he
bring with him. How soon? We know not; but
soon, not a thousand years off, but so soon that we
may not fall asleep, perhaps, before he comes....
As ever, affectionately yours,
W. M. LowRIE.
Ninngpo, August 2d, 1845.
MY DEAR FATHER-... My health is better,
so far, this year, than any year since I came to China. Still, however, the warm weather has a weakening effect, which we all feel more or less. There
is too in this place a constant tendency to diarrhoea
in summer, which needs a good deal of care to avoid
it. In another month the cool weather will com24




278      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
mence. If this year be a fair specimen of Ningpo
summer, I think there is every prospect of good
health here. It is said, however, to be cooler than
usual....
I am now engaged in preparing a copy of Luke
for publication, with short notices, which Ihope will
be ready by the end of the year; and perhaps I
shall prepare also Acts in the same way. I am
losing faith in the doctrine, "The Bible without
note or comment," at least as far as the Chinese are
concerned, from the often witnessed fact, that the
most intelligent of them fall into frequent and gross
mistakes as to its meaning. For example, many
think we worship our ancestors, because the Lord's
prayer commences, "Our Father which art in
heaven." If we only had enough of our small type,
Luke and the comments might make a volume of
seventy-five or one hundred pages. With Dyer's
type, and the Paris type, it will be one hundred
and fifty or more, and consequently far more expensive, and, as I think, not so good-looking. Perhaps
if we print it, we may get enough of small type cut
by hand to supply all we want. This will be expensive, but not much more so than to use so much
more paper, &c., with larger type...  The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice."
His own cause is infinitely dear to him, and our follies, weaknesses, sins, mistakes, all things shall not
retard it; no, not for one moment. His way may
be in darkness and storms, and the clouds may be
but the dust of his feet; but in due time, at the appointed season, all will be plain.  Till then, "Wo
unto the world because of offences. It must needs
be that offences come;" but I pray God that they
come not from us. Oh for that happy time when
they shall not hurt nor destroy, nor cause to offend,
in all God's holy mountain.
Ever affectionately your son,
W. M. LOWRIE.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      279
JOURNAL AT NINGPO.
August 8.  Exhibiting a microscope to my
teacher and servants, at which they were in great
astonishment. The beautiful workmanship of the
instrument itself, (a present from a kind friend in
New York,) attracted much admiration; but its
power in displaying minute objects was a thing of
which they had formed no previous conception. The
hairy leg of a fly was an object of especial curiosity,
and they exclaimed frequently, " Why, the fly's leg
has hairs! the fly's leg has hairs 
The weather is now warm, and weakening in its
effects. One's strength is easily exhausted, and
two or three hours of close application, either to the
pen or one's books, is fatiguing.
August 9. A feast for the dead, who have no
surviving children to worship them, is just now (nine
o'clock, P. M.) going on outside of my rooms. Two
long ropes, with numerous strips of coloured paper
suspended, are hung along the sides of the streets,
and tables with various eatables, as eggs, waterlily roots, beans, fish, ginger, rice, cups of spirits,
and the like, are spread over them. At one end is
a hideous monster made of paper, and at the other
a company of priests are performing some monotonous ceremonies. Budhist and Taou priests mingle
together in the rites, and the little children look on
it as a great "raree-show." The object is to feed the
souls of dead men in this neighbourhood, who have no
children left to provide for their wants. Contributions have been given by the neighbours to the
amount of four thousand cash, and as the expenses
will scarcely amount to one thousand, the remainder
will of course fall into the pockets of the priests.
Saturday evening, August 23. A warm oppressive
day.  Feeling a slight headache in the evening, I
went out and sat down on the wall by the north
gate, to enjoy what little wind might be stirring.
Several workmen who lodged in the guard-house




280      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
over the gate, came up to me, and after a few ques.
tions and answers we were on the best possible terms.
The conversation, where all were in a good-humour,
and all wanted to talk, was very mixed, and sometimes diverting enough. After a few ordinary
phrases, I began to find myself out of my depth,
but still a word here and there, and half a sentence
sometimes, kept us going. At last I asked them
C"what gods they worshipped;" to which some
replied, "Yuh-kwang," (the Jewelled Emperor,)
also I"Kwan-yin," and various others. On this I
remarked that these were all false gods, mere wood
and clay; they were unable to speak, hear, see or
walk. Of what use were they? Why should they
be worshipped?  These remarks excited frequent
bursts of laughter, with exclamations, "True!" "Just
so!" and the like. They then asked if we had no
idols in our country, on which, "with stammering
lips, and in another tongue," I set before them the
only object of worship, the true God, the Supreme
Ruler of all, the hearer of prayer, and his son Jesus
Christ. They were astonished when told that he
could see, hear, and speak, and asked various questions, to many of which I found it difficult to reply.
On coming away several of them requested me to
is come again to-morrow."
Wednesday, September 3. Dr. McCartee and
myself started on a trip of relaxation and exploration, meaning to visit Teentung, a celebrated Budhist monastery, some twenty-five miles south of
Ningpo. We engaged a boat large enough to accommodate ourselves, with my teacher, and a servant,
besides the two boatmen. The charge for the boat
and boatmen is about half a dollar a day.
The boat being somewhat slow in starting, we
strolled through a large grave-yard near the landing.
Numerous coffins were lying about on the top of the
ground with no covering whatever, and some were
almost fallen to pieces through age. There were
three stone buildings about ten or twelve feet square,




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      281
and as many high, intended for the reception of
children's bones. One was the " Children's Pagoda,"
and the others the "'Boys' Pagoda," and "Girls'
Pagoda." Such buildings are common, for in China
little attention is paid to the burial of children, unless they happen to be the first born. Instead of
the massive coffins in which the remains of adults
are laid, a slight box is nailed together, in which
they are deposited, and laid anywhere, until, the
frail structure having decayed, and the flesh disap
peared, the bones are collected and put in such
buildings as these.
Continuing our walk through the suburb, which
is long and wide, and near the city very populous,
we gave away some tracts, but refused many applicants, on the ground that they could not read. It
soon began to rain, and getting into our boat, we
proceeded rapidly on our Way. We slept rather
uncomfortably in the boat, and arrived during the
night at the hills within six miles of Teentung.
The next morning on awaking we found ourselves
at the foot of some hills, and as far as the boat could
go.  The country around had an inviting aspect,
and we began to promise ourselves much pleasure in
rambling about among the hills. But to our dismay,
heavy showers of rain came up every few minutes,
and it soon appeared that there was small prospect
of getting comfortably to Teentung. We turned
our faces towards Yuh-wang, a large Budhist monastery, with two high towers, which we had seen
during the morning.
We reached the monastery a little before sunset,
and found it so embowered in trees that the buildings were not visible till we were close to them.
The Budhist priests have certainly, what is rather
uncommon among other classes, a good deal of taste
in the selection of their residences. This monastery
is beautifully situated in a gorge of two hills, with
another hill directly in front. This does not furnish
a very wide prospect in any direction, but it makes
24 *




282      MEMOIYr OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
the place quiet and retired. A brick wall inclosing
several acres of ground goes round the monastery.
Entering the main gate, we went down to the bottom of the valley, crossed a little bridge thrown over
the valley stream, and ascending a slight elevation
of some twenty feet or more, entered the buildings,
and proceeding through one or two large court-yards,
were politely received by the monks, and shown into
the strangers' apartments, a set of three or four
rooms, with some chairs, tables, and bedsteads.
Monasteries and temples are the principal inns in
China, though they seldom furnish more than four
walls and a roof.  The traveller is expected to furnish his own bedding and food, and to have some
one to prepare it for him, though the latter service
can generally be performed for him by externpore
cooks, if he is willing to put up with the ignorance
of foreign modes, and the dirty habits by which they
are generally distinguished. It is, however, the
safest and cheapest plan for the traveller to have his
own servant along; and though some good friend of
missions at home may ask what business a plain
missionary has to carry a servant about with him,
yet such would do well to consider, that here we
have no comfortable inns, with separate rooms which
we can lock when we go out, and where everything
in the shape of bedding and food is prepared for us
by attentive landlords.  But this is digression.Being wearied by the confinement of our boat, we
were glad to get our supper; and after a hasty
glance at the buildings, as it was now dark, we soon
went to bed, but did not rest very well, for there
was an abundance of fleas, and having neglected our
own musquito curtains, we were fain to use some we
found in the monastery, which did not shelter us
perfectly from the attacks of the musquitoes.
The first building is a large high structure of only
one story. Within it is about one hundred feet
long by seventy broad, and the roof is supported by
numerous wooden pillars, standing on stone bases.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      283
The Chinese have not the art of supporting a roof
without using so many pillars as to diminish materially the effect of a large room. The principal objects in this room were three immense figures, the
Three Precious Buddhas. They were sitting with
their feet drawn up like tailors at work, and were
of immense size. Judging from the base of the seat
on which they sat, and which, though twelve feet
square, they quite covered, they must have been
eighteen or twenty feet high, even in their sitting
posture.  They were richly gilt, and between them
stood two attendants, gilt all over, and perhaps
twelve feet high. They did not seem to have much
worship paid to them, and the sparrows which had
made their nests in the roof above, defiled the place
with dirt. Behind these figures, and facing the
other way, was the image of Kwan Yin, "She who
regards the prayers of the world," sitting on a horse,
(or ass?) and carrying a child in her arms. Several
attendants stood round her shrine, which was altogether a curious specimen of working in clay. It
represented the sea, with numerous rocks and
islands, over which she was crossing on horseback.
Along the ends and back of this building, sat thirtyfour gilt images, each as large as the human figure,
with every variety of countenance and dress. In
front of the door stood the most curiously gnarled
tree I ever saw. Its trunk was more than a foot in
diameter; after rising up about six or eight feet it
bent back in a sharp angle to the ground, and then
stretched up again, while its branches stood out in
every direction. It was inclosed by a stone railing,
and evidently was esteemed a great curiosity. There
was some story of miraculous appearances connected
with it; but I have forgotten what it is.
Directly behind this building, and separated
from it by a large square stone-paved court, was
another sixty by eighty feet in dimensions, and in
much better keeping.  The principal objects of interest were two really magnificent shrines, of a cir



.84       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
cular pyramidal shape, one behind the other. Over
the hinder one an immense silken canopy was suspended, lights were constantly burning before them,
and some of the monks seemed to be always in the
building. And for what, think you, was all this display?  Because one of the shrines contained a veritable Shay-le of Buddh, taken from his sacred body
before his deification! And what is a Shaay-le? On
this point I can get but little satisfaction. I am
told "it is neither gold nor brass, nor stone, nor yet
bone nor flesh. It is a small round thing, about as
big as the half of a pea, and looks somewhat like a
scab from a sore that is healing up." For a " consideration" the priests will allow you to see it, and'if you are a good man, or likely to be prosperous,
its color is red, but if the reverse, it will be black.
As great honours are paid to this valuable relic, as to
the blood of St. Januarius, and no doubt the priests
make much money out of it.  My teacher, who has
of late some new views on some topics, laughs at it
as an imposition to wheedle people out of their
money. There are several idols in this hall, one of
which is a jolly fat old fellow with a continual laugh
on his face. The other buildings of the temple have
little in them worthy of notice, and the rain was so
violent that we were obliged to postpone to another
time our purposed visit to the towers and grounds
of the temple.  This we regretted, as the two
towers are each seven stories high, and the country
had a very pretty appearance.
There are about thirty monks in the establishment. Those we saw were generally pale and sickly looking fellows, with countenances betokening
very little mental exertion or worth. The routine
of their duties is such, as must effectually quench
every noble aspiration, for it consists in an unceasing
round of prostrations and chants, generally in an
unknown tongue, and almost always performed
without the slightest appearance of devotion or
zeal. It is marvellous how men can for years




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     285
practise such insipid ceremonies, without becoming
utterly disgusted with them. One of the monks
had deprived himself of one of his fingers by a very
painful process; he had wrapped oiled flax around
it down to the middle of the joint next the hand,
and burned it slowly, another monk reciting prayers
all the time, till the finger was consumed. When
we saw him the stump was not perfectly healed.
He had also seared the flesh of one arm in a dozen
places with a hot iron. He had a special vow of
abstinence from covetousness, wine, and lewdness,
and these were the marks by which he made his
voiw generally known. But notwithstanding such
evidences, which, by the way, are not uncommon,
the character of those who bear them is by no
means good. The "forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats,' by which the Buddhist and Taou sects are distinguished, are followed
by just the consequences which all history teaches
us to expect.
Having seen all we wanted, and being tired of staying, we began to think of going,-but how to accomplish it? The rain fell in torrents, and the road to
our boat was flooded the greater part of the way by
a stream of water nearly a foot deep. It was a regular scene in wading, and might have reminded one
of trout-fishing in the streams in Pennsylvania.
Getting to the boat, we changed our wet clothes for
others, and going off in the rain, reached home
shortly before dark, greatly amused and profited
by our trip, though it had not turned out as we had
expected.
Tuesday, October 14. In walking through the
streets of Chusan, I was singularly affected by hearing a little girl, daughter of one of the English soldhers now stationed here, saying, "my mother wants
you to come back directly." The familiar words
and English accent spoken by a young person were
so different from the "unknown tongue" spoken by
every one around, that they easily transported my




286      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
thoughts to a land where all speak my own mother
tongue. How strangely it would now seem, to be
where everybody spoke the same language with
myself!
Tuesday, October 21. Started on a trip to Pootoo, one of the most celebrated establishments of the
Buddhists in China.
Poo-too lies east of the north-eastern extremity
of Chusan. According to a Chinese history of the
island, it is about a hundred le, or a little over thirty
miles, from Tinghai. A deep cleft or valley near
the middle of the island reveals the yellow-tiled roof
of one of the principal temples, from a great distance
off, but the principal landing-place is at the southeastern extremity.
No sooner does one step on shore than he has
evidence on every side that the place is "wholly
given to idolatry.' A small worshipping place stood
close by the landing; shrines and inscriptions were
cut in the rocks by the roadside, and a large red
gateway covered with tiles announced the approach
to a temple. Pursuing the walk a hundred yards
further over a broad stone-paved pathway overhung
by trees, you enter the Pilz-hwa-yen, or "white
flowery monastery." Here I sought for lodgings,
but the monks seemed not to desire company, and
complained of having met such uncivil treatment
from foreigners who had recently been there, that
they did not wish to see any more. However, they
finally showed me a suite of three or four rooms, or
rather closets, up stairs, of which I took possession,
and leaving my servant to keep watch and get dinner ready, I sallied out to see what might be seen.
The Pih-hwa-yen is an old building built on a
foundation dug out of the hill-side, and almost concealed from sight by large overhanging trees and
shrubbery. It is now in bad repair, and has an old
and faded appearance. The number of monks is
said to be about forty, but I saw not more than ten
or twelve. The idols and ornaments of the temple




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     287
are all old and shabby, and it has little to interest a
visitor. In one of the main courts under the verandah were pasted up twelve or fifteen large red
cards, presented by ship's companies with other
offerings in gratitude to the gods who had brought
them on so far. Two or three of the vessels were
from Hwuy-CUhow, in Canton, most of them from
Chang-Chow, Tseuen-chow, and Hing-hwa, in Fuhkeen,
and only one from a seaport in Cheh-keang. In the
evening a religious ceremony of some kind was performed by the old abbot, assisted by six of the
monks, with several of the young candidates for the
Buddhist priesthood, some sailors and myself for
spectators. The abbot put on a scarlet robe and a
crown, and taking an incense stick in his hand, performed numerous ceremonies, accompanied with a
repetition of prayers and chanting, in the chorus of
which the other monks joined. But there was not
the slightest appearance of devotion, except perhaps
in the manner of the old abbot. The others, in the
intervals of the chanting, drank tea, gazed about,
and talked with one another, while the young candidates for the priesthood amused themselves with
annoying one of the officiating monks, and putting
balls in his chair, to trouble him when he sat down.
This called forth an angry reproof from him, and
produced a hearty laugh on their part. Seeing
things go on thus, I gave one of the spectators a
tract, whereon several others asked for some; and
finally one of the monks left his devotions and came
for one. I then said something on the folly of worshipping such idols, and a hearty laugh followed the
exposure of the helplessness of their gods. With
some further remarks on the way to worship the
true God, and his Son Jesus Christ, I left them, glad
to get away from the sin and folly of their unmeaning ceremonies. They kept them up with the beating of gongs and drums during the greater part of
the night.
From the Pih-hwa-yen, a paved stone walk, about




288       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
five feet broad, extends over a hill and down to the
central valley of the island, where the principal
establishment, called the Seen-sz', is built. On several of the large rocks along this road, inscriptions
are cut in large letters, and shrines are built against,
or carved out of the rocks. At one place is a little
shrine with some characters in a language I did not
know, probably the Sanscrit, and beneath Nan woo
oh me to fuh, words that are constantly and "vainly"
repeated in the religious ceremonies of the Buddhists.
Several paths branched off from  the main road,
leading to smaller yen, or monasteries, in the recesses of' the hills.
Arrived at the bottom of the valley, you pass
through a large gateway, composed of four massive
stone pillars, each a single block of granite about
twenty feet high. Beyond this a few steps and you
pass, at right angles, on the left another gateway
leading into the main buildings. Before coming to
this gateway is an inscription carved in stone to
this effect:'c Every officer, whether civil or military,
and all the common people, on arriving at this place,
must dismount from their horses."  The reason of
this soon appeared, for just within the second gateway, and inclosed within an octagonal tower,
covered with yellow tiles, was an immense marble
tablet, with a long inscription, presented by the Emperor Kanghi. It is the custom in China for all to
dismount and walk when passing before anything
that comes from the Emperor, though there was but
little occasion for the order in this instance, seeing
there is not a horse or ass upon the island.
Beyond this is a pond of water, with many of the
broad-leaved lotus plants growing at each end, and
a beautifully arched stone bridge across it.  Beyond
this again reaching clear to the base of the hill,
were several large yellow-tiled temples, with open
courts in front, and two-storied dormitories at either
side of the courts for the monks. In the temples
were any number of huge hideous idols, all once




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      289
richly gilt, but now brown with age, and black and
dirty with the smoke of incense. Just within the
door of the main building was a shrine for drawing
lots, and telling fortunes, with the inscription above,
" Yew kew peih ying," "-He that seeketh will certainly
find an answer."  About two dozen monks were
kneeling and chanting in the main building, among
whom were several older than any I have ever seen.
Outside one or two monks were superintending the
winnowing of some paddy; others were watching
men splitting up the roots of an old tree for firewood, and others were doing nothing.  So lazy and
good-for-nothing a set as the Buddhist and Taou
priests, I have never seen; and I could not but admire the simple truth with which one of the boatmen described their occupation, when I asked him
what they did, "Why, sir, they eat rice, and read
prayers." In one of the side buildings, which is
three stories high, there is a bell five feet in diameter, and more than seven feet in height. It is beaten
with a wooden hammer, (the Chinese bells rarely
have clappers,) and its sound when gently struck,
amidst the chantings and chorus of the monks below, was far from being unpleasant.
Everything about these buildings showed signs of
age, neglect, and decay. The yellow tiles, the gift
of imperial favour, were falling from the roofs, grass
was growing in the stone-paved court-yards, weeds
encumbered the sacred lotus pond, windows and
doors were falling to pieces, and the curtains and
ornaments of the idols were even browned with
smoke and dust. Here, too, there was but little
evidence of devotion in their worship, and one of the
monks stopped in the midst of his chanting to ask
me when I arrived. I left the place with an aching
heart; for the sight of these old men bending over
the grave, and yet chanting the praises of these
wooden gods, was a painful subject for thought.
The next morning I went around to several of the
smaller monasteries, but saw  little in them  of
25




290      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
interest. In one, the monks were so busy divining
for some sailors, that they had not time to speak to
strangers; in another, they were all gone to some
other part of the island, and in a third I found no
person except one old monk, suffering from disease.
He was sitting in a sheltered verandah, with a little
boy waiting on him, and received me quite politely,
ordering tea to be brought. He said he was seventy-one years old; and was as intelligent a man as I
met on the island. In answer to my inquiries, he
said that the beginning of the monastic establishments on the island dated as far back as the Leang
dynasty, about eight hundred years ago; but that
the Seen-sz' and the How-sz' were built in the Sung
dynasty. The total number of monks on the island,
he affirmed, did not exceed seven or eight hundred.
I had been told the evening before, at the How-sz'
that there were fifteen hundred, but the old man's
statement is probably correct. There are four large,
and one hundred and two small establishments on
the island. Allowing one hundred monks for the
largest, and thirty for the other three, each, we have
about two hundred. All accounts agreed that in the
smaller establishments there were not over five or
six in the average, being about seven or eight hundred in all. This differs widely from the accounts
of former visitors, who make the number amount to
"six thousand;" but I am satisfied that those accounts are much larger than is correct. There is
not room in all the buildings on the island to accommodate so many.
As the monk with whom I was now talking was
old and sick, and might soon die, I felt it to be a
duty to point out to him, however imperfectly, the
way of eternal life beyond the grave; but though
he understood the most of what was said, and assented to it as very good and proper, it seemed to
make little impression upon him. He said that after
death he expected still to abide among the hills of
this island, which had now been his home for more




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      291
than fifty years. When asked how he expected to
secure happiness beyond the grave, he replied, "By
worshipping Buddh, and making many prayers."  I
set before him as well as I could the way of life
through Christ,-to which he listened attentively,
and remarked, "There were some foreigners here
several years ago, who taught the same doctrine that
vou do;' referring doubtless to the visit of Messrs.
MIedhurst and Stevens.  On coming away I gave
him several tracts, which he received gratefully. Oh
that -the truth which he has thus heard more than
once, may be blessed to him, even in this, the eleventh
hour! After strolling about a little longer, I left
the island at eleven o'clock, A. M., and reached Tinghai near sunset.
Nov. 26. Saw a wedding procession, which must
have been several hundred yards long, and numbered
several hundreds of people. A crowd of men and
boys bearing banners and inscriptions went in front,
some trumpets and cymbals followed, then seven or
eight men on horseback, then a couple of officers,
one bearing a white, and the other a gilt button in
their caps; then the bride's chair, a really beautiful
article, elegantly painted, carved and gilded, borne
by eight men; but the bride was quite too well inclosed to be seen; then several men bearing ornamental bedding-clothes and pillows, which form a
part of the marriage presents, and are always ostentatiously displayed; while no less than twenty-one
sedan chairs brought up the rear. The lady was
said to be the daughter of an officer of rank.
Dec. 1. I congratulated my teacher on the birth
of his daughter. "No, no, we do not congratulate
here on the birth of a daughter."  " No! why not?"
"Oh, they are a great expense, and very little profit
to us." This led to some conversation on the treatment of females, and finally to the question, whether
there was such a thing as female infanticide in this
part of the country, he replied quickly, "No, not
here, but there is m Canton, and in some parts of




292      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
Fuhkeen."  "Is there none at all here?"  "No, not
in Ningpo, but in the city of Funghwa, (a city about
twenty miles off, and under the jurisdiction of the
Che-foo of Ningpo,) there is. It is called neih-sz',
or death by drowning, for when the child is born,
if it be a girl, the parents or assistants often heap
water on it, in pretence of washing it, but in such a
way that it dies!" He made this statement very
unwillingly, and with many exclamations of horror,
and finally added, "But of late years, since the
Funghwa people have begun to understand right reason and propriety, there is none of it." Notwithstanding this assertion, there is sufficient reason to suppose that this horrid custom prevails, not only in
Funghwa, but in other places in this province; but
to nothing like the extent in which it is common in
some parts of Fuhkeen.
To THE SOCIETY OF INQUIRY, PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL
SEMINARY.
Ningpo, November 1st, 1845.
DEAR BRETHREN-In a letter from the Corresponding Secretary of your Committee on Foreign
Missions, dated October 16th, 1844, which has been
lying by me since April 19, 1845, there are three
definite questions and a carte blanche, the answers
and "filling up" of all of which would occupy more
time and paper than 1 have to spare; and, probably,
more patience than you have to give. Perhaps I
shall not err in answering the questions first, and
then adding what may come uppermost, or find
room.
In regard to Morrison's translation of the Bible
into Chinese, a singular misconception has long prevailed among the supporters of missions, both in
England and America. It is not three years since
one of the warmest, and generally speaking, one of




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       293
the best informed friends of missions in England,
asserted, in opposition to the united and unanimous
voice of the Protestant Missionaries in China, that
" Morrison's translation of the Scriptures was nearly
perfect, and another was unnecessary." This was,
to say the least, rather a venturesome remark from
one who did not know a word of Chinese!...
I can answer your question, "Is the translation useful or intelligible?" by saying it is useful, but is not
adapted for general circulation. When we are explaining the Scripture history or doctrine in private conversation, it is of use, because it is sufficiently intelligible, with such cautions and explanations as we can
give orally, to give those with whom we speak a
fuller idea of the truth. It is of use to give to our
converts, for you know the converted man finds
good when the impenitent turns away in disgust;
and the converts will naturally come to us for explanation. And it is also of use to those who may
prepare a new translation. But it is not, as I think,
adapted for general circulation, nor would I willingly give a copy to a heathen, except under favourable circumstances. These same remarks apply in
great measure to Dr. Marshman's translation, which
was finished about the same time with Morrison's,
and has never had an extensive circulation.
You also ask, "What progress has been made
towards remedying its defects?"  A good deal as
regards the New Testament; but as it regards the
Old, almost none. We have two other translations
of the New Testament; one by Gutzlaff. which is
not much used; and another by Medhurst, assisted
by John R. Morrison, Bridgman, and others. The
latter is the one in common use; and it is in general
intelligible and good, though paraphrastic sometimes, and far from being perfect. A number of
the missionaries, both English and American, are
now engaged in a revision of it; but it may be
several years before it is completed. When the Old
Testament will be revised and published, I have no
25*




294      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
idea. I hope to live to see the time, and, perhaps,
to take some part in it, but it will not be soon.
There is yet a great work to be done in this respect,
and perhaps some of you may be called to assist in
it. The translation of the Scriptures into Chinese
is a great, difficult, and most important work, and
the preparation of Comments and Notes upon them
will require the labours of many men for many years.
You can have but little idea of the strange notions
they gather from expressions that are as common to
us as the air we breathe....
I have gone over the Gospel of Luke very carefully with my teacher, who passes for a learned
man in Ningpo, and his mistakes and misconceptions
have been both amusing and painful. This arises
in part from the imperfection of the translation; in
part from an utter and characteristic ignorance of
the geography and history of every other nation but
China; in part from the use of figures and comparisons unknown in China. Some people say, "The
Bible is an Oriental book, and the Chinese are an
Oriental people, therefore, they can easily understand it.'  But unfortunately the Chinese are as
much beyond "the East" on one side as America
is on the other; and therefore the remark is very
unfounded, in part from inattention and want of
interest in the subject, and in part from the "thick
darkness" with which idolatry and superstition have
enshrouded even the mental, and much more the
moral perceptions. Oh brethren! if you were here
but a few days, you would understand something of
the necessity, for the Spirit's influences to open the
understanding, and pour light into the heart; and of
the feelings of the prophet, when commanded to
prophesy to the dry bones. Pray for us. So thick
isthe "veil of the covering cast over" the minds of
the heathen, that were it not for what God can do,
the Missionary enterprise would be as fantastic a
scheme of folly as the brain of man ever devised.
If it were not for the hope, the belief of what God




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      295
will do, I would not be a missionary for another
day. It requires but a few years' experience in the
missionary field to learn that it is not talents nor
learning, important as these are, but piety and
prayer, that are chiefly requisite in a missionary.
"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,
saith the Lord.' Oh that my own heart and practice were more deeply influenced by this conviction,
and that the churches at home felt it more!
You ask for my  "impressions regarding the
climate of China." Having not yet had a full experience of the climate so far north as my present
residence, I cannot answer you so fully as may be
desirable; but what I know is briefly as follows:
In the Canton province, and the climate at Amoy
is not materially different, warm weather prevails
for nine months in the year; of which four or five
are oppressive, while the months of December,
January, and February, are pleasant and cool.
The natives and the Portuguese at Macao do not
use fires in their houses, but the English and Americans find them very agreeable. During three
years, the lowest I ever saw the thermometer was
450, while it generally in the cool weather ranged
between 50~ and 600 of Fahrenheit. I never used
a cloak but once or twice, except in my room,
where, as I sat without a fire, it was needful. In
the long warm seasons my health suffered, and I
became languid and thinner than usual, in August
and September. Most persons suffer in the same
way, but the winter, or rather the cool weather,
for ice and snow are almost never seen, is invigorating, and many enjoy better health than in their
own land. I consider the climate at Macao and
Canton as decidedly healthy; and excepting the
indisposition above referred to, which, however,
never confined me a whole day to the couch, I never
was better at home. The circumstances which have
made Amoy and Hong Kong unhealthy, I do not
think will have a permanent influence; nor should




296      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
I have the slightest hesitation or fear in going to
either of these places. It would seem, however,
from facts already observed, that northern men bear
the climate better than southern, though reasoning
a priori many would think differently.
In Shanghai and Ningpo, the climate is different.
We have pleasant, cool, and cold weather, for nine
months, and warm weather for three, July and August,
and parts of June and September. Of the warm weather six weeks are uncomfortably hot, if anything,
worse than at Macao. I have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing the cold weather here in its perfection, though I retain a vivid recollection of the coldness of my fingers and ears on approaching Shanghai
in March, when the cold weather was nearly over,
and of the strange sensations excited, by seeing
my breath come out in thick steam, and sleeping
under a load of bed-clothes, things to which I had
been a stranger for more than three years.  The
thermometer falls below 25~; ice and snow are seen
every winter; and fur clothes, which are cheap and
good, are worn to an extent that would surprise you.
Yet even here, the inhabitants do not use fires, but
content themselves with abundance of cotton garments, (ten and fifteen jackets worn at once are not
uncommon,) wadded clothes, and furs, with small
foot-stoves, and finger-stoves.  But I do not see
how we can do without fires.  The climate is subject to frequent and considerable changes. I have
seen the thermometer rise from 34~ to 840 in a few
days in March, and fall back to 40~ in forty hours;
and after experiencing warm weather in June, I
have put on woollen stockings in July. A fall of
twenty degrees in a few hours is not uncommon,
and is sensibly felt. It is now quite cool, the thermometer being below sixty, except in the middle of
the day; and the merchants' shops present a busy
and rich scene, from the quantity of fine furs displayed in them. I am looking forward with some
interest to the return of snow and ice, things which




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       29 7
I have not seen for nearly four years. My impressions of the climate of Ningpo are very favourable, though the last summer being cooler than
usual, did not afford a very good opportunity of
knowing precisely what it is.......... There
are also two or three disagreeably damp seasons in
the summer, of two or three weeks' continuance,
when rain pours down in torrents; and if it does
not rain, you feel as if the very air was damp and
cloudy; and the perspiration will gather on the
stones in the wall, even when the sun is shining
outside. Such weather is hard on books, clothes,
and animal spirits; but it is of short continuance.
We get plenty to eat here, but not a very great
variety, as the inhabitants have not yet learned to
provide for foreigners, as they have at Macao and
Canton.  Goat's flesh, pork, hams, chickens, ducks,
and geese, are our principal meats; though in winter, wild-ducks, pheasants, and hares, are cheaper
than anything else. Fish of several kinds we have
all the year round; wheat, rice, and a little buckwheat, form the staff of life; sweet potatoes, turnips, egg-plants, bean sprouts, bamboo sprouts, taro,
beans, peas, Kaou-bah, onions, and greens, are our
chief vegetables; and for fruits we have peaches,
pears, plums, lichees, persimmons, pomegranates,
and oranges, with walnuts, chestnuts, and pea-nuts.
You will say, " This is a goodly list." True, and we
are thankful to enjoy so many of God's good gifts
here; nor do we complain when we remember that
few of them are so good as those you eat in the
United States; whilst beef, such at least as may
be called good, Irish potatoes, and apples, are seldom seen. I have tasted none of either in many
months, nor apples, which are worth all the oranges
of China, for years; nor do we get all these things
at once. I find in my market-book, (for we bachelors have to attend to such things ourselves oftentimes,) that for weeks together, Dr. McCartee and
I sat down together to a table, of which the chief




298      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
dishes were, chickens, or fish, bamboo sprouts, turnips, and bean sprouts, with bread, rice and eggs.
It is hard to say what we should do without eggs.
When the egg-plants came we were delighted, and
when the sweet potatoes were fit to eat, we were
satisfied! The married missionaries do not fare
any better than we bachelors, though they doubtless
have some things nicer!
For the particularity of the above statements, I
do not think it necessary to make any apology,
though the pronoun "I," occurs with a frequency
that is somewhat startling; perhaps it may be some
excuse, that they are written in answer to the question, "What are my impressions?.
Your last question, " The magnitude of the field
and the prospects of the mission?" is one on which
a volume might be written, but the space already
consumed warns me to be brief, the more so as I
may have an occasion hereafter to refer to it. I
can only say this: Few have any idea of the extent
of the ground that is opened and opening to our
labours, and none know where the things will end,
whose beginnings we have lived to witness. The
opening of China to foreign intercourse, is an event
which finds few parallels in the history of the world.
This country is a world in itself; and the thought
has often occurred to me, while traversing its beautiful plains and crowded streets, "What a world
has been revolving here of which Christendom knows
nothing!" I have been led to make excursions of
twenty or thirty miles into the interior, from each
of the cities of Amoy, Shanghai, and Ningpo, and
everywhere the country is like a vast beehive,
swarming with inhabitants. It is the same about
Canton, where I have also been, and doubtless the
same about Foo-chow. I have not known what it
is to be out of sight of a human habitation since I
have been in China, and where there is one there are
commonly ten. I have scarcely ever seen a little
valley, or a hollow among the hills, where industry




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.         299
could cultivate a bed of rice, or a crop of greens,
that was not occupied. It is scarcely an exaggeration to say, that temples and monasteries are as
common here as farm-houses in Pennsylvania, and I
have seen the streets of Ningpo crowded with many
ten thousands of people, to'see an idolatrous procession in honour of " all the gods." Now all this
vast and teeming population of idolaters must have
the gospel, or perish. Books will not do the work.
It is the living teacher who must speak unto them
the words of life.  Such is the field we cultivate.
As to our prospects, you have them in the concluding
verses of -Psalm cxxvi.:
They that sow in tears,
With shoutings shall gather the harvest.
Going he shall go, even with weeping, burdened with the seed to be
sown:
Coming he shall come, and with shouting, burdened with his sheaves.
It is nearly midnight, and I must draw to a close
without referring to other topics, which, if this letter
were not already full enough, might be of interest.
Full notices of the mission you will probably see
in the Chronicle before long, and I have omitted
them here.
Brethren, whatever your own course may be,
whether to come to the missionary field, or to cultivate the vineyard of the Lord at home, there is
one thing we pray you to bear in mind, "It is
God who giveth the increase," and if success do
not attend one's labour, the reason will probably
be found in the fact that He is not inquired of by
his people respecting this thing, to do it for them.
Pray for us.
I am yours in the bonds of the Gospel,
W. M. LOWRIE.




300       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
Ningpo, December 5th, 1845.
MY DEAR FATHER-.... I have my commen.
tary on Luke, which with the text will make a
handsome volume of a hundred pages, ready for the
press, and trust it will be of use. The style is pure
and good Chinese, for it is written by my teacher,
and I know the sentiments to be correct, though
sometimes not as full or clear as I could have
wished. My teacher said to me, I suppose, twenty
times while preparing it, " How can you expect us
to understand this book? I do not understand it,
who have been reading books all my life, and how
can less learned persons comprehend it?"  The
doctrines, historical allusions, geography, customs,
e. g., washing the feet, comparisons, everything is
strange; and when joined to an imperfect translation, it is not to be thought that a careless heathen
can understand such a book. At the risk of being
thought a heretic, I must say I think the oft-repeated phrase, "The Bible without note or comment, is in danger of being pushed so far, as to
fall over and do harm. However true it is and
correct under limitations, it is not correct in itself:
It is not true in fact, that our people at home read
it "without note or comment; for there is no one
who does not hear many a note and comment from
parent, teacher, friend or minister, and there are few
who do not form their opinions of most of it from
such "notes and comments."  If these and innumerable commentaries besides, are needed in a land
of so much light as America, what must be the
case in China?  "Without note and comment " is
true, so far as authoritative and infallible exposition
is intended; and also, if it be meant that the simple text, when understood, is to be carefully studied
and pondered in the Christian hours of devotion;
but I humbly conceive there is danger if it be extended much beyond these limits. However, I
ought to reflect that you have thought on the sub



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       301
ject long enough not to need such a " lesson " from
me..   I was deeply grieved to hear of the accident you met with but thankful it was no worse.
How many strange accidents we miss, within a
hair's-breadth ofthem, though unawares. We shall
doubtless often wonder when we get to heaven, and
look back on our past life, that amidst so many
dangers it was prolonged so long..... After a good deal of thought, I am about
settling down to the opinion, that I ought to aim at
a pretty full knowledge of books and writing in
Chinese. In a mission so large as ours, and where
we have a press, there must be some one tolerably
at home on some points. Now, I have been so circumstanced, as to be obliged to turn my thoughts
much that way, somewhat to the disadvantage of
my speaking fluently, and I am so still. I have laid
such a foundation of acquaintance with the written
language, as enables me to go on with some ease,
and such as the other brethren can scarcely be expected to do in some time. They are accordingly
outstripping me in the colloquial, though I have
the advantage in the books, and can easily keep it
up. My education and previous habits are also
such as fit me more for this than for mingling
among men, unless actually obliged to do so. I
propose, therefore, not to neglect the colloquial, but
to lay out a good portion of my strength on reading
and writing Chinese; keeping in view, chiefly, the
translation of the Scriptures, and works explanatory of them, and perhaps the preparation of elementary books, and it may be a dictionary, a thing
we are greatly in want of. What do you think of
this plan?  You will not think I mean to neglect
the great work of preaching, for I trust to be able
in the course of next year to undertake regular services. I might do it now, if I had no accounts to
keep, letters to write, and advice and assistance to
give to others, especially in the matter of the printing office. That you may see how much I have
26




302      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
been hindered one way and another since coming to
China, I may say that though it is nearly four years
since I left you, yet I have had a teacher, and by
consequence have been studying the language effectively, only twenty-three months, and of those, three
are hardly worth counting from the interruptions
I met. I sometimes felt quite discouraged, and
now feel ashamed to think I have been here so
long, and done so little....
With  many  affectionate  remembrances  and
prayers,
I am, as ever, your affectionate son,
W. M. LOWRIE.
CHAPTER VII.
1846.
Missionary Labours at Ningpo —Heathen Customs-Superstitious FearsPreaching in Chinese.
DURING this year the missions in China were
further strengthened by the arrival at Canton of
the Rev. John B. French, and the Rev. William
Spear and his wife, and at Ningpo, of the Rev. J.
W. Quarterman.  The British troops were this year
withdrawn from Chusan, and as the Chinese authorities would not permit foreigners to reside there,
Mr. Loomis and his wife removed to Ningpo.
Mr. Lowrie's study of the Chinese language,
while in Macao, as already stated, was much interrupted by the business matters of the different missions.  The Mandarin dialect, which he studied at
Macao, is not spoken in the south of. China, and
hence he could converse in it with his teacher only.
This he found to be a serious disadvantage. The
Ningpo and Mandarin dialects are as different from
each other as the French is from the Spanish. In




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      303
learning to speak the former, he had therefore to
begin anew, with the advantage however of hearing
it daily spoken by the inhabitants. But here also his
time was a good deal taken up with the business of
the Ningpo Mission, and correcting the proof-sheets
of works issued from the press. So many, and such
long-continued adverse circumstances, at times almost produced discouragement in his own mind, as
it regarded the spoken language. But even in it
his progress was not slow; in less than eighteen
months he commenced preaching in Chinese. His
knowledge of the written language was more satisfactory to himself. In August he wrote several
essays, which were published in the Chinese Repository, on the proper Chinese words to be used in translating the name of God into Chinese. These were
among the first pieces that were published on the
side of the question sQ ably sustained since by Doctors Boone and Bridgman.
In September he commenced the preparation of
a dictionary of the "Four Books," and afterwards
he decided to include also the "Five Classics."
These books contain the body of the Chinese language, and if his life had been spared, he would,
no doubt, have made it a dictionary of the whole
language.  He became much interested in this
work, and had even to guard himself against being drawn aside from  his appropriate work of
preaching the gospel.
The letters and journals of this period throw
much light on the interior working of the mission
at Ningpo, and still further tend to elucidate the
state and condition of the native population. Other
subjects are occasionally adverted to. One of much
importance, in relation to the return of missionaries,
is noticed in a letter to one of the members of the
Executive Committee.  It would be out of place
here to examine the views there presented; but the
whole subject is worthy of far more consideration
than it has yet received from the Church at home.




804      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
About this time his views on the Millennium underwent a change. After examining the subject, he
was led to enmbrace the opinion that our blessed
Lord would personally appear on the earth, before
the blessings promised concerning the Church
would be fulfilled.  His views on the subject,
however, conflicted in no degree with the present
duty of the Church to preach the gospel to all the
world; and that as the Millennium would not come
till the gospel was so preached, it was an additional
inducement to Christian effort, in tending to hasten
the glories of the latter days. Hle held these views
calmly to the last; and when he spoke or wrote on
the subject, it was without bitterness, and more
with a view to present the spiritual than the controversial aspect of the questions involved.
Ningpo, January 1st, 1846.
A happy New Year to you, my dear mother, and
very many of them! is a wish that, if I had the
power, would certainly be accomplished; and yet,
though I might have the power, I might not have the
wisdom necessary to make it a blessing.  So I will
change it to the prayer, that He who knows what is
best for us, and loves us far better than any earthly
friend can love another, would give you such length
of days, and such enjoyment therein as will make
you most useful here, and most blessed hereafter.
New Year's morning! Although it be only an arbitrary distinction that makes this day more important than any other of the year, for each day is the
point of "confluence of two eternities," yet consent has elected it into a sort of elevation to look
back over the past, so rapidly fading from view, and
to strain our weak eyes into the unknown future.
How little we can know of the one, and how feebly
we estimate the importance of the other!
Although I always look forward to the New




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       305
Year with some such feelings as these, yet it always
takes me by surprise, and I find it difficult in looking
back to the last one to realize the events that have
occurred and passed away. How many events must
have occurred in your larger circle of friends! Here,
few as are those I know, yet I find strange alterations
in the last year. A fellow-passenger in the Huntress
(Mr. King) died, and was buried in the Red Sea.
One of my warmest friends, Mrs. Sword, has been
called home. She was always exceedingly afraid
to die, and yet when called away, though fully
sensible of it, fear had entirely departed, and peace
reigned. It makes me feel desolate sometimes
to think of such friends departing, and she is not
the only one whom the last year has removed me
from, though the others are not dead, but only
farther off, and to remember again that I am a
stranger in the earth; but then it is pleasant, too,
for the separation is but temporary.  I have no patience with those stoics who maintain that we shall
not know  our friends in heaven.  Certainly the
Spirit of Christ alone would fill our cup of joy even
to overflowing, but why should not those who in
tears and temptations and prayers served him here,
and encouraged each other in the upward course, rejoice with joy unspeakable together there?  We
shall remember the way by which we were led
through this "great and terrible wilderness," and
shall we forget the kind words spoken, the cup of
water, the look of affection and encouragement
more eloquent than words, and more soothing than
the sweetest harmony? I do not believe it. Christ
said to his disciples that those who had "continued
with him in his temptations," should sit with him
in his glory, and if we hold communion with Him
in this respect, why not with one another? We
shall have bodies as well as souls in heaven, "spiritual" it is true, but "bodies" still; we shall have
human affections, too, freed from all sin; and if such
affections form our sweetest and most satisfying
26*




306       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
solace here, what will they be there? But I did
not mean to write all this, for I was thinking of other
things when I commenced.
Here I am, after voyaging and tossing about
again on the rough sea. I am now settled down in
the field I have long been looking to. I have made
some little progress in the language, and begin to
feel at home among the people; but shall I remain
here? I do not know why it is, but I seem constantly to have a voice saying, "Arise, this is not
your rest!" Nor should I be surprised at any time
to receive an order to depart. Yet as such feelings
are not the rule by which we are to be guided, I
endeavour to work on as if this were to be my
earthly home; and be my abode long or short, to
be in readiness when He comes, whose coming will
not tarry.
My teacher has just come in, and knowing that
this is our new year, he has been cogitating a salutation for me, which was as follows, Seen sang, shangte
ponydzooe ne taou teendong cheaw, "Sir, may God
assist you and enable you to arrive at heaven!"  I
was not a little surprised and gratified too, for I
never heard him utter such a sentiment before. Oh
that the wish, which in politeness he made for me,
were fulfilled in reality to him! If he were but a
Christian, or if I might but see him one, it seems to
me I should almost be ready to depart in peace; for
his talents and acquirements are such, that if they
were sanctified they would be invaluable. But alas,
he is proud of his learning, temporizing in his policy,
and averse to know the plague of' his own heart.
The doctrine of human depravity, he cannot away
with; it is a very abomination to him, and after all
the instructions he has received, if he repents not,
how much greater will be his condemnation! I fear
we shall prove a "savour of death unto death," to
more than we shall be the means of saving, in this
land....
Believe me, as ever, yours in kind remembrances,
And sincere affection,     W. M. LowRIE.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     307
Ningpo, April 21st, 1846.
REV. JOHN LLOYD-MY DEAR BROTHER: -It is
now near four months since I wrote to you, but you
will believe me when I say, that if I have not
written I have at least not forgotten you, and often
try to remember you, where I trust you remember
me, at a throne of grace. I could give you the
usual string of apologies; Chinese, reading proofs,
keeping accounts, answering letters; but I fear if I
did so, it would make you think I was doing a great
deal, when in fact weeks pass away and I seem to
have done nothing, to have really made no progress,
and have to cry out for mercy to the unprofitable
servant. How would Calvin, or men of half his
mind, smile at the idea of all I do being called work!
I fancy that hundreds of men do as much before
breakfast as I do in a whole day. I find it a very
serious drawback in my study and acquirement of
the language, that so much of the best part of my
missionary life was spent where the dialect I was
studying was not spoken. Although I know more
of books than any other here, yet McCartee speaks
incomparably better than I do, and both Culbertson
and Loomis will probably be preaching before me.
What in the world should I do among the "tones"
of your delightful dialect? I fancy I should be
among them like a certain Presbyterian clergyman,
who attempted to conduct the Episcopal service
once, and had it reported of him afterwards that
" he wandered up and down among the prayers, like
a blind man among the tombs."
This reminds me that in your last you speak of
our having no tones in this dialect. This is to a
great extent, but not entirely, the case. The tones
are necessary in some words; but generally speaking, if you get the idiomatic expression, you need
not bother your head about the tones; and none
of us pay any theoretical attention whatever to their
acquisition. It is a pretty good proof of their not




308      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
being necessary, that the Fuhkeen men, of whom
there are many here, cannot learn to speak this dialect well. The remark is often made that "you
foreigners speak Ningpo dialect better than the
Fuhkeen people;" and imperfect as my acquirements
are in speaking, I have been told a dozen times that
I pronounce better than the Fuhkeen men. lf I
could only get among the people, and not see a
book or a foreigner for six months or a year, I
think there would be some hopes; and I often half
wish some person would run away with me, and
keep me captive for a while, for otherwise I do not
see how I am to get away. Well, all this is egotism, and much of it is nonsense; but I beg you to
receive it as a proof how much I care for you,
that I let you see such effusions, and how much
I do not care for you, or I would not let you see
them.
I have just been interrupted by a long talk from
a couple of Chinese, who talked so fast that the
words came out like a mill-stream, and all I could
do was to gather the drift of their discourse and
let the particular words vanish into thin air. I
wish I could talk as much as I can understand!
But patience, perseverance, and prayer! Oh to be
kept from growing weary or careless in God's work!
I did not feel afraid of this in the first year or
two; but now it requires much watchfulness and
prayer, lest I become weary or discouraged. You
have much reason for thankfulness that you got to
your field so soon, and have not quite so many
letters to write, as I had during my first two years;
but I ought not to complain of them, for it was my
appointed work, since the providence of God repeatedly prevented me from taking any other course,
and perhaps it was the best on the whole. But as
I look over my past life, and especially that part
spent in the missionary ground, I have to pray,
"pardon the unprofitable, erring, sinful servant!"
It is so late, aving been so interrupted by the




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      309
conversation above referred to, that I must close
my sheet for the night, hoping to be able to
finish to-morrow, though I know not when a letter can be sent from here. If the overland route
answers, we will try and send in that way.
I think Mr. Smith has led you into a mistake, on
the point of the "two dialects."  As far as I know,
in all parts of China, the written and the colloquial
dialects differ so widely as to be really two languages. This is the case here, for Ningpo colloquial
cannot be written with Chinese characters. True,
many words, perhaps one-half, are the same in the
two; but you never can tell from seeing a character
in a book whether it can be used in speaking, unless
your teacher tells you.  fin is spoken nying; urh tz
is spoken ny tz; chay-ko is spoken kihko, while Jootsze which is book Mandarin, and chay-yang which is
colloquial Mandarin, meaning, "so fashion, or "in
this way," in one dialect is sz -ka-yo, which cannot be
written at all, i. e., has no characters to express it;
though characters might be arbitrarily employed,
which would give the sound. This is the case with
hundreds of words in common use.
I was both pleased and surprised to hear how
much missionary work is done in Amoy. Would
that we could report the half of it here! But except tract distributing, at which we all do a little,
there is no preaching excepting by Dr. McCartee,
who has a service every Sabbath, and talks to the
people frequently during the week. I have tried
once or twice, but, like the man who tried to swim
before he had been in the water, succeeded so poorly,
that I feel afraid to try again.  I conduct service
with my servants morning and evening, and hope I
shall soon be able to set up a meeting which might
be called "a parish meeting," i. e., not a regular
preaching service, but a preparatory one, which will
prepare me for preaching. I have been much thrt,ir
back by not having been able to get a teachex on
whom I could depend for giving me the colloct ijal




310      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
expressions. The one I had for nine months after
coming was a capital scholar, but proud, disobliging,
or rather unobliging, and took no interest in anything
of' the kind. After bearing with him till I could
bear no longer, 1 turned him off and got another,
who was so stupid that I kept him only a month.
Yesterday I got a new one, and he has taken such
"strong hold' as quite astonishes me. "A  new
broom sweeps clean;" but this man is a scholar, appears to be a gentleman, is quite obliging, lively,
patient, apt to teach, and on two days' acquaintance
I am greatly pleased. I hope he will hold out, but
I greatly fear. If he does well, and if he becomes
a Christian, Oh, how I should rejoice! With a good
teacher, who was a real Christian, I think I might
be of very much more use than I am now.
You speak of "feeling as safe as if in New York
or Philadelphia." I feel the same here. I live a
mile from any foreigner, and have frequently walked
two miles through the city after eight or nine o'clock,
P. M., without a lantern or any company, with less
apprehension than I would go through many parts
of New York city. The people here are generally
very well behaved, and very civil.
As to mandarins, we see none of them; we do not
visit them, and are not visited by them. The English consul has discouraged visiting, and foreigners,
except officers, seldom go near them. There is a
white-buttoned one whom Dr. McCartce and I have
called on, and been called on by; and last year we
had frequent calls from travelling mandarins with
gilt and white buttons, who came to see the strangers; but of late I have seen none, and do not feel
any anxiety to meet them. You get in with them
at Amoy, because of the important fact that Abeel
and Boone and Cummings have had to act as interpreters, when there were none but missionaries to interpret, and as the mandarins of course know of no
difference between you and others, they keep up the
acquaintance.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      311
We are all moving on very quietly and pleasantly.
The weather is getting pleasantly warm, but even
yet I like to sit with my fur coat on in the mornings
and evenings, and have as yet laid aside neither
flannels nor woollen stockings. It has rained almost
every day this month, and in consequence of so
much rain now, and the probability of very little
next month, when it will be much wanted, fears of
a scarcity of rice prevail, and it is already rising in
price. As to ships, there has not been one here,
except men of war, since last August. I do not
know how we are to get our funds after Chusan is
given up. Our letters we shall manage to get overland from Shanghai.
We have bought a burying-ground here, about one
hundred feet by fifty, for fifty dollars. Abraham's
first possession in the land where he was a stranger,
was a burying-ground.
Your brother in Christ.
W. M. LOWRIE.
Ningpo, July 9th, 1846.
MY DEAR FATHER-Your two most acceptable letters of November, 1845, and February, 1846, came,
one in the end of May, and the other to-day. I
cannot tell you how much I am obliged for your
good long letters: the journals of your trips to
Washington and to Albany, were deeply interesting.
I wish I could give you an account of half as much
done by myself; but all my performances seem to
me of small account. Here is a specimen of to-day's
employment. Rose before six. Our nights are
warm, and following on warmer days, I do not derive the refreshment from them that I could wish.
After breakfast and prayers, went over the river to
see after the printing office, got a proof to correct,
and came back; it was ten o'clock when I got home,
and thermometer then at 900; sat down with my




312      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
teacher and went over Acts xvii., on which he wrote
comments by my explanations. Then read some in
Mencius, and looked over some points in Chinese
history, and some notices of two or three of their
sages. By this time it was one o'clock, and the
thermometer had risen to 98~ in my coolest room.
I was pretty well tired, and told my teacher that
was enough for to-day; came up stairs, corrected
the proof for the press, and finished the first draught
of a letter, one of a series which I am preparing for
the Foreign Missionary. This and dinner kept me
till three o'clock; all this time the thermometer at
blood heat; and though a pleasant breeze blowing,
yet coming in at times as if out of a furnace. I
have never known such warm weather since I have
been in China, and it so relaxes the whole system,
that a very little labour is quite sufficient to lay a
man by. At three I felt so tired that I lay down,
and between reading a little and dozing, whiled away
the time till five; then got up, found it a little cooler,
sat in the breeze and read an account of the synod
of Dort till six. Went out then for a walk; went
through a number of streets, and found everybody
out of doors, men all half naked, and many of the
children entirely so, and the heat given out from the
stones and houses so great as to be very oppressive.
This, and the foul odours arising from the filth common to every Chinese city, were such that I was
glad to get on the city wall, and turn my steps homeward. Somewhat of a breeze on the wall, and getting to my own house about sunset, I sat down to
enjoy it. Presently a man came along and seemed
anxious to say something; so he asked if I would
take a smoke. I told him, no, I did not smoke, and
asked him to sit down. Then he asked how old I
was. Where I came from. Where I lived, &c. &c.
By this time others came, one, two, five, ten, and
soon there were about fifty persons collected to see
and hear the Hungnan-nying, (Red-haired man, as
they call all Englishmen.) Asked a good many




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      813
questions, and in the course of the talk, gave me an
opportunity of saying several things very pointedly
about the folly of idolatry, the importance of attending to one's soul, and the wav of salvation through
Christ. Speaking of Jesus, one of the men remarked that he supposed Jesus was much such a
person as Confucius.  "No, Confucius was only a
man, but Christ was far superior to men."  Was
listened to with as much attention and interest as I
have been at any time, and found it gave me some
access to them, when they found that I had read
and could give the sense of their own books. There
was one man there from Shangtung, but I could understand very little of what he said. He seemed,
however, to have no difficulty in understanding all I
said, and seemed much interested.  Gave away
some tracts; gave a copy of "The Two Friends" to
one whose appearance had pleased me. He looked
at it and asked if all I had were alike, and begged
for a copy of another kind. Came away, all of them
giving me a hearty good-b6ye, and one or two joining
their hands and thanking me for the books and doctrine. Came back home, got my tea, and sat down
to this letter, which I suppose will take all the rest
of the evening. The thermometer is now down to
91~. I am sitting in a thin grass-cloth suit, and
feeling comparatively comfortable after the hot day.
In some of my previous letters, I have probably
given you to understand that I was much discouraged
about learning to speak this language. This arose
in a measure from the unfaithfulness of a teacher
whom I employed after coming here. For a while
I learned a good deal, and as he was a capital scholar,
I wanted to keep him. But after being with me a
few months he found out what words I knew, and
would use no others, so that during the last four
months I had him, I scarcely learned a new phrase.
I disliked to turn him off, because in some things he
suited me admirably, being good at explaining the
classics, and besides he was poor: but at last I could
27




314       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
endure it no longer. It was then nearly two months
before I could get a good teacher. If I could go
about as some others can, I should be less dependent on a teacher, but my disposition does not lead
me to delight in promiscuous company; and somehow I have the knack of getting a large share of
the writing, book-keeping, proof-correcting, &c., of
the mission into my hands, which gives me less time
than I could wish for visiting and going about.
However, I have been favoured in getting a first-rate
teacher, and have gained so much in the last two
months as quite encourages me; and it is my present expectation (Deo volente) to commence a regular religious service in Chinese when the warm
weather is over. I might do it now, but prefer not
undertaking what would necessarily require a good
deal of labour in preparation, until the present oppressive season is past; and in the mean time, go
about a little and talk as I did to-night, which is a
help in perfecting my pronunciation, and enabling
me to speak without embarrassment. In the course
of the present year, I hope we shall have several of
our number actively employed in preaching.... I quite agree with you in the general principle, that a wife should not always take her husband
home. Still in many cases, a wife cannot go alone.
Dr. and Mrs. H       (of the London Missionary
Society) went home last year on account of her health,
and she died before she got to England.  Mrs. J.
S     went without her husband, and took her children; (five or six, one very young;) she died on the
voyage. I have not heard how the children got
home. It is this that makes it so difficult for a woman to go alone. Few missionaries have left China
of late for their health, till they were well nigh broken
down, and it requires no small resolution to send off
a sick wife on a long voyage, especially if she have
children to take care of. What is to be done? For
a while I was tempted to wish that missionaries
could live without wives; but after more experience




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      315
and reflection, I am satisfied that all men cannot re.
ceive this saying. Even if unmarried men could be
contented and happy, yet there are other, and serious objections. I have seen more than one or two
cases in which I thought the bachelor missionary,
merry and cheerful as he professed to be, would
have been not simply a happier man, but a more humane, thoughtful, sober, useful missionary, and a far
better example to the heathen, if he had been married; and where example is of such vital importance
as it is here, whatever conduces to render it better,
is not to be overlooked....
Your affectionate and obedient son,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Ningpo, August 10th, 1846.
REV. JOHN C. LOWRIE-MY DEAR BROTHER:-... I
heard of Mr. Dod's death, but had not heard of Mrs.
P.'s. How many gaps there are already in the circle of my acquaintances at home! You will not
perceive it so much as you are constantly making
new ones, but mine are only decreasing: so be it.
" I am a stranger in the earth," and never so happy
as when I feel it most.
This has been an oppressingly hot summer. I
will send you a notice of it soon. I doubt whether
you saw the equal of it in India. For days together
we have had the thermometer up to 100~, but most
providentially, it always fell 12~ or 14~ at night.
June, July, and the first week of this month were
roasters; but the worst is over now, and it felt quite
delicious to-day when the thermometer got up only
to 88~~. Then we have had a drought all summer;
rumours of poisoning; alarms of evil spirits, and an
earthquake, a veritable earthquake, which shook the
houses right merrily, and wakened every man, woman and child in Ningpo. Such screaming! and
beating of gongs! and firing of crackers! I will




316      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
send you accounts of all these presently. I have
them all in my journal. The earthquake was on the
4th instant, about three o'clock, A. M. It did no
harm, but it frightened the people terribly, especially
as they were then under extreme alarm, from a panic
occasioned by the belief that there are thousands of
evil spirits bent on mischief in the city. With all
the melancholy arising from seeing them so wholly
given up to such superstition, it is yet most ludicrous
to see what tales they can invent. The panic is
dying away now, but when we found the people
giving credence to such tales, we began to fear that
evil might come out of it. There is no joke in it,
however, for Mr. and Mrs. Loomis have just come
over from Chusan, not being allowed to remain there,
and can get no house here, on account of the panic
and fear of evil spirits, which are supposed to have
some connection with foreigners...
Pray for me, and believe me ever,
Your affectionate brother,
W. M. LowniE.
Ningpo, August 26th, 1846.
MY DEAR FATHER —-.... Our excessive hot weather is now over, and though the days are sometimes
warm, the nights are delightful, and we are all in
the enjoyment of excellent health. My appetite and
strength are returning rapidly, and the summer, not:withstanding my fears in June, has been the most
comfortable I have spent in China. I have not done
much for two months past, however, for it is really
too much labour to study or work with the thermometer at blood-heat.
Of late, I have been busily engaged in collating
notes and quotations, on the proper word for expressing the name of the Supreme Being, in Chinese. The
weight of authority, i. e., most of the most learned
missionaries, have given their influence in favour of




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       317
using Shang-te, but many others dislike the term exceedingly, as being the proper name of the chief
Chinese god; and when we use it, the people at once
say, "oh yes, that's our Shang-te."  I have satisfied myself pretty well that Shin is the proper word
to use....  If this word is adopted, it will then
become almost necessary to use the word Poo sa in
colloquial, though many have taken up a strange
prejudice against the word, as if it meant an idol,
and was a contemptuous or dishonourable term.
Nothing can be more contrary to the fact, and I
have found myself in my efforts to talk to the people, almost compelled to use it, there being no other
term in the language which expresses so well and
so intelligibly, what we mean by God. It is a little
troublesome in preparing articles of this kind, not to
have the proper books at hand for reference. My
library is, I believe, the best in Ningpo, (unless Mr.
T     has a better, which I doubt,) but I found it
quite insufficient for my wants, as I know of several
books which would have materially helped me, but
had them not.
Everything goes on very pleasantly and harmoniously in the mission; but the great things, life,
and vigour, and zeal, are lamentably wanting. How
easy it is, even for the missionary, to seek for pleasure in everything but in God. I am often cast
down, and sometimes deeply discouraged, to find in
me so little love for my Saviour, and so little disposition to active exertion.  Instead of coming nearer
and nearer, and being more conformed to God, I
seem to be going farther and farther away. I trust
that no one else here is so low or so useless as I
often feel myself to be. The sense of my own worthlessness often makes me unwilling to send for such
things in the way of books as I need, (and there is
very little else that I feel any want of,) and even
unwilling to receive all the kind presents and letters
that are sent to me. Oh, for more purity, and zeal,
27 *




-318       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
and love-to be like Christ!  Do not cease to pray
for my spiritual well-being.
Believe me as ever, your affectionate son,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Ningpo, September 3d, 1846.
MY DEAR MOTHER-The clock has struck eleven,
and I ought to be in bed, but I feel as if I wanted
to write to you, though I do not know that I have
much to say. I was writing a sermon this evening
to preach on the next Sabbath, for I still write sermons occasionally, and getting it finished before
eight o'clock, I was a little at a loss to know what
to do, for I did not feel like reading or studying
after that. So I took out a package containing the
letters received from father and you, during the
first two years of my life in China. Getting interested, I kept at them till nearly eleven o'clock, and
then felt as if I wanted to thank you more heartily
than I had ever done for all your affection, and sympathy, and kindness to me. Of course I could not
read them all over, but I glanced over each, and read
parts of them, and many a tear fell as I recalled the
scenes through which I had passed, and your deep,sympathies with me. It is good to weep sometimes,
and I often wish I could weep more over my own
sinfulness and uselessness. It is nearly five years
since I have seen you; sometimes I catch myself
asking, " Shall I see you again?" and then again,
"But how is it possible?"  I was discouraged a few
months ago, for fear I never would learn this language, but for the last seven months I have made
such progress that I should be loath on any account
to leave this field of labour. I think now my prospects of acquiring a pretty thorough and extensive
knowledge of it are quite fair; and if so, then here
is my field, and here would I gladly labour, and die.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      319
Yet if I may be of a little use here, it will abundantly repay me; and at present I can conceive of
scarcely anything that would be so painful as to go
back to the United States without an unmistakable
call to do so. It does seem to me as if I could not
do it. How much of this may be from a desire to
preserve my reputation, I will not pretend to say, but
among other motives, I trust that of preaching Christ
to these poor idolaters is not the least.  How
wretched is their condition! I stood at my window
the other day, and saw an idolatrous procession go
by, till my heart asked, " Oh, Lord, how long?"
But I am wandering from my purpose, which was
more immediately to tell you how I felt in recalling
the trials and events of the first few months of my
life out in China. Somehow, they seem to have happened much longer ago than is really the case. Most
of them seem to have occurred ten years ago; and I
sometimes think of them as if they had happened
to another person. How much goodness and mercy
were mingled with them all! I was much struck,
too, in reading your letters, to notice how many that
I knew when with you are already dead. Some
that were careless then, are pious now. Changes,
breaking up, and settling down: —- am more at home
here than I should be in the United States.
I am commonly very happy, all but in one thing; I
have so little grace. Pray for me. It is a hard
thing to keep'the flame of piety burning bright
when the sickening blasts of idolatry blow on the
soul, and there are few to speak of Christ. He
came once, and though he came to suffer and to die,
yet even then the " groaning creation" was on tip-toe
to receive him. The winds heard his voice, the
waves became solid beneath his feet, the fish came
at his command, the tree shook down its leaves
when he spoke. Good angels hovered near, and
devils fled at his word. If all this happened when
he came to be "a servant," what will it be when
he comes "to reign?" and we shall reign with him.




320      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
Yes, for ever and ever. " So shall we be ever with
the Lord." It makes me wonder, how can he con.
descend so low? how is it possible we can be lifted
up so high? But "fear not, little flock, it is your
Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
It is his' good pleasure," and so we shall have it.
If it were our "good deeds," we might despair.
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
I do not write so much and so freely as I used
to; and I sometimes fear you may think I am forgetting, or losing my affection for you; but it is not
so. I have more to do than I used to have, though
I do not seem to accomplish much, and it is often
of such a kind as indisposes me for the free and
easy letters I would like to write. But nothing
brings tears more easily to my eyes than to recal
past hours with you, and I sometimes seem to live
them over again. Well! here is the last corner of
the sheet, and though I have not said much, yet it
seems like a relief to say even this, disjointed as it
is. It is nearly midnight,-high noon with you.
How often is it so in life! Bright noon and joy
with one, and perhaps his dearest friend at the same
moment in midnight gloom, but the Sun is still in
his place, as bright and cheering as ever; and''when I awake, I am still with thee."  I presume
you know my meaning. I have not space to enlarge it, and so write here
Ever affectionately yours,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Ningpo, September 15th, 1846.
My DEAR FATHER —--.... You will unite with us
in thanksgiving, that we have been permitted to
receive a Chinese, a native of this place, into the
church.  He was for a long time, eight or ten
months, under pretty constant instruction and ex



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      321
amination, and gave us every satisfaction before
being admitted to the church. He is employed by
Miss Aldersey, who has been very faithful to him
in teaching him..... I got my head full of a notion  of preparing
a Dictionary of the Four Books the other day, and
may perhaps try to make something out of it.
There is no existing dictionary by which a Chinese
student can read even the Four Books with satisfaction. Morrison's is the best.  My plan would be
to make a Dictionary, 1st. Of all the words in the
Four Books, about 2500: this would be the great
body of characters used in the language —Dyer's
list having only 3500. 2d. To give all the meanings of each word that occurs in the Four Books,
which, as they are the foundation of the literature
of China, would be by much the greater part of the
important definitions needed. 3d. To give pretty
full biographical notices of all the persons, and
notices also of the places mentioned in the Four
Books: this would give nearly everything that is
important in ancient Chinese history. The above
is the better half of what I have cut out. To do
it, without interfering with my more direct and
more important missionary labours, would require
between two and three years. Should this plan
succeed, I might afterwards try my hand at a more
important, and ambitious effort, i. e., a Dictionary
of the language; but this is so vast an undertaking,
that at present I have little idea of trying it.  The
Dictionary of the Four Books I think I can manage, and it would be an important contribution towards a general dictionary. I have not spoken of
it to any one, and do not wish to do so, as so many
things may interfere, but I should be very glad to
get all the assistance possible in it, even if only for
my own advancement. I should like to get the
translations published at Paris and Berlin. I do
not know where the money is to come from for all
these, but if you can manage to get them for me, or




322      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. IOWRIE.
for the mission, all the same; I should be very glad.
I hope you will not say I am engaged in any
such work, for I am not yet so committed to it that
I feel myself bound to continue it, even to myself;
and if I did commence it, I would not want it
known, till I was in a situation not to fear the reproach of beginning without counting the cost.
I have been a good deal encouraged of late. in
my hopes of learning the language, and if God
spares my life, and gives me health, I think there
is a reasonable prospect of my becoming a tolerably
thorough scholar. My early education, for which,
under God, I am most indebted to you, gives me
some qualifications for it, which, I trust it is not
vanity alone tells me, are not possessed by all those
who have gone before me to this field.....
Ever your affectionate son, W. M. LOWRIE.
Ningpo, December 9th, 1846.
JAMES LENOX, EsQ.-MY DEAR SIR: —Your letter
of April 20th has been lying by me for some three
months, a longer period than usually elapses before
I answer letters; but my time has been much occupied with writing appointed me by the mission, and
with the preparation of my weekly Chinese discourses, which take much of the time that I once
gave to correspondents.
I am exceedingly obliged for your kindness in
regard to the books. On several occasions we have
been very glad to have some at hand; and I have
no doubt they have been a means of doing good,
by being put in the hands of persons who would
otherwise have had few or no religious books near
them.
I do not think the books for the blind would be of'
service here. They are, of course, in the English
language, and it could hardly be considered a pro



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       323
fitable employment for us to turn from the multitudes
around us, and spend time in teaching a few blind persons to read a strange language. One or two at each
station, as a curiosity, and to show the Chinese the
comprehensive benevolence of Christian society, which
regards even the dumb and the blind, would doubtless be interesting.  My teacher was exceedingly
astonished the other day, when I showed him a hymn
for the blind, which I happened to have, in raised
letters. The idea had never occurred to him before. I
fear it would be impossible to adapt it to the Chinese
language.  Even with "the skin burnt off," the
fingers could not appreciate the fine lines of our many
thousands of characters. They are trying enough
even to the eyes.
I have been trying to teach my teacher lessons in
music, partly with a view of finding thereby what are
their ideas of music; but the experiment has not
been very successful, partly, no doubt, because I
know so little of music myself.  I wish (when will
wishes end?) that we had some missionaries here,
who were adepts in musical composition, to study
the nature of Chinese music, improve it, and compose tunes suited to Chinese poetry. It seems to
me rather incongruous to tack Ortonville, Old Hundred, &c., tunes composed for English words, to
Chinese poetry. In Luther's judgment, music composed for Latin poems was unsuited to German verse;
and if so, foreign music must be still more unfit for
Chinese verse. But I feel at present comparatively
little interest in singing Chinese poetry, from the fact
that it is so utterly unintelligible to the mass of the
people. This language, I mean as written, is one of
the greatest possible barriers to the spread of the
gospel here.  I may be mistaken, but to me the con
clusion seems irresistible, that till a change as great
as that which came over the languages of Europe at
the Reformation, comes over this language, it will be
unfit for the extensive dissemination of truth among
the mass of the people; —I mean, of course, the




324      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
written language. We can now preach the gospel
in the spoken language; but the spoken language is
not a written language; and thus, as far as the mass
of the people are concerned, we have no means of
reaching them, except by the living preacher, or such
of their own educated people as may feel interest
enough in our books to explain them to the people.
Why not write the spoken language? It may be
done, but not in a day, nor in a year. I hope to see
a beginning made in my day, but it must come gradually, and against strong opposition and contempt from
the literati of the country. We think of preparing
some books, or rather sheet tracts, in the colloquial
language of this province; and, as a means of making
them attractive, in spite of the contempt of the people for what seems to them so low, we want to have
them illustrated with pictures. Pictures are like the
corks which hold a man up in the water oftentimes;
at least, many a book is read at home for the sake
of the pictures, and there is no reason why it should
not be so here; and we shall soon make an application to the Committee to send us out a good supply
of the pictures of birds, beasts, utensils, and various
figures, prepared by type-founders, which are precisely what we want; and I feel disposed to speak for
your vote in the Committee beforehand. Some might
laugh at the idea of sending such things to a missionstation; but really, a picture of a steamboat, or railroad car, with a suitable description, or pictures of
the costumes and customs of different countries, with
short accounts of them, would do more to arouse a
spirit of inquiry, and awaken the dormant mind of
this people, than a person at home, accustomed from
infancy to such things, could well imagine. Such a
book as the New England Primer, well translated
into the colloquial dialects of this country, and with
good pictures, would be a national blessing. The
book would be eagerl.y taken and read for the sake
of the pictures. It may be said, this is treating the
Chinese like children; but the fact is, the wisest of.




MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE.      325
them are ignorant of things which every child knows
at home; and amidst all the diversity of talents which
we require, and can employ here, scarcely any is
better than aptness to be an "instructor of babes.".... Much as the return of missionaries is deplored by our friends at home, it can hardly be felt
by you so much as it is by us; its effects here are
almost always more sensibly felt than at home. Our
little number diminished, men of experience taken
away, the remaining parties discouraged; the heathen,
judging from one, that all are equally uncertain to
remain, and hence feeling less interest in us; are only
a part of the difficulties. But has the question ever
been fairly studied and looked at, at home? It is
felt that something is wrong, but who knows where
to lay the blame? or where to apply the remedy?
A thought has often occurred to me, which yet I feel
some delicacy in expressing. The difficulty, or one
difficulty is, that the Church expects of the missionary what the mass of church-members would not
do themselves. Now it is hard for the stream to rise
higher than the fountain; and missionaries generally
possess very little, if any more piety than Christians
at home. It does seem unreasonable for those who
stay at home, and know comparatively little of the
pains of separation from friends, of loneliness and
isolation among the heathen, to say to their missionaries, "Good brethren, go; and the blessing of God
go with you. We will support you, and pray for
you, (?) and think of' you, and read your letters; —
but do not come back here. If you do, it must be at
the risk of losing much of your influence, and being
thought to be tired of your work, and you had
better not come." Doubtless, many of the best
friends of missions would be far from using such
language, and yet if I am not mistaken, it is the
feeling of the mass. It is a serious question whether
those who use such language., or feel such sentiments, are entitled to use it; or whether they should
not, first, pluck out the beam before they spy the
28




326      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
mote. Now it strikes me that it would be better to
say, "' Go brethren, and labour faithfully, and as long
as you can. We will do our part. We do not expect, and we do not wish, you to forget your father
land. You have the feelings of men and women, of
sons and daughters, and it is natural and right, that
you should at times long for Christian intercourse
with the great congregation, and the family fireside.
Should these feelings become strong in you, we shall
not interfere with your once more visiting your aged
parents; but shall welcome you among your friends,
and endeavour to fit you to go forth again with renewed vigour to your work. Only remember you are
the Lord's, and may not needlessly or extravagantly
use his time, even for objects so sacred, as cultivating the kindlier feelings of your hearts." Some
such language as this, expresses the feeling I would
like to see among the churches. My meaning is, that
it ought to be understood and allowed, and in many
cases approved, that a missionary, after a certain time,
should have the right to return home on a visit.
The Church ought not to require exile, as many
seem disposed to do. I am satisfied that to have
it understood on all hands, that a man had a right to
see once more, those whom he cannot but long to
see, would have no tendency to increase the number
of returns home. It would make most men and women better contented to stay and labour ten years,
if they felt that at the end of that time there would
be no obstacle to a visit home if desired. And a
person who had spent ten years in heathen land,
would not, after that, want to leave it finally, if he
had the smallest portion of true missionary spirit.
If he did, it would probably be better that he
should. It seems to me, that the prospect of a
cheerful visit home would encourage many a man to
labour on, and to form his plans for life here, who
might be appalled by the idea of a lifetime, unrelieved by any such prospect; nor do I see how the
mass of Christians can object to this, without either




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      327
condemning themselves for their own want of selfdenial, or else requiring of their missionaries to renounce many of the finest feelings of their nature.
In the English army in India, the officers are allowed after ten years' service, three years' furlough;
and after twenty years, to retire finally. I should
be sorry to see the latter regulation applied to our
warfare; but at present it strikes me, that the privilege of a visit home, after every ten years of service,
for a much less period than three years, would be a
saving both of men and money in the missionary
cause.  There are some who would not embrace it;
most persons probably would. It would make their
first ten years pass more pleasantly away, and it
would revive them bodily, and mentally, and spiritually, for the next ten years; and at the end of
twenty years, if they wanted to leave the missionary field it would probably be for sufficient reasons.
Believe me, my dear sir, very truly yours, in
Christian bonds,                W. M LOWRIE.
Ningpo, September 13th, 1846.
To THE REV. JOHN  LLOYD-DEAR  BROTHER
JOHN: —YOU will judge from the date of this letter (Sabbath evening), that it is not to be about
everything under the sun. I do not know how
it strikes every person, but occasionally I like
to spend a part of the Sabbath evening in Christian conversation with an absent friend, and I do
not know that it is more improper to converse
with pen and ink, than by word of mouth... Your
note of July 1st, inclosing a letter from J. M. L.,
came two days ago, and your note of Aug. 27th,
reached me this morning.... In several notes you
have spoken of a wish to be near me. I heartily
wish it could be so, but I fear you would find only
a very weak and bruised reed to lean on, if you
expected any good from me. You would not ex



328       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
pect much if you knew me better. God is showing
me of late in a very painful way that in myself I
am nothing,-can do nothing, and am utterly sinful
and vile; and the way he shows it is by leaving me
to myself, to walk on in my Christian course, and
to do my duties without any sensible support of his
ace; and the consequence is, that I am very low.
Oh, how many bitter things I write against myself!
but the worst is, my utter deadness-no life or delight in prayer, the Scriptures, or meditation. What
dreadful things these hearts of ours are! It amazes
me to think that God can be gracious to people
naturally so vile, and who sin so grievously after
conversion. I preached a week ago on the prodigal
son's departing from his father's house.  I felt the
subject a good deal myself, and several of the little
audience were in tears; but alas, I do not seem to
have "come back" yet. To-day was our communion, but I found little or no benefit. There has
been much strangeness between God and my soul
for many months past, and often a great reluctance
to close and faithful dealing with myself. So dead
that I have lost the savour of spiritual things, and.
the perception of the beauties of the Bible, and seldom draw nigh unto God. I seem to satisfy myself
with very faint services. Oh to be revived! and
yet this lazy heart would be revived without effort
on my own part. Awake, thou that sleepest! Alas!
I am so soon wearied in my efforts. Like the little
flying-fish, but a moment up, and then back in the
troubled waters of this heaving, restless world. Oh
Lord God, give me wings, and enable me to breathe
the pure and spiritual atmosphere of heaven. I find
myself by nature diseased by sin, which, like the
leprosy, affects my whole frame. Yea, "the plague
is in his head."  Yea, the "whole head is sick, and
the whole heart faint;" and thus I neither properly appreciate, nor comprehend spiritual things,
nor feel them aright; therefore I am unclean, separated from the society of the holy, dwelling without




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      329
the precincts where the people of God's love are.
How deep should be my sorrow, and self-loathing,
and abasement! and how should I come to him
whose word can cleanse.-Lev. xiii. 41-46.
But I trust I am one of God's people, and yet
even this is but renewed reason for humiliation.
"My people have committed two evils."  " Forsaken God, the fountain of living waters;" what
greater despite, contempt, unbelief, and sin, than
this? And "hewn out broken cisterns which can
hold no water."  How true is this!  It is so with
me. Made for God; heart disquieted till it rests
in him; and yet unwilling to come to him; and on
the contrary, seeking rest in creatures! Well mnay
heaven and earth be astonished at this!-Jer. ii.
12, 13.
I trust I have not wholly forsaken God's service,
but there is small comfort in this. It has been with
but half a heart that I have served him. I have
sought happiness in my study, books, correspondence, business, friends; and with a half heart to
them and a half heart to God, how miserably have
I gone on! Oh Lord, unite my heart to fear thy
name! Psalm lxxxvi. 11. It is impossible to serve
God if the whole heart be not his. If with a half
heart, then as good none at all. Thus with my
half heart I have fallen asleep, and am become
dead. Oh let me now awake, and arise from the
dead, and may he who is the light of the world give
me light! Eph. v. 14. None but he can do it.
Blessed Jesus, raise me to thyself and shine into
my heart with the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God, of which I now know so little. 2 Cor.
iv. 6. Let me rise with thee, and being risen, let
me seek those things which are above where thou
sittest, Col. iii. 1. I have too often forgotten that
he who is risen with Christ, must still seek and
labour. Oh let me forget it no more, and thus
labouring and believing, praying and trusting, 1
28*




330      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE..
beseech thee show me thy glory. Ex. xxxii'. 18;
xxxiv. 6, 7.
You will ask, why do I live thus? Because, I am
"sold under sin," and "the good I would I do not."
I know I ought to do it, and am guilty for not
doing it. " Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall
deliver me from this body of death?"  Jesus Christ
our head? Yes, but there is the worst of it. Like
the prodigal departing from his father, I have gone
away from Christ, and therefore have no life. Pray
for me. I will continue this strain no longer.
We have much reason for gratitude in not being
left entirely destitute of a blessing here. As many
as three persons have hopefully experienced a
change of heart here during the past year. One of
these is Azin, Miss Aldersey's Chinese servant, a
native of this place, who was baptized to-day. He
has been inquiring for nearly a year, and after a
very satisfactory examination, was received by the
Session into the Church. God be praised for this!
Oh for more! There are others who sometimes give
us hopes, but we are often grievously disappointed.
My servant seems to be somewhat serious, but I dare
not hope that any real impression has been made on
his mind. I think my teacher thinks more than he
is willing to admit, but I have as yet no hopes of
him. What a dreadful thing a backwardness to
speak on religious topics is! There is no one thing
that has troubled me in all my intercourse so much
as this. No duty I find so hard to perform, or
which I oftener fail in attending to. Nothing has
caused me to doubt my piety so much as this one
thing, and now I almost despair of ever overcoming
it.' "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh," but if I am judged by this rule, I shall
stand very low. I am glad others are not so deficient in it as I am.
Monday, 14th. Your summer has been very cool,
and ours excessively hot. Such hot weather, and so
long, I have never known. After having the ther



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      331
mometer up to 980 and 1000 every day for six weeks,
it was quite a luxury to find it rising no higher than
880 and 90.0 It is now, however, and has been for
three weeks, very pleasant, and has been down as low
as 740 at night, now generally below 800 at night, and
even at the warmest there was always a fall of 100
to 150 at night. I do not think we could have lived
through it if it had not been for this.
Walsh, at Mynpurie, speaks of 1220 in the sun,
as very hot. We have had it much higher than
that in the sun here; but in India the hot weather
lasts much longer than it does here.
Why do we never see your lucubrations in the
Chronicle, or Foreign Missionary? A man who
holds as ready a pen as you do, is bound to let it
speak pro bono publico. Tell Brother Brown I am
very giad he has commenced at the right end, and
I hope he will keep on.
I am engaged of late in preparing a report on the
word to be used in speaking the name of God.
We are pretty unanimous here in disapproving of
the word Shang-te, as it is perpetually confounded
with the Chinese idol of the same name. I believe
we are all in favour of Shin, and I have been quite
surprised at the amount of authority, I mean from
the Chinese classics, in favour of its use. What
words do you use? and how do they take with the
people?  I would like much to hear what your
custom is.
Believe me, ever yours, in the gospel and ministry of Christ,              W. M. LOWRIE.
Ningpo, December 31st, 1846.
REV. JOHN C. LOWRIE-MY DEAR BROTHER:
Your truly welcome letter of June 22d, came to
hand to-day. I know not why it was so long on
the road. A letter from another person in New




332       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
York, written on the same day, reached me six
weeks ago. But we have to submit to some inconvenience up here about our correspondence.
By God's grace I am preaching, though it be with
stammering lips, and my prospects of mastering the
language are now so fair that I would be very unwilling to leave this mission. I am, therefore, satisfied and anxious to remain; and my present feeling,
which indeed has almost always been my feeling, is
not to leave unless the Committee, who took the responsibility of sending me to China, will take the
responsibility of sending me away. I am glad and
happy to be here.  It is true    am lonely, sometimes very lonely, but this loneliness is appointed
to me by lHim who knows better than I do what is
best for me. I have not sought it, nor run into it
rashly, and in due season it will be diminished; or
if not, then it is best that it be so, and I will, if not
gladly, at least resignedly, or if not resignedly, at
least praying to be resigned, confess myself a
stranger and a pilgrim on the earth.
The clock strikes twelve, P. M., and 1847 has
begun. I have disobeyed your injunction; but, in
the first place, it is very seldom that this happens.
I am almost always in bed before eleven. Second,
I was anxious to write as much of this letter as
possible, for it must be closed to-morrow or next
day. I must confess I did not mean to spin it out
so long. Third, I do not disapprove of seeing the
New Year in, and commencing it with prayer. I
wish you, and yours, a happy New Year.
I am always interested in the accounts of your
church, and pray for a blessing on it. If you are
ever "disheartened" with any among the people
you have to deal with, just fancy what kind of congregations I have.  I will try and give you a peep
at one, some of these days, and you will not dare
to say a word after that. That leads me to ask,
how much egotism is allowable occasionally in articles for the Chronicle? I could write an article




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      333
now, on preaching to a heathen audience, which
might surprise and edify some of your readers, and
give them juster views of the real nature of missionary work, than fifty Tabernacle speeches. I
am not boasting, for I grieve over a vast many
speeches about missions that are published; they
are well meant, but all wrong. But to give such
an article, I must enter into my own feelings pretty
deeply, and write just as I would talk to you, or
any other dear friend, and the little pronoun "I"
must come forward pretty often. This is rather
hazardous; some really humble men, like Brother
Sawyer, could do it very well; but there are very
few who can do it. Yet really, as far as I can see,
such relations of one's own experience are among
the most interesting and profitable articles; for
many a man, if he has only the right spirit, may
write an article of that kind well, who, if he attempted to write an edifying article on general principles, would soon become very dull....
Your affectionate brother,
W. M. LowRiE.
JOURNAL AT NINGPO.
June 11th. There has been some talk of poisoning of late in a district about a hundred miles from
Ningpo, and some placards have been sent here and
pasted up in conspicuous places, warning the people
not to take up articles of food that may be found in
the streets, lest they should contain poison. To-day
my servant came in great trepidation, and said he
had heard people say that a man in the city, having
eaten a cake, became suddenly ill, and his body becoming black all over, he soon died. This has
aroused suspicion that the poisoners are abroad
here. In consequence of this, some persons have




334      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
had a large number of the above mentioned placards printed off here and distributed about. This is
considered a very meritorious act, though almost the
only effect it can have, will be to create a panic terror among the people.
June 12th. The talk of poisoning is more general than ever; and a man having been taken sick
after eating a cake bought in a shop, the shopkeeper
was taken before the mayor of the city, and sentenced to be beaten with forty strokes of the bamboo. This was chiefly to pacify the people, for
many say that even if the cake was the cause of the
sickness, there is no proof that it was not left in the
shop by some evil-minded person without the knowledge of the shopman. Among a multitude of reports
that are flying about, for the people are fairly panicstricken, is one which says that about one hundred
persons have lost their lives in Seaou-shan, and another, that a Buddhist priest there being detected,
or at least suspected of being concerned in the nefarious business, was seized by the people and on examination was found to have cakes and rolls, and
drugs of various kinds concealed about his person.
In all probability the whole affair is a panic.
The summer of 1846 is likely to be long memorable in Ningpo, on account of the many calamities,
some real and some imaginary, with which it was
accompanied. The year has been fruitful in terrors,
and some were so wide-spread that it was impossible
to collect all the facts, or a tenth part of the reports
concerning them. Some of us heard one set of' stories, and some another, and even contradictory
statements, which must account for some of the discrepancies between the following sketch and some
others that you may have seen.
The month of April was distinguished by a season of unusually rainy weather. There were but one
or two fair days in the whole month, and most of
the time the rain fell in torrents. It is in the month
of April that the rice is transplanted, and though




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOwRIE.      335
some rain is required for this purpose, a superabundance is a great evil, which was the case this year.
In consequence of the rain, the officers of the city,
about the middle of the month, appointed sacrifices,
and, by way of further propitiation, ordered that for
the space of seven days no swine should be slaughtered for food. This is called the Kin-too, or prohibition of slaughtering, and is frequently resorted to
in times of distress. But their miserable idols did
not hear their prayers, and, as a last resort, about
the end of the month, some of them were put out in
the rain! The rain ceased soon after this, and the
people continued mad on their idols.
During the month of May but little rain fell, and
the weather became rather warm, though not oppressively so. The summer of 1845 had been so
mild and pleasant that we did not think of the
weather becoming unusually hot this year.  But the
months of June, July, and August, were dreadfully
hot. None of us had beforesexperienced such longcontinued hot weather. During the three years
that I was in Macao, although that place is eight degrees farther south than this, and in the torrid zone,
the thermometer never rose so high as it did here
day after day.
From the experience of the past summer, we have
been completely convinced that good houses are indispensable to health in this climate. We are at
present all living in Chinese houses, which are not
made for constitutions like ours. The low rooms
and thin roofs and walls, are miserable defences
against the heat of such burning suns. It is true
we are not likely to have many summers so hot as
the past, for even the natives spoke of it as " extraordinarily hot;" but we shall have them occasionally, and houses built under our own inspection,
might be so arranged as to diminish much of their
oppressiveness.
Next added to the oppressiveness of the heat,
was the fearful drought. I have spoken of the




336      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
abundant rains of April. They were followed by a
four months' drought, which, like Pharaoh's lean
kine, devoured up every remembrance of the preced.
ing rains. During the months of May, June, July,
and August, but one copious shower fell; and most
of the time the heavens over us were as brass, and
the earth as powder and dust beneath our feet.
Clouds sometimes sailed over our heads, or gathered
on the hills around the city, and sometimes the
thunder and a few drops of rain excited our hopes,
but they passed away again, and more than once 1
have heard natives of the place say, as they saw
them disappear: Teen pukh ung lo yu,-' Heaven is
unwilling to drop rain." Vegetation suffered exceedingly. The deepest canals were drained dry in
the vain attempt to supply the wants of the growing rice-crops. The canals being dry, the internal
navigation of the country was in great measure
stopped. Deep anxiety sat on many faces. Public
processions were appointed in honour of the gods,
and the officers of the city, on two or three separate
occasions issued the.Kin-too, which was at last observed so rigidly, that for nearly a month a pound
of pork could be obtained only by stealth and previous arrangement.
When shall we have rain?"  It assumes a very
serious aspect, now that for so long a time we have
lhad none.
As if the real evils of the heat and drought were
not enough, the people added others from their own
folly and superstitions. I have already spoken of
the alarm caused by the report of poisoners. This
foolish story gradually died away during the month
of July, but was succeeded by another equally appalling, of which the following extracts, entered in
my journal at the time, will give some account:
August 1, 1846. There has been no little excitement here for a few days past, on account of a supposed visitation of evil spirits. It seems that some
persons living in the main street were awakened a




MEMOIR OF WALTER  M. LOWRIE.                 337
few  nights ago by a great noise, as though a large
body of disorderly men were  marching  and carousing through the streets. On looking out, however,
nobody was seen, and the conclusion drawn was that
the noise had  been  caused  by chekein, paper men.*
The story spread, and it was speedily reported that
there were three thousand evil spirits, that they had
been to Yuyaou and Funghwa, and have now come
here. and will soon visit Chinhai and Chusan. Of
course they can have come for no good purpose, and
to drive them away, gongs and drums have been
beaten and  crackers fired  for several nights, filling
the air with a deafening noise for hours together.
This has caused a great demand for gongs, and it is
said that the gong shops in the city have disposed
of nearly all they had on hand. In default of gongs,
brass kettles are supposed to be nearly as efficacious.
Strips of yellow paper with four mystical characters,
whose sound and signification no one pretends to
know, have been sold by myriads, and pasted up
over every door and window, hoping to prevent the
entrance of the evil spirits.
The reason for beating the gongs is thus explained:
There are two great principles called the Yang and
the Yin, under which all substances material or im* These paper men seem to hold the same position in the superstitions
of China that the " familiar spirits," held in the times of the Old Testament, or the "evil spirits," under the control of conjurers and witches
of our own and other Christian lands. In the History of the Three
States, which is probably the most popular book of light reading in the
Chinese language, is the following notice of them: "When the battle
began, Chang-paou commenced his magical arts, whereupon arose a great
tempest of wind and thunder; the dust flew about; the stones rolled
over; a black cloud overspread the heavens; and, as it revolved, men and
horses came down from above. Thereupon, at a convenient place, Heuenteh gave the signal, and his men poured out the mixture of the blood
of swine, sheep and dogs, previously prepared. By doing this the power
of the magic spell was broken, and nothing was seen in the heavens except paper men and straw horses rapidly falling. The wind and thunder
ceased to sound, the sand and stones became quiet again, and Chang-paou
seeing his schemes confounded, turned his head to flee, and his followers
were defeated with prodigious slaughter." In the colloquial dialect of
Ningpo, chejin is changed into TSZ' ANE, and may be expressed in English either by witches or evil spirits.
29




338      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
material are supposed to be arranged. These two are
in perpetual opposition, and if either one of them
attains too much ascendency, great confusion is the
inevitable result. It so happens that the evil spirits
which cause all the present disturbance belong to the
Yin principle, while the sound of brass vessels belongs to the Yang. By beating the brass vessels the
Yang principle will be enabled to resist the too great
ascendency of the Yin, which is shown in the present incursion of evil spirits, and thus it is hoped
order will be again restored. Great excitement prevails in the city, and all the higher officers are going
in state to the temples, to pray that the evil spirits
may be driven away.
August 3d. We were aroused shortly after three
o'clock, A. M., by an earthquake. Having been sound
asleep, it was some moments before I became aware
of the real cause of the disturbance.  There was a
dull heavy roaring in the air, coming from the north
gate of the city, and the roof of' the house moved as
if' being gradually lifted off by a strong wind. Thinking it was a strong wind, I was about to get up and
close the windows, when I perceived that the bed
and the whole house were moving from end to end.
Jumping up, and going to the window, I observed
that the motion still continued, and being now sensible of what it was, and fearing lest the house
should fall, I ran down stairs and out of the doors,
and called to my people, who were all awake, to
come out. The motion, however, had ceased before
I got out. All this took up probably less than a
minute, though how long the shock might have lasted
before I was awaked, I do not know. The consternation that prevailed in the city was indescribable.
Owing to the rumours and panic caused by the fear
of the evil spirits, many people have been sitting up
for several nights past, and when the shock came it
was so violent that even the sleepers were awakened,
and the universal idea was that the evil spirits were
coming to take the city by storm. The inmates of




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      339
the house next door to mine set up a terrific shriek,
and in an instant the whole city with its quarter of
a million of inhabitants, rang with the beating of
gongs, the firing of rockets and crackers, and the
shouts and crying of men in terror. To increase the
alarm a bright falling star shot from the zenith to
the north, leaving a long train of light behind it, and
to many terrified imaginations it doubtless seemed
as if the Yin and Yang principles were wrapped in
endless confusion, and heaven and earth about to
end. The noise and beating of gongs continued
so long and loud that it was impossible to distinguish
any other sounds.  I regretted this, for once or twice
I fancied there was the same dull, heavy roar that
struck me on first awaking, and the Chinese, thinking it was the shouting of the evil spirits, cried out,
"There they are! They are coming!" It may have
been, however, only the blended sounds of rockets
and gongs, and the cries' of men in terror, as they
rose over the night air. It was with difficulty I
could prevent even my own servants from joining in
the uproar, and one of them asked me, with a trembling voice, "Teacher, is this the evil spirit's coming?' Many cried like children when in fits of the
extremest terror. It was a solemn thought to think,
if such the terror occasioned by a single shock of an
earthquake, what will it be when the heavens and
the earth shall pass away with a great noise?
Augrust 9th. In consequence of the earthquake,
and especially the strange sounds accompanying it,
the belief in the presence of evil spirits has taken a
still firmer hold on the minds of the people. Multitudes of them have prepared green branches of trees,
supposing they would be of use in warding off the invisible foes, and the most absurd rumours are abroad
as to the cause of this visitation.  Many attribute
their coming to the Roman Catholics, who are about
rebuilding the chapel which they possessed here in
the reign of Kanghe, while others attribute them to
the Protestant missionaries.




340      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
One of our missionaries lives in the western part
of the city, and the people around him look with
much suspicion on him, and on his wife. Among
other things, they hlave it reported that when he
and his wife walk on the wall of the city near his
house, in the evening, they carry a bottle containing
a number of these invisible people with them; it is
further reported, that when they take out the
cork a number of evil spirits, of different sizes, come
out and kneel down to receive his commands, and
then, on a signal, disperse themselves over the city.
Another of our missionaries is reported to have
forty-nine of the evil spirits under his control, and
some of the worthy citizens who have seen me
walking on the wall about sunset, have reported
that they saw a long white devil walking there.
All this is very unpleasant; the people are becoming excited and alarmed, and if they were at
all of the disposition of the mobs in Canton, it
would not be difficult to arouse them to wreak
vengeance on the few defenceless foreigners here,
whom they suppose to be the occasion of their calamities. One immediate effect has been, quite to
break up my soirees on the wall. I had been in
the habit, for.some weeks, of sitting down to enjoy
the cool breeze at twilight, on the wall near my
house, and very frequently had quite a little congregation of the people to talk to, and converse
with on religion and general topics, but now, when
I sit down there, not one comes near me.
The sound of a shaken leaf terrifies them.  My
next door neighbours heard their paper windows rattling last night, and supposing the evil spirits were
coming, they commenced the usual shrieking, shouting and beating of gongs, much to my discomfort; and
there is scarcely a night in which I am not waked
several times by the noises around. Last night
and to-night are perhaps the crisis of the affair,
for there is a report abroad, that six persons of particular classes, will die to-night, if they happen to




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       341
fall asleep. In consequence of this, all belonging
to those classes (such as were born under the influence of certain constellations) sat up all last
night, and will sit up this night, fearing that if they
sleep, they will be of the number of the six that
must die.
Verily, "gross darkness covers the people."
August 21. The rumours about the evil spirits
have taken a firmer hold than ever of the people's
minds, and the most ridiculous stories are in circulation. Some men have had their queues cut off at
night-of course by the witches, and the people are
becoming excited. The drought still continues; we
have been tantalized by clouds, and a drizzling mist,
yesterday and to-day, but they are clouds without
rain.  The delusion about the witches has spread
all over the province, and it is everywhere attributed
to foreigners. Placards have even been posted up at
Ningpo, saying that there will be no peace here till the
foreigners are extirpated.  My teacher went home
a few days ago, and found his family in the greatest
distress. He had not gone home for nearly a month,
and they thought I had either locked him up, or
bewitched him that he could not go. When he
laughed at his neighbours for their folly in believing
in the spirits, they said, " Oh yes! you are eating
the bread of the foreigners, and it is very well for
you to say so." One of Miss Aldersey s adopted
orphan children died a few days ago, and the common
report is that she murdered it. It is common here
to keep the dates of people's births in the temples
for astrological purposes. It has been reported that
some foreigners have been copying these registers,
and that all whose names are copied will surely
die. In consequence great numbers of the people
have gone to blot their names out, lest the foreigners
should lay schemes against their lives.
August 22. A little rain last night and to-day
supplies us with water to drink, and is very reviving to the crops and to the hopes of the people.
29 *




342      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
But still there is not enough to fill the canals even
partially.
August 25. As a last resort to drive away the
evil spirits, a procession has been got up in honour of
Kwan-te, the god of war.  Two companies of it
went past my house on the wall to-day, in one of
which the god was carried along in great state, in a
chair upborne by eight bearers.  There were dragons, lanterns, gongs, &c., &c., as in other processions; firing of crackers, and guns,. and noises of
all kinds. Two or three companies of soldiers
formed part of the procession, marching in beautiful
disregard of time and order. The neighbouring
foo city of Shaou-hing having been cleared of evil
spirits by a procession in honour of' Kwan-te, the
people of this city are induced to seek deliverance
in the same manner. How dreadful to see them
so given up to idolatry! I was deeply pained as
they passed my house, bearing their earthen gods,
and performing their silly rites. Oh Lord, how
long.
August 26. The procession is still kept up,
going through nearly every street in the city. As
the neighbourhood around my house seems to have
been particularly infested with the evil spirits,
probably on account of my being here, a second
detachment came past my house after eleven o'clock
at night. The effect of the numerous lanterns
was very pretty, but it is sad to see such worship
paid to men.  This Kwan-te flourished about sixteen
hundred years ago. He is one of the three great
heroes in the San kwo che, or History of the Three
States, and was a native of the department of Shaouhing, which borders on Ningpo.
Nothing was heard of the evil spirits after the
procession. The people having full confidence in
the power of Kwan-te, their imaginations were at
rest, and the evil spirits departed!
September 4. Rain at last!   More rain has
fallen to-day than all that has fallen since the first




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      343
of May. It is a great blessing. "He sendeth rain
on the just and on the unjust.
September 5. In consequence of the rain the
Kin-too, or prohibition of slaughtering animals for
food, after being in force for several weeks, has been
withdrawn. Images of the gods from all the different temples had been collected at one place, for
the convenience of the chief officers of the city,
who went there daily to pray to them altogether to
send rain. In consequence of the rains, they have
now been all taken back to their respective temples.
October 3. The long drought of the summer has
been followed by a month of rains, nearly as fatal
to the hopes of the husbandman. The canals are
full and overflowing, and the fields are flooded.
Withal it is cool, and it is now doubtful whether
the crops will ripen. The first crop was short, and
the second crop, after being withered by the drought,
and nearly drowned by the rain, is not in a condition
to come to maturity in the moderate and cool weather
now coming on. A plain-looking man, in the ferryboat, as I crossed over to-day, was expressing his
belief that the gods pay no attention to what is
done on the earth.  "DIn the spring they heard not
the prayers for dry weather. In the summer they
heard not the prayers for rain. Now it is raining
too much.  I believe that heaven rains just to
please itself."
In consequence of the cool weather, but a very
small portion of the second crop of rice was worth
anything. In many fields the farmers did not attempt to gather it.
October 4th, 1846. To-day commenced a Chinese
service in my house. Put up a notice at the door,
inviting choo pang yew, "all the friends," to come
and hear; prepared seats for about forty; and about
the hour my servant went to the door and invited
the passers-by to come in. Except that the words
were spoken with a totally opposite intention, they
were remarkably apropos.  See Prov. ix. 15, 16, to




344      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
call passengers who go right on their ways. "Whoso
is simple let him turn in hither, and as for him that
wanteth understanding," &c. Some came in with
their burdens; some looking half afraid; some ran
right out again; some stood up; some sat down; some
smoked their pipes; some said, "what is the use of
staying, he is a foreigner, and we do not understand
foreign talk?" the attention was none of the best, for
it required all my courage and presence of mind to
keep going, and the people feeling quite free to talk
and make remarks,  got along no better than I anticipated.  I am not discouraged, though by no
means flattered by the result of this day's experiment. There were about forty persons present.
October 16th. A revolting instance of cruelty
occurred opposite my window. A poor beggar who
had only a coarse thin pair of trowsers, and a straw
mat for his shoulders, in weather when I find woollen clothes comfortable, had by some means obtained
eighty cash, equal to five cents, from a Chinese of
this place. This morning the creditor came upon
him for the money, and as he had not wherewith to
pay him, began to beat him unmercifully. First,
he struck him on the head and face with his fist;
then he caught him by the hair, and beat him on
the arms; then he took his queue or tail in one
hand, and putting his foot on the poor man's back,
pulled till I thought the man's hair would have
come all out; then he struck him again fiercely in
the face; and finally taking off his shoe, he began
beating him on the bare back. The beggar all this
time made no resistance, but uttered piteous cries.
and falling down beat his head on the pavement,
asking mercy! Several Chinese passed, and some
looked on, but none made any attempt to interfere.
Finding the brute continued his beating, I could
stand it no longer, and going down, I laid my stick
on his back not very gently. He looked up in some
surprise, and seemed half enraged and half frightened, to find a foreigner interfering. I asked him




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      345
what he meant, and why he beat the beggar so?
He sputtered out some words, but began to edge off,
as if he would like to be away; so I told him to
clear out, and gave him another blow with my stick.
I had half a notion to break it over his back. He
seemed glad to get off so well, and went away in a
hurry. The poor beggar s gratitude was inexpressible. He lay down, beat his head on the ground,
and between his sobs and tears and bleeding face,
let me know how much he was obliged to me. I
gave him a few cash, and one of my servants, who
seemed much interested, gave him an old garment.
Quite a crowd had come around us, who seemed
quite pleased at the turn affairs had taken.
October 18th. A larger and better audience than
I have yet had, and very attentive.  Oh, for a blessing! Otherwise it is only speaking to dry bones.
One young man among others who stayed after the
service, was anxious to defend himself from the
charge of the folly of idolatry, and declared the
monks and the nuns were a great nuisance; that he
thought the monks had better marry the nuns, let
their hair grow, destroy the temples, and follow the
advice of Confucius, to "honour the gods and keep
them at a distance."
October 25th. Service not so well attended today; more disorder, fewer persons, and less attention; must expect difficulty in keeping up the services. If it is hard to command full and attentive
audiences at home, how much more so here, where
the preacher is at best but imperfectly understood,
speaks of strange subjects, sanctified in the mind
of' his hearers by no familiar or early associations,
and of which they see no possible use? Surely
were it not for the word of God, the missionary enterprise were the most foolish experiment of the
age. Oh, for God's Spirit! What can man do?
November 1st. A rainy day, but a good many
people in the street, going past my house: though
the most of them carried burdens or bundles.




346      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
There are many weddings about this time, and I
expected a small audience; made all my preparations, however, and went to my chapel; sat awhile,
and one man came in and sat down; determined to
keep him if I could; I commenced a conversation,
but he seemed frightened at finding himself alone,
and remarked, "nobody has come yet, and I'll not
stop now, I'll come back soon!"  So off he went,
and came no more. Many passed the door, a few
looked at the notice, but all went their ways, one to
his farm, another to his merchandise. After waiting
till I was satisfied that nobody would come, (my servarnt had already invited a number of the passers-by
to come in,) I shut the door, and went and prayed.
Then prepared a somewhat attractive card, both to
paste up on the door, and to distribute about, stating
that there is preaching here, &c. If this does not
succeed, then I see no way but to get a better location, or to go out into the streets and by-ways, the
highways and hedges, and speak unto them. Probably a chapel in any place, after the novelty wore
off, would be deserted; certainly, I suppose, unless
the Spirit be poured out from on high. Oh Lord,
visit this people!
Quite cold to-day; thermometer down to 51~,
and a foot stove quite comfortable.
November 2d. Quite a wintry morning; thermometer down to 430, which is much lower than
we saw it during this whole month last year; not
prepared for it, not having my stove up, nor
cracks stopped; but it has moderated somewhat
towards evening.
Went to call on the Sz' family, the head of which
has recently died. He was, take him all in all, the
most respectable man I have known in Ningpo. Ile
died of apoplexy; might probably have been spared,
had the family been willing to have him bled; but
as the Chinese have a great horror of blood-letting,
they would not consent, aind the poor old man died
by inches. Poor, verily! for he knew enough of




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       347
the truth and rejected it.  Oh how dreadful is the
reflection, that in the vast majority of cases, our
labours only seal this people in deeper destruction!
They would have perished if we had not come.
We come and speak to them; they refuse to receive
our words, and sink into deeper misery. But are
we free from all blame in this? Do they see us so
in earnest as to be convinced that we really mean
what we say? I fear, often not.
November 15th. In the afternoon I preached on
the miracles of Christ, to a small, fluctuating, and
disorderly congregation. I was greatly interrupted
by their talking, and especially by a crowd of boys,
who came in, and behaved without manners. Spoke
with more fluency and satisfaction to myself than
I have yet done; but it seems like speaking to the
wind and waves, or writing one's name on the sand.
Spirit of God, breathe on these dry bones!
November 22d. Preached in the afternoon twice,
on the death of Christ. Commenced with three or
four persons, but more dropped in till there were
twenty or thirty, by the middle of the discourse.
Some were very attentive. So many kept coming
in, that after the first company were gone, I preached
the same discourse over a second time, and had some
forty or fifty at the close. Generally pretty good
attention, but I was excessively fatigued.  An
hour's almost constant talking in a strange language,
and to an audience where there are always some
unruly ones, is no easy work.  Some come in and
go out; some make remarks; one or two smoked
pipes; and one or two were rude enough to make
remarks in a very loud voice as they went out, apparently for the purpose of showx~ing how little they
cared for what was going on. I have not yet learned
to talk at ease amidst all the interruptions which I
foresee I must expect in this work; but give me
such a day as this-I mean in regard to numbers
and attention-and for a while at least I shall rejoice.
Yet to many of the hearers, all they hear must be




348       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
the merest scraps; something, to allude to Amos,
like the "two legs, or a piece of an ear," which
others, more eager for something, have sometimes
got. Well, "faith cometh by hearing;" and I do
rejoice, that, however imperfectly, I can yet give
some of this people the opportunity of hearing.
Oh for the living Spirit to breathe on the dry bones,
and bless the word 1
November 29th. Weather quite cold of late at
night, and thermometer twice down to 340 before
sunrise, but a clear day to-day, and it got up to 66~;
very pleasant.
Preached in the afternoon twice, on the resurrection and ascension of Christ, with pretty good attention both times. One man, who came too late
for the first service, said, " I don't care about books,
but I want to hear you talk." Yet there was more
eagerness for the books than I have often seen.
How delightful to be able to speak with any fluency!
There were some old men there, tottering on the
brink of the grave; will the seed thus sown ever
spring up?,When I was in Macao, my great anxiety was to
get here; arrived here, and was satisfied for a short
time; but then became anxious to be able to talk,
and thought I would be satisfied if I could only talk;
can talk a little, and for a while was almost satisfied;
but now I want to see fruit. Perhaps if permitted
to see it, I may be anxious to see it ripen; if it
ripens, to see it safely stored away. When shall I
be freed from anxiety? When but in heaven?
Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. I shall be satisfied when I see thee, or awake in thy likeness.
December 6th.  Preached on the Divinity of
Christ, with a good deal of satisfaction to two
different audiences; the second very full and generally very attentive, and very eager for tracts.
December 13th. Had the emptyings of a theatre
to fill my house, which it did to overflowing. It
gave me a larger audience than usual; but those




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRTI.       349
in the back seats were so incommoded by the crowd,
that they could have heard but little. Preached on
the Creation. One man seemed greatly struck by
the account of the institution of the Sabbath.
CHAPTER VIII.
1847.
Missionary Labours at Ningpo-Voyage to Shanghai-Manchu Language-Chinese Translation of the Bible-Importance of selecting
proper terms- Death and Character.
UNTIL the latter end of May, Mr. Lowrie continued his regular Chinese services on the Sabbath;
and during the week he found many opportunities
of making known the truths of the Christian system. A portion of each day was given, with increased interest, to the preparation of his Chinese
dictionary, his plan enlarging as he advanced with
the work.
Having been appointed one of the delegates for
the revision of the translation of the Bible, he reached
Shanghai early in June;'and when his colleagues
assembled, he took part with them in this important
work.  Much time was taken up in deciding on the
proper Chinese word to be used for the Elohim of
the Old Testament, and the Theos of the New. This
question he had carefully examined before the meeting of the delegates, and his further researches led
him very clearly to prefer the Chinese word Shin.
It was his firm conviction, that to use the Chinese
Shang-te, or the word Te, for the true God, was only
to confirm the Chinese in their idolatry
Among his last letters is one to his father, expressing his intention of studying the language of
the Manchu Tartars, and requesting that the neces30




350      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
sary books might be procured and forwarded. He
did not overrate the advantages which a knowledge
of this language would afford to the missionary
cause; and it will be for those still labouring for the
evangelization of this great people, to carry out this
and other important measures of usefulness which
he left unfinished.
The essay on the trials and discouragements of
the foreign missionary, preceded by a note from his
friend Mr. Culbertson, closes the present selection
from his writings. Although some of the sentiments
are expressed in his previous letters and journals, it
was deemed best to publish this paper entire. His
trials and sorrows were soon to cease. The work
assigned to him by the Head of the Church was all
finished. On the 19th of August, he was called, as
we trust, to exchange this scene of conflict and of
trial for the joy of his Lord. The particulars of this
mysterious and distressing dispensation of Divine
Providence,-the estimate of his character by those
who knew him well,-and the expression of deep
affliction caused by his death, are given by other
pens. Whilst his relatives and friends bow in humble submission to the will of God, and whilst they
know most assuredly that nothing happens by chance
in the government of Him who has all power in heaven and in earth, the stroke is so severe, the wound
so deep, and so many endeared ties have been broken asunder, that they cannot but mourn and weep
over the early grave of this beloved missionary. He
who wept at the grave of Lazarus, does not forbid
the hallowed tears of his bereaved and afflicted servants.
Ningpo, January 18th, 1847.
REV. JOHN C. LOWRIE-MY DEAR BROTHERR: —I do
not know that I have anything of consequence to
write at present. Everything moves on quietly.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      351.... I find myself now making perceptible progress
in reading and speaking, and begin at last to feel as
if I had mastered the chief difficulties in the outset
of this hard language. You will, I trust, join with
me in gratitude for this. Mind, I do not consider
myself a scholar, or anticipate no further difficulties,
for I can see enough to know that it is a rough and
stony path yet, and up hill too. I do not despair,
however, if life, and health, and grace be given, to
make at least very respectable acquisitions in the
language. One of the greatest difficulties I meet
now, is a temptation to devote myself too much to
the merely literary part of the work. For I find I
have made such progress as, notwithstanding all the
difficulties, to find real pleasure in the study; and
withal, there is a field of investigation and thought,
of philosophy and of poetry in the language, which
is well worthy of cultivation. Do not smile at this.
Nothwithstanding the witty articles of the Repertory, the Chinese are no fools, and they have said
and done things worthy of great renown. I begin
to have a real veneration for Confucius, and to doubt
whether any heathen philosopher ever saw so'iuch
truth as he did; while my tastes are becoming so
Chinese, that I find eloquence and poetry, and what
not, in multitudes of forms. You may laugh as
much as you please at my tastes, but let thoselaugh
that win. However, seriously, I do feel that there
is danger of attending to merely literary pursuits,
to the neglect of the far more important duties of
one whose chief business it should be to know
nothing but Christ, and him crucified. Pray for me.
Your affectionate brother,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Ningpo, February 19th, 1847.
MY DEAR MOTHER-.... The weeks slip by with
a rapidity that would be frightful, were it not for the




352       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
calm and pleasing hope that they are wafting me to
a home where in all labour there is no sorrow. I can
hardly realize that six weeks of the present year are
gone already, but so it is. Yesterday too was my
birthday; finished twenty-eight years, and commenced my twenty-ninth; and it is more than five
years since I saw you last. You will ask, what am
I doing that makes me so busy? Why, I write a
sermon in English about once a month; a sermon in
Chinese each week; an average of two or three letters
each week, (full letters, notes not counted;) correct
two or three proofs in Chinese every week, each proof
a good hour's work; and then to fill up and overflow
every hour besides, I have this copious unfathomable
language, which I find I must study in winter, and
take easily in summer. I am, however, now so far
advanced, as to find a great deal of real satisfaction
in the study; and being thus encouraged by success,
do not again apprehend the tedium of labour which I
found in it for so long a time. I can now read an
ordinary book without assistance from a teacher,
though of course I can read much faster and easier
with him by my side, and hope ere long to be able
in a great measure to dispense with a teacher in
translating from Chinese into English. I have not yet
begun to ask, when I can do without one in translating from English into Chinese; that point is as
yet many years off. I do not know how much you
practise Chinese now, but a pretty little thought came
into my head a few days ago; it may be in some
book I have read, but I have no recollection of
having met it anywhere. You perhaps know that
the word neen means to think.   ow ust divide that
character in two, and you have kin sin, "now heart,"
i. e., what is now in the heart, which is not a bad
definition of thoughts. But perhaps this smells too
much of the lamp for you. So, for more domestic concerns, I have lost my beautiful dog Fanny. She followed me out into the street one day, and got to
frisking about, and got lost in the crowd. I should




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      353
have felt quite melancholy had it happened a few
months sooner; but the fact is, though very beautiful,
she was so utterly useless that I did not regret her
going. Instead of barking, she fawned on every
stranger that came in, and followed everybody that
called her in the street. So it seems a fair exterior
is no better proof of good qualities in dogs than in
men. I've got a little pup now, who yelped incessantly when I got him, until at last the cat took pity
on him, and took him under her care. This comforted his heart very much, and he is now famous for
eating rice and milk, and worrying the cat, and gives
promise of being worth something more before long.
I call him Jim.
Our winter has been mild, and is now pretty much
over. We have had both ice and snow, but no
weather so cold as a good deal that we had last year;
and as we all know better how to prepare for it, we
have got along very comfortably. I think.too we
shall not have so severe a summer...
With much love and many warm thoughts,
Ever affectionately yours,
W. M. LOWRIE.
ON THE MINUTES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF 1846.
Ninypo, March 20th, 1847.
The Minutes.of our venerable General Assembly,
after being long delayed on the way, have at last
reached this place, and are now lying before me.
The General Assembly! How many precious and
endearing associations are connected with that name!
From this heathen land it recalls my thoughts back
to the land of my birth and early youth; to the
land of my first Christian hopes and preparation
for the ministry. It is the land of my parents
of my brothers and my sisters. It is the land
30 *




354       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
where many warm friends dwell. It is the land
where the departed sleep; a land of privileges and
light! Its external and physical advantages are
great; for it might be said as was said of Canaan in
old times, "it is a land flowing with honey and
milk," and "the eye of God is upon it from the
beginning of the year to the end of the year." It
is a land of freedom, and of peace. But its Christian privileges are greater still. It is a land of
Bibles, and Sabbaths, and preaching and revivals.
It has its Sabbath-schools and religious institutions.
It has its missionary and its Bible societies, to extend to other lands the blessings enjoyed in its own
borders. The influences of the Spirit, like currents
of vital air, pervade the land. From its hills and its
vales go up the voices of prayer and praise, and the
saints of the Lord are resting in its graves. A
land highly favoured-its God is Jehovah! Compare that land with this, and how painful is the
contrast!
It is pleasant to think that the Church, the minutes of whose highest judicatory are now before me,
my own loved Church, holds no mean place among
those which, under God, have made that once wilderness land, to bud and blossom as the rose. "The
General Assenzbly of the Church!" I love that name.
How general and extensive, stretching far and wide,
throughout the land, yet comprehending and assemblina all together in one brotherhood. How goodly
is the fellowship of the saints! The representatives
of the Church throughout the length and breadth of
a vast land are assembled here, and that not for any
selfish purposes, but for the highest and the noblest
known on earth; they are met to consult for the
glory of Christ and his cause. When shall we have
such a general assembly in this heathen land?
When shall all the earth see eye to eye, and have
one General Assembly? When shall we all go up
to the General Assembly, and Church of the firstborn on high?




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      355
It has been a deeply interesting employment to
look over the list of ministers in connection with the
General Assembly. I have gone over the whole list,
pencil in hand, and placed a mark against each name
of those I knew. I have looked to see how many
of God's people are under the care of each; how
many additions to the communion of their churches;
how many baptisms. I have looked farther, to see
how active, how liberal, how benevolent, the flock
of each has been, and how much they have contributed to spread the cause of Christ, at home and
abroad. But let me recall that word "benevolence."
With most persons it signifies a free gift, or a disposition to give, where there is no claim on the giver.
But surely it is no benevolence to give aught to Him
of whom we receive our all, and to whom, if we give
aught, we but give him c "of his own."  "All things
come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee."
To speak more properly, I have looked to see how
much each church of those 1 knew, has realized of
its responsibilities and its stewardship, and what
answer it has given to the question, "How much
owest thou unto my lord?"  In some cases I have
almost feared that an unfaithful steward has been
there, and in place of requiring the full amount, has
said, "Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write
fifty, or fourscore." But charity requires me to suppose that the minutes of the General Assembly give
only an imperfect account of what each church has
done. The thought, however, occurs to me, man
may see and record what we do, or he may not, but
there is One above who sees and records it all, and
he has said, " It is required in stewards that a man
be found faithful." See the whole context, 1 Cor.
iv. 1-5.
I love to look over the roll of the General Assembly. There are many well-known names there. The
venerable father in Christ, the strong man, the gentle, loving teacher, friends of my boyhood were
there: classmates and friends of my College days




356      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
were there: beloved associates in the Theological
Seminary were there. If I have numbered aright,
there are ten with whom I met week after week and
month after month, to hear the instructions of our
venerated professors. With you I have sat in the
same class-room, gone to the house of God in company, bowed together in the same prayer-meeting,
and sat down side by side at the same table of the
Lord. Tears fill my eyes, as with an overflowing
heart, the memory of those favoured hours comes
back; and if it might be so, I could wish for their
return. Ye are dwelling in the house of God,
whilst I sojourn in Mesech. Ye are going up with
the great congregation, whilst I sit in the tents of
Kedar! Yet will I remember thee, oh God, from
the land of Jordan, and the Hermonites, and from
the hill Mizar.
Years have passed away since then. Many billows roll between us now, and many billows have
rolled over us since then, yet many recollections of
those days come up before me in long array. What
constant friendship did some of us vow, when our
hearts were warmed as we communed together by
the way! And there was our resolve to remember
each other in our prayers on Saturday evening. Do
ye remember it yet? God's blessing rest on you all,
friends of my heart, associates of my earlier days,
fellow-labourers in the same church, and expectants
of the same crown! And ye too, venerated elders
of the churches! Some of you I have known in
your own homes. Some of my earliest and warmest
friends were among you. Nor can I ever forget the
deep feeling with which one of your number, now
gone to his rest, once said to me, "Ever since I
knew aught of Christ, it has been my daily prayer
that I might know more of him;" or how another of
your number said on his death-bed, with an emphasis which only the powers of the world to come
could give, "Oh what a Saviour is Christ! He is a




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       357
rock!" May the spirit of those devoted men rest on
you all!
I have read with much interest the proceedings of
an Assembly, to which I am bound by so many ties.
How great a privilege it would have been to be
even a doorkeeper there! It would be tedious,
and unreasonable, to tell you half my thoughts, on
reading over the proceedings. May I be pardoned
for recording some of my thoughts, on reading a part
of them?
It is natural for each one to feel most interest in
what most nearly concerns himself and his own immediate pursuits. The foreign missionary looks
with peculiar interest to the proceedings of the Assembly in relation to Foreign Missions.  Shall I, or
may I, say what I thought? Perhaps it may be
wrong, or presumptuous, or censorious; if so, forgive me; but there was an emotion not unmixed
with disappointment, on the perusal of the resolutions
about foreign missions. You know best whether so
many as nine resolutions were necessary, but it did
strike me that they were dull,-too many words,
and the sentences too long. A person almost loses
his breath before he reads through some of them.
Would it not have been better, if, with less of the
character of a grave homily, there had been a more
pointed application?  If, instead of merely "grieving" and "inviting" and "recommending," they
had embodied in few words a glowing resolution to
do, and to act? But I will not criticise. Rather let
me carefully read them over again, and may God's
blessing rest on their authors, and on him who reads.
It is well. The work of missions is important;
the Church should unite under their own Board:
missionary intelligence should be diffused; earnest
prayer should be offered; and the Jews should
have an able and efficient mission. It is well that
the Church, through her highest judicatory, should
give utterance to these truths. I suppose they were




358      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
adopted unanimously, as no notice is given of any
disapprobation or dissent.
But what shall be, or rather what has been, the
result of these resolutions? They are your public
testimony, and not merely recorded in your official
records, but recorded by one who says, "When thou
vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it;" and
who will look to see how official resolutions, which
bear the nature of a vow, are performed. You have
gone down from that high position in the General
Assembly, to your separate flocks. If you carry
not out your own resolutions, surely no others will.
IHave you then in your separate fields carried out
the principles, and performed the duties you have
publicly professed? Is interest in the missionary
cause deepening among your own people? Is missionary intelligence more widely diffused? Do your
flock take more copies of the Chronicle and Foreign
Missionary?  Is more prayer offered?  Are more
efforts made? Or if not, are we to understand that
you have already attained to the measure of the
standard fixed in your resolutions, and need not to
go beyond it?
And how do your resolutions compare with those
of the past or previous years? What advance has
been made beyond the stand taken ten, or five years
ago? The resolutions of the General Assembly of
1841 were very good. The Assembly of 1842 recommended that one hundred thousand dollars
should be raised in that year; but that sum has
never been raised in any year yet. The resolutions
of' 1844 I have not yet seen, but a kind and cordial
notice of missionary operations, found a place in the
narrative of religion of that year.
I fear it must be said, that the resolutions of the
General Assembly mark no perceptible advance in
the state of missionary feeling in the Church. There
has been a slight increase of pecuniary contributions, but the Church has not yet come up to the
standard fixed by the Assembly of 1842, as then




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      359
practicable. Brethren, where is the fault? Your
resolutions, to be of any worth, must be acted out;
or in the end the people will become hardened by
them, and instead of good, they will do harm, and
" the rust of them" will be a witness against yourselves. Might I, with all humility, suggest that instead of a long series of resolutions, a few sentences, brief and pointed, would be much better, if
each one who voted for them were to resolve that,
let others do as they may, he at least would carry
them out in his own church. Were this course
adopted, in five successive General Assemblies, nay,
in only two, what prodigious results would be secured!
But there is one sentence in the last resolution,
which calls forth my warmest gratitude. The General Assembly of our Church solemnly assures us
that your "daily prayer is that the Saviour may be
present with us, and that the blessing of the Holy
Spirit may rest on our labours." Oh ye fathers and
brethren! this one sentence is to us worth more
than thousands of silver and gold. Let others do
as they may, we are here assured that in the daily
prayers of one hundred and thirteen ministers, and
seventy-six elders, we are remembered. Who would
not rejoice to be held in "daily" remembrance by so
many ministers and elders? Who would not feel
strengthened in his work, by the assurance from the
highest judicatory in the Church, that at least all
those who composed that body, every day invoke
"the presence of the Saviour, and the blessing of the
Spirit" on his labours? In the name of every missionary of our Church, I thank you for that assurance;
for surely God will hear such prayers. May they
be graciously answered by Him, in blessings on our
heads, and may they return with tenfold blessings
on your own! You are daily praying, and doubtless daily looking for an answer to those prayers.
God is the hearer and the answerer of prayer, and
our hearts are revived by the thought. How glori



360      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
ous, how blessed to be a member of a Church, so
large as ours, where such a bond of union exists,
and where those who occupy the most conspicuous
stations, assure those farthest off, and least known,
of an interest in their daily prayers. I cannot allow myself to harbour for one moment the thought,
that this assurance is a mere unmeaning form of
words, passed in the routine of business, and forgotten amidst succeeding occupations or more interesting pursuits. It cannot so be.
W. M. LOWRIE.
Ningpo, April 10th, 1847.
MY DEAR FATHER —Your letter of July 17-20,
did not come till about ten days or more after the
things it mentioned had been received. I believe everything has come safe. Some of the other
brethren were not so much favoured, as some three
or four boxes fell into the hands of pirates between
Canton and Macao. The pirates are getting exceedingly bold all along the coast. I was told to-day that
ten out of the eighteen timber firms in Ningpo had
shut up their shops this year, as the pirates on the
coast stopped their ships when coming from Fuhkeen province, and required such heavy ransom,
that it became a losing business.  I hardly know
how I shall get to Shanghai this sunmmer, as it
is hardly safe to venture out to sea, in our small
passage boats, when such customers are abroad. At
present I propose applying for leave to go by way
of Hangehou, a place I want to see on many accounts.
The convention for the revision of the Translation
of the New Testament, is to meet on the 1st of
June. I presume you will see the accounts of it as
soon as any other person. The most interesting
question likely to be discussed, is the one in refer



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     361
ence to a proper term for "God." Increasing dissatisfaction is felt by many with the term Shang-te,
which Mr. Medhurst patronizes, and the discussion
of that subject is likely to be an earnest one. I
should like much if you could find time to make
yourself familiar with it. You will find in the
Chinese Repository of 1846 and 1847, several articles on both sides. The one in November and
December, 1846, and January, 1847, shows my
views. I think, if the principles laid down in the
article in the November number are granted, that
the question is settled in favour of "Shin," and I
should be glad to get the opinion of some Biblical
scholars on the subject. You will see Mr. Medhurst's views in the January number of this year.
I think every one of his positions is capable of a
clear and distinct answer. I hope some one will
reply to it. I shall probably write an answer myself, but do not expect to publish it, having already
said as much as becomes so young a student of the
language. As an evidence of the evil done by using
the term Shang-te for the name of God, is the following:-Not long ago a very respectable man came
to my house one Sabbath. I got into conversation
with him, and asked him if he knew anything of
Jesus? He replied, he had heard he was the son
of "Yuh hwang ta te," the "Jewelled Great Emperor." This is the chief god in the Chinese mythology. His birth-day is on the first month, third
day; his image is in one of our largest temples;
and he is known indifferently by the name above
given, or by that of Shang-te. I never use the term
now, having uniformly found that the people supposed I meant their own Shang-te.
Sabbath evening, April 11.  This has been a
very pleasant day: clear warm, and comfortable.
Sermon at our church by Mr. Culbertson, on "Joy
in heaven over one sinner that repenteth." After
sermon, the eldest boy in the school, of whom you
have heard several times, and whose full name is
31




362       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
Yuen Ko Keun, made profession of his faith, and
was received into the church, in presence of all his
school-mates, and several other Chinese, by baptism.
After a short interval, the Lord's Supper was administered. All the services of Baptism and the
Lord's Supper were in the Chinese language, and
were  conducted by the pastor, Mr. Culbertson.
This is, I believe, the first case in which any one
whose first impressions are due, under God, to members of our Mission, has been admitted to the church.
Others have, it is true, received great benefit from
our mission; but, humanly speaking, they would
have been savingly converted if we had not been in
the field. I suppose in this case, as in the case of
Apoo, baptized two years ago, that the principal influence has been exerted by Mrs. Way, and it is
worthy of notice how God has been pleased to use
the youngest, feeblest, (as far as bodily health is
concerned,) and the most unassuming member of our
mission, to effect the purposes of his mercy.  To
his name be the glory. As an offset to the above
pleasing account, take the following: —All the time
we were engaged in our services, we were disturbed
by some Chinese carpenters close by, building a
pleasure-boat for a European resident. I went out
and requested them to cease, which they promised
to do, but for some reason did not. Coming home
from church, I found in one place a number of Buddhist priests reading and chanting prayers over a person lately deceased; and a few steps further on, a
table full of victuals spread before a new tomb, and
a widow woman wailing bitterly.  They formed sad
contrasts to the exercises in which we had been en-gaged.
After a light dinner, I preached on the Eighth
Commandment, but the audience was neither large
aor attentive. One man, however, evidently heard
everything, and indeed so did another, who was sitting by the door outside when I began, but became
so much interested, that he came close up, and sat




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      363
down as near me as he could. But most paid little
attention, and went away as they came.....
Monday.  Quite warm to-day. I hope this week
to get through my collection of' significations of the
words used in the Four Books. There are about
twenty-three hundred different characters. Most
of them occur in only one or two senses; but several
of them occur in such a variety of meanings, that
it will take no little skill to get them properly exhibited. After getting through the Four Books, I
think of laying the subject by for three or four
months, as I am pretty tired of it. In the fall, if
life and health be spared, I wish to resume it, and
treat the Five Classics in the same manner, which
will be a large job, and I suppose will occupy two
years at least.....
As ever, your affectionate son,
W. M. LOWRIE.
JOURNAL AT NINGPO.
January 3d, 1847. Preached on the faith of
Abraham, to a strange kind of an audience; most
of them very respectable, but disposed to talk and
make remarks; some were very attentive; but to
some the story seemed amusing and almost ridiculous, and the idea of so old a man having a son only
afforded matter for a laugh.  How hard it is to
preach to such a people-so indifferent, so insensible!
I came front my address to my knees; for I am
made to feel that the treasure is committed to
earthen vessels.
Have some encouragement with my servants,
particularly Azhih, whom I am training carefully in
religious instruction. They take a good deal of
interest in it, and I cannot but hope are beginning




364      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
to feel a little. Oh, for God's Spirit to be given to
them!
January 10th.  Preached on the character of
God; audience much as usual. It is no small trial
of the spirit to one accustomed to address attentive
audiences, to have such as I commonly find; people
coming in and going out, some making remarks,
some laughing, some ruder, and only few attending,
and yet some of even these few taking up the
strangest notions from  the plainest truth.  To
human eyes all such preaching must seem very
foolishness. Well, be it so. "The foolishness of
God is wiser than men," and by "the foolishness of
preaching he will save them that believe."
The external evidences of Christianity are of
little use here. The people have as many and as
famous miracles as we to boast of; and their minds
are not so trained as to perceive and appreciate the
evidence, which proves the truth of ours and the
falsity of theirs. Hence they make no scruple of
believing whatever we tell of deeds of wonder by
Christ and his apostles. They can produce parallels
in their own history.  I spoke of the miraculous
conception of Christ. "Oh, yes," said one, "that
is true, it is just like a similar event in our history;
let me see, where was it?" And after some thought,
and assisted by one or two others present, he produced the circumstance.  How should he believe
my story, or feel more interest in it than I in his?
Oh, Spirit of Life, come down!
Jan. 24th. A wet, rainy day, and apprehended
having no congregation again; however, on going
down, found a very respectably dressed middle-aged
man named Chuh, who lives somewhere in the city;
he was very polite and respectful, told me he had
long' desired to see me, looked up to me for instruction," &c., according to the usual routine of Chinese
ceremonial speech.
We had some talk, and as there were three or four
persons present, I delivered my discourse to a very




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      365
attentive, though small audience. The man took a
copy of Luke with comments, and promising to come
again departed. I was very glad of the opportunity
of talking which was afforded, for I sometimes feel
greatly cast down, especially when I find little opportunity of speaking for Christ.
Knowledge that there is such a thing as Christianity is increasing and spreading in this part of the
country, as I frequently meet persons who have heard
at least the name of Jesus.
Feb. 21st. For the last three or four Sabbaths,
nothing special has occurred; audiences varying from
ten to fifty; commonly sit and talk more after giving my sermon than i used to do, which gives an
opportunity of more pointed and personal application,
but also opens the door for any and every kind of
question, and is very sure, in half an hour, to get off
to questions about food and clothing, &c. The natural man " understandeth not the things of the Spirit."
One man to-day seemed a very merry sort of a
fellow, but withal, as respectful as a man could be
whose only object was to make sport; asked a
number of questions, and started a hearty laugh
after each of them, in which he was joined by several others, who seemed to urge him on. At last, I
asked him  why he  asked such questions; and
whether his only object was not, to make sport of
what I considered a very serious matter. He was
quite abashed: several persons around him told him
to be quiet, and he got up and went out. Had quite
a full house as I talked the second time; but, alas!
it is preaching to dry bones. 0, Spirit! Breath of
the Alm ighty! breathe on these dry bones!
Feb. 26th. Took a long walk into the country, to
some places where I have not before been; was exceedingly stared at in one place, where the whole
village turned out to see me, and the women were
the most forward and curious of all. Quite abashed
a little girl by asking her what her name was, as it
seems she had none. It is not common to give
81*




366      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
names to girls. But it is melancholy to see the dissipation of morals here..... Oh when shall purity
prevail, where there is so much vice?
Went afterwards and had a pleasant little talk
with some men in a little resting-house, and then
came home, well-tired. Some little yellow flowers
are in blossom now. I saw dandelions in full bloom
a month or more ago, though there had been a hard
frost before, and plenty of it since then; but the cold
weather must be nearly over now.
March 14th. Preached in the morning in English,
on Gal. iv. 7; in the afternoon in Chinese, to some
thirty or forty persons, on the Fourth Commandment;
was favoured with as much fluency as I have ever
had, and fully as good if not better attention. Indeed, the congregation to-day would not have done
discredit to any similar congregation in a Christian
land. One man came in talking, and I supposed
meant to keep on talking, but he behaved very quietly,
only putting in a word now and then. After I had
said that no work was to be done on the Sabbath, he
asked, " Then what shall we do-go to sleep?" This
brought on the next part of my subject-Duties to
be done on the Sabbath. He stayed after service.
I talked some; but there were many who wanted to
talk about the news and trifling matters, and I found
so little opportunity of saying anything profitable,
that I soon left them. The man above referred to,
seemed a man of some learning. He insisted on it,
that since I was so generous, as to come out here,
and preach to the people, and advise them to do
good, I would surely become a god at last! But
how hard it is to get a Christian idea into their
heads, to say nothing of impressing it on their
hearts. After repeating over and over again, the
statements about God as eternal, true, and holy, they
are sure to confound all you say with their own gods:
This is not because they do not understand what I
say, for I find that I am pretty well understood;
but because, first, they cannot conceive how it is that




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      367
their own gods are false gods; and, second, they have
no idea of the importance of the subject, to induce
them to give a serious thought to what they hear,
and hence, when they hear of the " true God," they
take it as a matter of course that their own gods are
intended.
March 21st. Opened my doors at three, P. M.,
and went down as usual, but there were few passers-by. I sat alone for nearly half an hour, having
only one little boy carrying a baby in his arms, to
come near me. After a while, two or three welldressed men came in and one sat down, but the
other two went away. 1 asked him his name and
residence, but he did not seem disposed for a conversation. I then opened a copy of Luke and began
to read it. He asked what it was, and we had something to talk about it. Others came in; he praised
my fluency of utterance and correctness of speech:
and in answer to some questions, I had a good opportunity of giving some outlines of creation and redemption. But the subject had no charms for the
natural heart; and as soon as I was done, one
of the men asked, "Is your sovereign a man or a
woman?" Quite a crowd had now collected. and
I gave them my sermon as well as I could, which
was not very well. Some heard it all; some got
enough before it was half done.  One quite respectable looking lady came in and sat down, and she
at least heard everything that was said. Oh for a
blessing on her!
It is hard preaching, for the audience changes so
much, that I must go over the same simple truths
every day, treating all the time of first principles;
and this displeases the few who come more than
once, for having already heard all this, they want
something else.
I am teaching the Shorter Catechism to my servants, but find it hard work; first, the Chinese language has no suitable terms for many things, and
second, my command of the language is not yet




368      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
sufficient for the circumlocution in such a case.
There are more terms in the written language than
in the spoken, but they are of no more use to the
common people than the Latin and Greek terms in
theological and philosophical books are to the unlearned at home. I know of no term in the language
to express precisely "chief end."  For "decree,"
there is a good word, ming, in tlie written language,
but not in the spoken. For " covenant," yo is a good
word, but it is understood only by scholars, nor is
there any good word for it in the colloquial. "Providence," "fall," " redemption," "original sin," "effectual calling," "justification," "adoption," "sanctification," " privilege," "holy," are all very hard words to
be put into intelligible Chinese. Most of them may
be expressed after a sort, in the written language,
which Is very copious, but when it comes to the spoken
language one is at a loss, and a great deal of circumlocution is unavoidable. One of the great difficulties
in our work lies in this very want of proper terms,
and I see not how it is to be remedied excepting in
long and patient use of the most suitable terms we can
find; thus, at length, " converting" them from their heathenish uses and associations to Christian purposes.
How true are those words, " Sin has reigned unto
death!" Its power is shown even in forms of speech.
The application of terms to evil, is an evidence of
sin reigning. This language is an instrument in
Satan's hand to blind men to their ruin. But as sin
hath reigned, so shall grace reign, even in the terms
of this language, unto everlasting life. Wherever
sin hath set up its throne and swayed its sceptre,
there shall grace come in and set up a higher throne,
and sway a mightier sceptre. Would that I might
do something for the conversion of this language, and
through it of this people unto God!
Monday, 29th.  Busy in the fore part of the day
with my teacher, and at the Four Books. At three,
visited Mr. Culbertson. Coming back, was barked
at unmercifully by several dogs. As soon as I am




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      369
three steps beyond them, they follow for a square or
two, barking and yelping without ceasing. It does
make one feel as a stranger to be barked at in this
way, for they do not move their tongue to a Chinaman.
March 31st. All day at my Chinese studies, and
at the Four Books. At five, P. M., took a walk for
relaxation. Gathered some spring flowers, for my
flower-pot; a few wild lemon flowers, some clover,
some yellow primroses, some parsley, and one or two
others. In one place came across a dead dog, and two
other dogs lying by him. In a few steps beyond,
saw a flowering almond in full and luxurious bloom.
So it is in this strange, melancholy world of ours.
When most pleasantly engaged, you are wounded
and grieved by some revolting spectacle, and again
in a moment delighted with some scene almost too
fair and beautiful for aught but heaven.
April 1st. In the evening looked over my Chinese sermon. At first it took me three evenings to
prepare a discourse, but now I commonly get through
very easily in one evening. I find I am generally
understood, but mistakes are often made by beginners. I often wonder how the Chinese can keep
such grave faces, when they hear such queer combinations as we foreigners sometimes make out of
their language.  The only time they ever laughed
at a mistake I made, was when I spoke of " Peter's
mother's wife," instead of "Peter's wife's mother."
Even then some of the elder hearers seemed scandalized, that the young ones were amused at a mistake of " the guest."
April 3d. Looked a little into a work in Chinese,
on astronomy, geography and watch-making, by
some of the Roman Catholic missionaries of former
days. It gives the Ptolemaic system of astronomy,
that the sun and stars move round the earth. In the
numerous books they published in China, they
always explained astronomy in the old style, and
published books and plates, representing the sun




370      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
and stars revolving round the earth. I have seen
some of these books.
April 25th. Preached to some twenty or thirty
persons on the Tenth Commandment, and was favoured with a good deal of fluency in speech.
Several were very attentive; and after sitting down,
I got into a conversation which lasted more than an
hour, in reference to idolatry, creation, redemption,
the creed, &c. On the whole, it was a very satisfactory meeting, yet alas! without the Spirit of God,
of what avail is it all? The people laugh at their
idols, but go and worship them still.
After dismissing the audience, I found a couple
of natives of the place, a Mr. Tai, and a Mr. Leu,
waiting to speak with me. I had seen them both
before, and the first of them several times. He was
first led to think about Christianity, by a Chinese
who came up here with Dr. Macgowan, and who
first brought-him to my notice. Last week he sent
me a letter requesting baptism, and came to-day to
speak about it. He said that himself and his friend,
Mr. Leu, and another, Mr. Chow, whom I have
also seen, are all pretty much decided for Christianity; and though, as he says, he is much laughed
at and reviled by his friends, yet he professes a
determination to persevere even until death. I had
a tolerably satisfactory conversation with them, and
we prayed together.
Worship of ancestors is one of the great features
of the Chinese religion; every family has a picture
of the father and mother, to which incense is offered,
and religious worship performed. Mr. Tai asked
what he should do. HIe said he had taken down
the pictures and laid them away, and has fully determined not to worship them any more; "and if I
should deceive you by saying I do not worship them,
when I do worship them, yet I could not deceive
God." He has, however, been told he should burn
the pictures. Now this seems hard, for being portraits of his parents, he wishes to keep them just as




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      371
we would. Does this case fall under the rule of
destroying every vestige of idolatry, no matter what
it be?
April 18th. Finished the first draught of the
Shorter Catechism in Chinese, and R1ay 11th,
finished revision of it with teacher.
May 16th. Preached to-day on heaven; but it
was talking of things in which the people seemed to
feel that they had little concern. Had more satisfaction in a short extempore address I made afterwards, on the main object of Christianity. Two or
three inquirers were present, who have been attending at Dr. Macgowan's, but of late have shown a
disposition, entirely of their own, to come to me.
I asked two of them to make some remarks, as I
knew they had been in the habit of talking on the
subject of Christianity. They both did so; what
they said was good enough, but it did not seem very
direct or impressive.
I find the Commentary on Luke takes very well;
one of them inquired with much interest, if any
more or other books would be published, remarking
that it was very hard to understand our Scriptures
without them, which is true. The drought still continues.
Shanghai, June 3d, 1847.
MY DEAR FATHE — In some of my previous letters, I mentioned to you my expectation of visiting
this place. The object is to be present at the Convention for the revision of the translation of the
New Testament, to which I have been appointed one
of the delegates.  The other delegates are Drs.
Medhurst, Boone, Bridgman, and Mr. J. Stronach.
I do not yet know of any others, and presulne there
are no others. Bridgman and Stronach are not yet
here, but are expected daily. I supposed the Convention would not sit more than six or seven weeks,




372      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
but every one here seems to think that six months
is the shortest possible time, and a year is spoken
of as more probable. The work is important enough,
no doubt, to deserve so much time, though I have
some doubts as to the expediency of it just now.
However, as I am the youngest and least skilled in
Chinese of all the members, I do not expect to do
very much except to look on and see what is done.
In the mean time, I expect to pursue my Chinese
studies, much as at Ningpo, except that I fear I
shall lose in the practice of the colloquial of that
place. The dialect here is a good deal like that of
Ningpo, and yet so much unlike, that while I can
make myself tolerably well understood, I find a
good deal of difficulty in understanding others; but
a little practice will assist me.
I left Ningpo, May 24th, but owing to adverse
winds, had to lie at the mouth of the river till the
29th. I then came by way of Chapoo to this place
in three days, one of which, being the Sabbath,
was spent at anchor in the canal. I did not apply
for a permit to come by the way of Chapoo, and
met no molestation or hinderance in passing through
that place. The route from Ningpo to Shanghai,
via Chapoo, may now be considered an open route,
as several foreigners have passed both ways, and no
notice has been taken of it by the Chinese authorities. It,is a great convenience to us, and is one
among  the many evidences how  the country is
opening. Chang-Chow, where the visit of Mr. Abeel
and myself made so much noise, some years ago,
has been visited several times of late, and I have no
doubt that the country will be as wide open in a
few years as we can desire it.
Your letter of December 17th reached me last
week, also two mission letters of November and
December.....
I have referred so often to my Dictionary, that
I am afraid you will be tired of the very mention
of it, but I will trouble you once more. I have




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      373
collected all the significations of all the words in the
Four Books, and have concluded to go on with the
work so as to include the Five Classics, though
perhaps I may not include the Le Ke, a large and
for the most part very trifling and useless work.
InI the Four Books there are in all two thousand
three hundred and forty-five different characters,
and in the Four Books and Five Classics, the Le Ke
excepted, there are rather more than four thousand
and two hundred. I may perhaps send a list of
them some day, from which you will see that the
great body of the language is contained in them,
i. e., the great body of the really useful characters.
Now, my plan is to give each of these characters
with its pronunciation in Mandarin, and in the dialect of each of the five ports now open to foreigners.
Then to give the etymology of the word from native
dictionaries, where I think such etymology worth
notice. Then to give the different significations,
whether as verbs, nouns, adjectives, &c., and at least
one quotation to illustrate each signification, with
reference to the page and line where found. This
will be the body of the work: but my plan includes
a good deal more, for as the whole of' the ancient
history, geography, &c. of China, is contained in
these Four Books and Five Classics, I want my
work to be a sort of " Classical Dictionary" on these
points. Hence I propose short biographical, historical, geographical sketches under the appropriate
characters, with references to such native and
foreign authors as may give the student fuller details.
You see this is a pretty extensive plan. As to time,
I have no idea that I can do it in less than five years,
without neglecting other works, which I think are
entitled to the first place.
But here I am met by a great difficulty. We
have few books in Ningpo. My library is by far
the best there, and yet it is a poor thing compared
with some that are in China, and it is miserably deficient in works relating to China, many of which
32




374      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
are quite essential to me in carrying on my undertaking. Is there any way of supplying this want?
The books I refer to would cost I suppose some five
hundred dollars, and would be of great service, not
merely to myself, but to all our mission, and I think
ought to be possessed in a mission like ours. I will
make out a list of them in a few days, and send
to you by next mail. I mentioned several of them
in some former letters, which I hope you will be
able to procure. They are all to be had in Paris or
Berlin.
My health is very good, and I remain as ever,
Your affectionate son,
W. M. LOWRIE.
Shanghai, July 23d, 1847.
REV. JOHN (C. LOWRIE-MY DEAR BROTHER:-I am
in your debt for several letters, which I must now
endeavour to repay. I have been here nearly two
months, and as yet I am quite unable to give any
definite idea when we shall get through. Owing to
the uncertainty of travelling up and down this coast,
some members of the Convention did not get here till
the 28th ult.; while I, who was punctual to the day,
had to wait on my oars from the 1st ult. After we
got together, all went on well for a week, when we
were stopped by a question which has excited no
little talk and writing for some time, "What is the
proper word for God in Chinese?"  Morrison and
Milne have adopted the word Shin, which, according
to the best judgment I can form, means God, or
Divinity in general. Mr. Medhurst for many years
used the same term, and even so late as this present
year, 1847, has published a dictionary in which he
says, "' The Chinese themselves, for God, and invisible
beings in general, use shin." But some twelve years
ago or more, he began to use Shang Te, Supreme
ruler, for the true God, and shin for false god. Mr,




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      375
Gutzlaff also did the same; and these two being the
best and most experienced Chinese scholars, had of
course great weight. And most of the missionaries
were carried away by their example. For some
years past, however, there has been a good deal said
on the subject, and a strong disposition manifested
to return to the old way. Shang Te is objected to,
first, as being the distinctive title of the national
deity of China, and hence something like the Jupiter
of Rome; and second, it is not a generic term, and
cannot be used in such passages as "Chemosh thy,
god, and Jehovah our God," " If Jehovah be God,'
&c. "The unknown God, him declare I unto you,
&c. Ir fact there are many verses where the point
and emphasis rests on the use of the same generic
word all through, as in John x. 35, 36, 1 Cor. viii.
6, &c. Hence of late many of the missionaries wish
to return to the old word, and a good deal has been
written in the Chinese Repository, and a great deal
said.on the subject. Dr. Medhurst, however, has
taken up the cudgels in earnest, and printed a book
of nearly three hundred pages, in which he maintains
that shin never means god, much less the supreme
God. This, by the way, is in opposition to three dictionaries of his own, published in the last ten years.
And he further maintains that le, which properly
means ruler, is the generic term for God in Chinese;
and that Shang Te, "High or Supreme Ruler," is
the proper word to translate Elohim and Theos, when
they refer to the true God.  So the case stood when
the Convention met. We went on with the revision
very well, till we came to Matt. i. 23, where the word
Tiheos occurs. Dr. Bridgman then proposed that
we use the word Shin. Bishop Boone seconded this;
and it was well known that my views coincided with
theirs. Dr. Medhurst and Mr. Stronach took decided ground for Shang Te: and so we have now
been discussing this question for three weeks, Medhurst and Boone being chief speakers. The latter
is a superior debater, and having a very quick and




376       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
logical mind, pressed Dr. Medhurst so closely, that
he declared he must have all down in black and
white. We agreed to this, and Bishop Boone and
myself worked hard for a week, and wrote out an
argument for Shin, covering twenty-six folio pages.
Dr. Medhurst, who had spent five months in writing
his book, and scarcely allowed us ten days to answer
it, took our answer so seriously, that he said he must
have some weeks to prepare a reply. So he and Mr.
Stronach are now engaged on this. I greatly fear
that the result of' all will be, that each side will hold
their own views, and Dr. Medhurst and Mr. Stronach will secede. In that case there will be two versions or none. A large majority of the missionaries
in China, I believe, are for Shin; most of our missionaries are strongly for it, though one or two hesitate a little; all the Baptists; all the Episcopalians,
both English and Americans; most of the American
Board missionaries, and several even of' the London
Missionary Society. This of itself is a strong proof
for Shin, for it shows that even the acknowledged
Chinese scholarship of Medhurst and Gutzlaff is not
able to command assent for Shang Te. But I did
not mean to write so much on this.... This summer, so far, has been very pleasant;
nothing like so hot as last year. I am staying at
Bishop Boone's, where they make me feel very comfortable. Hitherto our agreement of views on the
question we have been discussing, has made us the
best of friends. He is of course a strong Episcopalian, but withal very catholic, and speaks very cordially of "other churches" and their ministers as
"ministers of Christ."  He has shown an excellent
spirit, thus far, in the convention.
Mr. Milne often speaks of you with much kindness. He and Medhurst and Stronach, are all well.
Believe me ever,
Your affectionate brother,
W. M. LOWRIE.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      377
Shanghai, 29th July, 1847.
MY DEAR FATHER —-.... I think it probable that
we shall have the remainder of the discussions respecting the term for God next week. It is my
daily prayer that we may be directed to a right
conclusion.  The importance of the subject seems to
grow the more it is examined, though this is often
the case, even in unimportant matters, when the
mind is intently fixed on them; and the more examination I give it, the more I feel satisfied that
without the generic term for God, it will be extremely
difficult to give the Chinese correct ideas of our
theology. If that word be not Shin, I am utterly
unable to see what it is. Dr. Medhurst now says
it is Te, but this is an idea taken up within the last
five months, and is in opposition to all his own dictionaries, and translations, and to all the experience
of all who have ever written in or on the language.
I make my remarks in this sweeping style, because
convinced of their truth.  Even the Chinese say,
"We don't use the word Te in that sense."  Oh for
the Spirit of wisdom and grace to direct us! It is
a matter of much thankfulness that Dr. Boone's
health permits him to take an active part in the discussion; as the character of his mind and acquirements, and his readiness as a debater, are of the
utmost importance in discussing with Dr. Medhurst.
Having no fondness for such contests, I say but little; but spend a good deal of time with br. B. in
examining the subject in the native Chinese authors.
I hope in the next overland to be able to give an
account of the close of the discussion. In the
meantime, I suppose it will be better not to publish
anything about it, beyond the general fact of the
Convention being in session.
1 am anxious to study the Manchu Tartar, a language not studied as yet by any one of the missionaries, but of great importance in explaining
Chinese; as the French scholars have shown in their
32 




378      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
books published in France; and which, as this
country becomes open to us, and allows us to go
further north, will be found to be of great utility.
See an article on this subject in the Chinese Repository of 1844, by Mr. Cushing.  For this, I
would like the following books:-Gerbillon, Elementa Linguae Tartaricae; Amyot, Grammaire Tartare Mantchou; Langles, Dictionnaire Tartare Mantchou Frangais, 3 vols. 4to; Klaproth, Chrestomathie
Mandchou: Paris, 1828.
So far the summer is very pleasant, and my
health better than in any previous summer....
Your very affectionate son,
W. M. LowRIE.
Shanghai, August 8th, 1847.
REV. JOSEPH OWEN-DEAR BROTHER:-I wrote to
you some time ago a letter which I hope you have
received. I now write on a special occasion, and
shall be very glad if you can give me a pretty full
answer by return mail. I am here attending a Convention for revising the Translation of the New
Testament into Chinese. We are divided on one
point of great importance.  Some of us in translating nltp  and eeoS, wish to use the word Shin,
which is the Chinese term for God, or Divinity in
general. It is applied to all their gods, from the
highest to the lowest, and to the spirits of ancestors, which are always deified and worshipped by
their descendants; and the being who is supposed
to be in all their idols is also called Shin. Hence it
is the generic term  for God, just as Eeo0, (" Gods
many and Lords many, but to us one God," &c.)
Others of us prefer the term Shang-te, which means
Supreme Ruler, and is the name or title of the chief
divinity worshipped by the Chinese. This is not a




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     379
generic term, nor capable of being applied alike to
true and false gods, nor of being used in the plural.
Such is the state of the case.
What I want to ask is, what is the custom in India? Do you find any term applied by the natives
to all their gods? And do you use this ternm, and
say, "You worship many gods, but they are false,
and we preach to you the true God?" Or do you use
a distinct term, in speaking of the true God, from
that used to designate false gods?
Some say that in Arabic there is one term for the
true God, which is used for him alone, and others
for false gods; and that in such sentences as " Chemosh thy god, and Jehovah our God," (Judges xi.
24,) different words are used to express the word
D';N.~ Is this so?  Any light you can give us
will be very valuable. Please direct to me at this
place, care of Rt. Rev. W. J. Boone, D. D., Shanghai, as I shall probably be here when your answer
comes.
The question is a very important one here, and
has been a good deal discussed. Medhurst, and
Gutzlaff, and John Stronach are the chief advocates
of Shang-te; Legge, Bridgman, Boone, and myself,
are among the supporters of Shin, as were Morrison
and Milne before, and a majority of the present
missionaries in China.
My health is very good, as is that of most of
the members of our mission, saving the languor
produced by the heat of summer. Poor Brother
Speer has lost both his wife and daughter. Dr.
Medhurst preaches three times every Sabbath, and
twice during the week, to audiences varying from
one hundred to four hundred persons. Two or three
persons have been baptized here, and as many in
Ningpo, and on the whole, we are encouraged.
With kind regards to Mrs. Owen, and a kiss to
your son, believe me, in haste, ever
Affectionately yours,     W. M. LOWRIE.




380      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
From the Rev. A. W. Loomis, of the Ningpo Mission.
Aingpo, August 25th, 1847.
WALTER LOWRIE, ESQ.-HONOURED AND VERY DEAR
SIR:-It has become my painful duty to act on this
occasion as the bearer of mournful tidings, and may
you, my dear sir, and your family be enabled to say,
"It is the Lord, let him do as seemeth him good.'
I need not attempt to hide anything from you:
for your God, who has enabled you cheerfully to
consecrate one after another of your dear children to
his service here below, will enable you submissively
to resign them when they are called to his service
above. I trust you will be able to say, "The Lord
gave, and the Lord hath taken away: blessed be
the name of the Lord."
Our brother, Walter M. Lowrie, whom we loved,
is no more, for God has taken him. We have confidence that our loss is his unspeakable gain. The
stroke has fallen heavily upon us, yet He who
loved him infinitely more than we could, saw fit to
take him to himself.
The news of this melancholy event reached here
yesterday, brought by Mr. Lowrie's long tried and
faithful servant, and by another Chinaman in the
employment of the mission.  [Mr. Loomis then
mentions that this man had been sent from Ningpo
to Shanohai, where Mr. Lowrie was attending the
Convention for the revised translation of the New
Testament, requesting him to return to the station
at Ningpo, with reference to certain occurrences at
that station.]  Mr. Lowrie, with these two attendants, set out from Shanghai on Monday, August
16th, by the canal to Chapoo. They arrived, all
well, at Chapoo, on the morning of the 18th. A
boat was engaged, one of the regular passenger
boats, and on the evening of the 18th all went on
board with their baggage, to be in readiness for
an early departure next morning. During the day




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      381
of the 18th inst., he had been about through the
city without anything unpleasant having occurred
in his treatment by the Chinese. On the morning
of the 19th, the boat in which they had taken
passage set sail very early. The wind was unfavourable, being strong from the South. Accordingly
it was necessary to beat, and the boat sailed, as
is supposed, about twelve miles in a south-easterly
direction; when suddenly a vessel was seen bearing down upon them very rapidly. It was a craft
like those which belong to Chapoo, with three masts
and eight oars. At the sight of this vessel the
boatmen and other Chinamen (passengers) in the
boat, were greatly terrified, and were for turning
back, but Mr. Lowrie endeavoured to allay their
fears. As they drew nearer, he showed a small
American flag which he had with him, but still they
came on, and soon discharged their fire-arms. Upon
this, he went to the inner part of the boat, having
been previously standing in the open part of the
boat in the bow. When the pirates came, they
boarded the boat with swords and spears, and began
to thrust and beat all who stood in their way; especially they seemed to seek out and maim the sailors,
or the strong and able-bodied, to put an end to their
interference. All agree in stating that they did
not see a single blow inflicted on Mr. Lowrie. He
is said to have seated himself on a chair or box, and
remained quietly; and when they were breaking
open a trunk with their heavy spears, he took out
the key and gave it to them, saying, " There is no
need to break it open, here is the key." The pirates
continued their workl of plunder, breaking open
everything and taking out such things as they
wished, and stripping even the clothes from the
Chinamen. Yet they did not touch anything that
was on him; even his watch, and perhaps seven
or eight dollars that were in his pocket, they did
not take. They stripped and beat his servant,
which he requested them to stop, as the poor man




382       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
was sick. Being probably unable to stay and witness
such cruelty, he then went out and sat on the bow
of the boat.
Before they had finished plundering, something
seemed to have awakened a fear in the minds of the
pirates, lest when he reached Shanghai they would
be reported to the authorities, whereupon they
debated for a moment whether they would kill him
or throw  him  alive into the sea.  They hastily
determined upon the latter, and two men seized
him; and they being unable to effect their purpose,
another came up, and he was thrown overboard.
One of the boatmen, who was near him during his
last moments, states that while the pirates were ransacking the boat, he was engaged in reading his
pocket Bible, and when they seized him on deck, he
had it still in his hand. As they were in the act
of casting him into the sea, he turned himself partially around, and threw his Bible upon the deck.*
He had also the presence of mind, as he was going
overboard, to throw off his shoes, and he swam
about for some time in the water. He was seen to
turn several times, as if he would struggle towards
the boat; but as one of the pirates stood with a long
pole, having an iron hook at the end, in his hands,
ready to strike him when he approached, he desisted,
and soon sank. Such has been the sad end of our
dear brother...
I will not add to your distress by alluding to the
deep gloom caused by this most melancholy news.
May our Lord remember us in this bereavement.
May his parents and relatives be able to say,
"Though he slay me yet will I trust in him."
With much respect,
I am yours in the Lord,
A. W. LooMIs.
* This Bible was afterwards found and taken to Ningpo. It is a copy
of Bagster's 12mo. edition in Hebrew, Greek, and English. It is the
samle copy he preserved with so much difficulty and care in his shipwreck
in the Harmony.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      383
From the Right Rev. W..L. Boone, D. D., of the
Protestant _Episcopal Mission at Shanghai.
Shanghai, August 31st, 1847.
WALTER LOWRIE, ESQ: —MY DEAR SIR: —-I cannot
resist the strong impulse of my heart to commune
with you, and to mingle my sorrows and tears with
yours at this time. Our merciful and loving heavenly Father has seen good, in his infinite wisdom,
to afflict us all in a very tender point. To you
especially, my dear sir, he has sent a very heavy
trial. May his grace be abundantly bestowed to
enable you to bear it with entire submission to his
will. Indeed, my dear sir, he is too wise to err:
too good to do what is unkind.
In his infinite wisdom it has seemed good to him
to take to himself your beloved Walter; and that,
too, under circumstances which have wrung our
hearts with anguish. My heart's prayer for you is,
that when you hear the sad story, you may be
enabled to say with the aged Eli, "It is the Lord;
let him do whatsoever seemeth to him good."
He has done so, and, in this case, not in wrath,
but in mercy and in loving kindness. He has removed your dear son from his vineyard on earth to
a nobler service in his sanctuary above.
His work was done. The time of his removal
arrived, and the circumstances thereof I am persuaded were ordered for the benefit of us who survive, rather than for anything to be effected thereby
on our dear brother himself.
You will no doubt receive full particulars from
your brethren at Ningpo, but lest their letters may
not reach you by this overland mail, I will mention
them. You are aware that he was at Shanghai as
a member of the translating committee.  On Saturday, the 14th day of August, he received a letter
from his brethren at Ningpo, requesting him to join
them immediately. [Dr. Boone here relates the




384      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
particulars of this melancholy event, as given in the
letter of Mr. Loomis.]... His servant escaped to
Ningpo, and communicated these particulars, which
we devoutly thank God he has permitted to reach
us, so that we hear of him to the last moment, and
that these violent men did not mangle his body.
Oh, my dear brother, I feel that these are sad
tidings to write to an affectionate father of a son,
and of such a son; but for our consolation we can
surely say that the finger of God was never more
manifest in the removal of any of his servants than
in this case. To my mind, the very slzqhtness of the
secondary causes upon which his life and death
seemed to turn, manifests the clearness of the Divine
Decree to take him to his Heavenly Home.
This event has thrown my family, who had the
privilege to enjoy his company for the last two
months and a half of his earthly existence, into the
deepest affliction.  Dearly as I know he was beloved by the mission with which he was connected,
yet I believe no one in China mourns his loss as I
do. We were together daily for two months and a
half, labouring together in what we both believed to
be the most important matter connected with our
Master's cause in China, with which we had ever
been connected.
Circumstances occurred when he was under my
roof which drew our hearts very closely together,
and which now, as I look back upon them  after
what has just transpired, I cannot but regard as a
merciful preparation to him for his sudden death.
Whilst he was with me I was twice threatened with
attacks of the brain, which I thought would prove
fatal in a few days. On these occasions we had
much conversation on the subject of a sudden summmons, and how a Christian should live and feel in
view of such an event. The person whose call was
supposed to be near at hand was myself. We never
dreamt that he was so near the confines of eternity;
but he entered into the subject with me with all his




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      385
heart. Never have I heard any one converse, who
had a more delightful state of child-like simplicity
of heart in relying upon the Saviour. I remember
particularly our conversation, when we were sitting
alone one moonlight night, upon my terrace. We
were speaking of t e case of a man removed from his
field of labour in the prime of early manhood, when
he gave promise of daily increasing usefulness. His
train of thought was striking, and much impressed
my mind; it was intended for consolation to me.
God grant it may prove so to you, my dear sir,
when you read it. He said he could not view this
matter as most Christians seemed to do. He could
not call it mysterious, peculiarly distressing, as was
commonly done. On the contrary, to his mind,
there was something peculiarly cheering to survivors
in such a death. In the case of an old man, he was
removed in the common course of events. Even to
our eyes his work was done. But not so with the
case of which he was speaking. The peculiarity of
it was, that there was promise of much more to be
done here for the glory of Christ. This world, however, we may be well assured, is but the first stage
of our existence: God's children are employed in
services infinitely more glorious, and that conduce
much more to the glory of his holy name, in the
sanctuary above, than any employments entrusted
to them on earth. Should we not then, said he, use
their early manhood, their manifest capacity, for
usefulness in the vineyard here below, —indeed,
every argument which can be pleaded, derived from
their prospective usefulness to the Church on earth,
to assure ourselves that God has called them to a
more than common post of usefulness in the Church
triumphant? His modesty an(d deep humility would
have prevented his applying this to his own death,
but from my heart I adopt it as the true interpretalion of our Heavenly Father's dealing with him and
with his cause in China in this instance.
If this be the true view of the case, most cheer33




386      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
ing indeed is the assurance it affords us of his pres
ent happy state and glorious position.
No one in China promised to do more for the
cause of our Divine master than he. Just brought
out by his brethren's choice to a participation in the
work of revising the translation of the Scriptures,
this call upon him was having the happiest effect in
overcoming his disposition to modest retirement,
and making him feel the necessity that was laid
upon him, to take a more prominent stand among
those whose attainments in the language qualified
them to participate in all of a general character that
was doing to advance the Saviour's cause. In the
unhappy division of opinion which exists with respect to the proper word by which to render Theos
(God) he took a prominent part in the discussion,
and wrote on this subject one of the ablest articles
that appeared in the Chinese Repository.
He was daily growing in power, and the field of
usefulness was continually opening wider and wider
before him; but God had work for him above this
vale of tears, and now leaves us mourning and sorrowing, to do the great work without his aid. 0,
that by the Spirit's gracious influences he may more
than supply this loss to us, and that the work, for
which our beloved brother was labouring with all his
powers when he was taken away, may be so accomplished that his own most holy name may be glorified thereby.
We had promised each other, that if my life was
spared, we would labour much together to set the
plain doctrines of the cross, by means of tracts,
before this people; but, alas! he is not, for God has
taken him.
May we not suppose that the object of our
gracious Saviour, in giving us, in addition to the
general promise of the resurrection of all at the last
day, the specialassurance that "the sea shall give
up its dead," is to assuage the grief of those who




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.         387
have been bereaved as you are, and whose precious
ones lie buried in the deep.
Believe me, my dear sir, very sincerely yours, in
the hope of a common resurrection with our beloved
brother.                          WM. J. BOONE.
From  the Rev. John Lloyd, of the Amoy Mission.*
Amoy, September 17th, 1847.
WALTER LOWRIE, ESQ.-MY DEAR  MAR. LOWRIE:
-Yesterday, I received the sad, the very sad intelligence of Walter's death. I need not tell you how
much I was affected by this afflictive event. Walter
was very dear to me. I loved him with a brother's
love.  fe was my dearest earthly friend.  We were
born into God's glorious family about the same time.
We entered the church on the same day. We
formed the resolution of devoting ourselves to the
work of foreign missions about the same time. We
often took sweet counsel together, and walked to the
house of God. We often talked together of God's
kind dealings with us. We often spoke of our hopes.
I recollect one instance of this kind which occurred
at Jefferson College. We went out into the groves
to commune with each other, and as we talked by
the way, our hearts did burn within us. Walter
often alluded to this walk and talk in the groves of
Canonsburgh in his letters, and spoke of it as an
antepast of the joys of heaven. All this intimacy
with him  while we were in college, gave me opportunities of learning his worth.  I knew his inward
mind on those subjects which were nearest and
dearest to his heart, and I can most freely say that
the more I knew him the more I loved him.
* This able and beloved Missionary has also finished the work which
his Master had for him to do in China. He died at Amoy, of typhus
fever, on the 6th day of December, 1848. Thus after a short interval,
these two friends met, as we trust, in the presence of the Saviour, to
be separated no more for ever.




388      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
After Walter left college, I saw no more of him
till I met him in Macao, in October, 1844.  In the
providence of God our meeting was of short duration. I soon left that place for Amoy. What I saw
of him there gave me higher notions of his piety, of
his sound judgment, and of his intellectual character,
than ever I entertained before. My love and admiration could not but be increased. I heard him
preach and address religious meetings only two or
three times.  He was very solemn, and his solemnity was contagious, if I may use the expression.
It possessed the rare quality of radiating from its
centre, and entering the hearts of all around. Hence
his discourses, which were plain and practical, always
took hold of the feelings as well as the intellect.
One never wearied listening to them, and one always
left the meeting feeling that he had received both
instruction and spiritual benefit from what he had
heard.
My dear Mr. Lowrie, it is not my intention to
write an eulogy upon Walter; but I cannot but feel
that you, and I, and the Church of God have sustained a very great loss. This loss more nearly concerns you, and though I cannot fully appreciate a
parent s tender feelings and yearnings in behalf of
his beloved offspring, yet I can realize in some degree the depth of that grief which the news of this
severe affliction will produce in your mind. I most
deeply sympathize with you.  My heart bleeds for
you.  I feel totally unfitted to administer consolation. The blow is too heavy to admit of alleviation
by anything that I can say. I can but weep with
you over the loss sustained. But, though I cannot
afford relief to your mind in this season of sorrowful
bereavement, yet there is one who sympathizes with
you, and who is fully able to console you in this
hour of heavy affliction.  That Jesus, whom Walter
loved, knows the depth of your grief. He knew it
before the sad event occurred. He has consolation
for all the sons and daughters of affliction. He is a




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       389
tender comforter. The bruised reed will he not break,
the smoking flax will he not quench. To him you can
go with all confidence. He is waiting to hear your
cries. What a privilege God's dear children possess!
Wheii God afflicts them, he does it as a tender,
loving parent —he does it for their good. This
affliction is for our good. I feel it to be intended for
my good. I had wrong views in relation to God's
work in China; I almost felt that it could not go
forward without Walter. I felt that we must have
him to control and counsel us, to manage our operations, to rebuke us when wrong, to encourage us
when right. I felt that we needed him to oversee
the press, to prepare tracts, to assist in revising the
Scriptures. I knew that God had endowed him with
a noble intellect, had given him a sound judgment, had
bestowed upon him much grace, and had eminently
fitted him for a high station in this great harvestfield. I knew all this, and felt that we could not
spare him. But God's thoughts and ways are not
as ours. He has taught me that he can do without
us, even the best of us. He has no need of our
poor assistance. When he sees fit, he calls us to
himself. He has called Walter thus.  We idolized
him. God has rebuked us. But he has taken
Walter to himself. This is my consolation. I have
no doubts on this point. I feel as sure as I can on
any subject based on moral evidence, of the safety
of Walter. He is happy beyond conception. We
mourn his loss and feel our spirits depressed, but he
is beyond the influence of sorrow's pains.  Walter
wrote me not long ago a letter, in which he spoke
freely of his feelings. He was mourning over inbred corruption, and found all his hope in Christ. I
thought for a moment of sending this letter to you,
but what need is there for this? You have many
letters from him, the spirit and sentiment of which
leave your own mind free from all doubt as to Walter's personal interest in the blood of the precious
Saviour.
33 *




390      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
I love to think of Walter. Many of the sweetest
spots of my existence teem with delightful recollections of him. It mav seem strange, but it is true,
that the thought of being saved with Walter and
dwelling with him for ever in heaven, has often filled
my soul with peculiar emotions of joyful satisfaction,
and has aroused into life a sweeter affection for the
blessed Saviour, who was pleased to give me a title
to the same inheritance which he has conferred on
him. Walter has already entered upon the enjoyment of that inheritance, and is now employed with
the patriarchs and prophets, with the apostles and
martyrs, and with the general assembly of the first
born in heaven, sounding the high praises of him who
loved him and washed him in his own blood, and
made him a king and a priest unto God and his
Father. He was ripe for the kingdom and his work
was done, and so God took him to himself, and now
employs him in the upper sanctuary in a higher and
holler service.
Would that I could fill up the void which this sad
bereavement will make in your parental heart! But
I have hopes that God will sustain you. He enabled you to give up Walter with cheerfulness to the
work of Missions. He enabled you to bear up under
the distress of a long separation. Surely he will not
now forsake you in this the extremity of your grief'!
I trust you will feel that the cause of missions still
needs your aid; that the Church has work for you
still to do; and especially that God, by this dark
and mysterious dispensation of his providence, is
preparing you for more self-denying labours in the
station which he has called you to occupy. God
may intend by this event to accomplish more for
that cause which Walter so dearly loved, than
(speaking humanly,) could have been accomplished
by him if he had been spared many years. Of one
thing we are sure, God does nothing wrong. He
brings good out of evil; all his ways and all his
dealings with the children of men are right and holy.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.        391
May we therefore be submissive; may we bow and
kiss the rod and him that hath appointed it; may
the blessed Spirit save us from all murmuring on account of his dispensations; may he give us meek
and lowly minds; may he sanctify to us all his
heavy afflictions, and may he make them work out
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory! May the God of grace sustain you.
Yours with all sympathy,
JOHN LLOYD.
From the Rev. Joseph, Owen, of the Allahabad Mission.
Allahabad, November 19th, 1847.
MY DEAR MR. LOWRIE-We have just received
from China the distressing news of your beloved son's
death, and there is in the Mission a deep and universal feeling of sorrow and sympathy, which I have
been requested on their behalf, to express to you.
Some ofus knew your dear son personally, and are
thus in some measure prepared to appreciate the loss
to you and all your family and friends, caused by
his death.  We all knew him, through the Missionary Chronicle, as a faithful ambassador for
Christ, in perils often, perils of water, perils of robbers, suffering shipwreck, and spending nights and
days on the deep.  I had the privilege of knowing
him as a beloved fellow-student, and, since we have
been in the eastern world, as a dear friend and correspondent.  Four days ago, on the 15th inst., I received from him a letter, dated Shanghai, Aug. 8th,
where he was attending a Convention for the revision of the New Testament in Chinese. He wished
an answer by return mail, to some inquiries respecting the terms we use in the India dialects to represent the Supreme Being, and wrote in good health,
and encouraged with his prospects of usefulness. On




392      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
the envelope I found with sad surprise, the following
lines from Brother Harper, dated Canton, Sept. 21st.
"You will excuse my opening this envelope to inform you of the lamented death of the beloved writer of this note. He was murdered by pirates, when
returning from Shanghai to Ningpo, Aug. 19th, near
Chapoo. They threw him into the sea, and he was
drowned. All our Missions are in deep grief. Our
ablest and best man has fallen." These sad tidings
were confirmed the next day by the Friend of India,
in which we found an extract from the China Mail
of September, which I have had copied, and will
send to you with this. You will no doubt have
heard directly from China before this reaches you,
yet every scrap of intelligence on the subject will be
valued by you, and therefore I send you all that we
have.
This is indeed a mysterious dispensation of Divine
Providence. Truly God's ways are not as our ways,
nor his thoughts as our thoughts. Dear Walter was
qualified in no ordinary degree for the great work in
which he was engaged. His excellent scholarship,
ripe judgment, extensive and matured knowledge of
China, the deep foundation which he had laid in its
difficult language, and above all his unwavering and
ardent love to the Redeemer and his Church, prepared him to be very extensively useful in that immense field. But God has again shown us, that the
excellency of the power in the great work of the
world's conversion, is to be, not of us, but of Him,
and given another illustration of that great truth,
"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit."  I
feel that another tie to earth is broken. I loved
Walter most sincerely, and have known and loved
him ever since he was nineteen years old. Many of
our pleasant interviews I shall never forget, and I
trust we shall with delight converse about them hereafter. In particular, I remember the kind visit he
paid me, at my father's, a short time before I left
America. We took a long ramble together in the




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.       393
fields, enjoying the sweet fresh air of spring, part of
the time on the winding, beautiful banks of the Croton, and conversing of our future prospects.  His
heart was then towards Africa, but subsequently
God directed him to that glorious field in which he
has now fallen. His usefulness, however, has not
terminated with his sojourn on earth. His name is
precious, not only to those who intimately knew
him, but it must be to thousands. His career was
short, but very eventful. He was called not only to do,
but to suffer much for the Lord Jesus, and he did it
as a good soldier, falling eventually as a leader in
one of the foremost ranks. A breach has been made
by his fall, not easily filled. God grant that his example of labour and patience, of zeal and wisdom,
of faith and love, may call forth many dear youth
from our American Zion, to count not their lives
dear to themselves in publishing the glorious gospel
to the land of Sinim.  He has been removed from a
lower to a higher sphere of service. Though he
rests from his labours, yet he is not inactive. But
we see through a glass darkly. We know little, and
in our present state are capable of knowing but little,
of the glorious service in which he has joined the
redeemed around the throne. The dark, fearful billows that closed above him as he sank into the sea
could not contain his spirit. In a few minutes his
ransomed soul was with the blessed Redeemer, for
ever beyond the violence of earth and of hell. And
if the kind, considerate authorities at Ningpo should
not succeed in recovering his remains, it will matter
little after a while; the day will soon come when the
sea shall give up its dead, when the members of
Christ's body scattered throughout its immense, dismal caverns, shall all be recovered, brought and
joined to their Head, and for ever made like to his
glorious body. We may be sure that the Omniscient
and Omnipotent Saviour will not allow one particle
of his purchased possession to be lost. We hope
soon to be with him in the midst of the glorified




394     _MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
throng. We are repeatedly and emphatically reminded that the fashion of this world passeth away.
The tidings that you conveyed to me a little more
than two months ago, were some of the most painful that I ever received. I was looking forward
with very great happiness to having my own dear
brother with me here. But the disappointment, with
the almost certain prospect of his speedy death, is a
deep affliction. I bless God who has not allowed a
murmuring thought to arise in my heart. He knows
what is best for his Church, infinitely better than
we do, and the multitude of his ransomed ones in
India and China, shall surely be brought home,
though we and all others now on the field should
fall. God is trying his Church by terrible things
in righteousness. He has taken to himself some of
our most useful fellow-missionaries of late. On the
19th of Aug. your son; on the 1st of Sept. the Rev.
J. Macdonald of the Free Church Mission, Calcutta,
a very holy, useful man; on the 7th of Sept. Mrs.
Hill, who had been for twenty years a faithful missionary at Berhampore; and not long ago Mr.
Whittlesey, a very useful missionary of the American Board, died in Ceylon. Other useful labourers are obliged to leave the field, as dear Brother
Rankin, and Mrs. Scott. And others God is keeping from coming. Ought not the Church to think
of these things? These are loud calls to us here, to
the Committee at home, to the ministers and elders,
to the sons of the prophets, to every individual in
the Church, to humble ourselves under the mighty
hand of God, that in due time he may lift us up.
Yours affectionately,
JOSEPH OWEN.




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      395
From the Rev. John M. Lowrie.
Wellsville, Ohio, January 26th, 1849.
DEAR UNCLE-I enclose several letters to me from
cousin Walter. As we were so much together
while he was in the College and in the Seminary,
our communications were chiefly personal and not
written. I will therefore give you some of his religious experience and views during these periods.
If I were drawing off a sketch of his character as
a student at College and in the Theological Seminary, I would notice some such points as these.
His first care was attention to his own spiritual
wants. I never knew a man more scrupulously
careful to maintain punctual and deliberate habits
of private devotion. We were for a short time
occupants of the same room; and it was arranged
that our hours of exercise should leave the room
private to each of us in turn. Many times when this
arrangement was interrupted, I have known him
enter a little closet in one corner of the room, that
no eye might see him while he sought his Father's
face.
It was chiefly his desire to secure uninterrupted
hours and seasons unknown to any, for devotional
duties, which led him to secure a room by himself
during the greater part of his course, after his profession of piety. His seasons of fasting I sometimes
knew, because we ate at the same table; but at
other times, I think, he so arranged them in connection with visits to friends in the country, that we
supposed him not yet returned from a visit, when,
in truth, he had exchanged his social intercourse for
a season of solitary communion with his God. And
I have often knocked at his door for admittance,
when I knew he was within, but he would not reply,
for he wished uninterrupted his seasons of devotion
and of study. It seemed also remarkable to me
that he so well maintained his devotional habits




396      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
when absent from home. I have no knowledge of
any friend whose habit of meditation upon the Bible
after reading it was so fixed. At the foundation of
his Christian character, was an ardent love for his
closet.
Next to his attention to private duties, I would
rank his affectionate concern for the piety of his
fellow-professors of religion. There was at Jefferson
College a small religious society, still in existence,
bearing the name oP the missionary Brainerd.  Of
this he was an active member, and he ever regarded
it as a means both of profit and influence. But outside of this little band, he exerted no ordinary influence upon Christian students. He was especially
beloved by those who were associated with him in
the support of Sabbath Schools and prayer-meetings,
for he was naturally more with them. And as from
the very first his was a missionary spirit, so those
brethren both at Canonsburg and Princeton, whose
minds turned towards the great field whitening to
the harvest, were his peculiar companions. There
was one room at Canonsburg that was the place of
many a conference for the land of Sinim, and many
a prayer that it might be opened to the heralds of
salvation. And there are brethren in China and
India, and I believe in heaven too, who will long
remember room No. 29, in Princeton Seminary,
hallowed as it has been by conference, by tears and
prayers. I scarcely know one whose influence upon
the piety of the institutions, both at the College and
the Seminary, was more consistent and healthful
than his was.
His influence was also exerted over those who
made no profession of religion. He was deeply
impressed with the truth, that to every young man
the period of College life was the golden opportunity to secure salvation, or to strengthen pious habits and a pious character. He was well aware,
also, of the many insidious and dangerous snares
which beset those who are so early in life set free




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      397
from the restraints and the wholesome discipline of a
parent's control. Many a time has he expressed
deep anxiety on learning that some interesting and
inexperienced youth had taken his boarding in dangerous company....
Worthy of notice, also, are his zeal and devotion
to improve opportunities for usefulness. The Sabbath School at Miller's Run, where he attended
church, and of which he was superintendent, was
about six miles from Canonsburg. Under his control it was a thriving and most interesting school.
Accompanied by a band of affectionate teachers,
his fellow-students, he went to the school, sustained meetings for exhortation and prayer, visited
the sick, and was ever welcome to the firesides
and the tables of an attached people. Beyond doubt,
there are precious souls in that congregation, who
retain the sweet savour of his memory. They will
remember the crowded prayer-meeting, the solemn
Bible-class, the simple address, and the fact that
many young persons, almost all from the Sabbath
School, united with the Church during his sojourn
with them, as evidence of his influence and usefulness among that people. These labours were a delight to him, though they were toilsome. Often he
would walk as many as eight miles on Saturday
evening to hold a prayer-meeting, and return to the
church on Sabbath morning to the school.
There remains one other matter which I have in
lively, and I may add, grateful remembrance, —this
is his faithfulness in discharging the important but
unpleasant duty of admonition. I have lying before
me a letter, which cannot be made public, but which
is an excellent instance and evidence of his watchfulness over his brethren, and of his kindness and
prudence to warn and correct. Nor was he less
ready to receive than to administer reproof.....
Yours affectionately,
J. M. LOWRIE.
84




398      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
REMARKS ON THE DEATH OF THE REV. WALTER M. LOWRIE,
By the Rev. A. Alexander, D. D.
The mournful tidings of this disastrous event has
sent a pang of grief to the hearts of thousands in
our Church and in our country. The loss of such a
man, and in such a way, is, indeed, a deplorable
thing. Christianity was never intended to destroy
the natural feelings of humanity, but to regulate
and refine them. In Holy Scripture we find that
the pious gave free indulgence to their feelings of
sorrow, on account of the death of good and great
men. When Abner was treacherously murdered by
Joab, king David " lifted up his voice and wept at the
grave of Abner; and all the people wept. And the
king lamented over Abner." So, also, when the pious king Josiah was slain in the flower of his age,
"All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah: and
Jeremiah lamented for Josiah. And all the singing
men and singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations." We have, moreover, in the New Testament an example of the same kind in the primitive
church at Jerusalem, when Stephen, "a man full of
wisdom and of the Holy Ghost, was stoned to death
by the Jews. This man stood conspicuous among
the disciples of Christ on account of the miraculous
gifts with which he was endowed, and the holy
boldness and eloquence with which he defended the
truth, for "being full of faith and power, he did
great wonders and miracles among the people. And
his enemies were unable to resist the wisdom and the
spirit by which he spake." But when confounded in
argument, they had recourse to violence, and cast
him out of the city and stoned Stephen, calling on
God, and saying, "'LORD JESUS RECEIVE MY SPIRIT."
And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice,
4 LORD, LAY NOT THIS SIN TO THEIR CHARGE;" and when
he had said this, he fell asleep. "And devout men




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     399
carried Stephen to his burial, AND MADE GREAT LAMENTATION OVER HIM.
Here we find, that in the early infancy of the
Church, good and useful men were suffered by divine providence to be cut off, when their services
were more needed than they could be at any future
time. God would teach us that he is not dependent
on any instruments for the accomplishment of his
purposes. The death of Stephen, probably, had a
mighty effect on the minds of many who were present; and from among his bitterest enemies, there
was one whom  God had determined to make "a
chosen vessel" to carry the Gospel not only to the
Jews, but to a multitude of the Gentile nations.
And we learn from this part of Sacred Scripture,
that God does not forsake his devoted servants,
when surrounded by enemies, and while suffering
the agonies of death. Stephen saw heaven opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand
of God. And he was enabled to die in the full assurance of hope; and, with his last breath, to imitate his divine Master, by invoking mercy for his murderers. And although we are not permitted to
know in what state of mind our dear young brother
met death, we have good reason to conclude that
his covenant God did not forsake him in that trying
hour. Very likely his last breath was spent in
prayers for the salvation of his murderers.
That the death of Mr. Lowrie is a great loss to
the Church, and particularly to the cause of missions, none will doubt. Religiously educated from
his youth, and in a family imbued with the missionary spirit, he early turned his thoughts to the condition of the blinded, perishing heathen. With
this object in view, he commenced his theological
education. During his whole course, it is believed,
his purpose remained unshaken; and all his plans
and studies were prosecuted with a direct view to
this object. Possessed of a vigorous and well-balanced mind, and of cheerful, equable temper, his




400      MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
progress in learning was rapid, and what he acquired,
e retained. With him no time was wasted, for
even his hours of relaxation from severe study
were spent in some useful employment.
He was willing to encounter all the dangers of
the deleterious climate of Africa, and would have
made that dark region the field of his labours, had
it not appeared to all his friends that he was eminently qualified for the China mission, that great
country havino unexpectedly been opened for the
preaching of ftie Gospel.   ur young brother accordingly embarked for that important field; but
before his station was finally chosen, he met with
extraordinary difficulties and dangers. In one of
his voyages he was ship-wrecked; the vessel was
abandoned at sea, and the crew and himself were
exposed to a rough sea, in an open boat, for many
days; and when they approached the shore, were,
by a manifest interposition of Providence, enabled
to land, when at almost any other time their boat
must have been swamped.
After his arrival in China, he devoted himself assiduously to the acquisition of the very difficult
language of the country; and there is reason to believe with uncommon success. But not contented
merely to acquire the language, he deemed it very
important to make himself acquainted with the
literature, and especially with what may be termed
the classical literature of the Chinese.  From communications received in this country, there is reason
to think that he was making rapid progress in this
species of knowledge.
Besides the acquisition of the provincial dialect
of Ningpo, where he had his station, he had formed
the purpose of learning the Manchu Tartar language, which differs from that of China in that an
alphabetical character is used; and it is understood
that this is becoming more and more popular, and
from its superior convenience, will probably prevail.
From these and other considerations it is evident




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.     401
that our Church and the cause of missions has experienced a great loss in the death of Mr. Lowrie.
It ought to be mentioned, also, that with other missionaries, he was, when called away, earnestly engaged in revising and correcting the version of the
New Testament into the Chinese tongue. For this
work he was eminently qualified by his learning,
and by his nice discrimination and turn for accuracy
in matters of this kind. When sent for to Ningpo,
he had been for between two and three months at
Shanghai, engaged with Bishop Boone, Dr. Bridgman and others in this work.
It is, then, neither unreasonable nor unscriptural
that great lamentation should be made on account
of his death. Though none can be expected to
experience the same kind and degree of grief as
his venerable father and near kindred, yet many
others deeply sympathize with them in their lamentations; and it may be presumed none have felt
this stroke more pungently than his brethren of the
mission. To them the bereavement is indeed great
and lamentable. But this feeling is not confined to
the missionaries of the Presbyterian church; others
will feel sorely that a heavy judgment has fallen
upon them. This is manifest from the affectionate
and excellent letter of Bishop Boone to Mr. Lowrie's father. He says: "This event has thrown
my family, who had the privilege to enjoy his
company for the last two months and a half, into
the deepest affliction. Dearly as I know he was beloved by the mission with which he was connected,
yet, I believe, no one in China mourns his loss as
Ido." And no doubt the same feeling pervades the
whole of the missionaries who have had any opportunity of acquaintance with our departed brother.
We may, therefore, lament the death of such a
man, so beloved, and so well qualified to be useful
in the most important work which is going on in
this world. But though we are permitted to sorrow,
yet not to repine. When Aaron's impious sons
34 *




402       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
were struck dead in the sanctuary, "he held his
peace;" he uttered no complaint. And when Eli
eard the prophet's prediction respecting the judgment about to be inflicted on his wicked sons, he
said, " It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him
good." Perfect submission is consistent with the
most heart-felt sorrow.  Indeed, the deeper the
grief, the more virtuous the submission.
This event, I think, is a solemn call of Providence to our whole Church. It is evidently a token
of the displeasure of our heavenly Father. God, by
thus taking away one of the most eminent of our
missionary corps, evidently calls the Presbyterian
church to a solemn consideration'of their ways; to
an earnest inquiry whether, as a body, we have done
our duty; and especially in relation to China. Some
twenty years ago, the writer heard a speaker at a
missionary meeting in Philadelphia, say, " If a hundred missionaries should now enter China, at different points, and every one of them should immediately be put to death, this would be a cheap sacrifice,
if thereby that populous country should be opened
for the preaching of the Gospel." At that time, the
most sanguine did not dare to hope for such an
event in their day. But God, by a wonderful Providence, has set the door wide open. Not merely
one, but five great cities, are made accessible, and
the right of residence and Christian worship secured
by treaty. In consequence, a number of the most
promising and best educated men offered their services, and were sent. But did the Church appreciate the importance of this extraordinary dispensation of Providence? Did she arouse herself from
her long sleep, and come to the help of the Lord
against the mighty; did she enlarge her spirit of
liberality, and begin to wrestle with God in fervent,
incessant prayer for this empire, which contains one
third of the population of the globe? She did not.
Had it not been for the generous donation of a few
individuals, the Board would not have been able to




MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.      403
send out the promising men who offered. And even
now, there exists a general apathy. A few churches
and a few individuals seem to be sensible of the
solemn, responsible circumstances in which we who
live in this age are placed. Professors of religion
are too generally occupied with their own concerns;
every one is attending to his farm or his merchandise; few have any deep feeling for the ark of God.
Each one will build and decorate his own house,
while the house of God is desolate.
Let the churches, then, consider this awful dispensation, as one in which they have a deep concern. Let the solemn inquiry be made in all our
churches, and through all our borders, whether they
have not been delinquent in their duty to the missionaries in China. Yea, let every individual ask
himself, Have I done my duty?  Have I remembered daily, as I ought, those devoted men? Have
I borne them feelingly on my heart to the throne
of grace?  Have I given as liberally of my substance to promote this object as I ought? Such
inquiries, honestly made, would, I believe, bring conviction home to almost every bosom. What, then,
shall be the result?  Having done amiss, is it our
solemn purpose, by the help of the Lord, to do so
no more? Let us, then, take words and return unto
the Lord who hath smitten us. "Let the priests
weep between the porch and the altar, and let them
say, Spare thy people, 0 Lord."
If it should please our heavenly Father to make
this distressing bereavement the means of awakening all our churches to the solemn consideration of their duty, as it relates to missions in
general, and to China in particular, then will this
sore judgment be turned into mercy. Let all the
friends of Zion wrestle with God until he grant this
result.  Let them say, "For Zion's sake I will not
hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not
be silent, until the righteousness thereof go forth
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp




404       MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.
that burneth." Such importunity is never offensive.
Jacob said to the Angel of the Covenant, "I will
not let thee go until thou bless me."  And God
commands us "to give him no rest, till he establish,
and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth."
Let every true Presbyterian resolve that, during the
year, now commenced, he will bear on his heart before the throne of grace, the perishing condition of
the heathen, and the wants of our foreign missionaries, with far greater frequency and fervency than
during the year which is past..And, as our missionaries may be recalled unless funds are provided
by the Church for their support, let every man, and
woman, and child consider whether God does not
require of them to do much more in the way of contribution than they have heretofore done; and see
whether, from the very day from which you commence a new course, God will not bless you in a
special manner.  "Bring ye all the tithes into the
storehouse that there may be meat in mine house,
and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts,
if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and
pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room
enough to receive it.   Mal. iii. 10.-Missionary
Chronicle: February, 1848.




MEMOIR OF WALTER  M. LOWRIE.                 405
A cenotaph was erected to the memory of Mr.
Lowrie, which bears the following inscriptions, partly
in English and partly in Chinese
THE
REV. WALTER M. LOWRIE,
A MISSIONARY
TO
THE CHINESE.
BORN FEB. 18th, 1819.
DIED AUG. 19th, 1847.
"I am a stranger in the earth."-Ps. cxix. 19.
SECOND SIDE.
IN CHINESE.
The American teacher of the religion of Jesus, Low-le-wha, Seen Sang,
[i. e. Mr. Lowrie.] Born in [the reign of] Kea-King, 24th year, 1st
month, 26th day. Died in [the reign of] Taou-Kwang, 27th year, 7th
month, 9th day. Reckoning back in [the reign of] Taou-Kwang, the
22d year, 4th month, 18th day, he arrived at Macao, China. The 25th
year, 3d month, 5th day, he reached Ningpo; in order to propagate the
holy religion. How can we know whether a long or a short life is appointed for us? He had but attained the age of twenty-nine years,
when travelling by sea, he was drowned by pirates. Of all his associates there is none who does not cherish his memory, and they have accordingly erected this stone as a testimony of their affection.
THIRD SIDE.
He was attacked by pirates near Chapoo, and being thrown overboard,
perished in the sea.
FOURTH SIDE.
IN CHINESE.
The Holy Book says-It is appointed unto man once to die, and after
this the judgment, for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the
graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth, they
that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have
done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.
The shaft is 4 feet 6 inches high; 2 feet 7 inches wide at the bottom,
and 1 foot 9 inches at the top. The stone is a hard and smooth kind of
granite, capable of a tolerable polish.