I
 
 *
 
 LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 D.L. MILLER 
 
 BY 
 
 Bess Royer Bates 
 
 BRETHREN PUBLISHING HOUSE 
 
 ELGIN, ILL. 
 
 1921
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1921 
 BRETHREN PUBLISHING HOUSE
 
 To the spirit of 
 
 unity and love, engendered by Father Miller 
 
 in the Church of the Brethren 
 
 this book is 
 
 dedicated
 
 PEEFACE 
 
 Father Miller was my mother's oldest brother, 
 and she, the youngest in the family, his junior by 
 twenty-two years. When nine years old she was 
 sent to live with him in Polo, Illinois. A few 
 months after her arrival their mother died, and 
 from that time he and his wife became " Father " 
 and " Mother " to her. After she married Galen 
 B. Eoyer, our father, and we six children came one 
 by one, they became our " Fadder " and " Damma." 
 When we grew older and were somewhat ashamed 
 of our childish names for them, we called them 
 Grandpa and Grandma. Father Miller and our 
 own father were the closest of associates through 
 practically all of Father Miller's active church life. 
 Thus, Father Miller was more than a brother to 
 our mother, more than a brother-in-law to our fa- 
 ther, and much more than an uncle to us. He was 
 sort of an embodied ideal, a realization in life of 
 those heroic dreams of character that so rarely 
 come true for young people We loved him and we 
 miss him. 
 
 Many years ago my father started collecting 
 material for this biography. A time came when 
 he was not able to continue, and I took up the work
 
 6 PREFACE 
 
 where he had left off. All of the material of the 
 first seven chapters was secured by him. What- 
 ever of good there may be in this book is due, in a 
 great measure, to him. Father Miller, himself, had 
 his share in the making of it, for he related many 
 of the events and read much of the manuscript be- 
 fore his death. To Brother J. E. Miller and to my 
 husband, Clyde E. Bates, I likewise owe much for 
 their careful reading and correction of the manu- 
 script. Others have helped by supplying incidents 
 and giving personal views on Father Miller's life. 
 To them, also, I am indebted. Aside from the 
 above aid, I have examined the Gospel Messengers 
 throughout the twenty-six years of Father's active 
 connection with that paper ; I have read some two 
 thousand or more of his private letters, and have 
 used his books of travel, Annual Meeting Minutes 
 and church histories for reference. 
 
 At the recent Conference, when the news of 
 Father Miller's death had just come, many people 
 were saddened. One said : 
 
 " The last time I saw him he was in a hurry 
 and just had time to grasp my hand and say, ' God 
 bless you,' in that hearty way of his." 
 
 And another observed: 
 
 " He would come into our home and sit by the 
 fire like one of the family." 
 
 If in this book some of that spirit of Father 
 Miller's can be preserved, it has filled its purpose. 
 
 August 12, 1921. Bess Koyer Bates.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter 1. Forbears 9 
 
 Chapter 2. Boyhood 15 
 
 Chapter 3. First Ventures from Home 25 
 
 Chapter 4. A Schoolmaster 31 
 
 Chapter 5. Early Marriage 37 
 
 Chapter 6. Life in Polo 41 
 
 Chapter 7. His Mother 47 
 
 Chapter 8. The Move 53 
 
 Chapter 9. First Trip Abroad 65 
 
 Chapter 10. Palestine 73 
 
 Chapter 11. First Book 83 
 
 Chapter 12. Editorial Work 87 
 
 Chapter 13. " Keligious Activities in the 
 
 Eighties." 101 
 
 Chapter 14. The New Home 113 
 
 Chapter 15. Second Trip Abroad 119 
 
 7
 
 8 CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter 16. The Keturn 127 
 
 Chapter 17. Third Trip Abroad 133 
 
 Chapter 18. Three Books 149 
 
 Chapter 19. " Girdling the Globe." 157 
 
 Chapter 20. Uniting the Church Interests. . . . 171 
 
 Chapter 21. Fifth Trip Abroad 185 
 
 Chapter 22. " Bible Land Talks." 195 
 
 Chapter 23. Another New Home 203 
 
 Chapter 24. " Don't Worry " Club 211 
 
 Chapter 25. Annual Conference Work 219 
 
 Chapter 26. More Travels 225 
 
 Chapter 27. " The Other Half of the Globe." ..235 
 
 Chapter 28. Correspondence 245 
 
 Chapter 29. Sermons 271 
 
 Chapter 30. Editorials 303 
 
 Chapter 31. Close of Active Work 313 
 
 Chapter 32. Last Days 325 
 
 Chapter 33. What They Said 335
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 FORBEARS 
 
 DL. MILLER came from a line of hard- 
 working, prosperous farmers. It is not 
 known just when the first Millers emi- 
 grated to America, but it happened some time be- 
 fore the War of Independence. They settled in 
 Pennsylvania and Maryland. There they became 
 prosperous, were respected, and died better off than 
 they had started in life. Few had more than the 
 most rudimentary education, but in spite of that 
 there were preachers and deacons among them 
 and men whose opinions were respected in the 
 church. Without exception they belonged to the 
 Church of the Brethren. 
 
 D. L. Miller's grandfather, Abram Miller, was 
 born in 1779 at Fairview, Maryland. In those days 
 life was not as peaceful there as it is now, because 
 the Indians constantly warred on the whites. When 
 the men went into the fields to work they took their 
 guns with them, for the Indians would creep up 
 through the surrounding woods and kill them. 
 When Abram was yet a small boy, he helped with 
 these skirmishes, learned the hard life of the pio- 
 neer, and grew up to know and meet danger. His 
 
 9
 
 10 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 parents died when he was in his teens. After being 
 thus left alone he went to a man by the name of 
 Wolf and learned the cabinet trade. When thus 
 prepared to make a living he married Mary Crill, 
 about 1801. For seven years he lived near Claylick 
 Mountain and worked at his trade. Then he bought 
 what is now known as the " old Miller farm " of 
 two hundred acres, near Welsh Run, Pennsylvania. 
 There he farmed and worked at the cabinet trade 
 until his death at the age of forty-nine. 
 
 Of Mary Crill a word must be said, for she 
 lived to be past eighty, managed her farm with the 
 help of her boys after her husband's death, and 
 lived a life that left the impress of her character 
 stamped on those about her. Her parents came to 
 America a few years before the War of Independ- 
 ence, without money, but anxious to make a home 
 in the new world. Her father worked out as a 
 hired hand, then rented land of his own and finally 
 bought a farm. At his death he was able to leave 
 each of his children a goodly sum, for he died a 
 wealthy man for his day. Evidently Mary inherit- 
 ed the determination of her father. 
 
 When her husband, Abram Miller, died, he 
 left her with eight children, four boys and four 
 girls. The older two boys were married at the time. 
 Abram, the third son, was only eighteen and his 
 brother David quite a bit younger. With the help 
 of these two boys she continued farming until the 
 younger was forty-eight years old. Then she sold
 
 THE OLD MILL IN WHICH D. L. WAS BORN OCT. 5, 1841
 
 FORBEARS 11 
 
 the farm and lived there a retired life until her 
 death, at the age of eighty-two. It has been said 
 that Abram, D. L. Miller's own father, was her fa- 
 vorite son, and that what Abram did she thought 
 was done right. 
 
 For ten years Abram farmed for his mother ; 
 then he married and soon after bought a mill, go- 
 ing into partnership with his brothers, on the Con- 
 ococheague, near Hagerstown, Maryland. He mar- 
 ried Susan Funk, but after giving birth to two 
 sons, she died. Two years later he married Catha- 
 rine Long and took her to live in the mill. 
 
 Catharine Long, born June 26, 1820, was the 
 fourth child in a family of three boys and nine 
 girls. Her father was Daniel Long, a prosperous 
 farmer and deacon in the Brethren church. In 1846 
 the Longs moved to Illinois, where may be found 
 their descendants, a large relationship of honora- 
 ble and well-to-do-people. 
 
 Abram and Catharine began housekeeping in 
 the basement of the mill. Even now, when some 
 of the Miller boys and their one sister get together, 
 they speak of that old mill as if it were their home. 
 Whenever they have the opportunity they go to 
 visit it. When D. L. Miller was there for the last 
 time, the room in which he was born was being 
 used for a pigpen, but still it was hallowed in his 
 eyes, as it had been his birthplace. It appears that 
 before Abram was able to build a better home, 
 Daniel came, bringing joy and responsibility to the
 
 12 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 little family who made their home in the base- 
 ment of the mill. The sound of the wheel and the 
 grinding of the mill were constantly in his baby 
 ears, and, in that unconcious way children have, 
 he learned to love them, for he did not really real- 
 ize how much he loved that old home until he was 
 taken away from it. 
 
 A year later Abram built a large brick house 
 near the mill, and that became the center of the 
 family life. There the rest of his thirteen chil- 
 dren were born and reared. Soon he bought out 
 the shares of his brother, and also purchased land, 
 which he farmed. He was prosperous for his day, 
 and at one time even was accounted wealthy. 
 
 And what kind of a man was Abram Miller, 
 whose sons have been such a credit to him? A 
 short time ago I was riding in an automobile with 
 D. L., Frank and George. The brothers were gray- 
 haired, but glad as boys to be together again. They 
 fell to talking of their father. Said George : 
 
 " Things have changed since father's time. I 
 wonder what he would say could he be here now 
 automobiles, air-planes, farm machinery, tele- 
 phones." 
 
 " He would have them," declared Frank. " He 
 had the first reaper in our neighborhood." 
 
 " That's right," agreed George. " Father al- 
 ways believed in keeping up with the times." 
 
 His success proves that. He was hard-work- 
 ing, thrifty, and honest even generous in his deal-
 
 FORBEARS 13 
 
 ings with others. D. L. remembers well the over- 
 flowing measures of flour he sold. He was a si- 
 lent man and rather stern with his children. He 
 did not spare himself, and he expected a like effort 
 from them. They respected him a great deal, loved 
 him as their father, feared his wrath and obeyed 
 his will. He was a deacon in the church and took 
 an active part in church work. In his later days 
 he was a great Bible reader. In appearance, he 
 was tall and thin, dark-eyed, strong featured and 
 naturally commanded respect. Though not a li- 
 censed practitioner, he had a particular knack for 
 curing illnesses, and many a person came to him to 
 be treated for rheumatism. He had astonishing 
 success in doing it, too. He taught his boys hard 
 work, honesty and thrift, and thus prepared them 
 well to meet life. 
 
 Catharine Miller was a true mother. She 
 ruled by love, and her boys and one girl loved her 
 as few mothers are loved. She not only mothered 
 her own family, but mothered all those about her. 
 Many came to Aunt Katie for advice, counsel in 
 trouble, and more active service in sickness and 
 death. There must have been confidence, repose 
 and a very great love for others hidden in her heart, 
 for she inspired those qualities in others. Her 
 children came to her with their troubles and de- 
 sires and she satisfied them. Even years after 
 her death, her influence still guided them in a very 
 unusual manner.
 
 14 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 Of such people was D. L. Miller born on Oct. 
 5, 1841. Thirteen children in all came to Abram 
 and Catharine Miller, only eight surviving child- 
 hood. They are as follows : 
 
 Martin S., born Jan. 19, 1843, and died in 
 August, 1907. 
 
 Sarah, born Jan. 9, 1845, died in infancy. 
 
 Franklin Z., born April 24, 1846, died Decem- 
 ber 18, 1920. 
 
 Andrew Friedly, born Sept. 14, 1847. 
 
 William R, born Oct. 25, 1849. 
 
 Jacon, born Dec. 29, 1850; Samuel, July 24, 
 1852; and Mary Ella, Dec. 22, 1853, all died in in- 
 fancy. 
 
 David, born Aug. 29, 1855, died June, 1908. 
 
 Elizabeth is without record. 
 
 George K., born June 15, 1860. 
 
 Anna Martha, born May 21, 1863.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 BOYHOOD 
 
 OF the first years of his life, D. L. Miller 
 wrote some time ago : " During the year 
 1841 and part of '42, I used my energy 
 in drawing rations and breath. Before I was a 
 year old, owing to the imminent coming of a rival, 
 I reluctantly gave up drawing my rations and took 
 them from a spoon. i Vittles ' proved successful, 
 and I entered the second year in good shape 
 sound in body, mind and limb. The year was spent 
 in eating and drinking and riotous living. At this 
 time I have no distinct recollection of having dis- 
 tinguished myself during this year, except that, I 
 am told, I took a turn at the measles and came 
 out ahead. 
 
 " My recollections of 1845 are compressed into 
 a single event. I stood at the door of my Grand- 
 father Long's barn and saw a drove of cattle pass- 
 ing along the highway the man in front leading 
 an ox, and calling out, at regular intervals : ' Su- 
 kee, su-kee.' ' 
 
 In 1845, Baby Sarah was born, but soon died. 
 D. L. could remember his mother's tears as she 
 bent over the sick child, and also that he wanted to 
 
 15
 
 16 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 go to the funeral, but lie had to stay at home with 
 the negro mammy. He says : "Among my earliest 
 recollections is that of my dear, sainted mother. 
 Her influence on my life was always foremost and 
 it saved me from many evil things." 
 
 At five, D. L. started to school. In the forties 
 country schools were not what they are now. The 
 schoolhouse where D. L. attended was made of 
 logs. The seats were of slabs, built too high for 
 the little fellows' feet to touch the floor. So they 
 sat with feet dangling tiresomely through the day. 
 There were from forty to sixty pupils in the school. 
 Each pupil paid the teacher two dollars a term. 
 Thus he received his salary and in return taught 
 the pupils to read, write and figure. Some teach- 
 ers were competent; others were lazy. D. L. re- 
 members one who slept during school hours and 
 another who got drunk. But some taught the 
 squirming youngsters conscientiously, and D. L. 
 fell in love with these, for he liked his books. 
 
 He had learned to read before he started to 
 school, and that made the first days much easier 
 for him. Nevertheless, he felt very strange and 
 out of place among the big boys and girls on that 
 first day. He did well in school and advanced 
 rapidly. At nine he was in three spelling classes 
 and reached the " head " of what was known as the 
 " big class." This caused some jealousy among the 
 older pupils, who did not like to be outdone by a 
 boy so young.
 
 THE SPRING HOUSE AT D. L.'S HOME
 
 BOYHOOD 17 
 
 But his schooldays were not all spent in stand- 
 ing at the head of his classes. He had his share of 
 trouble and mischief, which was punished in the 
 usual way. The hickory w T as used in those days, as 
 he can well remember. But there was one punish- 
 ment that made a deeper impression on him than 
 any whipping ever did. He tells of it as follows : 
 
 " One day, a few of us boys caught a frog in a 
 neighboring brook and butchered it. The teacher 
 heard of it and had the five of us seated together on 
 one of the slab benches. He had us roll our trou- 
 sers above our knees. Then he stood in front of us, 
 knife and whetstone in hand. As he sharpened his 
 knife, he told us how the frog we butchered suffered 
 pain, and he wanted us to know just how the poor 
 little thing suffered when we cut its legs oif . I do 
 not think there was a boy in the lot but that felt 
 assured he was going to lose a leg. There was 
 weeping and mourning in concert. When the ex- 
 hibition was over, and we escaped with our legs, 
 we were a happy lot. I learned a lesson then that 
 I never forgot. Teachers used the rods in those 
 days freely, but the rod never gave me a lesson as 
 did the teacher with his knife and whetstone." 
 
 The subscription schools lasted only four 
 months during the winter, so, at best, the boys and 
 girls received a meager education. D. L. attended 
 school each winter until he was twelve; then he 
 began work. For only two seasons after that was 
 he able to be in school. In the winter of 1858 he
 
 18 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 spent three months in school, and in the winter of 
 1860-61 he attended a district school in Ogle Coun- 
 ty, Illinois, taught by O. F. Lamb. 
 
 D. L. loved his school, and particularly some 
 of the teachers. Sam Earner was a good instructor, 
 he says. After teaching at Kichdale, Maryland, 
 Sam Ramer moved to Ohio and worked in a print- 
 ing office. From him, D. L. received his first let- 
 ter. That made a deep impression on his boyish 
 mind. Though his regular school work was defi- 
 nitely stopped at the age of "twelve, and the small 
 D. L. was put to work, his desire to learn was not 
 appeased. Later, he took three lessons a week in 
 reading, writing and grammar from a teacher, Geo. 
 Hicks. Thus he spent his spare time in an effort 
 to advance. He had an ambition to go on to school 
 and also to become a teacher. This ambition 
 George Hicks helped to keep alive by his encourage- 
 ment and practical assistance with the lessons. 
 
 Being the eldest of a large family of children, 
 a good deal was expected of D. L. He learned to 
 work early in life, and soon was able to help his 
 father about the mill and on the farm. At twelve, 
 D. L. was hired out to Philip Hammond for $2.50 
 per month. He worked for him for seven months. 
 He was very homesick and spent many nights cry- 
 ing for home, but in spite of that he stuck to his 
 task and proved such a good worker that the next 
 year he was able to get $4.50 per month with Jacob 
 Sword, " on the rockiest farm in our parts."
 
 BOYHOOD 19 
 
 The following year, 1856, he was employed by 
 Jacob Funk, a deacon in the church. Of this place 
 he says : " I had the usual ups and downs of a boy's 
 life. I marketed butter for them in Hagerstown. 
 A lot of boys used to throw stones at me, as I rode 
 out of town. One day I got off old ' Fan ' the bay 
 mare and settled the whole score with them. Six 
 or eight of them left me victor in the field of battle, 
 and after that there was no more stone-throwing." 
 
 The following three years he worked at home, 
 on the farm and in the mill. His father had what 
 was known as a merchant mill. He bought the 
 grain, ground it, and then sold the flour. The daily 
 capacity of the mill was twenty-four barrels. The 
 mill ran day and night, so some one had to be con- 
 stantly in attendance, to take away the full barrels 
 of flour and to place the empty ones to receive it. 
 The Miller boys took turns in doing this. D. L. did 
 his full share. The wheat was ground between 
 huge millstones, the upper weighing about two 
 tons and the lower something less than that. Small 
 grooves were carved into the faces of these stones 
 with a chisel, and as they wore away by the con- 
 stant grinding, new ones had to be made. D. L. 
 became an expert at doing this. Even until his 
 death, he carried the tiny black marks in his hands, 
 from the little pieces of steel which flew from the 
 chisel and lodged in his flesh. His father's hands 
 were black from this same cause. 
 
 Farm work he did not like. While he did not
 
 20 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 shirk it, he said it never gave him satisfaction or 
 inspired him with ambition. Later in life he took 
 great pleasure in his beautiful garden, but he 
 longed to get away from the farm. His father- 
 probably in a fit of vexation told him that he 
 would never amount to anything, because he did 
 not like the farm. 
 
 All of D. L.'s wages were turned over to his 
 father until he was twenty-one. Boys were ex- 
 pected to do this in those days. In return his 
 mother bought his clothes and what necessary 
 things he had to have. He had no spending money, 
 and, in spite of the fact that his father was ac- 
 counted wealthy, for his time, no luxuries. 
 
 D. L. loved to read. He can not remember 
 when he did not know his letters and he learned to 
 read before he started to school at five. His father's 
 library contained a Bible, a hymn book and a 
 history of the world. His mother gave him a Bible, 
 ." Kobinson Crusoe " and " Pilgrim's Progress." 
 The latter book he read many times, when a boy, 
 and used to dream about it. With little direction 
 or help from any one, he spent every spare moment 
 reading everything he could find. He borrowed 
 books from any one who would lend them, and 
 read so constantly that he was compared to an old 
 man by the name of Ad Troup who, it was said, had 
 gone crazy because he had read so much. 
 
 When working in the field he would carry a 
 book along to peruse during the lunch hour. One
 
 BOYHOOD 21 
 
 time he became so interested in Ms book that he 
 forgot to go back to work, and spent the entire aft- 
 ernoon reading. He was punished for this. When 
 tending the mill, he always read lying on his stom- 
 ach while the barrels were being filled with flour. 
 Once when just a small boy he could not be found. 
 At last, after a long search, he was discovered in 
 the parlor usually closed to everyday affairs 
 sound asleep beside the family Bible, which he had 
 been reading. 
 
 In spite of their busy life the Miller boys had 
 a good time. They were apt youngsters and took 
 naturally to making the things they could not buy. 
 In summer, on the millpond, they had a sailboat. 
 They made a diving board and enjoyed all the 
 pleasures of a good swim. D. L. was a famous 
 skater. The ice on the millpond was very clear in 
 winter. A fish could be followed as it swam in 
 the water. Then a sharp blow on the ice would 
 daze it, and the boys would quickly break the ice 
 and secure the fish. 
 
 At six, the small D. L. fell in love with their 
 hired girl, Nancy Hufford. "As she was twenty- 
 one," he writes, " and I had reached the mature age 
 of six, the case was hopeless." Later on he wanted 
 to be a stage driver. He tells of this as follows : 
 
 " When I was a lad, I rode horseback to Ha- 
 gerstown twice a week for my father's mail. That 
 was before there was a railway to Hagerstown. 
 The mail was brought from Frederick on a four-
 
 22 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 horse stage. I used to watch the stage driver, 
 seated on the upper seat, as he brought the horses 
 to a gallop on entering the town, and I felt that he 
 was a great man. My earliest ambition was to be 
 a stage driver. One of my acquaintances occupied 
 this elevated position and I longed to imitate him. 
 Forty years later I met him in Maryland, driving 
 a poor horse in a small wagon, carrying mail from 
 one office to another, and I had a talk with him. I 
 was glad then that I had never realized my ambi- 
 tion." 
 
 Later on he desired to teach school, and it is 
 probable, that, but for a trick of fate, he definitely 
 would have entered the teaching profession when a 
 young man. When a boy his ambitions were not 
 very well defined. Doubtless the constant reading 
 and the desire to get away from the farm, inspired 
 him with the ambitions of most boys, to conquer 
 the world when he had the chance. 
 
 At twelve he was converted. But in those 
 days boyish conversions were frowned on by par- 
 ents, so he said nothing of his change of heart. It 
 happened while working for Philip Hammond, the 
 first time he went away from home. He slept alone 
 in a loft. Of this conversion he says : 
 
 " Here, alone with God, I first felt the awaken- 
 ing of my soul. All through the years I prayed al- 
 ways before going to sleep, but here, on the old loft, 
 in the dark night, I had a call to give my heart to 
 him, and I did so. I am sure of this." Later this
 
 BOYHOOD 23 
 
 change of heart was submerged in the occupations 
 and temptations of youth, and it was not until, as 
 a young man, he openly confessed Christ. 
 Thus did D. L. grow toward manhood.
 
 THE OLD HOME
 
 FIRST VENTURES FROM HOME 
 
 IN October, 1860, at the age of nineteen, D. L. 
 made his first trip from home. In 1845 his 
 mother's parents and all their family had 
 loaded their goods on wagons and moved to Illi- 
 nois, leaving Aunt Katie, his mother, the only one 
 of twelve children, in Maryland. During the fall of 
 1860 D. L.'s grandfather, Daniel Long, and uncle, 
 Daniel Zellers, came back to Maryland on a visit. 
 They had glowing tales to tell of the opportuni- 
 ties in the West, and naturally D. L. was anxious 
 to return with them. As wages were then but 
 thirty-seven cents a day in Maryland and a dollar 
 in Illinois, his father and mother were persuaded 
 that he should accompany them. His mother very 
 strongly favored his going. 
 
 That fall he husked corn and threshed for a 
 dollar a day. The winter was spent at a district 
 school near Mount Morris. O. F. Lamb was the 
 teacher. When the Civil War broke out, the fol- 
 lowing spring, Mr. Lamb immediately enlisted, 
 and thus the school term was shortened. This was 
 the last public schooling that D. L. had. The 
 
 25
 
 26 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 spring and summer of 1861 he worked for his 
 Uncle John Long on the farm for $11.50 per month 
 and in November returned to Maryland. 
 
 The year in the West served to broaden him 
 in many ways. In speaking of it he said : 
 
 " I used to think that Hagerstown was the 
 only town in the world, but I found out differently. 
 I used to write Hagerstown, Washington County, 
 Maryland, on box cars, fences, or any place that of- 
 fered a broad surface for my pencil. That trip 
 west did me good. I found out Hagerstown was 
 not the only place in the world." 
 
 In the summer of 1861, while in Illinois, he 
 made up his mind to enlist in the war. His Uncle 
 Andrew was going with him. Just as they had 
 fully made up their minds to go, a relative died, 
 and they went to the funeral. Grandfather Long 
 drove them there in a spring wagon, and on the 
 way pleaded with them not to go to war. At the 
 funeral they met a number of aunts, who added 
 their pleadings, and so they were persuaded not to 
 go at that time. He visited the battle field of An- 
 tietam soon after the battle, and also went into 
 various hospitals. These sights and his conversion 
 later, cured him of all desire for war. 
 
 During 1862 he worked for his father in the 
 mill for one hundred dollars a year. The follow- 
 ing summer and fall were spent in Illinois, working 
 for his brother Abram in a mill southwest of Mount 
 Morris. There he helped to build a milldam. The
 
 FIRST VENTURES FROM HOME 27 
 
 year 1864 was spent in his father's mill, where he 
 again received one hundred dollars for his year's 
 work. But this year he butchered with G. W. 
 Cook and thus made money on the outside. He 
 spent his evenings studying in preparation to be- 
 gin teaching. 
 
 Often in later life, D. L. compared the wages 
 of the day with those he had received when young. 
 Life was simpler then and money not so plentiful. 
 He was almost grown before he tasted ice cream 
 or had an orange. Wages of a dollar a day seemed 
 a fortune to the young eastern lad who had been 
 used to thirty-seven cents. As he grew older, his 
 earning power steadily increased, as he was on the 
 lookout for opportunities for making money. 
 Doubtless he would have been a very wealthy man 
 had he given his energies entirely to money making. 
 
 As related in a preceding chapter, at the age 
 of twelve he was converted. He had a distinct 
 change of heart and gave himself definitely to 
 Christ. He told his parents of this, but was not 
 encouraged to join the church, for in those days 
 young or unmarried people rarely were taken into 
 the church. From the time he was a little fellow 
 he had repeated, every night, the Lord's Prayer 
 and " Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep." He attended 
 Sunday-school conducted by the Church of God, or 
 Winebrennerians, a short distance from home. 
 There he received a Bible as a prize for committing 
 Scripture verses to memory.
 
 28 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 Once, during this period of his life, his mother 
 became very sick and he learned that she was 
 not expected to live. Although only ten years old 
 he lay in his bed and cried and prayed most ear- 
 nestly until midnight. Then there came to him the 
 feeling that his mother would get well. In the 
 morning when he arose, he found that she had al- 
 ready begun to improve. 
 
 After he had told his parents of the conviction 
 of sin and forgiveness which followed, he fell into 
 company which led him away from Christ. About 
 the mill, cooper shop and farm were employes not 
 of the most godly sort. In company with these, he 
 was tempted. In later life he sometimes com- 
 mented on the wonderful protection that followed 
 him through these critical years. He often re- 
 gretted that he had not been received into church 
 fellowship when first converted to Christ. Doubt- 
 less the love and prayers of his mother were the 
 restraint which kept him from falling into evil 
 ways. On coming home from an evening with his 
 associates, he often found his mother praying and 
 weeping for him. Certainly that sight would do 
 much to keep him in the straight path. 
 
 When nineteen, he attended revival meetings 
 held at the Winebrennerian church. Here he again 
 felt a deep conciousness of sin, and went forward 
 to the mourners' bench, but no farther. Later he 
 joined the Church of the Brethren. Of this experi- 
 ence, he says quite simply : " Prior to this had a
 
 FIRST VENTURES FROM HOME 29 
 
 year's struggle before I got the victory over sin 
 and self." And of his baptism, which took place 
 Feb. 22, 1863, he wrote : " The sun never shone 
 brighter, and the birds never sang sweeter than 
 that day as I went home." He was baptized in the 
 Conococheague Creek, Elder David Miller officiat- 
 ing. 
 
 It may be of interest to know who, according 
 to his own statement, outside of his home, influ- 
 enced him most during this period of his life. He 
 always placed Elder Geo. McLanahan, minister in 
 the Church of the Brethren, first on the list. This 
 was because he often heard him preach and never 
 forgot his exhortations to live a more godly life. 
 Elder Christian Keif er stands next in the list. He 
 was careful to shake hands with the boys, was al- 
 ways interested in their affairs, and thus stood high 
 in their esteem. Elder Daniel P. Sayler, whom he 
 remembered for his ability to expound the Scrip- 
 tures, also influenced him greatly when young. 
 
 Thus, at the age of twenty-two, D. L. had defi- 
 nitely given his life to the Lord, was spending his 
 spare time in study and in an effort to advance 
 himself, had constantly increased his earning pow- 
 ers, and so had laid a good foundation for later 
 successes.
 
 CHAPTEK IV 
 
 A SCHOOLMASTER 
 
 WOEK on farm and in mill did not satisfy 
 D. L.'s ambitions. From the stolen mo- 
 ments of reading at noon hours and while 
 waiting for the barrels of flour to fill, he had got- 
 ten a taste of another world. He occupied every 
 spare moment in reading. Doubtless from this 
 habit grew the desire to secure employment that 
 would be more congenial. The flame of his ambi- 
 tion was fanned by his friendship with Bro. George 
 Hicks, who constantly inspired him to further ef- 
 fort. He decided to prepare himself to teach. 
 Whether this course was suggested to him by his 
 friend Hicks, or whether it was the natural out- 
 growth of his own studies and desires, is not 
 known. However that may be, he settled himself 
 to work in earnest by taking three lessons a week 
 in reading, writing and grammar from Brother 
 Hicks, with the definite intention of teaching 
 school when he should be prepared. When he felt 
 sufficiently proficient to take the examination, he 
 applied for the home school at Eockdale, Maryland, 
 and set off to undergo the ordeal. After screw- 
 ing up his courage in anticipation of a real test, 
 these were the questions he was expected to an- 
 swer : 31
 
 32 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 In grammar, " What is a noun?" In geogra- 
 phy the staggering question was : "What is geogra- 
 phy?" He was then given two problems in mental 
 arithmetic, and asked to write his name and a sen- 
 tence. After doing these things, he received his 
 certificate and was allowed to teach. 
 
 There is little record of this first year of school 
 work. He remembers that he liked teaching, had 
 good discipline, and decided to continue at this oc- 
 cupation. He received twenty-five dollars a month. 
 That amount was deemed good wages in those 
 days, and when one considers that labor was paid 
 but thirty-seven cents a day, a teacher's salary 
 would compare much better with a laborer's wages 
 at that time than it does today. 
 
 The following year, D. L. taught at the Neg- 
 ley schoolhouse, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. 
 But in this county, instead of having a few simple 
 questions at the examination, he was given a real 
 test. However, he had studied diligently, and one 
 year of teaching had grounded him thoroughly in 
 the courses in which he was examined, so he was 
 able to pass without difficulty and received his 
 certificate. There he was given thirty dollars a 
 month. D. M. Negley, on whose father's place the 
 school was located, and where D. L. boarded, was 
 a pupil of D. L.'s and is authority for the following 
 stories of that school year. He says in part : 
 
 "As a school-teacher I liked him well. He was 
 a very earnest and successful teacher and gave
 
 A SCHOOLMASTER 33 
 
 general satisfaction in teaching our school. He 
 was watchful that his students all studied their 
 lessons well before reciting, and I believe that his 
 patient and earnest perseverance in this caused 
 scholars to get in earnest also, for he kept them 
 all at work during school hours. He also had good 
 discipline in and out of school . . . . D. L. spent 
 much of his time in reading and studying not 
 fiction, but sound reading matter. He was a good 
 debater, always ready to answer his opponent 
 with convincing arguments. It was common then 
 to have debating societies one evening of each week 
 at the schoolhouses during the winter. D. L. pro- 
 posed that he and I should rise in the morning at 
 four o'clock to study, which we did most of that 
 winter. 
 
 " D. L. was much interested in spelling con- 
 tests. He had us choose sides and spell what he 
 termed ' battle lessons.' We had our spelling 
 school one evening of each week. Some of us had 
 ' Osgood's Spelling Book ' about committed to 
 memory. D. L. was pleased with his spellers and 
 said that he had better spellers than the surround- 
 ing schools. 
 
 " One teacher, a Mr. Stuart, who was teaching 
 the Marshall school, about six miles away, pro- 
 posed a trial spelling, which was accepted by D. L. 
 Mr. Stuart had heard of our spelling-book work, so 
 he preferred the dictionary, which was finally 
 agreed upon for half of the time, and the spelling 
 book for the other half. D. L. and some of his 
 chosen spellers met the Marshall spellers at their 
 own house, as agreed upon. The dictionary was 
 used first, but we were victorious and did not get 
 to try the spelling book that evening. We had also
 
 34 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 studied the dictionary some. But Mr. Stuart was 
 not satisfied, and so we had another contest at a 
 halfway schoolhouse, where we again had the best 
 of the contest." 
 
 It was customary in those days for the teach- 
 ers to treat the pupils at Christmas. To secure 
 this treat, the pupils often locked the teacher out 
 of school until he was willing to promise the cakes 
 and candy. One day, shortly before Christmas, D. 
 L. came back to his school at noon, to find it se- 
 curely closed, with all the pupils inside, demand- 
 ing that he promise them a treat. Probably D. 
 L. had a streak of stubbornness in his nature, for 
 he could not be driven, and a closed schoolhouse 
 was not a good way to secure a treat from him. 
 He went to one of the windows and pulled on 3 the 
 shutter. He tried to raise the window, but the 
 youngsters held it down. So, going back a few 
 steps, he ran up, broke the window, and jumped in 
 among the pupils. It scared the little ones so that 
 they cried. To clench his victory, he spent some 
 time in trying to place the blame before resuming 
 his lessons. It may be added that the pupils re- 
 ceived an excellent treat at Christmas and that he 
 repaired the window at his own expense. 
 
 After this year of teaching, D. L. planned to 
 go to the State Normal School at Millersville, 
 Pennsylvania, better to prepare himself for his 
 work. At this time, however, he received a busi- 
 ness offer which seemed so good that he accepted
 
 A SCHOOLMASTER 35 
 
 it, thus putting an end to teaching. He went to 
 Philadelphia to sell paint for a firm, and was to re- 
 ceive seventy-five dollars a month. He stayed there 
 three months, but received no pay, as the firm 
 failed ; then he quit the work to return home. 
 
 While in Philadelphia he roomed and boarded 
 with a Mrs. Talley. Mrs. Talley had a daughter. 
 D. L. was a lonesome country boy, in a large city 
 for the first time. There is only one conclusion to 
 such a story. Of it he writes : " There I became ac- 
 quainted with the companion of my life, fell in love 
 at first sight, and my aim in life was changed for 
 the best. Then came an ambition to become a busi- 
 ness man, and I did. It has always seemed that 
 our meeting was providential. She has been to me 
 a good wife, an earnest Christian woman, and a 
 helpmeet in the best sense of the word." 
 
 With this definite ambition to make a living 
 for another, D. L. gave up all thought of further ed- 
 ucation, or of making teaching his profession. One 
 can only speculate on what might have been the 
 outcome of his life had he continued in educational 
 work. He taught his last school in 1866. Just thir- 
 teen years later he retired from business and again 
 went into educational lines.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 EARLY MARRIAGE 
 
 EVERYONE wants to know how it happened, 
 and as my father prepared an account of D. 
 L.'s courtship a number of years ago, I take 
 the liberty of quoting from that paper as follows : 
 
 "While in Philadelphia, he boarded at the 
 home of Mrs. Talley. He was glad for the home, 
 for he felt himself to be a green country youth and 
 much out of place in the city. He was often dis- 
 heartened in adapting himself to the new and noisy 
 life about him, and the quiet of his room was a 
 blessed haven. After several weeks in Philadel- 
 phia and greatly at a loss to know what next to 
 do, a never-to-be-forgotten Sunday was passed. It 
 was one of those dark days that come into every life 
 the kind protruding itself just before the dawn- 
 ing. He walked in the park alone and lonely. His 
 reverses in business bore heavily upon him and he 
 longed for his home in Maryland. Thus depressed, 
 he returned to his boarding place as evening drew 
 on. As he entered, he stopped and talked to a serv- 
 ant a few minutes. Elizabeth Talley, daughter of 
 the landlady, chanced to pass by and invited him 
 into the parlor, where a number of young people 
 were gathered. While he had seen her about the 
 home and admired her beauty, culture and win- 
 someness, he was but an uncouth country fellow 
 
 37
 
 38 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 and in no way thought of intruding his presence 
 upon any member of the home so kindly sheltering 
 him. Hence the invitation was a great surprise. 
 
 " The group in the parlor were all strangers. 
 D. L. soon learned that all were members of the 
 Church of the Brethren. As paired off that even- 
 ing, so later in life each couple was married. Be- 
 sides Miss Talley and D. L. there were Samuel 
 Spanogle and Mary Thomas; Kobert Evans and 
 Mary Supplee ; Joseph Snyder and Elizabeth Orr. 
 Daniel accompanied Miss Talley to church that 
 night, and this was the beginning of a friendship 
 which resulted in their union Feb. 6, 1868." 
 
 After three months in the city, D. L. returned 
 to his home in Maryland, to spend the winter on the 
 farm. In spite of the failure of the firm for which 
 he worked and the discouragement it had caused 
 him, he had a new inspiration in life, for he loved a 
 charming girl and meant to make a home for her. 
 He visited her at Christmas and again in the 
 spring. After the visit in the spring he went im- 
 mediately to Polo, Illinois, and soon started into 
 business with Oliver Hicks. 
 
 He and Oliver Hicks formed a joint partner- 
 ship for the sale of groceries, butter and eggs. D. 
 L. borrowed $750 as his share in the business. Six 
 months later he sold out his part to Mr. Hicks' 
 brother for several hundred dollars more than he 
 had put in. He then set up business for himself 
 and began to deal in butter and eggs. He had a 
 good trade, made a good margin, and thoroughly 
 enjoyed " being his own boss."
 
 EARLY MARRIAGE 39 
 
 Early in 1868 he closed out his butter and egg 
 enterprise and entered partnership with S. H. 
 Shoop. He put $1,200 into the firm, and was to 
 receive $50 a month and a percentage of the profits. 
 When the business was well started he went East 
 to be married. 
 
 The ceremony was performed by Elder Jacob 
 Spanogle. After the wedding the young couple 
 proceeded to D. L.'s home in Maryland. His young- 
 er sister, Annie, who was only a tiny child, can 
 still remember that homecoming. D. L. was her 
 favorite brother, as he always had time to play 
 with her when he was home, and when she was 
 tired of romping he would hold her in his arms and 
 sing, " Gentle Annie." There was great bustle in 
 the home on account of the entrance of the new 
 daughter-in-law. Everything must be just right 
 for the city lady. Two sleighs were sent to the 
 State line to meet them, and many were the trips 
 the anxious mother made to the window to see if 
 they were coming. At last they arrived. The new 
 daughter looked at her new mother and then they 
 were in each other's arms. Next came the son's 
 turn. His was the first marriage in the family. 
 Only those who have been the first to leave and re- 
 turn to a mother's waiting arms can know what 
 that means. 
 
 They spent some time visiting among relatives 
 and then went to Polo, Illinois. For six months 
 they boarded. After that they began housekeeping
 
 40 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 in two upstairs rooms. Their outfit was very simple. 
 Both had received some things from home. Aside 
 from buying a cookstove, their whole equipment 
 cost seventeen dollars. But they had youth and 
 health and an abiding ambition to become success- 
 ful, and what more furniture would they need to 
 produce happiness? 
 
 So the young bride performed her simple 
 household tasks. She was exceedingly neat about 
 her work. She still remembers with pride how the 
 painter came one time, unexpectedly, to paint the 
 woodwork. She was not at home. He was sur- 
 prised to find no dust on top of the molding of the 
 windows and doors. She made her own clothes, 
 and many of her husband's, which he wore proudly. 
 She smiles when she recollects how she tried to 
 make a pair of trousers, but became hopelessly in- 
 volved in the process, so that they were finally left 
 with a tailor to be finished. However, most of her 
 undertakings were more successful than that. 
 
 D. L. now had a new incentive to work and he 
 toiled harder than ever before. He spent long days 
 at the store, and came home to saw wood and split 
 kindling. Then he would pass the evening with his 
 wife, reading or studying. He remembered those 
 as being happy days. He had at last really started 
 on the adventure of life.
 
 WHEN THEY LIVED AT POLO
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 LIFE IN POLO 
 
 ABOUT a year subsequent to his marriage, or 
 Jan. 1, 1869, D. L. formed a partnership in 
 the grain business with George D. Ambrose. 
 After two years this venture proved a failure and 
 he lost more than he had put in it. This failure was 
 in no way his fault. Not crushed by what would 
 have discouraged many men, he borrowed money 
 and started a grocery store, while still a partner of 
 Mr. Ambrose. The latter conducted the grain busi- 
 ness and D. L. the grocery. From the beginning the 
 grocery was a success. In 1874 D. L. bought his 
 partner's share and continued for himself until 
 1879, when he sold out, to move to Mount Morris. 
 When he sold he was worth between $12,000 and 
 $15,000 not a small fortune to be laid up, in those 
 days, during eight years of business life. 
 
 For those who have seen him only as writer, 
 traveler and preacher, it is a little hard to imagine 
 D. L. Miller selling groceries. But he was a success- 
 ful merchant and was able to make sales where his 
 clerks failed. He moved his stock a number of 
 times until he had a very advantageous location in 
 the town. From the beginning he had excellent 
 
 41
 
 42 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 trade. He always sold guaranteed goods and in 
 every particular lived up to the pledge. His 
 measures were the " heaped up and running over " 
 kind which he so often mentioned in his lectures 
 as having witnessed in Palestine. 
 
 He went to the store at six in the morning and 
 did not return from work until nine at night. Sat- 
 urday nights it was eleven. This meant that all of 
 his energies and time were spent in the store. Dur- 
 ing the eight years that he ran it, he took one vaca- 
 tion of two weeks at his home in Maryland. He 
 loved the work and did not allow it to drive him. 
 Every evening his books were posted and the store 
 was set in order for the next day. Of his business 
 ability, Mr. J. W. Clinton, editor of the Press in 
 Polo during D. L.'s residence there, says : 
 
 " D. L. Miller had the business sagacity which, 
 if turned solely to money making, might have made 
 him a millionaire before his death, but, like the 
 great Agassiz, he had not the time to spend in sim- 
 ple money making when so many greater things 
 appealed to him for his help." 
 
 The church may well be thankful that these tal- 
 ents were turned toward the establishment of a 
 successful school at Mt. Morris and that his ener- 
 gies were spent in furthering the editorial and 
 missionary activities of the church. 
 
 From 1874 to 1878 D. L. was editor of the Ar- 
 gus, a paper published in the interests of fancy 
 poultry and pets. He did the editorial work after
 
 LIFE IN POLO 43 
 
 returning home from the store. Mr. Clinton, who 
 was his partner in this venture, printed the paper 
 and D. L.'s wife bound the sheets. This probably 
 was his first literary work. His interest and love 
 for pets and all kinds of animals were very keen. 
 He raised fancy poultry and pigeons, and was at 
 one time judge at the Illinois State Fair. He was 
 a member of the Illinois Editorial Association for 
 over twenty years. The editorial work was con- 
 genial, even if he did have it to do after a weari- 
 some day at the store. While he and Mr. Clinton 
 published the Argus it was a successful paper. 
 Some of the editorials attracted attention in other 
 periodicals. The Argus invariably stood for the 
 straight and honorable course among poultry men. 
 After owning it several years, the paper was sold at 
 a good profit. 
 
 In 1871 D. L. was elected city clerk of Polo and 
 served for two years. The holding of this office was 
 an offense to some of the members of the church, 
 so he dropped it. This is mentioned merely to show 
 that he was respected and trusted by his neighbors 
 and fellow-townsmen. 
 
 Whatever reforms were being agitated in Polo 
 received his support. Polo has an interesting 
 history on the prohibition movement. On this, 
 Brother John Heckman wrote the following ac- 
 count : 
 
 " In February, 1865, a fire broke out in a sa- 
 loon on the north, where most of the business
 
 44 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 houses were located, and all the stores but one in 
 the block were burned. This so incensed many of 
 the citizens of the town that a strong organization 
 grew up against the saloon business. The W. C. 
 T. U. entered on a strong and vigorous campaign 
 to wipe out all saloons in the town. The local pa- 
 per of which Mr. J. W. Clinton was then editor 
 took a strong stand against the saloon and the 
 liquor traffic, while the Presbyterian church, just 
 then organizing, laid down the ' Blue Laws ' for 
 their membership, driving from their communion 
 such as were in any way connected with the nefari- 
 ous business and such as used liquor themselves. 
 " These various influences, climaxing at about 
 the same time, roused the people against the sa- 
 loons. A mob arose one night, early in the summer 
 of 1865, and rushing upon the saloon then on the 
 south side of Main Street, actually tore the build- 
 ing down, rolling the beer kegs and whiskey bar- 
 rels into the street and emptying them on the 
 ground. No open saloon has had the gall to un- 
 dertake to run here since." 
 
 While this was going on D. L. was in Mary- 
 land and did not return to Polo for two years. Al- 
 though the first battle had been won in the prohibi- 
 tion fight, there remained the endurance test of 
 enforcing that victory. When the saloon question 
 came up at the polls, D. L. always voted on the 
 right side, although he was criticised and called to 
 account by some of the leaders in the church. They 
 believed his action was wrong, not because they 
 endorsed the saloon, but because some in the church 
 were opposed, at that time, to any of its members
 
 LIFE IN POLO 45 
 
 taking a part in elections. " Whatever he believed 
 was right he was ready to do, even if his best 
 friends advised him against it " (John Heckman). 
 Taking this action did not hurt his trade in the 
 store, however, even with the drinking men, for he 
 said of this : 
 
 " Standing for prohibition seemed to help my 
 business. The Irish Catholic men, most of them 
 given to strong drink, about all traded with me. 
 Some of them became my warm personal friends. 
 They bought their merchandise from me as long as 
 I was in business. I did the largest business of 
 any grocer in town." 
 
 Soon after moving to Polo, D. L. bought a 
 home, where he and his wife settled down to an or- 
 dered life of work and saving. He always greatly 
 loved his home and spent many spare moments im- 
 proving it. Years after they left Polo, when a 
 picture of this home was secured and sent to him, 
 mentioning the fact that the same roses and hy- 
 drangeas he had planted, were still growing, D. 
 L. wrote that the memories had brought tears to 
 his eyes. 
 
 His Christian life was not at a standstill dur- 
 ing these busy years, but the growth was not 
 marked as it was later. Concerning this period he 
 once wrote : 
 
 " These were years of work. I attended Chris- 
 tian services, but the Life Angel visits were few 
 and far between. It has often been a question with
 
 46 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 ine how the spiritual life of the church has been 
 kept up with so few services." 
 
 The Church of the Brethren then held its regu- 
 lar services at Pine Creek, seven miles from Polo. 
 Before he owned a horse and buggy he often walked 
 there and back in order to worship with them. 
 Meetings were conducted in Polo once a month, but 
 that was little enough to develop much spiritual 
 power. At that time our church did not have a 
 Sunday-school. D. L. taught in the M. E. Sunday- 
 school while he lived in Polo. During the later 
 years of his business life there his interest in re- 
 ligious matters increased. So when the agitation 
 for a school at Mount Morris was started, his mind 
 was open and his heart ready to help. It is only 
 fair further to quote from Mr. Clinton, who was 
 his close friend during these years : 
 
 " Several years before he sold his business in- 
 terests in Polo, his mind seemed to be given more 
 and more to religious and educational interests. 
 . . For several of the later years of his resi- 
 dence in Polo we had frequent talks over religious 
 matters, and his devout regard for all great funda- 
 mental religious truth and his broad, catholic 
 mind impressed me more and more."
 
 CHAPTEE VII 
 
 His MOTHER 
 
 DL. MILLEK'S mother had a very special 
 place in his life, and, for that matter, in 
 * the lives of all her children. Whenever 
 any of them would get together, their mother was 
 always spoken of with love, reverence, and such a 
 respect as only a very good woman could inspire. 
 
 She was a kind, loving woman, very busy with 
 the cares of her own family of thirteen, plus two 
 step-children. Often there were mill and farm 
 hands to cook for. All of the buying and planning 
 and care of the family depended on her, and yet 
 she was always ready to help out a neighbor. In 
 spite of her many cares her spirit remained tran- 
 quil through it all. 
 
 She was a Christian, teaching her children to 
 say " Our church " from babyhood and to look to 
 the church for aid and comfort. Her greatest joy 
 came at the time when, one by one, they turned 
 their hearts to God. 
 
 D.L.was her favorite son. Although he did not 
 like the farm work, he loved to help in her garden. 
 From her he inherited his love for flowers. Often 
 he said that a certain flower used to grow in " moth- 
 er's garden." Her death in 1873 was a great blow. 
 
 47
 
 48 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 She had been writing him a letter, full of loving 
 advice and kind words. While thus engaged, she 
 was interrupted by callers. Later she started to 
 prepare dinner. While doing this she had a stroke 
 which left her unconscious. Within a few hours 
 she died. 
 
 About six months before her death she had 
 sent her daughter Annie, only nine years old, West 
 to make her home with D. L. The country school 
 in Maryland at that time was not suitable for the 
 young girl, so she was put under D. L.'s guardian- 
 ship while she attended the Polo school. 
 
 After his mother's death, a brother of D. L.'s 
 took the unfinished letter, added the details of her 
 passing, and sent it on a loving letter, carrying 
 the bitterest news. D. L. received it in his store 
 and read the double message. Shortly before his 
 death he wrote of this : 
 
 " It brought me such a stroke that I have never 
 fully recovered from it. I went home at once to 
 carry the sad news to my wife and Annie. I shall 
 never forget it all. Annie said : * Lizzie, can I live 
 with you until I get married?' ' Yes, of course,' 
 was the answer, and so it came to pass. She was a 
 daughter to us from that day to this." 
 
 Many years later, on his sixty-second birth- 
 day, he found this last letter of his mother's and 
 wrote of it as follows. It expresses, in some de- 
 gree, his love for his mother and the place she held 
 in his life :
 
 HIS MOTHER
 
 His MOTHER 49 
 
 ONLY AN OLD LETTER 
 
 " Only an old letter, faded and discolored by 
 the years that have come and gone, since it was 
 written, more than a third of a century ago. Even 
 the ink has paled and here and there are blotches 
 where it has run together, as if little drops of water 
 had fallen upon it, the tell-tale marks of the moth- 
 er's tears, eloquent in their silence, telling of a 
 mother's love for her wandering boy, tears which 
 fell from eyes closed in death, lo, these many years. 
 
 " Only an old, tear-stained letter with its mes- 
 sage of love from the mother heart, as pure as the 
 breath of angels and as unselfish as aught human 
 can be. I have read it over again and again to- 
 day, as I enter upon the sixty-second year of my 
 earthly pilgrimage, and as I read, how the memo- 
 ries of the years gone forever come thronging and 
 trooping before me ! The dear old home, the hap- 
 py days of childhood, before dull, corroding care 
 touched the heart and seamed the face, when the 
 shadows flitted quickly, and all the joyous years 
 were full of sunshine and childish happiness, when 
 I laid my weary head upon the ' pillow made by 
 God and cried when I was taken from it and cried 
 again when it was taken from me, cried and would 
 not be comforted,' because there had gone out of 
 my life its chief center. 
 
 " Only an old, yellow, almost illegible letter, 
 but it brings the words of a benediction from the 
 great beyond, from lips and heart silent in death, 
 and with the words comes a vision of the last time 
 I looked into the dear mother face. I was leaving 
 the old home in the East, with its vine-covered 
 porch, the spring bubbling forth from the hillside, 
 and the old mill with its moss-covered wheelhouse,
 
 50 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 the home where all my young life had been spent, 
 to make for myself a new home in the West. I 
 clasped her hand for the last time and looked into 
 her great brown eyes, as I had so often done when 
 resting on her lap, unable to fathom the depth of 
 love that shone out from them, now all filled with 
 overflowing tears. I heard from quivering lips 
 and broken voice her last words of farewell, com- 
 ing as a sob from the heart, l God bless you, my 
 boy, God bless you.' I am an old man now, ' only 
 waiting till the shadows are a little longer grown.' 
 Silver hair has come in the place of the brown locks 
 of youth. I have traveled far and wide over the 
 face of the earth since that parting day, and in all 
 my wanderings my mother's benediction has been 
 with me, and today as I write these lines, I feel her 
 presence as the memory of her dear, tear-stained 
 face comes to me as I saw it the last time. The 
 mother is dead, but the mother love lives on. It 
 can never die, for it is of God and God himself is 
 love. 
 
 " Only an old, worn letter, bringing with it 
 sacred memories from a tomb of the past, full of 
 a mother's hope for the future of her children. A 
 mother whose home was her empire and whose 
 crown of glory was her children, and the Lord 
 gave her a quiver full of them, thirteen in number. 
 Five are with her, for the Lord took them away 
 in their innocency, and eight still remain to bless 
 God for the rich heritage of a noble, Christian 
 mother's love. She had her cares and trials of pa- 
 tience, and what mother does not have these? She 
 was a woman of no common mold of character, 
 and she impressed her personality upon all with 
 whom she came in contact. She was a pious, de-
 
 His MOTHER 51 
 
 vout Christian, and Christ and her church stood 
 first in her heart. Early in life she taught her 
 children to say ' Our church,' and if troubles came 
 to the household of faith, they never came to her 
 children's ears from her lips. Her life was full of 
 labor and toil for others, and yet she found time 
 amid all her family cares to administer words of 
 comfort to those who needed human sympathy as 
 well as more substantial aid to the poor. 
 
 " Only an old, old letter, bearing the marks 
 of age, but full of good counsel, full of love and 
 closing with a mother's blessing. I read it and 
 what wonder if a fresh tear-stain be added to 
 those on the old letter? and then carefully fold it 
 and lay it away, as one lays away a rich treasure, 
 and the desire in my heart for the meeting on the 
 other shore has grown all the stronger. And so I 
 patiently wait for the lengthening of the shadows, 
 for the going down of the sun, doing what I can 
 while it is day, and after a little while will come the 
 blessed homegoing, at home with God and with 
 the loved ones who are watching and waiting on 
 the Golden Shore."
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE MOVE 
 
 IN the days when D. L. Miller was a successful 
 grocer, an interest in education was just be- 
 ginning to grow active in the Church of the 
 Brethren. A number of efforts had been made to 
 start schools, but many difficulties, principally fi- 
 nancial, had hindered their progress. Juniata 
 College, at Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, had been 
 started in 1876. A number of other attempts had 
 been made in the East to establish schools. In the 
 West nothing had been done. D. L. always had 
 an active mind, and while his own education was 
 limited, it did not mean that he was not interested 
 in things educational. So, when he heard that a 
 movement was on foot to buy Eock Eiver Seminary, 
 at Mount Morris, he was interested. And the men 
 who were agitating the buying of Kock Eiver Semi- 
 nary for the Church of the Brethren became in- 
 terested in him. For here was a young man, with 
 some money, a clear business head, active, sociable, 
 already a force in his home town. Could he be 
 persuaded to become business manager of the new 
 school? 
 
 M. S. Newcomer and J. W. Stein were pro- 
 moting the college at Mount Morris. M. S. New- 
 
 53
 
 54 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 comer talked to D. L. about it. D. L. was interested 
 but not ready at first to leave his store. He would 
 be expected to put money into the school and the 
 returns on the money were doubtful. It would 
 mean giving up his home and the relations he had 
 already established in Polo. His wife, inspired by 
 the love a woman has for home and the things of 
 life that are established, hesitated about making 
 a move that was so uncertain. At first she said 
 " We cannot go." But Brother Newcomer kept 
 writing to D. L., and while he said little about 
 those letters, she felt that he continued to be in- 
 terested and desired to do that kind of work. Once 
 at the table she asked : 
 
 " Dear, do you want to go to Mount Morris? " 
 And with his honest eyes on her, he answered, 
 " Yes." 
 
 It was a bitter fight for her to give up her 
 home and friends and to move into a strange town. 
 Mount Morris, at that time, was not the beautiful 
 little village it is now. The Eock Eiver Seminary, 
 a Methodist institution, had failed. People had 
 moved from toAvn. Many of the houses were old 
 and unkept and some were vacant. Only two mem- 
 bers of the Church of the Brethren were living 
 there. She and D. L. had just arrived at that point 
 where extreme economy was not necessary. They 
 had their horse and buggy, their own home, an es- 
 tablished business, an enviable position in the 
 town, and to change was hard. But when they
 
 THE MOVE 55 
 
 were first married she had resolved never to hin- 
 der him in any good work he might desire to do ; 
 so she fought her battle and won. One day she 
 said: 
 
 " Have you had any more letters from Brother 
 Newcomer? " 
 
 " Yes," he said, "I got one today." 
 
 " Does he still want you to come? " 
 
 "Yes, he does." 
 
 " Then write him you will come." 
 
 He looked at her as if he could not believe it, 
 and then she received her reward for the surrender 
 she had made. 
 
 A number of years before his death, D. L. 
 wrote that this was the turning point in his life. 
 " I look back upon it as divinely ordered and I 
 have never had occasion to regret the move I then 
 made." 
 
 To make it possible for D. L. to leave Polo, 
 Brother M. S. Newcomer bought his store. In 
 turn D. L. purchased a one-third interest in the 
 school. Originally the school had been acquired 
 for six thousand dollars from Hon. E. E. Hitt, one- 
 half being raised by donation and given to Brother 
 J. W. Stein, who was made president of the school ; 
 the other half furnished by Brother M. S. New- 
 comer. After securing the institution seven thou- 
 sand dollars' worth of improvements were put into 
 it. The school was started April 1, 1879. The fol- 
 lowing September D. L. became connected with it,
 
 56 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 by buying a third interest in it, becoming a mem- 
 ber of the board of trustees, and being elected sec- 
 retary and business manager of the institution. 
 In 1883, when the Brethren at Work was in finan- 
 cial straits, he withdrew his money from the school, 
 and on the advice of his associates put it into that 
 paper. In 1885, when a stock company was finally 
 formed, D. L. took a sixth interest in the school and 
 held it until the institution was formally turned 
 over to the church. 
 
 On the twentieth of August, 1879, the school 
 opened for its first complete year. 
 
 " Sixty students were present at the opening 
 of the school, and at the close of the first term 108 
 had enrolled. The enrollment for the second term 
 was 140. The school succeeded beyond the most 
 sanguine expectation of its promoters and friends, 
 and at the close of the winter term for the second 
 year 212 students had been enrolled and the school 
 was on a sound paying basis. The fact that the 
 simple life was insisted upon drew students from 
 many outside of the church. 
 
 " Two successful years were had and then the 
 school suffered a serious loss. The president, J. W. 
 Stein, was a remarkable man. He was a fluent, 
 polished speaker, had the power of holding his au- 
 diences spellbound, was blessed with the gift of 
 oratory in a marked degree, and his kindness, cour- 
 tesy, and geniality impressed all who came under 
 the charm of his powerful influence. The students 
 loved him as a father and the faculty as an elder 
 brother. In 1881 he left Mount Morris, ostensibly 
 for a tour of the Holy Land, and did not return.
 
 THE MOVE 57 
 
 Those who knew him passed no harsh judgment on 
 the irretrievable mistake he made. Three years 
 ago he died in Canada. Thus ended a life of bril- 
 liant promise. 
 
 " The desertion of the institution by Presi- 
 dent Stein, and its unfortunate cause, was a hard 
 blow on the infant school. The block of ground 
 west of the college campus had been purchased, a 
 new college building planned, a farm of 160 acres 
 was being negotiated for, and the prospects for 
 the success of the school were never brighter. Then 
 came the blow as a clap of thunder from a clear 
 sky. And discouragements came not singly. At 
 that time, at a conference of the Northern District 
 of Illinois, all the elders save one, Elder J. H. 
 Moore, advised Brethren Newcomer and Miller to 
 close the school. Under these most depressing in- 
 fluences, the entire burden resting on the two men, 
 the building project was abandoned, the negotia- 
 tions for the farm ended, and the block of ground, 
 now built over with substantial residences, was al- 
 lowed to revert to the original owners." D. L. 
 Miller, in " Memories of Old Sandstone." 
 
 After the discovery of the desertion of J. W. 
 Stein, D. L. was physically sick for a week and the 
 wound to his spirit was great. He felt that he did 
 not know whom to trust, for it was in J.W. Stein's 
 living room that were first started the prayer meet- 
 ings where D. L. had received so much spiritual 
 uplift. His nature was not one to doubt the sin- 
 cerity of another, for he loved and honored his 
 friends greatly. Brother Quinter, to whom he 
 confided this trouble, gave him some wise advice.
 
 58 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " Brother Miller," he said, " I know it is a 
 sad experience to go through. But think of the 
 men who have not deceived." 
 
 This advice helped and in time the wound was 
 healed, but the scar remained. 
 
 D. L.'s love for his friend never faltered. 
 Years afterwards he sought him out in his retire- 
 ment to visit him. He loved his friends in spite of 
 faults and mistakes. 
 
 In the spring of 1881, when J. W. Stein left 
 the school, D. L. was elected to fill his place as 
 president for the rest of that school year. Keluc- 
 tantly he accepted this position, for keenly he felt 
 his lack of education for this kind of work. " Never- 
 theless during the few months that he first served 
 in that capacity, he won the highest respect from 
 both students and faculty, and when the trustees 
 wanted a president for the ensuing year, they 
 naturally turned to him as the one best suited for 
 the place. He was persuaded to accept the office 
 for two years." At the end of the first year he de- 
 cided to take a trip to Europe, and so S. Z. Sharp, 
 vice-president, took his place until 1884, when 
 Brother J. G. Royer was made president. 
 
 Many changes, more than those of mere oc- 
 cupation, had come into the lives of D. L. and his 
 wife since Polo days. From their cosy home in 
 Polo they moved into " Old Sandstone " at Mount 
 Morris. Here, with the boy students, they made 
 their home for nearly five years. Their rooms
 
 THE MOVE 59 
 
 were on the southwest end of the second story. 
 First came the office and then the living rooms 
 back of that. Here D. L. took care of the school 
 business, interviewed students, and generally 
 supervised the discipline in the building. 
 
 The students in particular were Ms friends. 
 He went to the train to meet them when they first 
 came to town. He showed them their rooms and 
 helped to get them settled. He gave them counsel 
 when they needed advice and corrected them 'when 
 admonition was necessary. Always he was their 
 friend. Brother Grant Mahan still remembers 
 those days and wrote some of Ms recollections of 
 that time: 
 
 " I shall never forget how I first met Mm and 
 how he became my friend right from the start, 
 trusting me in a way that surprised me then and 
 still does when I think about it. 
 
 " He knew when to speak to the boys and what 
 to say to them. In writing about these things one 
 must necessarily write about himself, for Brother 
 Miller was not given to telling one boy what he 
 said to another. And one lesson he gave three of 
 us boys because of what we did in the dining-room 
 has remained with me. It was holiday time and we 
 were full of fun, though we did nothing more than 
 mischief. But he did not reprimand us before the 
 roomful of other boys and girls. He waited until 
 he saw the three of us together outside, and then 
 came up to talk to us. Even then he did not repri- 
 mand us, but simply asked us whether we thought 
 we had acted as we should. That got us all in a 
 way that nothing else could, and it helped us more
 
 60 LITE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 than a dozen lectures and reprimands would have. 
 
 "At another time a young man came into the 
 boys' building with a sackful of apples. I asked 
 him for one and he refused to give it to me ; so I 
 proceeded to take him down and get the apple. 
 Brother Miller came up the steps two at a time. 
 He had been in a recitation room just beneath, 
 studying German, preparatory to his first trip 
 across the water. He asked what the trouble was, 
 and I told him. He turned around and went back 
 down the stairs without saying a word. At a later 
 time, in talking with me about it, he said : ' It was 
 exactly what I would have done when a boy, and I 
 could say nothing to you boys.' That was the 
 great secret of his success, and is the reason why 
 we all loved him and tried to please him. He never 
 forgot that he had been a boy and had done the 
 things that boys are so prone to do. He rarely 
 argued with a boy when he was just from his mis- 
 chief, but gave him time to think it over and cool 
 off. Something flagrantly wrong he stopped at 
 once. 
 
 " Many incidents crowd into my mind, but I 
 shall tell but one more, and that about another 
 boy. The boy himself told me, and while he was 
 telling it the tears streamed down his face. He 
 was a boy Avho had not had the best of home train- 
 ing, and he had fallen into evil ways ; had acquired 
 the habit of drink. One day he went down to the 
 neighboring town of Oregon to get drink, for even 
 in those early days Mount Morris was dry nearly 
 all the time. As he came across the stile into the 
 campus, coming home, he met Brother Miller. The 
 boy was so drunk that he could not walk straight. 
 But Brother Miller did not stop him. He greeted
 
 THE MOVE 61 
 
 Mm kindly and went on to town and the boy went 
 to his room. But a few days later he asked the 
 boy to come to his office, as he wanted to talk with 
 him. And there was wonderful love and pity shown 
 in that talk. He showed which way the road was 
 leading ; urged the boy to stop and turn back before 
 it was too late. In telling of it the boy said to me, 
 ' He treated me as if I were a man and not a crim- 
 inal, and because of what he said and the way he 
 said it, I am going to be a man.' Could anyone have 
 acted more in the spirit and manner of the Mas- 
 ter when dealing with one who had been overtaken 
 in a fault? That was his way of dealing with us 
 and he helped us over many a hard place. 
 
 "And whether it was one boy or a few boys or 
 all the boys, he talked to them in the same way. He 
 appealed to what was best in them, and they re- 
 sponded much better than they would have to the 
 man who would have taken a different and harsh- 
 er method of correction. He was kind to us, but we 
 always knew that he did not condone serious of- 
 fenses; there was never any compromise with 
 wrong. He was the warm friend of the young all 
 his life, and more than one young man and young 
 woman owes much to his inspiration and help. 
 Some of us are no longer young, but we still cherish 
 his memory and are thankful that he came into our 
 lives when he did." 
 
 Another change which was made by the move 
 was dropping his study of a cashbook and poultry 
 papers and taking up that of Latin, German and 
 other subjects. He actually entered the classes 
 of the school, for of his lack of education he had
 
 62 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 always been very sensitive. Here he rapidly ac- 
 quired much formal training. 
 
 From the occasional church services at Pine 
 Creek and his work in the Methodist Sunday- 
 school, he was plunged at once into a more fervent 
 religious atmosphere. At Mount Morris he helped 
 to start one of the first Sunday-schools in Northern 
 Illinois. He was teacher of a young men's class. 
 Hard labor was put upon those Sunday-school les- 
 sons, and often he felt that he was making a fail- 
 ure of his work ; but he built better than he knew, 
 for five prominent bishops came from that class. 
 He had no lesson helps, using only the Bible in 
 preparation. His lessons were studied very thor- 
 oughly, and questions were written out with great 
 care and precision. As one member of that class 
 said, D. L. was not an enthusiastic teacher, but the 
 boys attended regularly because they loved him, 
 and in later years they realized that the lessons he 
 had taught them had made a deeper impression 
 than they knew. 
 
 His activities in Mount Morris reached be- 
 yond the borders of the school. Brother John 
 Heckman recollects how active he was on the tem- 
 perance question in Mount Morris : 
 
 "Some years later, in the spring of 1883, the 
 matter of the open saloon in Mount Morris came up 
 for vote. I was there and I remember quite well 
 how active D. L. was that every voter go to the 
 polls and cast his vote against having an open sa- 
 loon in Mount Morris. It was voted down at that
 
 THE MOVE 63 
 
 time and there has been no saloon since. All the 
 students eligible were strongly urged to vote. 
 Many votes were challenged. D. L. certified to a 
 number of men as to their eligibility. At a time 
 when those things were not as clear as they have 
 become since, D. L. had a clear vision and always 
 advised the right things to do when others hes- 
 itated." 
 
 He likewise was chairman of the faculty and 
 helped to smooth the irritations which arose there. 
 Once, while he was in Pennsylvania, the faculty 
 became hopelessly divided: D. L. was sent for to 
 settle the difficulty, and it was not long after he 
 arrived that the trouble was smoothed out and the 
 school in running order again. 
 
 "While Brother Miller will be remembered 
 as one of the main founders of the college, it is as 
 a trustee for a generation that he has given full 
 proof of his fitness as an official of the school, and 
 has done the most substantial work for it. His 
 knowledge of the church and her needs, his exten- 
 sive travels, his experience as a preacher and writ- 
 er, have given him an appreciation of the value of 
 Christian education to the church, and this has 
 kept him a staunch friend and supporter of the col- 
 lege, even when the school policy in some details 
 did not harmonize with his personal views. No 
 movement for a larger Mount Morris College has 
 been made in these years in which he is not repre- 
 sented as one of the most liberal donors ; a fact that 
 shows how in some men self may be lost in a great 
 cause, or an institution, which necessarily cannot 
 reflect any individual, but must represent the com- 
 munity." " Memories of Old Sandstone."
 
 RIVER EDER NEAR SCHWARZENAU
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 FIRST TRIP ABROAD 
 
 AFTEK much serious and prayerful reflection, 
 and a long discussion of the matter, we de- 
 termined, by the blessing of our Heavenly 
 Father, to visit some parts of the Old 
 World. In this we have been actuated by a desire 
 to carry out a resolve to visit the Vaterland, and 
 to become better acquainted with the language, and 
 the country from which our church emigrated near- 
 ly two centuries ago. . . . We also have a strong 
 desire to visit the field of our dear Brother Hope's 
 labors and, if possible, to say an encouraging word 
 to him." 
 
 Thus simply is the motive for D. L.'s first trip 
 abroad given in the opening chapter of " Europe 
 and Bible Lands." In the eighties a trip abroad 
 was no ordinary adventure. Especially in the 
 Church of the Brethren had few members under- 
 taken such a trip. Brother Christian Hope had 
 been sent to Denmark in 1876 by the District of 
 Northern Illinois. The following year Brethren 
 Enoch Eby and Daniel Fry had visited Denmark 
 and spent some time working in the mission. But 
 that had happened six years before, when D. L. 
 was an earnest grocer, with mind occupied in mak- 
 
 65
 
 66 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 ing a fortune. The move to Mount Morris and the 
 work in the school had opened his mind to many 
 things. He had passed through a complete change 
 of heart and purpose. The energies which had 
 once been spent in making a successful grocer 
 had been diverted into work for the school and 
 church. Association with schoolmen brought 
 about a knowledge of his own ignorance. He imme- 
 diately sought to remedy that by earnest study. 
 He desired to learn more German, the better to in- 
 form himself on the early history of the church, for 
 all of the early church literature was in that lan- 
 guage. 
 
 It so happened that at this time two of the 
 professors in the school had decided to go to Ger- 
 many, to complete their education. When Profes 
 sors Jenks and Burnett talked of the trip, D. L.'s 
 desire was increased, and with the prospect of such 
 congenial company he and his wife decided to go. 
 It was one of the most important decisions of his 
 life and probably changed his entire future. At 
 the age of seventy-eight, when he could look back 
 over an almost completed life, he wrote of his 
 journeys : " My journeys to Palestine, six in num 
 ber, had a wonderful influence on my life. They 
 entirely changed my purpose in life. As I look 
 back on it all and sum it all up, I must say that my 
 travels are largely accountable for what I have 
 done and accomplished in my life." 
 
 Thus, with the prospect of congenial company.
 
 FIRST TRIP ABROAD 67 
 
 and the strong desire better to inform himself on 
 church history, as well as to visit the Danish Mis- 
 sion, the decision was made, and preparations were 
 begun for the trip. It meant leaving their home, 
 breaking up the habits, so pleasantly formed in 
 the church and school, and starting out into, per- 
 haps, an unkind world certainly one that was 
 wholly strange. But with the courage that had 
 carried him from the home of his youth, through 
 financial failure into success, and had again made 
 it possible for him to give up further material 
 fortune, in order to turn his energies toward edu- 
 cation in the church, he now relinquished his work 
 in the school and faced this new adventure with a 
 full knowledge of its possibilities, both good and 
 bad. 
 
 July 23, 1883, they left Mount Morris to start 
 on their long journey, stopping briefly in Maryland 
 to visit the old home, then continuing to New York, 
 where, Aug. 22, they embarked on the Werra. 
 
 This is not intended to be more than a brief 
 account of the trip, for the details can be read at 
 first hand in " Europe and Bible Lands." The 
 main purpose here is to show the kind of things 
 in which D. L. was interested on that trip, and the 
 way they aif ected him. 
 
 The monotony of the voyage was interrupted 
 by seasickness and a storm. Neither, apparently, 
 damped the ardor of the little party. D. L. accept- 
 ed both experiences as something of interest, if not
 
 68 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 entirely pleasant. The sight of the storm was not 
 only of scenic interest to him, as we find him faith- 
 fully recording in the following paragraph : 
 
 "As we sat upon the hurricane deck, protected 
 by our waterproof wrappings from the spray, and 
 watched the contending elements, we thought how 
 insignficant is man ! How small a space does he fill 
 in God's universe ! How weak and powerless he is, 
 when compared with him who holds in his hands 
 the storm and the sea ! And yet, how important he 
 sometimes becomes, assuming to himself great pow- 
 er and authority ! A moment's experience of this 
 kind ought to teach a lesson of true humility, never 
 to be forgotten." 
 
 They arrived safely at Bremerhaven, Ger- 
 many, Aug. 31, and disembarked the next day, to 
 continue their journey to the university at Halle. 
 
 With brief stops at Hanover and Berlin, thej 7 
 finally settled in Dresden for a few weeks of study 
 before going to Halle. They were in a land of 
 strange customs and an older civilization, and D. 
 L. was quick to note the difference in the customs, 
 and to compare them with those at home. How- 
 ever, he was not carried away by this change, but 
 was able to make sane comparisons. Farms in 
 Germany are small and intensely cultivated. We 
 have often heard American methods criticised for 
 not imitating more closely the customs of the Old 
 World. D. L. was observing but not critical, as we 
 find in the following paragraph : 
 
 " The land seems to be very productive, and is
 
 FIRST TRIP ABROAD 69 
 
 very carefully tilled. The idea here seems to be, 
 how little and how well; whilst with us all are 
 anxious to see how much can be done without so 
 much anxiety as to how well it is done. I am well 
 satisfied that if the rich lands of America were as 
 well cultivated, and their resources as carefully 
 husbanded as are the garden lands of Germany, 
 there would be a twofold increase in the annual 
 production. In the years to come, when the Mis- 
 sissippi Valley alone will contain forty million 
 people, then this method of gardening will be a ne- 
 cessity. For the present, however, we prefer the 
 American plan, with its enterprise, push, and in- 
 dustry, and the grand results, in the aggregate, ac- 
 complished by our farmers at home." 
 
 The wonders of Berlin were duly visited the 
 palaces, the art galleries, a great Jewish synagogue, 
 and " Unter den Linden." Here his chief interest 
 was in the relics of Egypt. He gloried in the fact 
 that such material proofs of the truth of the Bible 
 were in existence. That seemed to be one of the 
 main themes during all of his travels seeking out 
 proofs of the truth of that great Book which he 
 loved and read so constantly. 
 
 He compared the wealth of the kings and 
 princes of Germany, as represented by jewels and 
 treasures of art, with the condition of the poor 
 women who labored in the fields, who were hitched 
 to carts with dogs, and who could look forward to 
 no relief from their poverty, no matter how hard 
 they worked. The inequality which arises from a 
 wealty nobility and a poverty-stricken peasantry
 
 70 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 was quickly noted by his observant American eyes, 
 accustomed as they were to a democratic country, 
 where every one has a chance to better his condi- 
 tion. 
 
 At a great festival, held for the celebration of 
 Luther's birth, he saw more than the mere honor 
 done to a great man, for behind it all lurked the 
 sinister efforts of Bismarck to unite Germany in- 
 to a world power. It was the desire to have a 
 common religion in the German states, and the 
 Luther " Fest " was being used to this end. D. L. 
 notes this in one of his letters in " Europe and 
 Bible Lands " thus : 
 
 "The Luther ' Fest ' will, without doubt, give 
 this movement [the unification of Germany] a 
 strong impetus, and Bismarck's policy for the uni- 
 fication of Germany will be greatly strengthened. 
 It is not, however, in the direction of higher spirit- 
 uality, but rather towards hero worship, and the 
 earthly glory of the German Confederation." 
 
 He as well as his wife, made rapid progress in 
 the study of German. At Dresden, and later in 
 Halle, they lived with German families. In Halle, 
 where they spent most of the winter, there were 
 only three Americans in the city besides them- 
 selves. This little group met on Saturday even- 
 ings to read a chapter in the Bible and discuss it. 
 At this meeting, only, did they speak English. The 
 rest of the week they were " under penalty to 
 speak only German, and the result is, that our 
 conversation is somewhat limited." The conver-
 
 FIRST TRIP ABROAD 71 
 
 sation may have been limited at first, but later D.L. 
 became fluent in the language, both in reading and 
 in speaking. I can remember the delight I had, 
 when only a child, in listening to him read Br'er 
 Babbit stories in German, and then translating 
 them into English, so that I could understand 
 them. I loved the roll of the German words, and it 
 seemed a most wonderful performance that he 
 could change those meaningless sounds into under- 
 standable English. 
 
 At Halle he was admitted to the university on 
 the ground that he was a trustee of a college in 
 America. There he studied political economy and 
 church history. The names of American students 
 were engraved on brass plates and mounted on the 
 walls. There his name was placed with those of 
 other American students. The life of study was 
 pleasantly interrupted by a visit to Prague, the 
 home of John Huss, and various trips to scenes of 
 interest about Halle. 
 
 Dec. 24 they left Halle for Denmark, to see 
 Brother Hope and the mission. This was their 
 first visit to one of the church missions. Many 
 more visits followed, which resulted in a stimula- 
 tion of mission work in the church, which can never 
 be fully estimated. 
 
 The trip to Denmark gave D. L. a view of 
 missions at first hand, and doubtless increased his 
 enthusiasm in that line of church endeavor. There 
 he saw the fight the little churches were making
 
 72 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 against enforced military training and a govern- 
 ment hostile to any but the State Church. He 
 found Brother Hope fervent and enthusiastic in 
 the work in spite of a sick wife and inadequate 
 support. He discovered little groups of members, 
 earnest and faithful, fighting a real fight for their 
 principles. He beheld them so anxious for a 
 church service that they would walk from five to 
 ten miles to meeting and think nothing of it. He 
 and his wife learned by experience what that 
 meant, for he, with Brother Hope, walked five 
 miles to one of the churches through a snowstorm. 
 He saw a baptismal scene, at midnight, afar in 
 the ocean, with only those present who could row 
 out in a small boat. The laws were so stringent in 
 Denmark that the waters about the country could 
 not be used for baptizing, so the little group rented 
 a boat at a bathing beach and rowed out, apparent- 
 ly to bathe, but really for a very solemn ceremony. 
 Certainly these scenes and experiences, so dif- 
 ferent from those at home, gave him a broader vis- 
 ion and a new enthusiasm in the work and mis- 
 sions of the church. 
 
 After a three weeks' visit in Denmark, D. L. 
 and his wife returned to Halle for another month 
 of study before going to Palestine.
 
 CHRISTIAN HOPE
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 PALESTINE 
 
 WHEN the trip to Europe was first planned 
 it had not included a visit to the lands of 
 the Bible. But after D. L. and his wife 
 had been in Halle for some time, they decided to 
 continue their journey to Palestine. He tells, in the 
 opening of Letter Ten in " Europe and Bible 
 Lands," of his strong desire to visit this country : 
 
 , "After some delay we have arranged to go 
 down to the lands of the Bible, and as we start on 
 this long and somewhat dangerous journey, we 
 naturally ask ourselves the question, What is the 
 object of making . . . this journey? Is it only 
 the desire to visit the noted places in Palestine to 
 gratify an idle curiosity? We hope not. No doubt 
 the most of our readers have had at times a strong 
 desire to visit the scenes of the life, the sufferings, 
 and the death of the Redeemer of mankind. 
 
 "... It was the dream of our youth, and 
 in later years, we have often looked forward to the 
 time, when, under the blessing of our Heavenly 
 Father, we might undertake the journey, and visit 
 the land, which above all others must always Me of 
 the most absorbing interest to Christians. . f . 
 
 " Secondarily, the trip was undertaken to 
 write a series of letters for the Gospel Messenger." 
 
 That it was not entirely a pleasure trip is 
 evidenced by the fact that he studied eight differ- 
 
 73
 
 74 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 ent books on Palestine, using them constantly as 
 he traveled from place to place, comparing the 
 facts and measurements in them with the real ob- 
 jects of interest. He did not go to visit Palestine 
 but to study Palestine. 
 
 They left Halle Feb. 18, 1884, to travel south- 
 ward by way of Munich, Venice and Trieste, and 
 from there by boat to Athens. In that historic 
 city they spent a week among its ruins, and for the 
 first time really getting near the scenes of the Bi- 
 ble. D. L. was deeply impressed by this visit. He 
 went about alone with his Bible in hand and re- 
 imaged the scenes which had taken place there so 
 many centuries before. He tells how vividly all 
 this impressed him in one of his letters home : 
 
 " Today, March 4, we spent some time on the 
 hill alone. Never before have we read with so 
 much interest the seventeenth chapter of Acts, 
 giving a record of Paul's preaching in Athens, as 
 we read it today on Mars' Hill, where we are now 
 writing, using a stone for a desk. To stand here, 
 on the very ground where he stood, on this solid 
 granite hill which, with the lapse of nineteen cen- 
 turies that have passed over it, has not materially 
 changed, since the great Apostle of the Gentiles 
 proclaimed the Gospel to the idolatrous city from 
 its midst, is to gain a new and strangely vivid in- 
 terest in the man, and in the words he uttered. Of 
 course, we always had an interest in the words, but 
 the scene was far away, both in time and in space, 
 and it never impressed us as it does now as we are 
 brought face to face with the very spot where it was
 
 PALESTINE 75 
 
 enacted. Then, too, surrounded on every hand by 
 the ruins of the old idolatrous worship, and know- 
 ing fully the conditions that existed, one is pre- 
 pared to appreciate fully the boldness, the force, 
 and the appropriate fitness of his words to the men 
 of Athens." 
 
 This is not a description of the places he saw 
 on that trip. But his letters are still freshly in- 
 teresting to anyone who wishes to have those ad- 
 ventures with him at first hand. For the farmer, 
 grocer, schoolman, lately from the small towns of 
 northern Illinois, this trip was certainly a broad- 
 ening experience, and each strange city meant a 
 new adventure, a broader outlook and a deeper 
 inspiration. 
 
 They left Athens by boat for Smyrna, where 
 they spent two days, making a trip to Ephesus, 
 where was located one of the seven churches of 
 Asia. Apparently the short stay here did not sat- 
 isfy him, for later he revisited the place and wrote 
 an entire book on these churches. Their journey 
 continued uneventfully to Jaffa, the nearest port 
 to Jerusalem. Here they had to make the treach- 
 erous landing in little boats, through the surf and 
 between the rocks. His wife said she thought she 
 would never live to get to shore, when she looked 
 from their boat at the rolling surf and then at the 
 tiny shell-like craft into which they were expected 
 to descend., , It is, indeed, a dangerous landing and 
 surely appeared very hazardous to their land-ac- 
 customed eyes. But they bravely got into the boat
 
 76 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 and the skillful natives steered them safely between 
 the rocks, to land them in Jaffa, the home of Simon 
 the tanner. Now, at last, they were truly on holy 
 ground, in Palestine itself. 
 
 They spent some time visiting in Jaffa, and 
 here he wrote out a brief history of Palestine, so 
 that his readers could more intelligently follow his 
 travels. He knew his Bible. That is evidenced 
 by the brief histories he penned of the cities 
 through which they passed and the many scriptur- 
 al quotations he makes in his letters. One won- 
 ders when he learned his Bible so well. Was it 
 as a busy grocer, working from early morning un- 
 til late at night? Or did he acquire that careful 
 knowledge during the few short years as business 
 manager of the school? 
 
 The trip from Jaffa to Jerusalem is about 
 forty miles and it was made in wagons. That is a 
 long one-day trip for people not accustomed to this 
 mode of travel. On the way, D. L. was interested 
 in the plowing, which was done with a one-handled 
 plow. He even got out of the wagon and tried to 
 work the plow, but found it required a skill that 
 his hands did not possess. They rode all day 
 across the land of Palestine toward Jerusalem, 
 and doubtless the fact that they were in that land 
 kept them from feeling too much the fatigue of the 
 journey. But they arrived in Jerusalem too tired 
 for any high emotions, as D. L. tells in one of his 
 letters :
 
 PALESTINE 77 
 
 " The last four miles of our ride are uphill, for 
 Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains. Sudden- 
 ly, in front of us, looms a dark object, and we can 
 distinguish the dim outlines of a high wall, and we 
 begin to feel that the first day of our travel in Pal- 
 estine is drawing to a close. In a few minutes our 
 wagons halt at a high tower in the wall. We are 
 soon on the ground and entering the Jaffa gate. 
 
 " We are in Jerusalem. Travelers have writ- 
 ten many pages describing their emotions upon 
 first viewing and entering this city of cities. Shiv- 
 ering with cold and the dampness of our clothing, 
 we do not feel in a mood to meditate. We hurry to 
 our hotel, where a cold reception awaits us. There 
 is no fire in the house, and at midnight we go shiver- 
 ing to our beds, in rooms with stone floors, that 
 have something of the appearance of prison cells. 
 ... It was a long ride for our first day in Pal- 
 estine, and we are exceedingly glad and thankful 
 that it was finished. 
 
 " Notwithstanding our rather unpleasant sur- 
 roundings and the novelty of the situation, being 
 tired and weary, we enjoyed a good, refreshing 
 sleep, and were up early in the morning fully rest- 
 ed, and ready and anxious to begin our day's work 
 of sight-seeing." 
 
 They did their sight-seeing faithfully, not only 
 looking at the scenes of interest, but reading their 
 Bibles and studying works on Palestine, so that 
 this journey became really an education. It is im- 
 possible to mention the many place of importance 
 they saw. This can only be hinted at. He was 
 deeply impressed by the wailing place of the Jews.
 
 78 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 Here, by an ancient wall of the temple, the Jews, 
 old and young, gather and mourn for their lost 
 Jerusalem, praying for the time to come when it 
 will be restored to them. After describing this in 
 detail, D. L. remarks : 
 
 " The question is often asked, 'Are there, at the 
 present lime, any indications of the fulfillment of 
 the prophecy in regard to the restoration of the 
 Jews, and are the Jews gathering in Jerusalem?' 
 At the present time the number of Jews at Jeru- 
 salem is placed at about ten thousand, and there 
 does not appear to be any rapid increase in their 
 number. The faith of the Jews themselves, how- 
 ever, in the prophecy, and their zeal manifested in 
 the incidents here described, impressed us as a 
 strong indication of the fulfillment of prophecy." 
 
 In the light of recent events, when Jerusalem 
 has been freed from heathen rule, it seems that 
 those prophecies are really being fulfilled. 
 
 " Having visited the many places of interest 
 in the Holy City, and having walked around the 
 walls thereof and noted well its situation, we now 
 mount our horses for the day's ride and for sight- 
 seeing outside of the city. Our horses are rather 
 small and rough looking, but we found before get- 
 ting through with our twenty-one days' ride over 
 the rough and hilly roads of Palestine, that they 
 are exceedingly hardy, very sure-footed and of a 
 kindly disposition. Wife, whose experience at 
 horseback riding up to this time has been limited 
 to two attempts, feels somewhat nervous over try- 
 ing the experiment, but she mounts her Arabian
 
 PALESTINE 79 
 
 steed bravely, and we set forth on our first horse- 
 back ride in Palestine." 
 
 Thus they started out with a party of others 
 on a three weeks' trip which led them through 
 Bethlehem, Jericho, by the Dead Sea, and onward 
 to Samaria, up to the Sea of Galilee, and across 
 Syria to Damascus and Beyrout. They stopped at 
 many historic places, and in spite of the fatigue 
 of the journey, D. L.'s Bible and books of reference 
 were ever open and his mind was constantly search- 
 ing out all of the facts regarding the land through 
 which they were passing. 
 
 There were eighteen in the party of travelers. 
 Twenty men went along, acting as guides, cooks, 
 dragomans, guards and servants. In all there 
 were forty-five horses and mules to carry the bag- 
 gage. When camp was made, there were nine 
 sleeping tents, a dining tent and a cooking tent. 
 Each night all the valuables were given to the 
 guard, who put them in a locked box and watched 
 it all night, for their journey was not through a 
 law-abiding land like America, but along Palestine 
 roads, where thieves still watched for their prey. 
 At night they slept so soundly that they did not 
 hear the howling hyenas and jackals. Certainly 
 their day of travel left them tired. 
 
 "After journeying all day, one of the most 
 welcome sights to us was our canvas town, with the 
 American flag floating in the breeze. We usually 
 found our tents pitched, and a good meal prepared
 
 80 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 and waiting for us in the dining tent. After wash- 
 ing off the dust of travel, the bell for our evening 
 meal would ring. . . . After the meal the pro- 
 gram for the following day would be announced, 
 and then after relating the experiences of the day, 
 we went to our tents, where, after writing up fully 
 the occurrences of the day, we retired to enjoy a 
 night's rest, that can only be enjoyed in a tent, 
 after a day of fatiguing travel." 
 
 The journey, although made up to a great ex- 
 tent with the wonder and joy at seeing new and 
 sacred sights, was not entirely without its mis- 
 haps. One of the ladies in the party was unfortu- 
 nate enough to break her leg. Luckily two doctors 
 were in the company, so she received what atten- 
 tion it was possible to give with the conveniences 
 at hand. She recovered, with no bad effects from 
 the accident, and in spite of the pain and trouble 
 was most cheerful about it all. The horse on 
 which another lady was riding stumbled and fell 
 down a steep bank into a river. She was thorough- 
 ly soaked but not hurt. The end of the trip was 
 made through a driving rain and snowstorm, but 
 let us have that adventure from D. L.'s own words, 
 taken from a letter written at that time : 
 
 "At noon we stopped at the fountain of Ain 
 Fijeh, the principal source of the Abana. . . . 
 Here at the foot of the mountain a full-grown river 
 bursts from a rocky cave and dashes over the rocks 
 into the valley below. It was a delightful resting 
 place, but we carry an exceedingly unpleasant 
 recollection of the inhabitants of the village of Fi-
 
 JORDAN RIVER
 
 PALESTINE 81 
 
 jeh, standing near the fountain. As we mounted 
 our horses to ride forward, after our lunch, we 
 were suddenly surrounded by a yelling, howling 
 mob of Arabs, who were wild with excitement and 
 who seemed determined to annihilate us. They 
 were armed with clubs, axes and stones, and it 
 appeared at the time that we should not escape 
 without personal injury. But fortunately, no one 
 was hurt, although some of us were badly fright- 
 ened, and we rode away, glad to escape. . . . 
 
 " We were not further molested and left our 
 camp early the next morning. . . . The rain 
 was coming down in torrents. ... It continued 
 to rain all day and the air was rough and chilly. 
 We rode twenty-five miles through the rain and 
 reached our camp late in the evening, drenched to 
 the skin and chilled to the bone. ... To add 
 to our discomfort we found that some of our pack 
 mules had fallen into the river and our tents and 
 beds were also wet. Fire was out of the question, 
 and we crept into our damp beds, shivering with 
 cold. It rained all night. About midnight a hard 
 storm set in and the side of our tent blew in. We 
 were out of bed early in the morning and started 
 for Baalbek, sixteen miles away, in the driving 
 rain. Never was seen a more dismal lot of travel- 
 ers. ... It also grew colder, and for two hours 
 we rode facing a fierce snowstorm. At length, as 
 we ascended a hilltop, we caught a glimpse of the 
 ruins of Baalbek, and never was sight more wel- 
 come. We rode up to the little village and found a 
 gloomy, rough-looking building, which we found to 
 be a kind of hotel. The rooms within were without 
 fire. . . . Our baggage was back in the hills of 
 Lebanon and dry clothes were out of the question.
 
 82 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " Finally we secured a couple of pans with 
 some coals of fire in them. We wrung the water 
 out of our clothes and sat shivering over the dying 
 embers trying to dry our wet clothing. Nearly 
 four hours later our baggage arrived and we were 
 soon made more comfortable. . . . Towards 
 evening the clouds broke away, and the sun shone 
 brightly on the mountains of Lebanon, now covered 
 with a mantle of snow. . . . 
 
 "After Baalbek, we had two days' ride to Bey- 
 rout. . . . And now for home ! How often have 
 we longed, nay prayed, for the time to come when 
 Ave should again take ship at Beyrout for our re- 
 turn voyage ! " 
 
 They returned to Halle, in Germany, where 
 they spent a week preparing for the homeward 
 trip, and then boarded the Werra at Bremerhaven. 
 Their voyage lasted eleven days and they were 
 seasick, but home was reached "with hearts full of 
 gratitude to the Giver of all good."
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 FIRST BOOK 
 
 AFTEE their return home, about the middle 
 of May, 1884, D. L. and his wife attended 
 the Annual Conference at Dayton, Ohio. 
 Until that time he had had no thought of publishing 
 his letters in book form, but they had been very 
 popular, and materially increased the subscrip- 
 tion list of the Gospel Messenger. At the Confer- 
 ence he was beset by friends to publish the letters 
 in permanent shape. Letters poured in on him, 
 making the same request. In explaining this, in 
 the preface of the first edition, he says : 
 
 " It was only after returning to America, and 
 while attending the Annual Conference of our Fra- 
 ternity at Dayton, Ohio, that, being strongly urged 
 by many of the brethren and friends, we first 
 seriously considered the matter of publishing this 
 volume. The responsibility, it will be seen, rests 
 upon our friends." 
 
 It was a responsibility that his friends might 
 well be proud of, for " Europe and Bible Lands " 
 was a success from the start. Suddenly to find 
 oneself a popular author must have been a very 
 gratifying experience. He merely says of it, 
 though, " I felt a bit elated over my first book." He 
 had ordered a thousand copies, but advance or- 
 
 83
 
 84 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 ders came in rapidly, so lie dared to order a second 
 thousand. But before the second thousand was 
 ready to be mailed they were all sold. He had not 
 had the book electrotyped, and consequently, in 
 order to get out the second edition, he had to have it 
 reset. Edition after edition was sold, until, by 1890, 
 eleven editions had been disposed of. In glancing 
 over the editorial pages of the Messenger during 
 this period, a number of references to the sale of 
 the book, something like the following, can be 
 found : 
 
 " The demand for ' Europe and Bible Lands ' 
 seems to be unabated. The seventh edition, with 
 the exception of a few volumes bound in leather, 
 has been sold. Those who order cloth-bound books 
 will please have patience. A new edition, the 
 eighth, will be printed as soon as possible, and in a 
 few weeks all orders will be filled." 
 
 After five editions had been disposed of, D. L. 
 offered to give the copyright to the Book and Tract 
 Committee, to make what they could out of it. But 
 they decided that they did not want it, for they said 
 the sale had been exhausted. However, after that 
 time six more editions were sold, which brought 
 him a good sum in the way of profits. 
 
 Doubtless the book was published at the 
 right moment to be popular. The church was 
 awakening in a broader outlook. Schools had 
 been started and the young people were being edu- 
 cated. A wider demand for books was evident on 
 every hand. It takes only a glance at the list of
 
 FIRST BOOK 85 
 
 publications, furnished through the Publishing 
 House at that time, to see that there was an open- 
 ing for a book of travel. So, in spite of the fact 
 that it had already been read by thousands in the 
 Messenger, it was bought by many more thousands. 
 
 After having heard D. L.'s lectures on the Holy 
 Land many times (he always called them Bible 
 Land Talks), it was most interesting to go back 
 over " Europe and Bible Lands." D. L. put his 
 adventures so clearly and so pleasantly before 
 the reader, that one finds it hard to lay the book 
 down. 
 
 D. L. had a dignified, clear style in writing. 
 He was thoroughly in earnest, very much absorbed 
 in his trip, and was able to translate that interest 
 to the printed page. He did not tire the 
 reader with minor incidents and useless facts, 
 as so many do, but presented clearly and 
 restrainedly the main theme, leaving the embellish- 
 ment to the reader's imagination. Consequently, 
 he produced a very interesting volume. 
 
 Doubtless the success of this book increased 
 his interest in writing and gave impetus to his ed- 
 itorial work and his study of the Holy Land. It is 
 plain to see that he continued to read along that 
 line, for in his editorials are many references to 
 events of interest, and discoveries in the Holy Land 
 and in Egypt. Occasionally articles appeared in 
 the Messenger from his pen, which showed that his 
 interest was unabated in this subject.
 
 CHAPTEE XII 
 
 EDITORIAL WORK 
 
 BEGINNING with the year 1885, D. L. Miller 
 was made office editor of tlie Gospel Messen- 
 ger. At that time the Gospel Messenger was 
 a year and a half old and the only church paper 
 then being published. In April, 1851, Brother Hen- 
 ry Kurtz issued the first number of the Gospel 
 Visitor. Brother James Quinter became associ- 
 ated with Brother Kurtz in 1856 and continued in 
 editorial work until his death in 1888. 
 
 " For a number of years, the Gospel Visitor 
 was the only church paper, and then came in quick 
 succession the Christian Family Companion, the 
 Pilgrim, the Vindicator, the Primitive Christian, 
 the Brethren at Work, the Gospel Preacher, the 
 Progressive Preacher, and others. This was the 
 period of church paper expansion among us. When 
 it was learned that much money could be lost and 
 confusion engendered in printing papers, there 
 came a time of consolidation ; and finally one paper 
 resulted, owned and controlled by the church."- 
 Gospel Messenger, Dec. 2, 1899. 
 
 Some of the above mentioned papers discon- 
 tinued publication during the seventies, while oth- 
 ers were consolidated and the names changed. In 
 1873 the Gospel Visitor and the Christian Family 
 
 87
 
 88 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 Companion were consolidated, and in 1876 the 
 name was changed to the Primitive Christian, 
 which was published in Huntingdon, Pennsylva- 
 nia, with Brother James Quinter and others as 
 editors. The Brethren at Work made its appear- 
 ance in 1876 and was edited and published at Lan- 
 ark, Illinois, by Brethren M. M. Eshelman, J. H. 
 Moore and J. T. Myers. In April, 1881, the Breth- 
 ren at Work was moved to Mt. Morris, Illinois. At 
 this time the Primitive Christian and the Brethren 
 at Work were the two principal church papers pub- 
 lished, " thus giving the Brotherhood two weekly 
 papers, one East and one West, as competitive can- 
 didates for patronage. But as these two papers 
 pursued about the same course, and advocated the 
 same church policy, there was no friction between 
 them, and for the time being the press ceased to be 
 a disturbing element in the church." " Two Cen- 
 turies of the Church of the Brethren," page 352. 
 The following is an extract from a paper pre- 
 pared by Galen B. Eoyer in 1902, entitled, " Some 
 Facts Concerning the Publishing Interests Turned 
 Over to the General Missionary and Tract Com- 
 mittee " : 
 
 " In 1881 Brother Miller entered the publish- 
 ing business. These conditions obtained at that 
 time : Brother M. M. Eshelman, after selling his 
 half interest in the then Brethren at Work on the 
 basis of ten thousand dollars for the entire busi- 
 ness (the sale was made to Brother Joseph Amick) , 
 found himself unable to meet his obligations. . . .
 
 EDITORIAL WORK 89 
 
 A council of elders was called. K. H. Miller, Enoch 
 Eby, D. E. Price and others attended that meet- 
 ing. It was then advised and Brother Miller was 
 urged to go into the business and help save the 
 paper from ruin. . . . 
 
 " In this way his connection with the publish- 
 ing interests began. Brother Amick and he took 
 the business on the basis of ten thousand dollars. 
 A small amount of that came back to them on the 
 sale of the Children at Work, but went into the 
 business again. They at once put in one thousand 
 dollars and such additional sums as were neces- 
 sary to buy printing paper and pay labor. They 
 had about four thousand subscribers paid for the 
 year and the money gone. The outlook was not 
 encouraging. These were days of anxious care 
 and hard work. In a year they had the business so 
 well organized that no loss was entailed except 
 nothing for time and money invested. 
 
 "At Milford, Indiana, in 1882, plans for con- 
 solidation with the Primitive Christian were pre- 
 sented. The Eastern brethren placed a value of 
 fifteen thousand dollars upon their business. This 
 included copyrights, bookbindery, Sunday-school 
 paper and the Primitive Christian. After investi- 
 gation it was agreed to unite on a basis of eleven 
 thousand dollars for the Brethren at Work and 
 fifteen thousand dollars for theirs. Five thousand 
 dollars cash was put in to push the business, mak- 
 ing a total of thirty-one thousand dollars. The 
 Conference appointed a committee of seven to con- 
 fer as to the publishing interests. Two reports 
 were made one in favor of the church taking the 
 paper at twenty-five thousand dollars, the other in 
 favor of consolidating and the owners to hold the
 
 90 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 property. As is known, the latter report was ac- 
 cepted. The consolidation was effected next year 
 at Bismarck Grove. . . . After culling out all 
 duplicate subscribers the Gospel Messenger was 
 started July 3, 1883, with five thousand five hun- 
 dred subscribers, not enough to pay expenses and 
 interest on capital invested. In 1886 the business 
 began to pay a small dividend on the money in- 
 vested, and it soon became known that there was a 
 balance each year on the credit side of the ledger." 
 The following is the report accepted by the 
 Conference in 1882 regarding the consolidation of 
 the papers : 
 
 " XXI. . . . We, the owners and publishers 
 of the Primitive Christian and the Brethren at 
 Work, have this day agreed upon a basis of con- 
 solidation upon the following conditions : 
 
 " Two papers shall be published, one East and 
 one West, or one paper with a branch office, as 
 Annual Meeting and the consolidated firm may 
 think to be for the best interests of the church. 
 
 " The Annual Meeting shall recognize this pa- 
 per, or papers, as the case may be, as the official 
 church paper. 
 
 " We agree to make ourselves directly amena- 
 ble to Annual Meeting for the contents and char- 
 acter of the paper or papers. 
 
 " We also further agree to purchase at a 
 reasonable price any other papers now published 
 in the Brotherhood and to merge them into the 
 consolidated paper or papers : 
 
 " If the above is not acceptable to Annual 
 Meeting, we hereby agree to sell our respective pa- 
 pers to any company that this Annual Meeting may
 
 EDITORIAL WORK 91 
 
 designate, at the price agreed upon between our- 
 selves as the basis for our proposed consolidation. 
 " Quinter and Brumbaugh Brothers. 
 " Miller and Amick. 
 " Milford, Ind., June 1, 1882. 
 " Committee : D. L. Miller, H. K. Myers, H. B. 
 Brumbaugh, K. H. Miller, S. L. Bosserman, J. 
 Harshberger." 
 
 When the consolidation was made, James 
 Quinter, H. B. and J. B. Brumbaugh were the ed- 
 itors of the Primitive Christian, and M. M. Eshel- 
 man, S J. Harrison and J. W. Stein were editors 
 of the Brethren at Work. After the consolidation 
 the Gospel Messenger was edited by James Quin- 
 ter, H. B. Brumbaugh, J. H. Moore, office editor, 
 and Joseph Amick, business manager. March 
 one, 1884, J. H. Moore resigned, to move South on 
 account of his wife's health, and J. B. Brumbaugh 
 took his place until Jan. 1, 1885, when D. L. was 
 made office editor. J. B. Brumbaugh returned to 
 his home in Huntingdon and continued as one of 
 the editors for many years. 
 
 D. L.'s preparation for editorial work had in 
 a way been limited. Until about five years before 
 this time he had not been actively interested in the 
 various pursuits of the church. With the move 
 to Mount Morris his mind opened up to many 
 things. That he had shown talent, even while in 
 the grocery business, was evident, for his wife re- 
 lates that while editing the Argus, in Polo, Mr. 
 Clinton used to advise him to get out of commer-
 
 92 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 cial work and enter the publishing work of the 
 church. While Mr. Clinton was not a member, he 
 still realized that there was an opening in the pub- 
 lishing business of the church and that D. L. was 
 the man to help fill that place. And again, D. L. r s 
 uncle, Sam Price, used to come to Polo every Sat- 
 urday, to do his buying and always found a plate 
 laid for him in D. L.'s home. He used to say : 
 
 " Dan, there is something better in store for 
 you than measuring out kerosene and weighing out 
 sugar." And as another says : " He was always 
 ready for the duty or opportunity that came to 
 him." 
 
 He had much to do and much to learn. It must 
 be remembered that until that time he had been 
 primarily a groceryman. True, he had taught 
 country school in his youth, and had also edited 
 the Argus for a few years. He had suddenly 
 dropped his business and devoted his talents to the 
 educational work of the church. Naturally, he had 
 thus become acquainted with the papers that were 
 being issued, and had opportunity to know the men 
 who were publishing them. Then came his trip 
 abroad and his first book. All of this must have 
 been concentrated preparation for his editorial 
 work. Without too many preconceived ideas and 
 too many prejudices, and with no hard feelings, he 
 came to the editorial chair with a fresh, active 
 mind, and a thorough determination to make a 
 success of the paper. Perhaps the very fact that
 
 EDITORIAL WORK 93 
 
 his previous active church life had been brief was 
 an advantage, for his mind was not warped by 
 controversies that might have biased the opinions 
 of an editor older in the business. 
 
 In the first Gospel Messenger a brief notice is 
 given that he is to be editor. His policy is stated so 
 briefly and so clearly that it is well to insert the 
 full notice : 
 
 " Knowing something of the perplexities, the 
 peculiar trials, and the responsibilities resting on 
 the editor, we have, with considerable reluctance, 
 consented to take charge of the editorial work of 
 this office for a short time. We do this with a full 
 sense of our weakness and inexperience, and be- 
 cause of this we bespeak for our labors the charity 
 of our readers and the prayers of our brethren and 
 sisters, that we may have Divine guidance so that 
 we may faithfully and honestly perform the re- 
 sponsible duties devolving upon us. 
 
 " Our only purpose is to labor for the truth as 
 it is in Jesus, and if in our humble way we can 
 help to promote love, harmony, peace and good will, 
 in the Brotherhood, and attain to a holier life, 
 and higher Christian experience ourself whilst 
 we try to help others onward and upward in the 
 Christian life we shall feel that we have not 
 labored in vain. 
 
 " If we make mistakes and who is perfect? 
 please tell us kindly of our errors, and we shall try, 
 by the help of God, to correct them. Our best 
 friends are those who tell us of our faults and help 
 us to get rid of them. 
 
 " We sincerely regret the necessity that takes 
 Brother J. B. Brumbaugh away from the work and
 
 94 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 away from among us. We shall miss Mm and Sis- 
 ter Ella from our religious and social circle. They 
 are both earnest, zealous, Christian workers, and 
 their influence will be felt for good wherever they 
 go. During their stay here, they made many warm 
 friends and the best wishes of all go with them to 
 their home in Huntingdon. jy -^ Miller." 
 
 At first his editorials were brief and con- 
 fined mostly to news items, but as the weeks and 
 months slipped by and confidence came to him they 
 grew longer. From the beginning he avoided ex- 
 treme views and subjects under controversy. 
 Bather, he emphasized constantly the positive vir- 
 tues of " love, harmony, peace and good will." In 
 the first number are two short notices that reflect 
 his feelings : 
 
 " Let us make the new year a happy and pros- 
 perous one by dedicating ourselves, and all that 
 we have to the service of the Lord." 
 
 "Let us labor this year and all the days of 
 the years of our lives for the peace and prosperity 
 of our beloved Zion. Union, peace and harmony 
 should dwell forever among the people of God. 
 Where this is lacking, something is wrong: not 
 with our holy religion but with ourselves. God 
 help us to get right and to keep right." 
 
 And he was the first to practice his own preach- 
 ing. 
 
 Doubtless he felt the delicate position in 
 which he was placed as editor and part owner of 
 the paper, for he did not boldly urge the Messen- 
 ger into every home because it was a church paper.
 
 EDITORIAL WORK 95 
 
 However, these two items are found, one above the 
 other, in the first number, and they show how tact- 
 fully he placed before his readers the duty of sub- 
 scribing for the Messenger: 
 
 " We hope our agents will make an extra effort 
 to extend the circulation of the Messenger. It 
 should find a place in every family in the Brother- 
 hood. We are much encouraged, as many of our 
 workers are sending in good lists, and many kind 
 words are borne to us by the mail. We thank our 
 friends for their kind, helpful words, and our 
 agents for their energy in securing subscribers for 
 the Messenger. May God's blessing attend our la- 
 bors for this year of grace, 1885." 
 
 " The members of your family will read, and 
 it is your duty, as parents, to supply them with 
 good reading matter. Eeading helps to form char- 
 acter. Some one said, ' Show me a man's friends 
 and I will show you what kind of a man he is,' and 
 we may say with equal truth and force, Show us 
 the books and papers a man reads and we will 
 give you an index to his character. It is important, 
 then, that you give to your sons and daughters 
 pure literature. Good books and good papers will 
 help them to be good men and women." 
 
 The Messenger prospered. The circulation 
 increased. When D. L. wrote his first letters from 
 the Holy Land, the subscription list was about five 
 thousand. In 1890 it was fourteen thousand. Some 
 years after the Messenger was issued there was in- 
 stalled a new folding machine, which both folded 
 and pasted the paper. In 1888 the paper was en-
 
 96 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 larged. These improvements were made without 
 increasing the subscription price. This was clearly 
 explained to the readers with all due modesty. 
 
 Contributors were not paid in cash, but by a 
 few free subscriptions to the Messenger. The ed- 
 itor did not always have an easy time selecting his 
 articles. More articles came in than he needed. 
 Likewise many were of a controversial nature, out 
 of harmony with the policy of the paper. Again, 
 many articles received were on the same subject, 
 until publishing more would be merely a repeti- 
 tion of old arguments. In the Messenger for Aug. 
 31, 1886, D. L. goes into some detail explaining the 
 problems of selecting articles. He admits the pos- 
 sibility of making mistakes thus : 
 
 "... Here, you notice, the editors must 
 exercise their judgment, and as they are but human 
 they doubtless often make mistakes, but it may 
 happen that some articles that are published are 
 not so good as some that do not get into the paper. 
 If it were possible to get an editor with an infalli- 
 ble judgment, such mistakes would not occur. This 
 being impossible, the only thing to be done is for 
 our correspondents to bear with our failures. This 
 the great majority of them do and we thank them 
 for their Christian forbearance. . . . We do not 
 reject an essay because it is at variance with our 
 views, but we do not think it right to publish ar- 
 ticles that teach contrary to the Bible." 
 
 During a recent Conference one of the speak- 
 ers said : " There is no greater force for unity in 
 the church than the Gospel Messenger." When it
 
 EDITORIAL WORK 97 
 
 is remembered that the Messenger goes into nearly 
 every home in the church, and that those members 
 are all reading the same things and discussing 
 them, the influence of the editor can hardly be over- 
 estimated. The Gospel Messenger was the first 
 paper to be read by the whole church and to become 
 the real voice of the church. The influence it had in 
 uniting the East and the West, the Progressives 
 and Conservatives, in discouraging disunion and 
 promoting unity, love and forbearance, and teach- 
 ing the true Christian virtues, was not only one of 
 the main factors in making it a success, but has 
 been one of the chief sources of material and spirit- 
 ual growth in the church since that time. The sane- 
 ness of that first editor, his forbearance and toler- 
 ance, his willingness to look with open mind on 
 both sides of a question made the Messenger a pow- 
 er in the church, so that when the time came, it was 
 so well established that the work could safely be 
 turned over to another, thus freeing D. L. for 
 further travel. 
 
 D. L.'s own editorials were largely along pos- 
 itive lines. In almost every issue was something 
 to further the temperance cause. There were many 
 brief editorials opposing war, against the use of 
 tobacco, and in favor of the simple Christian life. 
 As is related below, the Sunday-school and prayer 
 meeting were tactfully brought before the minds 
 of the readers. Often there were brief articles on 
 some discovery in the Holy Land. And in practi-
 
 98 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 cally every issue was an inspirational discussion 
 of some Bible verse or spiritual virtue. In those 
 early years Ms mind was more occupied with spirit- 
 ual growth than with the doctrinal discussions 
 which had ruptured the church. From 1887 on, 
 after the Miller-Sommer debate, which he heard, 
 and after he had had more experience, his edi- 
 torials concerned doctrinal subjects more and 
 more, and with this gradual change of emphasis 
 came the desire to secure more evidence on those 
 doctrines, held so dear by the church. This feeling 
 grew until it resulted in more trips abroad to find 
 what could be learned at first hand regarding the 
 faith of the church. 
 
 One theme was discussed oftener than any 
 other. That was the cause of missions. The men- 
 tion of Brother Hope's work in Denmark appeared 
 so frequently that it seemed like a continued nar- 
 rative. Finally, when it became necessary for 
 Brother Hope to return to this country on account 
 of his wife's illness, and it was decided to raise a 
 fund of $3,000 for a home for him, the notices were 
 of weekly appearance. D. L.'s intense interest in 
 the growth of that fund could be felt by the reader, 
 and when the time came for Brother Hope really to 
 return, the reader could not help but long for the 
 next number, to see that he arrived safely home 
 with his sickly family. These notices not only con- 
 cerned Brother Hope's affairs, but they encouraged 
 the cause" of giving, and doubtless awakened the
 
 EDITORIAL WORK 99 
 
 rather sluggish conscience of the church to the 
 need of spreading the Gospel in foreign lands. 
 
 During the eighties, an agitation grew for the 
 church to own the Messenger. D. L. was in favor 
 of this, and all of those who were interested in the 
 publication of the Messenger were willing that it 
 should be done. A query to this effect was brought 
 up at Annual Meeting. It was argued, and the 
 sentiment seemed to be to let well enough alone. 
 Finally, it was deferred for two years, to be con- 
 sidered and discussed in the Messenger. On a num- 
 ber of occasions D. L. set forth the advantages of 
 the church owning and controlling the Messenger. 
 He had helped to get it on a money-making basis 
 and it had become a great influence in molding sen- 
 timent in the church. He felt that it was the duty 
 of the church to have a definite control of its pol- 
 icies. Again it was discussed at Annual Meeting. 
 Again the sentiment was stronger than ever that 
 as the paper was doing so well as it was being man- 
 aged no change should be made. The matter was 
 dropped and it was years later before the Messen- 
 ger was turned over to the church. Could a more 
 fitting commendation be given to those manag- 
 ing and editing the Messenger?
 
 RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES IN THE EIGHTIES 
 
 DL. was elected superintendent of the 
 Mount Morris and Silver Creek Sunday- 
 schools in 1885, after the return from his 
 first trip abroad. Previous to this he had been a 
 teacher in the " Bible School," the so-called substi- 
 tute for the Sunday-school in the church at that 
 time. His belief in the good that could be accom- 
 plished by the Sunday-school grew and was reflect- 
 ed in his efforts to make the school at Mount Morris 
 a success. There is no doubt that he and his helpers 
 accomplished this, for it was soon reported that 
 the enrollment had increased from two hundred 
 and thirty to nearly four hundred. 
 
 Not being satisfied with making the school at 
 Mount Morris of real benefit to that church, he be- 
 gan to spread, through the columns of the Messen- 
 ger, the news of what such a school could do. The 
 tact that he used throughout his life in winning 
 people to his views was not neglected here. We 
 find no editorial saying, " Brethren, we must have 
 Sunday-schools," but there are many brief notices, 
 telling of the increase in the enrollment of the 
 Mount Morris school, mentioning the amount of 
 
 101
 
 102 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 the collection and its use; likewise speaking of 
 some school being started in a near-by church or 
 country schoolhouse. Thus did he so gently sug- 
 gest the good that a Sunday-school could do that 
 no one could take offense, and yet the subject was 
 kept before the minds of the Messenger readers. 
 
 The growth of the Sunday-school was reflected 
 in the sale of the quarterlies. At first these were 
 written by D. L., and sold through the Publishing 
 House. Later Brother S. Z. Sharp did the writing. 
 When they were first published, and new to most 
 of the churches then starting schools, notices were 
 scattered through the Messenger columns, urging 
 the churches to use them as an aid in their work. 
 They proved so popular that it was not long until 
 these notices changed to explanations, saying that 
 the entire edition of quarterlies had been exhaust- 
 ed, and suggesting that the Sunday-schools get 
 their orders in earlier. 
 
 Some time in the seventies D. L. had written 
 an article, strongly favoring and urging Sunday- 
 schools there were none in his State District at 
 that time but the office editor returned it, saying 
 that it was not wise to print it just then. By 1887 
 each edition of the quarterly was exhausted almost 
 before it was off the press. Thus it is seen how his 
 efforts constantly had been thrown in favor of the 
 Sunday-school, and how they succeeded in promot-
 
 KELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES IN THE EIGHTIES 103 
 
 ing the spread of the Sunday-school throughout 
 the church. 
 
 He made many references to the good derived 
 from the prayer meeting. In the opening chapter 
 of " Europe and Bible Lands " he speaks of all of 
 the church services, and especially the prayer meet- 
 ing. That he received great benefit and inspiration 
 from prayer meetings throughout his life was evi- 
 denced by his constant attendance and his sincere 
 enjoyment of them. 
 
 " Then, too, as the time of parting came, we 
 thought of our prayer meetings, our Sunday-school, 
 and our church services. How we have, in the past, 
 enjoyed these spiritual feasts! How often, when 
 cast down amid the cares and difficulties conse- 
 quent upon our work, have we had our souls re- 
 freshed, and our spiritual strength renewed, by the 
 communion of kindred spirits in the i upper room,' 
 at our prayer meetings! How the kind, helpful, 
 encouraging words of our dear brethren and sis- 
 ters have given us fresh courage to take up again 
 the burden, and made it lighter because we were 
 made stronger to bear it! Brethren, do not neg- 
 lect the prayer meeting; it is a means of grace, 
 which, if properly used, cannot fail to strengthen 
 you in your spiritual life." 
 
 In 1887 he was elected to the ministry. He 
 was chosen on a Thursday, in the country church 
 at Silver Creek, where the business meetings were 
 held in those days. He did not want the office, for 
 he felt with reason that he had enough to do with
 
 104 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 his editorial, school and mission work. Likewise, 
 he thought that he had not had the necessary 
 preparation for the office, and that, at the age of 
 forty-five, it was late to start. But he was urged 
 by the brethren not to refuse. Uncle Dave Price, 
 one of the elders, said, " Now don't get stubborn 
 on our hands, Brother D. L." 
 
 And Brother D. L. hesitatingly consented. 
 What a loss there would have been to the church 
 had he not done so ! In the chapel at Mount Morris 
 he preached over three hundred sermons. And to 
 the last, when nearly eighty years old, and so 
 feeble at times that it was necessary for him to be 
 helped to the church, he continued to preach. Once 
 he said, with a note of regret in his voice, that if he 
 had his life to live over again he would spend more 
 time preaching and less time lecturing. Might it 
 not be that his lectures have been of as much 
 spiritual value as sermons could have been, since 
 his constant effort was to increase the belief and 
 faith in the Bible on the part of his audience? Dur- 
 ing an age of doubt in religious thought, among 
 many classes, and of growth and change within 
 the church, his efforts in that line, doubtless, have 
 accomplished unestimated good toward uniting the 
 church more firmly and toward strengthening the 
 belief in the essentials of Christianity. 
 
 In spite of the work he had to do, he immediate- 
 ly began to prepare himself better for the ministry.
 
 D. L. IN THE EIGHTIES
 
 KBLIGIOUS ACTIVITIES IN THE EIGHTIES 105 
 
 He filled his library with books of reference. With 
 a critical eye he watched other preachers, not to 
 detect their faults, but to see how to better his own 
 sermons. We find an editorial on preachers' apolo- 
 gies, that shows he had given keen thought to the 
 matter. Another brief editorial so clearly gives 
 his convictions on how a preacher may become a 
 success, that it is well worth quoting in full : 
 
 " The success of a preacher depends a good 
 deal upon his earnestness, and he can only be deep- 
 ly in earnest as he has real positive convictions of 
 the truth. If the minister have no such convic- 
 tions he will never be able to impress the truth 
 upon others. Only as you believe, yourself, what 
 you have to say, will you be able to make others be- 
 lieve your words. If you are to lead others to 
 Christ, you must have a deep, earnest conviction of 
 the truth as it is in Jesus yourself. A mere opin- 
 ion, or assent to the truth, will not do. Half-heart- 
 ed statements from the minister only produce in- 
 difference among his hearers. To tell your con- 
 gregation that, if what you are saying be not the 
 truth, you are ready to accept the views of some 
 one else tomorrow, is to place your statement at 
 a discount, and it shows that you are not ready to 
 preach. W T hat you want, what all ministers want, 
 is to have a conviction that what they are telling is 
 the truth and that there can be no mistake about it. 
 The minister needs this more than the polish of an 
 education. Men impelled by conviction have, in all 
 ages of the world, become leaders. Moody, the 
 evangelist, paid but little attention to the rules 
 of grammar in speaking, and yet he has held mul-
 
 106 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 titudes, in the Old and New Worlds, entranced, not 
 by his fine diction or his eloquence, but by his ear- 
 nestness. To listen to him is to come away im- 
 pressed with the fact that he is in earnest, and that 
 he believes in his heart every word that he utters, 
 and this is the secret of his wonderful influence 
 over men and women. Education is helpful, but 
 above and beyond all we want earnest heart con- 
 victions of the truth before we are prepared to 
 preach God's Word." 
 
 A year after being elected to the ministry, 
 he was made elder. 
 
 During this period, he was active in the af- 
 fairs of the Northern District of Illinois. In 1887 
 he was writing clerk at the District Meeting. Dur- 
 ing the following year he often held office and took 
 a leading part in the questions of the day. 
 
 Every year he attended the Annual Con- 
 ference. His first experience was at Waterloo, 
 Iowa, in 1870. He writes thus : 
 
 " I was impressed with the discussion of the 
 various questions. One was on life insurance. ' I 
 had my life insured, and the church at Pine Creek, 
 Illinois, insisted that I should give it up. Confer- 
 ence, at that time, had made no decision on the 
 question. Pine Creek took a query through Dis- 
 trict Conference to Annual Conference. I promised 
 that if the Conference General decided against it 
 I would give it up. It was fully discussed at Wa- 
 terloo. Brother Quinter made a strong speech 
 against forbidding life insurance, and I sat under 
 the sound of his eloquent voice with cheeks wet 
 with tears. I shall never forget that."
 
 EEUGIOUS ACTIVITIES IN THE EIGHTIES 107 
 
 D. L. lived through the period when the An- 
 nual Conference changed from a relatively small 
 business session into a large and enthusiastic con- 
 vention. Each year the accounts of the Conference 
 in the Messenger became brighter and more in- 
 teresting. Special meetings came in for their share 
 of interest. In 1887, at the Conference in Kansas, 
 the educational and missionary meetings made a 
 deep impression on him. He came home very 
 enthusiastic about the meeting, as well as about 
 the land in the West, which he had seen for the 
 first time. 
 
 Through the columns of the Messenger D. L. 
 made every effort to increase the interest of the 
 Brotherhood in the Annual Conference. Some 
 thought that too many people were attending the 
 meeting and that the crowds should be cut down. 
 D. L. believed that the more members attended 
 Conference, the better off the church would be, and 
 stated his position clearly. He likewise stood for 
 no more work than was necessary on Sunday, and 
 for no secular business on the Conference grounds. 
 On every occasion he threw his influence with those 
 who sought to make the Conference a thoroughly 
 religious and spiritually inspiring meeting. 
 
 That D. L. was rapidly becoming one of the 
 leaders at the Conference was evidenced by the 
 fact that he was placed on investigating commit-
 
 108 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 tees one in 1888 to the churches in Texas and 
 again in 189Q, to McPherson College, Kansas. 
 
 In the fall of 1887 D. L.'s eyes became 
 weakened from the constant work of the previous 
 three years, and the doctor ordered a complete rest. 
 He and his wife started for Southern California 
 to spend their first winter there. He greatly en- 
 joyed the trip, particularly the pleasant weather 
 and the delicious fruits and vegetables, which were 
 to be had during the winter. His time was not 
 spent in rest alone, for he continued to dictate 
 weekly editorials for the Messenger. He spent 
 some time preaching and also investigated the land, 
 for at that time many Brethren were moving to 
 California, and great tales of the wealth and pros- 
 perity of the country were circulated. D. L.'s ac- 
 count of it was very temperate, with due allowance 
 for the enthusiasm of the agents with whom he 
 talked. He made every effort to keep up his cor- 
 respondence. His wife did all the writing and 
 reading for him, but even with this able help he 
 was unable to do as much as he desired to do. By 
 spring his eyes were much improved, so they re- 
 turned to Mount Morris and the duties of the edi- 
 torial office. 
 
 In 1884 D. L. was appointed as one of the mem- 
 bers of the first General Church Erection and Mis- 
 sionary Committee. At the first meeting, in 1884, 
 he was appointed secretary and treasurer. Up to
 
 KELJGIOUS ACTIVITIES IN THE EIGHTIES 109 
 
 this time there had been little missionary senti- 
 ment in the church. A mission in Denmark had 
 been established, with Brother Christian Hope at 
 the head of it. On his trip to Europe, D. L. and his 
 wife had spent several weeks, visiting the various 
 churches, and his heart-warming accounts of the 
 mission and Brother Hope's work had stirred the 
 church in favor of missions. Doubtless his interest 
 in the mission had caused him to be appointed on 
 this committee. It was the beginning of his active 
 missionary work and of missions in the church as 
 well. The minutes of the first meeting of the com- 
 mittee show how light the work was at that time : 
 " First regular meeting of the General Mis- 
 sion Board was held in the i Old Sandstone,' June 
 14, 1884. The minutes show the names of those 
 present: Enoch Eby, foreman; Daniel Vaniman, 
 vice-foreman ; D.L. Miller, secretary and treasurer ; 
 Samuel Riddlesparger and Collin Rowland. Busi- 
 ness transacted: Denmark called for help. The 
 mission there is in need. Sweden and Germany 
 also want help to start missions. St. Louis, Mo., 
 also wants funds, and calls came from Gainesville 
 and Weatherford, Texas, for preachers. The 
 treasurer did not have money to answer these calls. 
 The work in Texas was placed in the hands of 
 Brother Daniel Vaniman, with power to act, and 
 he acted at his own expense. The missionary plan 
 was ordered to be printed in the Messenger and 
 circulars are to be sent, containing the same, to all 
 the elders in the Brotherhood. Secretary to se- 
 cure suitable books for records. 
 
 " Signed, D. L. Miller."
 
 110 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 The treasurer reported money received to date 
 as follows : 
 
 Mary A. Miller, Md $1.00 
 
 Abram Miller, Md 1.00 
 
 C. M. Wenger, Ind 1.00 
 
 J. M. Gabel, Iowa 1.00 
 
 J. H. Moore, Fla 1.04 
 
 J. B. Sellers, Ind 50 
 
 Daniel Brower, Iowa 50 
 
 Daniel Zellers, 111 50 
 
 A Brother, A. M 1.00 
 
 Daniel Stover, 111 40 
 
 $7.94 
 
 Not a very imposing list of contributors, when 
 compared with a report of today, but it was a be- 
 ginning. 
 
 Through the Messenger, D. L. constantly urged 
 missions, missions, missions ! During those years 
 Brother Hope's wife's health failed and he was 
 compelled to return to America. A fund of $3,000 
 was raised to buy a home for him. Almost every 
 week D. L. would have on the editorial page some 
 account of Brother Hope, or his work. His own 
 vital interest in the matter could not help but in- 
 crease the interest of the Brotherhood. And it 
 did. At the end of the first three years the mission 
 receipts amounted to $12,000. Brother Galen B. 
 Eoyer, in "Two Centuries of the Church of the 
 Brethren," gives this description of those days : 
 
 " Those were the days that the treasurer 
 thought it of sufficient importance when he received
 
 EELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES IN THE EIGHTIES 111 
 
 two or three letters in one day, concerning mis- 
 sions, to make mention of it, and a total receipt, 
 of any one day, looking toward one hundred dol- 
 lars, was a matter of unusual rejoicing." 
 
 By 1888 the work of the secretary and treas- 
 urer had increased so much that Galen B. Eoyer 
 was appointed assistant. 
 
 At the Annual Conference in Kansas, in 1887, 
 a plan for an endowment fund was first presented 
 to the Brotherhood. Of this paper D. L. wrote at 
 that time : 
 
 "A paper was presented, asking that the Gen- 
 eral Church Erection and Missionary Committee 
 be allowed to accept donations for an endowment 
 fund. This paper passed. This is, in my opinion, one 
 of the most important papers that came before this 
 Annual Meeting. It will, if carried into effect, re- 
 sult in setting apart a sum of money for the work 
 of the church that will be felt in ages to come. 
 Many of our brethren and sisters, whom the Lord 
 has blessed with means, desire to set apart some of 
 it for the missionary and tract work. This they 
 can now do, with the assurance that the principal 
 will not be spent, and that the interest accruing 
 from it will be used in spreading the Gospel. They 
 may thus place a sum of money into the hands of 
 the church which will go on working for the cause 
 of Christ, until the church below is united with the 
 church above." 
 
 So, by the end of 1890, when D. L. began to 
 plan another trip abroad, we find that he had spent 
 six successful years as editor of the Messenger,
 
 112 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 his efforts in the ministry had been formally ap- 
 proved by his being elected a bishop, he had be- 
 come a person of influence in his own State Dis- 
 trict, and likewise at Annual Conference, and he 
 had fathered the cause of missions, until the yearly 
 receipts were in the thousands of dollars, instead 
 of the hundreds.
 
 GRIP AND FRITZ 
 
 THEIR FIRST MOl'XT MORRIS HOME
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE NEW HOME 
 
 ON their return from their first trip abroad, 
 in 1884, D. L. and his wife bought a home 
 in the southern part of Mount Morris. 
 After five years of life in the dormitory, and 
 a long journey abroad, they greatly enjoyed fixing 
 up a place of their own once more. They had 
 bought a good-sized house with large rooms. These 
 were simply but comfortably furnished with sub- 
 stantial articles, the most of which they used 
 throughout their married life. Especial arrange- 
 ments were made to entertain company. Their 
 guest room was always ready to receive the unex- 
 pected visitor, for never was any embarrassment 
 felt in adding a seat or two at the table. Shortly 
 a barn was built to accommodate a horse, one of 
 whose duties was to go to and from the station 
 with the many visitors they had. My mother tells 
 an amusing sory of their first horse, bought in Mt. 
 Morris, called Billy: 
 
 " Billy was recommended to father as being 
 such a good looker and yet perfectly gentle. The 
 first time father hitched this animal up he was all 
 that could be expected. Mother drove him the next 
 time and he was great. Father thought he had a 
 
 113
 
 114 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 jewel. The third time, Billy was ready to start 
 before father was and so he was stopped short with 
 the lines. Then father got into the phaeton and 
 told Bill to go, but Bill would not and did not. At 
 the last, the entire neighborhood was there trying 
 to get Bill out of his tracks. Finally, after the 
 train had come and gone, Bill decided to start 
 down the street at a breakneck speed." 
 
 Brother Howard Miller named this home 
 " Saints' Best," and D. L. once spoke of it as sort 
 of a " Dunker Hotel." Their company, whether in- 
 vited or uninvited, was always welcome. Here came 
 the homesick students for the comforts of a real 
 home. Here stopped the many ministers when in 
 Mount Morris, either on business with the Publish- 
 ing Company or in the interests of the school. Here 
 came their ever-increasing number of friends to 
 visit with them and renew old acquaintance. And 
 here they entertained at many special dinners and 
 gave numerous social evenings for their friends. 
 
 Their home was ever peaceful and restful. No 
 one seemed to be in much of a hurry, and yet the 
 work was always done. The garden and lawn 
 were kept just so. Even the barn was immaculate. 
 In the large grape arbor at the back of the yard 
 the ground was scraped until it was like a walk, 
 and not a weed dared show itself above the surface, 
 while the flower garden was always one of the 
 beauty spots of the town. 
 
 My younger brother, D. L., and I spent many 
 happy hours in this home. We must, in a small
 
 THE NEW HOME 115 
 
 way, have taken the place of the children that were 
 lacking there. In those days D. L. and his wife 
 were " Fadder " and " Damma " to us. And no 
 matter how busy our dear Fadder and Damma 
 were, they took time to amuse and help us. Damma 
 made clothes and gave us cookies and big slices 
 of bread and butter. Mary Lair, who lived with 
 them so many years and who was our Aunt Mamie, 
 informed us for the first time that we had tin pans 
 and drums in our ears. I was somewhat skeptical 
 of the truth of this, but D. L. believed it and it 
 worried him greatly. And Mamie could take her 
 teeth out! That was a never-ending source of 
 wonderment to us. We were allowed to go into the 
 sitting room, where everything was so orderly, and 
 smooth the silk tassels on the portieres, or sink in- 
 to the depths of the sofa and feel the richness of its 
 cushions. How careful we were not to hurt any- 
 thing! 
 
 But when we went into the library restraint 
 was gone. There sat our dear Fadder by the north 
 window at his desk, writing. He always looked 
 up with a smile. I cannot now remember what 
 he would say to us, but the smile on his face is still 
 plain to me. He would turn around and hold out 
 his arms and we would go to him. Then we were 
 allowed to look at a great book a dictionary, I 
 think with many pictures of animals in it. We 
 called it the "Animal Book." Or we might be feel- 
 ing sick, and out would come the pill bottle, kept
 
 116 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 especially for our benefit. It contained many 
 colored candy pills. It was remarkable how often 
 we were sick and how quickly we recovered. If we 
 became very ill and the pill bottle did not do the 
 work, we had to be vaccinated. This was a very 
 serious operation. First, our arms were scraped 
 with a knife and then red ink was applied. This 
 was a sure cure for anything. Then there was the 
 " bender." This was a tape line, probably fifteen 
 feet long. D. L. used to hold to the end of it while 
 Fadder wound it up slowly, telling D. L. all the 
 time to watch out. And when the end came D. L. 
 was grabbed, hugged and tickled. Then Fadder 
 would take us out into the garden and let us smell 
 the hyacinths, if that were the season, or roll us 
 down the terraces, or if it were fall we would be 
 given a bunch of white grapes off the vine that grew 
 up over the barn. When we were especially good 
 we were allowed to play on the saddle or be in the 
 barn by ourselves. We loved our dear Fadder and 
 Damma and they loved us. 
 
 They always had pets in their home. There 
 were dogs and cats and birds of various kinds ; ca- 
 naries, a red bird and a pair of mocking birds, and 
 later several parrots. Grip and Fritz were the most 
 famous of the cats and dogs. Grip came to the 
 home a poor, starved little kitten, during the year 
 when la grippe was so bad, about 1890. My mother 
 and Mary Lair were sick in bed with that malady, 
 and Damma was nursing them and caring for D.
 
 THE NEW HOME 117 
 
 L., who was only a baby. One day she made chick- 
 en soup for the invalids and carried the bones out 
 to scatter on the snow, thinking some dog or cat 
 might get them. And sure enough, as she poured 
 them out this little kitten crawled from under the 
 woodpile, nearly starved and half frozen, a most 
 woebegone-looking animal with sore eyes. She 
 picked him up and carried him in to show the in- 
 valids. They cried : " Oh, take it out. It makes 
 me sick to see it." So she took it out and gave it 
 a bath in warm water and wrapped it up and put 
 it under the stove. The little thing lived and grew 
 into a beautiful cat and was called Grip because 
 he came when they were all sick. 
 
 Of Fritz the following is taken from a letter : 
 
 " You recall my dog ' Unser Fritz.' He was the 
 great pet of my life. I thought a lot of him and he 
 had about as much sense as some people. Elder L. 
 W. Teeter spent a week or two in our home, read- 
 ing over his ' Commentary.' He came to know 
 Fritz well, and before he left us he said one day, 
 ' It's a shame to call that intelligent little fellow a 
 dog.' ' 
 
 There is another story told of Billy the balky 
 horse by my mother : 
 
 " Once we had him at the love feast at Silver 
 Creek. He stopped right in the road where all 
 had to pass, only there was no passing room where 
 Bill concluded to stop. It was night and the crowd 
 behind kept calling to move on, but we could not 
 move on with a balky horse. A young man came up 
 and examined his nose by pinching it, and called to
 
 118 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 those behind, saying that they should have pa- 
 tience, as there was a sick horse there. Then all 
 at once Bill started, as he always did after a spell 
 like that, at a breakneck speed. It was then discov- 
 ered that the hitch strap was down, but we were 
 afraid to stop to tie it up, lest Bill should decide not 
 to go again. We called back to the people behind us 
 for help, but they were all women. They in turn 
 called back to the next buggy, and a young man 
 came hurrying forward and tied up the strap, with 
 Bill on the go. And he did go after that strap was 
 up, for patience was worn to a frazzle. I think I am 
 safe in saying that that horse was the only thing 
 that caused Father's eyes to flash with anger dur- 
 ing all the years that I lived with him. At least, 
 the only times I saw him angry." 
 
 He always loved his home and all the things 
 that went with it, and yet his duties called him 
 away from it so often. In his letters and writings 
 he frequently referred to the joy of the homecom- 
 ing and compared it to the time when he should be 
 called to his long home.
 
 CHAPTEE XV 
 
 SECOND TRIP ABROAD / 
 
 AFTER his first trip abroad, D. L. said that 
 lie never expected to make another, but 
 he could not foresee what the years would 
 bring. His interest in foreign lands, and especially 
 the Holy Land, never abated. His library filled up 
 with books of travel and the best authorities on 
 Palestine, Egypt, Greece and Italy. After hearing 
 the Miller-Sommer debate, in which the doctrines 
 of the church were discussed, D. L. conceived the 
 idea that a visit to the Seven Churches of Asia and 
 a talk with the bishops and priests of the Greek 
 Church might help to establish more firmly the 
 doctrines which our church held so dear. He con- 
 sulted with Brother E. H. Miller, who urged him 
 to make the trip. Other leaders in the church 
 thought that important facts might be gained by 
 such a journey, so gradually D. L.'s thoughts were 
 turned to the Holy Land and he commenced to plan 
 a second tour. He bought and studied many vol- 
 umes on the subject. He was a busy man, with 
 many duties holding him, but he began to rid him- 
 self of these. Elder J. H. Moore was secured to be 
 office editor of the Messenger. Thus, gradually, 
 
 119
 
 120 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 the way opened and definite plans were laid to 
 make the trip in the latter part of the summer of 
 1891. 
 
 An equally important motive for the journey 
 was the fact that the churches in Denmark and 
 Sweden long had been asking that some one be 
 sent to help them in their work by encouragement 
 and instruction in the doctrines of the church. The 
 District Meeting in Denmark and Sweden pre- 
 sented a special request to the Annual Meeting 
 that D. L. and Brother Hope be sent over by the 
 Mission Board to visit them. They had been strug- 
 gling alone without help from America for some 
 years, and felt the need of keeping in closer touch 
 with the mother church. So it was decided that 
 Brother Hope should accompany D. L. and his wife 
 on the trip and spend some time with those church- 
 es. On this point, and especially the financial side 
 of it, D. L. wrote in the Messenger at that time : 
 
 " We have felt that some one ought to go, and 
 encourage the struggling churches in Denmark and 
 Sweden, but as to our going there were hindrances 
 in the way that were not to be easily removed. But 
 now the way seems to be made clear, and, if the 
 Lord will, wife and I expect to leave our home July 
 6 on a mission of love to the members in Denmark 
 and Sweden. And lest there be misapprehension 
 on the part of some, we wish to state that we do 
 not go out at the expense of the Missionary Com- 
 mittee. The committee has requested us to visit 
 the churches, and while we go under their authori- 
 ty, we are in no way chargeable to them."
 
 SECOND TRIP ABROAD 121 
 
 It may be added here that in all of D. L.'s trips 
 to visit the missions (and he continued making 
 periodical trips until 1904), he went at his own 
 cost. His expenses on these trips, as well as the 
 time he gave to the visits, should be considered as 
 an outright gift to the missions of the church. It 
 was necessary for the growing and struggling mis- 
 sions to keep in touch with the home church, and 
 D. L. made that possible with no burden to the Mis- 
 sion Board. He wrote of the missions for the Mes- 
 senger, and these articles stimulated gifts and in- 
 terest in missions. It is true that these articles 
 were gathered into books and sold, but the proceeds 
 from these books were no more than a just return 
 for the time and money spent on the journeys. 
 
 Of the places he expected to visit he says in 
 the article quoted above : 
 
 "After spending some time with them [mem- 
 bers in Sweden and Denmark] we expect to go to 
 Home, stopping at London, Paris, and other places 
 of interest on the way. . . . From Kome we go 
 by way of Herculaneum, Pompeii, Brindisi, where 
 we take ship for Smyrna, and then to Ephesus, Per- 
 gamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodi- 
 cea. . . . From Smyrna we set sail for Alexan- 
 dria, Egypt, where we expect to spend some time. 
 We will go to Cairo, visit the pyramids and the 
 land of Goshen, where the sons of Jacob dwelt, and 
 where they were evil treated and held in bondage 
 by the Pharaohs. Then, after ascending the Nile 
 to the first cataract, visiting Luxor, Thebes and 
 other places of interest, we will follow the route
 
 122 LIFE OF D. L. MIL.LER 
 
 of the Exodus of the children of Israel across the 
 desert to Mount Sinai. . . . We will spend some 
 time in the ancient city of Jerusalem, and by travel, 
 research and investigation become better ac- 
 quainted with the lands of the Bible ... It is 
 by no means a pleasure trip. Traveling in the 
 East, as we have learned by past experience, is 
 anything but pleasant. Crossing the desert on 
 camels, horseback riding in Asia Minor and Pales- 
 tine, dwelling in tents surrounded by the half- 
 civilized tribes of the desert, is not like taking a 
 trip in the vestibuled train of palace coaches, with 
 dining-car attachments, across the American con- 
 tinent. The idea of pleasure must be left out of 
 the calculation, and that of sacrifice, danger and 
 hard work taken in. Were it not for the sacred 
 associations, connected with the lands of the Bible, 
 and the importance of the facts to be gathered 
 there, showing the truth of God's Book, we could 
 not be induced to undertake the journey; and with 
 this object in view, we go, trusting in the Lord." 
 
 I quote at length the plans for this trip, for 
 they were fated never to materialize. It is inter- 
 esting, too, to notice the difference in the plans and 
 preparations for this trip and the first trip. Here 
 every detail is laid out and the whole carefully 
 studied. The first tour to Palestine was taken as 
 an afterthought, after they had been in Germany 
 for some time. For this second journey he knew 
 what he had to face and prepared for it. He did 
 not make the trip for pleasure, and yet it is true 
 that some of the greatest joys in life come from
 
 SECOND TRIP ABROAD 123 
 
 facing " sacrifice, danger, and hard work " cheer- 
 fully. 
 
 After much study and elaborate preparations, 
 they started on their second trip Aug. 1, 1891, sail- 
 ing for Bremen, Germany, on the steamer Werra, 
 from New York. The first day or two of the voy- 
 age was very pleasant. Then they entered a storm 
 which lasted nearly all the way across. As the let- 
 ters relating this trip have never been collected in 
 book form, and are hidden away in the current 
 numbers of the Gospel Messenger of that year, I 
 quote at greater length from them in order to pre- 
 serve the most interesting parts to readers of this 
 day: 
 
 " Monday morning the foghorn sounded, and 
 we entered upon a period of storm, rain and fog 
 which continues up to this writing, Saturday, Aug. 
 8. ... A gentleman on board, who had crossed 
 the ocean a number of times, said this was the 
 roughest voyage he had ever made. Many of the 
 passengers were very seasick, and some suffered 
 terribly. Wife had her share of this distressing 
 malady, but the writer escaped with but few of 
 the incipient symptoms. It is singular that the 
 medical fraternity have discovered no remedy for 
 seasickness. The enterprising physician who will 
 find a preventative or a remedy will not only prove 
 to be a public benefactor, but will at once find him- 
 self in the possession of a large fortune. Wife's 
 remedy is a sure one, but it doesn't meet all the 
 emergencies. It is expressed in four words, * Stay 
 off the sea.'
 
 124 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " We read over and over again the psalmist's 
 description of a storm at sea, and we are sure that 
 it was written in the light of personal experience. 
 David, doubtless, had gone down to the sea in ships 
 and passed through an experience somewhat like 
 we have the last six days, when he wrote : l They 
 that go down to the sea in ships, that do business 
 in 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 heaven, 
 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 in their trouble, 
 and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He 
 maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves there- 
 of are still. Then are they glad because they be 
 quiet ; so he bringeth them unto their desired ha- 
 ven. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his 
 goodness, and for his wonderful works to the chil- 
 dren of men !' ' 
 
 They arrived safely in their " haven " at Bre- 
 men and started at once for Copenhagen, where 
 they were met by Brother Christian Hansen, and 
 from there began their visit to the churches in Den- 
 mark and Sweden. Brother Hope was along as 
 interpreter. On the first night in Copenhagen D. 
 L. had his initial experience in preaching through 
 an interpreter. He found it difficult, but soon be- 
 came used to it. Doubtless the interested audi- 
 ences helped him in that. Everywhere the mem- 
 bers came for miles to listen and seemed never to
 
 SECOND TRIP ABROAD 125 
 
 tire of the services. They would walk from five 
 to ten miles to the meeting and think nothing of 
 it. And they expected a like feat from their visi- 
 tors. 
 
 The visits among the churches were pleasantly 
 interrupted by a trip to Lapland. They made the 
 trip in a small boat, whose captain was so accom- 
 modating that he gave a special side trip up one 
 of the most beautiful fiords along the coast. Then 
 back again they came and finished visiting among 
 the churches, spending about two months in that 
 work. At last the parting day arrived. Follow- 
 ing is a portion of Brother Hope's account of that 
 separation : 
 
 " When the morning of Sept. 29, 1891, dawned 
 on Vanneberga, Sweden, the members had already 
 arranged for a meeting in John Olsson's room, for 
 it was not only the day for the departure of Broth- 
 er and Sister Miller, but also Sister Miller's forty- 
 third birthday. Like children for a dear mother, 
 so the members also thought of making the day a 
 pleasant one. The time was spent in devotion and 
 useful work until noon, when the time for parting 
 came. . . ." 
 
 Then D. L. and his wife made a short talk, 
 and were followed by each member there, thank- 
 ing each other for mutual benefits and wishing 
 God's blessing on all. Brother Hope continues : 
 
 " The meeting was closed by the remarks of a 
 brother, who called to mind the fact that God had 
 once used Brother D. L. Miller and wife, though not 
 then in official position, to save the mission from
 
 126 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 threatening destruction. He thanked them for 
 that and told them now they had come a second 
 time as officials, had seen all the perfections and 
 imperfections of the work, and its future wants. 
 He made an earnest appeal to them never to for- 
 get this mission, whose life they had saved for 
 healthy development. . . . 
 
 " Next we had a season of prayer, and on clos- 
 ing, Brother Miller stood up and said, 'While 
 praying, I was strongly impressed we should go 
 out and locate the meetinghouse, and drive the 
 stakes for it at a suitable place. I feel confident 
 you will get the house, and on this, our parting 
 moment, we will dedicate the place.' 
 
 "Accordingly, all went out to Brother John 
 Olsson's field, not far from his house in Vanne- 
 berga, close to the main road, in a little grove, on 
 which all united that the stakes should be driven. 
 This was done by Brother and Sister Miller, and 
 the place was dedicated by prayer of Brother D. 
 L. Miller and the writer."
 
 CHAPTEE XVI 
 
 THE EETURN 
 
 UPON leaving Denmark they went south 
 to Schwarzenau and Halle, their former 
 home while sojourning in Germany. At 
 Schwarzenau, in 1708, the first members of the 
 Church of the Brethren had been baptized. By the 
 little stream where this had taken place, P. L. 
 sat and wrote a long letter to the Messenger, de- 
 scribing the country and reviewing the events of 
 that early period. While no members lived there 
 at this time, the place was sacred to him as having 
 been the first home of the church. 
 
 After visiting various localities of interest in 
 Germany they went to London. It was their mis- 
 fortune to cross the English Channel in one of the 
 worst storms in years. D. L.'s first account of it 
 was very brief, but he referred to it again and 
 again, and often in later life recalled the terrors 
 and danger of that trip. The nervous shock to his 
 wife was so great that it was long before she re- 
 covered. He writes in his first letter after the oc- 
 currence : 
 
 " It was our misfortune to cross the English 
 Channel in a great gale which occurred on the 
 
 127
 
 128 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 night of Oct. 13. The London papers contained 
 lengthy accounts of the destruction wrought by 
 the hurricane. The waves broke over the pier and 
 the train of cars which was standing upon it, to 
 convey the passengers by the night boat to London. 
 Several car windows were broken in by the force 
 of the waves. The passage was a terrible one and 
 the landing frightful. Our boat was washed away 
 from the pier twice before she was moored, and we 
 were compelled to land in a blinding shower of 
 spray and sea water. The water, driven by the 
 force of the wind, pelted against us like hail. By 
 the assistance of the seamen we finally landed, and, 
 dripping wet, we went into the cold, wet cars and 
 were whirled off toward London. Truly, we have 
 been in perils by the sea, but the Lord hath hitherto 
 helped us and we praise his name." 
 
 His motive in going to London was to study 
 the records regarding the Bible in the British Mu- 
 seum. His interest was ever keen to prove the 
 truth of the Bible and to confirm his faith in the 
 principles of the church. In fact, this whole trip 
 was planned with that end in view. To show with 
 what thoroughness he went into this work, the 
 letter describing his experiences in London is 
 quoted below at length : 
 
 " Our first feeling on reaching London was 
 one of oppressive solitude and loneliness. We 
 were entire strangers, set down in the midst of a 
 great, strange city at midnight strangers in a 
 strange land. Our exceedingly unpleasant experi- 
 ence in crossing the English Channel was still 
 fresh upon us. We were wet and cold from the
 
 THE EBTITRN 129 
 
 drenching received at Dover. There was rain and 
 fog everywhere. It was gloomy and dismal and 
 dark enough to suit the purpose of those whose 
 works are evil. . . . Wife's illness also had a 
 tendency to deepen the feeling of loneliness, and it 
 was hard to shake off, but when she was able to get 
 out, we soon became accustomed to the place and 
 enjoyed our stay as well as could be expected. 
 
 " In coming to London we had a special object 
 in view. Simple sight-seeing would not have in- 
 duced us to cross the English Channel. We came 
 here to see and study the world-renowned collec- 
 tions of sculptured marble, of engraved stones, of 
 tablets, and cylinders, inscribed with the history of 
 Mesopotamia, as ancient as the days of Abraham, 
 and of the colossal statuary, brought from the ex- 
 cavated palaces of Nineveh and Babylon. To us 
 these great collections, brought together by the 
 outlay of immense sums of money, have been the 
 chief center of attraction. Here we have the privi- 
 lege of examining the clay tablets and cylinders 
 taken from the library of Sennacherib and Sargon, 
 his father two of the great kings of Nineveh. 
 Here are books twenty-seven hundred years old, 
 bearing records that show with indisputable testi- 
 mony the truth of the Bible. Here we saw and ex- 
 amined the old Egyptian book, written on papyrus, 
 as old as the days of Moses, containing at least a 
 part of the history of the life of Jacob's beloved son 
 Joseph in Egypt. Here is the Kosetta stone, which 
 furnished the key to the hieroglyphics, and which 
 has been of such inestimable value in the study of 
 the ancient records of Egypt. . . . 
 
 " There, in connection with these collections, 
 is a great library containing one and a half mil-
 
 130 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 lions of volumes with one of the largest and best- 
 appointed reading rooms in the world. We were 
 admitted to the reading room where we had a desk 
 assigned to us, and where, by the aid of a catalog 
 in two thousand volumes, we were enabled to secure 
 free such books as we needed to study more care- 
 fully the Assyrian, Babylonian and Egyptian an- 
 tiquities. . . . 
 
 " The Christian world owes a debt of grati- 
 tude to the men, who, at the risk of life, and by the 
 expenditure of immense sums of money, have 
 brought these records of the truth of the Bible to- 
 gether, and have spent years of great labor in 
 translating and arranging them, so that they can 
 now be read in all the modern languages." 
 
 In a later communication he emphasizes the 
 importance of these letters: 
 
 " Not many years ago unbelievers were assert- 
 ing that the story of Joseph and the bondage of the 
 children of Israel in Egypt was a myth, but these 
 recent discoveries have closed the mouths of this 
 class of critics. There is growing up now another 
 form of unbelief, known as higher criticism, which 
 asserts that in some essential points the history of 
 the Bible is in error. Among this school of critics 
 are men who profess to believe in some parts of the 
 Book. One of these days the spade and pickax of 
 the Egyptian and Palestine Exploration Societies 
 will uncover some new testimony that will make 
 these critics hide their faces in shame. It is get- 
 ting to be decidedly unsafe in these days for men 
 to risk too much against the Bible: the buried 
 records show their errors.
 
 THE EETURN 131 
 
 " May not this be God's way of refuting the 
 tide of infidelity that has been sweeping over the 
 land? Every honest man will carefully examine 
 the evidences, and a careful and unprejudiced ex- 
 amination of them will convince the skeptical, if 
 they are honest, that the Bible is GOD'S BOOK, 
 and that it is THE TRUTH." 
 
 After the study of these records at the British 
 Museum, D. L. and his wife had planned to go on 
 to Palestine and Egypt, but cholera had broken out 
 in the East and they were advised that it was un- 
 safe to make the journey. Then, too, the health of 
 his wife was so poor that it was decided best to re- 
 turn home. It was a keen disappointment to give 
 up the trip, but he did not abandon hopes of mak- 
 ing it at some future time.
 
 CHAPTEE XVII 
 
 THIRD TRIP ABROAD 
 
 WITHIN a year after the return from Ms 
 second trip abroad, D. L. prepared to 
 make a third journey to visit the lands 
 he had failed to see on account of the outbreak of 
 cholera and the failure of his wife's health on the 
 former tour. The spring and summer of 1892 were 
 mainly spent in further study and preparation for 
 the expedition. However, he found time for preach- 
 ing, for Bible Land talks and for work on the Hymn 
 Book Committee, on which he was appointed at 
 the Conference at Cedar Eapids. At this Confer- 
 ence, too, he acted on Standing Committee and was 
 made writing clerk, the first time that he had held 
 such an important position. On Missionary Day, 
 in the afternoon, one of his Bible Land talks was 
 delivered to an interested audience. He was be- 
 coming well and favorably known throughout the 
 church, as was evidenced by these positions given 
 him at the Conference. 
 
 For some years there had been a constantly- 
 increasing interest among the members in proving 
 the doctrines of the church. This was reflected in 
 the columns of the Messenger, where debates and 
 
 133
 
 134 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 articles of a doctrinal nature appeared weekly. 
 As has already been stated, D. L.'s desire to estab- 
 lish the fundamentals of the faith of the church 
 had grown until it became the purpose of his third 
 trip to visit churches which retained similar 
 practices, and to investigate the material proofs 
 of the truth of the Bible, which had been literally 
 dug up out of the earth in Egypt and Palestine. 
 Beginning Nov. 8, 1892, an extended series of ar- 
 ticles had started in the Messenger, entitled "Prim- 
 itive Christianity, as Understood and Practiced by 
 the Brethren." They ran continuously until July 
 17, 1894. These articles were intended exhaustive- 
 ly to cover every phase of the doctrines of the 
 church, explaining and giving the reasons for their 
 practice. D. L. wrote the first four articles under 
 the title of " Our Keasons for Keceiving the Bi- 
 ble as the Word of God, and Our Only Kule of 
 Faith and Practice." With the Brotherhood awak- 
 ened, as it was at this time, to defending its faith, 
 D. L.'s trip came at an opportune juncture to sus- 
 tain and satisfy this interest. So with the purpose 
 of further illuminating the truth of the Bible, he, 
 with Brother Joseph Lahman, set out Nov. 12, 1892, 
 for a tour of Italy, Egypt and Palestine. 
 
 A great disappointment in connection with 
 the journey was the fact that his wife could not 
 go with him. The shock to her nerves from the pre- 
 vious trip had been so severe that it was felt best 
 she should not, within so short a period, attempt
 
 THIRD TRIP ABROAD 135 
 
 another of undoubted fatigue and danger. He 
 wrote at that time : 
 
 " Those who have felt the bitter pang of sepa- 
 ration will know, others can only imagine, what 
 this journey means to both of us. With a brave 
 heart, she said, ' Go, for it seems to be best that I 
 remain at home.' And today, as I sail out upon 
 the broad Atlantic, I realize that there are lonely, 
 aching hearts at home." 
 
 He made many sea voyages and had numerous 
 occasions for describing the ocean, and on this, his 
 fifth trip across the Atlantic, he so well pictures 
 that universal fascination in the mighty deep, 
 that it is worth quoting : 
 
 " The great, restless ocean, bearing upon its 
 bosom the navies and the commerce of the world, 
 has always had an absorbing interest for humani- 
 ty. To those who stand on the shore and listen to 
 the dying murmurs of the waves as they lose them- 
 selves on the sands of the beach, it has a strange 
 fascination that is always strong, and a deep in- 
 terest that is ever new. To those who go down to 
 the sea in great ships, there is an added concern. 
 The change from sunshine to clouds, from calm to 
 storm, is watched with wonderful interest. Then, 
 too, there is always present with the traveler a 
 dim, vague sense of uncertainty as to what the sea 
 has in store for him. Many of the works of the 
 Lord and the wonders of the deep are revealed, and 
 yet how many mysteries are buried beneath the 
 blue waves, and how many secrets are covered by 
 the restless waters, never to be revealed until, at
 
 136 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 the command of him who holds all things in his 
 hands, the sea shall give up her dead ! " 
 
 They arrived safely in Genoa, and after spend- 
 ing a day in sight-seeing, proceeded by way of 
 Pisa to Home. Here they staid slightly more than 
 two weeks, visiting the ancient city with more than 
 the interest of ordinary tourists. The Coliseum, 
 the Catacombs, where the early Christians had hid- 
 den, the Arch of Titus, with relief figures showing 
 the golden candlesticks and revealing indisputable 
 proof of the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and 
 the bringing of the holy vessels and furniture of the 
 temple to Home, churches and cathedrals, and 
 many other places were viewed in an effort fur- 
 ther to increase their knowledge of the history of 
 the early Christians. In chapter three of " Wan- 
 derings in Bible Lands " D. L. gives an account of 
 Paul's trip to Home, which is so real that every 
 one desiring better to understand and really to 
 see Paul as he made that trip would do well to 
 read it. 
 
 Leaving Eome, they went to Naples, Pompeii 
 and Herculaneum. Of course they visited Mt. 
 Vesuvius, and had quite an adventure, of which 
 D. L. wrote : 
 
 " We made two attempts at reaching the top 
 of the mountain and succeeded in getting a good 
 view of the top on Dec. 15. Soon after leaving the 
 upper station we noticed light wreaths of smoke 
 issuing from the crevices along our upward path- 
 way. A rumbling noise, resembling distant thun-
 
 THIRD TRIP ABROAD 137 
 
 der, was heard at regular intervals and we had an 
 indistinct feeling that the mountain quaked. Our 
 guide said, ' He,' meaning the volcano, ' working ; 
 but he no dangare.' As we continued our upward 
 course the smoke increased and the strong fumes 
 of sulphur emitted were distinctly unpleasant. At 
 one place a hole in the rock was emitting smoke in 
 puffs. We put our hand in, but removed it at 
 once. It was quite hot. 
 
 "At this point the explosions which occur at 
 regular intervals in the crater could be distinctly 
 heard and the tremor of the mountain felt. Still 
 higher, the smoke and sulphur and steam grew 
 thicker, and we were compelled to cover mouth and 
 nose with handkerchiefs. At last we reached the 
 rim of the crater, and, looking down, we beheld a 
 fearful sight. We thought of the bottomless pit. 
 As we stood looking into the awful abyss there 
 came a terrific explosion. The mountain shook. 
 Great masses of stone and lava were thrown 
 high into the air and fell back again into 
 the restless crater. Great tongues of bright 
 red flames burst through the dense volumes 
 of smoke that rolled upward from the pit. The 
 scene was a frightful one and our curiosity to 
 see a volcano at work was fully gratified in a very 
 short time. The guide assured us that there was 
 no ' dangare,' but we went away to a point of great- 
 er security, where we watched the explosions for 
 some time." 
 
 After spending a week in Naples and vicinity, 
 they sailed for Cairo to make a five weeks' tour of 
 Egypt. They visited Cairo, Memphis, Heliopolis, 
 Thebes and the Pyramids. The Nile Kiver, with
 
 138 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 its strange boats and irrigating system, was ex- 
 amined and described. Leaving places of interest 
 near the mouth of the Nile, they took boat and 
 sailed to the first cataract. From there they re- 
 embarked in a small boat to make the trip to the 
 second cataract. At Cairo they had been assured 
 that the trip south of the first cataract was per- 
 fectly safe. But on going on board the boat they 
 were surprised to see soldiers. At first these were 
 thought to be going to the garrison at Wady Haifa, 
 but later it was discovered that they were for the 
 protection of the passengers on the boat. Then it 
 was learned that the warlike dervishes had made 
 raids at Wady Haifa, killing a number of people. 
 The raiders escaped to the desert, where it was im- 
 possible to follow them. Therefore, it was deemed 
 wise by the government to have soldiers accompany 
 the little boat on its cruise. " Had we known of 
 the dangers of the trip, our journey would have 
 ended at Assuan ( at the first cataract) . As it was, 
 we were steaming southward to Wady Haifa and 
 must make the best of the situation." Thus he 
 wrote, showing that the danger was very real. 
 
 They made the trip in safety, however, and re- 
 turned to Cairo, from which place they visited the 
 land of Goshen and the Bed Sea, and followed in 
 part, at least, the course of the Children of Israel 
 in the wilderness. This, in brief, is an outline of 
 the journey through Egypt. It would be impos- 
 sible to go into detail telling of the many places
 
 THIRD TRIP ABROAD 139 
 
 and things they saw. One thing was kept before 
 his readers, and that was the fact that they were 
 seeing on every hand wonderful evidences which 
 proved the truth of the Bible. He constantly quot- 
 ed from the Bible in describing the sights before 
 him, as well as giving the best authority of the 
 time in explaining the meaning of inscriptions. 
 His letters were full of the history of the country 
 and explanations of the customs of the times. Es- 
 pecially did he describe the ways of embalming and 
 burial. This had much to do with proving many 
 things in the Bible, for by their methods of embalm- 
 ing, and the custom of burying articles with the 
 dead, have been made many discoveries of value to 
 modern peoples. 
 
 Several events of unusual importance, on the 
 trip are well worth relating. One of these was D. 
 L.'s visit to Ahmed Abd er-Kasul, the man who re- 
 vealed the burial place of Seti I., Kameses II., and 
 Menephthah. Many years ago the mummies had 
 been discovered in the valley of the tombs of the 
 kings at Thebes. But before this visit the bodies 
 had mysteriously disappeared and everything mov- 
 able had been taken with them. It was all 
 so unusual that some even doubted that the mum- 
 mies had really existed. Near Thebes lived four 
 brothers, who acted as guides. In 1871 they dis- 
 covered the resting place of the Pharaohs, but kept 
 it a secret. Periodically they visited the tomb and 
 brought away relics to sell to the travelers whom
 
 140 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 they took to places of interest. When so many 
 genuine relics began to appear in the hands of trav- 
 elers at Cairo, the authorities became interested 
 and watched the guides. They finally arrested and 
 tortured Ahmed, one of the four brothers, but could 
 get no information from him. When Ahmed was 
 freed, the four brothers held a council of war over 
 the matter. Part of them felt that they could go 
 ahead with the sale of the relics. The others said 
 they would be so closely watched that it would be 
 no use. Ahmed, seeing the division among them 
 and knowing that their traffic was at an end, quiet- 
 ly revealed the hiding place to the authorities. D. 
 L. went to visit Ahmed during his stay in Thebes. 
 His own dragomans would not take him, for Ahmed 
 was held in suspicion and was feared by the au- 
 thorities. But, undaunted, D. L. secured an intelli- 
 gent young Arab to act as interpreter and set out 
 for the home of Ahmed Abd er-Kasul. He was 
 kindly received by the old man, given sweets and 
 coffee and his questions were answered. After a 
 short call, he left. But this was not the last he 
 heard of the Arab. On his return trip down the 
 Nile, a brother of Ahmed met him at the boat with 
 some valuable Egyptian antiquities, which were 
 given to D. L. as a remembrance of the visit. 
 
 That D. L. took more than a passing interest in 
 the strange customs of the East is shown by a little 
 incident, which happened while walking through an
 
 THIRD TRIP ABROAD 141 
 
 Ethiopian village. He saw a woman grinding 
 beans between two stones, then rubbing water in- 
 to them to make a paste, which was later baked. 
 He wrote thus : 
 
 " In our walk through the village we saw a 
 woman preparing dough to be made into thin cakes 
 and baked on flat stones which had been heated in 
 the fire. She had in front of her a flat stone about 
 two feet long and one foot wide, which constant 
 use had worn quite smooth and slightly hollow in 
 the middle. In her hand she held a flint stone, 
 flattened on the under side, and at her side stood a 
 small basket of beans and a jar of water. At one 
 end of the stone lay a small piece of dirty palm 
 matting, on which the dough fell. Near this a few 
 live embers kept a little smoke rising over the 
 stone. She put a handful of the small beans on the 
 stone, then dipping her hand in the dish let the 
 water drop on the beans. Grasping the smaller 
 stone with both hands she rubbed the mass, add- 
 ing a little water occasionally, until it was con- 
 verted into a coarse paste. . . . The smoke is in- 
 tended to keep away the flies and other insects 
 but we noticed that a number of flies ventured too 
 close, and were mercilessly crushed by the relent- 
 less stone. 
 
 "A small coin as backsheesh gave us the priv- 
 ilege of trying our hand at the rubbing and grind- 
 ing process. We found that it required much hard 
 work and skill to grind the beans in this way. It 
 took but a small amount of exercise of this kind 
 to gratify our curiosity, and we retired amidst the 
 suppressed laughter of the men, women and chil- 
 dren who had gathered about us and who doubtless
 
 142 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 pitied our ignorance, since we did not know enough 
 to crush beans as the women of Ethiopia do." 
 
 On their return to Cairo, D. L. visited the 
 archbishop of the Coptic Church, a branch of the 
 early Christian Church, which broke away in 451 
 over a contention regarding the nature of Christ. 
 Of particular interest to D. L. was the fact that 
 through the centuries this church has observed the 
 practices of trine immersion, feet- washing and the 
 kiss of peace. He had an interesting visit with the 
 archbishop, who, according to the Eastern custom, 
 served him with sweetmeats and coffee, and an- 
 swered all of his questions regarding his church. 
 It gave D. L. a great deal of satisfaction to have 
 an interview of this kind, for, in spite of the fact 
 that the Coptic Church had adopted some customs 
 which were not biblical, they had retained intact 
 through the ages several of the gospel doctrines, 
 and thus provided him with further assurance and 
 argument of their truth and importance. 
 
 He visited also the American missions in 
 Cairo, and interviewed the heads of these institu- 
 tions. All the way up the Nile, the work of the 
 missions had been noticed, and now in Cairo he 
 made a careful study of the results of mission work. 
 Undoubtedly his mind was already formulating 
 plans for the enlargement of the foreign missions 
 of the church. 
 
 After leaving Egypt they visited Palestine and 
 the Seven Churches of Asia. Most of the time in
 
 THIRD TRIP ABROAD 143 
 
 Palestine was spent about Jerusalem, in which D. 
 L. was particularly interested. He noted especially 
 the improvements that had been made during the 
 nine years that had elapsed between his first and 
 third trips. A railway had been built between 
 Joppa and Jerusalem, and a pier had been con- 
 structed at Joppa, which made the landing less 
 dangerous. In Jerusalem many new buildings had 
 been erected outside the city walls, which fact was 
 thought by some to be a direct fulfillment of proph- 
 ecies. (For a full discussion on this subject turn 
 to page 566, " Wanderings in Bible Lands.") Feb. 
 18, 1893, they left Jerusalem for Smyrna, sailing 
 from Joppa almost due north on the Mediterra- 
 nean, and encountering on the way a storm which 
 nearly drove them on the rocks of the coast. It was 
 his first experience of the kind on that usually 
 calm sea. 
 
 With Smyrna as headquarters, they journeyed 
 to Ephesus, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadel- 
 phia, and Laodicea, where were located the seven 
 churches in Asia which Paul established by his 
 missionary efforts. With the exception of Smyrna 
 and Ephesus, these places were outside the beaten 
 line of travel and the trip was really dangerous, 
 for a part of it had to be made by carriage through 
 a country infested with brigands. They were told 
 that only two Americans had made the tour before 
 Dr. J. W. McGarvey, of Lexington, Kentucky, in 
 1879, and John Lemley of Albany, New York, in
 
 144 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 1891. They were able to make the journey safely, 
 however, and without unusual incident. With 
 deep interest they inspected the really wonderful 
 ruins of these ancient cities, and D. L.'s heart was 
 filled with a longing to bring the primitive Chris- 
 tianity again to these people whom Paul had ex- 
 horted so many centuries ago. 
 
 In Jerusalem they had arranged through their 
 dragoman, Mr. Tadros, for an interview with the 
 patriarch of the Greek Church, known as " His 
 Beatitude Girasimo, Patriarch of the Church of 
 Jerusalem and Syria." They were most kindly re- 
 ceived by him, were given the usual refreshments, 
 and when the interview was over were invited to 
 inspect his library, which was filled with many 
 old manuscripts and valuable books. The Greek 
 Church practices feet-washing, the Lord's supper, 
 the salutation and trine immersion. It was on 
 these points of common interest that D. L. wished 
 to learn more of the history and evidence on which 
 the Greek Church based its doctrines. After a sat- 
 isfactory conference, in which these subjects were 
 discussed, the patriarch gave them a letter of in- 
 troduction to the archbishop at Smyrna. As this 
 document shows the respect with which D. L. and 
 Brother Lahman were treated by these dignitaries, 
 and the formalities with which they addressed each 
 other, a free translation of it is herewith given : 
 
 " Most holy Metropolitan of Smyrna, highly 
 honored Exarch of Asia, much beloved brother in
 
 THE NILE NEAR CAIRO
 
 THIRD TRIP ABROAD 145 
 
 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, united 
 together in his work in our humility to Basilius : 
 
 "We salute and embrace thee with an holy 
 kiss, as our most learned and sacred brother. Our 
 gracious brother, Daniel L. Miller, of the Brethren 
 Church of America, being engaged in ecclesiastical 
 studies, brings with him our present letter. He 
 has made a long journey in the East, and having 
 visited the Holy City of Jerusalem and the Land 
 of Promise, and seen all those places worthy of 
 study, is now coming to Asia Minor to visit and de- 
 scribe her seven churches mentioned in the Revela- 
 tion of John. Having confidence in our brother 
 and he having a kind, brotherly feeling toward us 
 in visiting us, and having the love of God in his 
 heart, asked of us a letter of introduction to your 
 holiness, to the end that he may have your assist- 
 ance in obtaining information. We most earnestly 
 request your holiness to receive him as a brother, 
 steadfast in the faith and a lover of the true 
 church, and render to him all possible brotherly 
 assistance, that his labor may be made as easy as 
 possible. 
 
 " Sending to you in great love, most holy broth- 
 er in the Lord, we again salute and embrace you 
 with an holy kiss. We pray the blessing of God 
 upon your holiness with good health and salvation. 
 " Written in the Holy City of Jerusalem, Feb. 
 3rd, 1893. 
 
 " Your beloved brother in Christ, 
 
 " Gerasimus." 
 
 In Smyrna, the archbishop received them kind- 
 ly, and after reading the above letter, said, " My 
 time today is yours." He answered their questions
 
 146 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 fully and in turn asked about the practices of the 
 Brethren Church. When the interview was over, 
 he gave each of them a copy of a book he had writ- 
 ten, and also a letter of introduction to the bishop 
 of the Greek Church at Philadelphia. There they 
 did not find the bishop at home, but talked with his 
 minister. They found that while the Greek Church 
 had some doctrines in common with the Brethren, 
 there was no equality between the laity and the 
 ministers. The bishops were highly honored and 
 held themselves aloof from the laity. In explain- 
 ing to some Greek Christians the equality and love 
 that existed between the ministers and members 
 in the Brethren Church, D. L. felt from the re- 
 sponse they gave that there would be an excellent 
 field to propagate the simple Christianity of the 
 Brethren Church. 
 
 Leaving Smyrna, they traveled homeward by 
 way of Athens, Home, and Genoa, taking ship 
 from Genoa for New York. A visit to the churches 
 in Denmark and Sweden had been planned, but 
 the prevalence of cholera in northern Europe made 
 that inadvisable. Their voyage home was unevent- 
 ful, except for two days' storm at sea, which be- 
 came so severe that it turned into a veritable cy- 
 clone, enveloping the ship in spray and water. The 
 wind blew at the rate of eighty miles an hour and 
 was so violent that it pressed down the waves. But 
 the ship weathered the storm, and finally they en- 
 ter New York harbor. D. L. wrote :
 
 THIRD TRIP ABROAD 147 
 
 
 
 " The revenue boat brings mail for the pas- 
 sengers, and how eager all are to receive news! 
 Here is a letter from my dear wife, postmarked at 
 Philadelphia, and I know without breaking the 
 seal that in a few hours she will meet me at the 
 wharf in New York. 
 
 " There are experiences that lie so close to our 
 hearts that we are loath to speak or write about 
 them. They are treasured as memories that live 
 in our heart of hearts. Such an experience was 
 my homecoming and the meeting with my beloved 
 life companion, with whom I have journeyed for 
 more than a quarter of a century. Over it all I 
 drop the veil of silence. . . . God is good and, 
 oh, how good he has been to us !"
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII 
 
 THREE BOOKS 
 
 LATE in 1893, " Wanderings in Bible Lands " 
 was published. This book was the result 
 of letters printed in the Messenger during 
 D. L.'s third trip to Europe. It is a volume of six 
 hundred pages, filled with many illustrations. In 
 it D. L. not only tells of his travels in detail but he 
 gives biblical references, historical outlines and 
 quotes copiously from authorities. His one pur- 
 pose is to prove the truth of the Bible, as revealed 
 in the ruins of ancient times and in the customs 
 that have come down to this day. This fact was 
 constantly in his mind as he wrote, and governed 
 his selection of material. 
 
 The book is very interesting, for he had a 
 knack of telling simply and clearly what he saw, 
 and seasoned it now and then with some amusing 
 incident at his own expense. He was at no end of 
 pains to make it truthful in every respect. He con- 
 sulted and used in the preparation of the manu- 
 script twenty-six books, making himself first an au- 
 thority on the subjects about which he intended to 
 write. 
 
 The book had a sale of twelve thousand copies 
 
 149
 
 150 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 or more. He received concerning it many letters of 
 praise, a few of which are given below : 
 
 " Office of John D. Campbell, County Judge. 
 
 " Oregon, 111., July 28, 1894. 
 " To Whom It May Concern : 
 
 " I take pleasure in stating that I have read 
 and reread with interest and ever-increasing in- 
 terest the volume entitled, i Wanderings in Bible 
 Lands,' by D. L. Miller. 
 
 " In detail and plainness of description, I re- 
 gard it as superior to any of the books I have read 
 upon the exceedingly interesting scenes, incidents 
 and subjects treated upon, and I unhesitatingly 
 commend it to all as a highly-interesting and in- 
 structive book of travels. 
 
 " John D. Campbell." 
 
 " I have just finished reading i Wanderings in 
 Bible Lands,' by D. L. Miller, and have found it a 
 rare treat to drink in such light from the old world 
 so immediately in touch with the Book of books. 
 It is all the more pleasing because written in an 
 easy, plain, yet multum in parvo (much in little) 
 style. It contains such a mine of reliable informa- 
 tion, directly helpful to the proper comprehension 
 of Bible narratives and prophecies not generally 
 understood without such help, that the Bible stu- 
 dent cannot well afford to do without it. 
 
 " Daniel Vaniman." 
 
 " New Paris, Ind., Dec. 26, 1893. 
 " My dear Brother in Christ : 
 
 " I received a few days ago the present you 
 sent me, entitled, ' Wanderings in Bible Lands,' 
 which we esteem as a kind of household treasure 
 along with the Bible.
 
 THREE BOOKS 151 
 
 " Others will be able to say greater things 
 for it, only because of their natural ability to say 
 greater things; but none can feel more grateful 
 than Brother and Sister Hillery. I regard it as 
 important for every Bible student, a great help to 
 both young and old ministers. With this book they 
 get better acquainted at once with the people, the 
 country, the cities upon which so many prophecies 
 of the Bible fall. Howard, my only son, who is 
 eleven years old, has read four chapters and has 
 started to read it through, and says, ' I tell you, 
 papa, that is a very interesting book. . . .' 
 
 " Lemuel Hillery." 
 
 The following is a part of a letter written by 
 Dimitri Tadros, dragoman who acted as guide 
 for D. L. and Brother Lahman in Palestine : 
 
 "... I thought of you and Mr. Lahman 
 often on this trip, and especially since I took with 
 me a copy of your book, ' Wanderings in Bible 
 Lands,' for the party and myself to read. I feel it 
 my duty to tell you, being a native of this country 
 and acquainted with its people and manners and 
 customs, that your book is an incomparable gem 
 for those who are interested in the study of the 
 Lord's Book. It makes the Bible plainer to stran- 
 gers in Palestine, and then you have put it all in 
 such plain, simple language, that it is so easy to 
 read and understand. God enrich you with all his 
 blessings." 
 
 In 1894 " The Seven Churches of Asia " was 
 written and published. In the last paragraph of 
 the preface, D. L. says :
 
 152 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " This book is sent out with the hope that it 
 will add to the store of knowledge concerning the 
 seven churches of Asia and awaken an interest in 
 this very interesting portion of Bible Lands. The 
 work is a labor of love and is a free-will offering. 
 The income from the sale of the book is to be de- 
 voted to the missionary cause in foreign lands. It 
 is the author's strong desire that the nations which 
 today sit in darkness .may see the light of the 
 glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that on the 
 shores of the Mediterranean, where the Gospel was 
 first preached, primitive Christianity with all its 
 God-given power may again be restored." 
 
 That this book was a real addition to the 
 knowledge concerning the seven churches cannot 
 be doubted, when it is known that at the time it was 
 written no other book had been published exclu- 
 sively upon this subject. The two travelers men- 
 tioned previously had incorporated chapters in 
 their books about the seven churches, but D. L.'s 
 book was the first to deal only with these 
 churches. Doubtless one of the dreams nearest his 
 heart was the opening of a mission among these 
 churches, thus reviving the Christianity which Paul 
 had started. So he dedicated the proceeds to that 
 purpose. By the first of the year six hundred dol- 
 lars had accumulated from the sale of the book, 
 and it was not long until there came an announce- 
 ment in the Messenger that a mission would be 
 opened in Smyrna. D. L. once said that " The Sev- 
 en Churches in Asia " was one of his least popu-
 
 THREE BOOKS 153 
 
 lar books. However that may be, it was written in 
 his most interesting style and contains much valu- 
 able information about a little-known route of 
 travel. 
 
 Another book was published in 1894, not from 
 the hand of D. L., but from that of his wife. She 
 had been asked by Brother J. H. Moore to write for 
 the Young Disciple a series of letters on her travels. 
 At first she refused, but later consented to do as 
 requested. Soon letters were appearing weekly 
 telling of her journeyings. At first it was not in- 
 tended to publish these in book form, but so many 
 requests were received that this be done that it 
 was finally decided to bring out a book of her let- 
 ters. This volume was called " Letters to the Young 
 from the t)ld World." They cover her trip through 
 Europe and Palestine, and were not only read by 
 the young but by the old. Her style in writing was 
 most pleasant, and she had a knack of selecting 
 those little incidents of interest that lighten every 
 trip and are so often forgotten in the telling of 
 more important events. 
 
 A note in the Messenger for Jan. 8, 1895, reads 
 thus: 
 
 " The way Sister Miller's book is selling is a 
 surprise to the author and to the publishers. We 
 had no idea that there was such a demand for it. 
 Hundreds order the book and thousands ought to 
 have it. In fact, it should be in every family where 
 there are children or young people. Even the old 
 people read it with delight. They know that Sis-
 
 154 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 ter Miller has visited the Bible lands and other 
 countries, and are anxious to know what a woman 
 has to say about what may be seen in these lands." 
 
 D. L. returned from his third trip in April, 
 1893. Two years later, in June, he started on his 
 fourth journey, which took him around the world. 
 In those two years he wrote two books and spent 
 much time preaching and lecturing. An idea of the 
 amount of work he could accomplish in one win- 
 ter may be obtained from the following items which 
 appeared from time to time in the Messenger: 
 
 " The Brethren in the Valley of Virginia pro- 
 pose to make good use of Brother D. L. Miller what 
 time he can remain in that State. They have ar- 
 ranged the following program for him, and he is 
 to visit the points named on the dates given :" 
 
 Bridgewater, Va Jan. 19-29 
 
 Mill Creek, Va Jan. 30-31 
 
 Beaver Creek, Va Feb. 1-3 
 
 Dayton, Va Feb. 4-5 
 
 Greenmount, Va Feb. 6-7 
 
 Linville, Va Feb. 8-9 
 
 Timberville, Va Feb. 10-13 
 
 Flat Kock, Va Feb. 14-15 
 
 Pleasant View, Va Feb. 16-17 
 
 New Market, Va Feb. 18-20 
 
 Valley Church, Va Feb. 21-22 
 
 Elk Run, Va Feb. 23-24 
 
 Middle River, Va Feb. 25-26 
 
 Barren Ridge, Va Feb. 27-28 
 
 Mt. Vernon, Va March 1-2 
 
 Roanoke, Va March 3-6
 
 THREE BOOKS 155 
 
 Bonsack's, Va March 7-9 
 
 Winchester, Va March 10-12" 
 
 From the middle of September until the first 
 of April, he gave 220 talks, a part of the time de- 
 livering two talks a day. 
 
 " Writing from New Hope, Virginia, Brother 
 Miller tells us that since Jan. 19 he has delivered 
 eighty discourses, it being his lot to talk twice each 
 day morning and evening." (Messenger for 
 March 12, 1895.) "When not before the public 
 most of his time must be taken up with conversa- 
 tion and traveling from one point to another. He 
 is growing very tired and longs for a short season 
 of rest. His meetings are largely attended by all 
 classes of people. Some of the papers are publish- 
 ing quite extended accounts of these talks and 
 speak very favorably of the impression made on 
 the minds of the people, who fill the largest rooms 
 to their utmost capacity."
 
 CHAPTEE XIX 
 
 GIRDLING THE GLOBE 
 
 WHILE at Annual Conference, Meyersdale, 
 Pennsylvania, 1884, D. L. and wife were 
 recommended to visit the churches in 
 Denmark and Sweden, but they did not actually 
 start on the trip until one year later, after the Con- 
 ference at Decatur, Illinois. Then, in company with 
 Brethren T. T. Myers, H. B. Brumbaugh, W. Binga- 
 man, Christian Hope and Brother Fercken and 
 family they started for a trip around the world. 
 
 "And the very moment we started from home, 
 our homeward journey began. . . . Hitherto on 
 our travels we have had, when starting, an objec- 
 tive point, and when it was reached we began our 
 return voyage. But on this journey we continue 
 our course eastward and homeward until, the Lord 
 willing, we land at San Francisco, and still pur- 
 suing our eastward way, finally reach our home 
 again. We are impressed with the thought that 
 our journey is somewhat like the great voyage of 
 life which we are all making. There is no turn- 
 ing back. Onward is the word, until, if we follow 
 the compass and chart of God, the goal is won and 
 the haven of eternal rest is reached." 
 
 After visiting the churches in Denmark and 
 157
 
 158 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 Sweden, Brother Hope remained there for a time 
 to work among them. Brother G. J. Fercken and 
 family went at once to Smyrna to open the first 
 Brethren mission in Asia Minor. After touring 
 Europe, Palestine and Egypt, Brethren Myers, 
 Brumbaugh and Bingaman returned home. 
 
 D. L. and wife, with Brother Hope, went al- 
 most immediately to Denmark and Sweden to be- 
 gin their labors while the other brethren stayed in 
 England. In Sweden at this time there were nine 
 churches, with a combined membership of over two 
 hundred. Four things had been hindering the 
 work. Several men had entered the ministry, and 
 " not getting what they expected, proved unfaith- 
 ful, and thus brought discouragement upon those 
 who were faithful, and upon whom the burden of 
 maintaining the mission fell." Every man had to 
 serve in the army, and was put in prison if he ob- 
 jected. Several brethren had gone to prison for 
 their convictions, but many others preferred to 
 emigrate to America. This was a constant drain 
 on the church. Likewise small farmers with lit- 
 tle means were drawn to the United States, where 
 opportunities for the poor were better than in their 
 own country. And again, the use of tobacco and 
 strong drink was so common in northern Europe 
 that when the church took a stand against it, 
 many, who might otherwise have joined, were kept 
 out. So with these things to fight against the lit-
 
 GIRDLING THE GLOBE 159 
 
 tie churches had their troubles and were very glad 
 for the help and counsel of the American brothers. 
 
 " During our stay with the members, six love 
 feasts, twenty-five public services and a number of 
 private 'conversation meetings were held. These 
 latter meetings were especially enjoyable. . . . 
 By the efforts of the home ministers, six were added 
 to the church, and others are to be baptized in the 
 near future. Several members who had fallen 
 into sin made application to be received into fel- 
 lowship again. On the whole, we are glad that we 
 are able to close this report of our work by saying 
 that the outlook for the future is hopeful." 
 
 While visiting here among the homes of the 
 people, D. L. had a personal encounter with horse 
 meat, which is commonly eaten in that country. He 
 with his wife was in the home of a well-to-do mer- 
 chant, where the table was spread with many good 
 things to eat, among them being dried meat re- 
 sembling home-made dried beef. D. L. was blessed 
 with a good appetite. He helped himself to the 
 meat. It tasted fine. He says : 
 
 "I ate more, and gave it a favorable recommen- 
 dation to my wife, who also ate and pronounced 
 it good. Our Brother Olssen, who sat by our side, 
 said : l You seem to be very fond of horse meat.' 
 Our readers may imagine the result : my entire in- 
 ternal anatomy rebelled, and it was only by the 
 most persistent effort that I remained at the ta- 
 ble and completed the meal with due dignity and 
 propriety. I have no appetite for horse meat, but 
 it did taste good."
 
 160 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 Leaving Denmark and Sweden in the middle of 
 August, they joined their companions from Eng- 
 land and went slowly southward through Ger- 
 many, Italy, Greece and across to Smyrna, where 
 Brother Fercken had been some time preparing to 
 start a mission. D. L.'s heart was in this mission. 
 The account in " Girdling the Globe " of his visit to 
 this place is of exceeding interest, for it reveals his 
 desire, amounting almost to a passion, that primi- 
 tive Christianity might be re-established near the 
 place where it was founded. There the little com- 
 pany of seven Christians held a love feast, with a 
 few Greeks looking on and watching their Testa- 
 ments as they did so. How D. L. longed for their 
 souls and how in his letters he pleaded with the 
 church at home to furnish the money needed to 
 keep the mission alive ! 
 
 But the Turkish Government was very hostile 
 to any Christian organization, and so much per- 
 secution was in store for the mission. 
 
 When they entered the port, the customs offi- 
 cials had taken from them all of their books and 
 papers, and, although promising many times to re- 
 turn the articles, had not done so. Before leaving, 
 they appealed to the American consul for help, and 
 finally ran down the books piled carelessly on the 
 floor in one of the offices of the censor, whose duty 
 it was to read all papers and books brought into 
 the country by Christian " infidels." Here they re* 
 covered all but one book, which had been destroyed
 
 GIRDLING THE GLOBE 161 
 
 because it contained some " strictures on Moham- 
 med." With this attitude on the part of the author- 
 ities, the path of the mission would be a difficult 
 one. 
 
 Leaving Smyrna on the second of October, they 
 sailed southward to Beyrout, where their traveling 
 companions left them to go overland to Jerusalem, 
 while they proceeded by boat to Joppa and the 
 Holy City. They stayed six weeks in Jerusalem. 
 It was not the pleasantest season of the year to 
 visit there; however, D. L.'s interest was not in 
 scenery, but in making a further study of the city. 
 New discoveries and excavations had been made 
 since he was there, and he had a strong desire to 
 secure certain measurements himself and study the 
 customs which revealed the truth of the Bible. 
 Here he found the women grinding at the mill 
 " the one shall be taken and the other left." Here, 
 too, was the shepherd leading his flock, which had 
 inspired so many sayings in the Bible. Many proph- 
 ecies had been fulfilled concerning the city ef Je- 
 rusalem. All of these he studied and verified. 
 Six weeks was none too long for such work as this. 
 
 Nov. 11 the whole company journeyed to Egypt 
 for a two weeks' visit before separating for the 
 last part of the trip. And on the 28th, D. L. and 
 wife bade their companions good-by and sailed out 
 of the south end of the Suez Canal on the Cale- 
 donia, with their faces turned toward a country 
 which their eyes had never seen.
 
 162 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 On board the boat were a number of mission- 
 aries going to India, among them being Booth- 
 Tucker, a son-in-law of General Booth of the Sal- 
 vation Army. With him D. L. had many pleasant 
 conversations about the missionary work in In- 
 dia. With a Mr. T , a Quaker missionary, 
 
 he also had some interesting discussions. He 
 wrote: 
 
 "As we hold alike to peace principles, plain 
 dressing and some other points, we had some things 
 in common to draw us together. I noticed that 
 Mr. and Mrs. T - did not wear the well-known 
 Quaker form of dress, and he informed me that the 
 English Friends had entirely given up the form, 
 but insisted very strongly on plain dressing, plain 
 speech and plain living as Bible principles. In 
 answer to the question, ' Since you have given up 
 the Quaker form of dress, how has your society 
 succeeded in maintaining plain dressing?' he said, 
 ' The question is somewhat difficult to answer ; 
 there are always some who go to extremes, and we 
 can hardly restrain them.' It was apparent that 
 in giving up the form the principle went with it." 
 
 Arriving in Bombay, they were met at the 
 boat by Brother Stover, who had just recovered 
 from a serious illness. They repaired to a hotel, 
 where they staid several weeks, visiting in and 
 about Bombay and getting acquainted with an 
 entirely different civilization. Bombay proved to 
 be very much more modern and Western than D. L. 
 had anticipated. But the various strange sights 
 on every hand that caught his eye were not the
 
 GIRDLING THE GLOBE 163 
 
 main things of interest to Mm, except in the fact 
 that they revealed the customs and especially the 
 religions of India. Once he had traveled to see 
 sights and to study language, but that time was 
 past. Now he traveled to spread the Gospel and to 
 learn of the condition of the heathen needing that 
 Gospel. A great part of the book which was the re- 
 sult of this trip is filled with a discussion of the 
 idolatry of India. With this idea constantly in 
 mind they made their way about Bombay. 
 
 The terrible condition of the Indian popula- 
 tion, which resulted from idolatry, made a lasting 
 impression on D. L.'s mind and he was more and 
 more convinced that the church would be held re- 
 sponsible for not using her strength in bringing the 
 Gospel to these people. Several quotations from 
 his letters at this time show how he felt : 
 
 " I was deeply impressed with the great im- 
 portance of our mission work in India. The con- 
 viction that the church will not be held blameless, 
 if she neglect her part in the great work of rescu- 
 ing India from idolatry and winning her for Christ, 
 has grown many times stronger since I have seen 
 the people bow down to images made of wood, clay 
 and stone." 
 
 " We have heard it said by those at home who 
 are not favorable to sending the Gospel to the 
 heathen, < We have the heathen at home, convert 
 them first, and then it will be time to go to foreign 
 lands.' If the apostles had taken a course of this 
 kind, the religion of Jesus Christ would have re- 
 mained in Palestine for many centuries. It is
 
 164 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 true, we have heathen at home, but they have ac- 
 cess to the Bible, and we may thank God that to 
 the enlightened conscience of our nation sin is 
 sin, while here it is, even in its worst aspect, a 
 form of righteousness. The people at home have 
 the Gospel ; here they sit in the deepest darkness 
 of sin's darkest night. 
 
 " We have asked ourselves over and over again 
 since coming into actual contact with idolatry, 
 and coming to know by hearing and seeing the 
 reality as it exists how shall we, as a church, es- 
 cape if we neglect to do our part in giving the Gos- 
 pel of light to these people?" 
 
 " We can never be too thankful for our pure 
 and holy religion. We are only better than these 
 people because we worship the true God and have 
 his Son for our Savior. And it is only as we as- 
 similate his holy life and pure character, and make 
 him manifest in our daily living, that we show to 
 the world that we are Christians in the true sense 
 of the word. Obedience and conformity to his will 
 and law there must be, but this is not enough. We 
 must have the Christ-life in us." 
 
 After the stay in Bombay, D. L. and wife, with 
 Brother Stover, went to Bulsar, a short distance 
 north of Bombay, where our mission had been 
 started. There they met the other missionaries and 
 staid six weeks with them. While there, D. L. made 
 a thorough investigation of the place where the 
 mission was being started and of the conditions of 
 the native population. They became acquainted 
 with the other English-speaking people of Bulsar 
 and made friends among them. On their departure
 
 GIRDLING THE GLOBE 165 
 
 lie wrote of his love and hopes for the future of the 
 mission : 
 
 " From Bulsar and our mission home hence- 
 forth to be a green spot in our memories, an oasis 
 in the desert of travel we journeyed northward 
 and eastward, visiting a number of the most im- 
 portant cities in India. We left our India home 
 with real and deep regret. How we missed the 
 sweet, homelike atmosphere of Christian love that 
 pervaded the place where we had so much enjoyed 
 the Christian association of those we love ! Then 
 there was the social worship, the singing of Gu- 
 jerati hymns, the public meetings and the quiet, 
 peaceful, restful days how we did enjoy them all ! 
 All too soon for us those bright days of glad sun- 
 shine passed away, and before we fully realized it 
 the time for our departure was at hand. Those 
 whom we had met but a short time before as stran- 
 gers, we now bade farewell as warm-hearted 
 friends, some of them even going with us to the 
 station at two o'clock in the morning. Our mis- 
 sionaries, as in apostolic days, accompanied us on 
 our journey as far as Calcutta. We said good-by 
 to Bulsar, strong in the hope that in the years to 
 come it will be one of the strongholds of primitive 
 Christianity in India." 
 
 They went to Jeypoor and on to Agra, where 
 they saw the beautiful Taj Mahal. And here they 
 had an experience with one of the numerous jug- 
 glers of India. The jugglers had performed tricks 
 which deceived the most watchful, and had spread 
 the belief that they were not tricks, but were really 
 miracles which these men performed with the help
 
 166 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 of a supernatural power. D. L., of course, did not 
 believe this, and with his usual thoroughness in 
 investigation, and with the help of the rest of the 
 party, bribed a juggler to reveal the method of 
 performing one of his most famous tricks. Evi- 
 dently an Indian will do anything for money, 
 and thus the trick was revealed. But the Indian 
 was so clever in performing it, that even after the 
 little company knew how it was done, they could 
 not detect the motions that made it possible. But, 
 at any rate, D. L. had satisfied himself that there 
 was no supernatural power manifested here ; that 
 the Indian jugglers were merely great artists at 
 sleight of hand. 
 
 They continued their journey through Delhi, 
 Lucknow, Cawnpore, Benares, where they saw 
 thousands bathing in the sacred river Ganges, and 
 on to Calcutta, the City of Palaces. At Benares, 
 they called on Sri Swami Bhaskara Naud Saras- 
 wati, the famous ascetic, who is known as the 
 " Holy Man of Benares," and is worshiped by many 
 people in India. They were kindly received by him 
 and presented with copies of his books, written in 
 Sanscrit, and a pamphlet containing his photo- 
 graph. When they left, he called the blessings of 
 the Creator upon them. D. L. remarked : " I ob- 
 serve that it is better to have the blessing than the 
 cursing from a man." 
 
 After making a side trip into the Himalaya 
 Mountains, they finally bade farewell to the mis-
 
 GIRDLING THE GLOBE 167 
 
 sionaries and sailed from Calcutta Feb. 4, 1896, 
 for Madras, Colombo and Hongkong. The voyage 
 was without unusual incident. At Hongkong the 
 cholera was raging, so they remained there only 
 long enough to get passage for Japan. They staid 
 two months in Japan, seeing that beautiful coun- 
 try for the first time. The visit here was very en- 
 joyable, even to the experience of lodging at a na- 
 tive hotel, where the beds were made on the floor 
 and they had to sit on the same place to eat at 
 tables that were little larger than a stool. During 
 the two months in Japan, they experienced twelve 
 earthquakes, none of them, however, very severe. 
 D. L. said that he was anxious to feel an earth- 
 quake, but after the first one he had a wholesome 
 dread of them. 
 
 April 26 they sailed for San Francisco by way 
 of Honolulu. The seventeen days' voyage was peace- 
 ful but monotonous. From San Francisco they 
 traveled at once to Ottawa, Kansas, where the An- 
 nual Conference of 1896 was held, and there greeted 
 many friends. 
 
 D. L. returned more enthusiastic for missions 
 than ever before, but, with his usual sanity, had 
 no Utopian ideas that the world could be quickly 
 Christianized, or that the work in India or Smyrna 
 would be easy. With his great foresightedness, he 
 recognized the slowness of the East to change, and 
 while he urged the sending of more and more mis- 
 sionaries, at the same time he warned the church
 
 168 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 not to expect to convert the East quickly. " Verily 
 the Oriental changes not hastily." 
 
 " Girdling the Globe," the book which resulted 
 from this trip, was published about eighteen 
 months after his return. In many ways it was the 
 best of the books he had thus far written. The pa- 
 per, printing and illustrations were of a better 
 quality than the preceding books. But of more im- 
 portance than this were the contents. Here he 
 showed a maturity of style and thought that placed 
 this work on a higher standard than any of the 
 others thus far written. This book was not so much 
 an account of travel as it was a discussion of the 
 religions and the needs of the foreigners. So sim- 
 ply and clearly was it written that a child could 
 understand it, and yet the conclusions drawn were 
 of fundamental importance to the growth of mis- 
 sions in the church. 
 
 The following is a part of an announcement in 
 the Messenger: 
 
 " This will be by far the best book Brother 
 Miller has produced, and will probably be his 
 last. He has done a great deal of hard work on it, 
 and has no idea of ever undertaking another." 
 
 Again, to quote from a review of the book in 
 the Messenger by Brother Grant Mahan : 
 
 " The author desired to awaken an interest in 
 the cause of missions. He was right in supposing 
 that the best way to do this was to show just what 
 the condition of the people is. If the heart is not 
 touched by the sight of the degradation of the mil-
 
 GIRDLING THE GLOBE 169 
 
 lions of India and China who are living in the 
 darkness of idolatry, there is something wrong with 
 the heart. We believe the book will accomplish 
 its purpose, and that as a result there will be man- 
 ifested a love for the souls of the heathen such as 
 we have never before seen among us. God grant 
 that it may be so, for the need is great." 
 
 This chapter should not be closed without a 
 quotation from a private letter of D.L.'s which may 
 give an insight into the source of his power to write 
 a better book and to make a stronger plea for the 
 mission cause which was so near his heart. This 
 was written confidentially and is published now 
 only because of the revelation it gives of the real 
 sincerity of his character : 
 
 " I have had some peculiar experiences on this 
 journey. Here is one of them. I left Colombo 
 spiritually depressed, and when we were out upon 
 the China Sea I felt that God had forsaken me. I 
 could scarcely pray. One night I walked back and 
 forth on the ship and prayed, and then there came 
 to me such an overwhelming sense of trust in 
 Christ, my Mediator, who died for me, my Savior, 
 my Kighteousness, that my heart sang for joy. I 
 think if it were not for some seasons of this kind to 
 mark the desert of life as with an oasis, I should 
 long ago have fallen by the way. This is not for 
 other eyes than yours and your good wife's. I hope 
 to get home again, but who can tell? I have placed 
 it all in the hands of God. If I do not get home, I 
 want you both to know and feel that I am trusting 
 not in anything I have done, but only in the blessed 
 Savior who died for me, yes, for ME."
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 UNITING THE CHURCH INTERESTS 
 
 FKOM the beginning of his connection with 
 the Brethren's Publishing Company, D. L. 
 believed that the church should own her pub- 
 lications. Both publicly and privately he advo- 
 cated this, as his letters and editorials of the period 
 show. However, it was a good many years after 
 the beginning of the Gospel Messenger that there 
 was sufficient sentiment in the church to bring this 
 about. 
 
 The Brethren's Publishing Company pros- 
 pered. New departments were added, Sunday- 
 school quarterlies and papers started, and an ever- 
 increasing job and book business was kept up. In 
 1893 it was felt that more brethren should be con- 
 nected with the publishing work, and practically a 
 new stock company was formed. The old company 
 was turned over for $45,500 and enough cash was 
 put in to make the capital stock $50,000. From 
 that time and until it was taken over by the church, 
 in 1897, the Brethren's Publishing Company paid 
 from 10 to 12 per cent dividends on the capital 
 stock. 
 
 The following is taken from the Annual Meet- 
 
 171
 
 172 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 ing Minutes of 1897, under the head of " The Pub- 
 lishing Department " : 
 
 "April 1, 1897, the Brethren's Publishing Com- 
 pany transferred to the General Missionary and 
 Tract Committee all its right, title and interest in 
 the publishing business of the church, and the 
 Brethren's Publishing Company was thereupon 
 dissolved, and ceased to have a corporate existence. 
 An inventory was taken with the following re- 
 sults: 
 
 Cash on hand $ 6,414.58 
 
 Engine, presses and machinery 4,492.04 
 
 Type, cases, electrotype, etc 9,831.91 
 
 Stock, including paper, etc 1,342.97 
 
 Merchandise, including Bibles 2,426.87 
 
 Office fixtures 412.50 
 
 Ledger accounts 8,836.75 
 
 Delinquent subscriptions and accounts, 16,504.16 
 
 Total , $50,261.78 
 
 When turned over to the church, the Messen- 
 ger had a circulation of 15,600 ; the Young Disciple, 
 18,000 ; the quarterlies and Children at Work com- 
 bined, 52,000. The company was purchased for 
 $50,000, which was raised by donation, the Mis- 
 sionary Committee to pay an annuity of from 
 5 per cent to 6 per cent to the donors during their 
 lifetime; at death the payments to cease. This 
 briefly gives an idea of the value of the Brethren's 
 Publishing Company at the time the church re- 
 ceived it. 
 
 In " Some Facts Concerning the Publishing
 
 UNITING THE CHURCH INTERESTS 173 
 
 Interests Turned Over to the General Missionary 
 Committee," by Brother Galen B. Koyer, we find 
 the following account of P. L.'s connection with 
 the transfer and his gift to the church at this time : 
 
 " Brother Miller owned 100 shares of Publish- 
 ing House stock from 1884 until it was trasferred 
 to the Missionary Committee. This transfer was 
 made five years ago, the committee giving him a 
 bond assuring him the right to receive the income 
 from the stock during his lifetime. Of course, at 
 his death, the income would revert to the commit- 
 tee. He now proposed to give the income from his 
 stock to the committee and add to it $16,000 in 
 cash with which to buy stock, provided that all the 
 stockholders would sell at par; the committee to 
 give him a bond bearing 5 per cent, to be paid out of 
 the profits of the business no profit, no pay. Some 
 of his personal friends thought that he ought not 
 to take less than 6 per cent, owing to the value of 
 the donation being made. It was said that con- 
 tingencies might arise so that he would need the 
 6 per cent, and that the money was his and that he 
 ought to keep enough for old age and sickness if 
 these came to him and his. He felt the force of 
 these statements and submitted the proposition at 
 6 per cent, and it was accepted by the commitee. 
 
 "Brother Miller gave $26,000 in cash and 
 property; also $3,000 in fee simple from which he 
 receives nothing. On the $10,000 stock, his income 
 has not been less than 10 per cent to 12 per cent. 
 He turned 7 per cent mortgages into cash so that he 
 could meet his part of the engagement with the 
 committee, or the $16,000 cash mentioned above. 
 . . . He gave up to the committee property that
 
 174 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 was giving him an income of over $2,700, accepting 
 instead $1,560." 
 
 The above account is presented in some de- 
 tail, owing to the fact that D. L. was subjected to 
 some criticism and trial during and after the trans- 
 fer. 
 
 It is not to be assumed that the success of the 
 Brethren's Publishing Company up to this time 
 was entirely due to D. L. Joseph Amick, his part- 
 ner and business manager, deserves a great deal 
 of credit for his constant and efficient efforts in the 
 business. The editors and helpers likewise de- 
 serve credit. The business could not have pros- 
 pered without them. D. L. did not own a control- 
 ling interest, and so his decisions were not final. 
 And yet his influence pervaded the whole institu- 
 tion. His journeys and letters increased the circu- 
 lation of the publications. His influence was al- 
 ways used for harmoney and peace and concilia- 
 tion and forbearance toward any opposing factions. 
 He traveled a great deal among the churches and 
 met many of the leaders, and here he did much in 
 educating the Brotherhood toward final ownership 
 of the publishing interests. It was through his 
 influence that the clause, " when suitable arrange- 
 ments can be made and wisdom dictates, to own 
 and control all the publishing interests of the 
 church," was inserted in the report of the Commit- 
 tee on Consolidation at the Conference in 1893. 
 
 The following notice, which he wrote for the
 
 UNITING THE CHURCH INTERESTS 175 
 
 Messenger Oct. 10, 1896, gives briefly a summing up 
 of the reasons for the purchase of the publishing 
 interests by the committee, and is a true reflection 
 of former editorials and private letters: 
 
 " For some years, as is well known to those 
 of our readers who have attended our Annual Con- 
 ferences, efforts have been made to have the church 
 assume control of all her publishing interests. 
 Those who were most anxiously concerned in this 
 matter felt that the profits arising from our church 
 publications should be used by the church in for- 
 warding her work. It was also believed that, when 
 it was known that the church owned, controlled, 
 and received the profits arising from such publi- 
 cations, the circulation of our church and Sunday- 
 school papers would largely increase. It was also 
 felt that if the publishing interests belonged to the 
 church, there would be no possibility of other pa- 
 pers claiming church patronage being started. 
 These were the feelings and motives prompting 
 those who earnestly sought to induce the church 
 to purchase the Brethren's Publishing Company's 
 plant and property. 
 
 " But the question of raising the money, the 
 financial management, the fear that if the con- 
 cern were purchased and placed under the imme- 
 diate control of the Annual Meeting, it would not 
 be well managed, and other considerations, kept 
 the brethren from agreeing to accept the offers that 
 were made from time to time for the last twelve 
 years. But the sentiment kept growing stronger 
 in favor of the church owning the publishing in- 
 terests. Many brethren, who, at one time, could 
 not see their way clear to favor the move, now are
 
 176 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 of the opinion that it is the right thing to do. But 
 the important question, as to where the money was 
 to be had, was the great hindrance to the project. 
 In these hard times it was felt that it would be a 
 difficult matter to raise $50,000, the amount neces- 
 sary to secure the business. 
 
 " ' Man proposes but God disposes,' is a maxim 
 that is as true today as when it was first uttered. 
 While the question of raising the money to buy the 
 publishing business exercised the minds of those 
 who were favorable to the project, God put it into 
 the hearts of the owners, and others who were sim- 
 ilarly disposed, to make liberal donations of 
 money and stock, so that the entire business of the 
 Brethren's Publishing Company could be turned 
 over to the General Missionary and Tract Com- 
 mittee. At the last meeting of the committee, held 
 at Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 28 and 
 29, the donation was made and duly accepted, with 
 many thanks to the liberal donors." 
 
 In the meantime, the General Missionary and 
 Tract Committee, of which D. L. had always been 
 a member, had been increasing its activities great- 
 ly during the years. Tracts and books were dis- 
 tributed through this committee, and missionaries 
 and preachers sent to various places. Although, 
 by the necessity of his travels, D. L. was often 
 away during long periods of time and unable to 
 attend all of the meetings, he constantly kept in 
 touch with the work by letters and largely guided 
 the policy of the committee in the mission work. 
 Since the Brethren's Publishing Company had been 
 approved by the Conference, it was felt by its man-
 
 UNITING THE CHURCH INTERESTS 177 
 
 agers that the publication of tracts and books dis- 
 tributed by the committee should be given to them. 
 On the other hand, there were factions in the 
 church who believed that it was not right for the 
 profits of these tracts and books to go into a pri- 
 vate concern. There were some who even advo- 
 cated starting a rival publishing company, directly 
 under the control of the church. Naturally criti- 
 cism of the Brethren's Publishing Company arose 
 out of this condition, and many annoying incidents 
 gradually caused a certain amount of antagonism 
 between the committee and the company. D. L. 
 believed through the entire trouble that the only 
 fair thing was for the church to buy the company at 
 a fair price. A rival company which, if backed by 
 the church sufficiently, could ruin the Brethren's 
 Publishing Company, would cause factions and 
 dissension and, as he wrote at that time in a pri- 
 vate letter : 
 
 " There will be a strong fight, there will be bit- 
 terness, compared with which, what we have en- 
 dured will be as nothing and in the end disruption, 
 because I do not believe the blessing of God will 
 follow such a course. I believe, however, that by 
 patience and forbearance we can pull together un- 
 til the church takes the paper." 
 
 In 1893, when the General Missionary and 
 Church Erection Committee and the Book and 
 Tract Committee were united, D. L. succeeded in 
 having a clause put into the minutes that when 
 it seemed advisable the resulting committee from
 
 178 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 this union should buy the Brethren's Publishing 
 Company. Brother Daniel Vaniman, who traveled 
 for the Missionary Committee, finally reported in 
 189G that enough funds had been secured for this 
 purpose, so preparations were made to turn the 
 Publishing Company over to the committee. D. L. 
 thought that when this occurred existing troubles 
 would be united under one committee and there 
 would be at an end, for all of the church interests 
 would be no friction between committees. But he 
 had not reckoned with the opposing factions in the 
 church, who had always objected to this course. 
 
 Some said that there was a " Mount Morris 
 ring " and that Northern Illinois ran the Publish- 
 ing House. To stop this criticism, it was decided 
 to move the Publishing House from Mount Morris. 
 Various places near Chicago were considered by 
 the locating committee. D. L. and his wife were in 
 Europe at the time, and so were not in close touch 
 with the matter. D. L.'s judgment was that it 
 should be taken to Northern Indiana. Plymouth 
 and Goshen were seriously considered, but certain 
 objections arose which made it seem advisable to 
 return to Northern Illinois, and Elgin was finally 
 decided upon. 
 
 Here, in 1899, the office of the General Mis- 
 sionary and Tract Committee was opened in April 
 and a large building was erected that summer for 
 the printing plant. This was moved over in the
 
 179 
 
 fall of that same year. Naturally this sudden ex- 
 pansion caused further criticism. 
 
 Aside from this there existed in the church a 
 faction that did not believe in an endowment at all, 
 even going so far as to say that the taking of in- 
 terest was the same as usury, and therefore was 
 forbidden by the Bible. As D. L. had inaugurated 
 the endowment movement many years before, and 
 had always worked for it, this was almost a per- 
 sonal stab at him. Others believed that the endow- 
 ment should be invested, not in farm mortgages, as 
 had always been the rule of the committee, but in 
 other investments. Another group did not believe 
 in foreign missions, and therefore saw no need for 
 collecting money for that purpose. Still others 
 continued to believe that the Missionary Commit- 
 tee should not own the Publishing House. Then 
 some criticised the way the Messenger was ar 
 ranged ; the articles that were omitted and the ar- 
 ticles that were printed. In fact, those who op- 
 posed the policy of the Missionary Committee 
 found many ways of criticising. As D. L. had al- 
 ways been a member of the Missionary Committee 
 since its beginning, and it was largely through him 
 that the missions in Smyrna and India were start- 
 ed, and as his influence had ever been very strong 
 with the committee, he came in for a very great 
 deal of personal criticism. Some said that his gift 
 to the committee, which made it possible for the 
 committee to buy the Publishing House, was too
 
 180 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 large, and that he was using that gift and his work 
 for the church to further his own ends. One church 
 leader wrote him, saying he should resign from 
 the committee, for his influence was at an end. 
 D. L. was hurt exceedingly by all of these things, 
 especially when his motives were impugned, for 
 he was very sensitive. This opposing sentiment 
 came to a head in the publication of thte Landmark, 
 a weekly, printed at Warrensburg, Misouri, for 
 the purpose of reforming the church. It was ed- 
 ited by Brother Howard Miller. 
 
 Howard and D. L. had long been friends, for 
 Howard himself had no personal criticism of D. L. 
 That came from other sources. Howard constant- 
 ly wrote D. L. of his plans for the Landmark, and 
 what reforms in the church he would accomplish 
 with it. D. L. did not resent this, but it hurt him, 
 after all his effort toward unity in the church, to 
 know that another church paper was being started 
 and might become a success. As one said of him, 
 " D. L. never went back on a friend." Here he 
 must have had a severe temptation, for, as he wrote 
 in a personal letter, " out of Howard's letters, I 
 could compile a sketch that would put him and his 
 Landmark in a light not of the best. But I won't 
 do it. Time will bring the thing out." 
 
 And again, " I am sure right will triumph in 
 the end. We needed a shaking up. It will do us 
 all good." 
 
 " Personally, I am more concerned these days
 
 181 
 
 about being right in the sight of God than in the 
 sight of men. I know I have made many mistakes, 
 but the consciousness remains that I tried to do the 
 right. If those I have helped turn now and rend 
 me, I must bear it with what Christian fortitude I 
 can. God has sent into my life much good. Shall 
 I not bear evil if it come? It may all be for the 
 best. . . ." 
 
 The above referred to the personal criticism 
 of himself; the following to a method of meeting 
 the criticism against the committee : 
 
 " But we have a condition to meet. It has 
 passed the stage of a theory. And what is to be 
 done? 
 
 " 1. We must meet the situation with Chris- 
 tian firmness and with charity for those who differ 
 from us. 
 
 " 2. We must stand together for the right, 
 correct our mistakes and improve on the past. 
 
 " 3. We must have no fight with the Land- 
 mark. Let the Messenger give no unkind word or 
 insinuation. If a quarrel is forced, let us keep out 
 of it. 
 
 " 4. Our plea should be, let the church con- 
 trol the paper. If we have not done right, put us 
 out and others in, only don't let us have another 
 paper, which means another schism in the church." 
 
 The following refers to the suggestion that he 
 resign from the committee : 
 
 " There is no position in the church which I 
 hold, or that may come to me, except my member- 
 ship in the church, that I would not willingly, yea 
 gladly, give up for the peace and harmony and uni-
 
 182 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 ty of the Brotherhood." (Jerusalem, April 1, 
 1899.) 
 
 In that spring, of 1899, he missed his first Con- 
 ference since 1880. Hard as it was for him not to 
 be in the midst of the fight, he yet wrote that he felt 
 sure everything would go for the best at the meet- 
 ing. 
 
 The question of the Landmark was to come up 
 at this Conference, and that was of vital interest 
 to him. Likewise, his time as a member of the Mis- 
 sionary Committee had expired with this year. 
 As had been suggested, he resigned, asking that 
 he be not reappointed. But to have these things 
 considered in his absence was hard for him. How- 
 ever, the mission in Smyrna was having great 
 trouble at this time, and he felt it his duty to re- 
 main in Europe until that was settled. When the 
 question of the Landmark came up, the Confer- 
 ence decided very strongly 
 
 " that we consider the publication of the Land- 
 mark a violation of the decisions of the Annual 
 Meeting, and hereby disapprove of its continuance, 
 and warmly urge the patronage of the literature 
 authorized by the Annual Meeting." 
 
 On Oct. 21, 1899, the Landmark was discon- 
 tinued and the Gospel Messenger was sent in place 
 of all unexpired subscriptions. 
 
 " ' We have given it prayful attention, and the 
 result has been that we have all agreed to co-oper- 
 ate together for the good of the church. All re-
 
 UNITING THE CHURCH INTERESTS 183 
 
 ports of derogatory character should be disbe- 
 lieved. The motives of all parties are the better 
 cementing of the church and the restoration of the 
 primitive faith and practice of the Fraternity.' 
 Landmark. 
 
 " The extract tells its own story. Out of love 
 and good will, without malice or rancor, with self 
 left out and only the good of the church, which we 
 all love, kept in sight, an interview was held which 
 resulted as here indicated. 
 
 " It has been our constant prayer that no 
 root of bitterness should spring up amongst us and 
 that the church might never again have the curse 
 of division fall upon her. We have had the loss 
 of brotherly love, the estrangement, the bitterness 
 and the breaking of ties anchored in the heart oc- 
 casioned by our double division, and God forbid 
 that another should come to the church. And it 
 will not come if we all labor for an increase of love 
 and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. 
 
 " Mistakes have been made. It is human to 
 err, and there will never come a time when human 
 activities, be they ever so impersonal, or ever so 
 consecrated, will be without mistakes. It is only 
 when activity ceases that mistakes do not occur. 
 To correct errors and to improve on the past is only 
 common sense." Gospel Messenger. 
 
 And, although D. L. had sent in a request not 
 to be re-elected as a member of the Missionary 
 Committee, he was elected for another term and 
 made chairman, which position he held as long as 
 he continued in active service. Out of all the trou- 
 ble which hurt him deeply, he came with this bit 
 of philosophy :
 
 184 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " The human heart is a curious compound 
 made up of good and evil. No man is wholly good 
 and no one wholly bad. In some of the most de- 
 graded lives you will find some good, if you get 
 down to it, and in the best of men you will find 
 weaknesses if you come to know them. / have them. 
 While I expect them in others I am not looking for 
 them. For years I have been schooling myself to 
 look for good in humanity, and I find it wherever 
 I go, and often when I least expect it." 
 
 With this Annual Conference a crisis was 
 passed in the affairs of the church. The church defi- 
 nitely backed the ownership of the Publishing 
 House, and that issue did not come up again, and 
 naturally this reacted in D. L.'s favor, for it was 
 setting approval on the work of many years of his 
 life. In 1900, and again in 1902, he was made mod- 
 erator at the Conference, the highest office to be 
 given by the Standing Committee. The confidence 
 of the whole church in him was greatly increased, 
 and thus out of his troubles D. L. Miller, one of the 
 church leaders, emerged our adviser, guide and 
 dearly beloved Father Miller.
 
 CHAPTEE XXI 
 
 FIFTH TRIP ABROAD 
 
 I CONSENTED to cross the Atlantic for the 
 eighth time without the least desire to make 
 another ocean voyage. Instead of desire, 
 there was hesitancy, reluctance, and a strong 
 inclination to remain at home. Wife said, 'We 
 have had quite enough of ocean voyages, enough of 
 travel in strange lands ; let us abide at home.' And 
 it was several months before she gained the consent 
 of her mind to accompany me on this journey. The 
 compensation came when we reached the Broder- 
 ehj emmet Brethren's Home at Sindal, Den- 
 mark, on last Lord's Day, Sept. 4, 1898, where the 
 members had assembled to hold a feast of love. 
 The warm, heartfelt, joyous greeting and welcome 
 accorded us, the good feast and the meeting blessed 
 of God, which was continued far into the night, the 
 baptism in the clear stream that flows close by the 
 side of the Home, the presence of the Lord with 
 his people, and the satisfaction of duty performed 
 in the absence of desire, brought more than a full 
 measure of reward for the very little we had done." 
 
 At Conference it had been decided some years 
 before that the foreign missions should be visited 
 every three years, and as Father Miller and his 
 wife had always made the trip, it seemed fitting 
 to the Conference that they should make it again. 
 
 185
 
 186 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 Travel had become an old story, and they under- 
 took the journey only from a sense of duty, but 
 as he wrote above, there were compensations. 
 
 Brother Christian Hope accompanied them, 
 with the intention of staying in Denmark and Swe- 
 den for a time, to work with the churches. Breth- 
 ren J. H. Moore, W. E. Koop and G. B. Metsker, and 
 Sister May Oiler also went along to make the tour 
 through Europe, Palestine and Egypt. Father Mil- 
 ler's own interests lay principally in the mission 
 points he was sent to inspect. He took no notes on 
 this trip, and did not even keep a diary, for, as he 
 wrote, " Girdling the Globe " was his last book. 
 
 After visiting the various churches in Den- 
 mark and Sweden, an important council was held 
 at Malmo. Brother Moore gave a brief report of 
 this in the Messenger, Oct. 29, 1898 : 
 
 " The attendance was large and all the elders 
 and ministers in Sweden were present. . . . 
 There were important matters to be adjusted, and 
 the council deemed it proper to select your Amer- 
 ican brethren as a committee, with Brother Hope 
 as interpreter. . . . We never before attended 
 a council, called to consider matters so perplexing, 
 where it ended with such a good feeling and happy 
 results. Brother Miller was especially rejoiced 
 over the outcome of the meeting, for he was sent 
 here to set in order the things needed, and can now 
 make a most encouraging report to the next Con- 
 ference. With judicious management the outlook 
 for the churches in Sweden is very encouraging 
 indeed."
 
 FIFTH TRIP ABROAD 187 
 
 Father Miller gives his own account of this 
 council in a private letter, dated Sept. 25, 1898 : 
 
 " The council in Malmo was a new revelation 
 to me in Swedish character. Speaking through an 
 interpreter is a great regulator of the feelings. 
 The members stated their grievance and gave in 
 their testimony before the committee, through 
 Brother Hope, and by the time they began to get hot 
 in speech they had to stop and wait until what they 
 said was turned into English. By the time this 
 was done, the mercury always fell several degrees, 
 and the result was most satisfactory to all. 
 
 " I believe it would be a great thing to intro- 
 duce the interpreter system into our councils at 
 home. It would tend to cool off some hot-headed 
 men and women and there would be fewer unkind 
 speeches. Then I noticed that the members quiet- 
 ly waited their time to speak. They very modestly 
 said, 'Bror Mehler,' indicating that they had some- 
 thing to say, and then sat down and abided their 
 time until called upon. I have actually noted as 
 many as three speaking at one time in our council 
 meetings. I think we might with great advantage 
 introduce the Scandinavian custom. 
 
 " One of these times we shall reach a plane in 
 our religious experience when we shall have no 
 need for council meetings. May God hasten the 
 time." 
 
 They traveled from Sweden through Ger- 
 many, Italy and Greece, to Smyrna. Going through 
 Germany, the entire party caught heavy colds, and 
 Mother Miller was afflicted with boils, having 
 eleven between her knee and ankle at one time,
 
 188 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 naturally making traveling unpleasant for her 
 and for Father Miller, whose sympathy was ever 
 keen. But he still had his humorous moments, for 
 in Berlin he wrote : 
 
 " The young German Kaiser has not called on 
 us as yet, but we excuse the seeming neglect. He 
 is very busy just now getting ready to make his 
 first trip to Palestine and, of course, it is a big 
 thing for him. When he has been there as often 
 as we have he will not take it so hard. 
 But he is actually going to take ninety people with 
 him, and his going is likely to interfere with our 
 comfort. He has extended an invitation to all 
 orthodox bishops and elders to meet at the dedica- 
 tion of the new church at Jerusalem the 26th of 
 next month. As we have no desire to submit our 
 capacious and somewhat aldermanic proportions 
 to the process of being flattened out, we think of 
 stopping at Damascus until the crowd is all over. 
 I never did hanker after emperors and I am not 
 going to begin in my old days." 
 
 October 12, 1898, private letter : 
 
 " Smyrna next, and all the care and anxiety 
 about the situation there gone, absolutely gone. I 
 go there feeling that God will take care of the 
 whole business. As he helps me, I'll do what I can. 
 He knows. I am wondering if I shall continue to 
 be in this frame of mind. I wish it would abide 
 with me until I go hence. It's a kind of spiritual 
 land of corn and wine. Perhaps the peaceful quiet 
 of the Bay of Naples is to be an emblem of the fu- 
 ture peace and quiet of my life." 
 
 But the trip to Smyrna was not as peaceful
 
 FIFTH TRIP ABROAD 189 
 
 as he had hoped, and there were many heartaches 
 in it for him. He was met with the warning by 
 an outsider, "About your work in Smyrna, you 
 must have great precaution. Not only must you 
 watch those who have shown themselves unchris- 
 tian to this day, but much more care is necessary 
 as to the persons that surround you." 
 
 The mission in Smyrna had gotten into seri- 
 ous trouble. An orphanage had been started and 
 four of the orphans had been baptized by Brother 
 Fercken. These Armenian orphans had been bap- 
 tized in infancy, according to the custom of their 
 church, and when it became known among the Ar- 
 menians that four orphans had repudiated their 
 baptism they became very angry. Some of the or- 
 phans were taken from the mission and forcibly 
 held in Armenian homes, until finally complaint 
 was brought against the orphanage and Brother 
 Fercken, saying that immoral practices had been 
 going on there. The committee of brethren, with 
 Father Miller, investigated the charges and exon- 
 erated Brother Fercken of any blame in the mat- 
 ter. However, through the danger to his life, 
 Brother Fercken was compelled to leave the coun- 
 try and the mission was without a head. Father 
 Miller was greatly concerned about the trouble. It 
 is to be remembered that this mission was especial- 
 ly close to his heart, for he had supported it en- 
 tirely during the first year after its establishment. 
 There was no one available to take the place. He
 
 190 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 seriously considered remaining there, but at Ms 
 age it would have been very hard for him to learn 
 a language, and the climate did not agree with 
 Mother Miller's health ; so after staying as long as 
 possible to help with the work, he finally left, to 
 continue the journey to Palestine, where their 
 traveling companions had already gone. 
 
 On his return trip, the following spring, Fa- 
 ther Miller again spent some time in Smyrna, 
 trusting that conditions had improved. He held 
 a love feast with the few members who remained, 
 but it was hopeless to start the orphanage again, 
 for the sultan had issued an order that all suc- 
 cessful orphanages should be closed. No one who 
 was able to take charge of the mission having ap- 
 peared, support was withdrawn in 1900. (For a 
 more complete account of this affair see the Gos- 
 pel Messenger for Dec. 3, 1898, July 1, 1899, 
 " Thirty-three Years of Missions," and Annual 
 Meeting Minutes for 1898-99-1900.) 
 
 Jerusalem was one of the places Father Mil- 
 ler loved most to visit and he never tired of study- 
 ing the city. Thanksgiving was spent there this 
 year of 1898. He wrote : 
 
 " We are all quite well and happy. Mother is 
 a little stiff from donkey riding, but that will soon 
 be over with. By the way, the other day she was 
 riding a donkey named McKinley, and he stum- 
 bled and fell and let her down gracefully on the 
 street. The donkey boy said, i I am too much sorry.
 
 FIFTH TRIP ABROAD 191 
 
 Your lady, lie fell down.' We had a special Thanks- 
 giving service in our hotel. The reception room 
 was decorated with American flags from the Amer- 
 ican consulate. Dr. Merrill, the American consul, 
 read the President's Proclamation and I an- 
 nounced the opening hymn, ' My Country, ' Tis of 
 Thee.' I then read the first part of the ninety- 
 fifth Psalm and opened the meeting with prayer. 
 Then, after singing, 'All Hail the Power of Jesus' 
 Name,' Dr. Beiler, chancellor of the Washington 
 (D. C.) University, spoke about twenty minutes, 
 followed by Dr. Merrill and myself. Brother 
 Moore was not feeling well and he declined to take 
 part in the service. Twenty Americans were pres- 
 ent and all enjoyed the first American Thanks- 
 giving in Jerusalem. At dinner we had, among 
 other things, turkey with mince pie and pumpkin 
 pie, after the American fashion." 
 
 Father and Mother Miller continued their 
 journey toward India with May Oiler, while the 
 rest of the party returned to America. After the 
 troublous time at Smyrna, Bulsar was like home. 
 At the station, to meet them, were all the mission- 
 aries, with numerous natives, "whose greeting was 
 as cordial and hearty as that of loving children 
 for parents. It was a glad and joyous time, an 
 experience on the pathway of life not soon to be 
 forgotten." 
 
 They spent the winter in Bulsar, enjoying the 
 pleasant climate during that season. Here the mis- 
 sion was rapidly progressing toward success. The 
 first missionaries had mastered the language and
 
 192 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 were starting the real work. Others had come to 
 swell the number, until there was quite a little par- 
 ty of them. Father Miller and "Maijee," the Indian 
 name for mother, became as one of them. He took 
 an active interest in the work of the mission, visit- 
 ing in the native homes, attending the services with 
 the natives, studying missionary methods and 
 helping to plan the work of the mission. A fam- 
 ine had been over the land of India and many or- 
 phans were to be cared for. His reports were de- 
 pended on by the Missionary Committee to guide 
 them in their actions, and it was finally decided to 
 build an orphanage. So well did they enjoy In- 
 dian life that they desired to remain there a year 
 to help with the construction of the orphanage, but 
 on investigation it was found that it would cost 
 $400 to have their tickets extended, so they con- 
 cluded to return home at the time previously set. 
 
 The following letter tells something of the 
 problems, both physical and spiritual, that the mis- 
 sionaries had to meet, and still have, for that mat- 
 ter: 
 
 " This morning Wilbur and I went to the home 
 of one of our native teachers. They have a new 
 baby, a boy three days old. I had the honor of 
 naming the tiny bit of humanity ' Samuel,' a good 
 old Bible name and the one borne by Brother Mc- 
 Cann. The house has two rooms; the floors, the 
 ususal cow-dung mixture so common in this coun- 
 try. The teacher insisted on giving us tea. Tea- 
 cups were set on the floor and the spoons were also
 
 " MAIJEE " AND HER FRIENDS
 
 FIFTH TRIP ABROAD 193 
 
 laid by the side of the saucers. The tea was poured, 
 the spoons taken from the floor and used for stir- 
 ring the tea, and I drank mine without even clos- 
 ing my eyes. You can easily get used to things if 
 you have to. 
 
 " For two evenings I have had a lot of Hin- 
 dus to consult me as to religion. They all talk 
 good English. I rather upset their faith when I 
 told them I had traveled around the world and 
 found nothing but salt-water oceans. Their books 
 teach that there are seven seas, or oceans, one of 
 salt water, one of sweet water, one of clarified but- 
 ter, one of milk, one of honey, etc., etc. When I 
 asked them if they believed me, they said, ' Yes, 
 we saw you three years ago and you have been all 
 over the world.' 
 
 " i Well,' I said, i if you believe me, then you 
 cannot believe your sacred books, for they tell you 
 there are seas of butter, milk, honey, etc., and I 
 say there are none.' They had to believe this. These 
 Hindu youths from eighteen to twenty are of the 
 upper caste, one of them a Brahmin. I found they 
 actually worship the idol and not the god through 
 the idol. 
 
 " We also had a call from two Hindus of the 
 Baunia caste merchants one a money lender 
 and the other a maker of fireworks. They wanted 
 to see the ' Padre Sahib ' (that's me). Wilbur is 
 ( Stover Sahib ' to them, but I am Padre, father of 
 the whole business. They want to be baptized, and 
 say that they are ready to do all that is required of 
 them. But if they become Christians, they lose 
 caste, and none of their people will have anything 
 to do with them. Nobody will borrow the money
 
 194 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 lenders' few rupees, and no one will buy fireworks 
 from the other. Now they say, ' What shall we do?' 
 And this is the greatest problem we have to solve 
 in India." 
 
 The time came for them to say good-by to their 
 Indian home, for they loved it as if it were their 
 real home. In many ways this had been a sad and 
 troublous trip for Father Miller and Maijee. The 
 failure of the mission at Smyrna was a great trial, 
 and the constant worry over the troubles at home 
 had weighed heavily upon them. India had been a 
 respite from these things. So it was with sorrow- 
 ful hearts that they said farewell and started on 
 the return voyage. 
 
 Cholera was discovered on the ship on their 
 voyage through the Indian Ocean. They were 
 landed near the Wells of Moses by the Ked Sea and 
 staid a week before sailing again. None of the 
 party had taken the dread disease, so they started 
 on in safety. 
 
 In Eome, Father Miller was taken very sud- 
 denly and dangerously ill with bowel trouble. His 
 life was saved and he recovered, but never re- 
 gained his old vigor, for this was the beginning of 
 the many illnesses he had during his declining 
 years. 
 
 Finally they arrived home safely in August, 
 1899, after a thirteen months' voyage reached the 
 home to which they always loved to return.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 BIBLE LAND TALKS 
 
 APRIL 8, 1888, Father Miller gave his first 
 Bible Land Talk. That was about a year 
 after he had entered the ministry, and he 
 found that the experience during his first trip 
 abroad gave him valuable material for public 
 speeches. During the first part of July, 1890, he 
 gave a series of nine Bible Land Talks in the chapel 
 at Mount Morris. He likewise had the opportunity 
 to deliver them at other places, but it was not un- 
 til the spring of 1891 that he bought a lantern, to 
 use in illusrating these talks. He had some seven- 
 ty views, or more, for his first series of lectures. 
 In the Gospel Messenger for May 26, 1891, Brother 
 Moore presents a brief account of his success in 
 speaking, and tells of being invited to Father Mil- 
 ler's home to see the first lantern slides exhibited. 
 At this time a special Bible term was in session 
 at the college, and many prominent elders from all 
 over the church were in attendance. These men 
 were invited to see the slides, and their advice was 
 sought on the propriety of using the pictures in the 
 various churches. With their influence back of 
 him, and by giving the churches where he talked 
 
 195
 
 196 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 the option of having the pictures or not, D. L. was 
 able to introduce the lantern and slides in many 
 places where he otherwise could not have done so. 
 Here, again, he shows his tact in dealing with a 
 delicate situation. 
 
 With this beginning, the Bible Land Talks in- 
 creased in number and popularity. From each 
 trip abroad Father Miller brought back more pho- 
 tographs, to be made into slides, until he had a 
 great number, fully illustrating all of his travels. 
 He did not select his pictures solely for interest, 
 but rather to illustrate the central theme of his 
 public utterances the truth of the Bible, as re- 
 vealed by actual customs in the Holy Land. Later 
 on, pictures depicting the need of missions were se- 
 lected and added to the list, and finally some beau- 
 tiful illustrations of China and Japan. 
 
 His manner as a speaker was dignified. He 
 had a voice well modulated, that would carry over 
 a large audience. Earely did he use gestures in 
 speaking, and never did he become heated in argu- 
 ment. Probably it was because he could not be 
 seen during his talks, that the qualities of his voice 
 made a very deep impression on his audience. 
 There was a certain enthusiasm, a conviction of 
 truth, a confidence in the conclusions drawn, as re- 
 vealed in the tone of his voice, that carried the same 
 conviction and confidence to his hearers. 
 
 The Bible Land Talks became exceedingly pop- 
 ular. It was the custom to have one at most of the
 
 BIBLE LAND TALKS 197 
 
 Conferences during the nineties. Between trips 
 abroad nearly all his time was taken up with them, 
 and would have been entirely so, if he had pos- 
 sessed the strength to answer all the calls made up- 
 on him. In most places where he lectured the 
 churches were packed until there was not even 
 standing room left. In 1900, at North Manchester, 
 Indiana, he gave three lectures a day, in order to 
 accommodate the crowds. To afford some idea of 
 the attendance the following private letter is 
 quoted : 
 
 " For crowds commend me to North Manches- 
 ter. I closed on Monday night. At six o'clock they 
 sent for me, saying that the house was i jam-full.' 
 Brethren Trout and Zollers were with me, and 
 when we got to the chapel we found it packed in- 
 side and out. I tried to get in, but it was hard 
 work. Zollers and Trout pushed after me. Inch 
 by inch we made our way. Brother George stuck 
 by me, but Trout got cut off. Finally we came to 
 a solid barrier of women. I had either to go 
 through or climb over them. I crowded in. It was 
 hard work, but success attended the effort and we 
 got through. 
 
 " This is the last meeting of this kind I will 
 hold. One night, in the jam, a sister was badly in- 
 jured. I don't intend to be the cause of getting 
 such a crowd together again. The floor of the 
 chapel settled down, and there was some fear it 
 would go down. I didn't know this until the meet- 
 ings were over. If anything had happened and a 
 panic had resulted, the results would have been
 
 198 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 frightful. Every aisle and every inch of standing 
 room was crowded." 
 
 At another place a large tent was secured for 
 the ever-increasing crowds, which numbered from 
 twelve hundred to two thousand. At his home 
 town, Mount Morris, where he gave over ninety of 
 these lectures in the chapel, the attendance was al- 
 ways large. The doors would be closed until a cer- 
 tain time. When they were opened, almost imme- 
 diately the chapel would be filled, with many stand- 
 ing along the sides. Now and then D. L. wrote of 
 a place where few were present, usually owing 
 to a storm. But the size of the crowd made no dif- 
 ference in the enthusiasm with which he gave his 
 lecture. He always wrote of having the same in- 
 spiration before a small house as he had with a 
 large one. The following incident was related of 
 the impression he made on one church, where he 
 spoke in 1901 : 
 
 " When we heard that D. L. Miller was com- 
 ing to give his talks, the whole countryside was 
 electrified. Every one was talking about it. We 
 lived eight miles away and drove with a horse and 
 buggy to and from the church every night he was 
 there. He always preached in the morning and 
 gave his lecture at night. One Saturday morning 
 my father and I went out to the field to work. I 
 wanted to go to the church to hear D. L. Miller 
 preach, but I did not dream of asking to get off 
 from the work that I knew was to be done. Final- 
 ly my father said :
 
 BIBLE LAND TALKS 199 
 
 " ' It's a shame to work when a man like D. 
 L. Miller is preaching this morning.' 
 
 " I heartily agreed. 
 
 " ' Let's let the work go,' he continued, ' and 
 go to hear him.' 
 
 " We dropped our work and hurried to the 
 house. 
 
 " ' Come on, mother,' he called, ' get ready. 
 We are going to church this morning.' 
 
 "And so we went to hear him preach." 
 
 His Bible Land Talks did more than entertain. 
 They informed, inspired and brought converts to 
 the church. The following letter is only one ex- 
 ample of many : 
 " Dear Friend and Brother : 
 
 " I take this opportunity of writing you, to 
 let you know of some of the good results of your 
 lectures on your travels through the Bible Lands. 
 I heard you several years ago, at the church north 
 of Milford, Indiana, and at the Berkey church, 
 southeast of Goshen. I always doubted some pas- 
 sages of Scripture, until the first time I heard you 
 talk on your travels. Eight here I want to say 
 that you have done more than any other preacher 
 toward turning me from sin and setting my face 
 Zionward. I shall always remember you as one 
 who has done my soul good. ... I believe your 
 lectures on your travels in the Holy Lands have 
 been the means of bringing many souls to Christ." 
 
 All of the proceeds from these talks, after the 
 immediate expenses were taken out, were turned 
 over to the Mission Board, to further the cause of 
 missions in the church. Probably few realize the
 
 200 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 amount of money thus given, or the real value of 
 the talks. One woman a school-teacher in a 
 neighboring town said they were better than sim- 
 ilar lectures she had heard by Burton Holmes. 
 But Father Miller never gave much consideration 
 to such remarks, and was always very sensitive 
 about speaking of his success in this work, for fear 
 it would be taken as boasting. He put his heart 
 and soul into the talks and left the results with the 
 Lord. 
 
 A few times he gave his talks for other pur- 
 poses than missions. He wrote of one such expe- 
 rience thus : 
 
 " We closed up at O - last night with a 
 crowded house. I gave the talks for the benefit of 
 the public school library and they are to the fore 
 some sixty dollars. It made me a little warm, yes- 
 terday evening, at the close, to find that, after I 
 gave my services nominally free, the - - should 
 charge twenty dollars for the use of their church 
 for four evenings. I went to the town to help the 
 public school, and every mother's son of a - , hav- 
 ing children of a school age, ought to be more in- 
 terested in supplying his children with good books 
 than I. And yet they put their hands in and took 
 out twenty dollars after having the lectures at a 
 nominal sum. They talk of the narrow Dunkers, 
 but for the real, genuine, infinitesimal narrowness, 
 commend me to the average - . They remind 
 me of Beecher's experience with a minister who had 
 severely criticised him. Some of the members of 
 his church insisted that the great preacher should
 
 THIS EVENING 
 
 TUESDAY,. JAN., 17,-- 
 
 AT 6 O'CLOCK 
 
 BISHOP I). L. MILLER 
 
 LATELY FROM AMERICA 
 
 OBSERVATIONS IN PALESTINE, 
 
 IN THETABERNAGLE BETWEEN THE 
 MUNICIPAL BUILDING AND TRIVOLI THEA 
 TER, AND OPPOSITE VICTORIA TERMINUS. 
 
 ALL ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTEND 
 THIS SERVICE, AND ALSO THE SERVICES TO BE 
 HELD IN THIS TABERNACLE AT 6 P. M., EVERY DAY 
 TILL JAN.. 23rd, BY THE "INDIA WATCHMAN'' 
 MISSION, DADAR, 
 
 Mr. filler, who speaks to us this evening, is editor of the "Gospel 
 Messenger." a Christian weekly newspaper with n circulation of 20,000, and 
 is author of tbost good books entitled "Europe and Bible Land," "Wand- 
 erings in Bible, Lands," "Seven Cturches in Asia" and "Girdling' tbe 
 Globe."
 
 BIBLE LAND TALKS 201 
 
 reply to him. Beecher said, ' No,' and continued : 
 ' Once upon a time this man said a very unkind 
 thing to me and I just turned him over my knee and 
 was about to administer discipline after the man- 
 ner of our fathers, and don't you know God had 
 not made a place on that man broad enough on 
 which to lay my hand.' You can't broaden some 
 men." 
 
 In 1911 he stopped lecturing regularly and 
 spent the rest of his life in preaching. Feb. 11, 
 1911, he wrote from Mount Morris : 
 
 " I finished my lectures last night, begun when 
 you were here. ... In closing I said that this, 
 in all probability, would be my last lecture and 
 do you know I came home feeling sad over it. I 
 found myself wishing that I were young again, so 
 that I could do more work for the church." 
 
 During the last nine years of his life he spent 
 in preaching all of the time that his health permit- 
 ted. His time was constantly taken up for a year 
 or more in advance. Sometimes he was so weak 
 from the severe heart attacks which he so often had 
 in his last days that he would have to be helped to 
 the church, but he never disappointed an audience, 
 unless it was absolutely impossible to get there. 
 Once he was asked why he insisted on keeping up 
 his preaching, since his health was so poor, and 
 since he had a comfortable home. It was intimated 
 that, after having spent such an active life of work 
 for the church, he surely deserved a rest. He re- 
 plied that God, in a modest way, had set approval
 
 202 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 on his work in the saving of souls, and when he had 
 so many urgent calls he felt that he could not re- 
 fuse to go as long as he had the strength to do so. 
 
 " On hearing the sermon, " The Sunny Side of 
 Life," an elderly man in his audience once said: 
 " Brother Miller, eighteen months ago my wife 
 worried herself into a sanitarium and died. You 
 ought to have this sermon printed and circulated 
 as a tract for the good it will do." And again, Fa- 
 ther Miller was told after delivering the sermon, 
 " God's Best," that the listener had heard Beech- 
 er, Talmage and other great preachers, but never 
 had his heart been so moved as by the sermon just 
 mentioned. 
 
 There is no way of estimating the large num- 
 ber of sermons he delivered during his lifetime. In 
 the chapel at Mount Morris alone, he had preached 
 three hundred and five times before the summer of 
 1917. As Brother H. C. Early so aptly says in his 
 brief biography, his sermons are " towers of beauty 
 and strength. And while he entered the ministry 
 reluctantly and at middle life, he ranked among 
 the ablest preachers of the church, and did more 
 preaching and lecturing, especially in the latter 
 part of his life, than any other man of the Church 
 of the Brethren ministry. His example ought to 
 make a tremendous appeal to the younger minis- 
 ters of the church." 
 
 But the church was his life. To her he gave 
 his money, his time and his life.
 
 CHAPTEK XXIII 
 
 ANOTHER NEW HOME 
 
 IN January, 1900, Father Miller sold the home 
 they had lived in for so many years in the 
 southern part of Mount Morris, and bought a 
 lot in the western part on which to build another 
 home. At that time they had some thought of mov- 
 ing to Elgin, but it was rather hard to break away 
 from their friends, and Father Miller had arrived 
 at an age when he did not care to be so closely con- 
 nected with the immediate church interests as he 
 had been. It was hard to give up their old home, 
 as he wrote at the time : 
 
 " The other day, when I fully realized that I 
 had sold the home, and we all began to talk it 
 over and think it over, there was a kind of funeral 
 air about the premises. But that has all passed 
 away and I am feeling better about it. But there 
 are some very pleasant memories connected with 
 the Saints' Kest. I am not going to tell about 
 them. I am not quite up to it yet. But I have 
 bought a place to build, and, the Lord willing, you 
 will find me by the end of the summer located in a 
 pleasant cottage built around a library where Sis- 
 ter Heminger once lived. I haven't any plans made 
 out yet, but the house will be built this summer. 
 
 203
 
 204 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 Then you can come home. It is going to be a new 
 Saints' Best." 
 
 The house he built was something more than 
 a cottage, being full two stories and having eight 
 large rooms and it was built around a library. In 
 the fall when it had been finished he again wrote : 
 
 "I am happy to be at home again. I just walked 
 into our new home and found it ready for me. It 
 pays for all the privations endured in Missouri. 
 After all, the most blessed thing in all the world is 
 the homecoming after you have been away for a 
 time. So, after life's fitful fever is over, will be 
 the blessed homegoing." 
 
 True enough, the home was built around the 
 library. Here, in the early morning, Father Mil- 
 ler often wrote letters before breakfast while he 
 was waiting for the family to gather for worship. 
 Lillie Weller and Minnie Replogle were the two 
 girls who lived the longest with them during these 
 years. They were a part of the family. After 
 breakfast was prepared all would gather in the 
 library, with whatever guests might be present, to 
 start the day with real worship. There was no hy- 
 pocrisy, no insincerity in Father Miller's prayers 
 and reading of the Bible. No one could go out 
 from those simple services without being better for 
 them. 
 
 Breakfast eaten, the women went about the 
 duties of the house, Mother Miller to her room up- 
 stairs, which she always cared for herself, and 
 Father to the garden, or uptown for the mail, or
 
 ANOTHER NEW HOME 205 
 
 perhaps to finish writing his letters or to read 
 some book. Then the day would be spent in writ- 
 ing or study, as the case might be, and as he grew 
 older, more and more in reading. He sat many 
 hours in his leather chair by the north window 
 with his books. His reading covered a wide range 
 of subjects. He had made himself an authority on 
 Bible questions and constantly read on this sub- 
 ject. The Bible he read over many, many times, 
 and he often spoke of the good he received from 
 each perusal. In his library, besides these books 
 of a religious nature, were many of history and 
 nearly all of the best English classics. These he 
 very much enjoyed reading. He read the newspa- 
 pers and many of the best magazines published. 
 All received his intelligent consideration. 
 
 Into his library during the day came many 
 friends and persons to consult him. While Brother 
 J. E. Miller was president of the college, he and his 
 wif e were daily visitors, loved and received as mem- 
 bers of the family. The professors from the col- 
 lege brought their problems for his consideration. 
 The workers in the Mount Morris church came for 
 help and advice. Students from the school called 
 to see his library and his many relics from Pales- 
 tine. Old friends of years' standing came to visit, 
 and leaders in the church sought counsel and ad- 
 vice from the aging man in his chair by the window. 
 And into this library also came many who had 
 sinned, or who were misunderstood, or who had
 
 206 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 failed, for comfort and advice, which they never 
 failed to receive. Truly, the peace and joy which 
 emanated from this library blessed many a heart. 
 
 Outside of the north window near the garden 
 was a bird bath. The whole family greatly en- 
 joyed watching the numerous birds that came there 
 daily. Father Miller got a great deal of pleasure 
 out of this, and put up many houses for the birds, 
 to entice them to his home. One martin house was 
 five stories high, octagon in shape, and had forty 
 compartments. Every room was occupied, too. 
 He had five martin houses besides houses for wrens 
 and other birds. He tells of the coming of the mar- 
 tins in the following letter : 
 
 " Tell Anna the martins came the same after- 
 noon you left. I was looking for them April 6, and 
 behold they came. ' Yea, the stork in the heaven 
 knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and 
 the crane and the swallow observe the time of their 
 coming ; but my people know not the judgment of 
 the Lord.' The martin belongs to the swallow fam- 
 ily. They observe the time of their coming. I had 
 their houses cleaned and opened for them on the 
 morning of the 6th, and in the afternoon they were 
 chirping and chattering about their bird homes as 
 happy as they could be." 
 
 The sparrows longed for these bird homes, and 
 many were the fights over possession. Father Mil- 
 ler helped the martins with his air gun. From an- 
 other letter is the following : 
 
 " Tell John I have shot forty-eight sparrows
 
 ANOTHER NEW HOME 207 
 
 and used forty-seven cartridges. I have also 
 trapped thirty-three. Yet, notwithstanding this 
 slaughter of the innocents, there are plenty still 
 here. The other day I received a bulletin from the 
 Department of Agriculture entitled, ' The English 
 Sparrow as a Pest ' Farmers' Bulletin No. 493. It 
 makes interesting reading and strongly recom- 
 mends the sparrow as a palatable, nutritious, 
 healthful article of food. Tells how to trap them, 
 clean and cook them. Send for it and reduce your 
 meat bill." 
 
 Tulips were one of his favorite flowers. Every 
 year he had literally thousands blooming in his 
 garden. He wrote the following account of them : 
 
 " From my mother I inherited my love for gar- 
 dening and flowers. In my boyhood days I worked 
 willingly in her garden and always loved that kind 
 of work. . . . One spring I had nearly five thou- 
 sand of the most beautiful tulips blooming in my 
 garden. . . . The tulip bed was a thing of beau- 
 ty, never to be forgotten. In it were all colors and 
 also the striped varieties. The colors were kept 
 separate; thus a row of scarlet, then white, then 
 yellow, and so on until color after color covered 
 the bed. To me there always was an unsolved mys- 
 tery in the color of the tulips. In the fall you 
 might take a hundred bulbs, if you did not know 
 their names and colors, and plant them in the same 
 soil. All the bulbs would look exactly alike, all the 
 same weight, and you might have a chemist analyze 
 them and he would find them all alike. Planted in 
 the same soil, heated by the same rays of the sun, 
 moistened by the same raindrops, and yet each 
 would bring forth a different color. I asked a cele-
 
 208 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 brated scientist to tell me why and he said he did 
 not know. The Bible tells why. God said every- 
 thing should bring forth after its kind." 
 
 That " a prophet is not without honor save in 
 his own country " did not apply to Father Miller. 
 He was very much loved and respected in Mount 
 Morris. When he and Mother Miller would return 
 from one of their trips abroad, the station plat- 
 form would be filled with friends who had come to 
 welcome them home to welcome them as if they 
 were their own family. In the council meetings of 
 the church, Father's voice could often quiet a dis- 
 cussion, and his opinions were listened to and usu- 
 ally acted upon. During one of the longer periods 
 when he was at home he was elected elder of the 
 church. His attitude toward the members, his love 
 for the work and for the church can be seen in this 
 letter, which he once sent to each of the members : 
 
 " Mount Morris, 111., Aug. 10, 1903. 
 " Dear Sister : 
 
 " In the spirit of love, I am writing to each of 
 the members of the Silver Creek church. I cannot 
 now have a personal interview with you, and have 
 adopted this plan to have a talk with each mem- 
 ber of the church. A recent council of the church 
 asked me to act as elder in place of Brother D. E. 
 Price, who after long years of faithful service re- 
 signed. Temporarily I have accepted the call, and 
 by the help of God and the hearty co-operation of 
 all the members will do the best I can in the re- 
 sponsible position you have asked me to assume. 
 
 " The earnest and hearty help of each member
 
 ANOTHER NEW HOME 209 
 
 of the church is needed, and I most earnestly be- 
 seech you, dearly beloved in the Lord, with all the 
 dear members of the church, to take up and care- 
 fully and seriously consider the following ques- 
 tions : 
 
 " How can we best maintain the principles of 
 the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the church, to the end 
 that we may, as a church, reach a higher standard 
 of spirituality and a closer walk with God? 
 Worldliness is besetting the church today, as it 
 always has and always will beset her. We must 
 meet the issue. Will we stand unified with the 
 effort to maintain the gospel principles of plain- 
 ness? 
 
 " How can we make our prayer meetings more 
 spiritual and helpful to the entire church? . . . 
 
 " How can we get all of our members to attend 
 Sunday-school? . . . 
 
 " How can we improve our regular preaching 
 services? . . . 
 
 " Would it not be well for all of us to culti- 
 vate to a greater degree our social qualities, so that 
 we may visit more and have more of the family 
 spirit in the church, thus insuring the growth of 
 brotherly love which is in danger of becoming 
 cold? And in these visits would it not be well to 
 spend some time in social prayer? 
 
 "Are we giving to the cause of Christ as he 
 has prospered us? ... 
 
 " Will you not set apart a special time in which 
 you earnestly engage in prayer that God may bless 
 his people and that the church may become a great- 
 er power for good, that the membership may receive 
 the fullness of the Holy Spirit and that we may
 
 210 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 all be more consecrated, more devoted and more 
 earnest in our Christian lives, and less worldly in 
 our desires? 
 
 " The church cannot be better than the av- 
 erage of its membership. As each one of us be- 
 comes more spiritually minded, more prayerful, 
 more earnest in our Christian work, more zealous 
 for the cause of Christ, so will the church attain to 
 a higher standard of excellence and become more 
 and better fitted for her high calling as the bride 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 " I will be glad to receive a letter from you 
 with suggestions and with an expression of your 
 own mind on these important questions. The grace 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always. 
 
 " Yours in the bonds of Christian love, 
 
 " D. L. Miller." 
 
 With the spirit reflected in this letter he 
 worked and lived with and was loved by the peo- 
 ple of Mount Morris. 

 
 CHAPTEE XXIV 
 
 THE " DON'T WORRY " CLUB 
 
 I AM about to start a Don't Worry Club. It is 
 open for membership. Any good Christian 
 man, woman or child may join. You take the 
 
 following pledge : 
 
 " 'By the help of God, I promise to break myself 
 as fast as I possibly can of the unhappy habit of 
 worrying. I shall do the best I can with the abil- 
 ity God has given me and trust the results in his 
 hands. I will not worry. God takes care of his 
 own. I am here and worrying will not help me over- 
 come a single ill of life. It unfits me for happy, 
 congenial companionship. I will not worry. It 
 unfits me for being helpful to others who need 
 comfort. I will not worry. It robs me of many 
 precious, happy, God-given moments which he in- 
 tends that I should enjoy. I will not worry. It not 
 only makes me unhappy but renders others, who 
 have a right to look to me for cheerfulness, unhap- 
 py also. I will not worry. It shows a lack of 
 trustfulness in God, and deprives me of the joy and 
 happiness that comes with complete trust in God. 
 No, by God's help, I will not worry. Will you 'jine'? 
 
 "... P. S. Your father came in last even- 
 ing after I had written you and he joined my Don't 
 Worry Club. I start out with the prayer that I 
 may be kept from all worry." Private letter, 
 March 21, 1900. 
 
 211
 
 212 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " March 29, 1900. ... I am not looking for 
 members to my Don't Worry Club. I just go along 
 and don't worry. I find myself thinking about it a 
 good deal. I get some things not so pleasant, but I 
 simply shut down on the \vorry part of the business. 
 God helping me, I will not worry." 
 
 "April 3, 1900. There is some danger of one's 
 becoming indifferent to his surroundings and then 
 pass said indifference off for a disposition not to 
 worry. I think it is quite natural for one to cut 
 loose more and more from the world as he grows 
 older. I feel that I am not as closely associated 
 with the affairs of this life as I once was. But at 
 the same time I am not indifferent to the work I 
 have to do. I take a keen interest in it all. I took 
 as much pleasure in writing of the missionary work 
 as I ever did. I have as much interest in preaching 
 as ever, and, indeed, I think I take more interest 
 in it than I did a few years ago. To take no anx- 
 ious thought for the morrow, as Jesus said, is the 
 basis of my efforts not to worry. A year ago last 
 winter I allowed myself a good deal of anxious 
 thought about the Landmark. It really interfered 
 with my happiness. Looking back now I feel that 
 it was all useless. It didn't help matters in the 
 least. It cheated me out of a good many happy mo- 
 ments, and made me unhappy beside. Now I say 
 in the morning when I get up, ' I will not be anxious 
 for the morrow.' I ask God to help me not to 
 worry. When something comes up that occasions 
 thought or worry, I simply say, ' Now I will not 
 worry about this. It won't help matters in the 
 least. It will not help me.' In this way, I am 
 able to meet the issues with a clear head and feel 
 that it is better to take this view of the matter rath-
 
 THE " DON'T WORRY " CLUB 213 
 
 er than worry and fret and stew over the thing, 
 and after all find that it amounted to but little 
 after it is all over." 
 
 In our family, in those days, we children had a 
 monthly paper called the Dovecote News. The 
 first families who moved from Mount Morris to 
 Elgin, when the Publishing House was taken 
 there, had rather a lonesome time of it and often 
 gathered together in the evenings as those in a 
 " strange land " will do. Once a month the Dove- 
 cote News was read at these gatherings. Father 
 Miller saw it, and as always he was interested in 
 our small affairs and his name comprised the sub- 
 scription list of the paper. For this paper, he 
 wrote a jingle, called, " Don't Worry : A Story 
 With a Moral." This is not quoted to show any 
 poetical ability he might have had. He would have 
 been the last person even to admit that he could 
 make words rhyme. It is given only for the real 
 humor it contains and to show what trouble he 
 took for our pleasure. 
 
 "DON'T WORRY : A STORY WITH A MORAL 
 " ' Never mind ! ' Uncle Dan used to say, 
 
 Things will come out all right ; 
 What if the clouds are dark today? 
 
 It may be clear by tonight ! 
 Brace yourself up and face what you must, 
 God's in the sky and his laws are just ! 
 Bear like a man what he gives you to bear, 
 
 Laugh when your plans go wrong ; 
 A smile is the policeman that drives off care, 
 And there's poultice for pain in a song.
 
 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " i Never mind ! ' Uncle Dan would say to me 
 
 When my savings were spent away; 
 ' Brace yourself up and let folks see 
 
 That your nerve's right here to stay. 
 Take a new hold and try it once more, 
 As plenty of others have had to before ! 
 When things seem to be at their worst, they might 
 
 Be a little worse, you know ; 
 The day that's darkest may clear by night, 
 
 And the sun set all in a glow.' 
 
 " Uncle Dan sat in the dentist's chair, 
 
 With his jaws propped wide apart; 
 I looked at the poor man wriggling there, 
 
 And was sorry with all my heart ! 
 But I said, ' Brace up and face what you must ; 
 God's in the sky and his laws are just- 
 Stand like a man what he gives you to stand, 
 
 Smile when the probe sinks low; 
 Show that your nerve is right on hand 
 
 It might be worse, you know.' 
 
 " ' Brace yourself up and still be gay, 
 
 Things will come out all right ; 
 Though life is a hard pull by day 
 
 And an aching void by night. 
 Still there may come ' but my Uncle Dan 
 Jumped from the chair, wherefore I ran, 
 And I heard him muttering things I dare 
 
 Not put in my rhyme, and he 
 Still chuckles and nods in his easy chair, 
 
 But has quit preaching to me." 
 
 The times when Father and Mother Miller 
 came to visit the " Dovecote " were our happiest 
 days. The house was garnished for the occasion,
 
 THE " DON'T WORRY " CLUB 215 
 
 special cooking prepared, and even the garden re- 
 ceived an extra hoeing, leaving the edge of every 
 flower bed as even and true as line and rake could 
 make it. 
 
 We children watched from the north window 
 until we saw the car stop, and then all six would 
 run to meet them, coming slowly and ever more 
 slowly up that walk. They never forgot us, either. 
 We would stand around with veiled interest while 
 Father opened his bag, and always would come out 
 some candy, often peanut brittle, or fruit, or some 
 special thing they thought we would like. And 
 they would hardly be there before it was dinner 
 time. In the afternoon, if the Board was not go- 
 ing to meet right away, Father and our father 
 would settle down for a talk, interrupted often, of 
 course, by us, as we could not stay away ; but I am 
 sure that I never went through the room where Fa- 
 ther Miller sat no matter how busy or absorbed 
 he was in conversation that he did not reach out 
 his hand to take mine, and that sweet smile of his 
 would come into his eyes. 
 
 When Brother Howard Miller edited the 
 Inglenook,we had especially joyous times. Howard 
 had traveled in Mexico and had learned some of 
 the Mexican cookery. He would come up in the 
 morning with his hands full of bundles and crowd 
 into the kitchen. He was so large he could hardly 
 get through the door. Then he would say to our 
 mother :
 
 216 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 "Annie, here are these things. Now you cook 
 these just this way," and he would proceed to go 
 into detail about the manner of preparing them. 
 
 Usually it would turn out to be some hot Mexi- 
 can dish, similar to the Indian food that Father 
 had learned to like. Then those two men would sit 
 down at the table and eat, abandoning themselves 
 to a good dinner. Those hot Mexican dishes did 
 not suit our young appetites, but we did enjoy 
 watching them eat. 
 
 Sometimes squab pie was the especial dish 
 ordered. We children had pet pigeons and loved 
 them very much so much, in fact, that we, one 
 and all, refused to eat the squabs. Occasionally in 
 a mercenary fit we would sell some, but none of us 
 ever tasted one. However, when Father Millers 
 came our squabs were gladly sacrificed to the oc- 
 casion, and we sat about without a regret, watch- 
 ing them disappear. 
 
 And the Christmases when Father and Mother 
 Miller were with us ! They can never be forgotten 
 for they were so few. Doubtless because Father 
 and Mother Miller had no children, they made the 
 children of their friends their own, for our house 
 was not the only one where the children welcomed 
 them. One Christmas when they came Father 
 found me very much absorbed in " Little Women," 
 and with a child's desire to have all there is to be 
 had, I longed for the rest of the books, but I did 
 not dream that he realized this. He made a trip
 
 THE " DON'T WORRY " CLUB 217 
 
 to Chicago the day before Christmas, and that 
 evening, after we had lighted the tree and received 
 our presents, he brought out a box and gave it to 
 me. There was a complete set of Louisa Alcott's 
 works. Unless one has had all of her dreams come 
 true at once, she cannot know how happy I was. 
 Those books have been read and reread until they 
 are nearly worn out, but they still hold and always 
 will hold, a place of honor on our bookshelves. 
 And Father, I verily believe, was as happy as I over 
 them. 
 
 I cannot remember that Father Miller ever 
 laughed very much. He smiled often, but his laugh 
 was infrequent. However, there was one time 
 when he shook with mirth. My younger brother, 
 D. L., was very much of a boy and was rarely 
 quiet. Doubtless when some of the members of the 
 Board were in the sitting room, engaged in some 
 discussion, his squirmings bothered them. At any 
 rate, Father conceived the idea of having D. L. sit 
 on a chair for five minutes without smiling or mov- 
 ing, the boy, of course, to receive pay ; I forget how 
 much. Brother Barnhart and one or two others 
 were there, I think. Nothing daunted D. L. and he 
 proceeded to sit. We ail stood around and 
 watched him sit there for five long minutes without 
 a move. And Father Miller laughed then until he 
 shook all over, but D. L. sat it out without a mo- 
 tion and received his pay.
 
 218 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 In the evenings, when the younger children 
 would be in bed, Father Miller and our father and 
 some other members of the Board Brother Barn- 
 hart very often, Brother Teeter, Brother Bonsack, 
 Brother Early and many others who often were 
 there would gather about the table and discuss 
 informally the problems of the church. Many 
 times Father Miller would be listening quietly to 
 the others as they argued. Finally, when the time 
 seemed opportune, he would say in his calm way : 
 
 " Now Brethren, it seems this way to me," and 
 proceed with his explanation an explanation that 
 usually solved the trouble. 
 
 Those days are past, are only memories now, 
 but we are better for them.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 ANNUAL CONFERENCE WORK 
 
 PERHAPS one of the most important influ- 
 ences Father Miller exerted on the church 
 was through his constant attendance and 
 work at the Annual Conferences. From 1880 until 
 his death he missed but two or three meetings. In 
 his later days, when he was not one of the presiding 
 officers, his place was on the platform, well to the 
 front, where he could watch the proceedings with 
 unabated interest. 
 
 The Conference was one special treat of the 
 year to him. He looked forward to it every spring, 
 and into his editorials put much of his enthusiasm 
 for it, so that gradually this enthusiasm was im- 
 parted to many who had not been so interested. 
 Here, through his service on many important com- 
 mittees, was his influence felt in almost every ac- 
 tivity of the church. 
 
 The following is from an editorial printed 
 April 14, 1900: 
 
 " Our Annual Meeting is more than a Confer- 
 ence, more than a church council, it is a reunion of 
 those of like precious faith. Take away from the 
 meeting the social enjoyment and the spiritual 
 
 219
 
 220 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 blessings, and it would indeed be a delegated body 
 met for the purpose of transacting business. The 
 social feature of the meeting does more to unify our 
 people, and bind them together in the bonds of love 
 and peace, in the unity of the Spirit, than does the 
 business part of the Conference. As it is, the meet- 
 ing marks an epoch in the lives of many of our 
 brethren and sisters. Those who do not attend 
 lose a means of grace and spiritual blessings that 
 are helpful to all who receive them. 
 
 " For some years past a good deal of time has 
 been taken up with church work of great impor- 
 tance. The missionary and Sunday-school work has 
 been given the attention which their importance 
 demands. 
 
 " Neither has the business of the Conference 
 been neglected. There has been a growing disposi- 
 tion not to act hastily on any important question 
 that may come before the council. Because of this, 
 many questions are placed in the hands of compe- 
 tent committees and deferred a year to give ample 
 time to study the questions and report upon them. 
 This is commendable. Not how many queries are 
 passed, but how many decisions be fully in accord 
 with the Word of God is the measure of the success 
 of the Conference." 
 
 LIST OF POSITIONS HELD BY D. L. MILLER AT ANNUAL 
 CONFERENCE FROM 1882 1910 
 
 1882 Member of Committee on Consolidation of 
 Church Papers. 
 
 1884 Member Church Extension Board or Gen- 
 eral Church Erection and Missionary Com- 
 mittee, for three years.
 
 ANNUAL CONFERENCE WORK 221 
 
 Member Auditing Committee for Treasur- 
 er's Keport of the Missionary Board. 
 
 1887 Keappointed as a member of the General 
 Church Erection and Missionary Commit- 
 tee for three years. 
 
 1888 Committee to Apportion General Expenses. 
 General Agent for the Kailroad Arrange- 
 ments Committee. 
 
 Committee to Prepare Eules Governing the 
 Annual Meeting. 
 
 1890 Keappointed on General Church Erection 
 and Missionary Committee for three years. 
 Committee on Consolidation of Missionary 
 and Tract Work. 
 
 Committee to visit McPherson, Kans. 
 Secretary Committee on Church Property. 
 
 1891 Elected Writing Clerk. 
 
 Committee to Nettle Creek Church, Indiana. 
 Member of Standing Committee. 
 
 1892 Elected Writing Clerk. 
 
 Committee for the Compilation of Hymn 
 
 Book. 
 
 To assist New Testament Notes Committee. 
 
 Standing Committee. 
 
 1893 Committee to visit churches in Southern 
 
 Illinois. 
 
 Eeappointed on Missionary and Tract Com- 
 mittee for three years. 
 
 Tract Examining Committee. 
 
 Committee on Consolidation of Missionary 
 
 and Tract Work. 
 1894 Committee to visit Mississinewa Church, 
 
 Indiana.
 
 222 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 1895 Elected Writing Clerk. 
 Standing Committee. 
 
 1896 Elected Writing Clerk. 
 
 Committee to Draft a Memorial to King of 
 Sweden. 
 
 Keappointed on Missionary and Tract Com- 
 mittee for three years. 
 Committee to McPherson and Newton 
 Churches, Kansas. 
 Committee on Kebaptism. 
 
 1897 Committee to Cerro Gordo Church, Illinois. 
 Dress Committee. 
 
 Eevision of Annual Meeting Minutes Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 1898 Elected Writing Clerk. 
 
 Appointed with wife to visit churches in Eu- 
 rope. 
 Standing Committee. 
 
 1 899 Eeappointed on Missionary and Tract Com- 
 mittee for three years. 
 Church Historical Association Committee. 
 
 1900 Elected Moderator. 
 
 Committee on Hymn Book Revision. 
 Committee on Endowment Fund. 
 Standing Committee. 
 
 1901 Committee on Resolutions. 
 
 Committee to Consider Time for Annual 
 
 Meeting. 
 
 Life Insurance Committee. 
 
 Hospital Committee. 
 1902 Elected Moderator. 
 
 Reappointed on General Missionary and 
 
 Tract Committee for three years.
 
 ANNUAL CONFERENCE WORK 223 
 
 1903 Committee on Swedish Unions. 
 
 1905 Keappointed on Missionary and Tract Com- 
 mittee for three years. 
 Foreman Annual Meeting Kailroad Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 1906 Church Name Committee. 
 
 Foreman Annual Meeting Kailroad Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 1907 Committee on Bicentennial. 
 
 Foreman Annual Meeting Kailroad Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 1908 Keappointed on Missionary and Tract Com- 
 mittee for three years. 
 Foreman Annual Meeting Kailroad Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 1909 Dress Committee. 
 
 Foreman Annual Meeting Railroad Commit- 
 tee. 
 
 1910 Resigned from service on the General Mis- 
 sionary and Tract Committee and was 
 elected Advisory Member for Life.
 
 SILVER CASK FOR ROLL OF THE LAW
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 MORE TRAVELS 
 
 THE first winter spent in the new home was 
 one of illness for Father Miller. All en- 
 gagements for Bible Land Talks were can- 
 celed, and he passed the time quietly in his study. 
 During this time he began the preparation of a new 
 book, written especially for the Gish Fund. When 
 finished this was called " Eternal Verities," and 
 dealt with the evidences of Christianity. 
 
 In spite of illness, his winter was not spent 
 idly, for he used some twenty-eight books and en- 
 cyclopaedias for reference and study in writing 
 this new volume. In " Eternal Verities " he en- 
 deavored to give briefly and simply the more im- 
 portant arguments which have " led godly men, 
 who have carefully gone over the ground, to accept 
 the Bible as the Word of God." He claimed no 
 originality for the work, but felt that to " meet the 
 growing skepticism we must place in the hands of 
 our people, old and young alike, the testimony in 
 our possession of the truth of God's Book." The 
 volume is very simply and convincingly written 
 and covers the ground intended by the author. Of 
 unusual interest are the last chapters, which con- 
 
 225
 
 226 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 tain Father Miller's own observations in Pales- 
 tine, of the customs now prevailing, which prove 
 the truth of the Bible and of the events which have 
 occurred since the Bible was written that have 
 fulfilled its prophecies. This adds greatly to the 
 value and importance of the book. This is the only 
 one Father Miller wrote which was not distinctly 
 a record of travel. In the fall of 1903, after the 
 first sale was over, " Eternal Verities " was used 
 as a premium with the Gospel Messenger, the au- 
 thor receiving no profit whatever from this further 
 sale. 
 
 At the Conference in 1901 Father Miller was 
 appointed to visit once more the churches in Eu- 
 rope. Owing to the fact that he had not been well 
 all winter, this commission did not appeal to him, 
 but Brother and Sister Albert Vaniman were be- 
 ing sent to Sweden and it was their wish, as well 
 as that of the Missionary Committee, that he ac- 
 company them to help select their home and get 
 them settled in their new duties. With some re- 
 luctance he consented, and on June 27 they sailed 
 for Sweden. Although this trip was made solely 
 in the interests of the Missionary Committee, he 
 paid all of his expenses, as he had for all of his 
 other journeys. He staid some weeks with Broth- 
 er Vaniman's in Sweden and Denmark, and then 
 visited Switzerland and France, where Brother 
 Fercken had been at work for some time. His re- 
 ports of conditions in the various missions were
 
 MORE TRAVELS 227 
 
 encouraging in every respect. While in France, 
 with Brother Fercken he went to visit the famous 
 shrine " Our Lady of Lourdes." He wrote a de- 
 tailed history of this for the Messenger, and in con- 
 clusion, in his usual illuminating way, gave his own 
 opinion of the truthfulness of this legend. Aug. 23 
 he sailed from Europe on the Vaterland, making 
 the return voyage in a trifle over five days, the 
 quickest time, until that date, made by any ves- 
 sel in crossing the Atlantic. 
 
 The winter of 1901 and 1902 was spent entire- 
 ly in delivering Bible Land Talks, as was most of 
 the following summer. That fall he again had a 
 serious attack of the digestive trouble that had 
 been afflicting him for some years. He and Mother 
 Miller decided to spend that winter in California 
 rather than try to brave the rigors of the Illinois 
 cold. Their trip to California that fall was made 
 on a colonist train and was of much interest. Fa- 
 ther Miller wrote of it in the Messenger as follows : 
 
 " Those of us who have passed the half -cen- 
 tury mark remember how in our boyhood days we 
 looked upon the returned Californian with open- 
 eyed wonder, and listened with bated breath to 
 tales of danger from wild Indians and wild beasts 
 met in crossing mountains and plains by the hardy 
 pioneer. In those days a journey to California 
 was the event of a lifetime. Now it is of such com- 
 mon occurrence, such an everyday affair, that one 
 scarcely cares to read what is written by the mod- 
 ern tourist.
 
 228 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " But there is something new and novel even 
 in these days of rapid transit, in crossing the Kock- 
 ies and Sierra Nevadas on a colonist train, made 
 up almost entirely of our own people who are seek- 
 ing homes in the great San Joaquin Valley of 
 California. . . . 
 
 " Brother George McDonaugh, our genial and 
 efficient colonization agent, informed us that this 
 was the first train of the kind that ever crossed the 
 continent. Eighty souls . . . made up the com- 
 pany. It was a mixed train, made up of tourist 
 sleeping-car, day coach, baggage car, and freight 
 cars, carrying the household goods and live stock 
 and other belongings of the colonists." 
 
 While in California Father and Mother Miller 
 did not rest, but traveled about from church to 
 church, giving Bible Land Talks and preaching, for 
 life in the milder climate was better for both of 
 them. 
 
 The following spring they returned to their 
 home in Mount Morris. That summer was spent 
 in delivering Bible Land Talks, and the winter 
 again found them in California. With the spring 
 of 1904 came a determination again to visit India 
 " dear old India " which they both loved so 
 well. They intended to stay at least two years, 
 and there was some thought of making it their 
 permanent home. Age was coming on and they 
 felt the need of less active work. India provided a 
 climate which both enjoyed, and their interests 
 were bound up in the welfare of the mission.
 
 MORE TRAVELS 229 
 
 Sept. 1, 1904, they sailed on the Deutschland 
 from New York with Father's brother, W. R. Mil- 
 ler, Brethren I. B. Trout, M. K. Murray and Broth- 
 er and Sister Berkebile for companions. Once more 
 they made the tour of the churches in Sweden, Den- 
 mark and France, before crossing the Mediterra- 
 nean to Joppa and Jerusalem. After revisiting the 
 Holy City they sailed to Port Said, to await the 
 outgoing missionaries for India. While there they 
 saw the " Eussian fleet ... on its way to meet 
 its fate at the hands of the Japanese under Ad- 
 miral Togo. Thousands of men who thronged the 
 decks of warship and transport on that November 
 day found watery graves, a few months later, in 
 the Sea of Japan, when Russ and Jap met in deadly 
 conflict. This, not because these men had a quar- 
 rel with each other, or aught of resentment, but 
 because the heads of one of the so-called Christian 
 nations was ambitious and grasping. After sev- 
 eral days' waiting the missionaries arrived and the 
 enlarged party was composed of Brother W. R. 
 Miller, Sister McCann, with Henry and Mary, her 
 children, Brother and Sister Berkebile, Brother 
 and Sister Ross, Brother and Sister Pittenger, and 
 Sister Gertrude Rowland, now the wife of Brother 
 Jesse Emmert, and Maijee and the writer." 
 
 After a pleasant and uneventful voyage they 
 landed in India Dec. 6, 1904. Many changes had 
 taken place since their first visit nine years be- 
 fore. Father Miller reviewed them briefly :
 
 230 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " Our minds went back to the time when we 
 first visited Bulsar, just nine years ago. Then 
 Brother and Sister Stover and Sister Bertha Ryan 
 were our only missionaries in India. There were 
 no native members. I recall now most vividly how 
 it seemed that many years must pass before even a 
 start could be made. And now a very few years 
 have passed and we are at Bulsar again. Two 
 hundred and fifty-nine have been baptized here, 
 and here are fifty-eight applicants for baptism. 
 Instead of three, we now have twenty-six mission- 
 aries in India, and what has been done at Bulsar 
 has been more than doubled at Anklesvar in the 
 number baptized, besides numbers at Jalalpor. 
 How wonderfully God is blessing the labors of 
 those who have been made willing to work for him 
 in India ! " 
 
 Much of their time was spent in Bulsar, where 
 they attended nearly all of the services held both 
 in the English and native tongues. They visited 
 the neighboring country, where work was being 
 done in the villages, and studied the possibilities 
 of opening up more stations. And, in the mean- 
 time, they cultivated friends, both among the na- 
 tives and the other English-speaking people of Bul- 
 sar. But not all of their time was devoted to Bul- 
 sar. They staid several weeks with the McCanns 
 at Anklesvar and from there they went to see 
 Brother and Sister Lichty at Vali. The last part 
 of the journey to Vali was made in a bullock cart, 
 a two-wheeled cart without springs and very heavy, 
 which is drawn by two bullocks. As a rule the
 
 MORE TRAVELS 231 
 
 bullocks are very deliberate, and so the springless 
 vehicle is endurable. But on this day, for some 
 reason, the bullocks became frightened and ran 
 away. They expected any minute to be thrown 
 out or upset, but nothing worse than a very bad 
 shaking up resulted. Father Miller wrote an 
 amusing account of it in the Messenger for April 
 1, 1905, but the following story was never pub- 
 lished : 
 
 " Last week we went to Vali, a village about 
 a hundred miles north of here, for a visit with 
 Brother Lichty's. They live several miles from the 
 station and we had to ride out in an oxcart, and we 
 had an experience. The bullocks ran away with 
 us and shook us up until we hardly knew ourselves. 
 I have written an account of our visit for the Mes- 
 senger and you can read all about it. 
 
 But here is something about it not to be 
 printed : 
 
 THE KUNAWAY BULLOCKS 
 By the Fat Man 
 
 Little pair of bullocks, 
 
 Kunning fit to kill, 
 Heavy cart a pulling, 
 
 Driven by a Bhil. 
 
 Little pair of bullocks, 
 
 Neither great nor small. 
 Mix the Fat Man badly, 
 
 Dislocate his gall. 
 
 Rob the merry Fat Man 
 Of his store of fun,
 
 232 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 As he looks and wonders, 
 Sees the bullocks run. 
 
 Little pair of bullocks 
 Kunning down a hill, 
 
 Shaking dear old Maijee 
 Till she has her fill. 
 
 Makes the dearest, bestest 
 Maijee cease to care 
 
 Who may chance to see her, 
 Who may turn to stare. 
 
 Makes our Brother William 
 Look and stare and frown, 
 
 Won'dring where we'll land, when 
 We turn upside down. 
 
 Makes him feel as if he 
 
 Wouldn't shoot another deer; 
 
 Little pair of bullocks 
 Fill him full of fear. 
 
 Little pair of bullocks 
 Standing still as mice, 
 
 At the Lichty mud hut 
 Looking very nice. 
 
 Then the laughing Fat Man 
 Jumps with laughing mirth, 
 
 And he leaves his trade mark 
 Where he hits the earth. 
 
 Little pair of bedsteads 
 
 'Neath the palm-tree roof, 
 
 Good for two to sleep in- 
 Snoring is the proof. 
 
 And the Merry Fat Man 
 Sleeps in restful ease,
 
 rsMjj f- m \. \ft- 
 
 >' ... .*KK^.'--.n|.. H <y-'; 
 
 
 
 A RID?: IN THE BULLOCK CART
 
 MORE TRAVELS 233 
 
 Till the morning brightness 
 Bids his slumbers cease. 
 
 So in life's long journey 
 
 Come the ill and best, 
 After weary jolting 
 
 Comes the peaceful rest. 
 
 After a pleasant winter in India, Father Mil- 
 ler and Brother Stover started on a voyage, touch- 
 ing the various ports along the African coast.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE OTHER HALF OF THE GLOBE 
 
 LEAVING Bombay April 19, 1905, Father 
 Miller and Wilbur Stover sailed on the 
 Nuddea, a cargo boat of the British India 
 line. 
 
 " The steamer lacked most of the comforts of 
 a modern passenger ship, and had in full measure 
 the unpleasant things usually found on vessels 
 plying in the torrid zone. Rats, roaches and ants 
 were in evidence everywhere. The rats visited our 
 cabin at night and once, ' when sleep had departed 
 from my eyes and slumber from my eyelids,' I 
 watched with interest three big fellows on a tour 
 of investigation about our bunks. The roaches 
 none of your diminutive vermin seen in northern 
 climes, but great, sleek, fat fellows, as big as a 
 baby's hand were industriously active during the 
 entire voyage. When you couldn't see them you 
 could smell them, and neither sight nor smell was 
 pleasant to the eyes or nose. But the Nuddea 
 suited our purpose, and one can endure many dis- 
 comforts to secure the desired end. She called at 
 a large number of ports and remained long enough, 
 in receiving and discharging cargo, to enable us to 
 see all there was to see in the ports of call, and to 
 make such investigations as were desirable." 
 
 There were only four cabin passengers on the 
 235
 
 236 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 ship, but there were many deck passengers Hin- 
 dus, Moslems, men and women and children, cat- 
 tle, hogs and goats, all living together on the deck. 
 Considering the rats, roaches and ants, and the 
 great variety of deck passengers, the journey could 
 not have been called a pleasure trip. Smallpox 
 broke out among the deck passengers during the 
 first of the trip, and they were not permitted to go 
 ashore at their first stop at Victoria, Seychelles. 
 However, by the end of nineteen days, when they 
 reached Mombasa, on the coast of Africa, the 
 smallpox patients were better, and the cabin pas- 
 sengers were permitted to land. At the next stop, 
 Zanzibar, most of the deck passengers departed, the 
 boat was thoroughly fumigated and the rest of the 
 journey was much more pleasant. 
 
 They continued down the coast as far as Dur- 
 ban, where they disembarked and spent some time, 
 making a trip on the railway up to Victoria Falls. 
 Father Miller wrote that that railway was the 
 roughest means of travel he had ever endured, not 
 excluding the English sea storm in 1891, or the 
 runaway bullock ride of the winter before. On the 
 return voyage they landed at Parapat, where only 
 two white men lived, and at Dar-es-Salaam, where 
 they spent some time visiting among the native 
 villages. After that they returned directly to Bom- 
 bay. 
 
 While on this trip Father Miller made a 
 thorough study of Africa from the viewpoint of es-
 
 THE OTHER HALF OF THE GLOBE 237 
 
 tablisMng a mission. The conclusions lie then 
 reached were summed up as follows in the Messen- 
 ger for Sept. 9, 1905: 
 
 "... It is the fixed conviction of the writer 
 that, should the church decide to undertake a mis- 
 sion in South Africa, it would be wise to associate 
 with it colored missionaries from home, and also 
 accompany it with industrial training. . . . 
 
 " Taking India as a basis of comparison, it 
 will cost fully twice as much to support mission- 
 aries in South Africa as it does in the former coun- 
 try. It would be unsafe to attempt to start a mis- 
 sion in British South Africa without counting the 
 cost of support for man and wife at one thousand 
 dollars per year, with a hundred dollars extra for 
 each child in the family. . . . 
 
 "As a matter of sentiment, it would be well 
 to say that we have missions in India, Africa, 
 China, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, Hawaii, 
 South America, Cuba, Porto Eico and the islands of 
 the sea. By dividing our forces we might have a 
 little station in half a score of these countries, but 
 it would be but a station in name. Is it not much 
 better to have one strong, well-organized mission, 
 for doing aggressive work, pushing out from a com- 
 mon center, with power for the conversion of the 
 heathen, than a score of weaklings, unable to stand 
 alone or to impress the heathen mind with the 
 idea of strength and stability? . . . 
 
 " These conclusions are not to be regarded as 
 was the report of the men who said there were 
 giants in the land. Far from it. If the church will 
 awake and rouse herself, and feel, through the 
 Holy Ghost, her real strength, we may go in and
 
 238 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 possess the land. Mission work is not child's play. 
 The heathen have to be won by hard work. They 
 are not standing with outstretched arms, waiting 
 for the coming of the missionary. . . . Mission- 
 ary work means hard, persistent and continuous 
 labor, with self-sacrifice, fasting and prayer, both 
 at home and in the field. We must be patient, en- 
 during the hardships, the giving of our means, 
 ready to meet discouragements and disappoint- 
 ments, and then, with unfaltering trust in God, we 
 shall reap if we faint not." 
 
 They were again in Bombay by July, 1905, 
 and by Sept. 9 of that same year Father Miller, 
 Maijee and Sister Eliza Miller started for the long 
 voyage to Australia a voyage of nearly fifteen 
 thousand miles, going and coming. They sailed 
 along the west coast of Australia, stopping at sev- 
 eral points and finally arriving at Adelaide, Mel- 
 bourne, and Sidney, where they devoted some time 
 to sightseeing. Father Miller was particularly in- 
 terested in the aboriginals of Australia and put in 
 a good deal of time studying their history and cus- 
 toms. 
 
 At La Perouse, on Botany Bay, there was a 
 camp of these aboriginals under the care of mis- 
 sionaries. They visited this camp twice and found 
 them bright and intelligent many of them able 
 to read and write English. Here, too, they had an 
 exhibition of the skill of a boomerang thrower. 
 Harry Simmons, an expert thrower, threw time 
 and again, bringing the crooked stick back to his
 
 THE OTHER HALF OF THE GLOBE 239 
 
 feet each time. Then Father Miller tried his skill 
 at throwing, but was unable to accomplish the de- 
 sired result. But Harry comforted him by saying : 
 " By and by, you make a good boomerang thrower." 
 From Sydney Father Miller wrote briefly, giv- 
 ing a glimpse of his visit there : 
 
 " Oct. 20, 1905. We are having a nice time 
 here. I am reading and writing. I have access to 
 a library of 120,000 volumes, and that's a lot bigger 
 than my little library at Mount Morris. So I read 
 books and write letters. The time does not hang 
 heavily on my hands. 
 
 " The other day I visited the native camp and 
 saw the aborigines the first of the inhabitants 
 of this country. They are said by some to be the 
 lowest type of the genus homo, but they are, I think, 
 about as bright as other people. They throw the 
 boomerang in a most surprising fashion. 
 
 " It's spring time here and the flowers and 
 fruits are in evidence. We get fine oranges and a 
 new fruit that grows to perfection on the passion 
 flower. It's as large as a hen's egg, shaped like an 
 apple, and has a thick rind. You cut it in halves 
 and then you have little bowls, two in number, 
 formed by the halves of the fruit, full of a juicy 
 pulp mass, very excellent in flavor and good to 
 taste. I never ate of the fruit until we came here, 
 and I find it very good. Early varieties of straw- 
 berries are in the market and they look fine." 
 
 While in Australia they saw a most peculiar 
 animal, called the duck-billed platypus, "which 
 puzzled the naturalists for many years. When they
 
 240 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 came to classify the strange thing it was hard 
 to determine whether it was a bird or an animal. 
 It has the fur of the seal and the bill and webbed 
 feet of the duck. It dives and swims like a fish, 
 lays eggs and, when they are hatched, nurses the 
 young with the milk of its breasts." They likewise 
 saw specimens of the kangaroo, the wild dog and 
 the Australian bear. 
 
 After a pleasant trip they started back to 
 Bombay Nov. 9. While making the homeward voy- 
 age bubonic plague broke out on board. This did 
 not become known to the passengers until they 
 reached Fremantle. The news was cabled ahead 
 of them, and on arriving at Colombo no one was 
 allowed to land. They began to be concerned as 
 to whether they would be permitted to go ashore 
 at Bombay. The ship was quarantined at once in 
 the harbor, and it seemed that there was more 
 prospect of their being taken to the next port, 
 at Aden, than being allowed to disembark at Bom- 
 bay. A number of the missionaries came out to 
 their ship in a boat and greeted them at a distance. 
 The passengers remained all night on board, await- 
 ing their fate, and it was with joyous hearts that 
 the news was brought the following day that they 
 could go ashore. In a short time they were once 
 more in their India home, where they had but one 
 month to stay before their return journey to Amer- 
 ica. 
 
 This was their last visit to India a place
 
 THE OTHER HALF OF THE GLOBE 241 
 
 loved by them both. In 1913 seven years later 
 Father Miller wrote : 
 
 " I find myself constantly wishing that I could 
 be with you all on this tour of the India missions. I 
 sometimes am wondering how old I must get before 
 I shall lose the desire to visit again India and the 
 Orient. I think the desire is just as keen now as it 
 was when I made my first trip to the East. . . . 
 
 " When you are at Bulsar you will no doubt 
 see the house in which mother and I spent a very 
 happy year in India. I think I shall never for- 
 get the pleasant home we had there. If the choice 
 were mine, I would rather live at Bulsar, so far as 
 climatic conditions are concerned, than in Los 
 Angeles, California." 
 
 But the time came to leave, and a farewell 
 dinner was given for them. Father Miller wrote 
 of it in a private letter : 
 
 " Bulsar, January 19, 1906. 
 " My dear Bessie : 
 
 "... We are ready now to go to Bombay 
 and sail away for China. And if all goes well with 
 us we ought to see you all about May 1. What a 
 time we will have, when we all meet again. There'll 
 be some huggin' going on, I am thinking. 
 
 " The people here seem sorry to have us leave, 
 and we are also sorry to leave them. Last night 
 we had a dinner at the native Christian village, 
 ' Maijee-pur,' named after Grandma. You know 
 they call her Maijee here, and so the town is Maijee- 
 pur, the word ' pur ' meaning town. I am getting 
 to be quite a Gujerati linguist. I now repeat the
 
 242 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 Lord's Prayer in the vernacular with the natives 
 every morning. 
 
 " But I want to tell you about the dinner. Two 
 hundred and sixty people ate with us all the 
 native members of the church. Recently Jimmie 
 Sahib and his daughter, Elizabeth, were baptized 
 and he gave the dinner. He is the leading man 
 here among the Eurasians, and a very nice family 
 of people they are. Five of them are now in the 
 church. 
 
 " The dinner was a success. We all sat on the 
 ground and ate with our fingers. We had palow 
 rice and small bits of meat, with nuts and raisins 
 cooked together. It is a dish of which I am very 
 fond and I ate heartily of it. We also had kitch- 
 erdy. This is also a dish made of rice, and very 
 good. Then we had two kinds of native sweet- 
 meats and this made up the feast. If you had seen 
 us eat with our fingers, and how we did shovel in 
 the palow and kitcherdy, you would have said, 
 'These are hungry people.' After eating, we washed 
 our hands and then the girls sang some native 
 roundelays and gracefully moved around in a cir- 
 cle. Then the lamps were lighted and a big, bright 
 light as luminous as electricty was set going 
 and we had an illumination. Then we had fare- 
 well talks. 
 
 " I spoke and Wilbur translated, and then 
 Jimmie Sahib made a speech and said how glad he 
 was that he had become one of us and that he 
 thanked the Lord for it all. Then Maijee talked 
 and she could not keep back her tears, and then 
 other tears were shed. . . . And then Wilbur 
 spoke, and by that time a great crowd of uncon- 
 verted natives had gathered up by the wayside,
 
 THE OTHER HALF OF THE GLOBE 243 
 
 and the road was crowded with them. They had 
 never seen or heard of such things before. Then we 
 all knelt down and asked the dear Lord to keep us 
 all faithful to the end, and so the dinner ended." 
 
 "And so, too, ended their last visit to " Dear 
 Old India." They sailed for China, where their 
 tour was interrupted on account of trouble in the 
 interior. Canton and Hongkong were the only 
 towns they were able to visit before continuing 
 their voyage to Japan. After a short stay in Ja- 
 pan they traveled toward their homeland, arriv- 
 ing at San Francisco April 13 one day before 
 schedule. 
 
 And so ended their journeyings about the 
 world journeyings that included every continent 
 but South America, all the large bodies of water, 
 many of the islands of the sea, and which cost, in 
 all, about twenty thousand dollars all of which 
 he paid himself. The results of this vast amount 
 of travel were used to forward the work of the 
 church in the establishment of missions in foreign 
 lands, and in the strengthening of the faith of 
 those at home.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 FATHER MILLER wrote a great many letters, 
 especially during the last twenty-five years 
 of his life. In 1900, at the age of fifty-nine, 
 he bought a typewriter and learned to use it. Later 
 he bought another with many improvements and 
 wrote that he was as " happy as a boy " trying it 
 out. When he was at home he often spent a large 
 part of the day writing to his many friends. To 
 my father alone, from the time the Brethren Pub- 
 lishing House was moved from Mount Morris to 
 Elgin, in 1899, until his death in 1921, he wrote 
 about five thousand letters. He kept up a con- 
 stant correspondence with the members of the Mis- 
 sion Board, with many of the leaders in the church 
 and with his friends. People wrote him, asking 
 vital questions about the church and their own 
 problems. Often both factions in a church trouble 
 would write to him for advice. He took time and 
 pains to write to his child friends, even going so 
 far as to illustrate his letters with pictures and 
 sometimes his own drawings. He exercised the 
 greatest care in all of his writing and never left a 
 letter unanswered. 
 
 245
 
 246 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 In reading hundreds of his letters, covering a 
 long period of years, a number of things are no- 
 ticeable. He never wrote unkindly of anyone, or 
 judged harshly, no matter how guilty the person 
 under discussion might be. He sometimes said, 
 " If this person did so and so, that is wrong, but 
 have we all the facts?" Once when being criticised 
 because he was too lenient in his judgments, he 
 retorted that if he erred at all he would rather it 
 would be on the side of mercy. And when one con- 
 siders his kindly nature and sympathetic dispo- 
 sition, it is easy to see that all people disclosed to 
 him their best sides, and thus he judged them in 
 the most kindly light. One cannot imagine enter- 
 ing the peaceful atmosphere of his library and very 
 long remaining irritated or angry. 
 
 The sins and mistakes of others troubled him 
 so greatly at times that he actually became sick, 
 but he never judged harshly. In -one noted case, 
 when the offender came to him, bitter and angry, 
 Father Miller wrote : " - showed me a side of 
 his character I had never seen before. I listened 
 to his talk and said nothing. We do not know how 
 severely he was tempted." 
 
 There is a remarkable resemblance between 
 the contents of his letters and the thoughts in his 
 editorials. His real thoughts were sincerely ex- 
 pressed, whether in letters of a most confidential 
 nature or in articles for the public. 
 
 He had a sense of humor. Often under strain,
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 247 
 
 when it seemed that there was no way out of the 
 trouble, he had some apt story or humorous bit of 
 philosophy that threw light on the situation and 
 broke the tension. 
 
 And again, he was not afraid to afford 
 glimpses of that inner man which most of us keep 
 so carefully hidden. He was not afraid to wr.ite, 
 " I love you," " I have been mistaken, forgive me," 
 " The Lord has been good to me and helped me in 
 this." 
 
 The following letters and extracts will give a 
 fair idea of Avhat his correspondence was like. Most 
 of these have been taken from my father's private 
 file, and a number have been inserted without his 
 knowledge since Father Miller's death: 
 
 " Bulsar, India, Jan. 27, 1899. 
 " Dear Bessie, D. L., Kathren, Kuth and Annie. 
 
 " My dear Children : 
 
 " Here is a little story I have written for you 
 about a fat man and a little red-headed girl. Let 
 mama or papa read it for you and then see if you 
 know the fat man and the red-headed girl. 
 
 " From your loving Fader." 
 " THE FAT MAN AND THE KED-HEADED GIRL 
 
 " Once upon a time, a good while ago, before 
 any of you children were born, there lived in a 
 western town a little fat man. He was not very 
 tall, but had very broad shoulders and a very thick 
 waist. He was like Santa Claus in the song, with 
 a little round belly, which, when he laughed, shook 
 like a bowl of jelly. He had a nice quiet home, a
 
 248 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 good, kind, loving wife, very many good, kind 
 friends and was a happy man. Only one thing 
 was lacking in his home. He had no little boys and 
 girls to make the house noisy with their prattle. 
 
 " When the fat man was a little boy, no bigger 
 than D. L., he lived in an eastern State with his 
 father and mother in a large brick house near 
 which stood an old mill. In the mill he was born 
 long, long ago, even before your papa and mama 
 lived in this world. The music of the old water 
 wheel, as it turned around from Monday morning 
 until Saturday night, giving motion to the mill, the 
 grinding of the burrs, the creaking of cogwheels, 
 and the whirr of the machinery were all familiar 
 sounds to the boy. 
 
 " There was a great millpond, along the banks 
 of which were great yellow willows, and to the boy 
 the willow-bordered lake seemed a very ocean for 
 bigness. Beyond the stream a cedar-covered hill 
 rose higher than the old mill itself, and here in the 
 long summer days the boy used to lie down in the 
 green grass beneath the cedar trees and read books 
 about the big, big world and dream and wonder 
 what it was all like far away from the mill, and 
 whether, after all, the lakes and oceans were so 
 much bigger than the millpond with its waters 
 continually pouring over the great dam, making 
 the sweetest music the boy ever heard. It was like 
 the gentle waves of the sea breaking on a far-dis- 
 tant shore. The boy had a busy life and the happy 
 days of childhood full of golden dreams of the fu- 
 ture passed all too quickly away. There were the 
 beautiful summer days for fishing and swimming 
 in the limpid waters of the millpond, of work on
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 249 
 
 the farm and in the mill, and the winter days spent 
 in school. 
 
 "And the boy had, oh, such a dear good mother, 
 and he used to lay his tired, weary head upon her 
 bosom, the pillow which God made, and cried when 
 he was taken away from it, and cried again when 
 God took her home to heaven cried and would not 
 be comforted, because out of his life had gone the 
 dearest one he knew. 
 
 " Just below the old mill, at the roots of an 
 ancient birch, there came forth a spring of pure 
 cold water. And what a spring of water that was ! 
 How many, many times on the hot summer days, 
 while working at the hay, did the boy, tired and 
 thirsty, drink cupful after cupful of the pure cold 
 water beneath the shade of the old birch tree ! And 
 what a drink that was! Ice cream, soda water, 
 Hires' root beer, and all the drinks devised by the 
 confectioner's art, and of which the boy then knew 
 nothing, cannot be compared to the clear, pure, 
 cold water of that old spring. Oh, how good it 
 was, and how often in after years, when the boy 
 had become a fat man, did he dream that he was 
 wandering again as a little boy about the old home, 
 in the mill by the millpond, in the house with his 
 mother, and quenching his thirst with the waters 
 of the spring at the birch tree ! 
 
 "And behold, in the days when the boy fished 
 and swam, and worked and drank the water of the 
 good spring, a little red-headed sister with a freck- 
 led nose came to him from far-away babyland. 
 When the boy first saw her she was so little and 
 had such red hair and such a freckled little nose 
 that he loved her right away, and said to his moth-
 
 250 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 er ' Isn't she nice?' And the boy came to love his 
 sister more and more, for she was a good little girl 
 when she took a notion that way, and in the evening 
 time he would often take her on his knees and sing 
 to her, 
 
 " ' When the spring time comes, gentle Annie, 
 And the wild flowers are scattered o'er the 
 lea,' 
 
 and also other songs, for her brother was a good 
 singer and could sing two whole tunes with but 
 two or three and sometimes four mistakes, and the 
 little girl grew and ran about the farmhouse and 
 the barn (for now they had moved away from the 
 mill ) bareheaded, and the red head became redder 
 and the freckles on her nose spread all over her 
 face, and she had a good time. 
 
 "And the boy grew, too, and became a man and 
 married a dear good wife, and left his home and 
 the farmhouse, and the old mill and the spring 
 and the millpond and father and mother and his 
 red-headed, freckled-nosed little sister, and trav- 
 eled far away over mountains and rivers ever and 
 ever so much wider than the old millpond, and 
 found for himself a new home in a far-away land. 
 When he went away he cried a good deal, for he 
 was tender-hearted and loved his old home, his 
 father and mother and his little red-headed, freck- 
 led-nosed, gentle Annie. 
 
 "And it came to pass when the boy had a home 
 of his own, and was growing fat and was happy 
 with his own dear wife, who was always good to 
 him and loved him dearly, that the dear mother 
 said, ' I will send Annie to live with my son and 
 his wife, so that when the Lord calls me home my
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 251 
 
 dear little girl will have a good home and will be 
 loved and cared for.' And Annie came and the fat 
 man and his wife took her into their home gladly, 
 and there was joy in their hearts, for they loved the 
 little red-headed girl. And she lived with the fat 
 man a long time and went to school and grew and 
 grew until she couldn't grow any more. 
 
 "And then there came a long, thin man from 
 Indiana, and his eyes fell upon Annie's round, full 
 face without a freckle, and on her beautiful hair, 
 no longer red now, but auburn, and her brown, 
 dreamy eyes and he felt queer about the heart. And 
 Annie felt queer, too, and cast down her eyes when 
 he looked quietly into their dreamy depths, and 
 blushed when he squeezed her little fat hand. And 
 the long man from Indiana came to the fat man's 
 house and stood with her of the auburn hair be- 
 hind the door, near the register, for it was cold, 
 and took her hand in his, and said something to 
 her, and she blushed and said " Yes !" And the long 
 man took her in his long arms and kissed her. And 
 then he asked the fat man and he said "Yes," and 
 they all said " Yes." And then Annie of the au- 
 burn hair was married to the tall man and went 
 with him to a home of her own, and this is what 
 became of the little red-headed girl. The fat man 
 travels in many lands, and he is growing old, and 
 one of these days he will go home to meet the dear 
 mother and father and will wait and watch for the 
 coming of gentle Annie and her dear husband and 
 all the little ones that God has given them." 
 
 In 1898, after preparing an article reviewing 
 the history of the church for twenty years, Father 
 Miller wrote the following prophecy :
 
 252 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " I have now a mind to set myself up as Dan- 
 iel the Prophet II., and write for the year 1920. 
 That will be a forward glance. The endowment 
 fund will be one million, the church will have a 
 membership of 200,000. There will be missions 
 in India, Africa, China, Japan and the Islands of 
 the Sea, $100,000 for missions, Messenger subscrip- 
 tion list 50,000, Sunday-school literature 150,000, 
 Pilot, 40,000, and a few other things will have taken 
 place by the time the new century is one-fifth gone. 
 D. L. Miller, J. G. Koyer, J. H. Moore, Joseph 
 Amick, D. E. Price, Enoch Eby, L. W. Teeter, 
 Abram Barnhart and a score of others of our age 
 will be at rest." 
 
 A private view of his life, Oct. 5, 1898 : 
 
 " In some respects life has been a disappoint- 
 ment to me. I had many hopes and aspirations 
 spiritually that I have never realized, and I now 
 think I never shall in this world. When we are 
 young, the story says, ' If our lives and motives are 
 pure we hope for too much,' and that may and does 
 bring us disappointment. Somehow or other I 
 feel that my life work is done, and how little and 
 insignificant it all seems when viewed from the 
 higher spiritual plane ! I do not think I am morbid 
 on this subject, but I feel just what I am writing. 
 One thing I want to do, i. e., make the very best 
 possible use of the days that God may yet give me 
 to live in this world." 
 
 Here he shows his sense of humor, writing 
 Feb. 21, 1900: 
 
 " Talking about dying reminds me of the Irish- 
 man who had taken a ' wee drap ' too much and
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 253 
 
 felt down-hearted when he thought about the re- 
 ception Bridget would give him when he reached 
 his shanty. The more he thought of it the more 
 he felt, and finally in the bitterness of his soul he 
 groaned, * O Lord, I wish I was dead.' Just then 
 a brick dropped from a scaffold under which he was 
 passing and struck him on the head. It didn't kill 
 him, but it dazed him for awhile. At last recover- 
 ing his senses, having passed out from under the 
 scaffold, he looked up to the sky and said : ' Can't 
 ye's niver take a joke up ther?' " 
 
 This letter shows the care he used in discuss- 
 ing church problems : Qct ^ mi 
 
 " My dear Brother H - : 
 
 " I have before me a copy of your letter, ad- 
 dressed to the General Missionary Committee, 
 dated the 13th inst., and am impressed with the 
 thought that I should write you concerning the 
 question to which you call the attention of the Mis- 
 sion Board. 
 
 " It has been a source of much regret to us 
 that so few of our better-educated young brethren 
 have offered their services to the committee for 
 work in the home and foreign fields. The Smyrna 
 field has been unoccupied for two years, because no 
 one can be found to take up the work. A young 
 man is also wanted in France, but we do not have 
 those who are ready for the work. I am. of the 
 opinion that while the ( order ' question has its in- 
 fluence, there is also another and more potent de- 
 terrent than the one named by you. The home and 
 foreign mission work is not so attractive, and so 
 promising as are some other avenues of activity
 
 254 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 opening up for our college men. In my judgment 
 it is not so much a question of order as it is a ques- 
 tion of recompense and success. 
 
 " I am quite willing to admit that the order 
 question may have its influence, for it is a growing 
 question in our growing church. It has now quite 
 outgrown the question of plain dressing. He that 
 would confine it to the cut of a garment is indeed a 
 man who has not looked into the tendency of the 
 times. It now includes not only the gospel princi- 
 ple of plain dressing, but the admission into the 
 church of secretism and worldlyism of many types 
 and forms. If the church were to adapt her prac- 
 tice to the demands of the times in which we live, 
 primitive Christianity, so far as the Brethren 
 Church is an exponent of primitive Christianity, 
 would be lost to the world. 
 
 " Your information, that the board has been 
 led to think of giving up city mission work, is in- 
 correct. In the discussion of these questions it has 
 been said that we must adopt better methods for 
 carrying forward the work, or we might as well 
 give it up in some places. But this is far from say- 
 ing that it is the intention to abandon city work. 
 Even the apostles were unable to establish the true 
 faith in all the cities, but were compelled to shake 
 the dust off their feet as a witness against some of 
 the places in which they labored. 
 
 " If you have a plan, my dear brother, by which 
 the Brethren Church can be held together as one 
 body in the unity of the Spirit and at the same 
 time have the change made you desire, I shall be 
 more than pleased to have the plan. In making this 
 statement I take it for granted your plan will not
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 255 
 
 give up a single gospel principle which the church 
 holds sacred today. 
 
 " I am not to be understood as saying, or be- 
 lieving, that the church does not need some 
 changes; these will come as fast as we can bear 
 them. Any radical move to secure such changes as 
 are desirable will as certainly result in another di- 
 vision of the church as did the radical movement 
 started by the Progressives. The church now has 
 all the good things she then lacked, which they 
 wanted, and has avoided the evils into which they 
 fell. I think I know you well enough to know that 
 you do not want another division in the church. 
 
 " You close your letter with an important 
 question. How can those who have gone away be 
 won back? How can our college brethren be 
 brought into fuller sympathy with the church? It 
 is a question that churches other than ours are ask- 
 ing. While you say that college men do their own 
 thinking, others are also doing their own thinking. 
 The Lutheran, the Methodist, the Presbyterian, 
 the Baptist all are asking why it is that we are 
 having a dearth of students at our theological 
 schools. How can we get our young men to make 
 the requisite sacrifice to preach the Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ? The answer to these questions, it is feared 
 by many thinkers, is to be found in the tendency of 
 university life. The great universities are becom- 
 ing great educational trusts. With millions of 
 money in their grasp, the tendency is to a looseness 
 in faith. The Bible is discredited. The story of the 
 creation found in Genesis is a myth, the Old Testa- 
 ment a collection of folklore, or traditions, and of 
 the superstitions of an age when a written lan- 
 guage was unknown. . . .
 
 256 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " I would plead with our college brethren, who 
 have enjoyed better educational advantages than 
 some of us who are older, that they cling to their 
 faith in the Bible, that they stand firm for the 
 unity of the church of Christ. Do not allow your- 
 selves to be deceived with the false notion that 
 plainness of dress holds the church back, and that, 
 if the form of dress now held to were set aside, she 
 would leap at once into popularity, and succeed 
 where she now fails. It is not that which holds 
 her back. It is the great underlying truth that the 
 church and the world are two separate and distinct 
 bodies, and that there always has been and always 
 must be a conflict between the two. The world 
 hated and put to death the Founder of the church, 
 it counted his followers as the offscouring of the 
 earth, it sought to stamp out the religion of the 
 Man of Nazareth by persecuting unto death all who 
 called upon his name, but it failed. What the 
 world failed to do by persecution then it is now at- 
 tempting to do by blandishments of refinement and 
 higher criticism and unbelief. Instead of the 
 bloody sword of persecution we have the scented, 
 bejeweled dude and the fashion-loving lady; in- 
 stead of the judgment hall of Caesar, the university 
 with its half -hidden infidelity ; instead of the stake 
 the sugar-coated unbelief of higher criticism. The 
 world is trying with these blandishments and these 
 devices to kill the spirituality of the church, and is 
 fast accomplishing her purpose. God pity and 
 help us ! The world begins with flirtation and ends 
 with assassination. 
 
 "You will pardon my seeming warmth dis- 
 played in the discussion of this question. It is a 
 vital one and lies near my heart.
 
 ONK OF HIS ILLUSTRATED LETTERS
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 257 
 
 " With kind regards to yourself and Sister 
 H , and with the hope that you both may be 
 led by God, I am 
 
 " Yours fraternally, 
 
 " D. L. Miller." 
 
 Here we see the pains he took in answering 
 questions : 
 
 " Mount Morris, 111., Oct. 15, 1903. 
 " My dear Brother M - : 
 
 " I have your letter with a copy of the report 
 and decisions of A. M. Committee to Western 
 Pennsylvania and Western Virginia, and have giv- 
 en it careful thought and consideration. I cannot 
 say that I fully understand the situation in your 
 congregation, neither do I think it wise to advise 
 on a question with which I am not fully familiar. 
 It is impossible for me to get from your letter a 
 full resume of all the committee has done and what 
 has led it to the conclusion it has reached. From 
 your standpoint you give very briefly what appears 
 to you to be the situation. In order to be fully pre- 
 pared to give an opinion I ought also to have the 
 situation from the committee standpoint. The 
 fairness of this statement will, I know, appeal at 
 once to your good judgment. 
 
 " I am personally acquainted with the mem- 
 bers of the committee. With two of them I have 
 worked for a number of years in the important 
 mission work of the church, and I have always 
 found them fair-minded and disposed to do right as 
 God gave them to see the right. I do not believe 
 that either one of the three men would knowingly 
 do a wrong thing, either in a personal matter or
 
 258 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 church government. I also regard them as men 
 of matured and sound judgment. I may further 
 say if they have made mistakes they are of the 
 head and not of the heart. 
 
 " With the foregoing in mind I take up the 
 questions you ask in the order you have stated them 
 in your letter, and answer them under the limita- 
 tions given in the first paragraph of this letter : 
 
 " ' 1. Have we a right to do anything for which 
 we have no direct gospel authority, either by pos- 
 itive command, or the general tenor of the Word? ' 
 
 "Answer : Yes and no. We have the right as 
 a church to adopt means to carry out the principles 
 and doctrines of the Gospel. The means may change 
 from time to time to meet changed conditions, but 
 the principles are eternal and unchangeable, the 
 same yesterday, today and forever. For example : 
 at one time our church had no meetinghouses, the 
 necessity for them not existing; now we have 
 many. Once we did not have a mission board ; now 
 we have one as a means to carry forward the great 
 work of the church. The church changed from the 
 double to the single mode of feet- washing without 
 disturbing the principle. This rule has been and 
 may be applied to all our work. But the church 
 has no right to bind upon any one, as a principle, 
 anything not in accord with the word and the spirit 
 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At this point the 
 clearest distinction must be made between princi- 
 ples and means to carry them out. The first are 
 God-given, made in the council chambers of heaven ; 
 the second are man-made and are devised for suc- 
 cessfully carrying out the former. Unless a clear 
 distinction is made at this point we are liable to 
 fall into confusion. Admitting that the church has
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 259 
 
 the right to adopt means to carry out the princi- 
 ples of the Gospel, then it follows that this should 
 be done by a representative body of the church, and 
 when such a body of the church, moved by the 
 Spirit of God, adopts a rule of action, not contrary 
 to Divine teaching, all the members of the church 
 should walk according to the rule. There is no 
 other way to maintain the unity of the church. If 
 each member, or group of members, do as they 
 please, confusion and anarchy result. If conditions 
 change and a change of means is required the 
 change must come through the representative body 
 of the church. This is a fundamental law lying at 
 the very foundation of all unified government and 
 is a law of God. See Acts 15. 
 
 " ' 2. Do we need more than the Gospel and 
 our baptismal vows to keep us faithful, loyal and 
 devoted to Christ and his church? ' 
 
 "Answer : We need the fellowship of the church 
 membership, the watchful care of the overseers 
 whom the Holy Ghost hath appointed to watch over 
 the flock, the counsel and advice of the united body 
 of the church, and the help, the love and the sympa- 
 thy of our fellow-Christians. To attain to the high- 
 est possible degree of spiritual development we 
 need every possible means afforded by the church 
 and the Gospel. Even with all these means of grace 
 some fail to grow, become spiritually dwarfed and 
 die a spiritual death. ' Thou hast a name that thou 
 livest, and art dead ' (Kev. 3:1). 
 
 " i 3. Why should members who conform to 
 the order of the church be required to sign a paper 
 in order to hold their membership in the church? ' 
 
 "Answer: I know no reason why such a de-
 
 260 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 mand should be made. I find no such requirement 
 in the paper you sent me. Did the committee decide 
 that those in order should sign a paper to retain 
 membership in the church? If so, they have made 
 a mistake. 
 
 " t 4. What constitutes the order of Christ's 
 church as taught and observed by our Lord and his 
 apostles? Does not the true Christian always live 
 right and dress right? ' 
 
 "Answer : First. Nonconformity to the world 
 ( Eom. 12 : 1-3 ) . Men to have their heads uncovered 
 and women their heads covered in time of prayer ( 1 
 Cor. 11: 1-16). To wear modest apparel, not to 
 dress in costly clothes, not to wear gold as an orna- 
 ment, nor to wear braided hair ( 1 Tim. 1 : 9-10 ; 1 
 Peter 3: 34). The letter and the spirit of these 
 scriptures if obeyed from the heart would make the 
 Brethren Church a very plainly-dressed people. 
 Second. The true Christian sometimes makes mis- 
 takes and needs reproof and correction. It was for 
 this very purpose that the inspired teachings are 
 given so that the man of God may be complete, 
 completely furnished unto all good works (2 Tim. 
 18:17). 
 
 " < 6. Can a proud heart be made humble by 
 simply placing certain forms on the outside?' 
 
 "Answer : No ; never. No more than you can 
 give a man a new heart by baptizing him, or make 
 him humble by having him engage in the ordinance 
 of feet-washing. Neither will the humble heart 
 place the garb of pride on his body. One says to 
 me, ' I am humble in heart and it doesn't matter 
 what I put on the body.' When I see such an one 
 decked in the tinsel of costly and fashionable ar-
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 261 
 
 ray, I always think of the old countryman who 
 bought a clock, and, finding that the hands did not 
 indicate the right time, took them to the clock mak- 
 er and said, ' These hands do not keep the right 
 kind of time. I want you to mend their ways.' The 
 man of clocks replied, ' My friend, you must bring 
 the clock to me, and I get inside of it and make that 
 right and the hands will point out the right 
 time.' If the dress of a man or woman is not in 
 line with the teaching and spirit of the Gospel, if 
 it is not becoming to those professing godliness, if 
 it is inconsistent with true humility, I always tell 
 them to go to Christ and get the heart set right, 
 and then the outside, the hands, will indicate the 
 correct style of dress. It must be from the inside 
 out and not from the outside in. Even unto this 
 day there are those who, having a form of godli- 
 ness, deny the power thereof (2 Tim. 3:5). 
 
 " ' 7. Can we find one instance upon record 
 where the Savior ever used any other method than 
 that of teaching and drawing men unto him by the 
 precious cords of love? ' 
 
 "Answer: We have the incidents in Christ's 
 life and methods of the cleansing of the temple 
 when he severely rebuked members of the Jewish 
 faith and drove them out, and of the teaching in 
 the parable, where men were compelled to come 
 to the feast. There are cases where, admonitions 
 failing, harsher measures were used by the apos- 
 tles. But the spirit of the teaching of Christ is 
 that of love and entreaty, and this spirit should 
 characterize his church. Excision is only to be 
 resorted to when love, entreaty, admonition and re- 
 proof fail time and again. As long as there are 
 signs of spiritual life and a disposition to be led
 
 262 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 in the right way, harsh means should not be re- 
 sorted to. 
 
 "'8. If we are his true followers (which I 
 trust we are) , dare we use any other way than lead- 
 ing and teaching the people to live temperately 
 and consistently in all things, to God's glory? ' 
 
 "Answer : As stated under No. 7, only in ex- 
 press cases should resort be made to the severity 
 of expulsion. Where a principle is at stake and 
 love and entreaty and admonition and reproof fail, 
 as they sometimes do, and there is a going world- 
 ward instead of living to God's glory, then, and 
 then only, should Paul's harsher measure, excom- 
 munication, be resorted to. 
 
 " ' 9. Should we not all exercise a good deal 
 more charity and forbearance and patience toward 
 those who cannot see things as we do? ' 
 
 "Answer : Yes. Let love abound, and let pa- 
 tience have her perfect work. None of us are as 
 patient, and as loving and as kind as we ought to 
 be. We must have forbearance and we must receive 
 the weak but not to doubtful disputation (Rom. 
 14:1). 
 
 " ' 10. Which should we obey, God or man? ' 
 
 "Answer : Obey God rather than man, always 
 and under every conceivable condition. If man 
 forbids you to be a witness for Jesus or to speak 
 his name, pay no attention to him, even if it brings 
 you stripes and death. If man forbids you to obey 
 all the commandments of the Gospel, if he counts 
 you as the offscouring of the earth, because you 
 have an humble heart inside and outgrowth of an 
 humble heart on the outside in the form of modest, 
 inexpensive apparel, go on your way, obeying from 
 the heart that form of doctrine to which you have
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 263 
 
 been delivered, rejoicing in your heart, for great is 
 your reward in heaven. If ostracism, persecution, 
 stripes, imprisonment, suffering and death come 
 to us because we follow the lowly Nazarene, let us 
 follow him all the way, for we know that all who 
 live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution 
 (2 Tim. 3:12). 
 
 " I have now, my dear brother, followed close- 
 ly along the line of the questions you have asked. 
 In the fear of God I have answered, realizing that 
 I must give an account for what I have written. I 
 have used my best judgment and I am fully per- 
 suaded that the answers are according to the Word 
 of God. As such I submit them to your careful 
 and prayerful consideration. Receive them only so 
 far as they accord with the truth. That far you 
 are under obligation to receive them. 
 
 " I am much concerned about the present con- 
 dition of the church, of which the difficulties in 
 your congregation are an exemplification. I recog- 
 nize the gravity of the situation and very much 
 fear, unless wise counsels prevail, that another di- 
 vision is imminent. May God in his wisdom avert 
 such a calamity. We have passed through one or- 
 deal, and that ought to be enough to last the church 
 until the coming of the Master. 
 
 " I am very glad for one statement in your let- 
 ter, that you do not intend to leave the church. Let 
 us stay by the church. Rather give up some of our 
 views than to bring devastation that will surely 
 follow another division. I would counsel you all to 
 stand by the church and accept the committee re- 
 port. If there is a needed change in methods let 
 us secure it as a united body at our Annual Meet- 
 ing. We must stand together. I do not always
 
 264 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 have what I want from the Conference, but I am 
 willing to let my notions pass and accept the voice 
 of the Conference so long as it does not ask me to 
 go contrary to the great principles of the Gospel. 
 Last year I verily believed that a modification of 
 our position on life insurance should pass the meet- 
 ing, but when two-thirds of the Conference could 
 not be had to vote in favor of the change, I bowed in 
 submission to the decision. I know no other way 
 to do and at the same time maintain the unity of 
 the church. 
 
 " I have taken a good deal of time to give you 
 careful and considerate answer to your letter and 
 the questions you have asked. May God so direct 
 that the peace and unity of the church be main- 
 tained and may we more and more glorify his 
 great name by living the Christ life. Yours in 
 Christ, 
 
 " D. L. Miller/' 
 
 " Jan. 14, 1914. 
 
 " To be economical, to save what God blesses 
 you with so as to be able to give to all good things 
 and to the poor and needy is a noble virtue, and 
 one, it seems to me, all too scarce among professing 
 Christians. But to oppress the poor wage earner, 
 to use graft to increase one's income has always 
 been and always will be wrong. Tainted money 
 will never buy virtue and righteousness. And yet 
 there is the other side. As for me I shall not be 
 too severe on the other fellow, for I cannot look 
 into the heart of the moderately rich man and know 
 his motives. God alone can do that. As for my- 
 self, I should be afraid to die rich. A brother who 
 has been hoarding his wealth said to me, ' Brother
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 265 
 
 Dan, I could die easier if I did not have so much 
 money." 
 
 " Sept. 22, 1914. 
 
 " We are so often misunderstood in this world. 
 ' For now we see through a glass darkly, but then 
 face to face; now I know in part, but then shall 
 I know even as I am known.' To me this will be 
 the great joy of heaven. Nothing hid, no misunder- 
 standing, no heartaches for a lack of appreciation. 
 You will be able to look into my heart and know 
 me as God knows me and I shall have the same 
 blessing." 
 
 " You know we are not always conscious of 
 our faults, and that is, no doubt, true in my case. 
 I have tried to do my best and these days I come to 
 feel that my best has been poor indeed. Not what 
 I have done will count in the end, but what Christ 
 has done for me." 
 
 ON CHRISTMAS 
 
 " Dec. 24, 1912. 
 
 " Maybe that it's the Christmas spirit that has 
 got hold of me and makes me feel kindly toward 
 everybody. I have been helping a bit to bring 
 cheer into homes where poverty finds an abiding 
 place and it makes me feel good. 
 
 " i For the world is full of roses, and the roses 
 
 full of dew, 
 
 And the dew is full of heavenly love that 
 drips for me and you.' 
 
 " Tomorrow we will have a quiet Christmas. 
 Just Mother, Minnie and I. There is to be a roast
 
 266 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 chicken, cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes. So 
 much I have learned of the bill of fare. As to the 
 chicken I cut its head off this A. M. The bloody 
 deed was done, as befits such murder, in the dark 
 cellar, and the fowl's blood flowed in a box with the 
 lid put on after the headless bird was in. 
 
 " God bless you all and bring to you good 
 Christmas cheer." 
 
 ^C i|i ijf ^f % 
 
 CHURCH GOVERNMENT 
 
 " Jan. 1, 1912. 
 
 " Your research on the question of Church 
 Government is interesting. I went over the ques- 
 tion years ago and settled it for myself, that the 
 Church of the Brethren comes nearest to the Scrip- 
 ture of any that I could find. While I did not find 
 it perfect, I found it better to my liking than any 
 other. I could not accept Erastianism, and the 
 doctrine that the church was without external or- 
 ganization I could not accept for a single minute. 
 The popish theory was the most repugnant of all 
 to my notion of things, and also to the Scriptures 
 as I understood them. The prelatical theory, hold- 
 ing firmly to apostolic succession, so ably discussed, 
 and its weakness shown by Stein in the Stein and 
 Ray debate, was not to be considered a moment 
 if I adhered to the Scriptures. Thus by systematic 
 study and rejection I centered on two forms, the 
 Congregational and the Brethren's. Sifted down 
 to the kernel, Congregationalism holds that the 
 governing body or power is in the organized congre- 
 gation. Each worshiping assembly is complete in 
 itself and independent in itself, and for the life of 
 me I never could see but that, carried to its logical 
 conclusion, it meant individualism, and that is
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 267 
 
 not in harmony with the thought that the ' church 
 is the body of Christ.' By elimination I came to 
 our own firmly-grounded scriptural doctrine of 
 church government. The congregation is the unit 
 of power, transacts its own affairs, decides upon 
 the necessary qualifications of membership, has 
 power of excommunication, and every member, 
 male and female, has right of vote. The visible 
 church is one in the sense that the smaller part is 
 subject to a larger, and the larger to the whole. 
 Bishops and ministers are the highest permanent 
 officers, and these are to be followed only so far as 
 they follow Christ. The Annual Conference is but 
 the representative body of the whole church, and 
 has power of the whole only when it acts in con-> 
 formity with the Scriptures. It is not legislative, 
 but executive in its authority. It has made mis- 
 takes and righted them and will make more. It is 
 a human organization, divinely authorized, and 
 divinely approved when it meets in the Spirit of 
 God and all its delegates are Spirit-filled men. The 
 whole scheme to my mind comes nearer the teach- 
 ings and the spirit of the Scriptures than any other 
 form I have found, and I accepted it years ago 
 fully and unreservedly." 
 
 4c $ 4c $ $ 
 
 ABOUT THE DEATH OF BROTHER J. Gr. KOYER 
 
 " Feb. 9, 1917. 
 
 "Aside from your mother and Mary I feel that 
 no one at Mount Morris will miss your father as I 
 will, if I return. I have already intimated to you 
 that Mount Morris will never be to me what it was 
 when he was there. He was in my home so often 
 and we talked over church problems and our own
 
 268 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 personal experiences so many times in real heart- 
 to-heart talks that I shall miss him so much. In 
 a way I do not feel like going back to Mount Mor- 
 ris again. Mother and I have now planned to 
 stay here until Annual Meeting time, and then 
 come back here again if all goes well with us. Of 
 course this may be changed, but it seems now that 
 we shall do that way. Then if we are spared we 
 may spend another winter here. 
 
 " The departure of your father has also deep- 
 ly impressed me that I am among the aged. Eeally, 
 I have been unable to realize this. Somehow it 
 seemed out of the question to me mentally that I 
 had lived over seventy-five years. In a little over 
 four and a half years, if the Lord spare, I shall be 
 eighty, and I know that when one reaches that age 
 he is an old man. When I was your age I used to 
 say, ' If the Lord spares me I still have t\venty 
 years to work.' That time has passed so swiftly 
 that I cannot tell how the years have fled. 
 
 " The respect shown to your father is only a 
 manifestation of the good he did among those who 
 came in touch with him. His life was full of good 
 works, and as I always understood him he never 
 rested his hope of salvation on good works but on 
 Christ and him crucified." 
 
 ^C jfc JJC ^C j(c 
 
 ON THE WAR 
 
 " May 14, 1917. 
 
 " Just before I left home I read Carlyle's his- 
 tory of Frederick the Great, the second king of 
 Prussia. When his father William died he as- 
 cended the throne and at once marched his army 
 over into Silesia, Austrian territory, and held it.
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 269 
 
 Prussia was then not larger than the six coun- 
 ties of Northern Illinois and had a population of 
 but 7,000,000 souls. Frederick had a three years' 
 war with the great Austrian Empire and came out 
 ahead and held Silesia. Later he had a seven 
 years' war with England, Kussia, Austria and 
 France. His little Prussian army fought seven 
 years and Frederick came out ahead and still held 
 Silesia. He also added other territory to little 
 Prussia. The present Hohenzollern, the German 
 Emperor, is of the family of Frederick the Great 
 and has his ambition and support of the German 
 people. If the Allies hope to crush Germany they 
 must not look for the war to close at an early date, 
 and the United States has bit off a mighty mouth- 
 ful and will learn something before this war is 
 over. The Germans are as loyal to their emperor 
 as any people can be. They believe he was 
 appointed by God to rule Germany and make it the 
 ruling nation of the world. We hear only one side 
 of affairs now. The Germans up to date have had 
 remarkable success. When the history of this 
 war is correctly written we will read many things 
 
 to surprise us." 
 
 * * # * * 
 
 " The manifestation of human weakness only 
 confirms me in my often-expressed opinion that 
 there is a limitation to all human strength, talents 
 and even virtues. Nature is not uniform in distrib- 
 uting her gifts. When she makes a man great, or 
 strong in this or that line, she often leaves him 
 deficient in other respects, like Samson with his 
 locks clipped, as weak as other men. We must not 
 remember men by their weaknesses, but by their 
 whole life, their efforts to do good and their desires
 
 270 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 to do right. So David, the man after God's own 
 heart, must be remembered, not by his fatal weak- 
 ness, but by his strength, especially by the great 
 book of the Old Testament in which are found the 
 beautiful and glorious songs of the ' sweet singer 
 of Israel.' It would seem that Jesus recognized 
 the human limitation when he illustrated a great 
 truth by the story of the talents, and when he said 
 no one is good save God. So when we think of the 
 weakness of others let us remember the good in 
 others." 
 
 ))t $ $ $ $ 
 
 " Nov. 23, 1917. 
 
 " Personally I am having peace and joy. I 
 am using my strongest efforts these times to think 
 no evil or say an unkind word about any one. God 
 has so abundantly blessed me and I have so much 
 to be thankful for. From the very depths of my 
 heart I thank him."
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 SERMONS 
 
 FATHEE MILLER preached from outlines 
 carefully inserted in Ms Bible. One of Ms fa- 
 vorite themes to talk about was love, and he 
 often used the thirteenth chapter of First Corin- 
 tMans as a text for his addresses. " The Marks of 
 the Lord Jesus " was another sermon he frequently 
 used, and it was with that subject that he closed 
 his last series of meetings at Welsh Kun a few 
 weeks before his death. For years he had been one 
 of the best-liked speakers at the Conferences, and 
 some idea of the care he took in preparing these 
 addresses can be gathered from the one on "China." 
 The truth of the Bible ; a belief in good works, 
 hope, faith and love, not as a means to salvation, 
 but the natural growth of a Christian life, the 
 crowning gift of which is redemption through Je- 
 sus Christ; and 'a firm conviction that primitive 
 Christianity was the only true expression of 
 Christ's teachings were the underlying themes of 
 all of his public utterances. The greatest sermon 
 of all was his life, for he literally lived Ms teach- 
 ings. As one friend wrote Mother Miller after his 
 death, " I believe that Mr. Miller was the most 
 
 271
 
 272 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 Christlike man I have ever known/' so he strove 
 first to live the Christ life, and then taught it. 
 
 THE MARKS OF THE LORD JESUS 
 A sermon preached by Bishop D. L. Miller in 
 the Kailway Library at Bulsar, India, Sunday 
 evening, Dec. 11, 1904, from the text, " From hence- 
 forth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my 
 body the marks of the Lord Jesus." This is copied 
 as reported in the Bombay Guardian, issue of Jan. 
 21,1905: 
 
 " Turning to the Kevised Version, we find a 
 change in the language of the apostle which makes 
 the figure more striking. The language is, ' I bear 
 branded on my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.' 
 The illustration is drawn from the ancient cus- 
 tom of branding slaves. The master of slaves 
 caused his initials, or symbol, to be placed upon 
 an iron, and this was heated and pressed upon the 
 palm of the hand or on the forehead, and thus the 
 owner's name was branded upon the body of the 
 slave. 
 
 " From this custom of branding we have the 
 root of our word ' stigmatize,' coming from the 
 word ' stigma.' So that when the apostle said that 
 he bore upon his body the marks of the Lord Jesus, 
 he gave the idea that it was not an honorable mark 
 in the eyes of the world. This thought is fully in 
 accord with what he says in another place, when 
 referring to the Christians, ' for we are counted as 
 the offscouring of the earth.' 
 
 " Bearing marks on the body is frequently re- 
 ferred to in the Bible. In the book of Kevelation
 
 SERMONS 273 
 
 we are told the time will come when Christians 
 will not be allowed to buy or sell unless they bear 
 the mark of the beast in the forehead. 
 
 "Among the Jews, in early times, it was cus- 
 tomary to mark on the flesh by cutting or tattooing. 
 The Israelites received this custom from their as- 
 sociation with the people of Egypt. And even to 
 this day, in Nubia and Abyssinia, many of the peo- 
 ple bear great scars on their facers, from the ancient 
 custom of making cuttings in the flesh. 
 
 " This had become so common that when Moses 
 led the children of Israel out of Egypt, the Lord 
 gave commandment that they should make no cut- 
 ting in the flesh, nor print any marks on the body. 
 In India it is so common for the idol worshiper to 
 bear the marks of the idol he worships, on his 
 forehead, that reference to it need scarcely be 
 made. I believe, however, as in the days of the 
 Israelites, so today, all such markings are an 
 abomination in the sight of God. 
 
 " While Paul doubtless referred to some of the 
 physical marks he bore, we are to look deeper than 
 this for the full significance of the text. There was 
 no question but that his body was scarred, and bore 
 deep marks of his sufferings for the cause of Christ. 
 Five times was he beaten with forty stripes save 
 one. He was stoned and left by the wayside in a 
 condition that led his persecutors to believe that 
 he was dead. And he could not have passed through 
 these sufferings without bearing the marks upon 
 his body. And when we recall to mind that cruel 
 instrument of torture, the Roman scourge, it can 
 easily be believed that he bore on his body the 
 same marks borne by our Lord Jesus.
 
 274 LIFE OF D. L. MPLLER 
 
 " But we turn from the physical to the spirit- 
 ual nature of man. If we are to be worthy the 
 name of Christians, we must have not only a form 
 of godliness, but the indwelling power of the Holy 
 Ghost. We must have branded on our hearts and 
 souls the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in 
 this the Christian religion commends itself as be- 
 ing better than all other religions in the world. 
 It is essentially a heart religion. It takes away the 
 evil conscience, purifies the soul and makes clean 
 the heart. While other so-called religions are made 
 up largely of outward forms, of image worship, of 
 idol ceremonies, of fasting and feasting and de- 
 bauchery, the religion of Christ brings all the appe- 
 tites into subjection to his righteous will. 
 
 " The marks of the world and of sin are ap- 
 parent on every hand. The man who indulges in 
 strong drink, who has fallen into the vice of in- 
 temperance, bears branded all over his face the 
 marks of the drunkard. 
 
 " The licentious man bears upon his face 
 marks of his impure heart. He may think that he 
 can hide what is within, but sin has left its mark 
 upon his face, and he can never approach a pure, 
 virtuous man or woman without detection. And so 
 crime of every kind leaves its sure mark upon those 
 who engage in it. 
 
 " While sin leaves its mark upon its victims, 
 righteousness, holiness, and godliness also stamp 
 themselves upon the features of the true followers 
 of Christ. And O my Christian brethren, I would 
 that we were branded for Christ, for we are not 
 our own, we are bought with a price, even the 
 precious blood of the Son of God !
 
 SERMONS 275 
 
 " These brands upon us and these marks we 
 bear are to be so distinct that we may be known as 
 Christians wherever we are, ' For ye are my epis- 
 tles known and read of all men.' 'And they took 
 knowledge of them that they had been with Christ.' 
 * Let your light so shine before men that they may 
 see your good works, and glorify your Father which 
 is in heaven.' 
 
 " The religion of Jesus Christ is not like a gar- 
 ment, that you can lay off and put on at pleasure ; 
 not like your best coat, kept for special occasions, 
 which, for example, is worn to church on the Lord's 
 Day, and in the evening taken off, brushed up, and 
 laid aside until the next Lord's Day. The religion 
 of the Lord Jesus is so deeply branded on the body 
 and into the heart that we wear it every hour of 
 every day of every week of every month of every 
 year, of all the days and weeks and months and 
 years that God shall give us to live in this world. 
 
 " One of the special marks to be deeply 
 branded upon the heart is the Love Mark. 
 
 " This mark is the real test of discipleship in 
 Christ. ' By this shall all men know that ye are 
 my disciples, if ye have love one for another.' 
 
 " There is nothing whatever in mere name. 
 Christ did not say, ' If ye have been baptized,' ' If 
 ye have your name written on a church book,' ' If 
 ye have washed the saints' feet,' ' If ye salute your 
 brethren,' ' If you make long prayers,' ' If ye fast 
 often,' that i by these signs shall men know that ye 
 are my disciples.' But he did say, ' If ye love one 
 another all men shall know that ye are my dis- 
 ciples,' his brethren and his sisters. 
 
 " Love places the employer and the employed
 
 276 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 on the same common level, each interested in the 
 welfare of the other. The same relation that ex- 
 isted between Boaz and his reapers will exist be- 
 tween every employer and employee who has the 
 love of God in his heart. 'And behold, Boaz came 
 from Bethlehem and said unto the reapers, " The 
 Lord be with you," and they answered him, " The 
 Lord bless thee." Beloved, I want to say to you 
 in this country that the employer who enjoys at- 
 tending services on the Lord's Day, having the love 
 of God in his heart, will not fail to see to it that 
 his servant has a chance to attend services, too, 
 that day, if he wants to. 
 
 " When the Pharisees came to Christ and 
 asked him which is the first commandment, his re- 
 ply showed the high estimate he placed upon love : 
 ' Hear, O Israel ; the Lord, our God, is one Lord : 
 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
 heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, 
 and with all thy strength: this is the first com- 
 mandment.' 
 
 " Logically following the love mark is that of 
 obedience. If we are branded for Christ, if we 
 bear in our hearts the marks of the Lord Jesus, 
 if we love God with all the mind, heart, soul and 
 strength, our greatest joy will be in doing the 
 things that he has told us. ' If ye love me, ye will 
 keep my sayings.' 
 
 " Between the child of God and his Creator 
 there can be no argument or contest as to the 
 things that God has told him to do. Whenever the 
 creature disputes with God, he sets himself, the 
 ego, the ' I,' above God, and thus becomes a self- 
 worshiper and is guilty of idolatry. So it was
 
 SERMONS 277 
 
 with Saul when he presumed to set aside the com- 
 mandment of God and walk according to his own 
 wisdom. The prophet Samuel rebuked him most 
 severely in these remarkable words : ' Behold, to 
 obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than 
 the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of 
 witchcraft, and stubbornness as iniquity and idol- 
 atry.' 
 
 " So with the child of God who bears the marks 
 of the Lord Jesus, the love mark and the obedience 
 mark, he will be found joyfully and gladly obeying 
 everything that the Lord has told him to do, and 
 refraining from those things that he has been told 
 not to do. i Love your enemies, bless them that 
 curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray 
 for them that despitefully use you and persecute 
 you. Swear not at all, neither by heaven nor by 
 earth, nor by any other oath.' If all professing 
 Christians had the love and obedience marks so 
 branded on their hearts that they would refuse to 
 take up arms, go to war and kill other men, who are 
 just as good as they are, wars would cease upon the 
 earth, and we would not need to witness today a 
 great Christian nation, instead of taking the Gos- 
 pel of Peace to a heathen nation, trying to crush 
 them by the strength of arms. 
 
 " O Christian men, O you who uphold the Gos- 
 pel of love and mercy and kindness, O you who 
 lack no sympathy with the society for the preven- 
 tion of cruelty to animals, let us take our stand 
 firmly against the horrible cruelties, the carnage, 
 the bloodshed and the murder of modern warfare ! 
 The most effective protest the individual can make 
 against war is that he himself shall in no wise 
 become partner in the crime.
 
 278 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 "Worldly societies have their marks the 
 three links of the Odd Fellows, the square and com- 
 pass of the Masons, the bronze button of the Grand 
 Army of the Kepublic. Why should not Christians 
 also be known by their simplicity in life and dress, 
 by the absence of the cold formalities of society, 
 and by a distaste for all those things that are most 
 highly esteemed among the pleasure seekers of 
 the world? 
 
 "A third mark that every Christian should 
 have is that of witnessing for Christ. This is not 
 the duty of the preacher only, but of every mem- 
 ber of the body of Christ. ' Ye are my witnesses.' 
 The rapid spread of the Gospel in apostolic days 
 was not the immediate result of the preaching of 
 the apostles, but it did result from the fact that 
 those who were scattered abroad in all parts of 
 the Orient went everywhere, bearing witness for 
 Christ. The strongest preacher in the world is the 
 humble Christian who settles down in a commun- 
 ity, labors with his own hands and lives the Christ 
 life, showing to his fellows that he has the love 
 mark and the obedience mark and the witness mark 
 branded on his heart. A thousandfold stronger 
 and more eloquent are his sermons hour by hour 
 and day by day than the orations of the worldly- 
 minded preacher whose life is very often out of 
 harmony with his teaching ! 
 
 " If the Christian people of all ranks, who are 
 domiciled in India, were to take up the gospel story 
 as did the Christians of the early centuries, and 
 tell it to their fellow-men because they believe it is 
 the truth of God, the wonderful story of how India 
 became Christian would, in a very few years, chal-
 
 SERMONS 279 
 
 lenge the admiration of the world ! This is a great 
 opportunity standing knocking at your doors! 
 
 " The man of God who bears these marks about 
 him will be humble in the true sense of the word. 
 He will not be so much concerned as to the place he 
 occupies in life, or to the publicity given to the 
 acts of his life, as he will be about loving his fellow- 
 men, obeying Christ, and bearing witness for him. 
 " I am not concerned for reputation, as men say, 
 
 My business is to please him day by day. 
 I've no desire to be 'mong men one widely known, 
 
 I seek to worthy stand before his throne." 
 
 ADDRESS ON CHINA 
 
 " China is one of the most densely-populated 
 countries in the world. There are millions and 
 millions of people there who have never heard the 
 Gospel, and we want to send missionaries to tell 
 them the glad tidings of the Gospel. You have 
 heard that they were killing missionaries. You 
 have heard that they were massacring the foreign- 
 ers, and it has been a surprise to me since I have 
 been there and learned the conditions, learned the 
 history of the country, the dealings of the so-called 
 Christian nations with them I will not say Chris- 
 tian nations I will modify that by saying the so- 
 called Christian nations it is a surprise to me 
 that they would allow missionaries to land in their 
 country. And the reason I make this statement I 
 will give to you. 
 
 " You have heard something of the opium war. 
 In 1834 the English Government took over the 
 East India Company and assumed entire control 
 of India. Prior to this time the East India Com- 
 pany, finding an excellent field for the growth of
 
 280 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 the poppy and the manufacture of opium, started 
 its cultivation along the Ganges. And in order to 
 make a market for it you know it does not make 
 much difference how much corn you raise, if you 
 cannot sell it in order to get a market, they sent 
 a cargo to China and distributed it free among the 
 people, in order to create an appetite for its use 
 and thus create a market for it : very much like the 
 manufacture of cigarets in this country. They put 
 a little bit of opium into the cigarets so as to cre- 
 ate an appetite for the tobacco and opium together. 
 So when the East India Company found its opium 
 business started, they found that there was consid- 
 erable revenue accruing to the government annual- 
 ly. The Chinese emperor a heathen, understand 
 me the Chinese emperor, a heathen, protested to 
 the head of the English church, the queen of Eng- 
 land, a Christian, and protested against the send- 
 ing of opium into his country. He said: 
 
 " i You are sending something that destroys 
 the soul and body of the people of my country and I 
 want to protect them from it. 7 
 
 " But the English did not listen, did not take 
 any account of that. The plea was that ' we have 
 got to have money to run the government ' ; just as 
 our city fathers will tell you that we have to have 
 money from saloon licenses to run the city. And so 
 it was there. 
 
 " The Chinese emperor said to his people that 
 all of them found smoking opium or using it in any 
 way would have to be put to death, and he took a 
 number of them down before the opium manufac- 
 turer of Canton and had them beheaded. This didn't 
 stop it. Then he sent his officers to Canton to the
 
 SERMONS 281 
 
 British factory, and they seized 21,000 chests of opi- 
 um, worth about $6,000,000. They dug two long 
 trenches out by the river side, threw a lot of un- 
 slacked lime on the opium and poured water on 
 it and absolutely destroyed it. That opium never 
 hurt anybody after that. 
 
 " But the Chinaman had to pay the bill. Eng- 
 land sent over three warships, which bombarded 
 Canton and killed two or three thousand China- 
 men. A few Englishmen were killed. It was like 
 a brutal giant going in with a club and killing a lot 
 of children. The Chinese are peaceable. They 
 didn't know anything about war and don't know it 
 yet. The result of that wholesale murder for I 
 can call it nothing else was that the Chinese sued 
 for peace and a treaty was made. The English 
 Government demanded of China $21,000,000 as an 
 indemnity and the opening of five ports, Canton, 
 Hongkong, Amoy, Fuchau and Shanghai for the 
 introduction of opium, and also took from China 
 the island of Hongkong, where the city of Hong- 
 kong now stands. 
 
 " When the commissioners met to determine 
 the treaty of peace, the Chinamen said to the Eng- 
 ishmen, ' Now can't you deal fairly with us? Can't 
 you stop growing poppies and shipping this stuff 
 here?' The Englishmen said, i You teach your 
 people to be virtuous and stop using opium and we 
 will stop shipping it to you.' That is the only re- 
 ply they ever got. The result was that opium was 
 introduced into China, until there are tens of 
 thousands of Chinamen who are smoking them- 
 selves into insensibility, and we talk of them as 
 being a low people because of that. But is it not
 
 282 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 a fact that the white men and I am ashamed to 
 know that I am a white man when I say these 
 things is it not a fact, in the treatment of those 
 people by a Christian nation, that there has been 
 placed on the escutcheon of civilization one of the 
 darkest blots it bears today? 
 
 " Then followed the wars of 1860 and 1900, 
 the German Emperor taking a slice of the Chinese 
 Empire, and the French people taking another, 
 and the English another and the Kussian another, 
 robbing and stealing from them. 
 
 "And remember, now, the main point, that the 
 Chinamen could not differentiate between the mis- 
 sionary who comes from England, comes from the 
 country whose people did this kind of thing, and 
 the missionary who comes from America. The 
 Chinamen says to both of them. ' You are a propa- 
 gandist of political teaching, and we do not want 
 you here.' I am not surprised that conditions are 
 as they are, and that there is this prejudice against 
 the missionary. 
 
 " Can we open a church there? I wish we could 
 have uncovered our peace principles long ago. I 
 wish the world knew that there was a people will- 
 ing to go to China today who would say, i We are 
 not after your money or your territory, and we do 
 not want to subvert your government; but as 
 peaceable, loving citizens of the kingdom of God, 
 we come to bring the name of Jesus Christ to you. 
 And so long as your government does not ask us 
 to do anything contrary to the teaching of Christ, 
 we will obey all of your laws. We are not men of 
 war. We do not fight.' I believe if we can me- 
 morialize the Chinese Government and let them
 
 SERMONS 283 
 
 know our peace principles, we can go to China and 
 receive a welcome there. 
 
 " Before the Tartar invasion of China, up un- 
 til the opium war, the Chinese had no war. Just 
 think of it! Two hundred years without war! 
 They are a kindly, peaceable people who know noth- 
 ing about fighting. If they had been left alone, 
 there would have been no war in China until this 
 day. Our Missionary Committee has decided to 
 make an effort to open a mission in China. But 
 first it will memorialize the Chinese Government. 
 It will set forth that we are not political propa- 
 gandists, but religious teachers, teaching the peace- 
 ful religion of Jesus Christ, and then it will proper- 
 ly organize a mission band with a good, strong 
 leader and a medical man and send them to start 
 the mission. It may take a year or two, but we 
 ought to proceed along lines that will insure the 
 greatest possible results in the end. 
 
 "Another thing about the Chinese : they have 
 a very old civilization. When our grandfathers, 
 and great-grandfathers, and great-great-grandfa- 
 thers, going back eleven centuries, were living in 
 caves and dens in northern Europe and clothing 
 themselves with the skins of wild animals, the Chi- 
 nese were manufacturing silks and wearing them 
 in China. Long before we knew anything about 
 clocks, they had clocks in China. Long before Gu- 
 tenberg invented movable type, the Chinese had 
 movable type and printed with it. They invented 
 gunpowder, and two thousand years ago made 
 glass vases. Solomon said, ' Do not look upon 
 wine when it is red in the glass.' We say red in 
 the cup. And Voltaire said that the Bible was not
 
 284 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 true because glass had not been invented when the 
 Bible was written. Don't you know that vases 
 were made in glass and cups were made in glass in 
 China more than one thousand years before that 
 word was put into the Bible? 
 
 " They are a remarkable people and very con- 
 servative exceedingly conservative. The reason 
 for that is that they reverence their parents. If 
 there is a people on earth who live up to the fifth 
 commandment, which bids us to honor our father 
 and mother, the Chinese are that people. They 
 not only reverence their parents living, but dead. 
 When a Chinaman dies and has a large estate, it 
 is divided among his sons. If he dies and has a 
 large number of debts, the payment is divided 
 among his sons and the sons see that those debts 
 are paid. Think of that a moment, and think about 
 the lessons we might learn from that, the lesson 
 that Jesus Christ gave when the question of in- 
 heritance came up. There has been more trouble 
 made in the world about inheritance than anything 
 else. These people not only divide the inheritance, 
 but divide the father's debts and see that they are 
 paid. They do not want a stain to rest on the fa- 
 ther's memory after he is dead and gone. These 
 people have these principles founded well in them, 
 and I believe they would make very good brethren 
 and sisters. They are exceedingly conservative 
 because they say i Father did it this way, and I do 
 not want it changed from that.' That is their be- 
 lief. 
 
 " I saw them weaving silk at Canton with an 
 old-fashioned loom that had been used in Canton 
 two thousand years ago and it had not changed.
 
 SERMONS 285 
 
 See one of them coming to this country with his 
 queue, his l pig-tail ' as it is called. You can offer no 
 greater insult to a Chinaman than to cut off his 
 queue. If you did, he would do as David did with 
 the men who went over to the enemy. David sent 
 word that they should remain at Jericho until their 
 beards were grown again. The Chinaman will re- 
 main in seclusion until his hair has grown the prop- 
 er length. 
 
 " I was very much interested not only in their 
 silk weaving but their carving and industries of 
 different kinds. I will give you an illustration. 
 They take a ball of ivory, which is perfectly round 
 and perfectly smooth. Ivory is the hardest bony 
 substance in the world. I saw an ivory ball of that 
 kind which had carved out inside of it another ball 
 of lesser size, and then another inside of that, and 
 another inside of that until there were twenty-one 
 balls carved out of one piece of ivory. I used to do 
 a little carving in soft wood when I was a boy, and 
 I thought I did a great thing when I carved out of 
 a piece of pine two links and a swivel and one ball 
 inside, but I shall have to give all of that up after 
 seeing what a Chinaman did. They carve ivory 
 in the finest possible shape. I say this to show how 
 bright they are. 
 
 " In San Francisco, and all over Cali- 
 fornia, you will notice that the vegetable 
 markets are in their hands. You do not 
 find a Chinaman in jail or in any riots, but they 
 tend strictly to business. A Chinaman is a vegeta- 
 ble raiser and seller. I do not wonder at that after 
 seeing the vegetables raised in China. I think of 
 all the places in the world I saw the finest vegeta- 
 bles raised in China.
 
 286 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 "And as to their reception of travelers, they 
 told me when I went to Canton I must be very care- 
 ful because there was a good deal of disturbance. 
 I did not want to get into any disturbance. I be- 
 lieve in peace and I am awful sorry that we have 
 lighted our candle, and instead of letting it shine 
 over the world, as we might have done, we have 
 covered it under a bushel. We did that at Harris- 
 burg. We came near memorializing the government 
 and telling them about our peace principles, but 
 some of the brethren thought that it was not the 
 best thing to do. 
 
 " Now I will tell you how I was treated in 
 Canton. I got in a chair. That is the only way 
 to go through the city. It would be safe, but it 
 would not be wise to try and thread your way 
 through Canton. I got into the chair and two 
 men carried it. It was swung between two bam- 
 boo poles and their ends placed upon the shoul- 
 ders of two men, and in that way was carried 
 through the city. We had not gone far before they 
 said, 
 
 " ' Melican man too much heavy : must have 
 another coolie.' 
 
 " They thought I was too big, and then they 
 got another man. And then pretty soon they said 
 they must have another man. So they got four 
 men to carry me through the city. We went through 
 the crowded city. It was a perfect jam wherever 
 I went, and I never had the slightest discourtesy 
 shown me. 
 
 "After we got through I went to the execution 
 grounds and to the temple and to the ivory carvers, 
 and then went into the silk shops and saw them
 
 SERMONS 287 
 
 weaving with the old-fashioned looms used by their 
 ancestors before them for two thousand years. And 
 after getting through, I dismissed the guide and 
 had the four men carry me back to the hotel alone, 
 and they never offered me the slightest discour- 
 tesy. If they had not been disturbed and robbed 
 and killed, I believe that with our Bible principles 
 we could go in there and get thousands of those 
 people converted to Christ, and I believe we will 
 do it anyway. I have faith enough to believe it 
 will be so ordered, because the world is coming to 
 our notions on this peace question. The Brethren 
 have held it for years. We held out against slav- 
 ery until the world came to our side. We have held 
 out against intemperance. We are the oldest tem- 
 perance society today in the world. I believe God 
 Almighty will bring the world around to our side 
 on the peace question. When these brethren and 
 sisters go to China and work patiently and teach 
 the true principle, showing that we are Christians, 
 not only in name but in fact, and that we carry out 
 every principle of the Gospel, when we can reach 
 them and touch them in this way, I say that I have 
 faith to believe that in the years to come we will 
 have just as many Christians in China as in the 
 United States/' 
 
 LIGHT AND HEARING 
 
 " i Ye are all the children of light, and the 
 children of the day. We are not of the night, nor 
 of darkness ' (1 Thess. 5:5). 
 
 " * Let every man be swift to hear and slow to 
 speak ' (James 1 : 19) . 
 
 " The Christian is the light of the world. And 
 Christ says, ' Let your light so shine before men
 
 288 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 that they may behold your good works,' and be in- 
 duced to turn to Christ. If you are in the light and 
 the light is in you, you don't have to ask the church 
 council whether you are spiritually minded, nor 
 the deacons whether you are growing worldly. 
 ' If the light that is in you be darkness, how great 
 is that darkness ! ' 
 
 "An old Oriental proverb says there are four 
 kinds of hearers the sponge, the funnel, the filter 
 and the sieve. The sponge absorbs all and gives 
 out none. These receive the light but give out no 
 light. These are they in whom the light is dark- 
 ness. 
 
 " I read that once upon a time came three 
 men to the Lord of the Great White Fire asking 
 for the light. ' Take it and use it,' said the Lord of 
 the Fire, and the men went on their way rejoicing. 
 One found his way to a dark valley, surrounded by 
 great, slimy, gloomy walls, where thousands of 
 men and women groped in darkness and were un- 
 able to find their way to the light. Then the man 
 took a bit of the great white fire which the Lord of 
 the Light had given him, and lighted a great torch, 
 and led the men and women out of the darkness in- 
 to the light. 
 
 "Another went out upon a great, cold, dreary 
 plain, swept by the winter winds, where men and 
 women were wet and cold and freezing to death. 
 And he lighted a great fire and warmed them 
 to life again. And there was rejoicing and happi- 
 ness and he led them into the way. 
 
 "And the third one said, * I will hide the fire 
 in my heart. I will hide it away from the cold
 
 SERMONS 289 
 
 blasts of the winter winds, where it will never be 
 harmed and never go out/ 
 
 " Then came three men to the entrance of 
 the way where the Lord of the Great White Fire 
 met them. And he said, ' What of the fire?' And 
 the first one said, ' I went into a great, deep, dark 
 valley surrounded by slimy walls, where there were 
 numbers of men and women groping in the dark- 
 ness, and I kindled a torch and led them into the 
 light.' And the Lord said, ' It is well. That light is 
 the light of eternal life and it shall never go out.' 
 
 "And the second one said, ' I went out on a 
 cold, dismal plain, where men and women were 
 freezing to death, and I kindled a great fire, and 
 they were warmed again into life, and went on 
 their way rejoicing.' And the Lord of the Light 
 said, ' It is well. The fire you kindled is the fire of 
 human kindness and it shall*never be extinguished.' 
 
 "And the third one said, ' I hid the fire in my 
 heart, where storms and winds could not affect it, 
 and it would not go out.' And the Lord touched the 
 man's heart, and behold it opened and there was a 
 little black coal and a few white ashes. Christian, 
 so let your light shine, that men may know that 
 you have been with Christ and learned of him. 
 
 " Then there are hearers who are like the fun- 
 nel. They take it in at -one ear and let it out at 
 the other. Everything that a funnel takes in runs 
 out at the other end. And so it is with some men 
 when they hear the Word of God. Once a preacher 
 preached a great heart-searching sermon. He did 
 not generalize, but he touched upon personal weak- 
 nesses and personal sins. The power of the Holy 
 Spirit was upon him and many who heard him were
 
 290 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 touched to the heart. There were in the congrega- 
 tion three men. James looked over where William 
 was sitting and said to himself, i I wonder if Wil- 
 liam is getting anything out of this sermon. It 
 fits him exactly and I hope he is getting it.' And 
 William looked over at James and said, ' I wonder 
 how it is with James. He surely needs this ser- 
 mon, and I am afraid he doesn't get out of it what 
 he should.' And John sitting back in a corner 
 said, i I wonder if those two old sinners up there 
 are getting out of this sermon what they ought to 
 have. They surely need it bad enough.' There was 
 a little saint in the audience down whose cheeks the 
 tears were streaming, because of her weaknesses, 
 and she went home and cast herself down by the 
 side of the bed on her knees and said, ' God help 
 me. God help me that I live a better life.' The 
 three men were funnel hearers. All they heard 
 they let go through their ears to some one else. 
 
 " Then the third class of hearers are like the 
 filter let out all the pure water and keep back the 
 filth. These are the critics. They will say, ' Well, 
 now, that preacher preached a right good sermon, 
 but his gestures were not right. He had his hands 
 in his pockets. He didn't seem to know where to 
 put his hands. He made mistakes in grammar. He 
 used a pronoun when he should not have used it. 
 He said many good things but ' and the ' but ' 
 goes down your back like an icicle, making you 
 shiver i he repeated his text too often.' Or per- 
 haps he did not repeat it often enough. The preach- 
 er said a great many good things, but the people 
 got only the mistakes he made, and the things he 
 didn't say quite right.
 
 SERMONS 291 
 
 "And the fourth are like the sieve. They put 
 the wheat and the dust into the sieve, and shake it, 
 and the dust and filth fall through and good wheat 
 remains. 
 
 " We should be swift to hear and slow to speak. 
 I have never myself repented of taking plenty of 
 time to think over a proposition before I spoke. 
 Many times I have repented too hasty speech. 
 
 " If you are tempted to reveal 
 
 A tale some one has told 
 About another, make it pass 
 
 Before you speak, three gates of gold 
 Three narrow gates. First, is it true? 
 
 Then, is it needful? In your mind 
 Give truthful answer. And the next 
 
 Is last and narrowest. Is it kind? 
 And if, to reach your lips at last, 
 
 It passes through these gateways three, 
 Then you may tell the tale, nor fear 
 
 What the result of speech may be." 
 
 LOVE 
 
 Sermon delivered by D. L. Miller, March 22, 
 1903, Elgin, Illinois : 
 
 " I call your attention this morning, beloved, to 
 the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians. The subject un- 
 der consideration is Love. And whilst I may speak 
 to you as God gives me ability, I ask an interest in 
 your prayers. And let me say, dear breth- 
 ren and sisters and Christian friends, that I do not 
 make this request as a matter of form, but I 
 mean that I would like to have the prayers of 
 every Christian person in this house this morning, 
 that this hour's service may be for our good and
 
 292 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 the honor and glory of God. I believe I have a right 
 to ask this. I have a strong faith in the earnest 
 and fervent prayer of the Christian man or woman, 
 and I believe I have this class here before me this 
 morning, and I ask you to pray for me while I 
 talk to you. 
 
 " I think it is generally considered that the 
 chapter read is one of the fullest and most complete 
 in the New Testament. There are only thirteen 
 verses in the chapter, and yet for fullness of expres- 
 sion and beauty of thought, outside of the Sermon 
 on the Mount there is not another scripture equal 
 to it. 
 
 " In the preceding chapter the apostle spoke of 
 the gift of healing, of prophecy, teachers and work- 
 ers of miracles, and at the close of the chapter he 
 tells us that we should covet the best gifts ; but he 
 says, ' Yet I show you a more excellent way.' Here 
 he has reference to the love of God. Of course you 
 will understand that in the revised version this 
 world ' charity ' is translated ( love,' and that is 
 the correct meaning. I am told that in ancient lan- 
 guages there are several words expressing the 
 meaning of love, but in our language we only have 
 one ' love.' 
 
 " We speak about the love of a wife for a hus- 
 band or a husband for a wife, a parent's love for 
 his child, God's love for Christ and Christ's love for 
 humanity. It is this love, my Christian friends, 
 that we are to look at this morning the love of 
 God for humanity. In order to show the impor- 
 tance of this love, the apostle speaks of it by draw- 
 ing contrasts. You remember when Christ was in
 
 SERMONS 293 
 
 the temple how the poor woman came and cast in 
 her two mites in the collection box of Jesus, draw- 
 ing the striking contrast between what she gave 
 and what the rich people gave. 
 
 " In the first verse of this chapter, the apostle 
 talks about eloquence. He says, ' Though I speak 
 with the tongues of men and of angels and have not 
 charity, I. am become as a sounding brass and a 
 tinkling cymbal.' In other words, he would say 
 that ' though I have the gift of eloquence, and I 
 might be able to move multitudes by it, and I might 
 have the silver tongues of angels, but if I did not 
 have the love of God in my heart, I am become as 
 a hollow and empty sound.' So you can see the con- 
 trast he draws here between love and eloquence. 
 
 " Then he goes farther and draws a contrast 
 between love and prophecy. He shows how I might 
 have power to unveil the future and lay before you 
 things that will come to pass in the future, yet if 
 I do not have in my heart the love of God, it profit- 
 eth me nothing. And then knowledge. You know 
 the effort we are making in this day and age of the 
 world to build colleges and establish institutions 
 of learning, and how men are striving and putting 
 forth their best efforts to secure a more extensive 
 knowledge of books, and yet we are told that with 
 all this getting of knowledge, if we have no love, it 
 profiteth nothing. 
 
 " We might go through high school, college, 
 university and then pursue some special course of 
 learning, and though we may have the utmost 
 learning, and have not love, it profiteth nothing, 
 for all earthly knowledge passes away. And so we 
 see the strong contrast the apostle draws here.
 
 294 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 Then he goes further and says, l Though I might 
 have faith to remove mountains and have not love, 
 I am nothing.' We might be able to say to yonder 
 mountain, * Be thou plucked up and cast into yon- 
 der sea/ and without love it would profit us noth- 
 ing. Then we have a contrast between sacrifice and 
 love. The prophet says, ' Though I bestow all my 
 goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body 
 to be burned and have not charity, it profiteth me 
 nothing.' Did you ever think of that? I know you 
 have. I would not have needed to ask that ques- 
 tion. If it were possible for a man to give all his 
 goods to feed the poor, if he did not have the love 
 of God in his heart, it would profit him nothing. 
 You may give all your goods, but you remember 
 what God says about a man giving his goods for the 
 praise of man. If you give them that way it doesn't 
 amount to much. You remember how the people 
 praised the Savior, and the very next day they were 
 crying, l Crucify him, crucify him ! ' But if a man 
 gives his goods to feed the poor, with the love of 
 God in his heart, then that is worth something, and 
 that is the way he must give, because he loves, be- 
 cause he has the love of God in his heart. There is 
 no one here this morning who has not thought of 
 this. 
 
 "Whether a man may be willing to be a martyr, 
 whether he is willing to give his body to be burned 
 as a sacrifice, it profits him nothing without it be 
 prompted by love and have you ever thought 
 about that? You remember the scene that oc- 
 curred on Mount Carmel, where Elijah built his 
 altar to God, and the worshipers of Baal built al- 
 tars to Baal, and the God that answered by kin- 
 dling the fire on the altar was to be recognized as
 
 SERMONS 295 
 
 the God to be worshiped. You know how from early 
 morning until noon they called aloud ' Baal, Baal ' 
 and how Elijah mocked them, saying, ' Call louder, 
 for maybe he is away from home, or perhaps asleep 
 and must be waked,' and then how they cried aloud 
 and cut themselves with knives until the blood 
 flowed, and they did this all the day until evening, 
 when Elijah called the people together and built his 
 altar and called upon the Lord to send fire and 
 show to the idol worshipers that he was God. With 
 this contrast before you you can see the impor- 
 tance of the love of God. 
 
 " I believe, as I believe that I am standing be- 
 fore you this morning, that the very foundation of 
 Christianity was the love of God (John 3 : 16) that 
 moved him to give his only begotten Son, that who- 
 soever believeth in him might not perish but have 
 everlasting life. 
 
 " During the reign of Queen Victoria, the last 
 and best Queen of England, perhaps some of you 
 remember reading of her daughter, the Princess 
 Alice, how when her little daughter was sick with 
 diphtheria when she was on the very verge of eter- 
 nity, and the doctors had warned her mother not to 
 come in close contact with the child on account of 
 her own safety. Just as the little one was dying 
 she looked up into her mother's eyes and said, 
 ' Mama, won't you kiss me? ' and Princess Alice 
 stooped and kissed her dying child and thus gave up 
 her life for her child. 
 
 "Another illustration of love is shown here 
 a little girl was walking along the street carry- 
 ing her little brother, and she seemed almost break- 
 ing down with the load when a man asked her if
 
 296 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 she wasn't tired, and the little girl replied, ' No, I 
 love him so.' 
 
 " The Apostle Paul gives the elements of this 
 love patience, endurance, etc. Drummond com- 
 pares it to a spectrum. You know if you have this 
 sunlight coming in the window shining through a 
 spectrum it will show the seven different colors on 
 the wall. 
 
 " I want to ask you brethren and sisters wheth- 
 er, if we have this love of God in our hearts, we 
 ought not to make manifest in our life the elements 
 of which it is composed. He says, ' For love suf- 
 fereth long.' That means longsuffering. It isn't 
 hard to be longsuffering when everything is going 
 your way. It hurts you a little more when you are 
 tired and tempted. Why, it is easy to say ' Broth- 
 er ' and ' Sister ' when everything goes our way. 
 Everything works together for good to them that 
 love the Lord. But when trials come in our lives, 
 then it requires this love of God in our hearts to 
 say ' Everything works together for good to them 
 that love the Lord.' You cannot say this unless 
 you do have the love of God in your hearts. 
 
 " Then the apostle says this love is kind. That 
 is another element. Do you know, there are some 
 people who have so much of the love of God in their 
 heart that you feel it a blessing to have them come 
 into your home. You are glad when they come and 
 sorry when they go away. Then we have, ( Love 
 envieth not.' Envy is that feeling that fills you up 
 with hatred. It is next to jealousy. It is the cause 
 of murder and is the father of jealousy. Some one 
 may have a little better position than you have and 
 you feel a little unpleasant about that. The love
 
 SERMONS 297 
 
 of God takes that out of your life. If you love some 
 one with all your heart it just fills your heart with 
 gladness to see him succeed. Make this a personal 
 matter. How glad you are when some one you love 
 succeeds well in something! 
 
 " It brings joy to your heart. A husband can- 
 not succeed too well to please his wife. This is a 
 high standard to attain, but I tell you when we 
 love people right well we want them to succeed 
 and they cannot rise too high to please us. 
 
 " ' Love vaunteth not itself.' That word 
 ' vaunt ' is an Anglo-Saxon word, and means 
 1 boast ' or i brag.' The reason it does not boast is 
 because it is not of the boasting kind. When it gets 
 into the heart it takes out that puffed condition. If 
 a man has a true heart and is disposed to boast, 
 this love will take that out of him. Because the 
 apostle tells us that it is not puffed up. When a 
 heart is puffed up, then you hear the vaunting, and 
 when you get that puffed-up condition out of the 
 heart you do not hear the vaunting. If we could 
 learn to love with a love that does not boast and is 
 not puffed up we could see people in a different 
 way. The love of God touches the puffed-up heart 
 and takes the boasting out of it, and puts kindness 
 in its place. 
 
 " There are some men who have a very plain 
 exterior and a proud interior. There are some 
 people who are so proud of their opinions that if 
 you differ with them they are cross about it, and if 
 you cross them you strike a snag at once. The 
 reason of that is that their inside is not right. And 
 I tell you, Christianity takes hold of men's hearts
 
 298 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 and makes them right inside and outside. That is 
 the kind of a man this love brings forth. 
 
 " i Doth not behave itself unseemly.' Let 
 every Christian beware how he behaves himself, 
 that he manifest in his life good conduct. This 
 brings out that same thought. Dr. Harper, presi- 
 dent of the Chicago University, said in one of his 
 lectures some time ago in Chicago, that one of the 
 most fruitful sources of infidelity in the world was 
 the unseemly conduct of a man or woman profess- 
 ing Christianity. 
 
 " I am not preaching to you any more this 
 morning than to myself. I confess to you that I 
 have to watch myself just as much as any one. We 
 all have to watch ourselves. Not long ago I heard 
 an instance like this: A brother, dressed in the 
 plain garb, was walking along State Street in 
 Chicago, and he passed a place where they were 
 having a ten-cent show. He thought he would just 
 go in and see what they were doing in there. When 
 he went to buy a ticket, the man said to him, 'From 
 the appearance of your dress this is no place for 
 you.' That brother told me he never received such 
 a lesson in his life. ' No place for a man dressed 
 like you.' I believe that brother to be a truthful 
 man and he said he would never forget that lesson. 
 If we would all learn this lesson to do nothing un- 
 seemly how good it would be ! 
 
 " You know, mothers, how you watch over your 
 child when it is sick. You know, fathers, how you 
 protect your children from harm. It is love that 
 makes you do that. This love is willing to reach 
 out and help others in this life ; it is willing to give 
 help.
 
 SERMONS 299 
 
 " ' Not easily provoked.' To me this means 
 that we as Christians ought to govern our tempers, 
 not get cross. Of course we all believe this. If 
 you get the love of God in your hearts and let it 
 grow and grow, after a while you will learn to con- 
 trol these ugly tempers. I do not say all are built 
 along the same line in this matter. Some men 
 have very high tempers while others do not have. 
 The man who has to work hard to overcome his 
 temper will have a brighter crown than the one 
 who does not have to do this. It ought to be an 
 easy thing for us always to be ready to give a 
 kind answer. 'A kind answer turneth away wrath, 
 but grievous words stir up anger.' 
 
 " This love we are tolci thinketh no evil. It is 
 very easy for us to think kindly of those we love, 
 but it is not so easy with those we do not love. There 
 is to be no thinking of evil with those who have the 
 love of God in their hearts. Now that does not 
 mean that if a man is a murderer I shall not think 
 his deed is evil. I will tell you what it means. 
 
 " When the brethren first came to Mount Mor- 
 ris, in the early eighties, two of them went into a 
 saloon. It is a bad place for any one, but especial- 
 ly for two Dunkard elders. Of course the people 
 thought they had gone in there to drink, for what 
 else would they go for? The fact is, they had gone 
 in there to labor and pray with that man to try to 
 get him to stop selling liquor. This command 
 means that we are not to impugn men's motives. 
 We are to put the best construction on their ac- 
 tions. It is better to take the plan Christ has set 
 for us. If your brother has done something wrong, 
 go to him and talk to him and thus get it out of his
 
 300 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 heart (Matt. 18). I don't know of any better plan 
 than that. 
 
 " i Kejoiceth not in evil.' Do you know that in 
 New York City there is a bureau of information, 
 and every time a Christian man makes a mistake or 
 does a wrong thing, they publish it in every paper 
 all over the world. They rejoice in evil. Love 
 doesn't do that. You know sometimes those who 
 are in the church fall into sin, and how we she'd 
 tears for the cause of Christ, that some have been 
 drawn aside. 
 
 " These are the elements of Christian love. 
 These are what we must make manifest in our 
 lives. 
 
 " Let me call your attention to the law of de- 
 velopment. You go into school and read and study 
 books until they become a part of you and strength- 
 en you. And so it is with the love of God. You 
 must cultivate it. Do you know that hate begets 
 hate? So indifference begets indifference, and love 
 begets love. 
 
 " One Sunday morning a man was walking 
 along the street on his way to church, and he met a 
 little boy and asked where he was going. The little 
 boy told him he was going to Sunday-school. Then 
 the man said, ' Well, why don't you come in here to 
 our Sunday-school and not go way over there? ' 
 The little boy said, ' Oh, they love a fellow over 
 there.' Another thing we are to do in measuring 
 our love. We always compare God's love with 
 ours. We should not do that way. It is easy to 
 love people when they do just according to our way. 
 Just as long as they do that they have our love and 
 sympathy, and as soon as they go contrary to that,
 
 SERMONS 301 
 
 just that soon we throw them over. We do not 
 have the same kind of feeling for them. Somehow 
 or other I think the fault lies in the training of 
 people. When you get this love of God in your 
 heart you will not do that, because God loves every- 
 body. He doesn't love sin, but he loves the sinner. 
 He loved you and me when we were in sin. I have 
 heard parents tell their children that if they are 
 good, God will love them, but if they are bad he 
 will not love them. That is not right. We ought 
 to teach our children that God loves everybody, 
 and we want them to do right because we love them, 
 and God loves them. When we do wrong God 
 just keeps on loving us, and that is the way we 
 ought to do in our love to each other. 
 
 " How great is this love? I am not able to 
 comprehend it. I used to think that because I be- 
 longed to the Brethren Church and washed my 
 brother's feet and dressed plainly and obeyed the 
 commands of the church I was all right. But I 
 have come to believe that I can wash my brother's 
 feet and dress plainly and yet, if I do not have 
 the love of God in my heart, all my Christian pro- 
 fession is in vain. Let us see that we have this in 
 our hearts, and then all is right. May God help us 
 all to have this love in our hearts. There is noth- 
 ing that wins souls for Christ like love. 
 
 " I was reading yesterday of a young man who 
 had been in the penitentiary. He had fallen into 
 some crime and had been sent to prison, where he 
 had served his time. When he came out one of his 
 friends gave him a letter to a young merchant, and 
 he said in the letter that this young man had been 
 unfortunate in falling into crime and he said, ' I
 
 302 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 want you to help him.' The young merchant read 
 the letter, then he said, ' Come home with me to 
 supper and stay all night. I want to talk to you.' 
 The young man went home with him. The mer- 
 chant's daughter came into the room and he said 
 to her, * This is papa's friend. You go and shake 
 hands with him.' The little girl went and shook 
 hands with him and kissed him. That broke him 
 up. The tears came into his eyes and he said, 
 ' That is the first kiss I have had since I kissed my 
 dying mother.' That is the kind of love we ought 
 to have. Love is the greatest thing in the world, 
 and when we have finished our life work may we all 
 have that full fruition when we reach the other 
 shore. 
 
 "But 'love abideth forever.' It helps us in 
 all our work, and will be the rod and staff that 
 will comfort us as we pass to the great beyond. 
 It will be our passport at the pearly gates of 
 heaven, for God himself is LOVE."
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 EDITORIALS 
 
 EDITORIALS by Father Miller were brief, 
 clear and always of practical value. In- 
 cluded here are only a few representative 
 ones of the many that he wrote, beginning in 1884 
 and continuing until his death. He once gave this 
 bit of advice on writing for the public : 
 
 " First acquire the habit of thinking clearly 
 and concisely and to the point. Then express your 
 thoughts in the simplest and fewest words con- 
 sistent with clearness of expression." 
 
 He likewise advised the reading of Kipling 
 as a help in acquiring this habit. And in this in- 
 stance, as well as others, he had first practiced 
 what he preached. 
 
 Brother H. C. Early wrote thus of his 
 editorials : 
 
 " His editorials show the versatility and 
 fruitfulness of his mind, for they cover a wide 
 range of subjects and have been treated in a most 
 satisfactory manner. And his simplicity deserves 
 special mention. He has the rare ability to write 
 on difficult subjects in a manner easy to under- 
 stand within the comprehension even of boys and 
 girls. And he is clear. None ever mistake his 
 meaning." 
 
 303
 
 304 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 OUR SCHOOLS 
 
 " The educational work of the church is of 
 great importance, and demands the careful thought 
 of all who are interested in the future welfare of 
 our Brotherhood. However we may regard them, 
 our schools are having a silent influence that will 
 surely be felt among us before many years have 
 passed away. Shall this influence be for good? 
 Then must we look well to the control of the 
 schools. 
 
 " As to the question of duty in the education 
 of our young people, there can be, it seems to us, no 
 doubt as to what should be done. It is the duty 
 of the church to provide educational facilities as 
 good as the best, under her own fostering care for 
 the education of her sons and daughters. We 
 may be slow to recognize this duty, we may even 
 close our eyes to its importance, but the fact still 
 remains that the very existence of the church in 
 the future depends upon how this question is met 
 and decided today. 
 
 " If there ever was a time when it seemed 
 proper for Christian parents to bring up their 
 children in pious ignorance, that time has passed 
 away. We are living in an age demanding the best 
 educational facilities. Our children will be edu- 
 cated, .and if we fail in our duty toward them as 
 a church, the future will show our lack of wisdom 
 and sit in judgment on our failure. 
 
 " While it is important that we provide schools 
 for our young people equal to the best, the most im- 
 portant consideration is that in connection with 
 education, or rather that the education itself be 
 turned in the direction of the development of the
 
 EDITORIALS 305 
 
 heart and the spiritual nature. Some one has said 
 that learning is an acquaintance with what others 
 have felt, thought, and done ; knowledge comes to 
 us from our own experience, hence we know best 
 what we have taught ourselves by personal ex- 
 perience, and by contact with God, with man, and 
 with nature. To fill the mind with other men's 
 thoughts and doings, to become bookish, should 
 not be the aim in education. We should rather 
 aim to illumine and strengthen the mind than to 
 store it with learning. The important question 
 should be how to give the soul purity of intention, 
 the conscience steadfastness, and the mind force, 
 pliability and openness to light ; or, in other words, 
 how to bring true philosophy and religion to the 
 aid of the will so that the spiritual life shall pre- 
 vail, and each generation introduce its successor 
 to a higher plane of life. 
 
 "An education so directed gives mere learn- 
 ing a secondary place, and makes the development 
 of the spiritual life its prime factor, and this, we 
 believe, is the true idea of education. We need to 
 set our faces like steel against any system of edu- 
 cation that does not give our holy religion the first 
 place in the development of the mind and heart. 
 
 " Many of our brethren are sending their chil- 
 dren to secular schools where religious influences 
 and teachings are almost wholly ignored, and 
 where proper discipline is practically unknown. 
 What a fearful responsibility they assume in a 
 course of this kind! Surely, if their sons and 
 daughters are led astray and lost by such a course, 
 the parents will have a heavy burden to bear. 
 
 " But while we recognize our duty in the line
 
 306 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 of providing educational facilities for our young 
 people, we also need to be careful that we do not 
 go to the extreme in the matter of schools, and of 
 education. It is such a common thing for one ex- 
 treme to follow another that it has been set down 
 as a rule. We have been, in the past, somewhat 
 in the extreme in our opposition to schools con- 
 trolled by the church, and now, unless we are 
 willing to learn by the experience of others who have 
 traveled this same road, we will meet with failures. 
 We will learn by sad experience that schools are 
 not money-making institutions, but that self-sacri- 
 fice, flesh and blood, brains and money, are the 
 materials necessary to build up and support edu- 
 cational institutions. 
 
 " And then, too, we need to be very careful 
 lest we fall into the very common error, that, un- 
 less a man has the advantage of a collegiate edu- 
 cation, the Lord cannot use him in the ministry. 
 This error is quite general, and that it is an error, 
 the lives of many eminent ministers, whose school 
 advantages have been quite limited, abundantly 
 prove. If the definition of education, given in a 
 preceding paragraph, be correct, and we believe it 
 is, then the man who has had a wide experience, 
 and has lived close to God, having his mind il- 
 lumined and strengthened, has received an educa- 
 tion of a high order, although his school ad- 
 vantages may have been limited to even less than 
 academic instruction. Let none of our ministers 
 be discouraged because others enjoy better ad- 
 vantages than they did. Education may be, if 
 properly used, a great help to the minister, but it 
 is not by any means the most important matter.
 
 EDITORIALS 307 
 
 "In looking about us we can readily see that the 
 school idea has taken a firm hold upon our Brother- 
 hood. It is by no means an uncommon thing to 
 see at our ' Bible terms/ now held at all our 
 schools, a number of ministers, some of whom have 
 labored lo, these many years, in the holy calling. 
 We are glad to see this, and feel like encouraging 
 our ministers to make use of these helpful means, 
 but while we are thus engaged we need to be care- 
 ful lest we go to the extreme in this matter, and 
 make school-going a prime factor when it ought 
 to be but a secondary one. 
 
 "Again, we need to be watchful and careful 
 as to the number of schools we start. We are quite 
 sure, unless this point is well guarded, we shall 
 start schools with the word failure written all over 
 them. Years ago the Methodist Church was, to 
 some extent, opposed to education. Then came 
 the time when they turned schoolward and with 
 them one extreme followed the other. School after 
 school was started, and failure after failure was 
 recorded, until they learned by experience that it 
 requires more than good buildings and a large cam- 
 pus to make schools. We have already five schools 
 in operation, and if these depended wholly for 
 patronage upon our church we would already have 
 more than can be sustained, and it is questionable 
 whether, even with the patronage they now have, 
 they can be sustained. One thing is very certain- 
 were it not for the fact that some self-sacrificing 
 men have been willing to spend and be spent in the 
 educational work of the church, the three failures 
 which already dot the history of our educational 
 work would be supplemented by several more.
 
 308 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " With these facts before us it would seem 
 that, rather than to make efforts to start more 
 schools, wisdom and prudence would dictate that 
 our efforts be turned in the direction of placing 
 those we already have upon a sound financial basis. 
 In this way only can failure be averted and the 
 educational advantages of our schools be made 
 what they should be equal to the best. We should 
 remember that quality and not quantity is what is 
 needed. When we come to fill the faculties of the 
 schools we already have with faithful members of 
 the church, who are well qualified and thoroughly 
 equipped for the work, we already have too many 
 schools. When it comes to a liberal support of the 
 schools we now have, that will place them beyond 
 the danger of failure, we have already more schools 
 than are receiving such support. 
 
 " Will we learn wisdom from the experience of 
 others who have already gone this way, or will we 
 go on blindly running to the same extreme, strew- 
 ing the way with failure after failure, injuring 
 the cause of education and the church? We hope 
 not, but we do not express this hope with any great 
 degree of confidence. Already we hear of another 
 school in Kansas, one in Indiana, and there has 
 been talk of still another in Ohio. These may be 
 mere rumors, but they show that the school spirit 
 is abroad in the church, and unless wisdom prevails 
 in the councils, failure and disaster will, in the 
 end, teach the old, old lesson that history repeats 
 itself and that men rarely profit by the experience 
 of others." 
 
 TEST OF FRIENDSHIP 
 
 " Not so easy is it for us to understand how
 
 EDITORIALS 309 
 
 one may honestly differ from us and still love us? 
 Herein lies the true test of friendship, or rather 
 the test of true friendship. It is so easy to love 
 those who love us, who agree with us in all our 
 notions, and give cordial assent to all our doings. 
 The real test comes when we are called upon to 
 continue to love and respect those who do not 
 agree with us, who tell us of our faults, and criti- 
 cise our actions. Many friends become estranged 
 because each is selfish enough to want the other to 
 come and go at his word. 
 
 " Doubtless this test came to Paul and Barna- 
 bas. They parted, not with loss of love and friend- 
 ship, but with the respect for each other that al- 
 ways comes when we meet those who are firm in 
 their convictions of right. The changeling is the 
 friend of prosperity, who fawns and smiles and 
 approves while the sun shines. When the clouds 
 come he is gone forever. The man who is unwilling 
 to sink his individuality, and who has firm convic- 
 tions, is the friend of adversity. 
 
 " The spirit of intolerance, however, can know 
 nothing of true friendship. It seeks always to 
 assert self, and is nothing if not selfish. It lives 
 on flattery, and fattens on self-praise. It is as 
 cruel as the grave and as remorseless as death. 
 In the olden time, when it was backed by ecclesi- 
 astical authority and civil power, it burned at the 
 stake those who refused to bow to its dictates, as 
 heretics. The same spirit is abroad today, but it 
 is kept in abeyance by a wholesome dread of law. 
 It asserts itself in sneakingly seeking to injure 
 reputation by circulating reports half false, half 
 true, against those who do not worship at its
 
 310 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 shrine. It is arrogant, self-opinionated, severe in 
 judgment, and without natural affection, and has 
 the poison of the asp hidden away in its oily but 
 slanderous tongue. 
 
 " The wise man said, i Faithful are the wounds 
 of a friend.' When reproof and rebuke come from 
 the heart and lips of a faithful, loving soul, they 
 only wound to help and heal. The real friend al- 
 ways comes to us in kindness, to tell us of our 
 faults. Not in anger, nor in harshness, come the 
 gentle words of reproof from a friend, but in all 
 gentleness and long-suffering he seeks to help us. 
 It has been said that it is hard to distinguish be- 
 tween the looseness of views and the judgment of 
 love. To be sorry for the weakness and follies and 
 sins of others, and to refuse harsh and unkind 
 criticisms is right; to accept them as a matter of 
 course, and condone them is wrong. The true 
 friend always takes the former, never the latter 
 course. 
 
 " Jesus never condoned sin ; neither did he 
 judge harshly. He taught the intolerant Phari- 
 sees a lesson when he commanded the one among 
 them without sin to first cast a stone at the frail, 
 fallen woman before him. When no man remained 
 to condemn her, how the gentle words of humani- 
 ty's greatest Friend must have sunk into her poor 
 heart ! ' Neither do I condemn thee ; go and sin 
 no more.' ' -Dec. 25, 1897. 
 
 BIGHT THINKING 
 
 " Never was greater truth uttered than that 
 contained in the words of the wise man, < For as a 
 man thinketh so is he.' So true are these words 
 that if one could have a correct record of the
 
 EDITORIALS 311 
 
 thoughts that are cherished by an individual he 
 might with unfailing certainty tell the quality of 
 the life. The thought as surely directs action as 
 the rudder directs the great Atlantic steamers 
 that plow through the ocean between the conti- 
 nents. The thoughts not only direct, but also in- 
 duce action. There can be no intelligent action 
 without thought. Thought precedes action, and 
 continuous thinking along certain lines makes the 
 man for good or for ill. 
 
 " The man who allows his mind to be filled 
 with thoughts of lust is as sure to be an impure 
 man at heart, no matter what his profession and 
 outward appearance may be, as it is sure that 
 every seed brings forth after its kind. 
 
 " The man who sneers at honesty and virtue, 
 and is suspicious of everybody, is never to be trust- 
 ed, for his thinking has made him dishonest himself 
 and he places others on his level. t As a man 
 thinketh so is he.' 
 
 " The man who believes in honesty and virtue, 
 looks on the best side of human effort, sympathizes 
 with human weaknesses, trusts people, may some- 
 times be deceived, but he is the man you can trust. 
 
 " < If you are convinced,' says Hepworth, ' that 
 there is neither honor among men nor virtue among 
 women, that honesty need not stand in the way of 
 acquisition, but only as a valuable blind to help 
 you the easier to attain your end, then I can trust 
 my forecast of what you will be in middle life as I 
 can trust in the law of cause and effect.' Never 
 a stone was thrown into the air that could defy 
 the law of gravitation and continue its flight at 
 pleasure. It is sure to come back to the earth again
 
 312 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 with a tliud. The law that governs it is as in- 
 exorable as death. And never a man has cherished 
 mean, selfish thoiights and reached a high spiritual 
 level, never a man has allowed sensual thoughts to 
 occupy his mind without becoming impure in heart 
 and often impure in action. He may conclude that 
 he is quite strong enough to resist temptation, but 
 he walks in all its ways and sooner or later he will 
 sit in sackcloth and ashes, bewailing his fall. The 
 cause of failure may be traced with absolute cer- 
 tainty to impure thinking, < for as a man thinketh 
 so is he.' 
 
 " Eight thinking is to think right the grand 
 thoughts and moralities of the Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ. It is the heart of religion. It is not like 
 your creed, that you can pull off and cast aside like 
 a garment. It is made up of great heart principles 
 that shall abide when worlds crash. To think right 
 is to be right, and is as sure to take men and women 
 upward in spiritual life as the mariner who fol- 
 lows his compass is sure to reach his haven. 
 
 " ' Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever 
 things are honest, whatsoever things are just, 
 whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are 
 lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if 
 there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, 
 think on these things.' ' For as a man thinketh 
 so is he.' "
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 CLOSE OF ACTIVE WORK 
 
 THEIR return from India found Father Mil- 
 ler in very poor health. Added to the 
 digestive impairment, which had bothered 
 him frequently since 1899, was severe heart trouble, 
 with resultant sinking spells. He consulted vari- 
 ous physicians, all agreeing that he might live for 
 a good many years, or he might pass away at any 
 time. He was compelled to refrain from all active 
 work, to give up most of his preaching and lectur- 
 ing and to become a semi-invalid. At times he 
 suffered great pain in the region of the heart, but 
 he was so patient and quiet about it that few knew 
 what he really passed through. At night, in par- 
 ticular, he often had constant pain and was unable 
 to sleep. It was not until the fall of 1909 almost 
 three years after the start of the acute trouble- 
 that he could sleep peacefully. 
 
 With anxious hearts his friends and relatives 
 watched the gradual decline of his healh. Mother 
 Miller was his constant companion, often going 
 with him on preaching trips when she was hardly 
 able to do so. The fear that he would die away 
 from home, during one of the spells with his heart, 
 
 313
 
 314 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 never left her from that time until his death, many 
 years later. And although he had done much good 
 work, and it seemed to his friends that he could 
 justly spend the last years of his life quietly in his 
 home, he still received many calls to preach, and 
 when it was at all possible he answered these calls. 
 He often said that he wanted to die in the harness ; 
 he did not want to rust out, but to wear out. With 
 this indomitable determination he continued his 
 work whenever it was at all possible for him to get 
 around. 
 
 March 13, 1907, after a winter of poor health 
 and serious illness, he was anointed, feeling that 
 he wanted to place his case in the hands of the 
 Lord for whatever termination would be best. The 
 anointing took place in the library of his home, 
 where he loved to be. Brethren J. G. Koyer and 
 D. E. Price officiated. Brethren M. S. Newcomer, 
 M. W. Emmert, J. E. Miller and wife, Galen B. 
 Royer and wife and Sister Minnie Replogle were 
 present. After the anointing they sang the first 
 and last verses of " Nearer, My God, to Thee " 
 the song he loved so well. 
 
 After this he was better, and very gradually 
 his health improved until he was able to preach 
 at near-by churches. By fall of that year he made 
 a trip East, to attend a meeting of the committee 
 on the Bicentennial program for the next Confer- 
 ence. He spent four weeks in the East and
 
 CLOSE OF ACTIVE WORK 315 
 
 preached thirty-two sermons while gone not a 
 bad showing for a sick man. 
 
 In August, 1907, his brother Martin died very 
 suddenly in Chicago. This was the first death in 
 the family of eight children who had grown to ma- 
 turity, and consequently was a blow to all of them, 
 particularly to Father Miller in his weakened con- 
 dition. The family ties of the Millers were very 
 close, and especially did Father Miller love and 
 reverence all things connected with the home. He 
 felt very keenly the death of his brother. 
 
 Although in failing health, his interest in 
 church activities never waned. In 1906 he had 
 been appointed on the Church Name Committee. 
 Some felt, rightly enough, that the name " German 
 Baptist Brethren " was unwieldy and gave a wrong 
 impression of the church, also making the nick- 
 name " Dunkards " more convenient, so there had 
 been an agitation to change the name. " Church 
 of the Brethren " was Father Miller's selection, 
 and he threw his influence for that name in his 
 work on the committee, and in his editorials in 
 the Messenger. Doubtless his influence largely de- 
 cided the issue and " Church of the Brethren " was 
 confirmed by the Conference. 
 
 About this time a keen disappointment entered 
 his life, in connection with the withdrawal of 
 Brother Fercken from the church and from the mis- 
 sion in France. Father Miller had stood by Broth-
 
 316 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 er Fercken faithfully, through the years, backing 
 his work in the mission at Smyrna, and again in 
 Switzerland and France. He had taken his side, 
 when twice accused of indiscreet conduct, had up- 
 held him constantly in his work, both spiritually 
 and financially, and when finally Brother Fercken 
 formally withdrew from the church, it was a bit- 
 ter trial for Father Miller. After writing a brief 
 account of the affair for the Messenger of Jan. 5, 
 1907, he closed by saying in his kindly way : 
 
 " Of Brother Fercken we have no criticism or 
 unkind word to offer. It is believed that while he 
 was with us he did what he could. He has his 
 strength and weaknesses, and in this he does not 
 differ from most men. When he was no longer in 
 sympathy with the church, he quietly withdrew, 
 and for this he is to be commended. Of one thing 
 we feel sure, that no matter where he may spend 
 the few years he yet has to live, he will never find 
 more love and confidence than was given him by the 
 Brethren Church. Neither do we believe that the 
 mystic philosophy of the great Swede [Sweden- 
 borg] will satisfy his soul yearnings as does the 
 simple faith of Jesus as the Savior of the world. 
 Other men have come to the church and left her 
 communion, but she has gone on in her efforts to 
 re-establish primitive Christianity. For a brief 
 moment a slight ripple has been raised, and then 
 the name becomes a mere memory, to die out and 
 be forgotten in a very few years. The work of the 
 Lord goes on as if they had never lived." 
 
 Father Miller was so slow to judge and so
 
 CLOSE OF ACTIVE WORK 317 
 
 kindly-spirited that it was very hard for him to be- 
 lieve that another could do a base act, and conse- 
 quently, in some instances, he was deceived by 
 those in whom he had faith. However, as a rule he 
 had a keen judgment of character. His corre- 
 spondence shows a real ability in analyzing the 
 people with w r hom he worked, and in appointments 
 he always used his influence toward placing a per- 
 son in a position where his good qualities would be 
 emphasized. He was so thoroughly able to sub- 
 due his own feelings and so interested in the wel- 
 fare of others, that he could work harmoniously 
 with almost any one, however much they might 
 disagree in some particulars. 
 
 He was, however, not given to condoning weak- 
 ness, as this bit of philosophy shows : 
 
 " It seems difficult for some of us to dis- 
 tinguish between looseness of views and charitable 
 judgments. To be sorry for people's sins and 
 follies, and to refuse harsh criticism, is right; to 
 accept them as a matter of course is wrong." 
 
 To some who worked with him, his kindness in 
 judgment was not always appreciated, but un- 
 doubtedly the sinner, who found such fatherly love 
 and charitable consideration, would come more 
 nearly being turned from his Avrong way by it, than 
 by the harsher criticism of others. It is hard to 
 hurt those who love us. And here is another bit of 
 philosophy from his pen :
 
 318 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " To feel temptation and resist it, renders us 
 liberal in our judgments of others. To yield to it 
 renders us suspicious of all." 
 
 Father Miller had an open mind and gave 
 careful consideration to suggestions received, but 
 when he once determined on what was right he 
 could not be moved. He once said that he was will- 
 ing, for the sake of peace and harmony, almost to 
 bend a principle, but never to break one. When his 
 mind was made up on what was right it was rarely 
 changed, as the following little incident will show : 
 
 In the early days, when the move to Mount 
 Morris was made, the question of the prayer cover- 
 ing was brought up. Until this time he had given 
 it no especial consideration. Therefore he wrote 
 one of the prominent leaders in the church for the 
 arguments for and against it. The leader replied 
 that he had not studied the question. Then Fa- 
 ther Miller immediately settled himself to work, 
 to seek the truth in the matter. He faithfully 
 sought out every argument on both sides. He then 
 made up his mind what was right and never after 
 changed it, although he lived to see the day when 
 the wearing of the prayer covering, in some parts, 
 was gradually disappearing. On his death bed, he 
 said to Mother Miller : "Dear, you have been faith- 
 ful about wearing the prayer covering." And 
 again he repeated it, showing that, in his weak- 
 ness and age, it was a comfort to him to know that
 
 MOTHER MILLER
 
 CLOSE OF ACTIVE WORK 319 
 
 the dear companion of his life had been faithful to 
 one of the beliefs he had held so firmly. 
 
 The winter of 1907 was spent at home. The 
 following spring he was able to attend the Bicen- 
 tennial Conference at Des Moines, Iowa. Here he 
 made no talk, only acting as moderator for the Sun- 
 day program. During the following summer he 
 did some preaching, but in November he became 
 ill in the midst of a series of meetings, and was 
 compelled to drop them. 
 
 The death of his brother David occurred this 
 summer. " Davy," as he had always been called, 
 was one of those beautiful characters who are born 
 good, and was much loved by all of the family. He 
 had not been unusually prominent in the church, 
 but had been a minister, had served once on the 
 Standing Committee, and had always done what 
 he could in the interests of the church. Again this 
 was a hard trial for Father Miller, but he had the 
 consolation of knowing that it would not be long 
 until he would meet his brother in another world. 
 
 The winter of 1908-09 was spent in California. 
 He did what preaching he could, but had given up 
 lecturing almost entirely, turning his slides and 
 stereopticon over to his brother, W. K. Miller, who 
 had taken up this work. Gradually he was with- 
 drawing from all responsible positions. He served 
 less and less on Conference committees, but so 
 far he had attended practically every meeting of
 
 320 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 the Missionary Committee. He took an active in- 
 terest in this work longer than in any other. 
 
 He was still a trustee of Mount Morris College, 
 having until the end a real concern for its progress. 
 While he always stood for the principles of the 
 church and for general progress in the school, it 
 is to be doubted if he ever made an effort to direct 
 the actual educational policy of the institution. 
 Father Miller knew his own strength and accepted 
 no positions he felt unable to occupy, as is well il- 
 lustrated by his educational work all through life. 
 He greatly regretted his lack of formal education, 
 for he knew full well the value of credits and 
 diplomas. Four times before 1897 was he offered 
 the presidencies of various church schools, but 
 every time he refused, saying that the time would 
 come when men of the highest education would be 
 needed in the church schools, and that his lack of 
 that education made it impossible for him to ac- 
 cept such a position, even though, at the time it was 
 offered, he might be able to fill it. A glance over 
 his Conference appointments shows that he was 
 not on a single educational committee. In not ac- 
 cepting such positions he showed his broad-minded- 
 ness and vision. Many men in his position would 
 have taken a critical attitude toward all things 
 educational, because they themselves could not 
 help with the actual work. But Father Miller was 
 not built that way. His five years' experience as
 
 CLOSE OF ACTIVE WORK 321 
 
 business manager of Mount Morris College in its 
 early days, and Ms constant association with edu- 
 cated men gave him an insight into the real prob- 
 lems of the school, and at the same time a realiza- 
 tion of his own abilities. Therefore he threw his 
 influence in favor of schools of the highest educa- 
 tional worth consistent with the church principles, 
 and did much toward their realization. He not 
 only used his influence toward this end, but gave 
 liberally of his means. Juniata, Bethany Bible 
 School, Manchester, Bridgewater, McPherson and 
 Mount Morris Colleges received liberal donations 
 from him. 
 
 His charities included a great deal more than 
 gifts to the schools. Many a student was helped 
 over a rough place by timely aid from him. Worthy 
 people in financial distress were likewise aided. 
 Wherever he saw a need, he was there with an open 
 purse to help, and he did it so quietly that few 
 knew what had been done. He donated liberally 
 to any public charity or to any institution for the 
 welfare of the people. His greatest donations were 
 to missions. He contributed as money came to 
 him until he had practically given away everything 
 he possessed before his death, only making ar- 
 rangements that a sufficient income should come to 
 Mother Miller as long as she lived. Many people 
 have given even more money than he to such 
 causes, but there was one gift which no one could 
 have given more freely than he, and that was the
 
 322 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 gift of himself. As he grew older he dedicated ev- 
 ery act of his life to the cause of the church. What- 
 ever money he made, whatever success he achieved, 
 whatever time he had all were dedicated to the 
 interests of the church. He gave himself. 
 
 Brother H. C. Early very fittingly sums up his 
 work in the church as follows : 
 
 " It will be seen that God gave Brother Mil- 
 ler his life at a very important period in the growth 
 of the Church of the Brethren. It was a distinctly 
 transitional period, such as the church never knew 
 in her history. Here are the four leading activi- 
 ties of church enterprise: The publishing busi- 
 ness, Sunday-schools, higher education and mis- 
 sions. These were in the throes of birth during the 
 last thirty years of the nineteenth century, or in 
 other words, the church was in travail, in getting 
 back to the teaching and practices of our own 
 church fathers, and needed some one to deliver 
 her. Brother Miller believed sincerely that these 
 agencies were essential to the church's welfare 
 in fact, that the church cannot exist today without 
 them and he put himself heartily to the task of re- 
 establishing them in the practice of the church, as 
 the foregoing statement of his connection shows. 
 He did more than any other man in the church, I 
 think, to influence Conference to get behind these 
 measures. It would seem that God raised him up 
 at this time for this purpose. He has been a real 
 Moses among our people. He was a real Chris- 
 tian statesman, and when the history of his life is 
 fully written, Christian statesmanship will be 
 shown to be his crowning glory."
 
 CLOSE OF ACTIVE WORK 323 
 
 At the Conference at Winona Lake, Indiana, 
 in 1910, he formally resigned from further active 
 work as a member of the General Missionary and 
 Tract Committee. He rose from his place on the 
 platform and came forward, to face the great au- 
 dience which packed the auditorium to the doors. 
 There he stood, dignified and quiet, waiting for the 
 people to be still stood almost as if he were ready 
 to say : " I have fought a good fight, I have finished 
 the course, I have kept the faith." When silence 
 had come, he read briefly an account of the prog- 
 ress in missions that had taken place during the 
 time of the present organization, and then, explain- 
 ing that poor health made it necessary, he asked to 
 be relieved of further work on the committee. When 
 he sat down, a sigh almost a moan passed over 
 the vast audience, for all loved him and saw that 
 this was the beginning of the end. 
 
 When his resignation was accepted, the fol- 
 lowing resolutions were passed : 
 
 " Whereas, On account of failing health, Eld- 
 er D. L. Miller offers to the Conference, through 
 Standing Committee, his resignation as a member 
 of the General Mission Board, and 
 
 "Whereas, We feel his services in the work 
 of missions are so important and useful, both to 
 the Board and to the church, through his many 
 years of experience and travel in mission lands, 
 
 " We offer the folloAving resolutions :
 
 324 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 " 1. Desiring to do nothing to lessen his days 
 of usefulness for the church militant or to lay any 
 unnecessary burden upon him, because we need 
 him as long as God may spare him to us, we can 
 accept his resignation only on account of his fail- 
 ing health and do so most reluctantly. 
 
 " 2. We acknowledge with gratitude his in- 
 calculable service through these many years, hav- 
 ing been a member of the Mission Board from its 
 beginning, having traveled extensively with a pur- 
 pose to know the need of the world and opportuni- 
 ties of the church both at home and abroad. Also 
 having been in touch with the publishing interests 
 for so many years and helping so largely in mak- 
 ing the present large plant a success and the prop- 
 erty of the church. 
 
 " 3. In view of the above facts and his great 
 helpfulness to the Board and their urgent request 
 for it, we recommend that he be made an advisory 
 member of the General Mission Board during his 
 lifetime. 
 
 " 4. We extend to him the gratitude of this 
 Conference for these long years of wise counsel, 
 the loyal and untiring service, and invoke the bless- 
 ing of God upon the work to which he has contrib- 
 uted so much, and that many years may yet be giv- 
 en him and his good wife, enriched with the bless- 
 ings of God."
 
 CHAPTEE XXXII 
 
 LAST DAYS 
 
 HENCEFOETH, Father and Mother Miller 
 spent their winters in California and 
 their summers in Mount Morris, with the 
 exception of two winters, one, 1915-16, in Cuba, 
 and another winter in Florida and Illinois. When- 
 ever at all able, Father Miller preached, and very 
 often when it seemed to those about him impossi- 
 ble for him to do so. 
 
 In 1912, he, with Brother Galen B. Eoyer, 
 published another book, entitled " Some Who Led." 
 For many years Father had been saving pictures 
 of various leaders in the church, and the idea was 
 conceived of getting out a book of brief biogra- 
 phies illustrated with these pictures. Some sixty 
 biographies were written and arranged to make a 
 very interesting book, as well as a valuable refer- 
 ence work. 
 
 About three years before his death he sold 
 their home in Mount Morris and much of their fur- 
 niture. It seemed that he was withdrawing from 
 earthly cares and ties wherever possible. He had 
 lived for so long expecting that any minute might 
 be his last, that it was not unnatural for him to do 
 
 325
 
 326 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 this. His library and relics, collected through so 
 many years of travel, were given to Mount Morris 
 College. At one time he had decided to give his 
 library to the Publishing House for the use of the 
 editors, but on further consideration he felt that it 
 could be of greater value to the college, where so 
 many more would have access to it. Accordingly 
 this plan was followed. 
 
 Much time was spent going carefully through 
 his relics, numbering and labeling them, prepara- 
 tory to their transference to cases at the college 
 library. He had many idols of different kinds, 
 some of which had been worshiped. He possessed 
 a mill that was used in Palestine by the women for 
 grinding ; also a wine bottle made of a skin, and a 
 sample of the plows that have been employed in the 
 Holy Land since the days of the Bible. One of his 
 valued relics was an old Koll of the Law, made of 
 parchment and rolled up on sticks, a very ancient 
 book, indeed. But it would be impossible to enu- 
 merate here the many things he had collected dur- 
 ing his travels. They had all been carefully pre- 
 served and are now keeping alive his memory in 
 the minds of the students at Mount Morris. In his 
 library he had a number of old volumes of unusual 
 value, among them three Christopher Sower Bibles 
 published before the Kevolution, one in 1732, the 
 other two later, and a " Chronicon Ephratuse," 
 published in 1786, and valuable because of frequent
 
 LAST DAYS 327 
 
 allusions to the Church of the Brethren. These 
 were all moved to the college. 
 
 The summer of 1918, after the selling of his 
 home, he and Mother Miller spent with his sister 
 Anna in Elgin. Brother Frank also was there, 
 and George came for a visit, one of the last times 
 that so many of them could be together. The follow- 
 ing winter was spent in California, where they felt 
 as much at home as anywhere; Frank went with 
 them, for his wife had died, leaving "him alone. 
 And Father Miller continued preaching. 
 
 Two years later, in the spring of 1920, Father 
 and Mother Miller again went to housekeeping. 
 They bought a place near the church in Mount Mor- 
 ris, redecorated it, and placed in it some of the fur- 
 niture which they had saved from the sale. As 
 Mother Miller said it was not a home, but just a 
 house. Father's library looked very bare without 
 his books, but they were quite happy that summer 
 in their own place. Mother Miller did the work 
 and Father enjoyed again having her personal 
 oversight of the home. Through all the years of 
 their married life, they always had that peace and 
 serenity which is the result of real love. Father's 
 letters were full of praise for his wife, often con- 
 taining references like the following, written May 
 4, 1921, the last letter he wrote to my father : 
 
 " Had a good long letter from mother today. 
 She is lonesome and I have written her to come on 
 East and be with me. I hope she will come. I am
 
 328 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 homesick myself to be with her. She is in her 
 seventy-third and I in my eightieth year, and we 
 have lived together nearly fifty-four years. It 
 goes a bit hard to be separated." 
 
 In Iowa, in the summer of 1920, he had a se- 
 vere attack, and from that time on the decline of 
 his health was rapid, but his mind remained vigor- 
 ous and his interest in the affairs of the church 
 was as keen as ever. In the fall of 1920, with Moth- 
 er Miller and Frank he went to Clermont, Florida, 
 where Frank had been the year before. They se- 
 cured a place to live and did their own cooking, 
 greatly to the pleasure and advantage of all of 
 them. But this arrangement did not last long. 
 While Father was away preaching, Frank very 
 suddenly died, after an illness of a few hours. Fa- 
 ther and Mother Miller brought the body to 
 Polo, where the funeral services were held. This 
 occurred immediately before Christmas. After 
 some consideration, they decided to remain North 
 for the rest of the winter. In some ways, this was a 
 hard winter on both of them. Father especially 
 felt the loss of another brother. 
 
 Their own home did not have a furnace, so 
 they boarded with Brother Will West's at Mount 
 Morris, where they always had been given a warm 
 reception. Father was troubled a great deal with 
 rheumatism and lumbago, but he still took a very 
 live interest in church and school matters at Mount 
 Morris, as well as of the entire Brotherhood. With
 
 LAST DAYS 329 
 
 the growth and change which had taken place in 
 the church during the recent years, he kept pace, 
 and while his method was not always the one used 
 in working out some of the problems, he did not re- 
 sent that, but always felt that the other might be 
 right. As he once wrote near the close of his life, 
 " I used to have a good deal of anxiety about the 
 problems we had to meet. I have none now. I'll 
 do my best, try to think no evil, for that is a char- 
 acteristic of love, and speak no evil and trust it all 
 to God. He will bring it all out right in the end." 
 Seasoned with this sublime faith, the last years of 
 his life were spent peacefully. 
 
 The last of April, Father and Mother Miller 
 went to Elgin, where he attended the meeting of the 
 Mission Board. While there the news was brought 
 that Brother John Henry Bashor Williams, Sec- 
 retary-Treasurer of the Board and traveling in the 
 Orient, had died at Mombasa, British East Africa. 
 This was a hard blow to Father, for such things 
 hurt him greatly. He felt very much the personal 
 loss in Brother Williams' death, but also knew that 
 the church and board had endured a more severe 
 loss, which likewise gave him concern. His wish 
 was that he might have been taken and the younger 
 man left to continue the work. 
 
 However severely he may have felt the death 
 of Brother Williams, it did not depress him, but 
 rather seemed to arouse and stimulate him to a 
 greater activity at the Board Meeting. Although
 
 330 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 seventy-nine years old, his advice and help were 
 needed once more and he gave it with his old time 
 vigor. After taking a more active interest in the 
 business of the Board than he had for years, he 
 left the room to start a preaching tour of the East, 
 and as he went out of the door, he raised his arm 
 in that old gesture, so many will remember, assur- 
 ing them, " the Lord willing," that he would meet 
 them at Conference. 
 
 He began a series of meetings at Welsh Kun, 
 Pennsylvania. Here many, many years before he 
 had joined the church and partaken of his first 
 love feast. In one of his last letters he gives a 
 brief account of these meetings: 
 
 "April 29, 1921. 
 
 " One day this week we visited the old Kock- 
 dale schoolhouse, where I went to school seventy- 
 five years ago, Broadf ording church and the graves 
 of Father and Mother Miller (she was fifty- two 
 years and seven months old when the Lord called 
 her home), and the old mill where I was born. 
 ... I enjoyed it all but was tired when preach- 
 ing time came. 
 
 " We are having large crowds of intensely in- 
 terested people attending the meetings. Sunday 
 evening all could not get into the house. . . . 
 
 " Had a letter from Mother yesterday. She is 
 well and busy getting our home ready for house- 
 keeping when I get home in July. I want her to 
 come East, attend Annual Meeting and go with 
 me to New York. I hope she will come and be
 
 LAST DAYS 331 
 
 with me and then we can visit you on our way 
 West." 
 
 Before the close of these meetings he partook 
 of his last love feast in the same church where he 
 had the first. With more than his usual enthusiasm, 
 he preached for his last sermon, " The Marks of the 
 Lord Jesus." 
 
 From Welsh Kun he went to Shady Grove, 
 where he preached in the Hade church. His sis- 
 ter Anna was with him a few days, and when she 
 returned to her home she left word at the place he 
 was staying to send for her in case he got sick, for 
 she saw his weakened condition. All week he 
 preached. The following Sunday morning he be- 
 came so ill that he vomited. But he recovered to 
 some extent before evening, and with his old-time 
 determination insisted on preaching in the evening. 
 Monday, May 16, his sister was called from her 
 home in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and arrived 
 that same afternoon. The following day his wife 
 was sent for. She also came at once and the two 
 nursed him until he was able to be moved to his 
 sister's home in Huntingdon, May 21. 
 
 He was happy to be in familiar surroundings 
 again, to be strong enough to get up and dress and, 
 for a time, was not under the care of a doctor. The 
 graduation exercises of Juniata College were going 
 on and many visitors were about. Father Miller 
 always loved such times and greatly enjoyed see- 
 ing the people. June 1 he sat on the front porch,
 
 332 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 where many had gathered about him as in the days 
 of old, and talked for an hour with his old-time 
 vigor. Perhaps that night he staid out too long. 
 At any rate, the next day he was taken with se- 
 vere chills and double pneumonia set in. Those 
 about him realized then that his case was serious. 
 
 Most of the time he had the full power of his 
 mind, but occasionally hours came when he did not 
 seem to be fully conscious of what he was doing. 
 During one of these periods he put his arm out 
 several times. Mother Miller asked him what he 
 wanted. He put his arm out again, and then her 
 voice seemed to bring him to himself for he said, 
 " I thought I was taking Brother S - into the 
 water to baptize him." 
 
 At Shady Grove he had been staying in the 
 home of a man who was not a Christian. Father 
 talked to him about his soul, but the man had not 
 yet given his consent to join the church. Even in 
 his last moments, Father longed for this man's 
 soul. 
 
 His mind was on the next Conference, which 
 he had planned to attend. On Tuesday, the last 
 day of his life, he told my father the officers he 
 wished to see elected at this Conference. 
 
 His love for the Conference never failed and, 
 when he saw that it would be impossible for him 
 to attend, a very few hours before his death he 
 dictated this last message to that body :
 
 D. L. AND HIS ONLY SISTER 
 
 ' V:
 
 LAST DAYS 333 
 
 " I'm not feeling so well, and mother has kind- 
 ly consented to write to you for me. This is a great 
 blessing to me and I guess it is to you too. I've 
 been hoping day after day to get down to Hershey 
 to see you, but guess that will not be so. My strong 
 desire has been to come down to you. My pro- 
 f oundest blessing be upon you and all the good men 
 and women at the Conference. May we have one 
 of the best Annual Meetings we have had for years. 
 May the Spirit of God direct and control every- 
 thing. Give my Christian regards to all the mem- 
 bers of the Standing Committee and to all the mem- 
 bers of the Conference. May his Holy Spirit guide 
 and control every soul in Divine presence. Then 
 we know we shall have a blessed meeting. This is 
 all. 
 
 " Yours in Christ Jesus, 
 
 " D. L. Miller." 
 
 This letter was sent to Brother H. C. Early, 
 so long associated with him in the work on the 
 Mission Board. 
 
 His last signature was written about three 
 hours before his death, on a check to be given as a 
 wedding present to his niece, Kuth, who was soon 
 to be married. 
 
 He had seemed to be holding his strength that 
 last afternoon of his life, and Mother Miller had 
 been persuaded to go to supper with the family, so 
 they were all eating together when the nurse 
 called, " Come quick." 
 
 The end had come as it always does. On June
 
 334 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 7, 1921, they saw him, with a smile on his face a 
 smile that did not cease when his heart stopped 
 beating pass peacefully away to that land for 
 which he had longed for so many years.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 WHAT THEY SAID 
 
 BRIEF services were held in Huntingdon, at 
 the home of Galen B. Royer, where he died, 
 before the body was taken to Mount Mor- 
 ris for burial. 
 
 Brother T. T. Myers, a professor in Juniata 
 College, spoke from the text, " Thou Shalt Be 
 Missed." He told of his acquaintance with Father 
 Miller, beginning in the days when Father had 
 sold the first lunch tickets at the Conference in Lan- 
 ark in 1880, and continuing throughout his life. 
 He mentioned how often Father Miller had spoken 
 on love, and how he had lived up to the thirteenth 
 chapter of First Corinthians. Then he briefly 
 enumerated the various departments of the church 
 where Father Miller would be missed, the councils 
 of the church, the missionary work, the publishing 
 interests, the schools, the Sunday-schools, and in 
 his home. Then Brother Cassady, also of Hunt- 
 ingdon, said a very few words : 
 
 " The last time I saw Father Miller, he took 
 my hand and said : ' I love you, Brother Cassady. 
 God bless you,' and I was glad that there was some- 
 thing in my life that he could love." 
 
 335
 
 336 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 At Mount Morris, Brother J. E. Miller 
 preached the sermon, the introduction of which 
 follows : 
 
 "As we meet today to hold these last services 
 on the occasion of the death of our departed Broth- 
 er Miller, I find myself at a loss to choose a text, 
 as well as what to say and how to say it. The life 
 that he lived speaks louder in your sad hearts than 
 any words which I might utter. When I think of 
 the life of D. L. Miller there come to my mind the 
 words of Moses, ' We spend our years as a tale that 
 is told' (Psa. 90: 9). Again I think possibly I 
 should speak from the words of the Master when he 
 said, 'A good man out of the good treasure of the 
 heart bringeth forth good things ' (Matt. 12: 35), 
 because our brother was known for his good deeds. 
 
 " When I think of the manner in which Broth- 
 er Miller used his property, and the many generous 
 gifts he made to charity, to education and to mis- 
 sions there come to me the words of Zacchaeus, 
 who told his Lord, ' Behold, Lord, the half of my 
 goods I give to the poor ' (Luke 19: 8). When I 
 think of the strength of character which this man 
 possessed I hear the words of David words much 
 more fitting on this occasion than when David 
 spoke them : i Know ye not that there is a prince 
 and a great man fallen this day in Israel ' (2 Sam. 
 3:38)? 
 
 "Again, the words that were used to describe 
 Barnabas would fittingly apply to this occasion: 
 ' He was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit 
 and of faith : and much people was added unto the 
 Lord' (Acts 11: 24). When I think of his strong 
 Christian faith the words of Job keep ringing in my
 
 337 
 
 ears : ' I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he 
 shall stand at the latter day upon the earth ' (Job 
 19 : 25) . And then I go back a few years to the time 
 when my own mother was sick, only a few days be- 
 fore she passed away, as she asked for her New Tes- 
 tament and turned to these words of Paul to his 
 son Timothy : i For I am now ready to be offered, 
 and the time of my departure is at hand. I have 
 fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I 
 have kept the faith : Henceforth there is laid up for 
 me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the 
 righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and 
 not to me only, but unto all them also that love his 
 appearing.' 
 
 " When I think of the attacks that have been 
 made against Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who 
 was conceived of the Holy Ghost, and born of the 
 Virgin Mary, and then consider how D. L. Miller 
 ever stood for the Deity of Jesus Christ, I hear 
 Paul cry out, ' I determined not to know any- 
 thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him cru- 
 cified' (1 Cor. 2:2). Finally, I recall the more 
 than one hundred Bible land lectures which our 
 brother delivered in this and the old college chapel, 
 the chief purpose of which was to establish the au- 
 thenticity of the Holy Scripture, not to mention 
 the hundreds of sermons he preached here and all 
 over the world. I turn to Psa. 119 : 9-16, and would 
 especially emphasize the 9th verse : ' Wherewith- 
 al shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking 
 heed thereto according to thy word.' ' 
 
 At the close of the speaker's remarks, Elder 
 John Heckman, of Polo, read the following reso-
 
 338 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 lutions passed by the faculty and trustees of Mount 
 Morris College : 
 
 " Whereas, God in his infinite wisdom has 
 called home our beloved brother, Elder D. L. Mil- 
 ler, we wish to have recorded an expression of our 
 sorrow and sympathy. 
 
 " Elder Miller has served Mount Morris Col- 
 lege as business manager, president, and for thirty- 
 five years was president of the board of trustees. 
 As a friend of education, he was always very much 
 interested in all the colleges of the Church of the 
 Brethren. 
 
 " In his official connection with Mount Morris 
 College he was one of the pioneers in the educa- 
 tional work of the church. While yet a young man, 
 he gave up a good business to become business 
 manager of the college. It is fitting to note that he 
 is the last of four prominent men in Mount Morris 
 College to leave us, the other three, J. G. Koyer, 
 Joseph Amick and Melchor Newcomer, having died 
 recently. 
 
 "As business manager of the college, he dis- 
 played the same ability and faithfulness that has 
 always been characteristic of our brother. When 
 money was needed to further the work he was ready 
 to give liberally of his means. When a president 
 was needed to tide over a critical period he was 
 drafted and assumed the responsibility, doing the 
 work nobly. 
 
 " During the generation of his presidency of 
 the board of trustees, many difficult problems were 
 met, and, due largely to his persistency, steady 
 progress has been made.
 
 339 
 
 " His real worth to the college cannot be esti- 
 mated. The library, of about three thousand vol- 
 umes, which he has left to the school, will ever 
 constitute a memorial to his interest in the best 
 things of life. 
 
 " To his faithful wife who, by encouragement 
 and good counsel, has had a large share in the work 
 of our brother, we extend our sympathy in this 
 hour of supreme sorrow. 
 
 " Our brother left us at a ripe age, but full of 
 a youthful desire to be busy laboring for the good 
 of humanity. Though his body is dead, the noble 
 spirit he possessed will live on wherever his life 
 and work are known. 
 
 " Be it resolved, That a copy of these resolu- 
 tions be given to the devoted companion of our 
 brother, a copy be printed in the Gospel Messenger, 
 Mount Morris Index and College Bulletin. 
 
 " Fraternally submitted, 
 " Trustees of Mount Morris College, 
 " Faculty of Mount Morris College." 
 
 At the Conference the missionary program 
 was turned into a memorial service for Brother 
 Williams and Father Miller. That afternoon 
 Brother H. C. Early read Father's last message to 
 this body, and spoke very fittingly of his work in 
 the church, giving in detail the various activities 
 of his busy life, reviewing his educational and mis- 
 sionary work, his travels and his gifts to the 
 church, relating events that need not be repeated 
 here, for they have already been given.
 
 340 LIFE OF D. L. MILLER 
 
 For many years Father had maintained a lot 
 in the old Silver Creek cemetery, where his grand- 
 parents were buried. Some few years before his 
 death he changed to a cemetery just west of Mount 
 Morris, explaining that one or the other of them 
 would go first and he wanted that one to lie close 
 home, so that the grave could be visited. 
 
 The last moments of his life were singularly 
 connected with the places and people he loved best. 
 His last love feast was at his old home church. 
 Brother Wilbur Stover, with whom he had spent 
 those pleasant months in India, could be with him 
 during some of his last hours. His death came in 
 the home of his sister, who had been a daughter to 
 him, and of Galen, her husband, who had been 
 more than a son to him had been, in fact, his con- 
 fidential friend through so many years. His de- 
 voted wife was at his side, comforting him to the 
 very end. And he was laid to rest near that home 
 for which he had lived and loved and labored laid 
 away from our sight, but the spirit of his love 
 broods over us, a comforter.
 
 HIS OLD HOME CHURCH WHERE HE CONDUCTED 
 HIS LAST LOVE FEAST
 
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