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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11754 ***
+
+FORTY YEARS IN SOUTH CHINA
+
+The Life of Rev. John Van Nest Talmage, D.D.
+
+by
+
+Rev. John Gerardus Fagg
+Missionary of the American Reformed (Dutch) Church, at Amoy, China
+
+1894
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+BY REV. T. DE WITT TALMAGE, D.D.
+
+Too near was I to the subject of this biography to write an impartial
+introduction. When John Van Nest Talmage went, my last brother went.
+Stunned until I staggered through the corridors of the hotel in London,
+England, when the news came that John was dead. If I should say all that I
+felt I would declare that since Paul the great apostle to the Gentiles, a
+more faithful or consecrated man has not lifted his voice in the dark
+places of heathenism. I said it while he was alive, and might as well say
+it now that he is dead. "He was the hero of our family." He did not go to
+a far-off land to preach because people in America did not want to hear him
+preach. At the time of his first going to China he had a call to succeed
+Rev. Dr. Brodhead, of Brooklyn, the Chrysostom of the American pulpit, a
+call with a large salary, and there would not have been anything impossible
+to him in the matters of religious work or Christian achievement had he
+tarried in his native land. But nothing could detain him from the work to
+which God called him years before he became a Christian. My reason for
+writing that anomalous statement is that when a boy in Sabbath-school at
+Boundbrook, New Jersey, he read a Library book, entitled "The Life of Henry
+Martyn, the Missionary," and he said to our mother, "Mother! when I grow up
+I am going to be a missionary!" The remark made no especial impression at
+the time. Years passed on before his conversion. But when the grace of God
+appeared to him, and he had begun his study for the ministry, he said one
+day, "Mother! Do you remember that many years ago I said, 'I am going to be
+a missionary'?" She replied, "Yes! I remember you said so." "Well," said
+he, "I am going to keep my promise." And how well he kept it millions of
+souls on earth and in heaven have long since heard. But his chief work is
+yet to come. We get our chronology so twisted that we come to believe that
+the white marble of the tomb is the mile-stone at which a good man stops,
+when it is only a mile-stone on a journey, the most of the miles of which
+are yet to be travelled.
+
+The Dictionary which my brother prepared with more than two decades of
+study, the religious literature he transferred from English into Chinese,
+the hymns he wrote for others to sing, although himself could not sing at
+all, (he and I monopolizing the musical incapacity of a family in which all
+the rest could sing well), the missionary stations he planted, the life he
+lived, will widen out, and deepen and intensify through all time and all
+eternity.
+
+I am glad that those competent to tell of his magnificent work have
+undertaken it. You could get nothing about it from him at all. Ask him a
+question trying to evoke what he had done for God and the church, and his
+lips were as tightly shut as though they had never been opened. He was
+animated enough when drawn out in discussion religious, educational, or
+political, but he had great powers of silence. I once took him to see
+General Grant, our reticent President. On that occasion they both seemed to
+do their best in the art of quietude. The great military President with his
+closed lips on one side of me, and my brother with his closed lips on the
+other side of me, I felt there was more silence in the room than I ever
+before knew to be crowded into the same space. It was the same kind of
+reticence that always came upon John when you asked him about his work. But
+the story has been gloriously told in the heavens by those who through his
+instrumentality have already reached the City of Raptures. When the roll of
+martyrs is called before the Throne of God, the name of John Van Nest
+Talmage will be called. He worked himself to death in the cause of the
+world's evangelization. His heart, his brain, his lungs, his hands, his
+muscles, his nerves, all wrought for others until heart and brain, and
+lungs and hands, and muscles and nerves could do no more.
+
+He sleeps in the cemetery near Somerville, New Jersey, so near father and
+mother that he will face them when he rises in the Resurrection of the
+Just, and amid a crowd of kindred now slumbering on the right of him, and
+on the left of him, he will feel the thrill of the Trumpet that wakes the
+dead.
+
+Allelujah! Amen!
+
+BROOKLYN, June, 1894.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+The accompanying resolution of the Board of Foreign Missions of the
+Reformed Church in America, November 16, 1892, explains the origin of this
+volume:
+
+"Resolved, That the Board of Foreign Missions, being firmly convinced that
+a biography of the late John V. N. Talmage, D.D., for over forty years
+identified with the Mission at Amoy, would be of great service to the cause
+of Missions, heartily recommend to the family of Dr. Talmage the selection
+of an appropriate person to prepare such a memoir, and in case this is
+done, promise to render all the aid in their power in furnishing whatever
+facts or records may be of service to the author of the book."
+
+The writer raised his pen to this task with hesitancy. He had known Dr.
+Talmage only little more than a year; long enough, indeed, to revere and
+love him, but not long enough to tell the story of so rich and fruitful a
+life.
+
+Dr. Talmage was a man of unconscious greatness. If he could have been
+consulted it is doubtful whether a public record of him would have ever
+seen the light. His life to him would have seemed too commonplace and
+unworthy. He was exceedingly careful in the use of language. He could not
+endure exaggeration. Nothing so commanded his admiration as honesty and
+accuracy of statement. That ought to be sufficient to guard any one who
+speaks of such a man against indiscriminate eulogy.
+
+We have endeavored as far as possible to make this memoir an autobiography.
+To carry out this purpose has not been without difficulties.
+
+Dr. Talmage did not keep a continuous diary. He did not preserve complete
+files of his correspondence as if anticipating the needs of some possible
+biographer.
+
+The author's enforced retirement from the mission field in the midst of
+collecting and sifting material, has been no small drawback.
+
+It is hoped, however, that enough has been gleaned to justify publication.
+Sincerest thanks are due to those brethren who contributed to the
+concluding chapter, "In Memoriam."
+
+If these pages may more fully acquaint the Church of Christ with a name
+which it should not willingly let die, and deepen interest in and hasten by
+the least hair-breadth the redemption of "China's Millions," the author
+will feel abundantly rewarded.
+
+JOHN G. FAGG.
+
+ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
+October 1, 1894.
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+Rev. John Van Nest Talmage
+Chinese Clan House
+Buddhist Temple, Amoy
+Pagoda near Lam-sin
+Chinese Bride and Groom
+Traveling Equipment in South China
+Pastor Iap and Family
+The Sio ke Valley
+Glimpse of the Sio-ke River
+Scene in the Hakka Region
+Girl's School; The Talmage Manse; Woman's School. (Kolongsu, opposite Amoy)
+Pastor Iap
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+I. The Ancestral Home
+II. Call to China and Voyage Hence
+III. The City of the "Elegant Gate"
+  Description of Amoy and Amoy Island
+  Ancestral Worship
+  Infanticide
+  Is China to be won, and how?
+  Worship of the Emperor
+IV. Light and Shade
+  The Chiang-chiu Valley
+  Breaking and Burning of Idols
+  The Chinese Boat Race and its Origin
+  The Chinese Beggar System
+  Two Noble Men Summoned Hence
+V. At the Foot of the Bamboos
+  Opium
+  Romanized Colloquial
+  Chinese Sense of Sin
+  Primitive Lamps
+  Zealous Converts
+  The Term Question
+  What it Costs a Chinese to become a Christian
+  Persecuted for Christ's Sake
+  "He is only a Beggar"
+  Printing under Difficulties
+  Carrier Pigeons
+VI. The "Little Knife" Insurrection
+  How the Chinese Fight
+VII. The Blossoming Desert
+  Si-boo's Zeal
+  An Appeal for a Missionary
+VIII. Church Union
+  The Memorial of the Amoy Mission
+IX. Church Union (continued)
+X. The Anti-missionary Agitation
+XI. The Last Two Decades
+  Forty continuous Years in Heathenism
+  Chinese Grandiloquence
+XII. In Memoriam
+  Dr. Talmage--The Man and The Missionary
+    By Rev. W. S. Swanson, D.D.
+  Venerable Teacher Talmage
+    By Pastor Iap Han Chiong
+  Rev. John Van Nest Talmage, D.D.
+    By Rev. S. L. Baldwin, D.D.
+  The Rev. J. V. N. Talmage, D.D.
+    By Rev. Talbot W. Chambers, D.D., LL.D.
+  Rev. John Van Nest Talmage, D.D.
+    By Rev. John M. Ferris, D.D.
+APPENDIX
+
+
+
+
+I. THE ANCESTRAL HOME
+
+John Van Nest Talmage was born at Somerville, New Jersey, August 18, 1819
+He was the fourth son in a family of seven brothers and five sisters.
+
+The roots of the Talmage genealogical tree may be traced back to the year
+1630, when Enos and Thomas Talmage, the progenitors of the Talmage family
+in North America, landed at Charlestown, Massachusetts, and afterwards
+settled at East Hampton, Long Island.
+
+Dr. Lyman Beecher represents the first settlers of East Hampton as "men
+resolute, enterprising, acquainted with human nature, accustomed to do
+business, well qualified by education, circumspect, careful in dealing,
+friends of civil liberty, jealous of their rights, vigilant to discover,
+and firm to resist encroachments; eminently pious."
+
+In 1725 we find Daniel Talmage at Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Daniel's
+grandson, Thomas, during the years between 1775 and 1834 shifts his tent to
+Piscataway, New Jersey, thence to New Brunswick, thence to Somerville,
+where the stakes are driven firmly on a farm "beautiful for situation."
+Thomas Talmage was a builder by trade, and erected some of the most
+important courthouses and public edifices in Somerset and Middlesex
+Counties. He was active in the Revolutionary war, holding the rank of
+major. It was said of him, "His name will be held in everlasting
+remembrance in the churches." He was the father of seven sons and six
+daughters.
+
+The third son, David T., the father of John Van Nest Talmage, was born at
+Piscataway, April 21, 1783. He was married to Catharine Van Nests Dec. 19,
+1803. David T. Talmage was rather migratory in his instincts. The smoke
+of the Talmage home now curled out from a house at Mill stone, now from a
+homestead near Somerville, then from Gateville; then the family ark rested
+for many years on the outskirts of Somerville and finally it brought up at
+Bound Brook, New Jersey. Though the family tent was folded several times,
+it was not folded for more than a day's wagon journey before it was pitched
+again. The places designated arc all within the range of a single New
+Jersey county.
+
+In 1836 David T. Talmage was elected a member of the State Legislature and
+was returned three successive terms. In 1841, he was chosen high sheriff
+of Somerset County. Four of his sons entered the Christian ministry, James
+R., John Van Nest, Goyn, and Thomas De Witt. James R., the senior brother,
+rendered efficient service in pastorates at Pompton Plains and Blawenburgh,
+New Jersey, and in Brooklyn, Greenbush, and Chittenango, New York. He
+received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Rutgers College, New Jersey,
+in 1864. John Van Nest gave his life to China. Goyn, a most winsome man and
+eloquent preacher, ministered with marked success to the churches of
+Niskayuna, Green Point, Rhinebeck, and Port Jervis, New York, and Paramus,
+New Jersey. He was for five years the Corresponding Secretary of the Board
+of Domestic Missions of the Reformed Church. Rutgers College honored
+herself and him by giving him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1876.
+
+Thomas De Witt, the youngest son, still ministers to the largest church in
+Protestant Christendom. What a river of blessing has flowed from that
+humble, cottage well-spring. The wilderness and the parched land have been
+made glad by it. The desert has been made to rejoice and blossom as the
+rose. The courses thereof have gone out into all the earth, and the tossing
+of its waves have been heard to the end of the world.
+
+In November, 1865, Dr. T. De Witt Talmage preached a sermon on "The Beauty
+of Old Age"[*] from the words in Eccles. xii. 5, "The Almond Tree shall
+flourish." It was commemorative of his father, David T. Talmage. He says:
+"I have stood, for the last few days, as under the power of an enchantment.
+Last Friday-a-week, at eighty-three years of age, my father exchanged earth
+for heaven. The wheat was ripe, and it has been harvested. No painter's
+pencil or poet's rhythm could describe that magnificent sun setting. It was
+no hurricane blast let loose; but a gale from heaven, that drove into the
+dust the blossoms of that almond tree.
+
+  [Footnote *: This sermon gives so graphic and tender a portrayal of the
+  father of one of America's most distinguished ministerial families, that
+  the author feels justified in making so lengthy an extract.]
+
+"There are lessons for me to learn, and also for you, for many of you knew
+him. The child of his old age, I come to-night to pay an humble tribute to
+him, who, in the hour of my birth, took me into his watchful care, and
+whose parental faithfulness, combined with that of my mother, was the means
+of bringing my erring feet to the cross, and kindling in my soul
+anticipations of immortal blessedness. If I failed to speak, methinks the
+old family Bible, that I brought home with me, would rebuke my silence, and
+the very walls of my youthful home would tell the story of my ingratitude.
+I must speak, though it be with broken utterance, and in terms which seem
+too strong for those of you who never had an opportunity of gathering the
+fruit of this luxuriant almond tree.
+
+"First. In my father's old age was to be seen the beauty of a cheerful
+spirit. I never remember to have heard him make a gloomy expression. This
+was not because he had no conception of the pollutions of society. He
+abhorred everything like impurity, or fraud, or double-dealing. He never
+failed to lift up his voice against sin, when he saw it. He was terrible in
+his indignation against wrong, and had an iron grip for the throat of him
+who trampled on the helpless. Better meet a lion robbed of her whelps than
+him, if you had been stealing the bread from the mouth of the fatherless.
+It required all the placidity of my mother's voice to calm him when once
+the mountain storm of his righteous wrath was in full blast; while as for
+himself, he would submit to more imposition, and say nothing, than any man
+I ever knew.
+
+"But while sensitive to the evils of society, he felt confident that all
+would be righted. When he prayed, you could hear in the very tones of his
+voice the expectation that Christ Jesus would utterly demolish all
+iniquity, and fill the earth with His glory. This Christian man was not a
+misanthrope, did not think that everything was going to ruin, considered
+the world a very good place to live in. He never sat moping or despondent,
+but took things as they were, knowing that God could and would make them
+better. When the heaviest surge of calamity came upon him, he met it with
+as cheerful a countenance as ever a bather at the beach met the incoming
+Atlantic, rising up on the other side of the wave stronger than when it
+smote him. Without ever being charged with frivolity, he sang, and
+whistled, and laughed. He knew about all the cheerful tunes that were ever
+printed in old 'New Brunswick Collection,' and the 'Strum Way,' and the
+sweetest melodies that Thomas Hastings ever composed. I think that every
+pillar in the Somerville and Bound Brook churches knew his happy voice. He
+took the pitch of sacred song on Sabbath morning, and lost it not through
+all the week. I have heard him sing plowing amid the aggravations of a 'new
+ground,' serving writs, examining deeds, going to arrest criminals, in the
+house and by the way, at the barn and in the street. When the church choir
+would break down, everybody looked around to see if he were not ready with
+Woodstock, Mount Pisgah, or Uxbridge. And when all his familiar tunes
+failed to express the joy of his soul, he would take up his own pen, draw
+five long lines across the sheet, put in the notes, and then to the tune
+that he called 'Bound Brook' begin to sing:
+
+  'As when the weary trav'ler gains
+  The height of some o'erlooking hill,
+  His heart revives if, 'cross the plains,
+  He eyes his home, tho' distant still:
+
+  Thus, when the Christian pilgrim views,
+  By faith, his mansion in the skies;
+  The sight his fainting strength renews,
+  And wings his speed to reach the prize.
+
+  "'Tis there," he says, "I am to dwell
+  With Jesus in the realms of day:
+  There I shall bid my cares farewell,
+  And he will wipe my tears away."
+
+"But few families fell heir to so large a pile of well-studied note-books.
+He was ready, at proper times, for all kinds of innocent amusement. He
+often felt a merriment that not only touched the lips, but played upon
+every fibre of the body, and rolled down into the very depths of his soul,
+with long reverberations. No one that I ever knew understood more fully
+the science of a good laugh. He was not only quick to recognize hilarity
+when created by others, but was always ready to do his share toward making
+it. Before extreme old age, he could outrun and outleap any of his
+children. He did not hide his satisfaction at having outwalked some one
+who boasted of his pedestrianism, or at having been able to swing the
+scythe after all the rest of the harvesters had dropped from exhaustion, or
+at having, in legislative hall, tripped up some villainous scheme for
+robbing the public treasury. We never had our ears boxed, as some children
+I wot of, for the sin of being happy. In long winter nights it was hard to
+tell who enjoyed sportfulness the better, the children who romped the
+floor, or the parents who, with lighted countenance, looked at them. Great
+indulgence and leniency characterized his family rule, but the remembrance
+of at least one correction more emphatic than pleasing proves that he was
+not like Eli of old, who had wayward sons and restrained them not. In the
+multitude of his witticisms there were no flings at religion, no
+caricatures of good men, no trifling with things of eternity. His laughter
+was not the 'crackling of thorns under a pot,' but the merry heart that
+doeth good like a medicine. For this all the children of the community
+knew him; and to the last day of his walking out, when they saw him coming
+down the lane, shouted, 'Here comes grandfather!' No gall, no acerbity, no
+hypercriticism. If there was a bright side to anything, he always saw it,
+and his name, in all the places where he dwelt, will long be a synonym for
+exhilaration of spirit.
+
+"But whence this cheerfulness? Some might ascribe it ail to natural
+disposition. No doubt there is such a thing as sunshine of temperament.
+God gives more brightness to the almond tree than to the cypress. While
+the pool putrefies under the summer sun, God slips the rill off of the
+rocks with a frolicsomeness that fills the mountain with echo. No doubt
+constitutional structure had much to do with this cheerfulness. He had, by
+a life of sobriety, preserved his freshness and vigor. You know that good
+habits are better than speaking tubes to the ear; better than a staff to
+the hand; better than lozenges to the throat; better than warm baths to the
+feet; better than bitters for the stomach. His lips had not been polluted,
+nor his brain befogged, by the fumes of the noxious weed that has sapped
+the life of whole generations, sending even ministers of the Gospel to
+untimely graves, over which the tombstone declared, 'Sacrificed by overwork
+in the Lord's vineyard,' when if the marble had not lied, it would have
+said, 'Killed by villainous tobacco!' He abhorred anything that could
+intoxicate, being among the first in this country to join the crusade
+against alcoholic beverages. When urged, during a severe sickness, to take
+some stimulus, he said, 'No! If I am to die, let me die sober!' The swill
+of the brewery had never been poured around the roots of this thrifty
+almond. To the last week of his life his ear could catch a child's
+whisper, and at fourscore years his eyes refused spectacles, although he
+would sometimes have to hold the book off on the other side of the light,
+as octogenarians are wont to do. No trembling of the hands, no rheum in
+the eyes, no knocking together of the knees, no hobbling on crutches with
+what polite society terms rheumatism in the feet, but what everybody knows
+is nothing but gout. Death came, not to fell the gnarled trunk of a tree
+worm-eaten and lightning-blasted, but to hew down a Lebanon cedar, whose
+fall made the mountains tremble and the heavens ring. But physical health
+could not account for half of this sunshine. Sixty-four years ago a coal
+from the heavenly altar had kindled a light that shone brighter and
+brighter to the perfect day. Let Almighty grace for nearly three-quarters
+of a century triumph in a man's soul, and do you wonder that he is happy?
+For twice the length of your life and mine he had sat in the bower of the
+promises, plucking the round, ripe clusters of Eshcol. While others bit
+their tongues for thirst, he stood at the wells of salvation, and put his
+lips to the bucket that came up dripping with the fresh, cool, sparkling
+waters of eternal life. This joy was not that which breaks in the bursting
+bubble of the champagne glass, or that which is thrown out with the
+orange-peelings of a midnight bacchanalia, but the joy which, planted by a
+Saviour's pardoning grace, mounts up higher and higher, till it breaks
+forth in the acclaim of the hundred and forty and four thousand who have
+broken their last chain and wept their last sorrow. Oh! mighty God! How
+deep, how wide, how high the joy Thou kindles" in the heart of the
+believer!
+
+"Again: We behold in our father the beauty of a Christian faith.
+
+"Let not the account of this cheerfulness give you the idea that he never
+had any trouble. But few men have so serious and overwhelming a life
+struggle. He went out into the world without means, and with no educational
+opportunity, save that which was afforded him in the winter months, in an
+old, dilapidated school-house, from instructors whose chief work was to
+collect their own salary. Instead of postponing the marriage relation, as
+modern society compels a young man to postpone it, until he can earn a
+fortune, and be able, at commencement of the conjugal relation, to keep a
+companion like the lilies of the field, that toil not nor spin, though
+Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these--he chose an
+early alliance with one, who would not only be able to enjoy the success of
+his life, but who would with her own willing hands help achieve it. And so
+while father plowed the fields, and threshed the wheat, and broke the flax,
+and husked the corn, my mother stood for Solomon's portraiture, when he
+said, 'She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her
+household. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the
+distaff. She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her
+household are clothed with scarlet. Her children arise up and call her
+blessed, her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done
+virtuously, but thou excellest them all.' So that the limited estate of
+the New Jersey farmer never foundered on millinery establishments and
+confectionery shops. And though we were some years of age before we heard
+the trill of a piano, we knew well about the song of 'The Spinning-wheel.'
+There were no lords, or baronets, or princes in our ancestral line. None
+wore stars, cockade, or crest. There was once a family coat of arms, but
+we were none of us wise enough to tell its meaning. Do our best, we cannot
+find anything about our forerunners, except that they behaved well, came
+over from Wales or Holland a good while ago, and died when their time came.
+Some of them may have had fine equipage and caparisoned postillion, but the
+most of them were only footmen. My father started in life belonging to the
+aristocracy of hard knuckles and homespun, but had this high honor that no
+one could despise. He was the son of a father who loved God, and kept His
+commandments. What is the House of Hapsburg or Stuarts, compared with
+being son of the Lord God Almighty? Two eyes, two hands, and two feet,
+were the capital my father started with. For fifteen years an invalid, he
+had a fearful struggle to support his large family. Nothing but faith in
+God upheld him. His recital of help afforded, and deliverances wrought,
+was more like a romance than a reality. He walked through many a desert,
+but every morning had its manna, and every night it's pillar of fire, and
+every hard rock a rod that could shatter it into crystal fountains at his
+feet. More than once he came to his last dollar; but right behind that
+last dollar he found Him who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and out
+of the palm of whose hand all the fowls of heaven peck their food, and who
+hath given to each one of His disciples a warrantable deed for the whole
+universe in the words, 'All are yours.'
+
+"The path that led him through financial straits, prepared him also for
+sore bereavements. The infant of days was smitten, and he laid it into the
+river of death with as much confidence as infant Moses was laid into the
+Ark of the Nile, knowing that soon from the royal palace a shining One
+would come to fetch it.
+
+"In an island of the sea, among strangers, almost unattended, death came to
+a beloved son; and though I remember the darkness that dropped on the
+household when the black-sealed letter was opened, I remember also the
+utterances of Christian submission.
+
+"Another bearing his own name, just on the threshold of manhood, his heart
+beating high with hope, falls into the dust; but above the cries of early
+widowhood and the desolation of that dark day, I hear the patriarch's
+prayer, commending children, and children's children, to the Divine
+sympathy.
+
+"But a deeper shadow fell across the old home-stead. The 'Golden Wedding'
+had been celebrated nine years before. My mother looked up, pushed back
+her spectacles, and said, 'Just think of it, father! We have been together
+fifty-nine years!' The twain stood together like two trees of the forest
+with interlocked branches. Their affections had taken deep root together
+in many a kindred grave. Side by side in life's great battle, they had
+fought the good fight and won the day. But death comes to unjoint this
+alliance. God will not any longer let her suffer mortal ailments. The
+reward of righteousness is ready, and it must be paid. But what a tearing
+apart! What rending up! What will the aged man do without this other to
+lean on? Who can so well understand how to sympathize and counsel? What
+voice so cheering as hers, to conduct him down the steep of old age? 'Oh'
+said she in her last moments, 'father, if you and I could only be together,
+how pleasant it would be!' But the hush of death came down one autumnal
+afternoon, and for the first time in all my life, on my arrival at home, I
+received no maternal greeting, no answer of the lips, no pressure of the
+hand. God had taken her.
+
+"In this overwhelming shock the patriarch stood confident, reciting the
+promises and attesting the Divine goodness. O, sirs, that was faith,
+faith, faith! 'Thanks be unto God who giveth us the victory!'
+
+"Finally, I noticed that in my father's old age was to be seen the beauty
+of Christian activity. He had not retired from the field. He had been
+busy so long you could not expect him idle now. The faith I have described
+was not an idle expectation that sits with its hands in its pockets idly
+waiting, but a feeling which gathers up all the resources of the soul, and
+hurls them upon one grand design. He was among the first who toiled in
+Sabbath-schools, and never failed to speak the praise of these
+institutions. No storm or darkness ever kept him away from prayer-meeting.
+In the neighborhood where he lived for years held a devotional meeting.
+Oftentimes the only praying man present, before a handful of attendants, he
+would give out the hymn, read the lines, conduct the music, and pray. Then
+read the Scriptures and pray again. Then lead forth in the Doxology with
+an enthusiasm as if there were a thousand people present, and all the
+church members had been doing their duty. He went forth visiting the sick,
+burying the dead, collecting alms for the poor, inviting the ministers of
+religion to his household, in which there was, as in the house of Shunem, a
+little room over the wall, with bed and candlestick for any passing Elisha.
+He never shuddered at the sight of a subscription paper, and not a single
+great cause of benevolence has arisen within the last half century which he
+did not bless with his beneficence. Oh, this was not a barren almond tree
+that blossomed. His charity was not like the bursting of the bud of a
+famous tree in the South that fills the whole forest with its racket; nor
+was it a clumsy thing like the fruit, in some tropical clime, that crashes
+down, almost knocking the life out of those who gather it; for in his case
+the right hand knew not what the left hand did. The churches of God in
+whose service he toiled, have arisen as one man to declare his faithfulness
+and to mourn their loss. He stood in the front of the holy war, and the
+courage which never trembled or winced in the presence of temporal danger
+induced him to dare all things for God. In church matters he was not
+afraid to be shot at. Ordained, not by the laying on of human hands, but
+by the imposition of a Saviour's love, he preached by his life, in official
+position, and legislative hall, and commercial circles, a practical
+Christianity. He showed that there was such a thing as honesty in
+politics. He slandered no party, stuffed no ballot box, forged no
+naturalization papers, intoxicated no voters, told no lies, surrendered no
+principle, countenanced no demagogism. He called things by their right
+names; and what others styled prevarication, exaggeration, misstatement or
+hyperbole, he called a lie. Though he was far from being undecided in his
+views, and never professed neutrality, or had any consort with those
+miserable men who boast how well they can walk on both sides of a dividing
+line and be on neither, yet even in the excitements of election canvass,
+when his name was hotly discussed in public journals, I do not think his
+integrity was ever assaulted. Starting every morning with a chapter of the
+Bible, and his whole family around him on their knees, he forgot not, in
+the excitements of the world, that he had a God to serve and a heaven to
+win. The morning prayer came up on one side of the day, and the evening
+prayer on the other side, and joined each other in an arch above his head,
+under the shadow of which he walked all the day. The Sabbath worship
+extended into Monday's conversation, and Tuesday's bargain, and Wednesday's
+mirthfulness, and Thursday's controversy, and Friday's sociality, and
+Saturday's calculation.
+
+"Through how many thrilling scenes had he passed! He stood, at Morristown,
+in the choir that chanted when George Washington was buried; talked with
+young men whose grandfathers he had held on his knee; watched the progress
+of John Adams' administration; denounced, at the time, Aaron Burr's infamy;
+heard the guns that celebrated the New Orleans victory; voted against
+Jackson, but lived long enough to wish we had one just like him; remembered
+when the first steamer struck the North River with it's wheel buckets;
+flushed with excitement in the time of national banks and sub-treasury; was
+startled at the birth of telegraphy; saw the United States grow from a
+speck on the world's map till all nations dip their flag at our passing
+merchantmen, and our 'national airs' have been heard on the steeps of the
+Himalayas; was born while the Revolutionary cannon were coming home from
+Yorktown, and lived to hear the tramp of troops returning from the war of
+the great Rebellion; lived to speak the names of eighty children,
+grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Nearly all his contemporaries
+gone! Aged Wilberforce said that sailors drink to 'friends astern' until
+halfway over the sea, and then drink to 'friends ahead.' So, also, with my
+father. Long and varied pilgrimage! Nothing but sovereign grace could
+have kept him true, earnest, useful, and Christian through so many exciting
+scenes.
+
+"He worked unwearily from the sunrise of youth, to the sunset of old age,
+and then in the sweet nightfall of death, lighted by the starry promises,
+went home, taking his sheaves with him. Mounting from earthly to heavenly
+service, I doubt not there were a great multitude that thronged heaven's
+gate to hail him into the skies,--those whose sorrows he had appeased,
+whose burdens he had lifted, whose guilty souls he had pointed to a
+pardoning God, whose dying moments he had cheered, whose ascending spirits
+he had helped up on the wings of sacred music. I should like to have heard
+that long, loud, triumphant shout of heaven's welcome. I think that the
+harps throbbed with another thrill, and the hills quaked with a mightier
+hallelujah. Hail! ransomed soul! Thy race run,--thy toil ended! Hail to
+the coronation!"
+
+At the death of David T. Talmage the Christian Intelligencer of October 25,
+1865, contained the following contribution from the pen of Dr. T.W.
+Chambers, for many years pastor of the Second Reformed Church, Somerville,
+New Jersey, now one of the pastors of the Collegiate Church, New York:
+
+"In the latter part of the last century, Thomas Talmage, Sr., a plain but
+intelligent farmer, moved into the neighborhood of Somerville, N.J., and
+settled upon a fertile tract of land, very favorably situated, and
+commanding a view of the country for miles around. Here he spent the
+remainder of a long, godly, and useful life, and reared a large family of
+children, twelve of whom were spared to reach adult years, and to make and
+adorn the same Christian profession of which their father was a shining
+light. Two of these became ministers of the Gospel, of whom one, Jehiel,
+fell asleep several years since, while the other, the distinguished Samuel
+K. Talmage, D.D., President of Oglethorpe University, Georgia, entered into
+his rest only a few weeks since. Another son, Thomas, was for an entire
+generation the strongest pillar in the Second Church of Somerville.
+
+"One of the oldest of the twelve was the subject of this notice; a man
+whose educational advantages were limited to the local schools of the
+neighborhood, but whose excellent natural abilities, sharpened by contact
+with the world, gave him a weight in the community which richer and more
+cultivated men might have envied. In the prime of his years he was often
+called to serve his fellow citizens in civil trusts. He spent some years
+in the popular branch of the Legislature, and was afterwards high sheriff
+of the County of Somerset for the usual period. In both cases he fulfilled
+the expectations of his friends, and rendered faithful service. The
+sterling integrity of his character manifested itself in every situation;
+and even in the turmoil of politics, at a time of much excitement, he
+maintained a stainless name, and defied the tongue of calumny. But it was
+chiefly in the sphere of private and social relations that his work was
+done and his influence exerted. His father's piety was reproduced in him
+at an early period, and soon assumed a marked type of thoroughness,
+activity and decision, which it bore even to the end. His long life was
+one of unblemished Christian consistency, which in no small measure was due
+to the influence of his excellent wife, Catherine Van Nest, a niece of the
+late Abraham Van Nest, of New York City, who a few years preceded him into
+glory. She was the most godly woman the writer ever knew, a wonder unto
+many for the strength of her faith, the profoundness of her Christian
+experience, and the uniform spirituality of her mind. The ebb and flow
+common to most believers did not appear in her; but her course was like a
+river fed by constant streams, and running on wider and deeper till it
+reaches the sea. It might be said of this pair, as truly as of the parents
+of John the Baptist, 'And they were both righteous before God, walking in
+all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.' Hand in hand
+they pursued their pilgrimage through this world, presenting an example of
+intelligent piety such as is not often seen. 'Lovely and pleasant in their
+lives, in their death they were not (long) divided.' Exactly three years
+from the day of Mrs. Talmage's death her husband received the summons to
+rejoin her on high.
+
+"These parents were unusually careful and diligent in discharging their
+Christian obligations to their children. The promise of the covenant was
+importunately implored in their behalf from the moment of birth, its seal
+was early applied, and the whole training was after the pattern of Abraham.
+The Divine faithfulness was equally manifest, for the whole eleven were in
+due time brought to the Saviour, and introduced into the full communion of
+the Church. Years ago two of them were removed by death. Of the rest,
+four, James, John, Goyn, and Thomas De Witt, are ministers of the Gospel,
+and one is the wife of a minister (the Rev. S. L. Mershon, of East Hampton,
+L.I.). Without entering into details respecting these brethren, it is
+sufficient to say that, with the exception of the late Dr. John Scudder's,
+no other single family has been the means of making such a valuable
+contribution to the sons of Levi in the Dutch Church.
+
+"Mr. Talmage was not only exemplary in the ordinary duties of a Christian,
+but excellent as a church officer. Shrewd, patient, kind, generous
+according to his means, and full of quiet zeal, he was ready for every good
+work; one of those men--the delight of a pastor's heart--who can always
+be relied upon to do their share, if not a little more, and that in things
+both temporal and spiritual. He was a wise counselor, a true friend, a
+self-sacrificing laborer for the Master."
+
+We find the following allusion to the life and death of his mother, in a
+sermon by Dr. T. De Witt Talmage:
+
+"In these remarks upon maternal faithfulness, I have found myself
+unconsciously using as a model the character of one, who, last Wednesday,
+we put away for the resurrection. About sixty years ago, just before the
+day of their marriage, my father and mother stood up in the old
+meeting-house, at Somerville, to take the vows of a Christian. Through a
+long life of vicissitude she lived blamelessly and usefully, and came to
+her end in peace. No child of want ever came to her door, and was turned
+away. No stricken soul ever appealed to her and was not comforted. No
+sinner ever asked her the way to be saved, and was not pointed to Christ.
+
+"When the Angel of Life came to a neighbor's dwelling, she was there to
+rejoice at the incarnation; and when the Angel of Death came, she was there
+to robe the departed one for burial. We had often heard her, while
+kneeling among her children at family prayers, when father was absent, say:
+'I ask not for my children wealth, or honor; but I do ask that they may all
+become the subjects of Thy converting grace.' She had seen all her eleven
+children gathered into the Church, and she had but one more wish, and that
+was that she might again see her missionary son. And when the ship from
+China anchored in New York harbor, and the long absent one crossed the
+threshold of his paternal home, she said, 'Now, Lord, lettest Thou Thy
+servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.'
+
+"We were gathered from afar to see only the house from which the soul had
+fled forever. How calm she looked! Her folded hands appeared just as when
+they were employed in kindnesses for her children. And we could not help
+but say, as we stood and looked at her, 'Doesn't she look beautiful!' It
+was a cloudless day when, with heavy hearts, we carried her out to the last
+resting-place. The withered leaves crumbled under wheel and hoof as we
+passed, and the setting sun shone upon the river until it looked like fire.
+But more calm and bright was the setting sun of this aged pilgrim's life.
+No more toil. No more tears. No more sickness. No more death. Dear
+mother! Beautiful mother!
+
+  "'Sweet is the slumber beneath the sod,
+  While the pure soul is resting with God.'"
+
+
+
+
+II. CALL TO CHINA AND VOYAGE HENCE
+
+The known facts in regard to John Talmage's boyhood and youthful days are
+few. Of the known facts some perhaps are too trivial, others too sacred to
+bear mention. The sapling grew. Of the inner and outer circles of growth
+there is but brief record.
+
+He spent his boyhood at a quiet country hamlet, Gateville, New Jersey. On
+the ridge swung the toll-gate, and a little beyond might be heard the hum
+and rattle of the grist-mill. His father kept the toll-gate. John was a
+fine horseman, and found great sport in jumping on his horse and chasing
+the people who had "cheated the gate" by not paying their toll. John knew
+the law and was not afraid to go for them. He went to a private school
+under the care of a Mr. Morton at the village of Bound Brook, two miles
+from home, and generally stood at the head of his class.
+
+He early became the judge and counselor among his brothers and sisters. In
+any little dispute which arose, John's verdict was usually accepted as
+correct and final.
+
+During all his missionary career in China, he was an adviser and arbitrator
+whom foreigners and Chinese alike sought and from whose advice they were
+not quick to turn away.
+
+In the midst of the tumult among the men of Medina when they met to elect a
+chief to take the place of Mohammed, who had passed away, the voice of
+Hohab was heard crying out, "Attend to me, attend to me, for I am the
+well-rubbed Palm-stem." The figure Hobab used represented a palm-trunk
+left for the beasts to come and rub themselves upon. It was a metaphor for
+a person much resorted to for counsel. John Talmage never called attention
+to himself, but the Arab chief must have counseled many, and well, to have
+taken a higher place than did this messenger of Christ at Amoy.
+
+By the time John Talmage's school days at Bound Brook were completed he had
+determined to prepare for college. Preparatory schools then were few and
+far away. They were expensive. John made an arrangement with his senior
+brother, Rev. James R. Talmage, then pastor at Blawenburgh, New Jersey, to
+put him through the required course. Here he joined the Church at the age
+of seventeen. From Blawenburgh his brother Goyn and he went to New
+Brunswick, New Jersey, joining the Sophomore class in Rutgers College. John
+and Goyn roomed together, swept and garnished their own quarters and did
+their own cooking. Father Talmage would come down every week or two with
+provisions from the farm, to replenish the ever-recipient larder. Both John
+and Goyn were diligent students and graduated with honorable recognition
+from Rutgers College in 1842, and from New Brunswick Theological Seminary
+in 1845.
+
+John Talmage had made such substantial attainments in Hebrew and Greek,
+that when some years afterward the distinguished Dr. McClelland resigned as
+professor of these languages in the Theological Seminary at New Brunswick,
+he was talked of as Dr. McClelland's successor, and but for the conviction
+that he ought not to be removed from the Amoy Mission, his appointment
+would have been earnestly advocated by the General Synod.
+
+John Talmage had read missionary biographies when a boy in the
+Sunday-school at Bound Brook. He had been specially touched by the life of
+Henry Martyn. While at college he kept himself supplied with missionary
+literature. His parents were already interested in foreign missions. In
+secret before God his mother had devoted John to this very work. John did
+not know it. The determining word for him was that spoken in a missionary
+address, by Rev. Elihu Doty, one of the pioneers of the Amoy Mission. It
+was plain that he must go to the "regions beyond." He must break the news
+to his mother. John's love of missionary literature and his eager
+attendance upon missionary meetings had filled the family with a secret
+fear that he thought of going. One day he invited his younger sister,
+Catharine, to take a walk with him across the fields. He began to talk
+about missions to foreign lands. Finally he said, "Catharine, you must
+help me prepare the way to tell mother that I want to go to China." Too
+overcome with emotion was the sister to reply. They walked home in
+silence. John sought opportunity when he could quietly tell his mother.
+Said he, "Mother, I am going to China." In the intensity of a mother's
+love she replied, "Oh, John, it will kill me." But the grace of God
+triumphed and again she said, "I prayed to God for this, how can I object?"
+
+In October, 1845, he applied to the American Board of Commissioners for
+Foreign Missions, through Dr. Thomas De Witt, the Secretary for the
+Reformed Church. The letter is still in possession. An extract from it
+reads:
+
+"I was twenty-five years of age last August, reside at Somerville, New
+Jersey, have been blessed with Christian parents and enjoyed an early
+religious education. By the assistance of friends and the Church, I have
+been enabled to pursue the usual course of study preparatory in our Church
+to entering upon the duties of the Gospel ministry. I graduated at Rutgers
+College in the summer of 1842, pursued my theological studies in our
+seminary at New Brunswick, and received from the Classis of Philadelphia,
+July last, 'license' to preach the Gospel.
+
+"Owing doubtless in great measure to the religious advantages I have
+enjoyed, my mind has been more or less under religious impressions from my
+earliest recollection. About eight years ago I united on confession of
+faith with the Church (Reformed Dutch) at Blawenburgh, New Jersey, of which
+my brother, Rev. James R. Talmage, was then and still is pastor. Was
+living in his family at the time, and studying with him preparatory to
+entering college. I am unable to decide when I met with a change of heart.
+My reason for believing that I have experienced such a change are the
+evidences within me that I love my Saviour, love His cause, and love the
+souls of men.
+
+"My reason for desiring the missionary work is a desire for the salvation
+of the heathen. My mind has been directed to the subject for a long time,
+yet I have not felt at liberty to decide the question where duty called me
+to labor until the last month. In accordance with this decision I now
+offer my services to the Board to labor in my Master's service among the
+heathen. As a field of labor I prefer China."
+
+Owing to deficiency in funds the Board could not send him that year. He
+accepted an invitation to assist Dr. Brodhead, then pastor of the Central
+Reformed Church of Brooklyn. Dr. Brodhead was one of the great preachers
+of his day. In Philadelphia, an earlier pastorate, "he preached to great
+congregations of eager listeners, and with a success unparalleled in the
+history of that city and rare in modern times." John Van Nest Talmage
+might have been his successor. But no sooner was the Board ready to send
+him than he was prepared to go. The day for leaving home came. Father
+Talmage and the older brothers accompanied John. They left the house in
+three carriages. A younger sister (Mrs. Cone) recently said: "When we saw
+the three carriages driving down the lane it seemed more like a funeral
+than anything else." Silent were those who drove away. Silent, silent as
+they could constrain themselves to be, were mother and sisters as they
+stood by the windows and got their last look of the procession as it wound
+down the road. To go to a foreign land in those days signified to those
+who went, lifelong exile,--to those who tarried, lifelong separation. The
+only highways to the far East were by way of the Cape of Good Hope or Cape
+Horn. The voyages were always long and often perilous.
+
+When on board the ship Roman, bound for Canton, David Abeel wrote: "To the
+missionary perhaps exclusively, is the separation from friends like the
+farewell of death. Though ignorant of the future he expects no further
+intercourse on earth. To him the next meeting is generally beyond the
+grave."
+
+The hour of departure was not only saddened by parting from parents and
+brothers and sisters, but the young woman in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, to
+whom he had given his affection, could not join him. Once it had been
+decided that they were to go together, but during the last days the
+enfeebled widowed mother's courage failed her. She could not relinquish
+her daughter to what seemed to her separation for life. Mr. Talmage had to
+choose between the call of duty to China and going alone, or tarrying at
+home and realizing his heart's hopes. He went to China. By a special
+Providence it was not much more than two years after he set sail that he
+was again in the United States. The mother of Miss Abby Woodruff had died,
+and the union was consummated.
+
+Mr. Talmage kept a diary of the voyage. A few extracts will prove
+interesting.
+
+"Left Somerville April 10, 1847, via New York to Boston. Sailed from
+Boston in ship Heber, April 15th. Farewell services on board conducted by
+Bishop Janes, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Heber is a ship of
+436 tons, 136 feet long, 27 wide. Among the passengers are Rev. E. Doty
+and wife, and Rev. Moses C White and wife, and Rev. I. D. Collins. The
+three latter are Methodist missionaries bound for Foochow (China)." They
+were the pioneers of Methodist missions in China.
+
+On Thursday evening, the cay of sailing, he writes: "I am now upon the
+bosom of the mighty deep. But I cannot as yet feel any fear. I am in the
+hands of the Being 'whose I am and whom I serve.' In His hands there is
+safety. I will not fear though the earth be removed. Besides, there are
+Christian friends praying for me. Oh, the consolation in the assurance
+that at the throne of grace I am remembered by near and dear friends! Will
+not their prayers be heard? They will. I know they will. The effectual
+fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much! When I took leave of my
+friends, one, and another, and another, assured me that they would remember
+me in their prayers. Yes, and I will remember them."
+
+April 17th. Speaking of Mr. Collins, he says: "I think we shall much enjoy
+ourselves. We shall study, read, sing, and pray together, talk and walk
+together. From present appearances we shall feel towards each other as
+David and Jonathan did." Mr. Collins was a man of intense missionary
+convictions, who declared if there were no means to send him to China he
+would find his way before the mast, and work his way there.
+
+"April 22. We have now been one week on our voyage. We commenced our
+studies today. Mr. Doty, Collins, and myself have organized ourselves into
+a Hebrew class. We expect to have a daily recitation in Hebrew, another in
+Greek, and another in Chinese."
+
+"May 8th. Saturday evening. We have been out 23 days. We have had our
+worship as usual in the cabin. Since then we have spent some time in
+singing hymns. Have been led to think of home. Wonder where and how my
+many friends are? Are they happy? Are they well? Are they all alive? Is
+it strange that sadness sometimes steals over my mind, when I think of
+those whom I love, and remember their weeping eyes and sorrowful
+countenances at the time of bidding them farewell, perhaps never again to
+see them in this world."
+
+He had decided to take a text of Scripture for daily meditation, following
+the order in a little book published by the American Tract Society entitled
+"Dew Drops."
+
+"The text for today is 1 Pet. ii. 21. 'Christ suffered for us, leaving us
+an example, that we should follow his steps.'
+
+"Why should the Christian tremble at the prospect of suffering, or be
+impatient under its existence? 'The servant is not greater than his Lord.'
+The 'King of Glory' suffered, and shall a sinful man complain? Besides,
+the Christian should be willing to suffer for the welfare of others. If he
+can benefit his fellow-men by running the risk of losing his own life,
+shall he hesitate to run that risk?"
+
+"May 11. Since Sunday noon have made little progress."
+
+On examining the record of the voyage which Mr. Talmage kept faithfully
+every day, we find that the ship had made only twenty seven knots in two
+days.
+
+"June 18. For the last month we have not made rapid progress. We have
+experienced much detention from head-winds and calms. About a week ago we
+were put on an allowance of water, one gallon a day to each one on board.
+This includes all that is used for cooking, drinking and washing."
+
+"Have had quite a severe storm this afternoon and evening. The waves have
+been very high, and the wind--severe almost as a hurricane. This evening
+about 8 o'clock, after a very severe blow and heavy dash of rain, 'fire
+balls,' as the sailors termed them, were seen upon the tops of the masts,
+and also on the ends of the spars, which cross the masts. They presented a
+very beautiful appearance.
+
+"Brother Collins and myself have this week commenced the study of Pitman's
+System of Phonography." That Mr. Talmage became proficient in the use of
+it is evident from the fact that much of his journal was written in
+shorthand.
+
+"On the Sabbath Brother Collins and myself spend two hours in the
+forecastle instructing the sailors. Many of them seem perfectly willing,
+some of them anxious to receive instruction."
+
+"July 17. Saturday evening. Today passed to the eastward of Christmas
+Island (an island in the Indian Ocean). It is a small island about ten
+miles square. This is the first land seen since we left Boston. Of
+course, we gazed with much interest."
+
+"July 22. About nine o'clock Tuesday evening we anchored off Angier. This
+is a village off the island of Java, bordering on the Straits of Sunda.
+Remained at Angier until Wednesday afternoon. Capt. Patterson laid in a
+good supply of pigs, geese, ducks, chickens, yams, turtles, water, two
+goats, and fruits of various kinds in abundance."
+
+"Aug. 6. Friday. Wednesday evening arrived at Macao. This morning set
+sail for Whampoa, twelve miles below Canton."
+
+After a few days at Canton and Hongkong, Mr. and Mrs. Doty and Mr. Talmage
+embarked for Amoy on the schooner Caroline.
+
+"Aug 21. The Caroline is a small vessel of about one hundred and fifty
+tons burthen. She was built, I suppose, for the opium trade. Our passage
+from Hongkong was not very pleasant. Our quarters were close and our
+captain was far from being an agreeable companion. He drank freely and was
+very profane."
+
+"We left Brother Collins and Brother White and wife at Hongkong. We had
+been so long in company with these brethren, that it was trying to part
+with them. On Thursday, the day before yesterday, we arrived safely at
+Amoy. The brethren gave us a very hearty welcome. The missionary company
+at this place consists of Brother Pohlman, of the A.B.C.F.M.; Mr. Alexander
+Stronach and wife, and Brown, of the Presbyterian Board. Mr. John Stronach
+also belongs to this station. He is at present at Shanghai."
+
+
+
+
+III. THE CITY OF THE "ELEGANT GATE"[*]
+
+[Footnote *: the meaning of the two Chinese characters composing the name
+Amoy.]
+
+In a letter to the Sabbath-school of the Central Reformed Church, Brooklyn,
+Mr. Talmage thus describes the southern emporium of the province of Fukien:
+
+"Amoy is situated on an island of the same name. The city proper or
+citadel is about one mile in circumference. Its form is nearly that of a
+rhomboid or diamond. It is surrounded by a wall about twenty feet in
+height, and eight or ten feet in thickness, built of large blocks of coarse
+granite. It has four gates. The outer city, or city outside of the walls,
+is much more extensive. Its circumference, I suppose, is about six miles.
+
+"The streets are not so wide as the sidewalks in Brooklyn. Some of them
+are so narrow that, when two persons, walking in opposite directions, meet
+each other, it is necessary for the one to stop, in order that the other
+may pass on. The most of the streets are paved with coarse granite blocks,
+yet on account of the narrowness of the streets, and the want of
+cleanliness by the great mass of the inhabitants, the streets are usually
+very filthy.
+
+"This part of Amoy island is rugged and mountainous, and interspersed with
+large granite rocks. Some of them are of immense size. It is in such a
+place that the city has been built. Many of these rocks are left in their
+natural position, and overhang the houses which have been built among them.
+The ground has not been leveled as in Brooklyn, consequently the greater
+part of the streets are uneven. Some of them are conducted over the hills
+by stone steps. Near our residences, one of the public streets ascends a
+hill by a flight of thirty-six steps. On account of this unevenness of the
+streets as well as their narrowness a carriage cannot pass through the city
+of Amoy. Instead of carriages the more wealthy inhabitants use sedan
+chairs, which are usually borne by two bearers. The higher officers of
+government, called 'Mandarins,' have four bearers to carry them. The
+greater part of the inhabitants always travel on foot. The place of carts
+is supplied by men called 'coolies,' whose employment is to carry burdens.
+The houses, except along the wharves and a few pawn-shops farther up in the
+city, are one story.
+
+"There are no churches here, but there are far more temples for the worship
+of false gods, and the souls of deceased ancestors, than there are churches
+in Brooklyn.
+
+"Besides these, almost every family has its shrine and idols and ancestral
+tablets, which last are worshipped with more devotion than the idols. In
+consequence of their religion the people are degraded and immoral.
+One-third of all female children born in the city of Amoy are slain. In
+the villages throughout this whole region, it is supposed that about
+one-half are destroyed. They do not exhibit sympathy for each other and
+for those in distress, which is enjoined by the Bible, and which,
+notwithstanding all its defects, is the glory of Christian communities. I
+have seen a man dying on the pavement on a street, almost as densely
+thronged as Broadway, New York, and no one of the passers-by, or of the
+inhabitants of that part of the street, seemed to notice him or care for
+him more than if he had been a dog."
+
+
+DESCRIPTION OF AMOY AND AMOY ISLAND
+
+Another letter to the same congregation a few months later reads:
+
+"The first impression on the mind of an individual in approaching the
+shores of China from the south, and sailing along the coast, as far north
+as Amoy, is anything but favorable. So great is the contrast between the
+lovely scenery and dense vegetation of many of the islands of the Indian
+Archipelago, and the barren and worn-out hills which line the southern part
+of the coast of China, that in the whole range of human language it would
+seem scarcely possible to find a more inappropriate term than the term
+'Celestial' whereby to designate this great empire. Neither is this
+unfavorable opinion removed immediately on landing. The style of building
+is so inferior, the streets are so narrow and filthy, the countenances of
+the great mass of the people, at least to a newcomer, are so destitute of
+intelligent expression, and the bodies and clothing, and habits of the
+multitudes are so uncleanly, that one is compelled to exclaim in surprise,
+'Are these the people who stand at the top of pagan civilization, and who
+look upon all men as barbarous, except themselves?' Besides, everything
+looks old. Buildings, temples, even the rocks and the hills have a
+peculiar appearance of age and seem to be falling into decay. I am happy
+to say, however, that as we become better acquainted with the country and
+the people, many of these unfavorable impressions are removed. After
+passing a little to the north of Amoy, the appearance of the coast entirely
+changes. Even in this mountainous region we have valleys and plains, which
+would suffer but little by comparison with any other country for beauty and
+fertility. I also love the scenery around the city of Amoy very much. The
+city is situated on the western side of an island of the same name. This
+part of the island in its general appearance is very similar to the coast
+of which I have spoken. It is rocky and mountainous and barren. There
+are, however, among these barren hills many small fertile spots, situated
+in the ravines and along the watercourses, which on account of their high
+state of cultivation form a lovely contrast with the surrounding
+barrenness. Wherever the Chinese, at least in this part of the Empire, can
+find a watercourse, by cultivation they will turn the most barren soil into
+a garden. The sides of the ravines are leveled by digging down, and
+walling up, if necessary, forming terraces or small fields, the one above
+the other. These small fields are surrounded by a border of impervious
+clay. The water is conducted into the higher of these terraces, and from
+them conducted into those which are lower, as the state of the crops may
+demand. Often a field of paddy may be seen inundated, while the next field
+below, in which perhaps the sweet potato is growing, is kept perfectly dry.
+Among the hills there is much of picturesque scenery, and some that is
+truly sublime. The Buddhists have exhibited an exquisite taste for natural
+scenery, in selecting such places for the situation of many of their
+temples."
+
+
+ANCESTRAL WORSHIP
+
+"Their respect for ancestors is very great, so much so that the species of
+idolatry which has by far the strongest hold upon their minds is ancestral
+worship. This is the stronghold by which Satan maintains his supremacy
+over the minds of the people, and this we may expect will be the last to
+give way to the power of the Gospel of Christ. One may hold up their gods
+to ridicule and they will laugh at his remarks, but they do not love to
+hear the worship of their ancestors spoken against. This worship, after
+the period of mourning is over, consists chiefly in offering at stated
+times various articles of food to the spirits of the deceased, and in
+burning various kinds of paper, as a substitute for money, by which these
+spirits are supplied with that most convenient article. Natural affection
+and selfishness unite to strengthen their attachment to this worship. It
+is as necessary for the happiness of the souls of the dead, in the opinion
+of the Chinese, as is the saying of the mass in the opinion of a Roman
+Catholic. Without these attentions the souls of the deceased are in a sort
+of purgatory; wandering about in want and wretchedness. But if the desire
+of rendering their ancestors happy be not sufficient to secure attention to
+these rites, a still more powerful motive addresses itself to their minds.
+These wandering spirits are supposed capable of bringing misfortune and
+inflicting injuries on their ungrateful and impious descendants. Thus if a
+family meet with reverses, the cause is often attributed to the want of
+attention to the souls of the deceased ancestors, or to the fact that the
+sites of their graves have not been judiciously selected, and the
+dissatisfied spirits are taking vengeance for these neglects or mistakes.
+Another consideration which seems to exert much influence, is that if they
+neglect the spirits of their ancestors, their descendants may neglect them.
+
+"For the present life they can think of no higher happiness than success in
+acquiring wealth, and the highest happiness after death consists in having
+sons to supply the wants of their spirits. These are the two objects that
+engross the highest aspirations of a Chinaman."
+
+
+INFANTICIDE
+
+"This will account in part for the barbarous custom of infanticide which
+prevails to so lamentable an extent among these heathen. Only female
+infants are destroyed. While the parents are living the son may be of
+pecuniary advantage to them, and after their death, he can attend to the
+rites of their souls, and even after his death, through him the parents may
+have descendants to perform the ancestral rites. A daughter on the
+contrary, it is supposed, will only prove a burden in a pecuniary point of
+view, and after she is married she is reckoned to the family of her
+husband. Her children, also, except her husband otherwise order, are only
+expected to attend to the spirits of their paternal ancestors."
+
+"Some have denied the existence of the practice of infanticide among the
+Chinese, or, they have asserted that if it does exist, the practice of it
+is very unusual. Every village which we visit in this region gives
+evidence that such persons are not acquainted with this part of the empire.
+A few days ago a company of us visited the village of Kokia. It is
+situated on the northern extremity of Amoy Island, and contains, perhaps,
+two thousand inhabitants. After walking through the village we sat down
+for a short time under the shade of a large banyan tree. A large concourse
+of people soon gathered around us to see the foreigners and hear what they
+had to say. In this crowd we found by counting nearly a hundred boys, and
+but two or three girls. Also when walking through the village very few
+girls were to be seen. The custom of binding the feet of the girls, which
+greatly affects their power of locomotion, would account for more boys
+being seen than girls, but will not account for the disparity noticed. We
+therefore inquired the cause of this disparity. They answered with
+laughter that female children are killed. The same question has been asked
+again and again at the various villages we have visited and the same answer
+obtained. This answer is given freely and apparently without any idea that
+the practice is wicked, until they are taught so by us. The result of this
+one practice on the morals of the people may readily be imagined. It
+accustoms the mind to acts of cruelty and it prepares the way for impurity
+and wickedness in forms that are never dreamed of in Christian countries."
+
+In this connection an extract from Dr. David Abeel's[*] diary may be of
+value.
+
+[Footnote *: David Abeel was the founder of the American Reformed Mission
+at Amoy in 1842.]
+
+"Today had a conversation with one of the merchants who come to Kolongsu
+for trade, on the subject of female infanticide. Assuming a countenance of
+as much indifference as possible, I asked him how many of his own children
+he had destroyed: he instantly replied, 'Two.' I asked him whether he had
+spared any. He said, 'One I have saved.' I then inquired how many
+brothers he had. 'Eight,' was the answer. I asked him how many children
+his eldest brother had destroyed. 'Five or six.' I inquired of the
+second, third and all the rest; some had killed four or five, some two or
+three, and others had none to destroy. I then asked how many girls were
+left among them all. 'Three,' was the answer. And how many do you think
+have been strangled at birth? 'Probably from twelve to seventeen.' I
+wished to know the standing and employment of his brothers. One, he said,
+had attained a literary degree at the public examinations; the second was a
+teacher; one was a sailor; and the rest were petty merchants like himself.
+Thus, it was evidently not necessity but a cold inhuman calculation of the
+gains and losses of keeping them, which must have led these men to take the
+lives of their own offspring.
+
+"Mr. Boone's teacher's sister with her own hand destroyed her first three
+children successively. The fourth was also a girl, but the mother was
+afraid to lay violent hands on it, believing it to be one of the previous
+ones reappearing in a new body."
+
+"The names of the five districts in the Chinchew prefecture are Tong-an,
+An-khoe, Chin-kiang, Hui-an and Lam-an. Amoy is situated in the Chin-chew
+prefect.
+
+"From a comparison with many other parts of the country, there is reason to
+believe that a greater number of children are destroyed at birth in the
+Tong-an district than in any other of this department, probably more than
+in any other of this department, probably more than in any other part of
+the province of equal extent and populousness. In the Tong-an district I
+have inquired of persons from forty different towns and villages. The
+number destroyed varies exceedingly in different places, the extremes
+extending from seventy and eighty percent to ten percent. The average
+proportion destroyed in all these places amounting to nearly four-tenths or
+exactly thirty-nine percent.
+
+"In seventeen of these forty towns and villages, my informants declare that
+one-half or more are deprived of existence at birth.
+
+"From the inhabitants of six places in Chin-kiang, and of four places in
+Hui-an, if I am correctly informed, the victims of infanticide do not
+exceed sixteen percent.
+
+"In the seven districts of the Chiang-chiu prefecture the number is rather
+more than one-fourth or less than three-tenths.
+
+"There is reason to fear that scarcely less than twenty-five percent are
+suffocated almost at the first breath."
+
+It is altogether probable that this vice is just as prevalent now. The
+scarcity of girls in nearly all the towns and villages and the exorbitant
+rates demanded for marriageable daughters in some districts, only render
+sad confirmation to what Drs. Abeel and Talmage wrote two score and more
+years ago.
+
+
+IS CHINA TO BE WON, AND HOW?
+
+Mr. Talmage continues:
+
+"I cannot close this letter without saying a word in reference to our
+prospects of success. The moral condition of this people, their spiritual
+apathy, their attachment to the superstitious rites of their ancestors,
+together with the natural depravity of the human heart, and at the same
+time their language being one of the most difficult, perhaps the most
+difficult of acquisition of any spoken language, all combine to forbid, it
+would seem, all hope of ever Christianizing this empire. But that which is
+impossible with men is possible with God. He who has commanded us to
+preach the Gospel to every creature, has connected with it a promise that
+He will be always with us to the end of the world. The stone cut out
+without hands, we are told by the prophet, became a great mountain and
+filled the whole earth. The kingdom which the God of heaven has set up
+'shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand
+for ever.' Thus, whatever may be the prospect before us, according to
+human reasoning, we have 'a more sure word of prophecy.' Resting upon this
+we can have no doubt in reference to the complete triumph of the cause of
+Christ, even over the land of Sinim. In connection with such prophecies
+and promises we have many facts to encourage us. The people are accessible
+and friendly, and willing to listen to our doctrines. The superiority of
+Christianity to their systems of religion, sometimes from conviction and
+sometimes perhaps only from politeness, they often admit.
+
+"Already a few converts have been gathered into the visible Church, and
+there are others who are seeking to know the way of life more perfectly.
+Those who have been received into the Church are letting their light shine.
+The conduct of some who have heard the truth, reminds us forcibly of the
+conduct of the woman at the well of Samaria, and of the conduct of Andrew
+and Philip when they first found the Messias.
+
+"It is thus that this empire and most other heathen countries must be
+evangelized. The work must be done by the natives. The Church in
+Christian lands, by her missionaries, can only lay the foundation and
+render some little assistance in rearing the superstructure. She can never
+carry forward the work to completion. She can never furnish the heathen
+nations with missionaries of the cross in sufficient numbers to supply them
+with pastors, neither is it necessary that she should. The Christian is a
+light shining in a dark place. Especially is it true among the heathen,
+that every disciple of Christ is as 'a city set on a hill which cannot be
+hid.' His neighbors and acquaintances must observe the change in his
+conduct. He no longer worships their gods. He no longer observes any of
+their superstitious rites. He is no longer a slave to their immoralities.
+his example must tell. But many of the converts will have gifts to make
+known the Gospel, and will eagerly embrace these gifts in order to rescue
+their dying countrymen. Already have we examples of this. Such converts,
+also, in some respects, may be more efficient than the missionary. They
+can go where we cannot, and reach those who are entirely beyond our
+influence. They are better acquainted with the language. They understand
+the customs of the people more thoroughly. They remember what were the
+greatest difficulties and objections which proved the greatest obstacles to
+their reception of the Gospel, and they know how these difficulties were
+removed and these objections answered. Besides, they have all the
+advantages which a native must be expected to possess over a foreigner
+arising from the prejudices of the people.
+
+"Perhaps it may be necessary to guard against a wrong inference, which
+might be hastily deduced from the facts just stated. The fact that the
+natives are to be the principal laborers in evangelizing this empire, does
+not in the least remove the obligation of the Church to quicken and
+redouble all her efforts, or supersede the necessity for such efforts. It
+will be many years before this necessity will cease to exist. The Churches
+in Christian lands, in resolving to undertake the evangelization of this
+empire, have engaged in great work. In obedience to the command of their
+Master they have undertaken to rear a vast superstructure, the foundation
+of which is to be laid entirely by themselves, and on the erection of which
+they must bestow their care and assistance. This work has been commenced
+under favorable auspices, but the foundation cannot yet be said to be laid.
+More laborers must be sent forth. They should be sent out in multitudes if
+they can be found. They must acquire the language so that they can
+communicate freely with the people. They must proclaim the message of the
+Gospel from house to house, in the highways and market-places, wherever
+they can find an audience,-until converts are multiplied. Schools must be
+established, and the doctrines of the Gospel be instilled into the minds of
+the children and youth. We must have a native ministry instructed and
+trained up from their childhood according to the doctrines of the Gospel
+before they will be capable of taking the sole charge of this work. Until
+all this has taken place the churches may not slacken any of their efforts;
+nay, to accomplish this there must be an increase of effort beyond all that
+the churches have ever yet put forth."
+
+During the year 1848 he sent a letter to the Society of Inquiry of the
+Theological Seminary, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
+
+"It is yet a 'day of small things' with us. Our work thus far has been
+chiefly of a preparatory nature. This will probably be the case for some
+time to come. There have been just enough conversions to teach us that God
+is with us and will own the instrumentality which He Himself has appointed
+for the salvation of men, and to encourage us not to faint in our work. We
+have a vast amount of prejudice and superstition to remove--prejudice and
+superstition which has been growing and consolidating for forty centuries,
+and has become an essential ingredient in the character of the people and
+part of almost every emotion and conception of their minds. At present
+both officials and people are very friendly, and we are permitted to preach
+the Gospel without hindrance. But we cannot tell how long this state of
+things will continue. When the operation of the leaven has become
+manifest, we must expect opposition. We cannot expect that the great
+adversary of God and men will relinquish this the strongest hold of his
+empire on earth, without a mighty struggle. We must yet contend with
+'principalities and, powers and spiritual wickedness in high places.'
+
+
+WORSHIP OF THE EMPEROR.
+
+"The system of idolatry is as closely connected with the civil government
+of China, I suppose, as ever it was with ancient Rome. The emperor may be
+called the great High-priest of the nation. He and he only is permitted to
+offer sacrifice and direct worship to the Supreme Being. The description
+which Paul has given of the 'man of sin,' with but little variation may be
+applied to him.
+
+"'He exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so
+that he as God, sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is
+God.' He has arrogated to himself the title which expresses the highest
+thought of divinity known to the conceptions of the Chinese mind. He is
+superior to all gods, except the great Supreme. All others he appoints,
+designates their business and dethrones them at his pleasure. In the city
+of Amoy is a temple dedicated to the worship of the emperor and containing
+a tablet as representative of his person. On certain days of the year the
+officers of government are required to repair to this temple, and offer
+that religious homage which is due to God alone. Now to remove these
+prejudices and superstitions and to carry to the final triumph this
+warfare, which we must wage with those in 'high places,' will not be the
+work of a few years. We might well despair of ever possessing the land,
+where such 'sons of Anak' dwell, were it not that the ark of God is with us
+and His command has been given, 'Go up and possess it.' But we look to
+you, my brethren, for assistance and reinforcement in this the cause of our
+common Lord, not only to fill the places of those who fall at their post or
+are disabled in the conflict, but also that we may extend our lines and
+conduct the siege with more effect. If you desire a field where you may
+find scope and employment for every variety of talent, and where you may
+prove yourselves faithful soldiers of Jesus Christ, I know of no place
+whence can come to you a more urgent call than from this vast empire."
+
+
+
+
+IV. LIGHT AND SHADE.
+
+
+THE CHIANG-CHIU VALLEY.
+
+Among the jottings in Mr. Talmage's diary for 1847-1848 we find mention of
+a tour to Chiang-chiu on September 23, 1847, in company with Messrs.
+Pohlman, Doty and Lloyd.
+
+Chiang-chiu is a large city of 200,000 inhabitants, situated on a wide
+river, 30 miles west of Amoy. He writes: "Wherever we went we were
+accompanied by an immense throng of people. The most of them I suppose had
+never seen a white face. But few Europeans have visited the city. The
+city has an extensive wall, wider and I think more cleanly streets, and is
+larger than Amoy. In the rear of the city there are three watch towers.
+They are situated on very elevated ground. From these we had a very
+delightful view of the city and surrounding country. The scenery, it
+seemed to me, was the most beautiful I had ever witnessed. Within the
+circle of our vision lay that immense city with its extensive walls, its
+temples and pagoda, its river, bridges and boats, its gardens, its trees
+and shrubbery, and its densely crowded streets. Surrounding the city was
+spread out an extensive valley of some ten or fifteen miles in width and
+some twenty or twenty-five in length, covered with luxuriant vegetation.
+Through the midst of the valley might be marked the meandering track of the
+Chiang-chiu river, the whole region beautifully variegated with fruit
+trees, shade trees, and villages. Still further on, in every direction,
+our view was bounded by lofty hills whose cloud capped tops seemed as
+pillars on which the heavens rested. Nature had done her best to make this
+region a terrestrial paradise."
+
+On a subsequent trip to Chiang-chiu, Mr. Talmage writes: "The valley of the
+Chiang-chiu river is one of the most beautiful regions I ever saw. It is
+densely populated. In every direction are villages, I might almost say
+without number, rendered most beautiful by their plentiful supply of large
+banyans and various other trees of luxuriant foliage. The intermediate
+spaces between the villages are fields covered with vegetation most dense
+and beautiful. Through the centre of this scene may be traced the course
+of the river with its numberless canals, like the Nile of Egypt, giving
+fertility wherever nature or the art of man conducts its waters."
+
+
+BREAKING AND BURNING OF IDOLS.
+
+"Feb. 27, 1848. Today an old lady and her two sons declared themselves to
+be worshipers of Jesus by presenting their idols to Bro. Pohlman. On the
+evening of the last day of their last year they had burnt their ancestral
+tablets. It was an interesting sight, said Bro. Pohlman, to see the old
+lady, supported by one of her sons, breaking her idols and making a
+voluntary and public surrender of them at the chapel.
+
+"March 1st. When the old lady returned from the chapel on Sunday evening
+she was full of zeal, and began preaching to her neighbors on the folly of
+idolatry. She was so successful that another old lady living in the same
+house with her has made a bonfire and burned all her idols except one.
+This, being made of clay, was not combustible. This she presented to
+Pohlman today. He asked her whether she gave it up willingly. She said
+she rejoiced to do it. She said she had not yet destroyed her ancestral
+tablets. Pohlman told her he did not wish her to do it rashly. She must
+reflect on the subject, and when she became convinced that the worship of
+them was a sin against God she must give them up immediately.
+
+"March 29th. This afternoon Bro. Hickok and wife and Bro. Maclay arrived
+at Amoy on their way to Foochow. They had a long passage from Hongkong,
+having been out twenty-nine days." The distance from Hongkong to Amoy is
+less than three hundred miles, and is made in twenty-four hours by an
+ordinary coast steamer.
+
+
+THE CHINESE BOAT RACE AND ITS ORIGIN.
+
+"June 5th. Monday. To-day being the fifth day of the fifth month (Chinese),
+was the festival of dragon boat-racing. Several dragon boats filled with
+rowers, rather paddlers, were contesting this afternoon in the harbor. The
+water was thronged with boats filled with Chinese to see the sport. Many
+of these boats, and almost all the junks in the neighborhood, were decked
+with green branches, also with streamers flying. The origin of this
+festival is said to be as follows: In very ancient times one of the first
+officers, perhaps Prime Minister of government, gave offense to the
+emperor. The emperor banished him. He was so downcast on account of the
+emperor's displeasure that he went and drowned himself. The emperor
+afterwards repented of his act, and on inquiry after the man learned that
+he had drowned himself. He sent out boats in every direction to search for
+his body, and also to make offerings to his spirit. His body was not
+found. But from that time to this his body is thus searched for every year
+and his spirit thus appeased. This celebration is universal throughout the
+empire and wherever there are colonies of Chinese, throughout the islands
+of the (East Indian) Archipelago.
+
+"The same good feeling continues to exist at Amoy as formerly. We are on
+the best of terms, so far as we can judge, with all classes, the officials
+and people. The mandarins receive our calls and return their cards. All
+of them but one have visited us at our houses. Some of them call on us
+quite frequently. This places us on a high vantage ground. The people
+will not fear to listen to us, attend our meetings, and visit us at our
+houses, as they would if the mandarins kept aloof from us. The same good
+feeling towards foreigners seems to extend far into the interior. At least
+we go from, village to village wherever we please without hindrance, and
+are always treated with kindness."
+
+
+THE CHINESE BEGGAR SYSTEM.
+
+"I have to-day been making some inquiries of my teacher concerning the
+system by which the beggars of Amoy are governed. The truth seems as
+follows: There are very many beggars in the city. In each ward there is a
+head-man or chief called 'Chief of the Beggars.' He derives his office
+from the 'Hai-hong,' or the superior local magistrate. Sometimes the
+office is conferred as an act of benevolence on an individual, who from
+sickness or other causes has met with reverses of fortune. Sometimes it is
+purchased. There being eighteen wards in the city of Amoy, of course there
+are eighteen such head-men. Their office is not honorable, but there is
+considerable profit connected with it. The head-men hold their office for
+life, or until removed for bad behavior. They get certificates of office
+from the 'Hai-hong,' and on the change of that functionary it is necessary
+to get the stamp of his successor attached to their certificates. Their
+income is derived from various sources. Monthly they call on the merchants
+and shopkeepers, who by paying down a sufficient amount are freed from the
+annoyance of beggars during the month. If a beggar enters one of these
+establishments he is pointed to a card which is posted up in some
+conspicuous place, and is a certificate from the 'chief of the beggars' of
+that ward that a sufficient amount of beggar money has been paid down for
+the month. The 'chiefs of the beggars' also receive money from a man or
+his family when he is about to marry, also from the family of the bride.
+They also receive money after the death and burial of the parents or any
+old member of a family; also from men who are advanced to literary honors,
+or who receive official promotion In any of the above cases, if any
+individual fail to agree with the 'chief of the beggars' of his ward and
+pay what is considered a sufficient amount of money (the amount varies with
+the importance of the occasion and the wealth of the parties), he may
+expect a visit from a posse of beggars, who will give him much annoyance by
+their continual demands. The 'chiefs of the beggars' give a part of the
+money which they receive to the beggars under them. My teacher thinks
+there are about two thousand beggars in the city of Amoy. There is a small
+district belonging to the city of Amoy called 'The Beggars' Camp.' The
+most of the inhabitants of this place are beggars. These beggars go about
+the city seeking a living, clothed in rags and covered with filth and
+sores, the most disgusting and pitiable objects I ever saw."
+
+
+TWO NOBLE MEN SUMMONED HENCE.
+
+On the 6th of December Rev. John Lloyd, of the American Presbyterian
+mission, died of typhus fever after an illness of two weeks. Mr. Talmage
+makes this record of him:
+
+"Dec. 8, 1848. Rev. John Lloyd was born in the State of Pennsylvania on the
+first of Oct., 1813, which made him thirty-five years, two months, and five
+days at the time of his death. He was a man of fine abilities. His mind
+was well stored with useful knowledge and was well disciplined. He was
+most laborious in study, very careful to improve his time. He was
+mastering the language with rapidity. His vocabulary was not so large as
+that of some of the other brethren, but he had a very large number of words
+and phrases at his command, and was pronounced by the Chinese to speak the
+language more accurately than any other foreigner in the place. They even
+said of him that it could not be inferred simply from his voice, unless his
+face was seen, that he was a foreigner. He was a man of warm heart, very
+strong in his friendship, very kind in his disposition, and a universal
+favorite among the Chinese. I never knew a man that improved more by close
+intimacy. His modesty, which may be called his great fault, was such that
+it was necessary to become well acquainted with him before he could be
+properly appreciated. But it has pleased the Master of the harvest to call
+him from the field just as he became fully qualified to be an efficient
+laborer. What a lesson this, that we must not overestimate our importance
+in the work to which God has called us. He can do without us. It seems
+necessary that He should give the Church lesson upon lesson that she may
+not forget her dependence upon Him."
+
+Early in 1849 the brethren were called to mourn the loss of one of the most
+devoted pioneers of the Amoy mission, the Rev. William J. Pohlman.
+
+Mr. Talmage writes: "Feb. 8th. On Monday night at twelve o'clock I was
+called up to receive the sad intelligence that our worst fears in reference
+to Pohlman were confirmed. He perished on the morning of the 5th or 6th
+ult. He embarked on the 2d ult. from Hongkong in the schooner Omega. On the
+morning of probably the 5th, at about two o'clock, she struck near Breaker
+Point, one hundred and twenty miles from Hongkong. A strong wind was
+blowing at the time, so that every effort to get the ship off was
+unavailing. She was driven farther on the sand and fell over on her side.
+Her long boat and one quarter boat were carried away, and her cabin filled
+with water. The men on board clung to the vessel until morning. The
+remaining boat was then lowered. Those of the crew who were able to swim
+were directed to swim to the shore. The captain, first and second
+officers, and Pohlman entered the boat end those of the crew who could not
+swim also received permission to enter. But a general rush was made for
+the boat, by which it was overturned, and those who could not swim, Pohlman
+among the number, perished. The captain attempted to reach the shore by
+swimming, and would have succeeded, but was met by the natives. They were
+eager for plunder, and seized the captain to plunder him of his clothes.
+While they were stripping him of his clothes they dragged him through the
+water with his head under, by which he was drowned. About twenty-five of
+the crew succeeded in reaching the shore in safety. After being stripped
+of their clothes, they were permitted to escape. Afterwards, on arriving
+at a village they were furnished with some rags. After suffering much from
+fatigue and hunger they arrived at Canton, overland, on the 17th ult. This
+event has cast gloom again over our small circle. But one month previous
+to his death, Pohlman with myself had closed the eyes of dear Lloyd. Oh,
+how deeply we do feel, and shall for a long time feel this loss."
+
+"Feb. 11th. On Sunday afternoon our new church was consecrated to the
+worship of the only true God, the first building built for this purpose in
+Amoy. Mr. Young preached the sermon. It was also a funeral sermon for Mr.
+Pohlman. The house was crowded with people. Very many could not get into
+the building. There was some noise and confusion. I think the majority,
+however, were desirous to hear."
+
+In a letter to Drs. Anderson (Dr. Anderson was one of the early Secretaries
+of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.) and De Witt,
+speaking of Pohlman's death, he says:
+
+"Our hearts bleed. God has seen fit to send upon us stroke after stroke.
+Oh, when will He stay His hand? But we will not murmur. It is God who
+hath done this. His ways are inscrutable. We gaze upon them in mute
+astonishment. We may quote as peculiarly applicable to our present
+circumstances the remarks which this brother made at the grave of him who
+was called away a month previous. 'Death,' said he, 'is always a sad
+event, and is often peculiarly distressing. It is so in the instance before
+us. There is a sad breach in our little circle at this station. Situated
+as we are here, every member of our small society tells upon the happiness
+of the whole. Our number is limited and less than a score. We have few
+bosom friends, few to cheer and encourage us, few to whom to tell our
+sorrows and our joys. Here we are far away from those we love, away from
+dear friends and kindred and those tender associations which make society
+so delightful at home. Hence we feel deeply any breach made in our little
+circle. In proportion as our number is diminished in the same proportion is
+there a decrease in the endearments of friendship and love. More
+especially is this the case when the departed was possessed of social
+virtues and qualified to make all around him agreeable and happy. We mourn
+also for these poor deluded heathen. They have sustained an incalculable
+loss. I feel it impossible to give an adequate description of his
+character. He felt that in laboring for the heathen he was engaged in a
+work of the highest moment. Thereto he bent every energy of mind and body.
+That which, by receiving the word of God, we are made theoretically to
+acknowledge, by the dispensations of His Providence-we are made practically
+to feel, that man is nothing-that God is All in All.'
+
+"God's dealings with this mission would seem to be enough to arouse our
+Church. Heretofore He has given success to His servants. He has given us
+favor with the authorities and with the people. The Church has seemed to
+be satisfied with this. She has thanked God for His smiles, but has made
+little effort to increase the number of her laborers as fast as the demand
+for them increased. Now God is trying another plan. Her laborers are
+dying off and the question comes to her, not merely whether she will
+advance or not, but, whether she will retain that which she has already
+gained. She has volunteered in a glorious warfare. Will she hold the
+positions she has won, and make further conquests, or will she permit her
+soldiers to die at their posts without being replaced, and thus retire from
+the field? Important interests are at stake. The honor of our Church is
+at stake. The salvation of souls is at stake. It is a crisis with our
+mission. We cannot endure the thought that the labors of those faithful
+servants who have been called home shall be in a great measure lost by
+neglect. We have received lately impressive lessons of the uncertainty of
+human life. The thought steals over us that we, too, are liable at any
+moment to be cut down in the midst of our labors. This liability is
+increased by the amount of labor which necessarily devolves upon us. Now
+we are only two in number. As for myself I am only beginning to stammer in
+this difficult language. This, too, in a field where there is labor enough
+to be done to employ all the men you can send us. You will not think it
+strange then that we plead earnestly.
+
+"Our new church edifice was completed soon after Brother Pohlman left for
+Hongkong. As he had done so much of the work in gathering the congregation
+and had originated the idea of the building and had watched its erection
+with so much interest, we were desirous that he should be present at its
+consecration. We therefore delayed opening the building for worship until
+we received the definite news of his death."
+
+In an address on "Reminiscences of Missionaries and Mission Work,"
+delivered by Dr. Talmage during his later years, he refers to the early
+missionaries at Amoy in these words:
+
+"The men God gave the Church were just the men needed to awaken her
+missionary spirit and shape her mission work. So for laying the foundation
+and shaping the plan of the structure He would have us erect at Amoy He
+gave us three men, just the men needed for the work,-David Abeel, William
+J. Pohlman and Elihu Doty. The more I meditate on what they said and wrote
+and did and suffered in the early days of that work, and see whereunto it
+is growing, the more am I impressed with the fact that they were wonderful
+men, just the men for the time, place, and circumstances, and therefore
+evidently God's gift.
+
+"Dr. Abeel was the pioneer of the Amoy Mission. During the greater part of
+the years of his manhood, he struggled with disease, and his whole life on
+earth was comparatively short, yet the Lord enabled him to accomplish more
+work than most men accomplish during a much longer life. His last field of
+labor was Amoy, entering it in January, 1842, when the port had just been
+thrown open and while the British army was still there, and leaving it in
+January, 1845. In that short time, notwithstanding interruptions from
+sickness and of voyages in search of health, or rather to stave off death
+till others were ready to take his place, he laid a good foundation, doing
+a work that told and was lasting. I met him only once. It was at his
+father's house in New Brunswick, after his work at Amoy-after all his
+public work was done and he was only waiting to be summoned home. When I
+afterwards went to Amoy, I found his name very fragrant, not only among
+Europeans and Americans, but also among the Chinese. He had baptized none,
+but a goodly number of those afterwards baptized had received their first
+impressions concerning Christianity and their first instructions therein
+from him."
+
+"Messrs. Doty and Pohlman with their families came from Borneo to Amoy,
+arriving in June, 1844, about six months before Dr. Abeel was compelled to
+leave. We have heard of places so healthy, that it is said there was
+difficulty to find material wherewith to start cemeteries. Amoy, rather
+Kolongsu, where all the Europeans then resided, in those days was not such
+a place. It is said that of all the foreign residents only one escaped the
+prevailing fever. The mortality was very great. In a year and a half from
+the time of their arrival at Amoy, Mr. Doty was on his way to the United
+States with two of his own and two of Mr. Pohlman's little ones. The other
+members of their families--the mothers and the children, all that was
+mortal of them--were Iying in the Mission cemetery on Kolongsu; and to
+'hold the fort,' so far as our Mission was concerned, Pohlman was left
+alone, and well he held it. He had a new dialect to acquire, yet when
+health allowed, he daily visited his little mission chapel, and twice on
+the Sabbath, to preach the Gospel of Christ. He was a man of work, of
+great activity. When I arrived at Amoy in 1847, he was suffering from
+ophthalmia. Much of his reading and writing had to be done for him by
+others. I was accustomed to read to him an hour in the morning from six to
+seven. Another read to him an hour at noon from twelve to one. He was
+still subject to occasional attacks of the old malarial fever. Besides all
+this he was now alone in the world, his whole family gone, two of his
+little ones in his native land, then very much farther away from China than
+now, and the others, mother and children, sleeping their last sleep.
+
+"Yet he was the life of our little mission company. Do you ask why? He
+lived very close to God, and therefore was enabled to bow to the Divine
+will, to use his own language, 'with sweet submission.' Pohlman's term of
+service, too, was short. He was called away in his thirty-seventh year.
+His work at Amoy was less than five years. It, too, much of it, was
+foundation work, though he was permitted to see the walls just beginning to
+rise. Two of the first converts were baptized by him, and many others
+received from him their early Christian instruction. The first, and still
+by far the best church-building at Amoy, which is also the first church
+building erected in China expressly for Chinese Protestant Christian
+worship, may be called his monument. It was specially in answer to his
+appeal that the money, $3,000, was contributed. It was under his
+supervision that the building was erected. To it he gave very much toil
+and care. The house was nearly ready when he took his last voyage to
+Hongkong, and he was hastening back to dedicate it when God took him. His
+real monument, however is more precious and lasting than church-buildings,
+as precious and lasting as the souls he was instrumental in saving, and the
+spiritual temple whose foundation he helped to lay. There were many who
+remembered him with very warm affection long after he was gone. Among them
+I remember one, an old junk captain, who in his later years, speaking of
+heaven, was wont to say, 'I shall see Teacher Pohlman there; I shall see
+Teacher Pohlman there.'"
+
+
+
+
+V. AT THE FOOT OF THE BAMBOOS
+
+The sad and sudden departure of Mr. Pohlman so affected a maiden sister,
+Miss Pohlman, then at Amoy, as to unsettle her mind and necessitate an
+immediate return to the United States. No lady friend could accompany her.
+It was decided that Mr. Talmage take passage on the same ship and act as
+guardian and render what assistance he could. The ship arrived at New York
+August 23, 1849.
+
+Mr. Talmage made an extensive tour on behalf of Missions in China among the
+Reformed churches in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
+
+"Jan. 15, 1850. Was married at twelve M. in First Presbyterian Church at
+Elizabeth, New Jersey, by Dr. N. Murray, to Miss Abby F. Woodruff. Started
+immediately with my wife on a trip to Seneca County, New York."
+
+"March 16, 1850. In the forenoon accompanied by many dear friends we
+embarked on board the ship Tartar from New York bound for China."
+
+"July 16th. Arrived safely at Amoy, for which our hearts are full of
+gratitude to Him who has watched over us on the deep and conducted us
+safely through every danger."
+
+Though the entire Reformed Mission at Amoy then consisted of only three
+members, Mr. Doty and Mr. and Mrs. Talmage, still they believed in
+colonizing. Mr. Talmage secured a Chinese house and shop a mile or more
+away from the original headquarters and this became the missionary's home
+and preaching place. It was on the north side of the city in a densely
+populated neighborhood known as "Tek-chhiu-Kha," or "At the Foot of the
+Bamboos."
+
+It fronted one of the main thoroughfares of the city. It was near the
+water's edge at the mooring-place of junks from the many-peopled districts
+of Tong-an and Lam-an. The house and shop were renovated and capped with
+another story. Here Mr. Talmage prayed and studied and preached and
+planned for nearly twenty years. On this spot to-day stands a flourishing
+Chinese church.
+
+In a letter to Drs. Anderson and De Witt, dated Dec. 17, 1850, Mr. Talmage
+thus describes their new home:
+
+"Our house is pleasantly situated, having a good view of the inner part of
+the harbor, and of several small islands in the harbor. We also have a
+pleasant view of the mainland beyond the harbor. From our house we can
+count a number of villages on the mainland, beautifully situated among
+large banyans. We hope the situation will prove a healthy one. I like the
+situation most of all because I think it well adapted to our work. We are
+near the northern extreme of the city along the water's edge, while the
+other missionaries are near the southern extreme. Thus on entering the
+harbor from Quemoy and other islands, near the mouth of the harbor or from
+the cities and villages on the seacoast, the first foreign residence at
+Amoy, which meets the eye, is the residence of missionaries. On coming to
+Amoy from the cities and villages which are inland, again the first foreign
+residence which meets the eye is the residence of missionaries. We are in
+a part of the city where the Gospel has not yet been preached."
+
+In the same letter he refers to the Opium habit--and to the initiatory
+steps toward the formation of a Romanized alphabet for the Amoy Vernacular.
+The Chinese character is learned with great difficulty. It requires years
+of close application. In Southern Fukien not more than one man in a
+hundred can read intelligently. It is doubtful whether one woman in ten
+thousand can.
+
+Protestant Christianity wants men to be able to give a reason for the hope
+that is in them. It urges our Lord's command, "Search the Scriptures." It
+demands not only the hearing ear, but the reading eye.
+
+Hence this early effort on the part of the missionaries to prepare a
+version of the Scriptures and a Christian literature in a form more readily
+learned by the people. Those early efforts were doubtful experiments even
+to some of the missionaries. The Chinese converts at first looked quite
+askance at what appeared to them an effort to supersede their highly
+venerated Chinese character.
+
+The Romanized system was gradually perfected. The Chinese were gradually
+disabused of their prejudices. To-day the most ardent advocates of the
+system are Chinese pastors and elders. The whole Bible has been translated
+into Amoy Romanized colloquial. An extensive literature adapted to
+Christian homes and Christian schools has grown up through the years and is
+contributing to the strength and progress of the Chinese Church to-day.
+
+
+OPIUM.
+
+"Independent of the reproach which the opium traffic casts on the Christian
+religion, we find it a great barrier in the way of evangelizing this
+people. We cannot put confidence in an opium smoker. A man who smokes it
+in even the smallest degree we should not dare to admit into the Christian
+church. More than one-half of the men at Amoy are more or less addicted to
+the habit. Of this half of the population the missionary can have
+comparatively but little hope. We know the grace of God can deliver from
+every vice and there have been examples of reformation even from this. Yet
+from experience when talking to an opium smoker we always feel discouraged.
+Although this be a discouraging feature in our operations here, it should
+only be a stimulus to the Church to send more laborers and put forth
+greater efforts to stem the tide of destruction which the Christian world
+is pouring in upon the heathen. Independent of the principles of
+benevolence, justice demands of Christendom that the evil be stayed, and
+reparation if possible be made for the injury already done. If nothing
+more, let there be an equivalent for whet has been received from China. It
+is a startling fact, that the money which Christian nations have received
+from China for this one article, an article which has done to the Chinese
+nothing but incalculable injury, far, far exceeds all the money which has
+been expended by all Protestant churches on all Protestant missions in all
+parts of the heathen world since the days of the Reformation.
+
+
+ROMANIZED COLLOQUIAL.
+
+"The question whether there is any way by which this people can be made a
+reading people, especially by which the Christians may be put in possession
+of the Word of God, and be able to read it intelligently for themselves,
+has occupied much thought of the missionaries here. At present most of the
+church members have no reading for the Sabbath and for private meditation.
+They may have family worship, but they cannot at their worship read the
+Holy Scriptures. Some of us are now trying an experiment whether by means
+of the Roman alphabet the Sacred Scriptures and other religious books may
+not be given to the Christians and to any others who cannot read, but who
+take enough of an interest in Christianity to desire to read the Scriptures
+for themselves. By the use of seventeen of these letters we can express
+every consonant and vowel sound in the Amoy dialect, and by the use of a
+few additional marks we can designate all the tones. Dr. James Young, an
+English Presbyterian missionary physician, has commenced teaching the
+colloquial, as written with the Roman alphabet, in his school, a school
+formerly under the care of Mr. Doty. From his present experience he is of
+opinion that boys who are at all apt in acquiring instruction, in less than
+three months may be prepared for reading the Scriptures, with
+understanding. I have a class of three or four adults an hour an evening
+four evenings in the week, receiving instruction in the colloquial. They
+have taken some half dozen lessons and are making good progress. At
+present we have no printed primers or spelling-books, and are compelled to
+teach principally by blackboard. We are of opinion that almost every
+member of the church can soon learn to read by this system. Arrangements
+have been made to print part of the history of Joseph in colloquial. These
+are but experiments. If they succeed according to our present hope, it may
+be worth while to have the whole Bible and other religious books printed in
+this manner. A little more experience will enable us to speak with more
+confidence for or against the plan."
+
+"Dec. 23. Yesterday morning my chapel was opened, according to
+appointment. I preached to the people my first regular sermon from the
+text, 'There is one God and one Mediator,' etc. The room was crowded. It
+will seat about one hundred comfortably."
+
+
+CHINESE SENSE OF SIN.
+
+March 17, 1851. To his brother, Goyn.
+
+"I think the Chinese are very different in their religious feelings from
+many other (perhaps from the most of other) heathen people. We have often
+heard of the great sacrifices which the heathen of India will make and the
+great sufferings they will impose on themselves in order to make atonement
+for their sins and appease the anger of the gods. There may occasionally
+be something of the kind among the Buddhists of China. But I rather
+suppose that where there are any self-mortifications imposed (which is very
+rare in this part of China), they are imposed to secure merit, not to atone
+for sin. I do not remember ever to have met with an individual among the
+Chinese who had any sense of sinfulness of heart, or even any remorse for
+sinfulness of conduct except he was first taught it by the Gospel. It is
+one of the most difficult truths to convey to their minds that they are
+sinners against God. We have had a few inquirers who have expressed a deep
+sense of sinfulness. But this sense of sinfulness has come from hearing
+the Gospel. The way the most of those, whom we doubt not are true
+Christians, have been led on seems to be as follows: They hear the Gospel,
+presently they become convinced of its truth. Their first impulses then
+seem to be those of joy and gratitude. They are like men who were born
+blind, and had never mourned over their blindness, because they had no
+notion of the blessing of sight. Presently their eyes begin to be opened
+and they begin to see. They only think of the new blessings which they are
+receiving, not of the imperfections which still remain in their vision. A
+sense of these comes afterwards. Was not this sometimes the case in the
+days of the apostles? It was not so on the day of Pentecost. The
+multitude were 'pricked in their hearts' because the moment they were
+convinced that Jesus was the Christ they were filled with a sense of their
+wickedness in crucifying Him. So it is with persons in Christian lands
+when their minds become interested in the truth; they are made to feel
+their wickedness in so long resisting its influences. But the case seems
+to have been different when Philip first carried the Gospel to Samaria. The
+first effect there seems to have been that of 'great joy.'
+
+"It seems to be thus in Amoy. The conviction of deep sinfulness comes by
+meditating on the Gospel, the work of Christ, etc.
+
+"It is the doctrine of the cross of Christ, after all, which should be the
+theme of our discourses."
+
+March 18, 1851. To his brother, Goyn.
+
+"They say in regard to preaching, that when a man has nothing more to say
+he had better stop. If this rule were carried out in conversation and
+letter-writing, there would be much less said and written in the world,
+than is now the case.
+
+"You seem to think that we missionaries can sit down at any time and write
+letters, always having enough matter that will be interesting to you at
+home. This is a good theory enough, but facts do not always bear it out.
+
+"Our missionary work moves on usually in the same steady manner without
+many ups and downs or interesting episodes (rather a mixture of figures you
+will say), which we think worthy of note. I wish you folks at home could
+send us more men to drive on the work a little faster. The door of access
+at Amoy still continues as wide open as ever, and now seems to be the time
+for the Church to send her men and occupy the post, which the Master offers
+to her. But the Church at home cannot, it seems, look at this matter as we
+who are on the ground....
+
+
+PRIMITIVE LAMPS
+
+"We have no good lamps yet for the church, consequently cannot open it in
+the evening. But I have prepared some lamps for my chapel. I think you
+would laugh to see them. They are four in number. Two of them are merely
+small tumblers hung up by wires and cords. By means of another wire a wick
+is suspended in each tumbler and the tumbler filled with oil. The other
+two are on the same principle, but the tumblers are hung in a kind of glass
+globe which is suspended by brass chains. These look considerably more
+ornamental than the first two. Whether you laugh at them or not, they
+answer a very good purpose. They do not make the room as light as would be
+required in a church, in as large a city as Amoy is, in the United States,
+but by means of them my chapel is open on Sunday evenings and on every
+other evening in the week except one. The church and chapel are both open
+almost every afternoon in the week, and sometimes in the mornings. One,
+two, three, or more of the converts are always ready to hold forth almost
+every afternoon and evening. Besides this, they go to other thoroughfares
+frequently and preach the Gospel as well as they are able. For much of the
+work these converts are perhaps better adapted than ourselves. They
+understand the superstitions of the people in their practical working,
+better than we probably will ever be able to learn them."
+
+
+ZEALOUS CONVERTS.
+
+"April 14, 1851. There are now in connection with our church thirteen
+converts. In connection with the church of the London brethren there are
+eight. Two of our members, although compelled to labor with their hands
+for the sustenance of themselves and their families, yet devote the
+afternoons and evenings of almost every day in the week, in making known
+the way of salvation to their countrymen. They spend the Sabbath also,
+only omitting their labors long enough to listen to the preaching of the
+missionary and to partake of their noonday meal, from early in the morning
+until bedtime, in the same way, publishing the Gospel to their countrymen."
+
+
+THE TERM QUESTION.
+
+It was at this time that the translation of the Bible into the Classic
+Chinese Version, or "Delegates' Version" as it was afterwards called, was
+going on. A long and heated controversy had arisen as to the proper terms
+in the Chinese language to be used in translation of the words "God" and
+"Spirit." Missionaries in different parts of the empire took most opposite
+views and held them with the greatest tenacity. The Missionary Boards and
+Bible Societies in Great Britain and America were deeply interested
+spectators. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and
+the American Bible Society became participators. On what they considered
+satisfactory evidence they declared in favor of certain Chinese words and
+characters to be used in preaching the Gospel and in translating the
+Scriptures. They advised their missionaries and Bible distributors of
+their decision.
+
+The missionaries at Amoy, Messrs. John and Alexander Stronach, London
+Mission, and Messrs. Doty and Talmage, had very strong convictions on this
+subject. Their views agreed. Rev. John Stronach was one of the Committee
+who prepared the "Delegates' Version." The views of the brethren at Amoy
+were diametrically opposed to the decisions of the American Board and
+American Bible Society. In a long letter of eighty four pages, addressed
+to Drs. Anderson and De Witt, Oct. 31, 1851, Mr. Talmage sets forth their
+side of the question. No man can read that document, weighty with learning
+and charged with moral earnestness, but must feel the profoundest respect
+for the writer, however he may dissent from his arguments. He concludes as
+follows:
+
+"Such are our views concerning the use of the words 'Shin' and 'Ling' as
+translations of the words 'God' and 'Spirit.' While we hold ourselves open
+to conviction, if it can be proved that we are wrong, we at present hold
+these views firmly. We may not have succeeded in convincing the Prudential
+Committee that our views are correct, yet we trust we have convinced them
+that we have given due attention to the subject. We now ask, Can the
+Prudential Committee expect of us, while we hold such views, to conform to
+their decision? Would they respect us if we did? We could not respect
+ourselves. If we could thus trifle with conscientious views on subjects of
+such importance, we certainly should regard ourselves as being unworthy to
+be called missionaries of the A. B. C. F. M. or any other Protestant
+association, and we think the Prudential Committee would also lose
+confidence in us. We now feel called upon to state our views in reference
+to the propriety of the various missionary societies and Bible societies
+and other institutions deciding for us what terms we shall use and what
+terms we shall not use in preaching the Gospel to the heathen. We shall
+state our views with the utmost kindness and with all due deference to
+those from whom we differ. We cannot doubt that the Prudential Committee
+are willing also and desire us to state our views with the utmost
+frankness. If our views are incorrect, we desire that others use the same
+freedom in pointing out our errors. Our views are these:--The societies
+in the United States and England are not called upon, at least at the
+present time, to decide this question for us. Those societies which have
+made such decision have acted prematurely. In deciding this question
+authoritatively, they are assuming a responsibility which we think they are
+not called upon to assume. This responsibility belongs properly to the
+missionaries, and they, we say it with all due respect, are much better
+qualified to bear this responsibility; for they are better qualified to
+judge of the evidence and discover the truth in the case. If they are not,
+then they are not qualified to be missionaries. But whether better
+qualified or not, they are accountable to a higher power than that of any
+society under whose patronage they may labor. Whatever be the decision of
+such society, they are still bound, in preaching the Gospel, to conform to
+their conscientious views of truth. The only way to produce agreement
+among Protestant missionaries is not by authoritative decisions or even by
+compromise, but by producing evidence sufficient to convince the judgment.
+We must have evidence. In selecting men for China or any other heathen
+field, missionary societies should first examine whether they have mental
+ability to acquire the language of the people to whom they are going. If
+they are deficient in this respect they should not be sent, and if
+missionaries on the ground are found deficient in this respect they should
+be recalled."
+
+The "term question" has not been settled to this day.
+
+Jan. 22, 1852. To Dr. Anderson.
+
+"I made another effort to extend our influence by going out towards evening
+into the streets and selecting eligible situations from which to preach to
+those who would assemble. In this manner I often had opportunity to
+publish the glad tidings more widely than we can do in our houses of
+worship. I found much encouragement in this work. If we had the physical
+strength we might thus preach day after day, from morning to night, and
+find multitudes ready to listen."
+
+
+WHAT IT COSTS A CHINESE TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN.
+
+In the same letter, speaking of ten converts received, he says: "One of
+them was gaining a mere living from the profits of a small shop, in which
+he sold paper and candles to be used in idolatrous worship. As he became
+acquainted with the Gospel, he soon found that his business was opposed to
+the doctrines of Christianity. A hard contest ensued, but the power of the
+Gospel finally triumphed. He gave up his business and with it his only
+prospect of making a livelihood and for some months had no other prospect
+before him and his family but beggary or starvation, except such a hope as
+God afforded. Another held a small office of government, the requirements
+of which were inconsistent with obedience to the Gospel, but the
+perquisites of which were his only means of sustaining his family,
+including an aged father. In his case the conflict seemed yet more fearful
+and lasted a much longer time. We hoped that the truth had taken a deep
+hold on him, but we began to tremble for the result. The love of Christ,
+as we trust, finally gained the victory. He gave up his office, gave up
+his living, gave up the world, that he might find the salvation of his soul
+and confess Christ before men. So also with the most of the others. They
+were called to sacrifice their worldly prospects, in order to embrace the
+Gospel. Christians in our beloved land hardly know what it is to take up
+the cross and follow Christ. The ridicule and obloquy with which they
+meet, if indeed they meet with any, is not a tithe of that to which the
+native convert here is exposed. Besides, they are seldom called to suffer
+much temporal loss for the sake of Christ, but it is very different with
+him. If he belong to the literary class, he must give up all hope of
+preferment. If he be in the employ of the government, he may expect to be
+deprived of his employment, if indeed he be not compelled to give it up
+from conscientious motives. If he be a shopkeeper, his observance of the
+Lord's day will probably deprive him of many of his customers, and if he be
+in the employ of others the same reason will render it very difficult for
+him to retain his situation."
+
+
+PERSECUTED FOR CHRIST'S SAKE.
+
+April 6, 1852. To his brother, Goyn.
+
+"I promised to give some account of the young man who was baptized on the
+Sabbath before the last. His name is Khi (pronounced like the letter 'X'
+of the Greek alphabet). Early last year I noticed a young man who began to
+be quite regular in attending service at my chapel. I inquired of him
+where he lived and why he came. He said he was employed in burning lime at
+a lime-kiln not far off from my house. That I had met him in the street
+and invited him to come to the chapel. Of this I remembered nothing, but I
+often thus invite persons to come and hear the Gospel. He said he came in
+consequence of that invitation. But having heard the doctrine, he found it
+to be good, and had embraced it. This man has since been baptized. I soon
+learned that he had been persuading his fellow-workmen to come along with
+him. One of these workmen was Khi. He soon determined to obey the
+doctrines of the Scriptures. One of these doctrines brought him into
+immediate collision with his employer. This doctrine was, 'Remember the
+Sabbath day to keep it holy.' He refused to work on the Sabbath day. His
+employer told him if he did not work he would discharge him. Khi was not
+to be moved from his determination and was finally dismissed. After a few
+ineffectual efforts to get employment, he returned to visit his father's
+family; They reside a day's journey from Amoy. While home he was taken
+ill. It was two or three months before he returned again to Amoy. When he
+came back I conversed with him concerning his conduct while away. He had
+as yet but little knowledge of the doctrines of the Bible. But I was much
+gratified at the simplicity of piety which his narration manifested. He
+had not only endeavored to serve God himself, but had endeavored to
+persuade others also to turn unto God. After his return, all his efforts
+to get employment failed. I spoke to a mason who has done much work for
+us, and who employs many workmen, and requested him to employ Khi for the
+carrying of bricks and mortar and such work, if he had an opening for him.
+He consented to do so and employed him for a short time. But Khi's fellow
+workmen did not like his religion and succeeded in getting him discharged.
+In consequence of the dampness of the climate, it is not safe for
+foreigners to live on the first floor. We always live above stairs.
+Therefore I have rooms in the lower part of my house unoccupied. Khi asked
+me if he might sleep in one of these rooms. I of course consented. He had
+no bed or bedding. I had some empty boxes in the room. He put these
+together, and laid some straw and a straw mat on them for his bed. After
+he was discharged by the mason, he endeavored to make a living by carrying
+potatoes about the street for sale. His profits were from two to four
+cents a day. He made no complaint. He lived on potatoes. Winter came on;
+he had no means of buying clothing, or better food. The consequence was
+that he became ill. The room in which he slept was directly under my
+study. Almost every night I would hear his voice engaged in prayer, before
+he retired to his straw. Sometimes he would pray for a long, long time.
+The first thing in the morning again I would hear his voice in prayer. I
+knew that he was destitute, but as he never complained, I knew not how
+great his destitution was, and did not dare to help him lest it would throw
+out inducements for others to profess Christianity. We are continually
+compelled to guard against this danger. Many of these poor people would
+profess Christianity for the sake of a living. One Sabbath evening I heard
+his voice in prayer, much earlier than usual, and therefore it attracted
+particular attention. Presently word came to me that Khi was ill. I went
+down to see him. It made my heart bleed to see a fellow-creature in such
+destitution, one, moreover, who I hoped was a brother in Christ Jesus. I
+had had no idea that his destitution was so great. He seemed to be
+suffering under a severe attack of colic. On inquiry as to how he usually
+fared, I did not wonder that he was ill. I gave him a little medicine,
+took means to get him warm and he was soon relieved.
+
+"I then had some good food prepared for him. I was peculiarly struck with
+the meekness and patience wherewith he bore his sufferings. There was not
+a murmuring word from his lips, but many words of an opposite character.
+The next day I called him into my study to give him a little money with
+which to buy clothing and food. But I had great difficulty in persuading
+him to take it. He said his sufferings were of no consequence. They were
+much less than he deserved. The sufferings of this world were all only for
+a short time. They were sent upon us to teach us not to love the world.
+Much more he said to this effect. I had to call upon one of the native
+converts to intercede with him, before he would take the money. But I must
+not dwell on this subject longer. From what I have said about our
+missionary work, you will understand why the missionary loves his work and
+why he would not leave it for any other work, unless duty compels him."
+
+
+"HE IS ONLY A BEGGAR."
+
+Nov. 27, 1852. To the Sunday-school of the Reformed Church at Bound Brook,
+New Jersey.
+
+"There is very much poverty and misery among the heathen. They do not pity
+each other and love each other as some Christians do. Those who have the
+comforts of life seem to have very little pity for those who are destitute.
+Therefore they have no poorhouses where the poor may be taken care of.
+Consequently very many steal, very many beg, and very many starve to death.
+In going from my house to church on the Sabbath I have counted more than
+thirty beggars on the streets. The most of them were such pitiable looking
+objects as you never saw. I have seen persons who are called beggars in
+the United States, but I never saw a real beggar till I came to Amoy. Some
+of them are covered with filth and a few filthy rags. Some of them are
+without eyes, some without noses, some without hands, and some without
+feet. Some crawl upon their hands and feet, some sit down in the streets
+and shove themselves along, and some lie down end can only move along by
+rolling over and over. On Sunday before last, while I was preaching, a
+blind girl came into the chapel. She was led by a string attached to a boy
+going before her. He could see, but could not walk. He crept along on his
+hands and knees. A month or two ago, during a cold storm, late in the
+evening, just as I was going to bed, I heard some one groaning by my front
+door. I went out to see what was the matter. I found an old man with
+white beard Iying in the mud and water, and with very little clothing. He
+was shivering from cold. He was unable to speak. I had him carried into
+my house, and covered over with some mats. We prepared some warm drink and
+food for him, as speedily as possible, hoping that thus we might save his
+life. But before we could get it ready he died. He had probably been
+carried by some persons and laid at my door to die, that they might be free
+from the trouble and expense of burying him.
+
+"A week or two ago when walking through the streets I saw a beggar Iying a
+little distance off. I inquired whether he was already dead. Some men,
+who stood near, said 'Yes.' I then asked why they did not bury him. 'Oh,
+he is of no use.' I inquired, 'Is he not a man ?' 'No,' they said, 'he is
+only a beggar.' 'But,' I asked again, 'is he not still a man?' They
+laughed and answered, 'Yes.' A few days after, walking with Mrs. Talmage
+by the same place, we saw another beggar Iying nearly in the same spot. I
+inquired of the persons who were near whether he was dead. They answered,
+'Yes.' Close by sat a beggar who was still alive. He was scarcely grown
+up. But his face was so deformed from suffering that we could not guess
+his age. He held out his hands for alms. We gave him a few cash and went
+on. The next day we passed that way again. We saw two beggars lying
+together, both dead. We went to them. One was the lad to whom we gave the
+cash the day previous. On Sunday in coming from church we again passed by
+that sad spot, and there was still another beggar lying dead directly in
+the road. This gives you, in part, a picture of what heathenism is."
+
+Parts of two letters written in 1852 to his sister Catharine will prove
+interesting.
+
+
+PRINTING UNDER DIFFICULTIES.
+
+"Our work here is continually growing on our hands. Besides our usual
+missionary work, I do a little teaching, a little book-making, and a little
+printing. You did not know, perhaps, that I am a printer. We are teaching
+a few persons to read the colloquial (or spoken) language of Amoy. But in
+order to teach this, it is necessary that this spoken language be committed
+to writing. It is necessary to have books printed in it. We have no
+printing press at Amoy. I have had some types cut on bone or horn. With
+these I print a copy. This is handed to the carver. He pastes it upside
+down on a block and carves the words on the block. This block is then
+inked and is made to print other copies. It is a slow process, but the
+only one we have at Amoy at present. I have thus prepared a spelling-book
+in the Amoy colloquial. It is not all completed yet. The carver is busy
+with the last two or three sheets. A few of the first sheets were struck
+off some weeks ago and made up into small books, which we have been using
+to teach those who are learning to read, until the whole book is complete.
+Our printing is not very pretty. When the caners get more experienced in
+their work, they will be able to do their part better. Our plan of
+teaching is as follows: On Monday afternoon we have a meeting for women at
+our house. Before and after the service we teach them (those of them who
+wish to learn) to spell. On Tuesday afternoon, Mrs. Doty meets those who
+wish to learn, in a room connected with the church. On Wednesday, Mrs.
+Doty has a meeting for women at her house. She also spends a little time
+then in teaching them. On Friday, Abby and I go to the church and spend
+about an hour in teaching. We cannot expect them to make very rapid
+progress in this manner of teaching, but it is the best we can do for them
+at present. There are two little girls who have been coming to our house
+every day for more than a month. They are beginning to read."
+
+"I must tell you a little of what I have been doing to-day. This forenoon,
+among other things, I doctored a Yankee clock. I bought it in Amoy nearly
+a year ago for three dollars. Sometimes it goes, and sometimes it stands
+still. But it stands still much more than it goes. This morning I took it
+all apart, every wheel out, rubbed each wheel off, and put the clock
+together again. It has been running ever since, but how long it will
+continue to run, I cannot tell.
+
+
+CARRIER PIGEONS.
+
+"Our cook, 'Lo,' takes care of our pigeons. Some have died and a few have
+been stolen, but they have continued gradually to increase. They now
+number twenty. They are very pretty, and very tame. They spend much of the
+time on the open veranda in front of our house. Some of them are of a dark
+brown color, some are perfectly white, some are black and white. We shall
+soon have enough to begin eating pigeon pies, but I suppose we shall be
+loth to kill the pretty birds. Some of them are of the Carrier pigeon
+species. We might take them to a good distance from Amoy and they would
+doubtless find their way home again. The Chinese have a small whistle
+which they sometimes fasten on the back of the pigeons near the tail. 'Lo'
+has some attached to some of our pigeons. When they fly swiftly through
+the air, you can hear the whistle at a great distance. The noise often
+reminds us of the whistle of a locomotive.
+
+"The gold-fish in the lamp continue much as when I wrote before. We have
+made some additions to our flower-pots and flowers this spring. Our open
+veranda is being turned into a sort of open garden. We now have from sixty
+to seventy pots, from the size of a barrel down to the size of a two-quart
+measure. Some of them are empty and some of them are not. Besides
+flowers, we have parsley, onions, peppers, mint, etc., etc. Our garden
+does not flourish as well as it would, if I had time to attend to it.
+Besides this, the pigeons are very fond of picking off the young sprouts.
+Lest you should think us too extravagant, I ought to tell you the cost of
+the flower-pots. Those which were presented to us, did not cost us
+anything. Those we bought, cost from a cent apiece to sixpence. Some two
+or three cost as high as fifteen or twenty cents apiece. But you will never
+understand how nice and how odd we have it, unless you step in some day to
+look for yourself."
+
+
+
+
+VI. THE "LITTLE KNIFE" INSURRECTION
+
+China has maintained her integrity as an empire for hundreds of years. But
+not without struggle. There have been rebellions and dynastic overthrows
+that threatened to cleave the empire to its foundations. Indeed rebellion
+has often had the sanction of religion in China. Let a government be
+unsuccessful; let a dynasty see the gaunt hand of famine, or the poison
+hand of pestilence laid on the land, that is the mute voice of Heaven
+speaking against those who rule. And what nobler than to be self-chosen
+executors of Heaven's vengeance. Green-eyed envy in imperial pavilion and
+courtrooms has often stood sponsor to the wildest lawlessness. A base and
+extortionate government has often driven men in sheer self-defence to
+tearing down yamens and hunting down the "tiger" mandarin.
+
+The present Manchu dynasty seized the Dragon throne in 1644. For one
+hundred and fifty years China enjoyed comparative peace and prosperity.
+The emperor Kang-hi and his grandson Keenlung, each reigned sixty years, to
+the Chinese a manifest token of Heaven's favor. The past one hundred years
+have been troublous. There has been internal strife. There have been
+momentous issues to settle in the opening of China's gates to the outside
+world. When she needed Emperors of the broadest statesmanship, she has had
+to blunder along with mediocre men or bend an unwilling neck under the sway
+of puppets. Had it not been for her great Prime Ministers, such as Prince
+Kung and Li Hung Chang, the days would have been fuller of dark-presaging
+omens and their disastrous fulfillment.
+
+The beginning of this century found a secret society in existence known as
+the "Triads," whose avowed object was the expulsion of the Manchus and the
+restoration of the Mings. In 1803 the emperor Kiaking was attacked in open
+day while being carried in a chair of state through the streets of Peking.
+He was saved by his attendants, several of whom lost their lives.
+
+In 1851 the Tai-ping Rebellion began. The fuel that fed the flame was
+various. It was reaction against oppressive government. It was iconoclasm
+inspired by a spurious Christianity. It was pride of race that would not
+tolerate a Manchu on the throne. For fourteen years China staggered under
+this awful scourge. Whole provinces were devastated and almost
+depopulated. For a long time the issue was uncertain. At length the
+united strength of foreigners and Chinese battered the serpent's head and
+destroyed its vitals.
+
+While the boa of rebellion was stretching itself across the heart of the
+empire a whole brood of little serpents were poisoning and devouring other
+outlying provinces. An insurrection was organized in the neighborhood of
+Amoy early in 1853. Mr. Talmage writes fully concerning it.
+
+
+THE "LITTLE KNIFE" INSURRECTION.
+
+Jan. 25, 1853. To the Sunday-school, Flushing, New York.
+
+"The streets of Amoy are very narrow. The widest are only a few yards
+wide. At very short distances apart, there are gates across the streets.
+The object of these gates, and the principal cause of the streets being so
+narrow, are to protect the inhabitants from gangs of thieves. In the
+winter season, when men have more leisure and more temptation to plunder,
+these gates are closed every night. During the present winter the people
+seem to have had more fear of robbers than usual. Old gates have been
+repaired and many new gates have been built. The inhabitants of a
+Christian land, like America, do not fear to live alone in the country
+without any near neighbors. But in this region a house standing alone in
+the country is scarcely ever seen. The people always collect together in
+villages or towns or cities. The villages are usually provided with small
+watchtowers, built of stone or brick, in which a few men may sleep as
+sentinels to give notice of the approach of robbers, and to fire on them.
+Even in the towns and cities you seldom see a dwelling-house with an
+outside window. If there be such a window, it is usually guarded by slabs
+of granite, or by mason-work with only small openings, like the windows of
+a prison, so that a person cannot pass through."
+
+
+June 3, 1853. To Dr. Anderson.
+
+"In March last one of the members of our church, Chheng-choan, requested
+that he might be sent in company with the colporteur on a trip to the city
+of Chiangchiu to preach the Gospel and distribute tracts. He said that his
+heart was very ardent to go and make known the Gospel. He was willing to
+give the time and bear his own expenses. He is a native of the city of
+Chiangchiu."
+
+"They made two visits, one in company with Rev. W. C. Burns. Many of the
+people requested them to establish a permanent place. Houses were offered
+them for rent. A few days after their return to Amoy two men who had been
+much interested in their preaching came down and spent several days with us
+in order that they might learn the way of the Lord more perfectly."
+
+"On the 3d of May we called a meeting of the male members of our church, to
+take into consideration the subject of immediately sending two of their
+number to Chiangchiu, to commence permanent operations. The members were
+unanimous in the opinion that the Master had opened the way before us, and
+was calling us to go forward. It was decided that if two men qualified for
+the work would volunteer, they should immediately be sent. It was then
+suggested that if two more men were ready perhaps it would be well to
+appoint them for the region north of us, to carry the Gospel to the
+villages and towns between Amoy and Chinchew and see whether the way might
+not be open to begin operations in that city. Chinchew is an important
+city near the seacoast, about one-third of the way from Amoy to Foochow.
+The suggestion concerning the appointment of men for Chinchew was new to
+us. Everything seemed favorable for adopting the new suggestion. Four men
+immediately offered themselves for the work, two for Chiangchiu, and two
+for the region of Chinchew. They were men whom we thought well qualified
+for the work, probably just the men we would have chosen.
+
+"The evangelist U, and the colporteur Lotia, left Amoy on their mission to
+Chiangchiu, May 12th. A few days after their arrival, about midnight on
+the 17th of May, the insurrection broke at Chiangchiu, which interrupted
+their labors. The evangelist thought that quiet would soon be restored and
+therefore resolved to remain a few days. The people rushed upon the
+insurgents, wrested their arms from them, and slew many of them. The
+insurgents finding themselves overpowered attempted to flee. The gates of
+the streets were closed against them. The people along the streets
+attacked them by throwing missiles from the tops of the houses. All
+strangers in the city were in great danger of being suspected and treated
+as insurgents. The evangelist in leaving the city was seized by some of
+the mob. Some said he was one of the insurgents, others said he was not.
+He succeeded in making his escape to the house of a friend outside of the
+city walls. The colporteur made his escape over the wall of the city and
+fled to the house of some friends in the suburbs near the river-side. By
+my letter of May 19th, it will be seen that Amoy was attacked by the
+insurgents on the morning (May 18th), after they entered the city of
+Chiangchiu. The insurgents are members of a secret society. For very many
+years there has existed in this region a society by the name of
+'Thian-te-hoe,' Heaven and Earth Society. This is the name by which the
+members designate their society. But as the members are generally provided
+with knives or small swords, the society is designated by the people as
+'Sio-to-hoe,' Small Sword Society. The professed object of this society
+has been the overthrow of the present Tartar dynasty. Between this and
+Chiangchiu the members of this society are very numerous. After the
+breaking out of the insurrection at Hai-teng, and Chioh-be (cities fifteen
+and eighteen miles from Amoy, half way to Chiangchiu), the whole populace
+appeared to sympathize with the movement. Large bodies of the insurgents
+moved up the river to Chiangchiu, others came down the river to Amoy. At
+the same time there was a rising of the insurgents at Tong-an and An-khoe,
+districts to the north of Amoy. At the first outbreak the officials and
+soldiers fled. The people of Amoy have been in continual excitement and
+fear. They are afraid to engage in business. On Sabbath morning we went
+to our chapels as usual. Shortly after commencing services, news came that
+a fleet of war junks under the command of the Admiral was anchoring a short
+distance from the city. Soon the whole city was in commotion. About noon a
+detachment of a thousand soldiers was landed from the junks. They marched
+with very little opposition through the town to the gates of the city.
+They were attacked simultaneously by the insurgents from within, and by
+those in ambush without. The insurgents were victorious.
+
+"By three o'clock in the afternoon the city was comparatively quiet, and we
+repaired to our church. Most of the church members were assembled. Our
+church edifice is situated on the great thoroughfare which had been the
+principal scene of excitement. It was thought best to suspend the usual
+exercises, to close the street doors, and hold if possible a quiet
+prayer-meeting. It was a solemn time. The 'confused noise' of war had
+just been heard, human blood had been flowing, the angry passions of men
+were not yet calmed, and we knew not what the end would be. We felt it a
+suitable time to draw near to God and make Him our refuge. This afternoon
+we received tidings from Chiangchiu. The evangelist was arrested by twelve
+men, delivered to an official and beheaded."
+
+"June 10, 1853. The state of affairs through the whole of this region
+remains very unsettled. The insurgents are endeavoring to regain
+possession of the city of Chiangchiu. They have command of the whole
+region, between this place and that city. They still are in possession of
+Amoy. We are almost daily expecting an attack by the government
+authorities.
+
+"Amoy is cut off from all trade with the large towns around. The
+insurgents probably would not permit goods to be carried to Chiangchiu and
+other places with which they are at war. Besides, this whole region is
+infested with pirates. It is only at great risk that any merchant junk can
+at present come to or depart from Amoy. We cannot yet form any definite
+opinion as to the final result of this movement. The forces of the
+insurgents are none of them drilled soldiers. Their appearance is that of
+an armed mob. Their weapons are mostly spears, and knives and matchlocks.
+
+"At the time the insurrection broke out in our neighborhood and while we
+were expecting an attack on our city by the insurgents, we felt some
+anxiety. We had no means of deciding how they would feel towards
+foreigners. We supposed they would feel it to be for their own interest
+not to meddle with foreigners. They knew that they would have enough to do
+to contend with their own government, without at the same time involving
+themselves with foreign powers. More than all this, we had the doctrines
+and promises of God's word on which to rely. These we feel at all times
+give us the only unfailing security. They are worth more than armies and
+navies. It is only when God uses armies and navies for the fulfillment of
+His own promises that they are worth anything to us."
+
+
+HOW THE CHINESE FIGHT.
+
+July 28, 1853. To his brother, Daniel.
+
+"I suppose you will feel more desirous to learn about the state of politics
+and war at Amoy. At present everything is quiet. Three weeks ago another
+attempt was made by the Mandarins to retake Amoy. They landed a body of
+troops on the opposite side of the island. These were to march across the
+island (about ten miles) and attack the city by land. Simultaneously an
+attack was to be made on the city from the water side by the Mandarin
+fleet. It is said that the land forces amounted to about 10,000. The
+fleet consisted of about forty sail. On Wednesday morning (July 6th),
+about daybreak, the troops were put in motion. They were met with about an
+equal number of rebel troops. They fought until the Mandarin soldiers
+became hungry (about eight or nine o'clock). Not being relieved at that
+time, as they expected, they withdrew to cook their rice. The Mandarin in
+command considering that his life was much more important than that of the
+soldiers, kept himself at a safe distance from the scene of action. At
+about breakfast-time he started to go down in his sedan chair nearer the
+scene of action. When he saw that his troops were retiring to cook their
+breakfast, he supposed that they were giving way before the enemy.
+Prudence being the better part of valor, he ordered his chair-bearers to
+face about and carry him in the other direction. The soldiers, finding
+that their chief officer had fled, thought there was no further need of
+risking their lives, so they all retired. I cannot vouch for the truth of
+the whole of the above statement. Such, however, is the story soberly
+related by some of the Chinese. We could see the smoke and hear the
+reports of the guns from the top of our house. The fighting commenced very
+early. We thought that the Mandarin troops were gradually approaching the
+city, until about Chinese breakfast-time (eight to nine o'clock), when the
+firing ceased. We know not how many lives were lost in the engagement.
+The rebels brought into the city some seventeen or eighteen heads which
+they had decapitated. I know not whether these were all killed in the
+fight or whether they were the heads of some villagers on whom the rebels
+took vengeance for assisting the Mandarins."
+
+"Now for the engagement on the water. The rebel forces on the water were
+much inferior to the Mandarin forces, but the Chinese say they fought more
+desperately. The engagement opened on Wednesday about noon and lasted
+until nearly evening. Towards evening the Mandarin fleet withdrew a few
+miles and came to anchor. On Thursday at high-tide (about noon) the
+engagement was renewed. Towards evening the Mandarin fleet again withdrew
+as before. On Friday the engagement was again renewed with similar
+results. On Saturday the Mandarin fleet withdrew entirely and left the
+harbor.
+
+"During the three days of the fight, as you would expect, there was much
+excitement in Amoy. The tops of the houses and the hills around about, at
+the time of the engagement, were thronged with people, and there was a
+continual discharge of cannon. But I have not given the number of the
+killed and wounded in the three days' naval action. Reports, you know, are
+often much exaggerated on such occasions. According to the most reliable
+statements (and I have not yet heard of any other statement), the list
+stands thus:
+
+  "Killed-None!
+  "Wounded-None!
+  "Prisoners-None!
+
+"It is said that one ball from a Mandarin junk did strike a rebel junk, but
+did not hurt any one. During the fighting the vessels kept so far apart
+that the balls almost always fell into the water between them. On the
+second day of the fight, a boat from the city in which were three men, who
+were not engaged in the fight, was captured by the Mandarin fleet, and the
+three men were beheaded. War is too serious a matter to be laughed at, but
+the kind of war we have thus far seen at Amoy is only like children's
+play."
+
+Nov. 1, 1853. To his brother, Daniel.
+
+"Our war still continues, fighting almost every day. The day I sent off my
+last package to you, two more balls struck our house. One came through the
+roof of an unoccupied part of the premises. I did not weigh it, but
+suppose it was about a six-pounder. The other struck against a pillar in
+the outside wall and fell down and was picked up by some one outside of the
+house, so that I do not know the size of it. It was a merciful Providence
+that it struck the pillar. If it had struck on either side of the pillar,
+it would have come into a room in which many Chinese were collected. On
+Sunday last there was much fighting again. A small ball came into our
+veranda. A small ball entered Mr. Doty's house, one entered Mr. Alexander
+Stronach's house, several entered Dr. Hirschberg's house; other houses also
+were struck. Dr. Hirschberg's house has been the most exposed. We have
+all been preserved from harm thus far. He, who has thus far preserved us,
+I trust will continue to preserve us. The fighting is more serious than at
+first. A little more courage is manifested and more execution is done.
+But I do not see any prospect of either party being victorious. The party
+whose funds are completely used up first, will doubtless have to yield to
+the other. I cannot tell which that will be. I shall be heartily glad
+when one of the armies withdraws from Amoy. The country around Amoy is
+becoming desolated. Houses and whole villages are plundered and burned. In
+Amoy suffering abounds, and I suppose is increasing. When I go out into
+the street I usually put a handful of cash into my pocket to distribute to
+the beggars."
+
+In November, 1853, Imperial authority asserted itself.
+
+"The Imperial forces having collected from the neighboring garrisons,
+appeared in such overwhelming strength that the insurgents hastily put off
+to sea. Many succeeded in escaping to Formosa and Singapore. The leader
+was accidentally shot off Macao. The restoration of Imperial authority was
+followed, however, by terrible scenes of official cruelty and
+bloodthirstiness. The guilty had escaped, but the Emperor Hienfung's
+officials wreaked their rage on the helpless and unoffending townspeople.
+Hundreds of both sexes were slain in cold blood, and on more than one
+occasion English officers and seamen interfered to protect the weak and to
+arrest the progress of an undiscriminating and insensate massacre."
+
+
+
+
+VII. THE BLOSSOMING DESERT.
+
+"In tropical lands, when the rain comes, what was barren baked earth, in a
+day or two is rich meadow, all ablaze with flowers, and the dry torrent
+beds, where the stones lay white and glistening ghastly in the hot
+sunshine, are foaming with rushing streams and fringed with budding
+oleanders." Such a spiritual transformation it was the glad privilege of
+our missionaries to witness in the region of Amoy during the years 1854 and
+1855. Until then, to the eye of man only an occasional seed had burst its
+way through the stone-crusted earth and given a shadow of harvest hope.
+The first four years of prayer and testimony from 1842-1846 were definitely
+and visibly rewarded with only two converts.
+
+When Mr. Talmage arrived at Amoy in 1847 the total church membership was
+three. By 1850 it had grown to five. By the end of 1851 the seed had
+brought forth nearly fourfold. There were nineteen converts. This was the
+harbinger of brighter days. Even during the troublous times of 1853 signs
+of awakening appeared. In the midst of war and rumors of war the native
+brethren had proposed to enter the "regions beyond" Chiangchiu and
+Chinchew. The faithful preaching of Doty and Talmage in the chapels and on
+the streets of Amoy city, among the towns and villages of Amoy Island and
+the mainland; the apostolic labors of William Burns, whose joy it was to
+sow beside all waters,-these had found acceptance with God and with the
+people. Inquirers multiplied at the chapels. They came from among the
+shopkeepers and boatmen of Amoy, from cities and towns along the arms of
+the sea and up the inland rivers, from remote country hamlets beyond the
+mountains.
+
+Mr. Talmage's letters during 1854 and 1855 tell of the great awakening.
+
+"This year (1854), thus far, has been one of unusual blessing, a year 'of
+the right hand of the Most High.' Early in January, knowing that there were
+a few individuals desirous of receiving Christian baptism, we appointed a
+meeting for the examination of such, and also for personal conversation
+with all others who might feel an especial interest in Christianity. We
+were agreeably surprised to find the number of inquirers and candidates for
+baptism much greater than we had supposed. We also found among the
+inquirers an unusual tenderness of conscience, and sense of sinfulness, and
+anxiety for the salvation of the soul. Seeing such evidence that the Holy
+Spirit was shedding abroad His quickening influences among this people, we
+appointed a similar interview for the week following.
+
+"These meetings for the examination and instruction of inquirers we have
+continued almost every week, and occasionally twice a week, till the
+present time. Sometimes the inquirers present have numbered thirty or
+forty, perhaps more. At times, moreover, the depth of feeling manifested
+has been such that the eyes of every one present have been suffused with
+tears. These meetings, we trust, have been very profitable, as well as
+interesting."
+
+"On Sabbath, March 26th, we were permitted to receive into the fellowship
+of the Christian Church ten individuals, eight men and two women, the
+eldest a widow woman aged sixty-eight, the youngest a young man aged
+twenty." "On the last Sabbath in May, we again received nine persons, six
+men and three women, the eldest an old man aged seventy-four, the youngest
+a young man aged twenty-three."
+
+"On the thirtieth of July (Sabbath), we again baptized nine others, four
+men and five women, the eldest a widow aged fifty-one, the youngest a girl
+aged sixteen. Thus the whole number of adults baptized by us at Amoy
+during the present year, thus far, is twenty-eight."
+
+He cites individual cases. Speaking of an aged widow he says:
+
+"She lives at a village some fifteen miles or more from Amoy. Boats coming
+from that place to this place land at a wharf near my house. On one
+occasion, when she arrived here a few months ago, she resolved to come to
+my house, and see how the foreigners lived. On entering, she was met by
+the Christian who has charge of the chapel. He asked her business. She
+said that she only came for amusement. He replied, 'This is not a place to
+visit for amusement, but to hear the doctrine.' 'Well,' says she, 'then I
+will hear the doctrine.' He explained to her something of the truths of
+Christianity. He told her also that after breakfast I should be in the
+chapel for morning worship. She went back to the neighbor's house whence
+she had come, to wait until after breakfast. But the new doctrine which
+she had heard, took so deep a hold on her mind, that she desired no
+breakfast for herself. Soon she again came to hear more. She was deeply
+impressed with the truth and importance of the things which she heard. She
+reasoned with herself thus: 'The myriads of people I meet with do not know
+what is in my heart, but these people tell me what is in my heart and in my
+bones. This doctrine cannot be of man. It must be the great power of
+God.' She was poor and lived at a distance from Amoy. She learned that
+the Christian who had charge of the chapel was of the same surname with
+herself. She inquired whether she might not come down next Saturday, and
+lodge with his family. She said she would bring with her some dried
+potatoes for her food. Of course her request was readily granted. From
+that time to the present, she has come the whole distance from her village
+to Amoy almost every week, in order to hear the Gospel. She has two sons
+and one daughter. She has brought both her sons with her, desiring that
+they also may become Christians. The eldest, aged seventeen, is among our
+inquirers. She has also brought some of her neighbors with her to hear the
+Word. She has met with much opposition and persecution; but so far as we
+can learn, she has borne all with the meekness of a true disciple of
+Christ. Since her baptism, she has rented a room in Amoy, that she may
+live within sound of the Gospel. When she told me of this, I asked her how
+she expected to maintain herself, and whether she thought she should be
+able to earn a living at Amoy. She replied that she trusted in God. If
+she could not get as good food as others, she would eat coarser food.
+
+"There is still a goodly number of inquirers at Amoy. In our meeting for
+conversation with them to-day; we met with two very affecting cases. They
+are lads, the elder being in his seventeenth year, and the younger in his
+thirteenth. Their parents and friends bitterly oppose them in their
+determination to follow Christ.
+
+"They have been severely beaten. The elder was severely scourged
+yesterday. This morning he was again tied up in a very painful manner, and
+beaten by his cruel father. He carried the marks of his sufferings on his
+arms, which we saw. We were told that he had scars also on other parts of
+his body. We trust that they are 'the marks of the Lord Jesus.' A
+brother, still younger than themselves, we are told, also worships Jesus.
+If they are, indeed, lambs of Christ's flock, the blessed Saviour will take
+care of them; but their severe afflictions should call forth much sympathy
+and prayer in their behalf.
+
+"The conduct of our church members continues to give us much comfort. They
+are not free from faults. They need much careful oversight and exhortation
+and instruction. In consequence of this, our cares, anxieties, and labors
+must necessarily increase as the converts increase. But if allowance be
+made for their limited knowledge, only a short time having elapsed since
+the most of them first heard the Gospel, there are probably but few
+churches, even in our own beloved country, compared with which the
+Christian character of this little flock would suffer. Were it not for the
+Christian activity of our members, so many of them abounding in good works,
+our operations here would necessarily be confined within much narrower
+limits. Almost every one seems to be impressed with the truth, that he or
+she is to improve every opportunity to speak a word for Christ. Many of
+them are quite effective speakers. The heathen are often astonished to
+hear men from the lower walks of life, who previously had not had the
+benefit of any education, and are yet perhaps unable to read, speak with
+such fluency, and reason with such power concerning the things of God, as
+to silence all their adversaries, even though they be men of education."
+
+Speaking of the awakening at Peh-chui-ia, a market-town once under our
+care, now under the care of the English Presbyterians, Mr. Talmage
+continues:
+
+"We have been specially interested in their lively faith, their praying
+spirit, their earnestness in the study of the Holy Scriptures, and, as a
+consequence of all this, their joy in the Holy Ghost.
+
+"The house first rented was found too small and uncomfortable for our work.
+The adjoining house, of about the same size, and the upper part of the next
+house, have since been rented, and doors opened through the walls. Thus we
+have several rooms for lodging and conversation, and also for holding more
+private meetings than we could in the chapel. The members and inquirers
+spend the greater part of the Sabbath at the mission premises studying the
+Scriptures, listening to the preaching of the Word, and in religious
+conversation and prayer. They go home only for their meals, and some not
+even for that. A part of them spend much of their time there in similar
+employments on other days of the week. When we have been with them, we
+have been much gratified by seeing their earnestness in the study of the
+Scriptures. They are continually coming to us for explanation of passages
+which they cannot understand. Often the voice of prayer will be heard from
+all parts of the house at once. They are but babes in Christ; yet their
+knowledge of the Scriptures is remarkable. We feel it good for our own
+souls to be among them."
+
+This market-town owed much to the earnest labors of Rev. W. C. Burns, whose
+words and manner of life are still a fragrant memory among the brethren
+there. He was the first English Presbyterian missionary to China. He
+arrived in 1847. For the first four years he carried on evangelistic work
+at Hongkong and Canton. He came to Amoy in 1851.
+
+Mr. Talmage alludes to a family at Peh-chui-ia who had endured much for
+Christ's sake.
+
+"This family have been twice plundered. Once their house was set on fire
+by a band of robbers, and everything was destroyed, themselves only
+escaping with their lives by a remarkable providence." (So intense is the
+hatred of some of the officials against Christianity that bold robberies
+will take place with their connivance, sometimes at their instigation.)
+"These afflictions seem to have been employed by the Spirit of God in
+preparing their hearts for the reception of the Gospel. On the first
+announcement of the Word, they were deeply impressed with its truth. The
+father, however, had a hard struggle; and the opposition from his neighbors
+was too much for him at the first. At one time, he resolved to run away
+from the place altogether. At another time he meditated drowning himself.
+While in this state of mind, he derived much benefit from the counsel and
+earnest entreaties of his wife. She exhorted and besought him to exhibit
+the meekness and endurance taught by the meek and suffering Saviour. He
+who never suffers His people to be tempted above that they are able to
+bear, at length raised him above the fear of man, and established his
+goings. On one occasion, when we were conversing with him, it was
+suggested that he might again be robbed. He replied that he did not
+believe he should be, for he now trusted in God. We suggested, 'Perhaps
+the very fact that you have turned from idols to the service of the true
+God, may lead the enemies of the Gospel to band together and plunder you.'
+He answered, 'I do not believe that they will. They will not, except it be
+the will of God. If it be His will, I also am willing.' On one occasion
+it was suggested that he might even be brought before magistrates because
+of the Gospel. He answered that he had no anxiety on that subject. When
+the time came the Holy Ghost would teach him what to speak. He has since
+had his faith put to the test, but his confidence was not disappointed.
+The enemies of the Gospel banded together to demand of him money as his
+share of the expenses of some idolatrous celebration, resolving, if he
+refused to pay the money, to plunder his establishment. A crowd collected
+at his door to carry the resolution into effect. They made their demand
+for the money. But he was enabled to speak to them with such power that
+they trembled in his presence, it is said, and were glad to leave him
+alone."
+
+Mr. Talmage writes of the great change in a man notoriously wicked, who at
+fifty-one years of age yielded to Christ.
+
+"For thirty-one years he was addicted to the smoking of opium. When the
+brethren first saw him, he seemed just ready to fall into the grave. He
+also had a bad reputation throughout the town, being accustomed to meddling
+with other people's business. He was a man of good natural abilities, and
+the people feared him. He has given up his opium and his other vile
+practices. His whole character seems to have undergone a change. He also
+has been called, as have all the others in that town, to experience
+persecution. His enemies are those of his own house. His opium-smoking,
+and all his other wickedness, they could endure; but they cannot endure his
+Christianity, his temperance, his meek and quiet spirit. One of my visits
+to Peh-chui-ia was on the day after his friends had been manifesting,
+especial opposition to him. I found him greatly rejoicing that he had been
+called to suffer persecution for Christ's sake, and that he had been
+enabled to bear it so meekly. He said the Holy Scriptures had been
+verified, referring to Matthew v.11, 12. He said that he had been enabled
+to preach the Gospel to those who had met to oppose him for two hours,
+until his voice failed him. He was still quite hoarse from his much
+speaking. He had told them of the change which he had experienced through
+the power of the Holy Spirit on his heart; but he also said he knew they
+could not understand his meaning, when he spoke of the work of the Holy
+Spirit in the heart. If they would worship Jesus, however, and pray to the
+Holy Spirit to change their hearts, as his had been changed, then they
+would understand him."
+
+
+SI-BOO'S ZEAL.
+
+An interesting case narrated in the life of W. C. Burns is that of Si-boo,
+who afterwards went as an evangelist among his own countrymen at Singapore.
+
+"On Mr. Burns' first visit to Pechuia, he found amongst the foremost and
+most interesting of his hearers, a youth of about eighteen or twenty,
+called Si-boo.
+
+"Of stature rather under the average of his countrymen, with an eye and
+countenance more open than usual, and a free and confiding manner, he soon
+attracted the attention of the missionary. His position in life was above
+the class of common mechanics, and his education rather good for his
+position. His occupation was to carve small idols in wood for the houses
+of his idolatrous countrymen, of every variety of style and workmanship,
+some plain and cheap, and some of the most elaborate and costly
+description. Had Si-boo been of the spirit of Demetrius, he would have
+opposed and persecuted Mr. Burns for bringing his craft into danger. But
+instead of that, he manifested a spirit of earnest, truthful inquiry,
+although that inquiry was one in which all the prepossessions, and
+prejudices, and passions of mind and heart were against the truth--an
+inquiry in which all the influence of friends, and all his prospects in
+life, were cast into the wrong balance. By the grace of God he made that
+solemn inquiry with such simplicity and sincerity, that it soon led to an
+entire conviction of the truth of our religion, and that to a decided
+profession of faith at all hazards; and these hazards, in such a place as
+Pechuia, were neither few nor small-far greater than at Amoy, where the
+presence of a large body of converts, and a considerable English community,
+and a British flag, might seem to hold out a prospect of both protection
+and support in time of need, though such protection and temporal aid have
+never been relied on by even our Amoy converts, still less encouraged.
+
+"One of the first sacrifices to which Si-boo was called was a great one.
+His trade of idol-carver must be given up, and with that his only means of
+support; and that means both respectable and lucrative to a skillful hand
+like his. But to his credit he did not hesitate. He at once threw it up
+and cast himself on the providence of God, and neither asked nor received
+any assistance from the missionary, but at once set himself to turn his
+skill as a carver in a new and legitimate direction. He became a carver of
+beads for bracelets and other ornaments, and was soon able to support
+himself and assist his mother in this way. One advantage of this new trade
+was, that it was portable. With a few small knives, and a handful of
+olive-stones, he could prosecute his work wherever he liked to take his
+seat, and he frequently took advantage of this to prosecute his Master's
+work, while he was diligent in his own. Sometimes he would take his seat
+on the 'Gospel Boat' when away on some evangelistic enterprise; and while
+we were slowly rowing up some river or creek, or scudding away before a
+favorable wind to some distant port, Si-boo would be busy at work on his
+beads; but as soon as we reached our destination, the beads and tools were
+thrust into his pouch, and with his Bible and a few tracts in his hand, he
+was off to read or talk to the people, and leave his silent messengers
+behind him."
+
+During the same year (1854), Mr. Doty wrote a letter to Mr. Burns while in
+Scotland, in regard to the awakening at Chioh-be, a large town of 30,000
+inhabitants, eight miles northwest of Peh-chui-ia. An extract reads as
+follows:
+
+"But what shall I tell you of the Lord's visitation of mercy at Chioh-be?
+Again, truly, are we as those that dream. The general features of the work
+are very similar to what you witnessed at Pechui-ia. The instrumentality
+has been native brethren almost entirely. Attention was first awakened in
+one or two by I-ju and Tick-jam, who went to Chioh-be together.
+
+"This was two or three months ago. This was followed up by repeated visits
+of other brethren from Pechui-ia and Amoy. Shortly the desire to hear the
+Word was so intense, that there would be scarcely any stop day or night;
+the brethren in turns going, and breaking down from much speaking in the
+course of three or four days, and coming back to us almost voiceless."
+
+
+AN APPEAL FOR A MISSIONARY.
+
+On the 30th of August, 1854, Mr. Talmage wrote, enclosing the subjoined
+appeal of the church at Peh-chui-ia for a missionary. It is addressed to
+the American Board, which these brethren call "the Public Society." A
+duplicate letter was sent at the same time to Mr. Burns to be presented to
+the Board of Foreign Missions of the English Presbyterian Church. "They
+tell us," says Mr. Talmage, "that every sentence has been prayed over.
+According to their own statement, they would write a sentence, and then
+pray, and then write another sentence, and then pray again."
+
+"By the mercy and grace of God, called to be little children of the Saviour
+Jesus, we send this letter to the Public Society, desiring that God our
+Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, may bestow grace and peace on all the
+saints connected with the Public Society. We desire you to know the
+boundless grace and favor of God towards us, and in behalf of us, little
+children, heartily to thank God because that the announcement of God's
+grace has been conveyed by your nation to our nation, and to our province,
+even to Amoy, and to our market-town Peh-chui-ia. We desire the Public
+Society to be thoroughly informed, so that they may very heartily thank God
+and the Lord Jesus Christ; for we at Peh-chui-ia originally dwelt in the
+region of death and gloomy darkness, a place under the curse of God, and
+were exposed to God's righteous punishment. But many thanks to God's
+compassion and mercy, the Holy Spirit influenced the pastors of your nation
+to send holy brethren (Amoy native Christians), in company with the English
+pastor, the teacher, William Burns, unto our market town, to unfold the
+holy announcement of grace, and preach the Gospel. Many thanks to God,
+whose grace called several brethren, by day and by night, to listen to the
+preaching of the Gospel, for the space of four months. Many thanks to the
+Holy Spirit, who opened our darkened hearts, and led us unto the Saviour
+Jesus, whose precious blood delivers from sin. By the grace of God five
+persons were received into the Church and baptized. Again, two months
+afterwards four persons were received into the Church and baptized. There
+are still some ten persons and more, from different quarters, not yet
+baptized, who have been operated on, so that they listen to the preaching
+with gladness of heart.
+
+"By the will of God, the English pastor has been called to return to his
+own nation. Our place is distant from Amoy by water, several tens of
+'lis,' [One li is about one-third of a mile] so that it is difficult to
+come and go. The two pastors of your nation at Amoy (Messrs. Doty and
+Talmage) have not a moment to spare from labor, for the holy brethren there
+are many; and it is difficult for them to leave home.
+
+"We, the brethren of the church at our market town, with united heart pray,
+earnestly beseeching God again graciously to compassionate us, and send a
+pastor from the Public Society of your nation, that he may quickly come,
+and instruct us plainly in the Gospel.
+
+"It is to be deplored-the brethren having heard the teacher William Burns
+preach the Word for a few months, their spiritual nature only just born
+again, not yet having obtained firmness in the faith, that just at this
+time, in the seventh month, the pastor should be separated from us.
+
+"Day and night our tears flow; and with united heart we pray, earnestly
+beseeching God graciously to grant that of the disciples of the Lord Jesus
+a pastor hastily come, and preach to us the Gospel, this food of grace with
+its savoriness of grace, in order to strengthen the faith of us, little
+children. Moreover, we pray God to influence the saints of your nation
+that they may always keep us little children in remembrance. Therefore, on
+the 28th day of the seventh month (August 21, 1854) the brethren with
+united heart have prayed earnestly beseeching God that this our general
+letter may be conveyed to the great Public Society, that you may certainly
+know these our affairs, and pray God, in behalf of us, that this our
+request may be granted. Please give our salutation to the brethren.
+
+   KONG-BIAU,
+   TEK-IAM,
+   TEK-EIAN,
+   U-JU,
+   SI_BU,
+   JIT-SOM,
+   KI-AN,
+   LAM-SAN,
+   KIM KOA,
+ "The disciples of Jesus at Peh-chui-ia.
+
+"Presented to the Public Society that all the disciples may read it."
+
+Mr. Talmage concludes a letter speaking of the "times of refreshing" in
+these words:
+
+"This remarkable work may well fill our hearts with gratitude and
+encouragement. Heretofore, we have always been obliged to wait a long time
+before we were permitted to see much fruit of our labor; and we were almost
+led to the conclusion that such must always be the case, in carrying the
+Gospel to a heathen people. Now we see that such need not be the course of
+events. We should preach the Gospel with larger expectations, and in the
+hope of more immediate fruit. He who commanded the light to shine out of
+darkness, can shine into the darkest minds, 'to give the light of the
+knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus' on the first
+announcement of the truth as it is in Jesus. When the proper time comes,
+and His Church is made ready for the great accession, it will be an easy
+thing for Him to accomplish the expectation that a nation shall be born at
+once."
+
+
+
+
+VIII. CHURCH UNION.
+
+Missionary work in its initial stage has only to do with first principles.
+
+Given shelter, food, power of utterance in a foreign tongue, a preaching
+spot, a company of hearers, and you have bounded the horizon for the
+present.
+
+No sooner, however, is a goodly company of believers gathered, but
+problems, numerous and weighty, confront the missionary.
+
+How shall the company of believers be organized and governed? Shall it be
+exactly on the model of the church which the missionary represents? If
+not, what modifications shall be made? Shall the seedling ten thousand
+miles away be roped to the mother tree or shall it be encouraged to stand
+alone? What advantages in independence? What perils? What shall be the
+status of the foreign missionary before the native church just organizing?
+What relation shall he sustain to the home church?
+
+The answers to these questions have been as various as the denominations
+represented in Oriental lands. The answers of missionaries representing
+the same denomination have not even tallied.
+
+After the gracious awakening and ingathering at Amoy and in the region
+about, had taken place, the question of church organization became
+foremost. The missionaries gave the subject earnest thought. Men like
+Elihu Doty and John Van Nest Talmage and Carstairs Douglas, were not likely
+to come to conclusions hastily.
+
+But they were born pioneers. Conservative enough never to lose their
+equilibrium, they had adaptability to new circumstances.
+
+Quite willing to follow the beaten path so long as there was promise of
+harvest returns, they were prepared nevertheless to blaze a new road into
+the trackless forest if they were sure some of God's treasure-trove could
+be brought back on it. There was no divergence of view as to what the
+foundation of the new church-structure must be. 'For other foundation can
+no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.' So long,
+however, as the general proportions were the same, there was no fear that
+the new edifice would topple over if it did not conform exactly in height
+and length and breadth, in column and pilaster and facade, to the venerated
+model in the mother countries. The brethren expressed their views to the
+churches in the home land. They did more. They plead their cause and
+hoped for endorsement. The following is part of a lengthy but very
+interesting communication written by Mr. Talmage and sent to the Synod of
+the Reformed Church in 1856:
+
+"Amoy, China, Sept. 17, 1856.
+
+"To the General Synod of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church.
+
+"Fathers and Brethren: We your missionaries at Amoy, China, have, by the
+blessing of the Head of the Church on our labors, arrived at a stage of
+progress in our work which imposes on us weighty responsibilities, and we
+feel the need of counsel and advice. It will be proper for us to give a
+brief account of our Mission, of our work, of the blessing of God on our
+labors, of our peculiar circumstances, and of the principles on which we
+have acted hitherto, and which we think should still guide us in our
+efforts to establish the Kingdom of Christ in this land, that you may
+praise God in our behalf and in behalf of this people, and assist us by
+your sympathies, prayers, and counsels. Our Mission was commenced at Amoy
+by the late Rev. David Abeel, D.D. Mr. Abeel arrived at Amoy in company
+with the Rev. (now Bishop) Boone, on the 24th of February, 1842. On the
+22d of June, 1844, Rev. E. Doty and Rev. Wm. J. Pohlman arrived at Amoy
+from Borneo. In Dec., 1844, Mr. Abeel in consequence of continued and
+increasing ill health left Amoy on his return to the United States. Mrs.
+Pohlman and Mrs. Doty having been removed by death, Mr. Doty left Amoy for
+the United States, Nov. 12, 1845, with his own and Mr. Pohlman's children.
+Rev. J. V. N. Talmage accompanied Mr. Doty on his return to Amoy, arriving
+Aug. 19, 1847. Mr. Pohlman was lost at sea Jan. 5, or 6, 1849. Mr.
+Talmage was away from Amoy from March 24, 1849 to July 16, 1850. Rev. J.
+Joralmon arrived at Amoy, April 21, 1856.
+
+"Mr. Boone, of the Episcopal Church of the United States, was at Amoy but a
+short time. After him there have been no missionaries of that church at
+Amoy. The mission of the American Presbyterian Board at Amoy was commenced
+by the arrival of Rev. T. L. McBryde, in June, 1842. He left Amoy in
+January, 1843. James C. Hepburn, M.D., arrived in 1843, and retired in
+1845. Rev. John Lloyd arrived in Dec., 1844. Rev. H. A. Brown arrived in
+1845 and left Amoy for the United States in Dec., 1847. Mr. Lloyd died in
+Dec., 1848. Since then that mission has not been continued at Amoy.
+
+"W. H. Cumming, M.D., a medical missionary, but not connected with any
+missionary society, arrived at Amoy, June, 1842, and left Amoy in the early
+part of 1847. The London Missionary Society's Mission at Amoy was
+commenced by the arrival of Rev. Messrs. J. Stronach and William Young, in
+July, 1844. Since then other agents of that society have arrived, some of
+whom have again left and some still remain. They now number three
+ministers of the Gospel and one physician.
+
+"The Mission of the English Presbyterian Church at Amoy was commenced by
+the arrival of James H. Young, M.D., in May, 1850. Rev. W. C. Burns
+arrived in July, 1851. Rev. James Johnston arrived in Dec., 1853. Dr.
+Young and Mr. Burns left Amoy in August, 1854. Mr. Johnston left Amoy in
+May, 1855. Rev. C. Douglas arrived at Amoy in July, 1855. He is now the
+only member of that Mission at Amoy. All the members of this Mission,
+although sent out by the English Presbyterian Church, were originally
+members of the Free Church of Scotland.
+
+"The present missionary force at Amoy are three ministers and one physician
+of the London Missionary Society (in their ecclesiastical relations they
+are Independents), one minister of the English Presbyterian Church, and
+ourselves, three ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church.
+
+"The first converts received into the Christian Church at Amoy were two old
+men, baptized by Mr. Pohlman in April, 1846. The next converts received
+were two men baptized by Mr. A. Stronach, of the London Missionary Society,
+in March, 1848. A few months later Mr. Stronach baptized one more. Since
+then every year has witnessed additions to the church. We received into
+our church by baptism in 1849 three persons; in 1850 five; in 1851 eight;
+in 1852 two; in 1853 six; in 1854 including those baptized at Peh-chui-ia,
+fifty-three; in 1855 including Peh-chui-ia and Chioh-be, seventy-two;
+during the present year thus far, also including Pehchui-ia and Chioh-be,
+fifty. The whole number now connected with our church at Amoy is one
+hundred and twenty-one. The number at Peh-chui-ia is forty-two. The
+number at Chioh-be is thirty-one. In all, the number is one hundred and
+ninety-four. The London Mission has also been greatly blessed. They now
+have in connection with their church at Amoy and in vicinity one hundred
+and fifty-one members. After acquiring the language of this people, we
+have felt that our great work is to preach the Gospel. Every other
+department of labor must be entirely secondary to this. The Scriptures are
+clearly in favor of these views, and our own experience has confirmed these
+views until they have become very decided. We have already mentioned the
+name of Mr. Burns as uniting in labors with our church members. The
+brethren of the English Presbyterian Church, in the providence of God, have
+been brought very near to us. We have rendered each other much assistance
+and often have labored together almost as one Mission.
+
+"When Mr. Burns arrived at Amoy, providentially he found and secured a room
+not far from our church edifice, and near to the residences of several of
+our church members. As soon as he was able to use the dialect of Amoy,
+many of our church members and inquirers were glad of the privilege of
+meeting with him daily for the study of the Scriptures and for prayer. Mr.
+Burns came to Amoy for the simple purpose of preaching the Gospel. He did
+not wish to take the responsibility of organizing a separate church. He
+was ready to co-operate with us or with the London brethren. He often
+rendered them assistance likewise. When he became able to use the language
+with freedom, he often preached in our church. When he went out for street
+preaching, or went out to visit the towns and villages around, he always
+took with him native Christians, usually the members of our church, having
+been providentially placed among them. Early in the year 1854, Mr. Burns
+with some of our church members visited the region of Peh-chui-ia. Much
+interest was awakened in that region in the subject of Christianity. A
+goodly number, we trust, were born of the Spirit. Mr. Burns did not wish
+to take the responsibility of a pastor, desiring to keep himself free for
+evangelistic labors wherever a door might be opened before him. He
+requested us to examine the candidates for baptism and receive those whom
+we deemed worthy, and take the pastoral care of them. We yielded to the
+desires of Mr. Burns and took charge of Pehchui-ia.
+
+"Mr. Burns continued to spend much of his time in that place and vicinity
+until he was called to leave Amoy. Shortly after the departure of Mr.
+Burns, learning that the English Presbyterians would have been glad to
+retain Peh-chui-ia, and Mr. Johnston (E. P.) being willing to take charge
+there as far as he was able, we very willingly relinquished it to them. He
+was still unable to use the language with freedom, so we continued to visit
+the place as often as we could. Before Mr. Johnston's knowledge was
+sufficient to relieve us of the pastoral care of that interesting church,
+his ill-health compelled him to return to his native land. His place was
+soon supplied by the arrival of Mr. Douglas. We have continued the same
+pastoral care of that church. Lately our visits to the place have become
+less frequent, as Mr. Douglas has become better acquainted with the
+language.
+
+"In the latter half of the year 1851, some of the Christians from
+Peh-chui-ia went to the large town of Chioh-be on business and preached the
+Gospel as they had opportunity. They found a few persons who listened to
+their message with interest and manifested a desire to hear more. When
+this fact, on their return, was reported to the churches of Peh-chui-ia and
+Amoy, other Christians went to Chioh-be. A great interest was awakened. A
+small house was rented for a chapel. This house was thronged every day
+throughout the day and evening. Soon as we had opportunity we visited the
+place to converse with inquirers and examine candidates for baptism. In
+January, 1855, the first converts at that place were baptized. The
+interest continued to increase. We found the premises we had rented
+entirely too small. As soon as a larger and more suitable place could be
+found it was secured. Soon after this a violent persecution broke out.
+The immediate effect was greatly to hinder the work. Only those who were
+sufficiently interested in the Gospel to raise them above the fear of man
+dared attend the place of worship. Still there has been constant progress.
+
+"If the churches gathered by us are to be organized simply with respect to
+the glory of God and their own welfare, there is a fact in our
+circumstances which should have great weight in forming this organization.
+This fact is the intimate relation and hitherto oneness of the churches
+under our care and under the care of the missionaries of the English
+Presbyterian Church. In the foregoing short history of our work it will be
+seen that we have been and are closely connected with the missionaries of
+that Church. From the first we have had the pastoral care of their church
+gathered at Peh-chui-ia and in the surrounding region. They have not
+attempted the organization of any church at Amoy. By far the greater
+proportion of their influence and labors at Amoy has been in the direction
+of assisting us in our work. They have acted as though they thought it was
+of no importance whatever whether converts were received into church
+fellowship by us or them. Doubtless the church members, although perfectly
+aware that we and our English Presbyterian brethren are of different
+Churches and different countries, suppose that they form but one Church.
+When the time had arrived for a regular organization of our church in Amoy,
+the question presented itself: Shall we invite Mr. Douglas, then and still
+the only English Presbyterian missionary at Amoy, to unite with us in our
+deliberations? By the providence of God our missions had been brought
+closely together. We had been laboring together in the work of the Lord,
+were one in sympathy, held the same views in theology, and did not differ
+in regard to church polity. But one answer could be given to this
+question. We cordially invited him. He as cordially accepted of our
+invitation, and heartily engaged with us in our church meetings, held in
+reference to the election of church officers. He voted with us and our
+church members. He united with us in setting apart the officers-elect to
+their respective offices, and since then has usually united with us in our
+deliberations in our consistorial meetings. Surely in this matter we have
+acted according to the leadings of Providence and the spirit and
+instructions of the Gospel of Christ; for in Christ Jesus there is no
+distinction of nationalities. Our labors having thus far been so
+intermingled and our churches so intimately related and united together, we
+can see no sufficient reason for separation. If there be any advantage in
+the association of churches by the organization of Classes or Presbyteries,
+why should we deprive these churches in their infancy and weakness of this
+advantage? We have always taught our people to study the Word of God and
+make it their rule. Can we give them a sufficient reason for such
+separation? Doubtless if we were to tell them, that the churches by which
+we are sent out and sustained desire separate organizations, and therefore
+should recommend such organizations to them, they would acquiesce. They
+know that they cannot stand alone. Gratitude, also, and ardent affection
+for those churches by whose liberality they have been made acquainted with
+the Gospel, would lead them to do all in their power to please those
+churches. We can hardly suppose, however, that such separation would
+accord with their judgment, or with those Christian feelings which they
+have always exercised towards each other as members of the same Church.
+But we do not suppose that either our Church or the English Presbyterian
+Church will recommend such a separation. The Dutch Church in North America
+has always manifested an enlarged Christian spirit, and therefore we cannot
+doubt but that she will approve of an organization by which the churches
+here, which are one in doctrine and one in spirit, may also be one in
+ecclesiastical matters. Neither do we doubt but that the English
+Presbyterian Church will also approve of the same course. We do not know
+as much of that Church as we hope to know in the future. Yet we know
+enough of her already to love her. But if separation must come, let not
+our Church bear the responsibility.
+
+"Another question of importance may arise. What shall be our relation as
+individuals to the Dutch Church in America? We see no reason and desire
+not to change the relation we have always sustained. We were set apart by
+that Church to do the work of evangelists. This is the work in which we
+still wish to be engaged. We must preach the Gospel. As God gives success
+to our labors we must organize churches, and take oversight of them as long
+as they need that oversight. When we find suitable men, we must 'ordain
+elders in every city.' Such is the commission we hold from our Church, and
+from the great Head of the Church. Theoretically, difficulties may be
+suggested. Practically, with the principles on which we have thus far
+acted, we see no serious difficulties in our way. We must seek for Divine
+guidance, take the Scriptures for our rule, and follow the leadings of
+Providence. We are all liable to err. But with these principles, assisted
+by your counsels, and especially by your prayers, we have reason to
+believe, and do believe, that the Spirit of truth will guide us in the way
+of truth."
+
+Dr. Talmage also sent a communication to Dr. Thomas De Witt, then
+Corresponding Secretary for the Reformed Church in co-operation with the
+American Board. It reads:
+
+"Oct. 1, 1856. There are some other facts arising out of the circumstances
+of this people, and of the nature of the Chinese language, which have a
+certain importance and perhaps should be laid before the Church. No part
+of the name of our Church, peculiar to our denomination, can be translated
+and applied to the church in Chinese without inconvenience or great
+detriment. The words, Protestant and Reformed, would be to the Chinese
+unintelligible, consequently inconvenient. The only translation we can
+give to the name Dutch Church, would be Church of Holland. This, besides
+conveying in part an incorrect idea, would be very detrimental to the
+interests of the Church among the Chinese. The Chinese know but little of
+foreign nations and have for ages looked upon them all as barbarians. Of
+course the views of the native Christians are entirely changed on this
+subject. But our great work is to gather converts from the heathen. We
+should be very careful not to use any terms by which they would be
+unnecessarily prejudiced against the Gospel. It is constantly charged upon
+the native Christians, both as a reproach and as an objection to
+Christianity, that they are following foreigners or have become foreigners.
+The reproach is not a light one, but the objection is easily answered. The
+answer would not be so easy if we were to fasten on the Christians a
+foreign name."
+
+At the meeting of the General Synod, held in the village of Ithaca, New
+York, June, 1857, the following resolutions recommended by the Committee on
+Foreign Missions, Talbot W. Chambers, D.D., Chairman, were adopted:
+
+THE MEMORIAL OF THE AMOY MISSION.
+
+"Among the papers submitted to the Synod is an elaborate document from the
+brethren at Amoy, giving the history of their work there, of its gradual
+progress, of their intimate connection with missionaries from other bodies,
+of the formation of the Church now existing there, and expressing their
+views as to the propriety and feasibility of forming a Classis at that
+station. In reply to so much of this paper as respects the establishment
+of individual churches, we must say that while we appreciate the peculiar
+circumstances of our brethren, and sympathize with their perplexities, yet
+it has always been considered a matter of course that ministers, receiving
+their commission through our Church, and sent forth under the auspices of
+our Board, would, when they formed converts from the heathen in an
+ecclesiastical body, mould the organization into a form approaching, as
+nearly as possible, that of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Churches in our
+own land. Seeing that the converted heathen, when associated together,
+must have some form of government, and seeing that our form is, in our
+view, entirely consistent with, if not required by the Scriptures, we
+expect that it will in all cases be adopted by our missionaries, subject,
+of course, to such modifications as their peculiar circumstances may for
+the time render necessary. The converts at Amoy, as at Arcot and
+elsewhere, are to be regarded as 'an integral part of our Church,' and as
+such are entitled to all the rights and privileges which we possess. And
+so in regard to the formation of a Classis. The Church at home will
+undoubtedly expect the brethren to associate themselves into a regular
+ecclesiastical organization, just as soon as enough materials are obtained
+to warrant such measure, with the hope that it will be permanent. We do
+not desire churches to be prematurely formed in order to get materials for
+a Classis, nor any other exercise of violent haste, but we equally
+deprecate unnecessary delay, believing that a regular organization will be
+alike useful to our brethren themselves and to those who, under them, are
+in training for the first office-bearers in the Christian Church on heathen
+ground. As to the difficulties suggested in the memorial, respecting the
+different Particular Synods to which the brethren belong, and the delays of
+carrying out a system of appellate jurisdiction covering America and China,
+it is enough to say:
+
+"1. That the Presbyterian Church (Old School) finds no insuperable
+difficulties in carrying into operation her system, which comprehends
+Presbyteries and Synods in India as well as here; and, 2. That whatever
+hindrances may at anytime arise, this body will, in humble reliance upon
+the Divine aid and blessing, undertake to meet and remove them as far as
+possible. The Church at home assumes the entire responsibility of this
+matter, and only ask the brethren abroad to carry out the policy held
+steadily in view from the first moment when our Missions began.
+
+"The following resolutions are recommended:
+
+"Resolved, 1. That the Synod view with great pleasure the formation of
+churches among the converts from heathenism, organized according to the
+established usages of our branch of Zion.
+
+"2. That the brethren at Amoy be directed to apply to the Particular Synod
+of Albany to organize them into a Classis, so soon as they shall have
+formed churches enough to render the permanency of such organization
+reasonably certain."
+
+
+
+
+IX. CHURCH UNION (CONTINUED).
+
+This utterance of the General Synod, while made with the best intentions,
+fell with exceedingly painful echo on the ears of the missionaries at Amoy.
+Was the flock they had gathered with so much prayer and effort, and reared
+with such sedulous care, to be thus summarily divided and perhaps in
+consequence scattered? The missionaries felt persuaded that their brethren
+in the United States could not fully appreciate the situation or there
+would be no such action.
+
+Mr. Talmage again took up his pen in behalf of his Chinese flock. If it
+had been dipped in his own blood his utterances could not have been more
+forceful-could not have palpitated with a heartier affection for his
+Chinese brethren's sake.
+
+On Dec. 23, 1857, he wrote to Dr. Isaac Ferris, who, since the separation
+from the A.B.C.F.M. at the last Synod, had become the Corresponding
+Secretary for the Board of Foreign Missions of tile Reformed Church.
+
+"So far as we can judge from the report of the proceedings of General Synod
+as given in the Christian Intelligencer, one of the most important
+considerations, perhaps altogether the most important mentioned, why the
+church gathered by us here should not be an integral part of the Church in
+America, was entirely overlooked. That consideration relates to the unity
+of Christ's Church. Will our Church require of us, will she desire that
+those here who are altogether one,-one in doctrine, one in their views of
+church order, and one in mutual love,-be violently separated into two
+denominations? We cannot believe it. Suppose the case of two churches
+originally distinct, by coming into contact and becoming better acquainted
+with each other, they find that they hold to the same doctrinal standards,
+and they explain them in the same manner; they have the same form of church
+government and their officers are chosen and set apart in the same way;
+they have the same order of worship and of administering the sacraments;
+all their customs, civil, social, and religious, are precisely alike, and
+they love each other dearly; should not such churches unite and form but
+one denomination? Yet such a supposition does not and cannot represent the
+circumstances of the churches gathered by us and by our Scotch brethren of
+the English Presbyterian Church. Our churches originally were one, and
+still are one, and the question is not whether those churches shall be
+united, but shall they be separated? Possibly the question will be asked,
+why were these churches allowed originally to become one? We answer, God
+made them so, and that without any plan or forethought on our part, and now
+we thank Him for His blessing that He has made them one, and that He has
+blessed them because they are one.
+
+"Our position is a somewhat painful one. We desire to give offense to no
+one, and we do not wish to appear before the Church as disputants. We have
+no controversy with any one. We have neither the time nor inclination for
+controversy. We are 'doing a great work,' and cannot 'come down.' Yet our
+duty to these churches here and to the Church at home and to our Master
+demands of us imperatively that we state fully and frankly our views. We
+have the utmost confidence in our church. We have proved this by
+endeavoring to get our views fully known."
+
+The subject did not come up again for discussion before the General Synod
+until 1863.
+
+Meanwhile the churches grew and multiplied. The Amoy church, which in 1856
+had been organized by "the setting apart of elders and deacons," was
+separated into two organizations in 1860, "preparatory to the calling of
+pastors."
+
+Two men were chosen by the churches in 1861. In 1862 an organization was
+formed called the "Tai-hoey," or "Great Elders' Meeting," consisting of the
+missionaries of both the English Presbyterian and Reformed Churches and the
+delegated elders from all the organized congregations under their united
+oversight. The two men chosen as pastors were examined, ordained, and
+installed by this body.
+
+During that year Mr. Talmage was called to stand by the "first gash life
+had cut in the churchyard turf" for him. His beloved wife, Mrs. Abby
+Woodruff Talmage, was called to her reward, leaving Mr. Talmage with four
+motherless little ones. He was compelled to go to the United States to
+secure proper care for his children. He came in time to attend the General
+Synod of 1863. There he advocated most earnestly the course which the
+brethren at Amoy had taken.
+
+Dr. Isaac Ferris brought the subject before the Synod in these words:
+
+"In 1857 the Synod met at Ithaca, and a most remarkable Synod it was.
+According to the testimony of all who were present the Spirit of God
+unusually manifested His gracious presence. A venerable minister on his
+return remarked, 'It was like heaven upon earth.' That Synod, under this
+extraordinary sense of the Divine presence and unction, judged that the
+time had arrived for the Church to take the responsibility of supporting
+its foreign missionary work upon itself, and, accordingly, in very proper
+resolutions, asked of the American Board to have the compact which had been
+in operation since 1832 revoked, and the Mission transferred to our Foreign
+Board.
+
+"It was at that meeting that a memorial of our brethren at Amoy on the
+subject of organization, very ably drawn, and presenting fully their views
+and reasonings, was read and deliberated on. Their work had been
+wonderfully blessed, and the whole Church was called to thanksgiving, and
+the time seemed at hand to realize the expectations of years. The brethren
+asked advice, and the Synod adopted the carefully-drawn report of a
+committee of which the President was chairman, advising the organization of
+a Classis at as early a day as was practicable. Our brethren at Amoy were
+not satisfied with this advice, and considered the subject as not having
+had a sufficient hearing.
+
+"In the progress of their work they have deemed it proper to form a
+different organization from what the Synod advised, and which was in
+harmony with the constant aim of our Church on the subject. The Board of
+Foreign Missions, when the matter came before them, could only kindly
+protest and urge upon the brethren the action of the Synod of 1857. Not
+having ecclesiastical power, they could only argue and advise. They would
+have it remembered that all has been done in the kindest spirit. They have
+differed in judgment from the Mission, but not a ripple of unkind feeling
+has arisen.
+
+"The question now before the Synod is, whether this body will recede from
+the whole policy of the Church and its action in 1857 or reaffirm the same.
+This Synod, in its action on this case, will decide for all its missions,
+and in all time, on what principles their missionaries shall act, and hence
+this becomes probably the most important question of this session. It is
+in the highest degree desirable that the Synod should give the subject the
+fullest the most patient and impartial examination, and that our brother,
+who represents the Amoy Mission, be fully heard."
+
+Mr. Talmage next addressed the Synod and offered the following resolution:
+
+"Resolved, That the Synod hear with gratitude to God of the great progress
+of the work of the Lord at Amoy, and in the region around, so that already
+we hear of six organized churches with their Consistories, and others
+growing up not yet organized, two native pastors who were to have been
+ordained on the 29th of March last, and the whole under the care of a
+Classis composed of the missionaries of our Church and of the English
+Presbyterian Church, the native pastors, and representative elders of the
+several churches. It calls for our hearty gratitude to the great Head of
+the Church that the missionaries of different Churches and different
+countries have been enabled, through Divine grace, to work together in such
+harmony. It is also gratifying to us that these churches and this Classis
+have been organized according to the polity of our Church, inasmuch as the
+Synod of the English Presbyterian Church has approved of the course of
+their missionaries in uniting for the organizing of a church after our
+order; therefore, this Synod would direct its Board of Foreign Missions to
+allow our missionaries to continue their present relations with the
+missionaries of the English Presbyterian Church, so long as the present
+harmony shall continue, and no departure shall be made from the doctrines
+and essential policy of our Church, or until the Synod shall otherwise
+direct."
+
+There were speeches for and against, by distinguished men in the Church.
+Dr. T. W. Chambers, President of the Synod, made the concluding address, as
+follows:
+
+"If there be any one here who has a deep and tender sympathy with our
+brother Talmage and his senior missionary colleague (Mr. Doty), I claim to
+be the man.
+
+"Mr. Doty was my first room-mate at college thirty-one years ago, and ever
+since we have been fast friends. As to the other, his parents-themselves
+among the most eminent and devoted Christians ever known-were long members
+of the church in New Jersey, of which I was formerly in charge. For
+several years I was his pastor. I signed the testimonials of character
+required by the American Board before they commissioned him. I pronounced
+the farewell address when he left this country in 1850. I have watched
+with intense interest his entire career since, and no one welcomed him more
+warmly when he returned last year, bearing in his face and form the scars
+which time and toil had wrought upon his constitution. It is needless to
+say, then, that I love him dearly for his own sake, for his parents' sake,
+for his numerous friends' sake, but, more than all, for that Master's sake
+whom he has so successfully served. Nor is there anything within reason
+which I would not have the Church do for him. He shall have our money, our
+sympathy, our prayers, our confidence-the largest liberty in shaping the
+operations of the Mission he belongs to.
+
+"But when we come to the matter now at issue, I pause. Much as I love our
+brother, I love Christ more. Nor can I surrender, out of deference to our
+missionaries, the constitution, the policy, the interests of our
+Church,--all of which are involved in this matter. Nay, even their own
+welfare, and that of the mission they are so tenderly attached to, demand
+that we should deny their request. What is this request? That we should
+allow our brethren at Amoy, together with the English Presbyterian
+missionaries there, to form with the native pastors and the delegates from
+the native churches, an independent Classis or Presbytery, over whose
+proceedings this body should have no control whatever, by way of appeal, or
+review, or in any other form. Now, the first objection to this is, that it
+is flatly in the face of our constitution and order. A 'self-regulating
+Classis' is a thing which has never been heard of in the Dutch Church since
+that Church had a beginning. It is against every law, principle, canon,
+example, and precedent in our books. Perhaps the most marked feature of
+our polity is the subordination of all parts of our body, large or small,
+to the review and control of the whole as expressed in the decisions of its
+highest ecclesiastical assembly. I submit that this Synod has no right to
+form or to authorize any such self regulating ecclesiastical body, or to
+consent that any ministers of our Church should hold seats in such a body.
+If we do it, we transcend the most liberal construction which has ever been
+known to be given to the powers of General Synod. How, then, can we do
+this thing? Whatever our sympathies, how can we violate our own order, our
+fundamental principles, the polity to which we are bound by our profession,
+by our subscription, by every tie which can bind religious and honorable
+men?
+
+"Moreover, the thing we are asked to do contravenes our missionary policy
+from the beginning. As far back as 1832, when we made a compact with the
+American Board, one essential feature of the plan was that we should have
+'an ecclesiastical organization' of our own. Without this feature that
+plan would never have been adopted; and the apprehension that there might
+be some interference with this cherished principle was at least one of the
+reasons why the plan, after working successfully for a quarter of a
+century, was at length abrogated. And so when, in 1857, we instituted a
+missionary board of our own, this view was distinctly announced.
+
+"It was my privilege to draw up the report on the subject which has been so
+often referred to. That report did not express merely my view, or that of
+the committee, but the view of the entire Synod. Nor from that day to this
+has there been heard anywhere within our bounds even a whisper of objection
+from minister, elder, or layman in regard to the positions then taken. It
+is our settled, irreversible policy. Deep down in the heart of the Church
+lies the conviction that our missionaries, who carry to the heathen the
+doctrine of Christ as we have received it, must also carry the order of
+Christ as we have received it. Certain unessential peculiarities may, from
+the force of circumstances, be left in abeyance for a time, or even
+permanently, but the dominant features must be retained. It is not enough
+to have genuine Consistories, we must have genuine Classes. And, under
+whatever modifications, the substantive elements of our polity must be
+reproduced in the mission churches established by the blessing of God upon
+the men and means furnished by our Zion.
+
+"Further, Mr. President, it is to be remembered that we are acting for all
+time. It is not this one case that is before us. We are settling a
+precedent which is to last for generations. Relax your constitutions and
+laws for this irregularity and you open a gap through which a coach and
+four may be driven. Every other mission, under the least pretext, will
+come and claim the same or a similar modification in their case, and you
+cannot consistently deny them. The result will be an ecclesiastical chaos
+throughout our entire missionary field. Let us begin as we mean to hold
+out. Let us settle this question now and settle it aright. We direct our
+missionaries what Gospel to preach, what sacraments to administer, what
+internal organization to give to single churches. Let us, in the same
+manner and for the same reasons, say what sort of bonds shall unite these
+churches to each other and govern their mutual relations and common
+interests.
+
+"I know we are told that the hybrid organization which now exists is every
+way sufficient and satisfactory; that it is the fruit of Christian love,
+and that to disturb it would be rending the body of Christ. Here one might
+ask how it came to exist at all, seeing that this Synod spoke so plainly
+and unambiguously in 1857. And I for one cordially concur in the remark of
+the Elder Schieffelin, that the brethren there 'deserve censure.' We do
+not censure them, nor do we propose to do so, but that they deserve it is
+undeniable. But the point is, how can our disapproval of the mongrel
+Classis mar the peace of the Amoy brethren? There is already a division
+among their churches. Some are supported by our funds, others by the funds
+of the English Presbyterians. Would it alter matters much to say, and to
+make it a fact, that some of those churches belong to a Classis and others
+to a Presbytery? Some have an American connection and others an English.
+But this would break Christian unity! Would it, indeed? You observed, Mr.
+President, the affectionate confidence, blended with reverence, with which
+I addressed from the chair the venerable Dr. Skinner. The reason was that
+we both belong to an association of ministers in New York which meets
+weekly for mutual fellowship, enjoyment, and edification in all things
+bearing on ministerial character and duties. Ecclesiastically we have no
+connection whatever. I never saw his Presbytery in session, and I doubt if
+he ever saw our Classis; yet our brotherly, Christian, and even ministerial
+communion is as tender, and sacred, and profitable as if we had been
+copresbyters for twenty years. Now, who dare say that this shall not exist
+at Amoy? Our brethren there can maintain precisely the same love, and
+confidence, and co-operation as they do now, in all respects save the one
+of regular, formal, ecclesiastical organization.
+
+"But I will not detain the Synod longer. I would not have left the chair
+to speak, but for the overwhelming importance of the subject. It is
+painful to deny the eager and earnest wishes of our missionary brethren,
+but I believe we are doing them a real kindness by this course. Union
+churches here have always in the end worked disunion, confusion, and every
+evil work. There is no reason to believe that the result would be at all
+different abroad. A division would necessarily come at some period, and
+the longer it was delayed, the more trying and sorrowful it would be. I am
+opposed, therefore, to the substitute offered by Brother Chapman, and also
+to that of Brother Talmage, and trust that the original resolutions, with
+the report, will be adopted. That report contains not a single harsh or
+unpleasant word. It treats the whole case with the greatest delicacy as
+well as thoroughness, but it reaffirms the action of 1857 in a way not to
+be mistaken. And that is the ground on which the Church will take its
+stand. Whatever time, indulgence, or forbearance can be allowed to our
+brethren, will cheerfully be granted. Only let them set their faces in the
+direction of a distinct organization, classical as well as consistorial,
+and we shall be satisfied. Only let them recognize the principle and the
+details shall be left to themselves, under the leadings of God's gracious
+providence."
+
+The report of the Committee on Foreign Missions, E. S. Porter, D.D.,
+chairman, was adopted. Part of it reads as follows:
+
+"The missionaries there have endeared their names to the whole Christian
+world, and especially to that household of faith of which they are loved
+and honored members."
+
+.... "No words at our command can tell what fond and flaming sympathies
+have overleaped broad oceans, and bound them and us together.
+
+  "'Words, like nature, half reveal,
+  And half conceal the soul within.'
+
+.... "Your committee are unable to see how it will be possible to carry the
+sympathies and the liberalities of the Church with an increasing tide of
+love and sacrifice in support of our missionary work, if it once be
+admitted as a precedent, or established as a rule, that our missionaries
+may be allowed to form abroad whatever combinations they may choose, and
+aid in creating ecclesiastical authorities, which supersede the authorities
+which commissioned them and now sustain them."
+
+"The committee are not prepared to recommend that any violent and coercive
+resolutions should be adopted for the purpose of constraining our brethren
+in Amoy to a course of procedure which would rudely sunder the brotherly
+ties that unite them with the missionaries of the English Presbyterian
+Church. But a Christian discretion will enable them, on the receipt of the
+decision of the present Synod, in this matter now under consideration, to
+take such initial steps as are necessary to the speedy formation of a
+Classis.
+
+"Much must be left to their discretion, prudence and judgment. But of the
+wish and expectation of this Synod to have their action conform as soon as
+may be to the resolutions of 1857, your committee think the brethren at
+Amoy should be distinctly informed. They therefore offer the following:
+
+"'I. Resolved, That the General Synod, having adopted and tested its plan
+of conducting foreign missions, can see no reason for abolishing it; but,
+on the contrary, believe it to be adapted to the promotion of the best
+interests of foreign missionary churches, and of the denomination
+supporting them.
+
+"'II. That the Board of Foreign Missions be, and hereby is, instructed to
+send to our missionaries at Amoy a copy or copies of this report, as
+containing the well-considered deliverance of the Synod respecting their
+present relations and future duty.
+
+"'III. That the Secretary of the Foreign Board be, and hereby is, directed
+to send to the Rev. Dr. Hamilton, of London, Convener of the Presbyterian
+Committee, a copy of this report, with a copy of the action of 1857, and
+that he inform him by letter of the wishes and expectations of the Synod
+respecting the ecclesiastical relations which this body desires its
+churches in Amoy to sustain to it.'"
+
+In the report of the Foreign Committee of the English Presbyterian Church
+for 1863, the following language is used in reference to the Union Chinese
+Church of Amoy:
+
+"We are hopeful, however, that on further consideration our brethren in
+America may allow their missionaries in China to continue the present
+arrangement, at least until such time as it is found that actual
+difficulties arise in the way of carrying it out. 'Behold, how good and
+pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unify,' and there are few
+brethren towards whom we feel closer affinity than the members of that
+Church, which was represented of old by Gomarus and Witsius, by Voet and
+Marck, and Bernard de Moore, and whose Synod of Dort preceded in time and
+pioneered in doctrine our own Westminster Assembly. Like them, we love
+that Presbyterianism and that Calvinism which we hold in common, and we
+wish to carry them wherever we go; but we fear that it would not be doing
+justice to either, and that it might compromise that name which is above
+every other, if, on the shores of China, we were to unfurl a separate
+standard. We would, therefore, not only respectfully recommend to the
+Synod to allow its missionaries to unite presbyterially as well as
+practically with the brethren of the Reformed Dutch Church; but we would
+express the earnest hope that the Synod of the sister Church in America may
+find itself at liberty to extend to its missionaries a similar freedom."
+
+These sentiments were unanimously adopted by the Synod of the English
+Presbyterian Church.
+
+The cause which Mr. Talmage was advocating was too near his heart, and his
+convictions were too strong to permit silence. He prepared a pamphlet,
+setting forth more clearly the position of the Mission at Amoy, as well as
+answering objections made to it. [The exact standing of missionaries in
+the Union Chinese Church of Amoy was also explained by Dr. Talmage in a
+later pamphlet, for the contents of which see Appendix.] A few quotations
+read:
+
+"In reference to it, i.e., the report of the Committee on Foreign Missions,
+we would make three remarks: (1) It (Resolution III.) seems rather a
+cavalier answer to the fraternal wish of the Synod of the English
+Presbyterian Church, as expressed in their action. (2) The action of Synod
+is made to rest (Res. I.) on the fact that Synod had 'tested' this 'plan of
+conducting foreign missions.' If this be so, and the plan had been found
+by experiment unobjectionable, the argument is not without force. But how
+and where has this test been applied and found so satisfactory? Our Church
+has three Missions among the heathen-one in India, one in China, and one in
+Japan. Has it been tested in Japan? No. They have not yet a single
+native church. Has it been tested in China? If so, the missionaries were
+not aware of it. The test applied there has been of an opposite character
+and has been wonderfully successful. The test has only been applied in
+India, and has only begun to be applied even there. There, as yet, there
+is but one native pastor. Their Classis is more American than Indian. We
+must wait until they have a native Classis before the test can be
+pronounced at all satisfactory. (3) No consideration is had for the
+feelings, wishes or opinions of the native churches. The inalienable
+rights of the native churches, their relation to each other, their absolute
+unity-things of the utmost consequence-are not at all regarded, are
+entirely ignored."
+
+In reply to the advantages claimed to flow from the plan advocated by
+General Synod, Mr. Talmage says:
+
+"1. The most important advantage is, or is supposed to be, that there will
+thus be higher courts of jurisdiction to which appeals may be made, and by
+which orthodoxy and good order may be the better secured to the Church at
+Amoy.
+
+"Such advantages, if they can be thus secured, we would by no means
+underrate. There sometimes are cases of appeal for which we need the
+highest court practicable-the collective wisdom of the Church, so far as it
+can be obtained; and the preservation of orthodoxy and good order is of the
+first importance. Now, let us see whether the plan proposed will secure
+these advantages. Let us suppose that one of the brethren feels himself
+aggrieved by the decision of the Classis of Amoy and appeals to the
+Particular Synod of Albany, and thence to General Synod. He will not be
+denied the right to such appeal. But, in order that the appeal may be
+properly prosecuted and disposed of, the appellant and the representative
+of Classis should be present in these higher courts. Can this be secured?
+Is the waste of time, of a year or more, nothing? And where shall the
+thousands of dollars of necessary expense come from? Now, suppose this
+appellant to be a Chinese brother. He, also, has rights; but how, on this
+plan, can he possibly obtain them? Suppose that the money be raised for
+him and he is permitted to stand on the floor of Synod. He cannot speak,
+read, or write a word of English. Not a member of Synod can speak, read,
+or write a word of his language, except it be the brother prosecuting him.
+I ask, is it possible for him thus to obtain justice? But, waiving all
+these disadvantages, the only point on which there is the least probability
+that an appeal of a Chinese brother would come up before the higher courts,
+are points on which these higher courts would not be qualified to decide.
+They would doubtless grow out of the peculiar customs and laws of the
+Chinese, points on which the missionary, after he has been on the ground a
+dozen years, often feels unwilling to decide, and takes the opinion of the
+native elders in preference to his own. Is it right to impose a yoke like
+this on that little Church which God is gathering, by your instrumentality,
+in that far-off land of China? But it is said that these cases of appeal
+will very rarely or never happen. Be it so; then this supposed advantage
+will seldom or never occur, and, if it should occur, it would prove a
+disadvantage."
+
+In regard to keeping the Church pure in doctrine:
+
+"Sure I am that the Church in China cannot be kept pure by legislation on
+this, the opposite side of the globe. But we expect Christ to reign over
+and the Holy Spirit to be given to the Churches, and the proper
+ecclesiastical bodies formed of them in China, as well as in this land. Why
+not? Such are the promises of God. The way to secure these things is by
+prayer and the preaching of the pure Gospel, not by legislation. Let the
+Church be careful in her selection of missionaries. Send only such as she
+has confidence in-men of God, sound in faith, apt to teach-and then trust
+them, or recall them. Don't attempt to control them contrary to their
+judgment. Strange if this, which is so much insisted on as the policy of
+our Church, be right, that she cannot get a single man, of all she sends
+out to China, to think so. Can it be that the missionary work is so
+subversive of right reason, or of correct judgment, or of
+conscientiousness, that all become perverted by engaging in it?
+
+"2. Another supposed advantage is the effect it will have in enlisting the
+sympathies of the Church in behalf of the Mission at Amoy. Our people do
+not first ask whether it be building ourselves up, before they sympathize
+with a benevolent object. We believe the contrary is the exact truth. It
+requires a liberal policy to call forth liberal views and actions. As
+regards the enlisting of men, look at the facts. Every man who has gone
+out from among you to engage in this missionary work begs of you not to
+adopt a narrow policy. So in regard to obtaining of funds. Usually the
+men who are most liberal in giving are most liberal in feeling.
+
+.... "However powerful the motive addressed to the desire to build up our
+own Church, there are motives infinitely more powerful. Such are the
+motives to be depended upon in endeavoring to elevate the standard of
+liberality among our people. If our people have not yet learned, they
+should be taught to engage in the work of evangelizing the world, not for
+the sake of our Church in America, but for the sake of Christ and His
+Church, and when the Church thus built up is like our own they should be
+fully satisfied. We believe they will be satisfied with this.
+
+"Now let us consider the real or supposed evils of carrying out the
+decision of Synod.
+
+"1. It will not be for the credit of our Church. She now has a name, with
+other Churches, for putting forth efforts to evangelize the world. Shall
+she mar this good name and acquire one for sectarianism, by putting forth
+efforts to extend herself, not her doctrines and order-they are not
+sectarian, and her missionaries esteem them as highly as do their brethren
+at home-but herself, even at the cost of dividing churches which the grace
+of God has made one? The decision of the last Synod may not be the result
+of sectarianism among the people of our Church. We do not think it is.
+But it will be difficult to convince our Presbyterian brethren and others
+that it is not so. By way of illustration I will suppose a case. A. is
+engaged in a very excellent work. B. comes to him, and the following
+dialogue ensues:
+
+"B. 'Friend A., I am glad to see you engaged in so excellent a work. I
+also have concluded to engage in it. I should be glad to work with you.
+You know the proverbs, 'Union is strength,' and 'Two are better than one.'
+
+"A. 'Yes, yes, friend B., I know these proverbs and believe them as
+thoroughly as you do. But I have a few peculiarities about my way of
+working. They are not many, and they are not essential, but I think they
+are very useful, and wish to work according to them. Therefore, I prefer
+working alone.'
+
+"B. 'Yes, friend A., we all have our peculiarities, and, if they be not
+carried too far, they may all be made useful. I have been making inquiries
+about yours, and I am glad to find they are not nearly so many, or so
+different from mine, as you suppose, and as I once supposed. The fact is,
+I rather like some of them, and though I may not esteem them all as highly
+as you do, still I am willing to conform to them; for I am fully persuaded
+that, in work of this kind, two working together can do vastly more than
+two working separately, and the work will be much better done. Besides
+this, the social intercourse will be delightful.'
+
+"A. 'I appreciate, friend B., your politeness, and am well aware that all
+you say about the greater efficiency and excellence of united work and the
+delights of social intercourse is perfectly true. But--but--well, I prefer
+to work alone.'
+
+"2. It will injure the efficiency of the Church at Amoy. Besides the
+objection furnished by the increase of denominations, which the heathen
+will thus, as readily as the irreligious in this country, be able to urge
+against Christianity, it will deprive the churches of the benefit of the
+united wisdom and strength of the whole of them for self-cultivation and
+for Christian enterprise, and will introduce a spirit of jealous rivalry
+among them. We know it is said that there need be no such result, and that
+the native churches may remain just as united in spirit after the
+organization of two denominations as before. Such a sentiment takes for
+granted, either that ecclesiastical organization has in fact no efficiency,
+or that the Chinese churches have arrived at a far higher state of
+sanctification than the churches have attained to in this land. Do not
+different denominations exhibit jealous rivalry in this land? Is Chinese
+human nature different from American?
+
+"In consequence of such division the native Churches will not be so able to
+support the Gospel among themselves. Look at the condition of our Western
+towns in this respect. Why strive to entail like evils on our missionary
+churches? ....
+
+"But may not the Church change or improve her decisions? Here is one of
+the good things we hope to see come out of this mistake of the Church.
+Jesus rules, and He is ordering all things for the welfare of His Church
+and the advancement of His cause. Sometimes, the better to accomplish this
+end, He permits the Church to make mistakes. When we failed in former days
+to get our views made public, it gave us no anxiety, for we believed the
+doctrine that Jesus reigns. So we now feel, notwithstanding this mistake.
+The Master will overrule it for good. We do not certainly know how, but we
+can imagine one way. By means of this mistake the matter may be brought
+before our Church, and before other Churches, more clearly than it would
+otherwise have been for many years to come, and in consequence of this we
+expect, in due time, that our Church, instead of coming up merely to the
+standard of liberality for which we have been contending, will rise far
+above anything we have asked for or even imagined, and other Churches will
+also raise their standard higher. Hereafter we expect to contend for still
+higher principles. This is the doctrine. Let all the branches of the
+great Presbyterian family in the same region in any heathen country, which
+are sound in the faith, organize themselves, if convenient, into one
+organic whole, allowing liberty to the different parts in things
+non-essential. Let those who adopt Dutch customs, as at Amoy, continue, if
+they see fit, their peculiarities, and those who adopt other Presbyterian
+customs, as at Ningpo and other places, continue their peculiarities, and
+yet all unite as one Church. This subject does not relate simply to the
+interests of the Church at Amoy. It relates to the interests of all the
+missionary work of all the churches of the Presbyterian order in all parts
+of the world. Oh, that our Church might take the lead in this catholicity
+of spirit, instead of falling back in the opposite direction-that no one
+may take her crown! But if she do not, then we trust some other of the
+sacramental hosts will take the lead and receive, too, the honor, for it is
+for the glory of the great Captain of our salvation and for the interests
+of His kingdom. We need the united strength of all these branches of Zion
+for the great work which the Master has set before us in calling on us to
+evangelize the world. In expecting to obtain this union, will it be said
+that we are looking for a chimera? It ought to be so, ought it not? Then
+it is no chimera. It may take time for the Churches to come up to this
+standard, but within a few years we have seen tendencies to union among
+different branches of the Presbyterian family in Australia. In Canada, in
+our own country, and in England and Scotland. In many places these
+tendencies are stronger now than they have ever before been since the days
+of the Reformation.
+
+"True, human nature is still compassed with infirmities even in the Church
+of Christ. But the day of the world's regeneration is approaching, and as
+it approaches nearer to us, doubtless the different branches of the
+Presbyterian family will approach still nearer to each other. God hasten
+the time, and keep us also from doing anything to retard, but everything to
+help it forward, and to His name be the praise forever. Amen."
+
+So strong was the feeling of the entire Amoy Mission, that in September,
+1863, the following communication was sent to the Board of Foreign
+Missions:
+
+"Dear Brethren: We received from you on the 22d ultimo the action taken by
+the General Synod at its recent session at Newburgh with regard to the
+proposed organization of a Classis at Amoy. Did we view this step in the
+light in which Synod appears to have regarded it, we should need in this
+communication to do no more than signify our intention to carry out
+promptly the requirements of Synod; but we regret to say that such is not
+the case, and that Synod, in requiring this of us, has asked us to do that
+which we cannot perform. We feel that Synod must have mistaken our
+position on this question. It is not that we regard the proposed action as
+merely inexpedient and unwise; if this were all, we would gladly carry out
+the commands of Synod, transferring to it the responsibility which it
+offers to assume. But the light in which we regard it admits of no
+transfer of responsibility. It is not a matter of judgment only, but also
+of conscience.
+
+"We conscientiously feel that in confirming such an organization we should
+be doing a positive injury and wrong to the churches of Christ established
+at Amoy, and that our duty to the Master and His people here forbids this.
+Therefore, our answer to the action of General Synod must be and is that we
+cannot be made the instruments of carrying out the wishes of Synod in this
+report; and further, if Synod is determined that such an organization must
+be effected, we can see no other way than to recall us and send hither men
+who see clearly their way to do that which to us seems wrong.
+
+"We regret the reasons which have led us to this conclusion. We have
+thought it best that each member of the Mission should forward to you his
+individual views on this subject, rather than embody them in the present
+communication.
+
+"We accordingly refer you to these separate statements which will be sent
+to you as soon as prepared.
+
+"Commending you, dear brethren, to our common Lord, whose servants we all
+are, and praying that He will guide us into all truth, we are as ever,
+
+  "Your brethren in Christ
+
+    E. DOTY,
+    A. OSTROM,
+    D. RAPALJE,
+    LEONARD W. KIP,
+    AUG. BLAUVELT.
+
+  "AMOY, Sept. 16, 1863."
+
+The last action taken by the General Synod was in June, 1864, and reads as
+follows:
+
+"Resolved, That while the General Synod does not deem it necessary or
+proper to change the missionary policy defined and adopted in 1857, yet, in
+consideration of the peculiar circumstances of the Mission of Amoy, the
+brethren there are allowed to defer the formation of a Classis of Amoy
+until, in their judgment, such a measure is required by the wants and
+desires of the Churches gathered by them from among the heathen."
+
+At the Centenary Conference on the Protestant Missions of the World, held
+in Exeter Hall, London, 1888, Rev. W. J. K. Taylor, D.D., for many years a
+most efficient member of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Reformed
+Church in America, read a paper on "Union and Cooperation in Foreign
+Missions," in which he said:
+
+"Actual union has been happily maintained at Amoy, China, for more than a
+quarter of a century between the missionaries of the Reformed (Dutch)
+Church in America and those of the Presbyterian Church of England. Having
+labored together in the faith of the Gospel, gathering converts into the
+fold of Christ, and founding native churches, these brethren could not and
+would not spoil the unity of those infant churches by making two
+denominations out of one company of believers nor would they sow in that
+virgin soil the seeds of sectarian divisions which have long sundered the
+Protestant Churches in Europe and America. The result was the organization
+of the Tai-Hoey, or Great Council of Elders, which is neither an English
+Presbytery nor a Reformed Church Classis, but is like them both. It is not
+an appendage of either of these foreign Churches, but is a genuine
+independent Chinese Christian Church holding the standards and governed by
+the polity of the twin-sister Churches that sent them the Gospel by their
+own messengers. The missionaries retain their relations with their own
+home Churches and act under commissions of their own Church Board of
+Missions. They are not settled pastors, but are more like the Apostolic
+Evangelists of New Testament times,--preachers, teachers, founders of
+Churches, educators of the native ministry, and superintendents of the
+general work of evangelization.
+
+"This Tai-Hoey is a child of God, which was 'born, not of blood, nor of the
+will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' It is believed to
+be the first ecclesiastical organization for actual union and co-operation
+in mission lands by the representatives of churches holding the Reformed
+faith and Presbyterial polity. Its history has already been long enough to
+give the greatest value to its experience."
+
+For seven years, by tongue and pen, Mr. Talmage advocated the establishment
+of an independent Chinese Union Church of the Presbyterian order. Even
+then the Reformed Church was not fully persuaded and did not give her
+hearty assent. The resolution of 1864 was only tentative. It was a plea
+for toleration. This was not strange. It was one of the earliest efforts,
+if not the earliest, for church union and separate autonomy on heathen
+soil. It was a new departure. But the battle was really won. The
+question was never broached again. The strongest opponents then are the
+warmest friends of union and autonomy now. Thirty years of happiest
+experience, of hearty endorsement by native pastors and foreign
+missionaries are sufficient testimony to the wisdom of the steps then
+taken.
+
+In November, 1864, Mr. Talmage married Miss Mary E. Van Deventer, and
+forthwith proceeded to China, where he arrived early in 1865.
+
+In 1867, Rutgers College, New Jersey, recognized Mr. Talmage's successful
+and scholarly labors in China for a period of full twenty years, by giving
+him the degree of Doctor of Divinity.
+
+
+
+
+X. THE ANTI-MISSIONARY AGITATION.
+
+Prince Kung, at Sir Rutherford Alcock's parting interview with him in 1869,
+said: "Yes, we have had a great many discussions, but we know that you have
+always endeavored to do justice, and if you could only relieve us of
+missionaries and opium, there need be no more trouble in China."
+
+He spoke the mind of the officials, literati, and the great masses of the
+people. Heathenism is incarnate selfishness. How can a Chinese understand
+that men will turn their backs on the ancestral home, travel ten thousand
+miles with no other object but to do his countrymen good? The natural
+Chinaman cannot receive it. He suspects us. And he has enough to pillow
+his suspicion on. Let him turn the points of the compass. He sees the
+great North-land in the hands of Russia. He sees the Spaniard tyrannizing
+over the Philippine Islanders. He sees Holland dominating the East Indies.
+He sees India's millions at the feet of the British lion. "What are these
+benevolent-looking barbarians tramping up and down the country for? Why
+are they establishing churches and schools and hospitals? They are trying
+to buy our hearts by their feigned kindness, and hand us over to some
+Western monarch ere long." So reasons our unsophisticated Chinese. He is
+heartily satisfied with his own religion or utterly indifferent to any
+religion. He has no ear for any new doctrine except as a curiosity, to
+give momentary amusement, and then to be thrown to the ground like a
+child's toy.
+
+The missionary appears on the scene in dead earnest. "Agitation is our
+profession." We are among those "who are trying to turn the world upside
+down."
+
+The Spirit of God touches and dissolves the apathy, melts the ice, breaks
+the stone, and we see men alive unto God; "old things are passed away,
+behold all things are become new." What a change in the recipient of God's
+grace.
+
+A change, too, takes place in him who resists. Icy apathy becomes burning,
+bitter hatred. The whole enginery of iniquity is set in motion to sweep
+off this strange foreign propaganda. Malicious placards are posted before
+every yamen and temple. Basest stories are retailed. "The barbarians dig
+out men's eyes and cut out men's hearts to make medicine of them." The
+thirst for revenge is engendered, until, like an unleashed tiger, the mob
+springs upon the missionary's home, and returns not till its thirst has
+been slaked with the blood of the righteous. That is the dark shadow
+hanging over missionary life in nearly every part of the Chinese Empire.
+
+We have had no name to add to the foreign missionary martyr list, from the
+region of Amoy.
+
+Chinese martyrs there may have been. Men who have endured the lifelong
+laceration of taunt and sneer and suffered the loss of well nigh all
+things, there have been not a few. Though the fires of persecution have
+burned with fiercer intensity in other parts of China, yet we have not
+escaped having our garments singed in some of their folds.
+
+Perhaps the most widespread anti-missionary uprising in China occurred
+during the years 1870 and 1871.
+
+It was during the summer of 1870 that Dr. Talmage was compelled to go to
+Chefoo, North China, for much-needed rest and change.
+
+On August 8th he wrote to Dr. J. M. Ferris:
+
+"The next day after my arrival at Chefoo the news was received of the
+terrible massacre at Tientsin on June 21st. (Tientsin is the port of
+Peking, and has a population of upwards of one million.) Nine Sisters of
+Charity, one foreign priest, the French consul and other French officials
+and subjects, and three Russians--in all, twenty-one Europeans--were
+massacred. Many of them were horribly mutilated. Especially is this true
+of all the Sisters. Their private residences and public establishments, as
+well as all the Protestant chapels within the city, were destroyed."
+
+Not long after, the American Presbyterian Mission at Tung chow, Shantung
+Province, North China, was broken up, for fear of an intended massacre.
+The missionaries were helped to Chefoo by two vessels sent by the British
+Admiral, Sir Henry Kellet.
+
+At Canton, vile stories about foreigners distributing poisonous pills were
+gotten up, and such was the seriousness of the crisis that two German
+missionaries had to flee for their lives, one having his mission premises
+utterly destroyed. A people whose credulity is most amazingly developed by
+feeding on fairy tales and demon adventures from their childhood, are
+prepared to believe anything about the "ocean barbarians" whose name is
+never spoken without mingled fear and hatred and suspicion.
+
+The ferment, started at Canton, spread along the coast. The people of Amoy
+were inoculated with the virus.
+
+On the 22d of September, 1871, Dr. Talmage addressed a letter to General Le
+Gendre, U. S. Consul at Amoy, informing him of the state of affairs in and
+about Amoy. The missionary knowing the language and having constant
+dealings with the people would be more likely to know the extent and
+gravity of any conspiracy against foreigners than the Consul. A part of
+the letter reads:
+
+"In July last inflammatory placards were extensively posted throughout the
+region about Canton, stating that foreigners had imported a large quantity
+of poison and had hired vagabond Chinese to distribute it among the people;
+that only foreigners had the antidote to this poison and that they refused
+to administer it, except for large sums of money or to such persons as
+embraced the foreigner's religion. In the latter part of July some of
+these placards and letters accompanying them were received by Chinese at
+Amoy from their Canton friends. They were copied, with changes to suit
+this region, and extensively circulated. The man who seems to have been
+most active in their circulation was the Cham-hu, the highest military
+official at Amoy under the Admiral. He united with the Hai-hong, a high
+civil official, in issuing a proclamation, warning the people to be on
+their guard against poison, which wicked people were circulating. This
+proclamation was not only circulated in the city of Amoy, but also in the
+country around.
+
+"It did not mention foreigners, but the people by some other means were
+made to understand that foreigners were meant. The district Magistrate of
+the city of Chiang-chiu issued a proclamation informing the people of the
+danger of poison, especially against poison in their wells. Two days later
+he issued another proclamation, reiterating his warnings, and informing the
+people that he had arrested and examined a man who confessed that he, with
+three others, had been employed by foreigners to engage in this work of
+poisoning the people.
+
+"Their especial business was to poison all the wells. This so-called
+criminal was speedily executed.
+
+"A few days afterwards a military official at Chiang-chiu also issued a
+proclamation to warn the people against poison, and giving the confession
+of the above-mentioned criminal with great particularity. The criminal is
+made to say that a few months ago he had been decoyed and sold to
+foreigners. In company with more than fifty others--he was conveyed by
+ship to Macao. There they were distributed among the foreign hongs, one to
+each hong. (Hong is pigeon English for business house.)
+
+"That afterwards he with three others was sent home, being furnished with
+poison for distribution, and with special direction to poison all the wells
+on their way. They were to refer all those on whom the poison took effect
+to a certain individual at Amoy, who would heal them gratuitously, only
+requiring of them their names. This, doubtless, is an allusion to the
+hospital for the Chinese at Amoy, where the names of the patients are of
+course recorded and they receive medicine and medical attendance
+gratuitously.
+
+"In this confession foreigners are designated by the opprobrious epithet of
+'little'--that is, contemptible--'demons.' This, by the way, is a phrase
+never used to designate foreigners in this region except by those in the
+mandarin offices. Besides the absurdity of charging foreigners with
+distributing poison, the whole confession bears the evidence not only of
+falsehood, but, if ever made, of having been put into the man's mouth by
+those inside the mandarin offices and forced from him by torture, for the
+express purpose of exciting the intensest hatred against foreigners.
+
+"In consequence, excitement and terror and hatred to foreigners, and
+consequently to native Christians, became most intense, and extended from
+the cities far into the country around. Wells were fenced in and put under
+lock and cover. People were called together by the beating of gongs to
+draw water. The buckets were covered in carrying water to guard against
+the throwing in of poison along the streets. At the entrances of some
+villages notices were posted warning strangers not to enter lest they be
+arrested as poisoners. In various places men were arrested and severely
+beaten on suspicion, merely because they were strangers. The native
+Christians everywhere were subjected to much obloquy and sometimes to
+imminent danger, charged with being under the influence of foreigners and
+employed by them to distribute poison.
+
+"Even at the Amoy hospital, which has been in existence nearly thirty
+years, the number of patients greatly decreased; some days there were
+almost none."
+
+In the large cities of Tong-an and Chinchew placards were posted in great
+numbers. They averred that black and red pills were being sold by the
+agents of foreigners under presence of curing disease and saving the world.
+
+Instead they were causes of terrible diseases which none but the foreign
+dogs or their agents could cure. And to get cured, one must join the
+foreign religion or else give great sums. It was asserted that all this
+poison emanated from the foreign chapels, was often thrown into wells, and
+secretly put into fish or other food in the markets.
+
+A preacher, sixty miles from Foochow, one hundred and fifty miles north of
+Amoy, barely escaped with his life. He was pounded with stones while the
+bystanders called out, "Kill the poisoner, the foreign devils' poisoner!"
+
+The whole object of this diabolical calumniating was to kindle the people
+into a frenzy against foreigners, especially missionaries, and to make
+foreign powers believe that the people are so anti-foreign that the
+authorities cannot secure a foreigner's safety outside of the treaty ports.
+
+Even when these reports were traveling like wildfire there were those among
+the Chinese who knew better, and it was often said, "It cannot be the
+missionaries and native Christians, for have they not been going in and out
+among us all these years and they never did us any harm?"
+
+Speaking of the "Political State of the Country," Dr. Talmage says:
+
+"With the atrocities committed at Tientsin the world is acquainted, though
+many seem still to be under the grievous error that these atrocities were
+designed only against Romanism and the French nation.
+
+"If this were the fact, it would be no justification. Others are under an
+error equally grievous, that the Chinese Government has given reasonable
+redress. It has given no proper redress at all. Instead of reprobating
+the massacre, it has almost, and doubtless to the ideas of the Chinese,
+fully sanctioned it. The leaders in the massacre have not been brought to
+justice. The Government has readily given life for life--a very easy
+matter in China--but it has so highly rewarded the families of the victims
+thus sacrificed to placate the barbarians, and put so much honor on the
+corpses of these martyrs to foreign demands, that it has encouraged similar
+atrocities whenever a suitable time shall arrive for their perpetration.
+The Imperial proclamation stating even this unsatisfactory redress, which
+the Government solemnly promised should be published throughout the land,
+has not been published except in a few instances where foreigners have
+compelled it. The massacre at Tientsin is known throughout the empire, but
+it is not known generally that any redress at all has been given.
+
+"Instead of the publication of this proclamation the vilest calumnies--too
+vile to be even mentioned in Christian ears--have been circulated secretly,
+but widely throughout the land. Throughout the coast provinces of this
+southern half of the empire the people have been warned of a grand
+poisoning scheme gotten up by foreigners for the destruction of the
+Chinese.
+
+"Because the foreign residents in China report the truth in regard to the
+feeling of hatred to foreigners, and warn the nations of the West of the
+coming war and designed extirpation of all foreigners, for which China is
+assuredly preparing with all its might, we are charged as being desirous of
+bringing on war. We know that the Church will not impute such motives to
+her missionaries. But the testimony of missionaries agrees in this respect
+with that of other foreign residents. We see the evidence, as we walk the
+streets, in the countenances and demeanor of the literati and officials,
+and somewhat in the countenances and demeanor of the masses.
+
+"We see it in the changed policy of the local magistrates toward the
+Christians; we learn it from rumors which are circulated from time to time
+among the people; we see it in the activity manifested in forming a proper
+navy and in preparing the army.
+
+"We learn it from the secret communications, some of which have reached the
+light, passing to and fro between the Imperial Government and the higher
+local authorities, and we fear that we have another proof in the barbarous
+treatment of a shipwrecked crew some two weeks ago along the coast a little
+to the north of Amoy.
+
+"A British mercantile steamer ran ashore in a fog. She was unarmed. The
+natives soon gathered in force and attacked the vessel. The people on
+board attempted to escape in their boats. These boats were afterwards
+attacked by a large fleet of fishing-boats and separated.
+
+"One boat's company were taken ashore, stripped naked, wounded, and robbed
+of everything. They finally made their way overland to Amoy. The other
+three boats, after the crew and passengers had been stripped and robbed,
+were let go to sea. They providentially fell in with a steamer which took
+them to Foochow. Such atrocities were once common here.
+
+"We do not believe that any large proportion of the foreign residents in
+China wish war. We do wish, however, the rights secured to us by treaty.
+These, with a proper policy, can be secured without war. We wish most
+heartily to avoid war. Besides all its other evils it would be a sad thing
+for our work and our churches. We still hope that God in His providence
+will ward it off. He will do it in answer to our prayers if so it be best
+for His cause. This is our only hope, and it is sufficient."
+
+The threatening war cloud did blow over, and a restraint, at least
+temporary, was laid upon the officials and the people in their treatment of
+foreigners.
+
+
+
+
+XI. THE LAST TWO DECADES.
+
+Dr. Talmage was a man of strong convictions, at the same time possessed of
+a spirit of genuine catholicity. The brethren connected with the London
+and English Presbyterian Missions recognized him as a true friend. In his
+later years he became the Nestor of the three Missions, the venerated
+patriarch, the trusted counselor.
+
+It will not be inappropriate to give two letters expressive of his
+good-will toward his fellow laborers. The one was written on the occasion
+of Rev. John Stronach's return to England:
+
+
+FORTY CONTINUOUS YEARS IN HEATHENISM.
+
+"March 16, 1876. Today we said farewell to the veteran missionary, Rev.
+John Stronach.
+
+"He has been laboring many years at this place in connection with the
+London Missionary Society. This morning he left us for his native land by
+a new route.
+
+"Each of the three Missions has one or more boats employed exclusively in
+carrying missionaries and native preachers on their trips to and from the
+various outstations accessible by water. These boats are called by the
+native Christians 'hok-im-chun,' which means 'Gospel boat.' Mr. Stronach
+embarked on one of these 'Gospel boats.' He expected to land at one of the
+Mission stations on the mainland northeast from Amoy, and then travel
+overland on foot or by sedan-chair to Foochow. He will spend the remaining
+nights of this week and the Sabbath at various stations under the care of
+the Missions at Amoy, and say some parting words to the native Christians.
+
+"He expects early next week to meet one of the Methodist missionaries of
+Foochow, and in company with him to pass on to that city, spending the
+nights at stations under the care of the Foochow Missions. We may now
+travel overland from Amoy to Foochow (a distance of one hundred and fifty
+miles) and spend every night, sometimes take our noonday meals, at a
+Christian chapel. Does this look as if missions were a failure in this
+region? At Foochow Mr. Stronach will take steamer for Shanghai, thence to
+Yokohama and San Francisco.
+
+"All the missionaries of Amoy and many Chinese Christians accompanied Mr.
+Stronach to the boat. It is very sad to say farewell to those with whom we
+have been long and pleasantly associated.
+
+"Mr. Stronach left England in 1837, thirty-nine years ago, to labor as a
+missionary in the East Indies.
+
+"He came to Amoy in 1844, shortly after this port was opened to foreign
+commerce and missionary labor. He was soon sent to Shanghai as one of the
+Committee of Delegates on the translation of the Scriptures into the
+Chinese language. If he had done nothing more for China than his share in
+this great work, the benefit would have been incalculable. After the
+completion of this work in 1853, he returned to Amoy, where he has labored
+continuously, with the exception of a short visit a few years ago to
+Hongkong and Canton, and a shorter one last year to Foochow. Very rarely
+has he been interrupted in his work by illness. In the history of modern
+missions few instances can be found of missionaries who have been permitted
+to labor uninterruptedly for nearly forty years, not even taking one
+furlough home.
+
+"In the case of Mr. Stronach the language concerning Moses may be literally
+applied, 'His eye is not dim, nor his natural force abated.' He does not
+yet have occasion to use spectacles, and the route he has taken proves him
+still full of mental and physical vigor. Think of the discoveries and
+inventions during the last forty years! Will Mr. Stronach recognize his
+native land? The good hand of the Lord be with him and make his remaining
+years as happy as his past ones have been useful."
+
+The other letter, to Rev. John M. Ferris, D.D., was written on the occasion
+of the death of the Rev. Carstairs Douglas, LL.D., one of the most
+accomplished and scholarly men ever sent to any mission field:
+
+
+"AUGUST 8, 1877.
+
+"By this mail we have sad news to send. It relates to the death of Rev.
+Carstairs Douglas, LL.D., of the English Presbyterian Mission at Amoy. He
+was the senior member of that Mission, having arrived at Amoy, July, 1855,
+twenty-two years ago.
+
+"Dr. Douglas, two weeks ago to-day, was in apparent good health. On that
+day he made calls on several members of the foreign community. To some of
+them he remarked, concerning his health, that he had never felt better.
+That evening he was in his usual place in our weekly prayer-meeting. The
+next morning at four o'clock he began to feel unwell, but did not wish to
+disturb others, so called no one until about half past six. Then some
+medicine was given him and he sat down at his study-table for the morning
+reading of his Hebrew Bible. About an hour after this he became much worse
+and the doctor was sent for. On his arrival the physician pronounced his
+disease to be cholera of the most virulent type, and the case to be almost
+without hope of recovery.
+
+"In consequence of our long and close intimacy word was soon sent to me. I
+hastened to see him. He was already very weak and could not converse
+without great effort. Everything was done for him that could be done. But
+he continued failing until about a quarter before six in the afternoon,
+July 26th, when he breathed his last. He knew what his disease was and
+what would probably be its termination, but evidently the King of Terrors
+had no terror for him. His end was peace. He retained his consciousness
+nearly to the last.
+
+"He was to have preached in our English chapel to the foreign community on
+the following Sabbath morning. He told us his text was Romans vi. 23, 'The
+wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
+Christ our Lord.' The text was so suitable to the occasion that I took it,
+and in his place on the next Sabbath morning preached his funeral sermon
+from his own text.
+
+"By overwork he had worn himself out, and made himself an old man while he
+was yet comparatively young in years. He came to China quite young and at
+the time of his death was only about forty-six years of age, and yet men
+who had recently become acquainted with him thought him over sixty. Is any
+one inclined to blame him too much for this, as though he wore himself out
+and sacrificed his life before the time? If so, he did it in a good cause
+and for a good Master. Besides this, he did more work during the
+twenty-two years of his missionary life than the most of men accomplish in
+twice that time. And then, he reminds us of One, who when only a little
+over thirty years of age, from similar causes, seems to have acquired the
+appearance of nearly fifty (John viii. 57).
+
+"Recently, especially during the last year, it was manifest, at least to
+others, that his physical strength was fast giving way. Yet he could not
+be prevailed upon to leave his field for a season for temporary rest, or
+even to lessen the amount of his work.
+
+"I never knew a more incessant worker. He was a man of most extensive
+general information. I think I have never met with his equal in this
+respect. He was acquainted with several modern European languages and was a
+thorough student of the original languages of Holy Scripture, as witness
+the fact of his study of the Hebrew Bible, even after his last sickness had
+commenced. As regards the Chinese language, he was already taking his
+place among the first sinologues of the land. We were indebted more to
+him, perhaps, than to any other one man for the success of the recent
+General Missionary Conference (at Shanghai).
+
+[At this first General Conference of the Protestant missionaries of China,
+held at Shanghai in May, 1877, Dr. Talmage preached the opening sermon and
+read a paper, the title of which was, "Should the native churches in China
+be united ecclesiastically and independent of foreign churches and
+societies?"]
+
+"As a member of the Committee of Arrangements he labored indefatigably by
+writing Ietters and in other ways to make it a success, and though
+comparatively so young, he well deserved the honor bestowed on him in
+making him one of the presidents of that body. 'Know ye not that there is
+a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?'
+
+"This is a great blow to the English Presbyterian Mission in this place.
+It is also, because of the intimate relations of the two missions and the
+oneness of the churches under our care, a great blow to us. It is a great
+blow to the whole mission work in China--greater, perhaps, than the loss
+of any other man. You will not wonder that I, from my long intimacy with
+him, feel the loss deeply, more and more deeply every day and week, as the
+days and weeks pass away without him."
+
+
+CHINESE GRANDILOQUENCE.
+
+An episode in connection with the visit to China in 1878 of Dr. Jacob
+Chamberlain, of the Arcot Mission, is described in a letter to Dr. Goyn
+Talmage, as follows:
+
+"Dear Goyn: I suppose I told you about the pleasant visit we had from Dr.
+Chamberlain and family. The Doctor went with me to Chiang-chiu. While
+there his carpet-bag was stolen out of the boat. We reported the case to a
+military officer, and told him that we wanted the bag very much, and if he
+could get it for us, we should make no trouble about having the thief
+punished. In a few days after our return to Amoy the bag was sent to us
+with all its contents complete. We bought an umbrella--a nice silk
+one--and sent it up to the officer as a present. Perhaps you would like to
+see a translation of the letter he sent in reply. It will illustrate
+Chinese politeness. The letter reads as follows:
+
+"'When the flocks of wild geese make their orderly flight,--the glorious
+autumnal season deserving of laudation,--my thoughts wander far away to
+you, Teacher Talmage, whose noble presence is worthy to be saluted with bow
+profound, and whose dignified manners invite to close intimacy. Alas, that
+our acquaintance should have been formed at this late day!--and that, too,
+when, by wafting and by the plying of oars, having arrived at 'the stream
+of the fragrant grain fields' (poetic name for the region of Chiang-chiu),
+you met with the mishap of doggish thieves taking advantage of your want of
+watchfulness! Truly, the blame of this rests on me. How, then, can I have
+the hardihood to receive from you a present of value! A reward of demerit,
+how can I endure it! During the three stages of life, (youth, middle age,
+and old age,) I shall not be able to repay. It is only by inheritance (not
+by my own merit) that I obtained the imperial favor of office. Thus, my
+deficiency in the knowledge of official laws and governmental regulations
+has subjected you to fear and anxiety. Shame on me in the extreme! shame
+in the extreme! Only by the greatest stretch could I hope to meet with
+forbearance, how then could you take trouble and manifest kindness by
+sending a present. Writing cannot exhaust my words, and words can not
+exhaust my meaning. It will be necessary to come and express my thanks in
+person. Such are my supplications and such is my sense of obligation. May
+there be golden peace to you, Teacher Talmage, and will your excellency
+please bestow your brilliant glance on what I have written!'
+
+"Is not that a specimen of humility? The stealing was because of his
+neglect of duty, and his neglect of duty was because of inability, having
+obtained his office through the merit of his father or grandfather. Of
+course he kept the umbrella."
+
+August 18, 1887, marked the fortieth anniversary of Dr. Talmage's arrival
+in China. He said so little about it, however, that it was not known by
+the friends of the other missions until the very day dawned.
+
+The members of the English Presbyterian Mission--ladies and
+gentlemen--immediately concluded to secure some suitable memento expressive
+of their regard for Dr. Talmage and his work. A set of Macaulay's History
+of England, bound in tree calf, and a finely bound copy of the latest
+edition of the Royal Atlas, were sent for. In connection with the
+presentation the following letter from Rev. W. McGregor was read:
+
+"Amoy, April 3, 1888.
+
+"Dear Dr. Talmage:
+
+"When on the 18th of last August we learned that that day was the fortieth
+anniversary of your arrival in China, the news came upon us unexpectedly.
+We wished we had had more forethought and kept better count of the years,
+so that we might have made more of the occasion. Each of us felt a desire
+to present you with some token of our regard, and it seemed to us for many
+reasons best that we should do so unitedly as members of the English
+Presbyterian Mission in Amoy. We had at the time nothing suitable to offer
+you, but we agreed on certain books to be sent for,--not as having any
+special relations to the work in which you have been engaged, but as being
+each a standard work of its kind. The books have now arrived, and I have
+much pleasure in sending them to you as something that may be kept in your
+family as a memorial of the day and a small token of our high esteem for
+yourself personally and of the great value we attach to the work you have
+done in the service of our common Lord.
+
+"I am, yours truly,
+
+"Wm. McGregor.
+
+"On behalf of the members of the English Presbyterian Mission, Amoy."
+
+Dr. Talmage was blessed with a most vigorous physical constitution, but
+years of struggle with one of the complaints peculiar to the tropics,
+finally compelled his retirement from the Mission field.
+
+In the summer of 1889, Dr. and Mrs. Talmage embarked on the steamship
+Arabia for the United States. Dr. Talmage turned his face to the old
+home-village, Bound Brook, New Jersey, all the time cherishing the hope of
+one more return to China and his laying down the shepherd's crook and robe
+among the flock he had gathered from among the heathen. That hope was not
+to be realized. Though he had left Amoy, yet he ceased not to do what he
+could for the work there. Though compelled to lie on his back much of the
+time, making writing difficult, he sent letters to the Chinese Monthly
+Magazine and to not a few of the pastors, encouraging them in their labors.
+Chiefly did he devote himself to the completion of a Character Colloquial
+Dictionary in the Amoy language, intended to be of special service to the
+Chinese Christian Church. It was intended to facilitate the study of the
+Chinese Character, especially those Characters used in the Chinese Bible.
+It was also calculated to promote the study of the Romanized Colloquial
+Version of the Scriptures as well as other Romanized Colloquial literature.
+
+In the midst of multiplied duties and many distractions he had wrought on
+it for upwards of a score of years. He was eager to make it thoroughly
+reliable. He spared no pains to that end. He always felt very much out of
+patience with any one who would give to the public an inaccurate book; and
+it was the desire to make his dictionary as accurate as possible that kept
+him from having it published some years since.
+
+He consulted Chinese literary men. He pored over Chinese dictionaries. He
+brought it home with him, requiring, as he thought, still further revision,
+and his last labors were the completion of it with the valued assistance of
+the Rev. Daniel Rapalje, of the Amoy Mission. It is now going through the
+press and will soon be at the service of missionaries and native brethren
+who have eagerly awaited its appearance for many years.
+
+His strength gradually failed and on August 19, 1892, in his seventy-third
+year, he quietly breathed his last at Bound Brook, New Jersey.
+
+The mortal tent loosened down and folded was laid away in the family plot
+near Somerville, New Jersey. Most of his living, working years he had
+spent far away from the ancestral home. It was God's will that his dust
+should find a place next to the kindred dust of father and mother, sister
+and brother, in the peaceful God's acre but a few miles from the old
+homestead.
+
+Dr. Talmage left a wife, two daughters and three sons, and a goodly circle
+of relatives and friends to mourn his departure. Mrs. Talmage has since
+returned to the Talmage Manse at Amoy and taken up afresh her chosen work
+in educating the ill-privileged and ignorant women of China. The two
+daughters, Miss Katharine and Miss Mary, are rendering most faithful and
+efficient service, too, among China's mothers and daughters. Rev. David M.
+Talmage fills a pastorate with the Reformed Church of Westwood, New Jersey.
+Mr. John Talmage is a rice merchant at New Orleans, Louisiana. Rev. George
+E. Talmage ministers to the Lord's people at Mott Haven, New York.
+
+When the sun of Dr. Talmage's life set, it was to the Chinese brethren at
+Amoy, like the setting of a great hope. The venerable teacher had left
+them two years before, but he had not spoken a final farewell. They and he
+looked for one more meeting on earth. He was known to the whole Chinese
+Church in and about Amoy for a circuit of a hundred miles. He sat at its
+cradle. He watched its growth until within two years of the day when it
+went forth two bands united in one Synod with twenty organized,
+self-supporting churches, nineteen native pastors, upwards of two thousand
+communicants and six thousand adherents.
+
+In the many breaks that occur in the missionary constituency, his life was
+the one chain of continuity. The Churches had come to feel that whoever
+failed them, they had Teacher Talmage still. His departure was like the
+falling down of a venerable cathedral, leaving the broken and bleeding ivy
+among the dust and debris. The Chinese Christians had leaned hard upon
+him. They loved and revered him as a father. Since he passed away his
+name has seldom been mentioned in any public assembly of the Church by any
+of the Chinese brethren without the broken and trembling utterance that has
+called forth from a listening congregation the silent, sympathetic tear.
+
+Great and good man, fervent preacher, inspiring teacher, wise and
+sympathetic counselor, generous friend, affectionate father,--farewell,
+till the morning breaks and we meet in the City of Light. "And behold these
+shall come from far, and lo, these from the north, and from the west, and
+these from the land of Sinim."
+
+  "Oh then what raptured greetings,
+  What knitting severed friendships up,
+  Where partings are no more."
+
+
+
+
+XII. IN MEMORIAM.
+
+
+DR. TALMAGE-THE MAN.
+
+BY REV. W. S. SWANSON, D.D.
+
+[Dr. Swanson was for twenty years a valued member of the English
+Presbyterian Mission at Amoy, and subsequently Secretary of the Board of
+Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church of England until his death,
+November 24, 1893]
+
+My first meeting with Dr. Talmage took place in the early days of July,
+1860, and from that day till the day of his death he was regarded as not
+only one of the best and most valued friends, but I looked up to him as a
+father beloved and respected.
+
+One cannot help recalling now the impressions of those early days. There
+was a marked individuality about this man that made you regard him whether
+you would or not. You felt that he was a man bound to lead and to take the
+foremost place amongst his brethren and all with whom he came in touch.
+There was a firmness of tread, and the brave courage of conviction, united
+with a womanly tenderness, that were unmistakable.
+
+You saw he had made up his mind before he spoke, and that when he did speak
+he spoke with a fullness of knowledge that few men possessed. He was every
+inch of him a man.
+
+And what touched us very much, who were young men, was the tender
+forbearance with which he always treated us. We saw this more clearly as
+the years passed on, and learned how much, perhaps, he had to bear from
+some of us whose assertiveness in some matters was in the inverse ratio of
+our knowledge. The reference here is to matters and methods regarding our
+work as missionaries to the Chinese. He bore with us, and knew well the
+day would come when, with increasing knowledge, there would come increasing
+hesitation in pronouncing too hastily on the problems we had to face; and
+he knew well that day would come if there was anything in us at all.
+
+In my own study of the Chinese language he and another who also has gone to
+the "better land"--the Rev. Dr. Douglas--assisted in every possible way;
+and to both in this line am I indebted for what was the most important
+furnishing in the first instance for every missionary to China. I can well
+remember the plane upon which Dr. Talmage placed this study of the
+language.
+
+It was our work for Christ, at this stage a far more important one than any
+other. He encouraged us to use whatever vocables we had got, no matter
+whether we were met with the wondering smile of the Chinaman in his vain
+endeavor to understand us, or to keep from misunderstanding us.
+
+"Use whatever you have got, be glad when you are corrected, but use your
+words." To some of us the advice was invaluable.
+
+And in other ways the same spirit was manifest. He did all he could to get
+us to attend every Christian gathering, to sit and listen to the business
+of the Sessions, and to show the Chinese as soon as possible that we were
+one with them, and he succeeded. There was an enthusiasm and warmth
+distinguishing these early days of the Amoy church that were formative in a
+very high degree, and that are now a precious memory.
+
+Then Dr. Talmage was a scholar, with a very wide range of scholarship. We
+looked up to him and we respected him, with an esteem few men have ever
+won. And in conjunction with his scholarly furnishing there was an
+absorbing, consuming zeal for Christ and His kingdom, and an intense love
+for the Chinese people. If he had not this latter, he could not have been
+the unmistakably influential and successful missionary he was. These,
+coupled with a Christian walk and devotion, formed the furnishing of this
+man of God.
+
+He was also a true gentleman, a Christian gentleman in every sense of the
+word. The best proof of this was that we loved him, and if the foreign
+ladies in Amoy who knew him were asked what they thought of him--many of
+them have gone to rest--they would hardly get words to tell out all their
+respect and love for him. His visits in our houses were most welcome, and
+when he spent an evening with us there was always sunshine where he was.
+He was essentially a happy man, and nothing pleased him more than to see
+all happy around him.
+
+There is still one point to which reference must here be made.
+Missionaries were not the only foreign residents in Amoy. There was also a
+considerable number of American and European merchants. Unfortunately the
+missionaries and the merchants did not always see eye to eye. Dr. Talmage
+was a favorite with every one of them. They esteemed him, they would have
+done anything to serve him; and at no cost of principle or testimony he won
+this place with them.
+
+And to those who know the conditions of life in China, it will be at once
+understood what a man he must have been to win such a position.
+
+It may not be generally known that in Amoy we have a "Union English
+Church," with regular Sabbath services in English. These services were
+conducted by the missionaries in turn. And we fear it may also not be
+known what Dr Talmage's powers as a preacher were. He was a very prince
+among English preachers; and if he had remained in America this would very
+soon have been acknowledged. There were no tricks or devices of manner or
+words employed by him for winning the popular ear. He never seemed to
+forget the solemnity and responsibility of his position in the pulpit. He
+hesitated not "to declare the whole counsel of God." He stands before me
+now as I listen with bated breath to the fire of his eloquence, denouncing
+where denunciation was needed, contending with a burning earnestness that
+never failed to carry us with him, for "the faith once delivered to the
+saints," and then with exquisite tenderness seeking to draw his hearers to
+Him who is Saviour and Brother. He never failed to think and speak as much
+about temptation as about sin. It was a real feast to attend the English
+service when it was conducted by him. And during all my time in Amoy,
+there was always a large congregation when Dr. Talmage was the preacher.
+
+He was not all tenderness. He would only have been a one-sided man if this
+were all. He was as strong as he was tender; a keen and powerful opponent
+in discussion. And we often had very warm and keen discussions; keener and
+warmer than I had ever seen before I went to Amoy, or have ever seen since.
+We had to discuss principles and methods of translation, hymnology, Church
+work, Church discipline, and many other subjects. And there was no mincing
+of matters at these discussions. Foremost amongst us was Dr. Talmage,
+tenaciously and persistently advocating the view he happened to have taken
+on any question. There were men of very strong individuality among us, and
+these gave as good as they got. I can recall these scenes, but I cannot
+recall a single word he said that involved a personal wound or left a barb.
+When it was all over he was the same loving brother, and not an atom of
+bitterness was left behind. By us, the brethren of the English
+Presbyterian Mission, he was looked up to as a revered father, just as much
+as he was by the brethren of his own Mission. This will be seen more fully
+further on, and a simple statement of the fact is all that is necessary
+here.
+
+There is another and most sacred relation--his position as the head of a
+family,--the veil of which it seems almost sacrilege to uplift. But it
+must be said, and it is only a well-known fact, that few happier homes
+exist than his home was. He was there what he was elsewhere, the man of
+God.
+
+Dr. Talmage was not perfect. He was essentially a humble man, and he would
+be the first to tell us that of every sinner saved by grace, he was the
+most unworthy. And when he said it, he felt it. And he had not the very
+most distant idea how great a man he was. Sometimes one fears that this
+very modesty pushed to an extreme prevented others who did not know his
+life and his work from accurately gauging his real work. Better perhaps,
+he would say, that it should be so; better to think of the work than of the
+workers. To hold up Christ and to be hidden behind Him is the highest
+privilege of those engaged in the service of this King. And this, his
+uniform bearing, made him all the greater.
+
+
+DR. TALMAGE-THE MISSIONARY.
+
+It would be useless speculation to lay down here what should be the special
+qualifications of a missionary to the Chinese. The better way is to find
+them in the concrete, so far as you can do so in an individual, and set Him
+forth as an example for others. The friend of whom we write would
+deprecate this, but it is the only way in which we can see him as he was
+and account for the singularly prominent place he occupied amongst us.
+
+I do not need to say here that he was a man of faith and prayer, earnest
+and zealous for the spread of Christ's Kingdom; in the face of difficulties
+and dangers, of disappointments and failures, maintaining an unwavering
+faith that the Kingdom must come and would yet rule over all.
+
+He had both an intense love for his work and enthusiasm in carrying it on.
+He came with a definite message to the people to whom the Master had sent
+him. There was no apologizing for it, no watering it down, no uncertain
+sound about it with him. Christ and Christ alone can meet the wants and
+woes of humanity,--Chinese or American or British. He had no doubt about
+it whatever; and hereby some of us learned that if we had not this message
+it would have been far better for us to have stayed at home. And this
+feature marked him all over his course. You felt as you listened to his
+pleadings that sin and salvation were terms brimful of meaning to him. He
+had traveled this road, and all his pleadings seemed to be summed up in the
+one yearning cry, "Come with us and we will do thee good." "This is a
+faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into
+the world to save sinners." And he would have gone to the end, "of whom I
+am chief."
+
+Then he had a great love for the people. He made himself acquainted with
+the family and social conditions of the people. He had not come to
+Americanize but to Christianize the Chinese. And for this he equipped
+himself. I never saw him so happy as when he was surrounded by them. He
+was then in his real element, answering their questions, solving their
+difficulties, opening up to them the Scriptures, and meeting them wherever
+he thought they needed to be met. And go to his study when you liked, you
+almost always found some Chinese Christians there. He was the great
+referee, to whom they carried home difficulties and family trials, assured
+that his sympathy and advice would never be denied them. This endeared him
+to them in an extraordinary manner. We never on such occasions found a
+trace of impatience with him. What would have annoyed others did not seem
+to annoy him, and the consequence was that the whole church loved him.
+There was an inexhaustible well of tenderness in the man's nature, and it
+was sweetened by the grace of God in his heart.
+
+We sometimes thought he erred by excess in this particular. He was
+unwilling to think anything but good of them, and was thus apt to be
+influenced too much by designing and astute Chinamen. Often we have heard
+it said, "Well, if you won't listen to us, Dr. Talmage will." But, looking
+back to-day over it all, if it was a fault, it was one that leant to
+virtue's side. He was wonderfully unsuspicious: and so far as his fellow
+men were concerned, Chinese or Westerns, the mental process which he almost
+invariably employed was to try to find out what good there was in a man.
+And now one loves him all the more for such a Christlike spirit.
+
+Dr. Talmage was thoroughly acquainted with the spoken language of Amoy.
+Few men, if any, had a more extensive knowledge of its vocables. He spoke
+idiomatically and beautifully as the Chinese themselves spoke, and not as
+he thought they should speak. There was no slipshod work with him in this
+particular. Here was the indispensable furnishing and he must get it. And
+he did get it in no average measure. This was the prime requisite, and
+through no other avenue could he get really and honestly to work. There is
+no royal road to the acquisition of the Chinese language. It is only by
+dint of hard, plodding, and persevering study one can acquire an adequate
+acquaintance with it.
+
+And till the last he never gave up his study of it. He was not satisfied,
+and no true missionary ever will be satisfied with such a smattering of
+knowledge as may enable him to proclaim a few Christian doctrines. Such
+superficiality was not his aim or end. And when he first acquired Chinese,
+it was more difficult to do so. There were no aids in the way of
+dictionaries or vocabularies.
+
+It may be his knowledge of the language was all the more accurate on this
+account. He got it from the fountain-head, and not through foreign
+sources. He was thus qualified to take a prominent place in all the
+varied work of a mission--in translation, in revision, and in
+hymnology--departments as important and as influential for attaining the
+end in view as any other possible department in the Mission.
+
+As a preacher to the Chinese he was unrivaled. The people hung on his lips
+and never seemed to lose a word. He was in this respect a model to every
+one of us younger men.
+
+The ideal of the church in China which he had set before him, the goal he
+desired to reach, was a native, self-governing, self-supporting, and
+self-propagating church. This is now axiomatic.
+
+It was not so in those early days. The men in Amoy then were men for whom
+we have to thank God--men ahead of their time, with generous and
+far-reaching ideas; not working only for their own present, but laying the
+foundation for a great future. Side by side with him were the brethren of
+the English Presbyterian Mission, with whom he had the fullest sympathy,
+and they had the fullest sympathy with him. It is difficult to say who
+were foremost in pressing the idea of an organized native church. All were
+equally convinced and strove together for the one great end. After many
+years of waiting the church grew. Congregations were formed and organized
+with their own elders and deacons, and in this he took the first steps. He
+was a born organizer. And then came the next great step, the creation of a
+Presbytery and the ordination in an orderly manner of native pastors. Some
+congregations were ready to call and support such pastors, and the men were
+there, for the careful training of native agents had always been a marked
+feature of the Amoy Mission. But how was it to be done? Common sense led
+to only one conclusion. This church must not be an exotic; it must be
+native, independent of the home churches. And there must be kept in view
+what was a fact already--the union between the Missions of the "Reformed
+Church" and of the "English Presbyterian Church." It must be done, and done
+in this way, and so it was done.
+
+The Presbytery was created with no native pastor in the first instance, but
+with native elders and the missionaries of both Missions. Then came a
+struggle that would have tried the stoutest hearts.
+
+The "Reformed Church" in America declined to recognize this newly-created
+Presbytery. Dr. Talmage went home and fought the battle and won the day.
+
+To its great honor be it said, the General Synod of the "Reformed Church"
+rescinded its resolution of the previous year, and allowed their honored
+brethren, the missionaries, to take their own way. So convinced were the
+missionaries of the wisdom, yea, the necessity, of the course they had
+taken, that they were prepared to resign rather than retrace their steps.
+
+But that painful step was not necessary. The Synod of the English
+Presbyterian Church gave their missionaries a free hand. There is this,
+however, to be said for the General Synod of the "Reformed Church." It was
+only love for their agents and deep interest in this Mission that prompted
+their original action. They feared that by the creation of this native and
+independent church court, the tie that bound them to the men and the work
+might be loosened; and when they saw there was no risk of that, they at
+once acquiesced. But it was Dr. Talmage's irresistible pleadings that won
+their hearts.
+
+The native church has grown. About twenty native pastors have been
+ordained, settled, and entirely supported by their own congregations. The
+Presbytery has grown so large that it has to be divided into two
+presbyteries; and these, with the Presbytery of Swatow, where brethren of
+the "English Presbyterian Church" are working, will form the Synod of the
+native Presbyterian Church in those regions of China.
+
+In connection with all this we must mention another name--the name of one
+very dear to Dr. Talmage, and of one to whom he was very dear. They were
+one in heart and soul about this. We refer to the Rev. Dr. Douglas, of the
+English Presbyterian Mission. They stood side by side during all their
+work in Amoy.
+
+Dr. Talmage was by a good many years the predecessor in the field. They
+were both great men, men of very different temperament, and yet united.
+Not on this point, but on many another, they failed to see eye to eye, but
+they were always united in heart and aim. True and lasting union can only
+exist where free play is given to distinct individualities.
+
+And so it has always been with this union, the first, I believe, between
+Presbyterian Churches in any mission field. And when the history of the
+Amoy Mission comes to be written, these two men will have a leading place
+in it; for to them more than to any others do we owe almost all that is
+distinctive there in union and in methods of work.
+
+And when our beloved father Talmage passed from earth to heaven, what
+thankfulness must have filled his heart. In the night of his first years
+in China there were labor and toil, but there was no fruit for him. The
+dawn came and the first converts of his own Mission were gathered in. When
+he went to rest, there was a native church; there were native pastors;
+orderly church courts; a well equipped theological college, the common
+property of the two Missions; successful medical missionary work, woman's
+work in all its branches, and a native church covering a more extensive
+region than he had in the early days dreamt of. And there was another
+honored Mission in Amoy--that of the London Missionary Society, whose
+operations have been followed by abundant and singular success. To this
+Mission he was warmly attached; and he never, so far as we can remember,
+ceased to show the deepest interest in its work, and the heartiest
+rejoicing at its success.
+
+And now he has gone, the last, we may say, of the men who began the work of
+the Presbyterian Mission of Christ in China; but ere he passed away, he
+knew that men of God were still there with the old enthusiasm and the old
+appetite for solid and substantial work.
+
+We cannot part with him now without one fond and lingering look behind.
+Burns, Sandeman, Doty, Douglas, and Talmage; what a galaxy these early
+pioneers in Amoy were. Few churches have had such gifts from God, few
+fields more devoted, whole-hearted missionaries. It was a privilege to
+know them, to work with them, to learn at their feet, unworthy though some
+of us may be as their successors.
+
+May the Lord of the Harvest rouse His own Church by their memories to
+greater energy and self denial in the spread of His Kingdom.
+
+Their memories will never die in China. Those who have lately visited Amoy
+tell us that they who knew them among the Chinese Christians speak lovingly
+and fondly of those early heroes. And they will tell their children what
+they were and what they did, and so generation after generation will hear
+the story, and find how true it is that workers die, but their work never
+dies. "Their works do follow them."
+
+
+VENERABLE TEACHER TALMAGE.
+
+TRIBUTE OF PASTOR IAP HAN CHIONG.
+
+[Pastor Iap was the first pastor of the Chinese Church]
+
+Teacher Talmage was very gentle. He wished ever to be at peace with men.
+If he saw a man in error he used words of meekness in convincing and
+converting the man from his error. Whether he exhorted, encouraged or
+instructed, his words were words of prudence, seasoned with salt, so that
+men were glad to receive and obey.
+
+Teacher Talmage was a lover of men. When he saw a man in distress and it
+was right for him to help, he helped. In peril, he exerted himself to
+deliver the man; in weakness, in danger of falling, he tried to uphold;
+suffering oppression, he arose to the defense, fearing no power, but
+contending earnestly for the right.
+
+Teacher Talmage was very gracious in receiving men, whether men of position
+or the common people. He treated all alike. If they wished to discuss any
+matter with him and get his advice, he would patiently listen to their
+tale. If he had any counsel to give, he gave it. If he felt he could not
+conscientiously have anything to do with the affair, he told the men
+forthwith.
+
+He could pierce through words, and see through men's countenances and judge
+what the man was, who was addressing him.
+
+Teacher Talmage had great eloquence and possessed great intelligence. His
+utterance was clear, his voice powerful, his exposition of doctrine very
+thorough. Men listened and the truth entered their ears and their hearts
+understood.
+
+Teacher Talmage was grave in manner. He commanded the respect and praise
+of men. His was a truly ministerial bearing. Men within and without the
+Church venerated him.
+
+Sometimes differences between brethren arose. Teacher Talmage earnestly
+exhorted to harmony. Even serious differences, which looked beyond
+healing, were removed, because men felt constrained to listen to his
+counsel.
+
+Teacher Talmage was exceedingly diligent. When not otherwise engaged,
+morning and afternoon found him in his study reading, writing, preparing
+sermons, translating books.
+
+He preached every Sabbath. He conducted classes of catechumens. He
+founded the Girls' School at the Church "Under the Bamboos." He founded
+the Theological Seminary. Others taught with him, but he was the master
+spirit. He was ten points careful that everything relating to the
+organization and administration of the Church should be in accordance with
+the Holy Book.
+
+Only at the urgent request of two physicians did he finally leave China.
+He was prepared to die and to be buried at Amoy. And this was not because
+he was not honored in his ancestral country, or could find no home. No, he
+had sons, he had a brother, he had nephews and nieces, he had many
+relatives and friends who greatly reverenced and loved him.
+
+But Teacher Talmage could not bear to be separated from the Church in
+China. Surely this was imitating the heart of Christ. Surely this was
+loving the people of China to the utmost.
+
+
+REV. JOHN VAN NEST TALMAGE, D.D.
+
+BY REV. S. L. BALDWIN, D.D.,
+
+[Recording Secretary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal
+Church.]
+
+My memory of Dr. Talmage dates back to the year 1846. I was then but
+eleven years old, but I remember distinctly the earnestness of his manner,
+as he preached early in that year in the Second Reformed Church of
+Somerville, New Jersey. His missionary zeal was of the most intense
+character.
+
+I was present at the Missionary Convention, at Millstone, New Jersey,
+August 26, 1846, and saw him ordained. The Rev. Gabriel Ludlow preached
+from 2 Timothy ii. I, and the charge to the candidate was given by the Rev.
+Elihu Doty, of Amoy. Mr. Doty, at a children's meeting in the afternoon,
+asked us whether we would come to help in the missionary work, and asked us
+to write down the question and think and pray about it, and when we had
+made up our minds to write an answer underneath the question. I did "think
+and pray about it," and some weeks afterward, under a sense of duty, wrote
+"Yes" under it. From that time on, it was not a strange thought to me, to
+go to China as a missionary; and when the call came in 1858, I was ready.
+In 1860, on my first visit to Amoy, I renewed old acquaintanceship, and
+during my twenty-two years in China was several times a guest in Dr.
+Talmage's family.
+
+He was in the very front rank of missionaries. For ability, for fidelity,
+for usefulness, he had few equals. As a preacher, he was clear, forceful,
+fearless. As a translator, his work was marked by carefulness and
+accuracy. In social life, old-fashioned hospitality made every one feel at
+home, and one would have to travel far to find a more animated and
+interesting conversationalist. He held his convictions with great
+tenacity, and was a powerful debater, but always courteous to his
+opponents.
+
+Many missionaries fell by his side, or were obliged to leave the field; and
+in the providence of God he remained until he was the oldest of all the
+American missionaries in China. His was a most pure and honorable record,
+and his death was universally lamented. From little beginnings, he was
+privileged to see one of the most flourishing of the native communions of
+China arise and attain large numbers and great influence among the
+Christian churches of the empire.
+
+Such a history and such a record are to be coveted. May the Head of the
+Church raise up many worthy successors to this true and noble man!
+
+
+THE REV. J. V. N. TALMAGE, D.D..
+
+BY REV. TALBOT W. CHAMBERS, D.D., LL.D.,
+
+[Pastor of the Collegiate Reformed Church, New York City.]
+
+My acquaintance with Dr. Talmage began at a very early period. During the
+years 1842-5 his father was Sheriff of Somerset Co., N. J., and resided at
+Somerville. While there he and his wife were members in communion of the
+Second Reformed Dutch Church, of which I was pastor; and from them I heard
+frequently of their son John, who was then a student in New Brunswick.
+
+He prosecuted his studies in the College and Theological Seminary with zeal
+and success, and was duly licensed, and then, while awaiting the arrival of
+the period when he would be sent to join the mission in China, he accepted
+the position of assistant to the Rev. Dr. Brodhead, who at that time was
+minister of the Central Church of Brooklyn. Here his services were very
+acceptable, and the training under such an experienced man of God was of
+great value to him. His course was what might have been expected of one
+reared in a peculiarly pious household. His father was a cheerful and
+exemplary Christian, and his mother was the godliest woman I ever knew.
+Her religion pervaded her whole being, and seemed to govern every thought,
+word, and deed, yet never was morbid or overstrained. The robust common
+sense which characterized her and her husband descended in full measure
+upon their son John. His consecration to the mission work was complete,
+and his interest in the cause was very deep, but it never manifested itself
+in unseemly or extravagant ways.
+
+So far as I can recall, there was nothing particularly brilliant or
+original in the early sermons or addresses of the young missionary--nothing
+of those wondrous displays of word-painting, imagination, and dramatic
+power which have made his brother, Dr. T. De Witt Talmage, famous. But
+there was a mental grasp, a force and a fire which often induced the remark
+that he was too good to be sent to the heathen, there being many at that
+time who labored under the mistake that a missionary did not require to be
+a man of unusual ability, that gifts and acquirements were thrown away on a
+life spent among idolaters. Still, while this was the case, none of his
+friends expected that he would develop such marked and varied power as was
+seen in his entire course at Amoy. I remember the surprise with which I
+heard the late Dr. Swanson, of London, say from his own observation during
+ten years of the closest intercourse at Amoy, that Dr. Talmage was equally
+distinguished and efficient in every part of the missionary's work, whether
+in preaching the Word, or translating the Scriptures, or creating a
+Christian literature, or training native workers. Nothing seemed to come
+amiss to him; everywhere he was facile princeps. I suppose that the
+explanation is found in his thorough and unreserved consecration. He was
+given heart and soul to the work. Whatever he did was done with his whole
+mind. There was no vacillation or indecision, but a deliberate
+concentration of all his faculties upon the task set before him. Nor did
+he work by spurts or through temporary enthusiasm, but with a steady,
+unyielding determination. So he went on through life without haste and
+without rest, doing his best at all times and in every species of service,
+and thus earning the brilliant reputation he acquired. The same qualities
+rendered him as wise in counsel as he was efficient in working. He was
+able to look on both sides of a given problem, was not inclined to snap
+judgments, but preferred to discriminate, to weigh, and, if need be, to
+wait. Yet, when the time came, the decision was ready.
+
+He perceived earlier than his brethren at home the true policy as to
+churches in heathen lands, that is, that they should not be mere
+continuations of the denomination whose missionaries had been the means of
+founding them, but should have an independent existence and grow upon the
+soil where they were planted, taking such form and order as Providence
+might suggest. When the proposal was made in accordance with these views
+to build up a native Chinese Church strictly autonomous, there was an
+immediate revulsion. The General Synod in 1863 emphatically declined to
+consent, not, however, from denominational bigotry, but on the ground that
+the new converts must have some standards of faith and order, and, if so,
+why not ours, which had been tested by centuries? And, moreover, if they
+were to be regarded as an integral part of the Church at home, that fact
+would prove to be a powerful incitement to prayer and liberality on the part
+of our people. But the rebuff did not dishearten Dr. Talmage. He renewed
+the appeal the next year, and had the satisfaction of seeing it succeed.
+Full consent was given to the aim to build up a strong, self-governing,
+and, as soon as might be, self-supporting body of native churches in China,
+who should leave behind the prejudices of the past, and form themselves
+under the teaching of God's Spirit and Providence in such way as would best
+meet the demands of the time and be most efficient in advancing the Kingdom
+of God upon the earth. The consequences have been most happy. The
+missionaries of the Presbyterian Church have cordially co-operated in
+renouncing all denominational interests and giving all diligence to the
+forming of what might be called a Chinese Christian Church, freed from any
+external bond and at liberty to shape its own character and course under
+the guidance of the Divine Spirit. The experiment has been entirely
+successful, and stands conspicuous as a testimony to the true policy of
+carrying on missionary work in countries where there is already an antique
+civilization and certain social habits which need to be taken account of.
+
+Dr. Talmage always kept himself in touch with the Church at home by
+correspondence or by personal intercourse. His visits to America were in
+every case utilized to the fullest extent, save when hindered by impaired
+health.
+
+It is matter of joyful congratulation that he was permitted to finish the
+usual term of man's years in the missionary field. Others of our eminent
+men, such as Abeel, Thompson, Doty, and Pohlman, were cut off in the midst
+of their days. But he spent a full lifetime, dying not by violence or
+accident, but only when the bodily frame had been worn out in the natural
+course of events. Our Church has been signally favored of God in the gifts
+and character and work of the men she has sent into the foreign field--and
+this not merely in the partial judgment of their denominational brethren,
+but in the deliberate opinion of such competent and experienced observers
+as the late Dr. Anderson, of the American Board, and the late S. Wells
+Williams, the famous Chinese scholar; [One remark of Dr. S. Wells Williams
+is worth reproducing: "I think, myself, after more than forty years'
+personal acquaintance with hundreds of missionaries in China, that David
+Abeel was facile princeps among them all."--Presb. Review, II. 49.] but I
+think that none of them, neither Abeel nor Thompson, surpassed Dr. Talmage
+in any of the qualities, natural or acquired, which go to make an
+accomplished missionary of the cross. I enjoyed the personal acquaintance
+of them all, having been familiar with the progress of the work from the
+time when (October, 1832) our Board of Foreign Missions was established,
+and therefore am able to form an intelligent opinion. Our departed brother
+can no more raise his voice, either at home or abroad, but his work
+remains, and his memory will never die. For long years to come his name
+will be fragrant in the hearts of our people; and his lifelong consecration
+to the enterprise of the world's conversion will prove an example and a
+stimulus to this and the coming generation. The equipoise of his mind, the
+solidity of his character, the strength of his faith, the brightness of his
+hope, the simple, steadfast fidelity of his devotion to the Master, will
+speak trumpet-tongued to multitudes who never saw his face in the flesh.
+The unadorned story of his life, what he was and what he did by the grace
+of God, will cheer the hearts of all the friends of foreign missions, and
+win others to a just esteem of the cause which could attract such a man to
+its service and animate him to such a conspicuous and blessed career.
+
+
+REV. JOHN VAN NEST TALMAGE, D.D.
+
+BY REV. JOHN M. FERRIS, D.D.,
+
+[Editor of the "Christian Intelligencer" and ex-Secretary of the Board of
+Foreign Missions of the American Reformed Church.]
+
+Circumstances which tested character, ability, and attainments brought me
+into intimate relations with Rev. Dr. John V. N. Talmage. The impressions
+I received are these: He was eminently of a sunny disposition. A smile was
+on his face and laughter in his eyes almost all day long. He was
+conspicuously cheerful and hopeful. The strength of his character was
+unusual and would bear victoriously very severe tests. Mental and moral
+ability of a very high order marked his participation in public exercises
+and his demeanor in social life. It seemed to me that in mind and heart
+there were in him the elements of greatness. Greatness he never sought,
+but avoided. Still, from the time succeeding the opening years of his
+ministry, he was a leader among men until seized with the long illness
+which terminated his useful life. Those who knew him appointed him one of
+their chief counselors and guides, and in any assembly where he was
+comparatively unknown he was accepted as a leading mind as soon as he had
+taken part in its discussions. A wide range of knowledge was his. It was
+surprising how he had maintained an acquaintance with the research and
+discovery of his day while secluded in China from the life of the Western
+nations. With all this his intercourse with men was marked by modesty and
+the absence of ostentatious display. The deference with which he treated
+the opinions of others and of his manner in presenting his knowledge and
+convictions to an audience was extraordinary. He was courteously
+inquisitive, seeking from others what they knew and thought, and this
+oftentimes, perhaps habitually, with men much his inferiors. Such a man
+would be expected to be tolerant of the opinions of others, and this he was
+eminently, although his own convictions were clear, strongly held,
+earnestly presented and advocated. How often we heard him say, "So I
+think," or "So it seems to me, but I may be wrong."
+
+Accuracy in statement was sought for by him constantly, sometimes to the
+detriment of his public addresses. When we who were familiar with him were
+humorous at his expense, it was almost invariably in relation to this
+constant endeavor to be accurate, which led now and then to qualifications
+of his words that were decidedly amusing. He was animated, earnest, and
+strong in public addresses. His mind was active; apt to take an
+independent, original view, and vigorous. His sermons were often very
+impressive and powerful. Few who heard in whole or in part his discourse
+on the words, "The world by wisdom knew not God"--an extemporaneous
+sermon--will forget the terse, vigorous sentences which came from his lips.
+It was, I believe, the last sermon he prepared in outline to be delivered
+to our churches in this country. It was full of power and life.
+
+Dr. Talmage was a Christian and a Christian gentleman everywhere and
+always. It seemed as natural to him to be a Christian as to breathe.
+Conscientious piety marked his daily life.
+
+He was a delightful companion through his gentleness, sympathy, wide range
+of knowledge, cheerfulness, animated and earnest speech, vigor of thought
+and expression, deference for the opinions and rights of others, and
+unselfishness. He asked nothing, demanded nothing for himself, but was
+alert to contribute to the enjoyment of those around him. The work of his
+life was of inestimable value. He was abundant in labors. Only the life
+to come will reveal how much he accomplished which in the highest sense was
+worthy of accomplishment. Those who knew him best, esteemed, loved, and
+trusted him the most.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+Ecclesiastical Relations of Presbyterian Missionaries, especially of the
+Presbyterian Missionaries at Amoy, China.
+
+BY REV. J. V. N. TALMAGE, D.D.
+
+We have recently received letters making inquiries concerning the Relations
+of the Missionaries of the English Presbyterian Church, and of the American
+Reformed Church to the Tai-hoey [Presbytery, or Classis,] of Amoy; stating
+views on certain points connected with the general subject of the
+organization of ecclesiastical Judicatories on Mission ground; and asking
+our views on the same. We have thought it best to state our answer so as
+to cover the whole subject of these several suggestions and inquiries, as
+(though they are from different sources) they form but one subject.
+
+Our views are not hasty. They are the result of much thought, experience
+and observation. But we are now compelled to throw them together in much
+more haste than we could wish, for which, we trust, allowance will be made.
+
+As preliminary we remark that we have actual and practical relations both
+to the home churches, and to the churches gathered here, and our
+Ecclesiastical relations should correspond thereto.
+
+1. Our Relation to the Home Churches. We are their agents, sent by them to
+do a certain work, and supported by them in the doing of that work.
+Therefore so long as this relation continues, in all matters affecting our
+qualifications for that work,--of course including "matters affecting
+ministerial character,"--we should remain subject to their jurisdiction.
+In accordance with this we retain our connection with our respective home
+Presbyteries or Classes.
+
+2. Our Relation to the Church here. We are the actual pastors of the
+churches growing up under our care, until they are far enough advanced to
+have native pastors set over them. The first native pastors here were
+ordained by the missionaries to the office of "Minister of the Word," the
+same office that we ourselves hold. In all subsequent ordinations, and
+other ecclesiastical matters, the native pastors have been associated with
+the missionaries. The Tai-hoey at Amoy, in this manner, gradually grew up
+with perfect parity between the native and foreign members.
+
+With these preliminary statements we proceed to notice the suggestions made
+and questions propounded. "To extend to the native churches on mission
+ground the lines of separation which exist among Presbyterian bodies" in
+home lands is acknowledged to be a great evil. To avoid this evil and to
+"bring all the native Presbyterians," in the same locality, "into one
+organization," two plans are suggested to us.
+
+The first plan suggested (perhaps we should say mentioned for it is not
+advocated), we take to be that the missionaries become not only members of
+the ecclesiastical judicatories formed on mission ground, but also amenable
+to those judicatories in the same way, and in every respect, as their
+native members, their ecclesiastical relation to their home churches being
+entirely severed. This plan ignores the actual relation of missionaries to
+their home churches, as spoken of above. Surely the home churches cannot
+afford this.
+
+Perhaps we should notice another plan sometimes acted on, but not mentioned
+in the letters we have now received. It is that the missionaries become
+members of the Mission Church Judicatories as above; but that these
+Judicatories be organized as parts of the home churches, so that the
+missionaries will still be under the jurisdiction of the home churches
+through the subjection of the Mission Judicatories to the higher at home.
+This plan can only work during the infancy of the mission churches, while
+the Mission Church Judicatories are still essentially foreign in their
+constituents. Soon the jurisdiction will be very imperfect. This
+imperfection will increase as fast as the mission churches increase.
+Moreover this plan will extend to the native churches the evil deprecated
+above.
+
+The second plan suggested we take to be that the missionaries, while they
+remain the agents of the home churches, should retain their relation
+respectively to their home churches, and have only an advisory relation to
+the Presbytery on mission ground. This is greatly to be preferred to the
+first plan suggested. It corresponds to the relation of missionaries to
+their respective home churches. It takes into consideration also, but does
+not fully correspond to the relation of the missionaries to the churches on
+mission ground, at least does not fully correspond to the relation of the
+missionaries to the native churches at Amoy. Our actual relation to these
+churches seems to us to demand that as yet we take part with the native
+pastors in their government.
+
+The peculiar relationship of the missionaries to Tai-hoey, viz., having
+full membership, without being subject to discipline by that body,--is
+temporary, arising from the circumstances of this infant church, and rests
+on the will of Tai-hoey. This relationship has never been discussed, or
+even suggested for discussion in that body, so that our view of what is, or
+would be, the opinion of Tai-hoey on the subject we gather from the whole
+character of the working of that body from its first formation, and from
+the whole spirit manifested by the native members. Never till last year
+has there been a case of discipline even of a native member of Tai-hoey.
+We do not know that the thought that occasion may also arise for the
+discipline of missionaries, has ever suggested itself to any of the native
+members. If it has, we have no doubt they have taken for granted that the
+discipline of missionaries belongs to the churches which have sent them
+here. But we also have no doubt that Tai-hoey would exercise the right of
+refusing membership to any missionary if necessary.
+
+It is suggested as an objection to the plan that has been adopted by the
+missionaries at Amoy, that "where two Presbyteries have jurisdiction over
+one man, it may not be always easy to define the line where the
+jurisdiction of the one ends and the other begins; and for the foreign
+Presbyter to have a control over the native Presbyter which the native
+cannot reciprocate, would be anomalous, and contrary to that view of the
+parity of Presbyters which the Scriptures present."
+
+From our last paragraph above it will be seen that the "line" of
+demarcation alluded to in the first half of the above objection has
+certainly never yet been defined by Tai-hoey, but it will be seen likewise
+that we have no apprehension of any practical difficulty in the matter.
+The last half of the objection looks more serious, for if our plan really
+involves a violation of the doctrine of the parity of the ministry, this is
+a very serious objection--fatal, indeed, unless perhaps the temporary
+character of the arrangement might give some sufferance to it in a
+developing church. It does not, however in our opinion, involve any such
+doctrine. It does not touch that doctrine at all.
+
+The reason why Tai-hoey does not claim the right of discipline over the
+missionaries is not because these are of a higher order than the other
+members, but because the missionaries have a most important relation to the
+home churches which the other members have not. The Tai-hoey respects the
+rights of those churches which have sent and are still sending the Gospel
+here, and has fullest confidence that they will exercise proper discipline
+over their missionaries. Whether they do this or not, the power of the
+Tai-hoey to cut off from its membership, or refuse to admit thereto, any
+missionary who might prove himself unworthy, gives ample security to that
+body and secures likewise the benefits of discipline. If time allowed us
+to give a full description of our Church work here it would be seen that
+the doctrine of the parity of all who hold the ministerial office so
+thoroughly permeates the whole, that it would seem impossible for mistake
+to arise on that point.
+
+In connection with this subject it is also remarked "that where two races
+are combined in a Presbytery, there is a tendency to divide on questions
+according to the line of race."
+
+With gratitude to God we are able to bear testimony that at Amoy we have
+not as yet seen the first sign of such tendency. We have heard of such
+tendency in some other mission fields. Possibly it may yet be manifested
+here. This, however, does not now seem probable. The native members of
+Tai-hoey, almost from the first, have outnumbered the foreign. The
+disproportion now is as three or four to one, and must continue to
+increase. It would seem, therefore, that there will now be no occasion for
+jealousy of the missionaries' influence to grow up on the part of the
+native members.
+
+But, it may be asked, if the native members so far outnumber the foreign,
+of what avail is it that missionaries be more than advisory members? We
+answer: If we are in Tai-hoey as a foreign party, in opposition to the
+native members, even advisory membership will be of no avail. But if we
+are there in our true character, as we always have been, viz., as
+Presbyters and acting pastors of churches, part and parcel of the church
+Judicatories, on perfect equality and in full sympathy with the native
+Presbyters, our membership may be of much benefit to Tai-hoey. It must be
+of benefit if our theory of Church Government be correct.
+
+Of the benefit of such membership we give one illustration, equally
+applicable also to other forms of government. It will be remembered that
+assemblies conducted on parliamentary principles were unknown in China. By
+our full and equal membership of Tai-hoey, being associated with the native
+members in the various offices, and in all kinds of committees, the native
+members have been more efficiently instructed in the manner of conducting
+business in such assemblies, than they could have been if we had only given
+them advice. At the first, almost the whole business was necessarily
+managed by the missionaries. Not so now. The missionaries still take an
+active part even in the routine of business, not so much to guard against
+error or mistake, as for the purpose of saving time and inculcating the
+importance of regularity and promptitude. Even the earnestness with which
+the missionaries differ from each other, so contrary to the duplicity
+supposed necessary by the rules of Chinese politeness, has not been without
+great benefit to the native members. Instead of there being any jealousy
+of the position occupied by the missionaries on the part of the native
+members, the missionaries withdraw themselves from prominent positions, and
+throw the responsibility on the native members, as fast as duty to Tai-hoey
+seems to allow, faster than the native members wish.
+
+We now proceed to give answers to the definite questions propounded to us,
+though answers to some of them have been implied in the preceding remarks.
+We combine the questions from different sources, and slightly change the
+wording of them to suit the form of this paper, and for convenience we
+number them.
+
+1. "Are the missionaries members of Tai-hoey in full and on a perfect
+equality with the native members?"
+
+Answer. Yes; with the exception (if it be an exception) implied in the
+answer to the next question.
+
+2. "Are missionaries subject to discipline by the Tai-hoey?"
+
+Answer. No; except that their relation to Tai-hoey may be severed by that
+body.
+
+3. "Is it not likely that the sooner the native churches become
+self-governing, the sooner they will be self-supporting and
+self-propagating?"
+
+Answer. Yes. It would be a great misfortune for the native churches to be
+governed by the missionaries, or by the home churches. We think also it
+would be a great misfortune for the missionary to refuse all connection
+with the government of the mission churches while they are in whole or in
+part dependent on him for instruction, administration of the ordinances,
+and pastoral oversight. Self-support, self-government, and
+self-propagation are intimately related, acting and reacting on each other,
+and the native Church should be framed in them from the beginning of its
+existence.
+
+4. "Is it the opinion of missionaries at Amoy that the native Presbyters
+are competent to manage the affairs of Presbytery, and could they safely be
+left to do so?"
+
+Answer. Yes; the native Presbyters seem to us to be fully competent to
+manage the affairs of Presbytery, and we suppose it would be safe to leave
+them to do this entirely by themselves, if the providence of God should so
+direct. We think it much better, however, unless the providence of God
+direct otherwise, that the missionaries continue their present relation to
+the Tai-hoey until the native Church is farther developed.
+
+5. "Is it likely that there can be but one Presbyterian Church in China?
+or are differences of dialect, etc., such as to make different
+organizations necessary and inevitable?"
+
+Answer. All Presbyterians in China, as far as circumstances will allow,
+should unite in one Church organization. By all means avoid a plurality of
+Presbyterian denominations in the same locality. But differences of
+dialect and distance of separation seem at present to forbid the formation
+of one Presbyterian organization for the whole of China. Even though in
+process of time these difficulties be greatly overcome, It would seem that
+the vast number of the people will continue to render such formation
+impracticable, except on some such principle as that on which is formed the
+Pan-Presbyterian Council. One Presbyterian Church for China would be very
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Forty Years in South China
+by Rev. John Gerardus Fagg
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11754 ***
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #11754 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11754)
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+Project Gutenberg's Forty Years in South China, by Rev. John Gerardus Fagg
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Forty Years in South China
+       The Life of Rev. John Van Nest Talmage, D.D.
+
+Author: Rev. John Gerardus Fagg
+
+Release Date: March 28, 2004 [EBook #11754]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FORTY YEARS IN SOUTH CHINA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Newman in honor of Barbara Talmage Griffin (1918-2004),
+great-granddaughter of the subject of this biography.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+FORTY YEARS IN SOUTH CHINA
+
+The Life of Rev. John Van Nest Talmage, D.D.
+
+by
+
+Rev. John Gerardus Fagg
+Missionary of the American Reformed (Dutch) Church, at Amoy, China
+
+1894
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+BY REV. T. DE WITT TALMAGE, D.D.
+
+Too near was I to the subject of this biography to write an impartial
+introduction. When John Van Nest Talmage went, my last brother went.
+Stunned until I staggered through the corridors of the hotel in London,
+England, when the news came that John was dead. If I should say all that I
+felt I would declare that since Paul the great apostle to the Gentiles, a
+more faithful or consecrated man has not lifted his voice in the dark
+places of heathenism. I said it while he was alive, and might as well say
+it now that he is dead. "He was the hero of our family." He did not go to
+a far-off land to preach because people in America did not want to hear him
+preach. At the time of his first going to China he had a call to succeed
+Rev. Dr. Brodhead, of Brooklyn, the Chrysostom of the American pulpit, a
+call with a large salary, and there would not have been anything impossible
+to him in the matters of religious work or Christian achievement had he
+tarried in his native land. But nothing could detain him from the work to
+which God called him years before he became a Christian. My reason for
+writing that anomalous statement is that when a boy in Sabbath-school at
+Boundbrook, New Jersey, he read a Library book, entitled "The Life of Henry
+Martyn, the Missionary," and he said to our mother, "Mother! when I grow up
+I am going to be a missionary!" The remark made no especial impression at
+the time. Years passed on before his conversion. But when the grace of God
+appeared to him, and he had begun his study for the ministry, he said one
+day, "Mother! Do you remember that many years ago I said, 'I am going to be
+a missionary'?" She replied, "Yes! I remember you said so." "Well," said
+he, "I am going to keep my promise." And how well he kept it millions of
+souls on earth and in heaven have long since heard. But his chief work is
+yet to come. We get our chronology so twisted that we come to believe that
+the white marble of the tomb is the mile-stone at which a good man stops,
+when it is only a mile-stone on a journey, the most of the miles of which
+are yet to be travelled.
+
+The Dictionary which my brother prepared with more than two decades of
+study, the religious literature he transferred from English into Chinese,
+the hymns he wrote for others to sing, although himself could not sing at
+all, (he and I monopolizing the musical incapacity of a family in which all
+the rest could sing well), the missionary stations he planted, the life he
+lived, will widen out, and deepen and intensify through all time and all
+eternity.
+
+I am glad that those competent to tell of his magnificent work have
+undertaken it. You could get nothing about it from him at all. Ask him a
+question trying to evoke what he had done for God and the church, and his
+lips were as tightly shut as though they had never been opened. He was
+animated enough when drawn out in discussion religious, educational, or
+political, but he had great powers of silence. I once took him to see
+General Grant, our reticent President. On that occasion they both seemed to
+do their best in the art of quietude. The great military President with his
+closed lips on one side of me, and my brother with his closed lips on the
+other side of me, I felt there was more silence in the room than I ever
+before knew to be crowded into the same space. It was the same kind of
+reticence that always came upon John when you asked him about his work. But
+the story has been gloriously told in the heavens by those who through his
+instrumentality have already reached the City of Raptures. When the roll of
+martyrs is called before the Throne of God, the name of John Van Nest
+Talmage will be called. He worked himself to death in the cause of the
+world's evangelization. His heart, his brain, his lungs, his hands, his
+muscles, his nerves, all wrought for others until heart and brain, and
+lungs and hands, and muscles and nerves could do no more.
+
+He sleeps in the cemetery near Somerville, New Jersey, so near father and
+mother that he will face them when he rises in the Resurrection of the
+Just, and amid a crowd of kindred now slumbering on the right of him, and
+on the left of him, he will feel the thrill of the Trumpet that wakes the
+dead.
+
+Allelujah! Amen!
+
+BROOKLYN, June, 1894.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+The accompanying resolution of the Board of Foreign Missions of the
+Reformed Church in America, November 16, 1892, explains the origin of this
+volume:
+
+"Resolved, That the Board of Foreign Missions, being firmly convinced that
+a biography of the late John V. N. Talmage, D.D., for over forty years
+identified with the Mission at Amoy, would be of great service to the cause
+of Missions, heartily recommend to the family of Dr. Talmage the selection
+of an appropriate person to prepare such a memoir, and in case this is
+done, promise to render all the aid in their power in furnishing whatever
+facts or records may be of service to the author of the book."
+
+The writer raised his pen to this task with hesitancy. He had known Dr.
+Talmage only little more than a year; long enough, indeed, to revere and
+love him, but not long enough to tell the story of so rich and fruitful a
+life.
+
+Dr. Talmage was a man of unconscious greatness. If he could have been
+consulted it is doubtful whether a public record of him would have ever
+seen the light. His life to him would have seemed too commonplace and
+unworthy. He was exceedingly careful in the use of language. He could not
+endure exaggeration. Nothing so commanded his admiration as honesty and
+accuracy of statement. That ought to be sufficient to guard any one who
+speaks of such a man against indiscriminate eulogy.
+
+We have endeavored as far as possible to make this memoir an autobiography.
+To carry out this purpose has not been without difficulties.
+
+Dr. Talmage did not keep a continuous diary. He did not preserve complete
+files of his correspondence as if anticipating the needs of some possible
+biographer.
+
+The author's enforced retirement from the mission field in the midst of
+collecting and sifting material, has been no small drawback.
+
+It is hoped, however, that enough has been gleaned to justify publication.
+Sincerest thanks are due to those brethren who contributed to the
+concluding chapter, "In Memoriam."
+
+If these pages may more fully acquaint the Church of Christ with a name
+which it should not willingly let die, and deepen interest in and hasten by
+the least hair-breadth the redemption of "China's Millions," the author
+will feel abundantly rewarded.
+
+JOHN G. FAGG.
+
+ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
+October 1, 1894.
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+Rev. John Van Nest Talmage
+Chinese Clan House
+Buddhist Temple, Amoy
+Pagoda near Lam-sin
+Chinese Bride and Groom
+Traveling Equipment in South China
+Pastor Iap and Family
+The Sio ke Valley
+Glimpse of the Sio-ke River
+Scene in the Hakka Region
+Girl's School; The Talmage Manse; Woman's School. (Kolongsu, opposite Amoy)
+Pastor Iap
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+I. The Ancestral Home
+II. Call to China and Voyage Hence
+III. The City of the "Elegant Gate"
+  Description of Amoy and Amoy Island
+  Ancestral Worship
+  Infanticide
+  Is China to be won, and how?
+  Worship of the Emperor
+IV. Light and Shade
+  The Chiang-chiu Valley
+  Breaking and Burning of Idols
+  The Chinese Boat Race and its Origin
+  The Chinese Beggar System
+  Two Noble Men Summoned Hence
+V. At the Foot of the Bamboos
+  Opium
+  Romanized Colloquial
+  Chinese Sense of Sin
+  Primitive Lamps
+  Zealous Converts
+  The Term Question
+  What it Costs a Chinese to become a Christian
+  Persecuted for Christ's Sake
+  "He is only a Beggar"
+  Printing under Difficulties
+  Carrier Pigeons
+VI. The "Little Knife" Insurrection
+  How the Chinese Fight
+VII. The Blossoming Desert
+  Si-boo's Zeal
+  An Appeal for a Missionary
+VIII. Church Union
+  The Memorial of the Amoy Mission
+IX. Church Union (continued)
+X. The Anti-missionary Agitation
+XI. The Last Two Decades
+  Forty continuous Years in Heathenism
+  Chinese Grandiloquence
+XII. In Memoriam
+  Dr. Talmage--The Man and The Missionary
+    By Rev. W. S. Swanson, D.D.
+  Venerable Teacher Talmage
+    By Pastor Iap Han Chiong
+  Rev. John Van Nest Talmage, D.D.
+    By Rev. S. L. Baldwin, D.D.
+  The Rev. J. V. N. Talmage, D.D.
+    By Rev. Talbot W. Chambers, D.D., LL.D.
+  Rev. John Van Nest Talmage, D.D.
+    By Rev. John M. Ferris, D.D.
+APPENDIX
+
+
+
+
+I. THE ANCESTRAL HOME
+
+John Van Nest Talmage was born at Somerville, New Jersey, August 18, 1819
+He was the fourth son in a family of seven brothers and five sisters.
+
+The roots of the Talmage genealogical tree may be traced back to the year
+1630, when Enos and Thomas Talmage, the progenitors of the Talmage family
+in North America, landed at Charlestown, Massachusetts, and afterwards
+settled at East Hampton, Long Island.
+
+Dr. Lyman Beecher represents the first settlers of East Hampton as "men
+resolute, enterprising, acquainted with human nature, accustomed to do
+business, well qualified by education, circumspect, careful in dealing,
+friends of civil liberty, jealous of their rights, vigilant to discover,
+and firm to resist encroachments; eminently pious."
+
+In 1725 we find Daniel Talmage at Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Daniel's
+grandson, Thomas, during the years between 1775 and 1834 shifts his tent to
+Piscataway, New Jersey, thence to New Brunswick, thence to Somerville,
+where the stakes are driven firmly on a farm "beautiful for situation."
+Thomas Talmage was a builder by trade, and erected some of the most
+important courthouses and public edifices in Somerset and Middlesex
+Counties. He was active in the Revolutionary war, holding the rank of
+major. It was said of him, "His name will be held in everlasting
+remembrance in the churches." He was the father of seven sons and six
+daughters.
+
+The third son, David T., the father of John Van Nest Talmage, was born at
+Piscataway, April 21, 1783. He was married to Catharine Van Nests Dec. 19,
+1803. David T. Talmage was rather migratory in his instincts. The smoke
+of the Talmage home now curled out from a house at Mill stone, now from a
+homestead near Somerville, then from Gateville; then the family ark rested
+for many years on the outskirts of Somerville and finally it brought up at
+Bound Brook, New Jersey. Though the family tent was folded several times,
+it was not folded for more than a day's wagon journey before it was pitched
+again. The places designated arc all within the range of a single New
+Jersey county.
+
+In 1836 David T. Talmage was elected a member of the State Legislature and
+was returned three successive terms. In 1841, he was chosen high sheriff
+of Somerset County. Four of his sons entered the Christian ministry, James
+R., John Van Nest, Goyn, and Thomas De Witt. James R., the senior brother,
+rendered efficient service in pastorates at Pompton Plains and Blawenburgh,
+New Jersey, and in Brooklyn, Greenbush, and Chittenango, New York. He
+received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Rutgers College, New Jersey,
+in 1864. John Van Nest gave his life to China. Goyn, a most winsome man and
+eloquent preacher, ministered with marked success to the churches of
+Niskayuna, Green Point, Rhinebeck, and Port Jervis, New York, and Paramus,
+New Jersey. He was for five years the Corresponding Secretary of the Board
+of Domestic Missions of the Reformed Church. Rutgers College honored
+herself and him by giving him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1876.
+
+Thomas De Witt, the youngest son, still ministers to the largest church in
+Protestant Christendom. What a river of blessing has flowed from that
+humble, cottage well-spring. The wilderness and the parched land have been
+made glad by it. The desert has been made to rejoice and blossom as the
+rose. The courses thereof have gone out into all the earth, and the tossing
+of its waves have been heard to the end of the world.
+
+In November, 1865, Dr. T. De Witt Talmage preached a sermon on "The Beauty
+of Old Age"[*] from the words in Eccles. xii. 5, "The Almond Tree shall
+flourish." It was commemorative of his father, David T. Talmage. He says:
+"I have stood, for the last few days, as under the power of an enchantment.
+Last Friday-a-week, at eighty-three years of age, my father exchanged earth
+for heaven. The wheat was ripe, and it has been harvested. No painter's
+pencil or poet's rhythm could describe that magnificent sun setting. It was
+no hurricane blast let loose; but a gale from heaven, that drove into the
+dust the blossoms of that almond tree.
+
+  [Footnote *: This sermon gives so graphic and tender a portrayal of the
+  father of one of America's most distinguished ministerial families, that
+  the author feels justified in making so lengthy an extract.]
+
+"There are lessons for me to learn, and also for you, for many of you knew
+him. The child of his old age, I come to-night to pay an humble tribute to
+him, who, in the hour of my birth, took me into his watchful care, and
+whose parental faithfulness, combined with that of my mother, was the means
+of bringing my erring feet to the cross, and kindling in my soul
+anticipations of immortal blessedness. If I failed to speak, methinks the
+old family Bible, that I brought home with me, would rebuke my silence, and
+the very walls of my youthful home would tell the story of my ingratitude.
+I must speak, though it be with broken utterance, and in terms which seem
+too strong for those of you who never had an opportunity of gathering the
+fruit of this luxuriant almond tree.
+
+"First. In my father's old age was to be seen the beauty of a cheerful
+spirit. I never remember to have heard him make a gloomy expression. This
+was not because he had no conception of the pollutions of society. He
+abhorred everything like impurity, or fraud, or double-dealing. He never
+failed to lift up his voice against sin, when he saw it. He was terrible in
+his indignation against wrong, and had an iron grip for the throat of him
+who trampled on the helpless. Better meet a lion robbed of her whelps than
+him, if you had been stealing the bread from the mouth of the fatherless.
+It required all the placidity of my mother's voice to calm him when once
+the mountain storm of his righteous wrath was in full blast; while as for
+himself, he would submit to more imposition, and say nothing, than any man
+I ever knew.
+
+"But while sensitive to the evils of society, he felt confident that all
+would be righted. When he prayed, you could hear in the very tones of his
+voice the expectation that Christ Jesus would utterly demolish all
+iniquity, and fill the earth with His glory. This Christian man was not a
+misanthrope, did not think that everything was going to ruin, considered
+the world a very good place to live in. He never sat moping or despondent,
+but took things as they were, knowing that God could and would make them
+better. When the heaviest surge of calamity came upon him, he met it with
+as cheerful a countenance as ever a bather at the beach met the incoming
+Atlantic, rising up on the other side of the wave stronger than when it
+smote him. Without ever being charged with frivolity, he sang, and
+whistled, and laughed. He knew about all the cheerful tunes that were ever
+printed in old 'New Brunswick Collection,' and the 'Strum Way,' and the
+sweetest melodies that Thomas Hastings ever composed. I think that every
+pillar in the Somerville and Bound Brook churches knew his happy voice. He
+took the pitch of sacred song on Sabbath morning, and lost it not through
+all the week. I have heard him sing plowing amid the aggravations of a 'new
+ground,' serving writs, examining deeds, going to arrest criminals, in the
+house and by the way, at the barn and in the street. When the church choir
+would break down, everybody looked around to see if he were not ready with
+Woodstock, Mount Pisgah, or Uxbridge. And when all his familiar tunes
+failed to express the joy of his soul, he would take up his own pen, draw
+five long lines across the sheet, put in the notes, and then to the tune
+that he called 'Bound Brook' begin to sing:
+
+  'As when the weary trav'ler gains
+  The height of some o'erlooking hill,
+  His heart revives if, 'cross the plains,
+  He eyes his home, tho' distant still:
+
+  Thus, when the Christian pilgrim views,
+  By faith, his mansion in the skies;
+  The sight his fainting strength renews,
+  And wings his speed to reach the prize.
+
+  "'Tis there," he says, "I am to dwell
+  With Jesus in the realms of day:
+  There I shall bid my cares farewell,
+  And he will wipe my tears away."
+
+"But few families fell heir to so large a pile of well-studied note-books.
+He was ready, at proper times, for all kinds of innocent amusement. He
+often felt a merriment that not only touched the lips, but played upon
+every fibre of the body, and rolled down into the very depths of his soul,
+with long reverberations. No one that I ever knew understood more fully
+the science of a good laugh. He was not only quick to recognize hilarity
+when created by others, but was always ready to do his share toward making
+it. Before extreme old age, he could outrun and outleap any of his
+children. He did not hide his satisfaction at having outwalked some one
+who boasted of his pedestrianism, or at having been able to swing the
+scythe after all the rest of the harvesters had dropped from exhaustion, or
+at having, in legislative hall, tripped up some villainous scheme for
+robbing the public treasury. We never had our ears boxed, as some children
+I wot of, for the sin of being happy. In long winter nights it was hard to
+tell who enjoyed sportfulness the better, the children who romped the
+floor, or the parents who, with lighted countenance, looked at them. Great
+indulgence and leniency characterized his family rule, but the remembrance
+of at least one correction more emphatic than pleasing proves that he was
+not like Eli of old, who had wayward sons and restrained them not. In the
+multitude of his witticisms there were no flings at religion, no
+caricatures of good men, no trifling with things of eternity. His laughter
+was not the 'crackling of thorns under a pot,' but the merry heart that
+doeth good like a medicine. For this all the children of the community
+knew him; and to the last day of his walking out, when they saw him coming
+down the lane, shouted, 'Here comes grandfather!' No gall, no acerbity, no
+hypercriticism. If there was a bright side to anything, he always saw it,
+and his name, in all the places where he dwelt, will long be a synonym for
+exhilaration of spirit.
+
+"But whence this cheerfulness? Some might ascribe it ail to natural
+disposition. No doubt there is such a thing as sunshine of temperament.
+God gives more brightness to the almond tree than to the cypress. While
+the pool putrefies under the summer sun, God slips the rill off of the
+rocks with a frolicsomeness that fills the mountain with echo. No doubt
+constitutional structure had much to do with this cheerfulness. He had, by
+a life of sobriety, preserved his freshness and vigor. You know that good
+habits are better than speaking tubes to the ear; better than a staff to
+the hand; better than lozenges to the throat; better than warm baths to the
+feet; better than bitters for the stomach. His lips had not been polluted,
+nor his brain befogged, by the fumes of the noxious weed that has sapped
+the life of whole generations, sending even ministers of the Gospel to
+untimely graves, over which the tombstone declared, 'Sacrificed by overwork
+in the Lord's vineyard,' when if the marble had not lied, it would have
+said, 'Killed by villainous tobacco!' He abhorred anything that could
+intoxicate, being among the first in this country to join the crusade
+against alcoholic beverages. When urged, during a severe sickness, to take
+some stimulus, he said, 'No! If I am to die, let me die sober!' The swill
+of the brewery had never been poured around the roots of this thrifty
+almond. To the last week of his life his ear could catch a child's
+whisper, and at fourscore years his eyes refused spectacles, although he
+would sometimes have to hold the book off on the other side of the light,
+as octogenarians are wont to do. No trembling of the hands, no rheum in
+the eyes, no knocking together of the knees, no hobbling on crutches with
+what polite society terms rheumatism in the feet, but what everybody knows
+is nothing but gout. Death came, not to fell the gnarled trunk of a tree
+worm-eaten and lightning-blasted, but to hew down a Lebanon cedar, whose
+fall made the mountains tremble and the heavens ring. But physical health
+could not account for half of this sunshine. Sixty-four years ago a coal
+from the heavenly altar had kindled a light that shone brighter and
+brighter to the perfect day. Let Almighty grace for nearly three-quarters
+of a century triumph in a man's soul, and do you wonder that he is happy?
+For twice the length of your life and mine he had sat in the bower of the
+promises, plucking the round, ripe clusters of Eshcol. While others bit
+their tongues for thirst, he stood at the wells of salvation, and put his
+lips to the bucket that came up dripping with the fresh, cool, sparkling
+waters of eternal life. This joy was not that which breaks in the bursting
+bubble of the champagne glass, or that which is thrown out with the
+orange-peelings of a midnight bacchanalia, but the joy which, planted by a
+Saviour's pardoning grace, mounts up higher and higher, till it breaks
+forth in the acclaim of the hundred and forty and four thousand who have
+broken their last chain and wept their last sorrow. Oh! mighty God! How
+deep, how wide, how high the joy Thou kindles" in the heart of the
+believer!
+
+"Again: We behold in our father the beauty of a Christian faith.
+
+"Let not the account of this cheerfulness give you the idea that he never
+had any trouble. But few men have so serious and overwhelming a life
+struggle. He went out into the world without means, and with no educational
+opportunity, save that which was afforded him in the winter months, in an
+old, dilapidated school-house, from instructors whose chief work was to
+collect their own salary. Instead of postponing the marriage relation, as
+modern society compels a young man to postpone it, until he can earn a
+fortune, and be able, at commencement of the conjugal relation, to keep a
+companion like the lilies of the field, that toil not nor spin, though
+Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these--he chose an
+early alliance with one, who would not only be able to enjoy the success of
+his life, but who would with her own willing hands help achieve it. And so
+while father plowed the fields, and threshed the wheat, and broke the flax,
+and husked the corn, my mother stood for Solomon's portraiture, when he
+said, 'She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her
+household. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the
+distaff. She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her
+household are clothed with scarlet. Her children arise up and call her
+blessed, her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done
+virtuously, but thou excellest them all.' So that the limited estate of
+the New Jersey farmer never foundered on millinery establishments and
+confectionery shops. And though we were some years of age before we heard
+the trill of a piano, we knew well about the song of 'The Spinning-wheel.'
+There were no lords, or baronets, or princes in our ancestral line. None
+wore stars, cockade, or crest. There was once a family coat of arms, but
+we were none of us wise enough to tell its meaning. Do our best, we cannot
+find anything about our forerunners, except that they behaved well, came
+over from Wales or Holland a good while ago, and died when their time came.
+Some of them may have had fine equipage and caparisoned postillion, but the
+most of them were only footmen. My father started in life belonging to the
+aristocracy of hard knuckles and homespun, but had this high honor that no
+one could despise. He was the son of a father who loved God, and kept His
+commandments. What is the House of Hapsburg or Stuarts, compared with
+being son of the Lord God Almighty? Two eyes, two hands, and two feet,
+were the capital my father started with. For fifteen years an invalid, he
+had a fearful struggle to support his large family. Nothing but faith in
+God upheld him. His recital of help afforded, and deliverances wrought,
+was more like a romance than a reality. He walked through many a desert,
+but every morning had its manna, and every night it's pillar of fire, and
+every hard rock a rod that could shatter it into crystal fountains at his
+feet. More than once he came to his last dollar; but right behind that
+last dollar he found Him who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and out
+of the palm of whose hand all the fowls of heaven peck their food, and who
+hath given to each one of His disciples a warrantable deed for the whole
+universe in the words, 'All are yours.'
+
+"The path that led him through financial straits, prepared him also for
+sore bereavements. The infant of days was smitten, and he laid it into the
+river of death with as much confidence as infant Moses was laid into the
+Ark of the Nile, knowing that soon from the royal palace a shining One
+would come to fetch it.
+
+"In an island of the sea, among strangers, almost unattended, death came to
+a beloved son; and though I remember the darkness that dropped on the
+household when the black-sealed letter was opened, I remember also the
+utterances of Christian submission.
+
+"Another bearing his own name, just on the threshold of manhood, his heart
+beating high with hope, falls into the dust; but above the cries of early
+widowhood and the desolation of that dark day, I hear the patriarch's
+prayer, commending children, and children's children, to the Divine
+sympathy.
+
+"But a deeper shadow fell across the old home-stead. The 'Golden Wedding'
+had been celebrated nine years before. My mother looked up, pushed back
+her spectacles, and said, 'Just think of it, father! We have been together
+fifty-nine years!' The twain stood together like two trees of the forest
+with interlocked branches. Their affections had taken deep root together
+in many a kindred grave. Side by side in life's great battle, they had
+fought the good fight and won the day. But death comes to unjoint this
+alliance. God will not any longer let her suffer mortal ailments. The
+reward of righteousness is ready, and it must be paid. But what a tearing
+apart! What rending up! What will the aged man do without this other to
+lean on? Who can so well understand how to sympathize and counsel? What
+voice so cheering as hers, to conduct him down the steep of old age? 'Oh'
+said she in her last moments, 'father, if you and I could only be together,
+how pleasant it would be!' But the hush of death came down one autumnal
+afternoon, and for the first time in all my life, on my arrival at home, I
+received no maternal greeting, no answer of the lips, no pressure of the
+hand. God had taken her.
+
+"In this overwhelming shock the patriarch stood confident, reciting the
+promises and attesting the Divine goodness. O, sirs, that was faith,
+faith, faith! 'Thanks be unto God who giveth us the victory!'
+
+"Finally, I noticed that in my father's old age was to be seen the beauty
+of Christian activity. He had not retired from the field. He had been
+busy so long you could not expect him idle now. The faith I have described
+was not an idle expectation that sits with its hands in its pockets idly
+waiting, but a feeling which gathers up all the resources of the soul, and
+hurls them upon one grand design. He was among the first who toiled in
+Sabbath-schools, and never failed to speak the praise of these
+institutions. No storm or darkness ever kept him away from prayer-meeting.
+In the neighborhood where he lived for years held a devotional meeting.
+Oftentimes the only praying man present, before a handful of attendants, he
+would give out the hymn, read the lines, conduct the music, and pray. Then
+read the Scriptures and pray again. Then lead forth in the Doxology with
+an enthusiasm as if there were a thousand people present, and all the
+church members had been doing their duty. He went forth visiting the sick,
+burying the dead, collecting alms for the poor, inviting the ministers of
+religion to his household, in which there was, as in the house of Shunem, a
+little room over the wall, with bed and candlestick for any passing Elisha.
+He never shuddered at the sight of a subscription paper, and not a single
+great cause of benevolence has arisen within the last half century which he
+did not bless with his beneficence. Oh, this was not a barren almond tree
+that blossomed. His charity was not like the bursting of the bud of a
+famous tree in the South that fills the whole forest with its racket; nor
+was it a clumsy thing like the fruit, in some tropical clime, that crashes
+down, almost knocking the life out of those who gather it; for in his case
+the right hand knew not what the left hand did. The churches of God in
+whose service he toiled, have arisen as one man to declare his faithfulness
+and to mourn their loss. He stood in the front of the holy war, and the
+courage which never trembled or winced in the presence of temporal danger
+induced him to dare all things for God. In church matters he was not
+afraid to be shot at. Ordained, not by the laying on of human hands, but
+by the imposition of a Saviour's love, he preached by his life, in official
+position, and legislative hall, and commercial circles, a practical
+Christianity. He showed that there was such a thing as honesty in
+politics. He slandered no party, stuffed no ballot box, forged no
+naturalization papers, intoxicated no voters, told no lies, surrendered no
+principle, countenanced no demagogism. He called things by their right
+names; and what others styled prevarication, exaggeration, misstatement or
+hyperbole, he called a lie. Though he was far from being undecided in his
+views, and never professed neutrality, or had any consort with those
+miserable men who boast how well they can walk on both sides of a dividing
+line and be on neither, yet even in the excitements of election canvass,
+when his name was hotly discussed in public journals, I do not think his
+integrity was ever assaulted. Starting every morning with a chapter of the
+Bible, and his whole family around him on their knees, he forgot not, in
+the excitements of the world, that he had a God to serve and a heaven to
+win. The morning prayer came up on one side of the day, and the evening
+prayer on the other side, and joined each other in an arch above his head,
+under the shadow of which he walked all the day. The Sabbath worship
+extended into Monday's conversation, and Tuesday's bargain, and Wednesday's
+mirthfulness, and Thursday's controversy, and Friday's sociality, and
+Saturday's calculation.
+
+"Through how many thrilling scenes had he passed! He stood, at Morristown,
+in the choir that chanted when George Washington was buried; talked with
+young men whose grandfathers he had held on his knee; watched the progress
+of John Adams' administration; denounced, at the time, Aaron Burr's infamy;
+heard the guns that celebrated the New Orleans victory; voted against
+Jackson, but lived long enough to wish we had one just like him; remembered
+when the first steamer struck the North River with it's wheel buckets;
+flushed with excitement in the time of national banks and sub-treasury; was
+startled at the birth of telegraphy; saw the United States grow from a
+speck on the world's map till all nations dip their flag at our passing
+merchantmen, and our 'national airs' have been heard on the steeps of the
+Himalayas; was born while the Revolutionary cannon were coming home from
+Yorktown, and lived to hear the tramp of troops returning from the war of
+the great Rebellion; lived to speak the names of eighty children,
+grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Nearly all his contemporaries
+gone! Aged Wilberforce said that sailors drink to 'friends astern' until
+halfway over the sea, and then drink to 'friends ahead.' So, also, with my
+father. Long and varied pilgrimage! Nothing but sovereign grace could
+have kept him true, earnest, useful, and Christian through so many exciting
+scenes.
+
+"He worked unwearily from the sunrise of youth, to the sunset of old age,
+and then in the sweet nightfall of death, lighted by the starry promises,
+went home, taking his sheaves with him. Mounting from earthly to heavenly
+service, I doubt not there were a great multitude that thronged heaven's
+gate to hail him into the skies,--those whose sorrows he had appeased,
+whose burdens he had lifted, whose guilty souls he had pointed to a
+pardoning God, whose dying moments he had cheered, whose ascending spirits
+he had helped up on the wings of sacred music. I should like to have heard
+that long, loud, triumphant shout of heaven's welcome. I think that the
+harps throbbed with another thrill, and the hills quaked with a mightier
+hallelujah. Hail! ransomed soul! Thy race run,--thy toil ended! Hail to
+the coronation!"
+
+At the death of David T. Talmage the Christian Intelligencer of October 25,
+1865, contained the following contribution from the pen of Dr. T.W.
+Chambers, for many years pastor of the Second Reformed Church, Somerville,
+New Jersey, now one of the pastors of the Collegiate Church, New York:
+
+"In the latter part of the last century, Thomas Talmage, Sr., a plain but
+intelligent farmer, moved into the neighborhood of Somerville, N.J., and
+settled upon a fertile tract of land, very favorably situated, and
+commanding a view of the country for miles around. Here he spent the
+remainder of a long, godly, and useful life, and reared a large family of
+children, twelve of whom were spared to reach adult years, and to make and
+adorn the same Christian profession of which their father was a shining
+light. Two of these became ministers of the Gospel, of whom one, Jehiel,
+fell asleep several years since, while the other, the distinguished Samuel
+K. Talmage, D.D., President of Oglethorpe University, Georgia, entered into
+his rest only a few weeks since. Another son, Thomas, was for an entire
+generation the strongest pillar in the Second Church of Somerville.
+
+"One of the oldest of the twelve was the subject of this notice; a man
+whose educational advantages were limited to the local schools of the
+neighborhood, but whose excellent natural abilities, sharpened by contact
+with the world, gave him a weight in the community which richer and more
+cultivated men might have envied. In the prime of his years he was often
+called to serve his fellow citizens in civil trusts. He spent some years
+in the popular branch of the Legislature, and was afterwards high sheriff
+of the County of Somerset for the usual period. In both cases he fulfilled
+the expectations of his friends, and rendered faithful service. The
+sterling integrity of his character manifested itself in every situation;
+and even in the turmoil of politics, at a time of much excitement, he
+maintained a stainless name, and defied the tongue of calumny. But it was
+chiefly in the sphere of private and social relations that his work was
+done and his influence exerted. His father's piety was reproduced in him
+at an early period, and soon assumed a marked type of thoroughness,
+activity and decision, which it bore even to the end. His long life was
+one of unblemished Christian consistency, which in no small measure was due
+to the influence of his excellent wife, Catherine Van Nest, a niece of the
+late Abraham Van Nest, of New York City, who a few years preceded him into
+glory. She was the most godly woman the writer ever knew, a wonder unto
+many for the strength of her faith, the profoundness of her Christian
+experience, and the uniform spirituality of her mind. The ebb and flow
+common to most believers did not appear in her; but her course was like a
+river fed by constant streams, and running on wider and deeper till it
+reaches the sea. It might be said of this pair, as truly as of the parents
+of John the Baptist, 'And they were both righteous before God, walking in
+all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.' Hand in hand
+they pursued their pilgrimage through this world, presenting an example of
+intelligent piety such as is not often seen. 'Lovely and pleasant in their
+lives, in their death they were not (long) divided.' Exactly three years
+from the day of Mrs. Talmage's death her husband received the summons to
+rejoin her on high.
+
+"These parents were unusually careful and diligent in discharging their
+Christian obligations to their children. The promise of the covenant was
+importunately implored in their behalf from the moment of birth, its seal
+was early applied, and the whole training was after the pattern of Abraham.
+The Divine faithfulness was equally manifest, for the whole eleven were in
+due time brought to the Saviour, and introduced into the full communion of
+the Church. Years ago two of them were removed by death. Of the rest,
+four, James, John, Goyn, and Thomas De Witt, are ministers of the Gospel,
+and one is the wife of a minister (the Rev. S. L. Mershon, of East Hampton,
+L.I.). Without entering into details respecting these brethren, it is
+sufficient to say that, with the exception of the late Dr. John Scudder's,
+no other single family has been the means of making such a valuable
+contribution to the sons of Levi in the Dutch Church.
+
+"Mr. Talmage was not only exemplary in the ordinary duties of a Christian,
+but excellent as a church officer. Shrewd, patient, kind, generous
+according to his means, and full of quiet zeal, he was ready for every good
+work; one of those men--the delight of a pastor's heart--who can always
+be relied upon to do their share, if not a little more, and that in things
+both temporal and spiritual. He was a wise counselor, a true friend, a
+self-sacrificing laborer for the Master."
+
+We find the following allusion to the life and death of his mother, in a
+sermon by Dr. T. De Witt Talmage:
+
+"In these remarks upon maternal faithfulness, I have found myself
+unconsciously using as a model the character of one, who, last Wednesday,
+we put away for the resurrection. About sixty years ago, just before the
+day of their marriage, my father and mother stood up in the old
+meeting-house, at Somerville, to take the vows of a Christian. Through a
+long life of vicissitude she lived blamelessly and usefully, and came to
+her end in peace. No child of want ever came to her door, and was turned
+away. No stricken soul ever appealed to her and was not comforted. No
+sinner ever asked her the way to be saved, and was not pointed to Christ.
+
+"When the Angel of Life came to a neighbor's dwelling, she was there to
+rejoice at the incarnation; and when the Angel of Death came, she was there
+to robe the departed one for burial. We had often heard her, while
+kneeling among her children at family prayers, when father was absent, say:
+'I ask not for my children wealth, or honor; but I do ask that they may all
+become the subjects of Thy converting grace.' She had seen all her eleven
+children gathered into the Church, and she had but one more wish, and that
+was that she might again see her missionary son. And when the ship from
+China anchored in New York harbor, and the long absent one crossed the
+threshold of his paternal home, she said, 'Now, Lord, lettest Thou Thy
+servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.'
+
+"We were gathered from afar to see only the house from which the soul had
+fled forever. How calm she looked! Her folded hands appeared just as when
+they were employed in kindnesses for her children. And we could not help
+but say, as we stood and looked at her, 'Doesn't she look beautiful!' It
+was a cloudless day when, with heavy hearts, we carried her out to the last
+resting-place. The withered leaves crumbled under wheel and hoof as we
+passed, and the setting sun shone upon the river until it looked like fire.
+But more calm and bright was the setting sun of this aged pilgrim's life.
+No more toil. No more tears. No more sickness. No more death. Dear
+mother! Beautiful mother!
+
+  "'Sweet is the slumber beneath the sod,
+  While the pure soul is resting with God.'"
+
+
+
+
+II. CALL TO CHINA AND VOYAGE HENCE
+
+The known facts in regard to John Talmage's boyhood and youthful days are
+few. Of the known facts some perhaps are too trivial, others too sacred to
+bear mention. The sapling grew. Of the inner and outer circles of growth
+there is but brief record.
+
+He spent his boyhood at a quiet country hamlet, Gateville, New Jersey. On
+the ridge swung the toll-gate, and a little beyond might be heard the hum
+and rattle of the grist-mill. His father kept the toll-gate. John was a
+fine horseman, and found great sport in jumping on his horse and chasing
+the people who had "cheated the gate" by not paying their toll. John knew
+the law and was not afraid to go for them. He went to a private school
+under the care of a Mr. Morton at the village of Bound Brook, two miles
+from home, and generally stood at the head of his class.
+
+He early became the judge and counselor among his brothers and sisters. In
+any little dispute which arose, John's verdict was usually accepted as
+correct and final.
+
+During all his missionary career in China, he was an adviser and arbitrator
+whom foreigners and Chinese alike sought and from whose advice they were
+not quick to turn away.
+
+In the midst of the tumult among the men of Medina when they met to elect a
+chief to take the place of Mohammed, who had passed away, the voice of
+Hohab was heard crying out, "Attend to me, attend to me, for I am the
+well-rubbed Palm-stem." The figure Hobab used represented a palm-trunk
+left for the beasts to come and rub themselves upon. It was a metaphor for
+a person much resorted to for counsel. John Talmage never called attention
+to himself, but the Arab chief must have counseled many, and well, to have
+taken a higher place than did this messenger of Christ at Amoy.
+
+By the time John Talmage's school days at Bound Brook were completed he had
+determined to prepare for college. Preparatory schools then were few and
+far away. They were expensive. John made an arrangement with his senior
+brother, Rev. James R. Talmage, then pastor at Blawenburgh, New Jersey, to
+put him through the required course. Here he joined the Church at the age
+of seventeen. From Blawenburgh his brother Goyn and he went to New
+Brunswick, New Jersey, joining the Sophomore class in Rutgers College. John
+and Goyn roomed together, swept and garnished their own quarters and did
+their own cooking. Father Talmage would come down every week or two with
+provisions from the farm, to replenish the ever-recipient larder. Both John
+and Goyn were diligent students and graduated with honorable recognition
+from Rutgers College in 1842, and from New Brunswick Theological Seminary
+in 1845.
+
+John Talmage had made such substantial attainments in Hebrew and Greek,
+that when some years afterward the distinguished Dr. McClelland resigned as
+professor of these languages in the Theological Seminary at New Brunswick,
+he was talked of as Dr. McClelland's successor, and but for the conviction
+that he ought not to be removed from the Amoy Mission, his appointment
+would have been earnestly advocated by the General Synod.
+
+John Talmage had read missionary biographies when a boy in the
+Sunday-school at Bound Brook. He had been specially touched by the life of
+Henry Martyn. While at college he kept himself supplied with missionary
+literature. His parents were already interested in foreign missions. In
+secret before God his mother had devoted John to this very work. John did
+not know it. The determining word for him was that spoken in a missionary
+address, by Rev. Elihu Doty, one of the pioneers of the Amoy Mission. It
+was plain that he must go to the "regions beyond." He must break the news
+to his mother. John's love of missionary literature and his eager
+attendance upon missionary meetings had filled the family with a secret
+fear that he thought of going. One day he invited his younger sister,
+Catharine, to take a walk with him across the fields. He began to talk
+about missions to foreign lands. Finally he said, "Catharine, you must
+help me prepare the way to tell mother that I want to go to China." Too
+overcome with emotion was the sister to reply. They walked home in
+silence. John sought opportunity when he could quietly tell his mother.
+Said he, "Mother, I am going to China." In the intensity of a mother's
+love she replied, "Oh, John, it will kill me." But the grace of God
+triumphed and again she said, "I prayed to God for this, how can I object?"
+
+In October, 1845, he applied to the American Board of Commissioners for
+Foreign Missions, through Dr. Thomas De Witt, the Secretary for the
+Reformed Church. The letter is still in possession. An extract from it
+reads:
+
+"I was twenty-five years of age last August, reside at Somerville, New
+Jersey, have been blessed with Christian parents and enjoyed an early
+religious education. By the assistance of friends and the Church, I have
+been enabled to pursue the usual course of study preparatory in our Church
+to entering upon the duties of the Gospel ministry. I graduated at Rutgers
+College in the summer of 1842, pursued my theological studies in our
+seminary at New Brunswick, and received from the Classis of Philadelphia,
+July last, 'license' to preach the Gospel.
+
+"Owing doubtless in great measure to the religious advantages I have
+enjoyed, my mind has been more or less under religious impressions from my
+earliest recollection. About eight years ago I united on confession of
+faith with the Church (Reformed Dutch) at Blawenburgh, New Jersey, of which
+my brother, Rev. James R. Talmage, was then and still is pastor. Was
+living in his family at the time, and studying with him preparatory to
+entering college. I am unable to decide when I met with a change of heart.
+My reason for believing that I have experienced such a change are the
+evidences within me that I love my Saviour, love His cause, and love the
+souls of men.
+
+"My reason for desiring the missionary work is a desire for the salvation
+of the heathen. My mind has been directed to the subject for a long time,
+yet I have not felt at liberty to decide the question where duty called me
+to labor until the last month. In accordance with this decision I now
+offer my services to the Board to labor in my Master's service among the
+heathen. As a field of labor I prefer China."
+
+Owing to deficiency in funds the Board could not send him that year. He
+accepted an invitation to assist Dr. Brodhead, then pastor of the Central
+Reformed Church of Brooklyn. Dr. Brodhead was one of the great preachers
+of his day. In Philadelphia, an earlier pastorate, "he preached to great
+congregations of eager listeners, and with a success unparalleled in the
+history of that city and rare in modern times." John Van Nest Talmage
+might have been his successor. But no sooner was the Board ready to send
+him than he was prepared to go. The day for leaving home came. Father
+Talmage and the older brothers accompanied John. They left the house in
+three carriages. A younger sister (Mrs. Cone) recently said: "When we saw
+the three carriages driving down the lane it seemed more like a funeral
+than anything else." Silent were those who drove away. Silent, silent as
+they could constrain themselves to be, were mother and sisters as they
+stood by the windows and got their last look of the procession as it wound
+down the road. To go to a foreign land in those days signified to those
+who went, lifelong exile,--to those who tarried, lifelong separation. The
+only highways to the far East were by way of the Cape of Good Hope or Cape
+Horn. The voyages were always long and often perilous.
+
+When on board the ship Roman, bound for Canton, David Abeel wrote: "To the
+missionary perhaps exclusively, is the separation from friends like the
+farewell of death. Though ignorant of the future he expects no further
+intercourse on earth. To him the next meeting is generally beyond the
+grave."
+
+The hour of departure was not only saddened by parting from parents and
+brothers and sisters, but the young woman in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, to
+whom he had given his affection, could not join him. Once it had been
+decided that they were to go together, but during the last days the
+enfeebled widowed mother's courage failed her. She could not relinquish
+her daughter to what seemed to her separation for life. Mr. Talmage had to
+choose between the call of duty to China and going alone, or tarrying at
+home and realizing his heart's hopes. He went to China. By a special
+Providence it was not much more than two years after he set sail that he
+was again in the United States. The mother of Miss Abby Woodruff had died,
+and the union was consummated.
+
+Mr. Talmage kept a diary of the voyage. A few extracts will prove
+interesting.
+
+"Left Somerville April 10, 1847, via New York to Boston. Sailed from
+Boston in ship Heber, April 15th. Farewell services on board conducted by
+Bishop Janes, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Heber is a ship of
+436 tons, 136 feet long, 27 wide. Among the passengers are Rev. E. Doty
+and wife, and Rev. Moses C White and wife, and Rev. I. D. Collins. The
+three latter are Methodist missionaries bound for Foochow (China)." They
+were the pioneers of Methodist missions in China.
+
+On Thursday evening, the cay of sailing, he writes: "I am now upon the
+bosom of the mighty deep. But I cannot as yet feel any fear. I am in the
+hands of the Being 'whose I am and whom I serve.' In His hands there is
+safety. I will not fear though the earth be removed. Besides, there are
+Christian friends praying for me. Oh, the consolation in the assurance
+that at the throne of grace I am remembered by near and dear friends! Will
+not their prayers be heard? They will. I know they will. The effectual
+fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much! When I took leave of my
+friends, one, and another, and another, assured me that they would remember
+me in their prayers. Yes, and I will remember them."
+
+April 17th. Speaking of Mr. Collins, he says: "I think we shall much enjoy
+ourselves. We shall study, read, sing, and pray together, talk and walk
+together. From present appearances we shall feel towards each other as
+David and Jonathan did." Mr. Collins was a man of intense missionary
+convictions, who declared if there were no means to send him to China he
+would find his way before the mast, and work his way there.
+
+"April 22. We have now been one week on our voyage. We commenced our
+studies today. Mr. Doty, Collins, and myself have organized ourselves into
+a Hebrew class. We expect to have a daily recitation in Hebrew, another in
+Greek, and another in Chinese."
+
+"May 8th. Saturday evening. We have been out 23 days. We have had our
+worship as usual in the cabin. Since then we have spent some time in
+singing hymns. Have been led to think of home. Wonder where and how my
+many friends are? Are they happy? Are they well? Are they all alive? Is
+it strange that sadness sometimes steals over my mind, when I think of
+those whom I love, and remember their weeping eyes and sorrowful
+countenances at the time of bidding them farewell, perhaps never again to
+see them in this world."
+
+He had decided to take a text of Scripture for daily meditation, following
+the order in a little book published by the American Tract Society entitled
+"Dew Drops."
+
+"The text for today is 1 Pet. ii. 21. 'Christ suffered for us, leaving us
+an example, that we should follow his steps.'
+
+"Why should the Christian tremble at the prospect of suffering, or be
+impatient under its existence? 'The servant is not greater than his Lord.'
+The 'King of Glory' suffered, and shall a sinful man complain? Besides,
+the Christian should be willing to suffer for the welfare of others. If he
+can benefit his fellow-men by running the risk of losing his own life,
+shall he hesitate to run that risk?"
+
+"May 11. Since Sunday noon have made little progress."
+
+On examining the record of the voyage which Mr. Talmage kept faithfully
+every day, we find that the ship had made only twenty seven knots in two
+days.
+
+"June 18. For the last month we have not made rapid progress. We have
+experienced much detention from head-winds and calms. About a week ago we
+were put on an allowance of water, one gallon a day to each one on board.
+This includes all that is used for cooking, drinking and washing."
+
+"Have had quite a severe storm this afternoon and evening. The waves have
+been very high, and the wind--severe almost as a hurricane. This evening
+about 8 o'clock, after a very severe blow and heavy dash of rain, 'fire
+balls,' as the sailors termed them, were seen upon the tops of the masts,
+and also on the ends of the spars, which cross the masts. They presented a
+very beautiful appearance.
+
+"Brother Collins and myself have this week commenced the study of Pitman's
+System of Phonography." That Mr. Talmage became proficient in the use of
+it is evident from the fact that much of his journal was written in
+shorthand.
+
+"On the Sabbath Brother Collins and myself spend two hours in the
+forecastle instructing the sailors. Many of them seem perfectly willing,
+some of them anxious to receive instruction."
+
+"July 17. Saturday evening. Today passed to the eastward of Christmas
+Island (an island in the Indian Ocean). It is a small island about ten
+miles square. This is the first land seen since we left Boston. Of
+course, we gazed with much interest."
+
+"July 22. About nine o'clock Tuesday evening we anchored off Angier. This
+is a village off the island of Java, bordering on the Straits of Sunda.
+Remained at Angier until Wednesday afternoon. Capt. Patterson laid in a
+good supply of pigs, geese, ducks, chickens, yams, turtles, water, two
+goats, and fruits of various kinds in abundance."
+
+"Aug. 6. Friday. Wednesday evening arrived at Macao. This morning set
+sail for Whampoa, twelve miles below Canton."
+
+After a few days at Canton and Hongkong, Mr. and Mrs. Doty and Mr. Talmage
+embarked for Amoy on the schooner Caroline.
+
+"Aug 21. The Caroline is a small vessel of about one hundred and fifty
+tons burthen. She was built, I suppose, for the opium trade. Our passage
+from Hongkong was not very pleasant. Our quarters were close and our
+captain was far from being an agreeable companion. He drank freely and was
+very profane."
+
+"We left Brother Collins and Brother White and wife at Hongkong. We had
+been so long in company with these brethren, that it was trying to part
+with them. On Thursday, the day before yesterday, we arrived safely at
+Amoy. The brethren gave us a very hearty welcome. The missionary company
+at this place consists of Brother Pohlman, of the A.B.C.F.M.; Mr. Alexander
+Stronach and wife, and Brown, of the Presbyterian Board. Mr. John Stronach
+also belongs to this station. He is at present at Shanghai."
+
+
+
+
+III. THE CITY OF THE "ELEGANT GATE"[*]
+
+[Footnote *: the meaning of the two Chinese characters composing the name
+Amoy.]
+
+In a letter to the Sabbath-school of the Central Reformed Church, Brooklyn,
+Mr. Talmage thus describes the southern emporium of the province of Fukien:
+
+"Amoy is situated on an island of the same name. The city proper or
+citadel is about one mile in circumference. Its form is nearly that of a
+rhomboid or diamond. It is surrounded by a wall about twenty feet in
+height, and eight or ten feet in thickness, built of large blocks of coarse
+granite. It has four gates. The outer city, or city outside of the walls,
+is much more extensive. Its circumference, I suppose, is about six miles.
+
+"The streets are not so wide as the sidewalks in Brooklyn. Some of them
+are so narrow that, when two persons, walking in opposite directions, meet
+each other, it is necessary for the one to stop, in order that the other
+may pass on. The most of the streets are paved with coarse granite blocks,
+yet on account of the narrowness of the streets, and the want of
+cleanliness by the great mass of the inhabitants, the streets are usually
+very filthy.
+
+"This part of Amoy island is rugged and mountainous, and interspersed with
+large granite rocks. Some of them are of immense size. It is in such a
+place that the city has been built. Many of these rocks are left in their
+natural position, and overhang the houses which have been built among them.
+The ground has not been leveled as in Brooklyn, consequently the greater
+part of the streets are uneven. Some of them are conducted over the hills
+by stone steps. Near our residences, one of the public streets ascends a
+hill by a flight of thirty-six steps. On account of this unevenness of the
+streets as well as their narrowness a carriage cannot pass through the city
+of Amoy. Instead of carriages the more wealthy inhabitants use sedan
+chairs, which are usually borne by two bearers. The higher officers of
+government, called 'Mandarins,' have four bearers to carry them. The
+greater part of the inhabitants always travel on foot. The place of carts
+is supplied by men called 'coolies,' whose employment is to carry burdens.
+The houses, except along the wharves and a few pawn-shops farther up in the
+city, are one story.
+
+"There are no churches here, but there are far more temples for the worship
+of false gods, and the souls of deceased ancestors, than there are churches
+in Brooklyn.
+
+"Besides these, almost every family has its shrine and idols and ancestral
+tablets, which last are worshipped with more devotion than the idols. In
+consequence of their religion the people are degraded and immoral.
+One-third of all female children born in the city of Amoy are slain. In
+the villages throughout this whole region, it is supposed that about
+one-half are destroyed. They do not exhibit sympathy for each other and
+for those in distress, which is enjoined by the Bible, and which,
+notwithstanding all its defects, is the glory of Christian communities. I
+have seen a man dying on the pavement on a street, almost as densely
+thronged as Broadway, New York, and no one of the passers-by, or of the
+inhabitants of that part of the street, seemed to notice him or care for
+him more than if he had been a dog."
+
+
+DESCRIPTION OF AMOY AND AMOY ISLAND
+
+Another letter to the same congregation a few months later reads:
+
+"The first impression on the mind of an individual in approaching the
+shores of China from the south, and sailing along the coast, as far north
+as Amoy, is anything but favorable. So great is the contrast between the
+lovely scenery and dense vegetation of many of the islands of the Indian
+Archipelago, and the barren and worn-out hills which line the southern part
+of the coast of China, that in the whole range of human language it would
+seem scarcely possible to find a more inappropriate term than the term
+'Celestial' whereby to designate this great empire. Neither is this
+unfavorable opinion removed immediately on landing. The style of building
+is so inferior, the streets are so narrow and filthy, the countenances of
+the great mass of the people, at least to a newcomer, are so destitute of
+intelligent expression, and the bodies and clothing, and habits of the
+multitudes are so uncleanly, that one is compelled to exclaim in surprise,
+'Are these the people who stand at the top of pagan civilization, and who
+look upon all men as barbarous, except themselves?' Besides, everything
+looks old. Buildings, temples, even the rocks and the hills have a
+peculiar appearance of age and seem to be falling into decay. I am happy
+to say, however, that as we become better acquainted with the country and
+the people, many of these unfavorable impressions are removed. After
+passing a little to the north of Amoy, the appearance of the coast entirely
+changes. Even in this mountainous region we have valleys and plains, which
+would suffer but little by comparison with any other country for beauty and
+fertility. I also love the scenery around the city of Amoy very much. The
+city is situated on the western side of an island of the same name. This
+part of the island in its general appearance is very similar to the coast
+of which I have spoken. It is rocky and mountainous and barren. There
+are, however, among these barren hills many small fertile spots, situated
+in the ravines and along the watercourses, which on account of their high
+state of cultivation form a lovely contrast with the surrounding
+barrenness. Wherever the Chinese, at least in this part of the Empire, can
+find a watercourse, by cultivation they will turn the most barren soil into
+a garden. The sides of the ravines are leveled by digging down, and
+walling up, if necessary, forming terraces or small fields, the one above
+the other. These small fields are surrounded by a border of impervious
+clay. The water is conducted into the higher of these terraces, and from
+them conducted into those which are lower, as the state of the crops may
+demand. Often a field of paddy may be seen inundated, while the next field
+below, in which perhaps the sweet potato is growing, is kept perfectly dry.
+Among the hills there is much of picturesque scenery, and some that is
+truly sublime. The Buddhists have exhibited an exquisite taste for natural
+scenery, in selecting such places for the situation of many of their
+temples."
+
+
+ANCESTRAL WORSHIP
+
+"Their respect for ancestors is very great, so much so that the species of
+idolatry which has by far the strongest hold upon their minds is ancestral
+worship. This is the stronghold by which Satan maintains his supremacy
+over the minds of the people, and this we may expect will be the last to
+give way to the power of the Gospel of Christ. One may hold up their gods
+to ridicule and they will laugh at his remarks, but they do not love to
+hear the worship of their ancestors spoken against. This worship, after
+the period of mourning is over, consists chiefly in offering at stated
+times various articles of food to the spirits of the deceased, and in
+burning various kinds of paper, as a substitute for money, by which these
+spirits are supplied with that most convenient article. Natural affection
+and selfishness unite to strengthen their attachment to this worship. It
+is as necessary for the happiness of the souls of the dead, in the opinion
+of the Chinese, as is the saying of the mass in the opinion of a Roman
+Catholic. Without these attentions the souls of the deceased are in a sort
+of purgatory; wandering about in want and wretchedness. But if the desire
+of rendering their ancestors happy be not sufficient to secure attention to
+these rites, a still more powerful motive addresses itself to their minds.
+These wandering spirits are supposed capable of bringing misfortune and
+inflicting injuries on their ungrateful and impious descendants. Thus if a
+family meet with reverses, the cause is often attributed to the want of
+attention to the souls of the deceased ancestors, or to the fact that the
+sites of their graves have not been judiciously selected, and the
+dissatisfied spirits are taking vengeance for these neglects or mistakes.
+Another consideration which seems to exert much influence, is that if they
+neglect the spirits of their ancestors, their descendants may neglect them.
+
+"For the present life they can think of no higher happiness than success in
+acquiring wealth, and the highest happiness after death consists in having
+sons to supply the wants of their spirits. These are the two objects that
+engross the highest aspirations of a Chinaman."
+
+
+INFANTICIDE
+
+"This will account in part for the barbarous custom of infanticide which
+prevails to so lamentable an extent among these heathen. Only female
+infants are destroyed. While the parents are living the son may be of
+pecuniary advantage to them, and after their death, he can attend to the
+rites of their souls, and even after his death, through him the parents may
+have descendants to perform the ancestral rites. A daughter on the
+contrary, it is supposed, will only prove a burden in a pecuniary point of
+view, and after she is married she is reckoned to the family of her
+husband. Her children, also, except her husband otherwise order, are only
+expected to attend to the spirits of their paternal ancestors."
+
+"Some have denied the existence of the practice of infanticide among the
+Chinese, or, they have asserted that if it does exist, the practice of it
+is very unusual. Every village which we visit in this region gives
+evidence that such persons are not acquainted with this part of the empire.
+A few days ago a company of us visited the village of Kokia. It is
+situated on the northern extremity of Amoy Island, and contains, perhaps,
+two thousand inhabitants. After walking through the village we sat down
+for a short time under the shade of a large banyan tree. A large concourse
+of people soon gathered around us to see the foreigners and hear what they
+had to say. In this crowd we found by counting nearly a hundred boys, and
+but two or three girls. Also when walking through the village very few
+girls were to be seen. The custom of binding the feet of the girls, which
+greatly affects their power of locomotion, would account for more boys
+being seen than girls, but will not account for the disparity noticed. We
+therefore inquired the cause of this disparity. They answered with
+laughter that female children are killed. The same question has been asked
+again and again at the various villages we have visited and the same answer
+obtained. This answer is given freely and apparently without any idea that
+the practice is wicked, until they are taught so by us. The result of this
+one practice on the morals of the people may readily be imagined. It
+accustoms the mind to acts of cruelty and it prepares the way for impurity
+and wickedness in forms that are never dreamed of in Christian countries."
+
+In this connection an extract from Dr. David Abeel's[*] diary may be of
+value.
+
+[Footnote *: David Abeel was the founder of the American Reformed Mission
+at Amoy in 1842.]
+
+"Today had a conversation with one of the merchants who come to Kolongsu
+for trade, on the subject of female infanticide. Assuming a countenance of
+as much indifference as possible, I asked him how many of his own children
+he had destroyed: he instantly replied, 'Two.' I asked him whether he had
+spared any. He said, 'One I have saved.' I then inquired how many
+brothers he had. 'Eight,' was the answer. I asked him how many children
+his eldest brother had destroyed. 'Five or six.' I inquired of the
+second, third and all the rest; some had killed four or five, some two or
+three, and others had none to destroy. I then asked how many girls were
+left among them all. 'Three,' was the answer. And how many do you think
+have been strangled at birth? 'Probably from twelve to seventeen.' I
+wished to know the standing and employment of his brothers. One, he said,
+had attained a literary degree at the public examinations; the second was a
+teacher; one was a sailor; and the rest were petty merchants like himself.
+Thus, it was evidently not necessity but a cold inhuman calculation of the
+gains and losses of keeping them, which must have led these men to take the
+lives of their own offspring.
+
+"Mr. Boone's teacher's sister with her own hand destroyed her first three
+children successively. The fourth was also a girl, but the mother was
+afraid to lay violent hands on it, believing it to be one of the previous
+ones reappearing in a new body."
+
+"The names of the five districts in the Chinchew prefecture are Tong-an,
+An-khoe, Chin-kiang, Hui-an and Lam-an. Amoy is situated in the Chin-chew
+prefect.
+
+"From a comparison with many other parts of the country, there is reason to
+believe that a greater number of children are destroyed at birth in the
+Tong-an district than in any other of this department, probably more than
+in any other of this department, probably more than in any other part of
+the province of equal extent and populousness. In the Tong-an district I
+have inquired of persons from forty different towns and villages. The
+number destroyed varies exceedingly in different places, the extremes
+extending from seventy and eighty percent to ten percent. The average
+proportion destroyed in all these places amounting to nearly four-tenths or
+exactly thirty-nine percent.
+
+"In seventeen of these forty towns and villages, my informants declare that
+one-half or more are deprived of existence at birth.
+
+"From the inhabitants of six places in Chin-kiang, and of four places in
+Hui-an, if I am correctly informed, the victims of infanticide do not
+exceed sixteen percent.
+
+"In the seven districts of the Chiang-chiu prefecture the number is rather
+more than one-fourth or less than three-tenths.
+
+"There is reason to fear that scarcely less than twenty-five percent are
+suffocated almost at the first breath."
+
+It is altogether probable that this vice is just as prevalent now. The
+scarcity of girls in nearly all the towns and villages and the exorbitant
+rates demanded for marriageable daughters in some districts, only render
+sad confirmation to what Drs. Abeel and Talmage wrote two score and more
+years ago.
+
+
+IS CHINA TO BE WON, AND HOW?
+
+Mr. Talmage continues:
+
+"I cannot close this letter without saying a word in reference to our
+prospects of success. The moral condition of this people, their spiritual
+apathy, their attachment to the superstitious rites of their ancestors,
+together with the natural depravity of the human heart, and at the same
+time their language being one of the most difficult, perhaps the most
+difficult of acquisition of any spoken language, all combine to forbid, it
+would seem, all hope of ever Christianizing this empire. But that which is
+impossible with men is possible with God. He who has commanded us to
+preach the Gospel to every creature, has connected with it a promise that
+He will be always with us to the end of the world. The stone cut out
+without hands, we are told by the prophet, became a great mountain and
+filled the whole earth. The kingdom which the God of heaven has set up
+'shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand
+for ever.' Thus, whatever may be the prospect before us, according to
+human reasoning, we have 'a more sure word of prophecy.' Resting upon this
+we can have no doubt in reference to the complete triumph of the cause of
+Christ, even over the land of Sinim. In connection with such prophecies
+and promises we have many facts to encourage us. The people are accessible
+and friendly, and willing to listen to our doctrines. The superiority of
+Christianity to their systems of religion, sometimes from conviction and
+sometimes perhaps only from politeness, they often admit.
+
+"Already a few converts have been gathered into the visible Church, and
+there are others who are seeking to know the way of life more perfectly.
+Those who have been received into the Church are letting their light shine.
+The conduct of some who have heard the truth, reminds us forcibly of the
+conduct of the woman at the well of Samaria, and of the conduct of Andrew
+and Philip when they first found the Messias.
+
+"It is thus that this empire and most other heathen countries must be
+evangelized. The work must be done by the natives. The Church in
+Christian lands, by her missionaries, can only lay the foundation and
+render some little assistance in rearing the superstructure. She can never
+carry forward the work to completion. She can never furnish the heathen
+nations with missionaries of the cross in sufficient numbers to supply them
+with pastors, neither is it necessary that she should. The Christian is a
+light shining in a dark place. Especially is it true among the heathen,
+that every disciple of Christ is as 'a city set on a hill which cannot be
+hid.' His neighbors and acquaintances must observe the change in his
+conduct. He no longer worships their gods. He no longer observes any of
+their superstitious rites. He is no longer a slave to their immoralities.
+his example must tell. But many of the converts will have gifts to make
+known the Gospel, and will eagerly embrace these gifts in order to rescue
+their dying countrymen. Already have we examples of this. Such converts,
+also, in some respects, may be more efficient than the missionary. They
+can go where we cannot, and reach those who are entirely beyond our
+influence. They are better acquainted with the language. They understand
+the customs of the people more thoroughly. They remember what were the
+greatest difficulties and objections which proved the greatest obstacles to
+their reception of the Gospel, and they know how these difficulties were
+removed and these objections answered. Besides, they have all the
+advantages which a native must be expected to possess over a foreigner
+arising from the prejudices of the people.
+
+"Perhaps it may be necessary to guard against a wrong inference, which
+might be hastily deduced from the facts just stated. The fact that the
+natives are to be the principal laborers in evangelizing this empire, does
+not in the least remove the obligation of the Church to quicken and
+redouble all her efforts, or supersede the necessity for such efforts. It
+will be many years before this necessity will cease to exist. The Churches
+in Christian lands, in resolving to undertake the evangelization of this
+empire, have engaged in great work. In obedience to the command of their
+Master they have undertaken to rear a vast superstructure, the foundation
+of which is to be laid entirely by themselves, and on the erection of which
+they must bestow their care and assistance. This work has been commenced
+under favorable auspices, but the foundation cannot yet be said to be laid.
+More laborers must be sent forth. They should be sent out in multitudes if
+they can be found. They must acquire the language so that they can
+communicate freely with the people. They must proclaim the message of the
+Gospel from house to house, in the highways and market-places, wherever
+they can find an audience,-until converts are multiplied. Schools must be
+established, and the doctrines of the Gospel be instilled into the minds of
+the children and youth. We must have a native ministry instructed and
+trained up from their childhood according to the doctrines of the Gospel
+before they will be capable of taking the sole charge of this work. Until
+all this has taken place the churches may not slacken any of their efforts;
+nay, to accomplish this there must be an increase of effort beyond all that
+the churches have ever yet put forth."
+
+During the year 1848 he sent a letter to the Society of Inquiry of the
+Theological Seminary, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
+
+"It is yet a 'day of small things' with us. Our work thus far has been
+chiefly of a preparatory nature. This will probably be the case for some
+time to come. There have been just enough conversions to teach us that God
+is with us and will own the instrumentality which He Himself has appointed
+for the salvation of men, and to encourage us not to faint in our work. We
+have a vast amount of prejudice and superstition to remove--prejudice and
+superstition which has been growing and consolidating for forty centuries,
+and has become an essential ingredient in the character of the people and
+part of almost every emotion and conception of their minds. At present
+both officials and people are very friendly, and we are permitted to preach
+the Gospel without hindrance. But we cannot tell how long this state of
+things will continue. When the operation of the leaven has become
+manifest, we must expect opposition. We cannot expect that the great
+adversary of God and men will relinquish this the strongest hold of his
+empire on earth, without a mighty struggle. We must yet contend with
+'principalities and, powers and spiritual wickedness in high places.'
+
+
+WORSHIP OF THE EMPEROR.
+
+"The system of idolatry is as closely connected with the civil government
+of China, I suppose, as ever it was with ancient Rome. The emperor may be
+called the great High-priest of the nation. He and he only is permitted to
+offer sacrifice and direct worship to the Supreme Being. The description
+which Paul has given of the 'man of sin,' with but little variation may be
+applied to him.
+
+"'He exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so
+that he as God, sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is
+God.' He has arrogated to himself the title which expresses the highest
+thought of divinity known to the conceptions of the Chinese mind. He is
+superior to all gods, except the great Supreme. All others he appoints,
+designates their business and dethrones them at his pleasure. In the city
+of Amoy is a temple dedicated to the worship of the emperor and containing
+a tablet as representative of his person. On certain days of the year the
+officers of government are required to repair to this temple, and offer
+that religious homage which is due to God alone. Now to remove these
+prejudices and superstitions and to carry to the final triumph this
+warfare, which we must wage with those in 'high places,' will not be the
+work of a few years. We might well despair of ever possessing the land,
+where such 'sons of Anak' dwell, were it not that the ark of God is with us
+and His command has been given, 'Go up and possess it.' But we look to
+you, my brethren, for assistance and reinforcement in this the cause of our
+common Lord, not only to fill the places of those who fall at their post or
+are disabled in the conflict, but also that we may extend our lines and
+conduct the siege with more effect. If you desire a field where you may
+find scope and employment for every variety of talent, and where you may
+prove yourselves faithful soldiers of Jesus Christ, I know of no place
+whence can come to you a more urgent call than from this vast empire."
+
+
+
+
+IV. LIGHT AND SHADE.
+
+
+THE CHIANG-CHIU VALLEY.
+
+Among the jottings in Mr. Talmage's diary for 1847-1848 we find mention of
+a tour to Chiang-chiu on September 23, 1847, in company with Messrs.
+Pohlman, Doty and Lloyd.
+
+Chiang-chiu is a large city of 200,000 inhabitants, situated on a wide
+river, 30 miles west of Amoy. He writes: "Wherever we went we were
+accompanied by an immense throng of people. The most of them I suppose had
+never seen a white face. But few Europeans have visited the city. The
+city has an extensive wall, wider and I think more cleanly streets, and is
+larger than Amoy. In the rear of the city there are three watch towers.
+They are situated on very elevated ground. From these we had a very
+delightful view of the city and surrounding country. The scenery, it
+seemed to me, was the most beautiful I had ever witnessed. Within the
+circle of our vision lay that immense city with its extensive walls, its
+temples and pagoda, its river, bridges and boats, its gardens, its trees
+and shrubbery, and its densely crowded streets. Surrounding the city was
+spread out an extensive valley of some ten or fifteen miles in width and
+some twenty or twenty-five in length, covered with luxuriant vegetation.
+Through the midst of the valley might be marked the meandering track of the
+Chiang-chiu river, the whole region beautifully variegated with fruit
+trees, shade trees, and villages. Still further on, in every direction,
+our view was bounded by lofty hills whose cloud capped tops seemed as
+pillars on which the heavens rested. Nature had done her best to make this
+region a terrestrial paradise."
+
+On a subsequent trip to Chiang-chiu, Mr. Talmage writes: "The valley of the
+Chiang-chiu river is one of the most beautiful regions I ever saw. It is
+densely populated. In every direction are villages, I might almost say
+without number, rendered most beautiful by their plentiful supply of large
+banyans and various other trees of luxuriant foliage. The intermediate
+spaces between the villages are fields covered with vegetation most dense
+and beautiful. Through the centre of this scene may be traced the course
+of the river with its numberless canals, like the Nile of Egypt, giving
+fertility wherever nature or the art of man conducts its waters."
+
+
+BREAKING AND BURNING OF IDOLS.
+
+"Feb. 27, 1848. Today an old lady and her two sons declared themselves to
+be worshipers of Jesus by presenting their idols to Bro. Pohlman. On the
+evening of the last day of their last year they had burnt their ancestral
+tablets. It was an interesting sight, said Bro. Pohlman, to see the old
+lady, supported by one of her sons, breaking her idols and making a
+voluntary and public surrender of them at the chapel.
+
+"March 1st. When the old lady returned from the chapel on Sunday evening
+she was full of zeal, and began preaching to her neighbors on the folly of
+idolatry. She was so successful that another old lady living in the same
+house with her has made a bonfire and burned all her idols except one.
+This, being made of clay, was not combustible. This she presented to
+Pohlman today. He asked her whether she gave it up willingly. She said
+she rejoiced to do it. She said she had not yet destroyed her ancestral
+tablets. Pohlman told her he did not wish her to do it rashly. She must
+reflect on the subject, and when she became convinced that the worship of
+them was a sin against God she must give them up immediately.
+
+"March 29th. This afternoon Bro. Hickok and wife and Bro. Maclay arrived
+at Amoy on their way to Foochow. They had a long passage from Hongkong,
+having been out twenty-nine days." The distance from Hongkong to Amoy is
+less than three hundred miles, and is made in twenty-four hours by an
+ordinary coast steamer.
+
+
+THE CHINESE BOAT RACE AND ITS ORIGIN.
+
+"June 5th. Monday. To-day being the fifth day of the fifth month (Chinese),
+was the festival of dragon boat-racing. Several dragon boats filled with
+rowers, rather paddlers, were contesting this afternoon in the harbor. The
+water was thronged with boats filled with Chinese to see the sport. Many
+of these boats, and almost all the junks in the neighborhood, were decked
+with green branches, also with streamers flying. The origin of this
+festival is said to be as follows: In very ancient times one of the first
+officers, perhaps Prime Minister of government, gave offense to the
+emperor. The emperor banished him. He was so downcast on account of the
+emperor's displeasure that he went and drowned himself. The emperor
+afterwards repented of his act, and on inquiry after the man learned that
+he had drowned himself. He sent out boats in every direction to search for
+his body, and also to make offerings to his spirit. His body was not
+found. But from that time to this his body is thus searched for every year
+and his spirit thus appeased. This celebration is universal throughout the
+empire and wherever there are colonies of Chinese, throughout the islands
+of the (East Indian) Archipelago.
+
+"The same good feeling continues to exist at Amoy as formerly. We are on
+the best of terms, so far as we can judge, with all classes, the officials
+and people. The mandarins receive our calls and return their cards. All
+of them but one have visited us at our houses. Some of them call on us
+quite frequently. This places us on a high vantage ground. The people
+will not fear to listen to us, attend our meetings, and visit us at our
+houses, as they would if the mandarins kept aloof from us. The same good
+feeling towards foreigners seems to extend far into the interior. At least
+we go from, village to village wherever we please without hindrance, and
+are always treated with kindness."
+
+
+THE CHINESE BEGGAR SYSTEM.
+
+"I have to-day been making some inquiries of my teacher concerning the
+system by which the beggars of Amoy are governed. The truth seems as
+follows: There are very many beggars in the city. In each ward there is a
+head-man or chief called 'Chief of the Beggars.' He derives his office
+from the 'Hai-hong,' or the superior local magistrate. Sometimes the
+office is conferred as an act of benevolence on an individual, who from
+sickness or other causes has met with reverses of fortune. Sometimes it is
+purchased. There being eighteen wards in the city of Amoy, of course there
+are eighteen such head-men. Their office is not honorable, but there is
+considerable profit connected with it. The head-men hold their office for
+life, or until removed for bad behavior. They get certificates of office
+from the 'Hai-hong,' and on the change of that functionary it is necessary
+to get the stamp of his successor attached to their certificates. Their
+income is derived from various sources. Monthly they call on the merchants
+and shopkeepers, who by paying down a sufficient amount are freed from the
+annoyance of beggars during the month. If a beggar enters one of these
+establishments he is pointed to a card which is posted up in some
+conspicuous place, and is a certificate from the 'chief of the beggars' of
+that ward that a sufficient amount of beggar money has been paid down for
+the month. The 'chiefs of the beggars' also receive money from a man or
+his family when he is about to marry, also from the family of the bride.
+They also receive money after the death and burial of the parents or any
+old member of a family; also from men who are advanced to literary honors,
+or who receive official promotion In any of the above cases, if any
+individual fail to agree with the 'chief of the beggars' of his ward and
+pay what is considered a sufficient amount of money (the amount varies with
+the importance of the occasion and the wealth of the parties), he may
+expect a visit from a posse of beggars, who will give him much annoyance by
+their continual demands. The 'chiefs of the beggars' give a part of the
+money which they receive to the beggars under them. My teacher thinks
+there are about two thousand beggars in the city of Amoy. There is a small
+district belonging to the city of Amoy called 'The Beggars' Camp.' The
+most of the inhabitants of this place are beggars. These beggars go about
+the city seeking a living, clothed in rags and covered with filth and
+sores, the most disgusting and pitiable objects I ever saw."
+
+
+TWO NOBLE MEN SUMMONED HENCE.
+
+On the 6th of December Rev. John Lloyd, of the American Presbyterian
+mission, died of typhus fever after an illness of two weeks. Mr. Talmage
+makes this record of him:
+
+"Dec. 8, 1848. Rev. John Lloyd was born in the State of Pennsylvania on the
+first of Oct., 1813, which made him thirty-five years, two months, and five
+days at the time of his death. He was a man of fine abilities. His mind
+was well stored with useful knowledge and was well disciplined. He was
+most laborious in study, very careful to improve his time. He was
+mastering the language with rapidity. His vocabulary was not so large as
+that of some of the other brethren, but he had a very large number of words
+and phrases at his command, and was pronounced by the Chinese to speak the
+language more accurately than any other foreigner in the place. They even
+said of him that it could not be inferred simply from his voice, unless his
+face was seen, that he was a foreigner. He was a man of warm heart, very
+strong in his friendship, very kind in his disposition, and a universal
+favorite among the Chinese. I never knew a man that improved more by close
+intimacy. His modesty, which may be called his great fault, was such that
+it was necessary to become well acquainted with him before he could be
+properly appreciated. But it has pleased the Master of the harvest to call
+him from the field just as he became fully qualified to be an efficient
+laborer. What a lesson this, that we must not overestimate our importance
+in the work to which God has called us. He can do without us. It seems
+necessary that He should give the Church lesson upon lesson that she may
+not forget her dependence upon Him."
+
+Early in 1849 the brethren were called to mourn the loss of one of the most
+devoted pioneers of the Amoy mission, the Rev. William J. Pohlman.
+
+Mr. Talmage writes: "Feb. 8th. On Monday night at twelve o'clock I was
+called up to receive the sad intelligence that our worst fears in reference
+to Pohlman were confirmed. He perished on the morning of the 5th or 6th
+ult. He embarked on the 2d ult. from Hongkong in the schooner Omega. On the
+morning of probably the 5th, at about two o'clock, she struck near Breaker
+Point, one hundred and twenty miles from Hongkong. A strong wind was
+blowing at the time, so that every effort to get the ship off was
+unavailing. She was driven farther on the sand and fell over on her side.
+Her long boat and one quarter boat were carried away, and her cabin filled
+with water. The men on board clung to the vessel until morning. The
+remaining boat was then lowered. Those of the crew who were able to swim
+were directed to swim to the shore. The captain, first and second
+officers, and Pohlman entered the boat end those of the crew who could not
+swim also received permission to enter. But a general rush was made for
+the boat, by which it was overturned, and those who could not swim, Pohlman
+among the number, perished. The captain attempted to reach the shore by
+swimming, and would have succeeded, but was met by the natives. They were
+eager for plunder, and seized the captain to plunder him of his clothes.
+While they were stripping him of his clothes they dragged him through the
+water with his head under, by which he was drowned. About twenty-five of
+the crew succeeded in reaching the shore in safety. After being stripped
+of their clothes, they were permitted to escape. Afterwards, on arriving
+at a village they were furnished with some rags. After suffering much from
+fatigue and hunger they arrived at Canton, overland, on the 17th ult. This
+event has cast gloom again over our small circle. But one month previous
+to his death, Pohlman with myself had closed the eyes of dear Lloyd. Oh,
+how deeply we do feel, and shall for a long time feel this loss."
+
+"Feb. 11th. On Sunday afternoon our new church was consecrated to the
+worship of the only true God, the first building built for this purpose in
+Amoy. Mr. Young preached the sermon. It was also a funeral sermon for Mr.
+Pohlman. The house was crowded with people. Very many could not get into
+the building. There was some noise and confusion. I think the majority,
+however, were desirous to hear."
+
+In a letter to Drs. Anderson (Dr. Anderson was one of the early Secretaries
+of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.) and De Witt,
+speaking of Pohlman's death, he says:
+
+"Our hearts bleed. God has seen fit to send upon us stroke after stroke.
+Oh, when will He stay His hand? But we will not murmur. It is God who
+hath done this. His ways are inscrutable. We gaze upon them in mute
+astonishment. We may quote as peculiarly applicable to our present
+circumstances the remarks which this brother made at the grave of him who
+was called away a month previous. 'Death,' said he, 'is always a sad
+event, and is often peculiarly distressing. It is so in the instance before
+us. There is a sad breach in our little circle at this station. Situated
+as we are here, every member of our small society tells upon the happiness
+of the whole. Our number is limited and less than a score. We have few
+bosom friends, few to cheer and encourage us, few to whom to tell our
+sorrows and our joys. Here we are far away from those we love, away from
+dear friends and kindred and those tender associations which make society
+so delightful at home. Hence we feel deeply any breach made in our little
+circle. In proportion as our number is diminished in the same proportion is
+there a decrease in the endearments of friendship and love. More
+especially is this the case when the departed was possessed of social
+virtues and qualified to make all around him agreeable and happy. We mourn
+also for these poor deluded heathen. They have sustained an incalculable
+loss. I feel it impossible to give an adequate description of his
+character. He felt that in laboring for the heathen he was engaged in a
+work of the highest moment. Thereto he bent every energy of mind and body.
+That which, by receiving the word of God, we are made theoretically to
+acknowledge, by the dispensations of His Providence-we are made practically
+to feel, that man is nothing-that God is All in All.'
+
+"God's dealings with this mission would seem to be enough to arouse our
+Church. Heretofore He has given success to His servants. He has given us
+favor with the authorities and with the people. The Church has seemed to
+be satisfied with this. She has thanked God for His smiles, but has made
+little effort to increase the number of her laborers as fast as the demand
+for them increased. Now God is trying another plan. Her laborers are
+dying off and the question comes to her, not merely whether she will
+advance or not, but, whether she will retain that which she has already
+gained. She has volunteered in a glorious warfare. Will she hold the
+positions she has won, and make further conquests, or will she permit her
+soldiers to die at their posts without being replaced, and thus retire from
+the field? Important interests are at stake. The honor of our Church is
+at stake. The salvation of souls is at stake. It is a crisis with our
+mission. We cannot endure the thought that the labors of those faithful
+servants who have been called home shall be in a great measure lost by
+neglect. We have received lately impressive lessons of the uncertainty of
+human life. The thought steals over us that we, too, are liable at any
+moment to be cut down in the midst of our labors. This liability is
+increased by the amount of labor which necessarily devolves upon us. Now
+we are only two in number. As for myself I am only beginning to stammer in
+this difficult language. This, too, in a field where there is labor enough
+to be done to employ all the men you can send us. You will not think it
+strange then that we plead earnestly.
+
+"Our new church edifice was completed soon after Brother Pohlman left for
+Hongkong. As he had done so much of the work in gathering the congregation
+and had originated the idea of the building and had watched its erection
+with so much interest, we were desirous that he should be present at its
+consecration. We therefore delayed opening the building for worship until
+we received the definite news of his death."
+
+In an address on "Reminiscences of Missionaries and Mission Work,"
+delivered by Dr. Talmage during his later years, he refers to the early
+missionaries at Amoy in these words:
+
+"The men God gave the Church were just the men needed to awaken her
+missionary spirit and shape her mission work. So for laying the foundation
+and shaping the plan of the structure He would have us erect at Amoy He
+gave us three men, just the men needed for the work,-David Abeel, William
+J. Pohlman and Elihu Doty. The more I meditate on what they said and wrote
+and did and suffered in the early days of that work, and see whereunto it
+is growing, the more am I impressed with the fact that they were wonderful
+men, just the men for the time, place, and circumstances, and therefore
+evidently God's gift.
+
+"Dr. Abeel was the pioneer of the Amoy Mission. During the greater part of
+the years of his manhood, he struggled with disease, and his whole life on
+earth was comparatively short, yet the Lord enabled him to accomplish more
+work than most men accomplish during a much longer life. His last field of
+labor was Amoy, entering it in January, 1842, when the port had just been
+thrown open and while the British army was still there, and leaving it in
+January, 1845. In that short time, notwithstanding interruptions from
+sickness and of voyages in search of health, or rather to stave off death
+till others were ready to take his place, he laid a good foundation, doing
+a work that told and was lasting. I met him only once. It was at his
+father's house in New Brunswick, after his work at Amoy-after all his
+public work was done and he was only waiting to be summoned home. When I
+afterwards went to Amoy, I found his name very fragrant, not only among
+Europeans and Americans, but also among the Chinese. He had baptized none,
+but a goodly number of those afterwards baptized had received their first
+impressions concerning Christianity and their first instructions therein
+from him."
+
+"Messrs. Doty and Pohlman with their families came from Borneo to Amoy,
+arriving in June, 1844, about six months before Dr. Abeel was compelled to
+leave. We have heard of places so healthy, that it is said there was
+difficulty to find material wherewith to start cemeteries. Amoy, rather
+Kolongsu, where all the Europeans then resided, in those days was not such
+a place. It is said that of all the foreign residents only one escaped the
+prevailing fever. The mortality was very great. In a year and a half from
+the time of their arrival at Amoy, Mr. Doty was on his way to the United
+States with two of his own and two of Mr. Pohlman's little ones. The other
+members of their families--the mothers and the children, all that was
+mortal of them--were Iying in the Mission cemetery on Kolongsu; and to
+'hold the fort,' so far as our Mission was concerned, Pohlman was left
+alone, and well he held it. He had a new dialect to acquire, yet when
+health allowed, he daily visited his little mission chapel, and twice on
+the Sabbath, to preach the Gospel of Christ. He was a man of work, of
+great activity. When I arrived at Amoy in 1847, he was suffering from
+ophthalmia. Much of his reading and writing had to be done for him by
+others. I was accustomed to read to him an hour in the morning from six to
+seven. Another read to him an hour at noon from twelve to one. He was
+still subject to occasional attacks of the old malarial fever. Besides all
+this he was now alone in the world, his whole family gone, two of his
+little ones in his native land, then very much farther away from China than
+now, and the others, mother and children, sleeping their last sleep.
+
+"Yet he was the life of our little mission company. Do you ask why? He
+lived very close to God, and therefore was enabled to bow to the Divine
+will, to use his own language, 'with sweet submission.' Pohlman's term of
+service, too, was short. He was called away in his thirty-seventh year.
+His work at Amoy was less than five years. It, too, much of it, was
+foundation work, though he was permitted to see the walls just beginning to
+rise. Two of the first converts were baptized by him, and many others
+received from him their early Christian instruction. The first, and still
+by far the best church-building at Amoy, which is also the first church
+building erected in China expressly for Chinese Protestant Christian
+worship, may be called his monument. It was specially in answer to his
+appeal that the money, $3,000, was contributed. It was under his
+supervision that the building was erected. To it he gave very much toil
+and care. The house was nearly ready when he took his last voyage to
+Hongkong, and he was hastening back to dedicate it when God took him. His
+real monument, however is more precious and lasting than church-buildings,
+as precious and lasting as the souls he was instrumental in saving, and the
+spiritual temple whose foundation he helped to lay. There were many who
+remembered him with very warm affection long after he was gone. Among them
+I remember one, an old junk captain, who in his later years, speaking of
+heaven, was wont to say, 'I shall see Teacher Pohlman there; I shall see
+Teacher Pohlman there.'"
+
+
+
+
+V. AT THE FOOT OF THE BAMBOOS
+
+The sad and sudden departure of Mr. Pohlman so affected a maiden sister,
+Miss Pohlman, then at Amoy, as to unsettle her mind and necessitate an
+immediate return to the United States. No lady friend could accompany her.
+It was decided that Mr. Talmage take passage on the same ship and act as
+guardian and render what assistance he could. The ship arrived at New York
+August 23, 1849.
+
+Mr. Talmage made an extensive tour on behalf of Missions in China among the
+Reformed churches in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
+
+"Jan. 15, 1850. Was married at twelve M. in First Presbyterian Church at
+Elizabeth, New Jersey, by Dr. N. Murray, to Miss Abby F. Woodruff. Started
+immediately with my wife on a trip to Seneca County, New York."
+
+"March 16, 1850. In the forenoon accompanied by many dear friends we
+embarked on board the ship Tartar from New York bound for China."
+
+"July 16th. Arrived safely at Amoy, for which our hearts are full of
+gratitude to Him who has watched over us on the deep and conducted us
+safely through every danger."
+
+Though the entire Reformed Mission at Amoy then consisted of only three
+members, Mr. Doty and Mr. and Mrs. Talmage, still they believed in
+colonizing. Mr. Talmage secured a Chinese house and shop a mile or more
+away from the original headquarters and this became the missionary's home
+and preaching place. It was on the north side of the city in a densely
+populated neighborhood known as "Tek-chhiu-Kha," or "At the Foot of the
+Bamboos."
+
+It fronted one of the main thoroughfares of the city. It was near the
+water's edge at the mooring-place of junks from the many-peopled districts
+of Tong-an and Lam-an. The house and shop were renovated and capped with
+another story. Here Mr. Talmage prayed and studied and preached and
+planned for nearly twenty years. On this spot to-day stands a flourishing
+Chinese church.
+
+In a letter to Drs. Anderson and De Witt, dated Dec. 17, 1850, Mr. Talmage
+thus describes their new home:
+
+"Our house is pleasantly situated, having a good view of the inner part of
+the harbor, and of several small islands in the harbor. We also have a
+pleasant view of the mainland beyond the harbor. From our house we can
+count a number of villages on the mainland, beautifully situated among
+large banyans. We hope the situation will prove a healthy one. I like the
+situation most of all because I think it well adapted to our work. We are
+near the northern extreme of the city along the water's edge, while the
+other missionaries are near the southern extreme. Thus on entering the
+harbor from Quemoy and other islands, near the mouth of the harbor or from
+the cities and villages on the seacoast, the first foreign residence at
+Amoy, which meets the eye, is the residence of missionaries. On coming to
+Amoy from the cities and villages which are inland, again the first foreign
+residence which meets the eye is the residence of missionaries. We are in
+a part of the city where the Gospel has not yet been preached."
+
+In the same letter he refers to the Opium habit--and to the initiatory
+steps toward the formation of a Romanized alphabet for the Amoy Vernacular.
+The Chinese character is learned with great difficulty. It requires years
+of close application. In Southern Fukien not more than one man in a
+hundred can read intelligently. It is doubtful whether one woman in ten
+thousand can.
+
+Protestant Christianity wants men to be able to give a reason for the hope
+that is in them. It urges our Lord's command, "Search the Scriptures." It
+demands not only the hearing ear, but the reading eye.
+
+Hence this early effort on the part of the missionaries to prepare a
+version of the Scriptures and a Christian literature in a form more readily
+learned by the people. Those early efforts were doubtful experiments even
+to some of the missionaries. The Chinese converts at first looked quite
+askance at what appeared to them an effort to supersede their highly
+venerated Chinese character.
+
+The Romanized system was gradually perfected. The Chinese were gradually
+disabused of their prejudices. To-day the most ardent advocates of the
+system are Chinese pastors and elders. The whole Bible has been translated
+into Amoy Romanized colloquial. An extensive literature adapted to
+Christian homes and Christian schools has grown up through the years and is
+contributing to the strength and progress of the Chinese Church to-day.
+
+
+OPIUM.
+
+"Independent of the reproach which the opium traffic casts on the Christian
+religion, we find it a great barrier in the way of evangelizing this
+people. We cannot put confidence in an opium smoker. A man who smokes it
+in even the smallest degree we should not dare to admit into the Christian
+church. More than one-half of the men at Amoy are more or less addicted to
+the habit. Of this half of the population the missionary can have
+comparatively but little hope. We know the grace of God can deliver from
+every vice and there have been examples of reformation even from this. Yet
+from experience when talking to an opium smoker we always feel discouraged.
+Although this be a discouraging feature in our operations here, it should
+only be a stimulus to the Church to send more laborers and put forth
+greater efforts to stem the tide of destruction which the Christian world
+is pouring in upon the heathen. Independent of the principles of
+benevolence, justice demands of Christendom that the evil be stayed, and
+reparation if possible be made for the injury already done. If nothing
+more, let there be an equivalent for whet has been received from China. It
+is a startling fact, that the money which Christian nations have received
+from China for this one article, an article which has done to the Chinese
+nothing but incalculable injury, far, far exceeds all the money which has
+been expended by all Protestant churches on all Protestant missions in all
+parts of the heathen world since the days of the Reformation.
+
+
+ROMANIZED COLLOQUIAL.
+
+"The question whether there is any way by which this people can be made a
+reading people, especially by which the Christians may be put in possession
+of the Word of God, and be able to read it intelligently for themselves,
+has occupied much thought of the missionaries here. At present most of the
+church members have no reading for the Sabbath and for private meditation.
+They may have family worship, but they cannot at their worship read the
+Holy Scriptures. Some of us are now trying an experiment whether by means
+of the Roman alphabet the Sacred Scriptures and other religious books may
+not be given to the Christians and to any others who cannot read, but who
+take enough of an interest in Christianity to desire to read the Scriptures
+for themselves. By the use of seventeen of these letters we can express
+every consonant and vowel sound in the Amoy dialect, and by the use of a
+few additional marks we can designate all the tones. Dr. James Young, an
+English Presbyterian missionary physician, has commenced teaching the
+colloquial, as written with the Roman alphabet, in his school, a school
+formerly under the care of Mr. Doty. From his present experience he is of
+opinion that boys who are at all apt in acquiring instruction, in less than
+three months may be prepared for reading the Scriptures, with
+understanding. I have a class of three or four adults an hour an evening
+four evenings in the week, receiving instruction in the colloquial. They
+have taken some half dozen lessons and are making good progress. At
+present we have no printed primers or spelling-books, and are compelled to
+teach principally by blackboard. We are of opinion that almost every
+member of the church can soon learn to read by this system. Arrangements
+have been made to print part of the history of Joseph in colloquial. These
+are but experiments. If they succeed according to our present hope, it may
+be worth while to have the whole Bible and other religious books printed in
+this manner. A little more experience will enable us to speak with more
+confidence for or against the plan."
+
+"Dec. 23. Yesterday morning my chapel was opened, according to
+appointment. I preached to the people my first regular sermon from the
+text, 'There is one God and one Mediator,' etc. The room was crowded. It
+will seat about one hundred comfortably."
+
+
+CHINESE SENSE OF SIN.
+
+March 17, 1851. To his brother, Goyn.
+
+"I think the Chinese are very different in their religious feelings from
+many other (perhaps from the most of other) heathen people. We have often
+heard of the great sacrifices which the heathen of India will make and the
+great sufferings they will impose on themselves in order to make atonement
+for their sins and appease the anger of the gods. There may occasionally
+be something of the kind among the Buddhists of China. But I rather
+suppose that where there are any self-mortifications imposed (which is very
+rare in this part of China), they are imposed to secure merit, not to atone
+for sin. I do not remember ever to have met with an individual among the
+Chinese who had any sense of sinfulness of heart, or even any remorse for
+sinfulness of conduct except he was first taught it by the Gospel. It is
+one of the most difficult truths to convey to their minds that they are
+sinners against God. We have had a few inquirers who have expressed a deep
+sense of sinfulness. But this sense of sinfulness has come from hearing
+the Gospel. The way the most of those, whom we doubt not are true
+Christians, have been led on seems to be as follows: They hear the Gospel,
+presently they become convinced of its truth. Their first impulses then
+seem to be those of joy and gratitude. They are like men who were born
+blind, and had never mourned over their blindness, because they had no
+notion of the blessing of sight. Presently their eyes begin to be opened
+and they begin to see. They only think of the new blessings which they are
+receiving, not of the imperfections which still remain in their vision. A
+sense of these comes afterwards. Was not this sometimes the case in the
+days of the apostles? It was not so on the day of Pentecost. The
+multitude were 'pricked in their hearts' because the moment they were
+convinced that Jesus was the Christ they were filled with a sense of their
+wickedness in crucifying Him. So it is with persons in Christian lands
+when their minds become interested in the truth; they are made to feel
+their wickedness in so long resisting its influences. But the case seems
+to have been different when Philip first carried the Gospel to Samaria. The
+first effect there seems to have been that of 'great joy.'
+
+"It seems to be thus in Amoy. The conviction of deep sinfulness comes by
+meditating on the Gospel, the work of Christ, etc.
+
+"It is the doctrine of the cross of Christ, after all, which should be the
+theme of our discourses."
+
+March 18, 1851. To his brother, Goyn.
+
+"They say in regard to preaching, that when a man has nothing more to say
+he had better stop. If this rule were carried out in conversation and
+letter-writing, there would be much less said and written in the world,
+than is now the case.
+
+"You seem to think that we missionaries can sit down at any time and write
+letters, always having enough matter that will be interesting to you at
+home. This is a good theory enough, but facts do not always bear it out.
+
+"Our missionary work moves on usually in the same steady manner without
+many ups and downs or interesting episodes (rather a mixture of figures you
+will say), which we think worthy of note. I wish you folks at home could
+send us more men to drive on the work a little faster. The door of access
+at Amoy still continues as wide open as ever, and now seems to be the time
+for the Church to send her men and occupy the post, which the Master offers
+to her. But the Church at home cannot, it seems, look at this matter as we
+who are on the ground....
+
+
+PRIMITIVE LAMPS
+
+"We have no good lamps yet for the church, consequently cannot open it in
+the evening. But I have prepared some lamps for my chapel. I think you
+would laugh to see them. They are four in number. Two of them are merely
+small tumblers hung up by wires and cords. By means of another wire a wick
+is suspended in each tumbler and the tumbler filled with oil. The other
+two are on the same principle, but the tumblers are hung in a kind of glass
+globe which is suspended by brass chains. These look considerably more
+ornamental than the first two. Whether you laugh at them or not, they
+answer a very good purpose. They do not make the room as light as would be
+required in a church, in as large a city as Amoy is, in the United States,
+but by means of them my chapel is open on Sunday evenings and on every
+other evening in the week except one. The church and chapel are both open
+almost every afternoon in the week, and sometimes in the mornings. One,
+two, three, or more of the converts are always ready to hold forth almost
+every afternoon and evening. Besides this, they go to other thoroughfares
+frequently and preach the Gospel as well as they are able. For much of the
+work these converts are perhaps better adapted than ourselves. They
+understand the superstitions of the people in their practical working,
+better than we probably will ever be able to learn them."
+
+
+ZEALOUS CONVERTS.
+
+"April 14, 1851. There are now in connection with our church thirteen
+converts. In connection with the church of the London brethren there are
+eight. Two of our members, although compelled to labor with their hands
+for the sustenance of themselves and their families, yet devote the
+afternoons and evenings of almost every day in the week, in making known
+the way of salvation to their countrymen. They spend the Sabbath also,
+only omitting their labors long enough to listen to the preaching of the
+missionary and to partake of their noonday meal, from early in the morning
+until bedtime, in the same way, publishing the Gospel to their countrymen."
+
+
+THE TERM QUESTION.
+
+It was at this time that the translation of the Bible into the Classic
+Chinese Version, or "Delegates' Version" as it was afterwards called, was
+going on. A long and heated controversy had arisen as to the proper terms
+in the Chinese language to be used in translation of the words "God" and
+"Spirit." Missionaries in different parts of the empire took most opposite
+views and held them with the greatest tenacity. The Missionary Boards and
+Bible Societies in Great Britain and America were deeply interested
+spectators. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and
+the American Bible Society became participators. On what they considered
+satisfactory evidence they declared in favor of certain Chinese words and
+characters to be used in preaching the Gospel and in translating the
+Scriptures. They advised their missionaries and Bible distributors of
+their decision.
+
+The missionaries at Amoy, Messrs. John and Alexander Stronach, London
+Mission, and Messrs. Doty and Talmage, had very strong convictions on this
+subject. Their views agreed. Rev. John Stronach was one of the Committee
+who prepared the "Delegates' Version." The views of the brethren at Amoy
+were diametrically opposed to the decisions of the American Board and
+American Bible Society. In a long letter of eighty four pages, addressed
+to Drs. Anderson and De Witt, Oct. 31, 1851, Mr. Talmage sets forth their
+side of the question. No man can read that document, weighty with learning
+and charged with moral earnestness, but must feel the profoundest respect
+for the writer, however he may dissent from his arguments. He concludes as
+follows:
+
+"Such are our views concerning the use of the words 'Shin' and 'Ling' as
+translations of the words 'God' and 'Spirit.' While we hold ourselves open
+to conviction, if it can be proved that we are wrong, we at present hold
+these views firmly. We may not have succeeded in convincing the Prudential
+Committee that our views are correct, yet we trust we have convinced them
+that we have given due attention to the subject. We now ask, Can the
+Prudential Committee expect of us, while we hold such views, to conform to
+their decision? Would they respect us if we did? We could not respect
+ourselves. If we could thus trifle with conscientious views on subjects of
+such importance, we certainly should regard ourselves as being unworthy to
+be called missionaries of the A. B. C. F. M. or any other Protestant
+association, and we think the Prudential Committee would also lose
+confidence in us. We now feel called upon to state our views in reference
+to the propriety of the various missionary societies and Bible societies
+and other institutions deciding for us what terms we shall use and what
+terms we shall not use in preaching the Gospel to the heathen. We shall
+state our views with the utmost kindness and with all due deference to
+those from whom we differ. We cannot doubt that the Prudential Committee
+are willing also and desire us to state our views with the utmost
+frankness. If our views are incorrect, we desire that others use the same
+freedom in pointing out our errors. Our views are these:--The societies
+in the United States and England are not called upon, at least at the
+present time, to decide this question for us. Those societies which have
+made such decision have acted prematurely. In deciding this question
+authoritatively, they are assuming a responsibility which we think they are
+not called upon to assume. This responsibility belongs properly to the
+missionaries, and they, we say it with all due respect, are much better
+qualified to bear this responsibility; for they are better qualified to
+judge of the evidence and discover the truth in the case. If they are not,
+then they are not qualified to be missionaries. But whether better
+qualified or not, they are accountable to a higher power than that of any
+society under whose patronage they may labor. Whatever be the decision of
+such society, they are still bound, in preaching the Gospel, to conform to
+their conscientious views of truth. The only way to produce agreement
+among Protestant missionaries is not by authoritative decisions or even by
+compromise, but by producing evidence sufficient to convince the judgment.
+We must have evidence. In selecting men for China or any other heathen
+field, missionary societies should first examine whether they have mental
+ability to acquire the language of the people to whom they are going. If
+they are deficient in this respect they should not be sent, and if
+missionaries on the ground are found deficient in this respect they should
+be recalled."
+
+The "term question" has not been settled to this day.
+
+Jan. 22, 1852. To Dr. Anderson.
+
+"I made another effort to extend our influence by going out towards evening
+into the streets and selecting eligible situations from which to preach to
+those who would assemble. In this manner I often had opportunity to
+publish the glad tidings more widely than we can do in our houses of
+worship. I found much encouragement in this work. If we had the physical
+strength we might thus preach day after day, from morning to night, and
+find multitudes ready to listen."
+
+
+WHAT IT COSTS A CHINESE TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN.
+
+In the same letter, speaking of ten converts received, he says: "One of
+them was gaining a mere living from the profits of a small shop, in which
+he sold paper and candles to be used in idolatrous worship. As he became
+acquainted with the Gospel, he soon found that his business was opposed to
+the doctrines of Christianity. A hard contest ensued, but the power of the
+Gospel finally triumphed. He gave up his business and with it his only
+prospect of making a livelihood and for some months had no other prospect
+before him and his family but beggary or starvation, except such a hope as
+God afforded. Another held a small office of government, the requirements
+of which were inconsistent with obedience to the Gospel, but the
+perquisites of which were his only means of sustaining his family,
+including an aged father. In his case the conflict seemed yet more fearful
+and lasted a much longer time. We hoped that the truth had taken a deep
+hold on him, but we began to tremble for the result. The love of Christ,
+as we trust, finally gained the victory. He gave up his office, gave up
+his living, gave up the world, that he might find the salvation of his soul
+and confess Christ before men. So also with the most of the others. They
+were called to sacrifice their worldly prospects, in order to embrace the
+Gospel. Christians in our beloved land hardly know what it is to take up
+the cross and follow Christ. The ridicule and obloquy with which they
+meet, if indeed they meet with any, is not a tithe of that to which the
+native convert here is exposed. Besides, they are seldom called to suffer
+much temporal loss for the sake of Christ, but it is very different with
+him. If he belong to the literary class, he must give up all hope of
+preferment. If he be in the employ of the government, he may expect to be
+deprived of his employment, if indeed he be not compelled to give it up
+from conscientious motives. If he be a shopkeeper, his observance of the
+Lord's day will probably deprive him of many of his customers, and if he be
+in the employ of others the same reason will render it very difficult for
+him to retain his situation."
+
+
+PERSECUTED FOR CHRIST'S SAKE.
+
+April 6, 1852. To his brother, Goyn.
+
+"I promised to give some account of the young man who was baptized on the
+Sabbath before the last. His name is Khi (pronounced like the letter 'X'
+of the Greek alphabet). Early last year I noticed a young man who began to
+be quite regular in attending service at my chapel. I inquired of him
+where he lived and why he came. He said he was employed in burning lime at
+a lime-kiln not far off from my house. That I had met him in the street
+and invited him to come to the chapel. Of this I remembered nothing, but I
+often thus invite persons to come and hear the Gospel. He said he came in
+consequence of that invitation. But having heard the doctrine, he found it
+to be good, and had embraced it. This man has since been baptized. I soon
+learned that he had been persuading his fellow-workmen to come along with
+him. One of these workmen was Khi. He soon determined to obey the
+doctrines of the Scriptures. One of these doctrines brought him into
+immediate collision with his employer. This doctrine was, 'Remember the
+Sabbath day to keep it holy.' He refused to work on the Sabbath day. His
+employer told him if he did not work he would discharge him. Khi was not
+to be moved from his determination and was finally dismissed. After a few
+ineffectual efforts to get employment, he returned to visit his father's
+family; They reside a day's journey from Amoy. While home he was taken
+ill. It was two or three months before he returned again to Amoy. When he
+came back I conversed with him concerning his conduct while away. He had
+as yet but little knowledge of the doctrines of the Bible. But I was much
+gratified at the simplicity of piety which his narration manifested. He
+had not only endeavored to serve God himself, but had endeavored to
+persuade others also to turn unto God. After his return, all his efforts
+to get employment failed. I spoke to a mason who has done much work for
+us, and who employs many workmen, and requested him to employ Khi for the
+carrying of bricks and mortar and such work, if he had an opening for him.
+He consented to do so and employed him for a short time. But Khi's fellow
+workmen did not like his religion and succeeded in getting him discharged.
+In consequence of the dampness of the climate, it is not safe for
+foreigners to live on the first floor. We always live above stairs.
+Therefore I have rooms in the lower part of my house unoccupied. Khi asked
+me if he might sleep in one of these rooms. I of course consented. He had
+no bed or bedding. I had some empty boxes in the room. He put these
+together, and laid some straw and a straw mat on them for his bed. After
+he was discharged by the mason, he endeavored to make a living by carrying
+potatoes about the street for sale. His profits were from two to four
+cents a day. He made no complaint. He lived on potatoes. Winter came on;
+he had no means of buying clothing, or better food. The consequence was
+that he became ill. The room in which he slept was directly under my
+study. Almost every night I would hear his voice engaged in prayer, before
+he retired to his straw. Sometimes he would pray for a long, long time.
+The first thing in the morning again I would hear his voice in prayer. I
+knew that he was destitute, but as he never complained, I knew not how
+great his destitution was, and did not dare to help him lest it would throw
+out inducements for others to profess Christianity. We are continually
+compelled to guard against this danger. Many of these poor people would
+profess Christianity for the sake of a living. One Sabbath evening I heard
+his voice in prayer, much earlier than usual, and therefore it attracted
+particular attention. Presently word came to me that Khi was ill. I went
+down to see him. It made my heart bleed to see a fellow-creature in such
+destitution, one, moreover, who I hoped was a brother in Christ Jesus. I
+had had no idea that his destitution was so great. He seemed to be
+suffering under a severe attack of colic. On inquiry as to how he usually
+fared, I did not wonder that he was ill. I gave him a little medicine,
+took means to get him warm and he was soon relieved.
+
+"I then had some good food prepared for him. I was peculiarly struck with
+the meekness and patience wherewith he bore his sufferings. There was not
+a murmuring word from his lips, but many words of an opposite character.
+The next day I called him into my study to give him a little money with
+which to buy clothing and food. But I had great difficulty in persuading
+him to take it. He said his sufferings were of no consequence. They were
+much less than he deserved. The sufferings of this world were all only for
+a short time. They were sent upon us to teach us not to love the world.
+Much more he said to this effect. I had to call upon one of the native
+converts to intercede with him, before he would take the money. But I must
+not dwell on this subject longer. From what I have said about our
+missionary work, you will understand why the missionary loves his work and
+why he would not leave it for any other work, unless duty compels him."
+
+
+"HE IS ONLY A BEGGAR."
+
+Nov. 27, 1852. To the Sunday-school of the Reformed Church at Bound Brook,
+New Jersey.
+
+"There is very much poverty and misery among the heathen. They do not pity
+each other and love each other as some Christians do. Those who have the
+comforts of life seem to have very little pity for those who are destitute.
+Therefore they have no poorhouses where the poor may be taken care of.
+Consequently very many steal, very many beg, and very many starve to death.
+In going from my house to church on the Sabbath I have counted more than
+thirty beggars on the streets. The most of them were such pitiable looking
+objects as you never saw. I have seen persons who are called beggars in
+the United States, but I never saw a real beggar till I came to Amoy. Some
+of them are covered with filth and a few filthy rags. Some of them are
+without eyes, some without noses, some without hands, and some without
+feet. Some crawl upon their hands and feet, some sit down in the streets
+and shove themselves along, and some lie down end can only move along by
+rolling over and over. On Sunday before last, while I was preaching, a
+blind girl came into the chapel. She was led by a string attached to a boy
+going before her. He could see, but could not walk. He crept along on his
+hands and knees. A month or two ago, during a cold storm, late in the
+evening, just as I was going to bed, I heard some one groaning by my front
+door. I went out to see what was the matter. I found an old man with
+white beard Iying in the mud and water, and with very little clothing. He
+was shivering from cold. He was unable to speak. I had him carried into
+my house, and covered over with some mats. We prepared some warm drink and
+food for him, as speedily as possible, hoping that thus we might save his
+life. But before we could get it ready he died. He had probably been
+carried by some persons and laid at my door to die, that they might be free
+from the trouble and expense of burying him.
+
+"A week or two ago when walking through the streets I saw a beggar Iying a
+little distance off. I inquired whether he was already dead. Some men,
+who stood near, said 'Yes.' I then asked why they did not bury him. 'Oh,
+he is of no use.' I inquired, 'Is he not a man ?' 'No,' they said, 'he is
+only a beggar.' 'But,' I asked again, 'is he not still a man?' They
+laughed and answered, 'Yes.' A few days after, walking with Mrs. Talmage
+by the same place, we saw another beggar Iying nearly in the same spot. I
+inquired of the persons who were near whether he was dead. They answered,
+'Yes.' Close by sat a beggar who was still alive. He was scarcely grown
+up. But his face was so deformed from suffering that we could not guess
+his age. He held out his hands for alms. We gave him a few cash and went
+on. The next day we passed that way again. We saw two beggars lying
+together, both dead. We went to them. One was the lad to whom we gave the
+cash the day previous. On Sunday in coming from church we again passed by
+that sad spot, and there was still another beggar lying dead directly in
+the road. This gives you, in part, a picture of what heathenism is."
+
+Parts of two letters written in 1852 to his sister Catharine will prove
+interesting.
+
+
+PRINTING UNDER DIFFICULTIES.
+
+"Our work here is continually growing on our hands. Besides our usual
+missionary work, I do a little teaching, a little book-making, and a little
+printing. You did not know, perhaps, that I am a printer. We are teaching
+a few persons to read the colloquial (or spoken) language of Amoy. But in
+order to teach this, it is necessary that this spoken language be committed
+to writing. It is necessary to have books printed in it. We have no
+printing press at Amoy. I have had some types cut on bone or horn. With
+these I print a copy. This is handed to the carver. He pastes it upside
+down on a block and carves the words on the block. This block is then
+inked and is made to print other copies. It is a slow process, but the
+only one we have at Amoy at present. I have thus prepared a spelling-book
+in the Amoy colloquial. It is not all completed yet. The carver is busy
+with the last two or three sheets. A few of the first sheets were struck
+off some weeks ago and made up into small books, which we have been using
+to teach those who are learning to read, until the whole book is complete.
+Our printing is not very pretty. When the caners get more experienced in
+their work, they will be able to do their part better. Our plan of
+teaching is as follows: On Monday afternoon we have a meeting for women at
+our house. Before and after the service we teach them (those of them who
+wish to learn) to spell. On Tuesday afternoon, Mrs. Doty meets those who
+wish to learn, in a room connected with the church. On Wednesday, Mrs.
+Doty has a meeting for women at her house. She also spends a little time
+then in teaching them. On Friday, Abby and I go to the church and spend
+about an hour in teaching. We cannot expect them to make very rapid
+progress in this manner of teaching, but it is the best we can do for them
+at present. There are two little girls who have been coming to our house
+every day for more than a month. They are beginning to read."
+
+"I must tell you a little of what I have been doing to-day. This forenoon,
+among other things, I doctored a Yankee clock. I bought it in Amoy nearly
+a year ago for three dollars. Sometimes it goes, and sometimes it stands
+still. But it stands still much more than it goes. This morning I took it
+all apart, every wheel out, rubbed each wheel off, and put the clock
+together again. It has been running ever since, but how long it will
+continue to run, I cannot tell.
+
+
+CARRIER PIGEONS.
+
+"Our cook, 'Lo,' takes care of our pigeons. Some have died and a few have
+been stolen, but they have continued gradually to increase. They now
+number twenty. They are very pretty, and very tame. They spend much of the
+time on the open veranda in front of our house. Some of them are of a dark
+brown color, some are perfectly white, some are black and white. We shall
+soon have enough to begin eating pigeon pies, but I suppose we shall be
+loth to kill the pretty birds. Some of them are of the Carrier pigeon
+species. We might take them to a good distance from Amoy and they would
+doubtless find their way home again. The Chinese have a small whistle
+which they sometimes fasten on the back of the pigeons near the tail. 'Lo'
+has some attached to some of our pigeons. When they fly swiftly through
+the air, you can hear the whistle at a great distance. The noise often
+reminds us of the whistle of a locomotive.
+
+"The gold-fish in the lamp continue much as when I wrote before. We have
+made some additions to our flower-pots and flowers this spring. Our open
+veranda is being turned into a sort of open garden. We now have from sixty
+to seventy pots, from the size of a barrel down to the size of a two-quart
+measure. Some of them are empty and some of them are not. Besides
+flowers, we have parsley, onions, peppers, mint, etc., etc. Our garden
+does not flourish as well as it would, if I had time to attend to it.
+Besides this, the pigeons are very fond of picking off the young sprouts.
+Lest you should think us too extravagant, I ought to tell you the cost of
+the flower-pots. Those which were presented to us, did not cost us
+anything. Those we bought, cost from a cent apiece to sixpence. Some two
+or three cost as high as fifteen or twenty cents apiece. But you will never
+understand how nice and how odd we have it, unless you step in some day to
+look for yourself."
+
+
+
+
+VI. THE "LITTLE KNIFE" INSURRECTION
+
+China has maintained her integrity as an empire for hundreds of years. But
+not without struggle. There have been rebellions and dynastic overthrows
+that threatened to cleave the empire to its foundations. Indeed rebellion
+has often had the sanction of religion in China. Let a government be
+unsuccessful; let a dynasty see the gaunt hand of famine, or the poison
+hand of pestilence laid on the land, that is the mute voice of Heaven
+speaking against those who rule. And what nobler than to be self-chosen
+executors of Heaven's vengeance. Green-eyed envy in imperial pavilion and
+courtrooms has often stood sponsor to the wildest lawlessness. A base and
+extortionate government has often driven men in sheer self-defence to
+tearing down yamens and hunting down the "tiger" mandarin.
+
+The present Manchu dynasty seized the Dragon throne in 1644. For one
+hundred and fifty years China enjoyed comparative peace and prosperity.
+The emperor Kang-hi and his grandson Keenlung, each reigned sixty years, to
+the Chinese a manifest token of Heaven's favor. The past one hundred years
+have been troublous. There has been internal strife. There have been
+momentous issues to settle in the opening of China's gates to the outside
+world. When she needed Emperors of the broadest statesmanship, she has had
+to blunder along with mediocre men or bend an unwilling neck under the sway
+of puppets. Had it not been for her great Prime Ministers, such as Prince
+Kung and Li Hung Chang, the days would have been fuller of dark-presaging
+omens and their disastrous fulfillment.
+
+The beginning of this century found a secret society in existence known as
+the "Triads," whose avowed object was the expulsion of the Manchus and the
+restoration of the Mings. In 1803 the emperor Kiaking was attacked in open
+day while being carried in a chair of state through the streets of Peking.
+He was saved by his attendants, several of whom lost their lives.
+
+In 1851 the Tai-ping Rebellion began. The fuel that fed the flame was
+various. It was reaction against oppressive government. It was iconoclasm
+inspired by a spurious Christianity. It was pride of race that would not
+tolerate a Manchu on the throne. For fourteen years China staggered under
+this awful scourge. Whole provinces were devastated and almost
+depopulated. For a long time the issue was uncertain. At length the
+united strength of foreigners and Chinese battered the serpent's head and
+destroyed its vitals.
+
+While the boa of rebellion was stretching itself across the heart of the
+empire a whole brood of little serpents were poisoning and devouring other
+outlying provinces. An insurrection was organized in the neighborhood of
+Amoy early in 1853. Mr. Talmage writes fully concerning it.
+
+
+THE "LITTLE KNIFE" INSURRECTION.
+
+Jan. 25, 1853. To the Sunday-school, Flushing, New York.
+
+"The streets of Amoy are very narrow. The widest are only a few yards
+wide. At very short distances apart, there are gates across the streets.
+The object of these gates, and the principal cause of the streets being so
+narrow, are to protect the inhabitants from gangs of thieves. In the
+winter season, when men have more leisure and more temptation to plunder,
+these gates are closed every night. During the present winter the people
+seem to have had more fear of robbers than usual. Old gates have been
+repaired and many new gates have been built. The inhabitants of a
+Christian land, like America, do not fear to live alone in the country
+without any near neighbors. But in this region a house standing alone in
+the country is scarcely ever seen. The people always collect together in
+villages or towns or cities. The villages are usually provided with small
+watchtowers, built of stone or brick, in which a few men may sleep as
+sentinels to give notice of the approach of robbers, and to fire on them.
+Even in the towns and cities you seldom see a dwelling-house with an
+outside window. If there be such a window, it is usually guarded by slabs
+of granite, or by mason-work with only small openings, like the windows of
+a prison, so that a person cannot pass through."
+
+
+June 3, 1853. To Dr. Anderson.
+
+"In March last one of the members of our church, Chheng-choan, requested
+that he might be sent in company with the colporteur on a trip to the city
+of Chiangchiu to preach the Gospel and distribute tracts. He said that his
+heart was very ardent to go and make known the Gospel. He was willing to
+give the time and bear his own expenses. He is a native of the city of
+Chiangchiu."
+
+"They made two visits, one in company with Rev. W. C. Burns. Many of the
+people requested them to establish a permanent place. Houses were offered
+them for rent. A few days after their return to Amoy two men who had been
+much interested in their preaching came down and spent several days with us
+in order that they might learn the way of the Lord more perfectly."
+
+"On the 3d of May we called a meeting of the male members of our church, to
+take into consideration the subject of immediately sending two of their
+number to Chiangchiu, to commence permanent operations. The members were
+unanimous in the opinion that the Master had opened the way before us, and
+was calling us to go forward. It was decided that if two men qualified for
+the work would volunteer, they should immediately be sent. It was then
+suggested that if two more men were ready perhaps it would be well to
+appoint them for the region north of us, to carry the Gospel to the
+villages and towns between Amoy and Chinchew and see whether the way might
+not be open to begin operations in that city. Chinchew is an important
+city near the seacoast, about one-third of the way from Amoy to Foochow.
+The suggestion concerning the appointment of men for Chinchew was new to
+us. Everything seemed favorable for adopting the new suggestion. Four men
+immediately offered themselves for the work, two for Chiangchiu, and two
+for the region of Chinchew. They were men whom we thought well qualified
+for the work, probably just the men we would have chosen.
+
+"The evangelist U, and the colporteur Lotia, left Amoy on their mission to
+Chiangchiu, May 12th. A few days after their arrival, about midnight on
+the 17th of May, the insurrection broke at Chiangchiu, which interrupted
+their labors. The evangelist thought that quiet would soon be restored and
+therefore resolved to remain a few days. The people rushed upon the
+insurgents, wrested their arms from them, and slew many of them. The
+insurgents finding themselves overpowered attempted to flee. The gates of
+the streets were closed against them. The people along the streets
+attacked them by throwing missiles from the tops of the houses. All
+strangers in the city were in great danger of being suspected and treated
+as insurgents. The evangelist in leaving the city was seized by some of
+the mob. Some said he was one of the insurgents, others said he was not.
+He succeeded in making his escape to the house of a friend outside of the
+city walls. The colporteur made his escape over the wall of the city and
+fled to the house of some friends in the suburbs near the river-side. By
+my letter of May 19th, it will be seen that Amoy was attacked by the
+insurgents on the morning (May 18th), after they entered the city of
+Chiangchiu. The insurgents are members of a secret society. For very many
+years there has existed in this region a society by the name of
+'Thian-te-hoe,' Heaven and Earth Society. This is the name by which the
+members designate their society. But as the members are generally provided
+with knives or small swords, the society is designated by the people as
+'Sio-to-hoe,' Small Sword Society. The professed object of this society
+has been the overthrow of the present Tartar dynasty. Between this and
+Chiangchiu the members of this society are very numerous. After the
+breaking out of the insurrection at Hai-teng, and Chioh-be (cities fifteen
+and eighteen miles from Amoy, half way to Chiangchiu), the whole populace
+appeared to sympathize with the movement. Large bodies of the insurgents
+moved up the river to Chiangchiu, others came down the river to Amoy. At
+the same time there was a rising of the insurgents at Tong-an and An-khoe,
+districts to the north of Amoy. At the first outbreak the officials and
+soldiers fled. The people of Amoy have been in continual excitement and
+fear. They are afraid to engage in business. On Sabbath morning we went
+to our chapels as usual. Shortly after commencing services, news came that
+a fleet of war junks under the command of the Admiral was anchoring a short
+distance from the city. Soon the whole city was in commotion. About noon a
+detachment of a thousand soldiers was landed from the junks. They marched
+with very little opposition through the town to the gates of the city.
+They were attacked simultaneously by the insurgents from within, and by
+those in ambush without. The insurgents were victorious.
+
+"By three o'clock in the afternoon the city was comparatively quiet, and we
+repaired to our church. Most of the church members were assembled. Our
+church edifice is situated on the great thoroughfare which had been the
+principal scene of excitement. It was thought best to suspend the usual
+exercises, to close the street doors, and hold if possible a quiet
+prayer-meeting. It was a solemn time. The 'confused noise' of war had
+just been heard, human blood had been flowing, the angry passions of men
+were not yet calmed, and we knew not what the end would be. We felt it a
+suitable time to draw near to God and make Him our refuge. This afternoon
+we received tidings from Chiangchiu. The evangelist was arrested by twelve
+men, delivered to an official and beheaded."
+
+"June 10, 1853. The state of affairs through the whole of this region
+remains very unsettled. The insurgents are endeavoring to regain
+possession of the city of Chiangchiu. They have command of the whole
+region, between this place and that city. They still are in possession of
+Amoy. We are almost daily expecting an attack by the government
+authorities.
+
+"Amoy is cut off from all trade with the large towns around. The
+insurgents probably would not permit goods to be carried to Chiangchiu and
+other places with which they are at war. Besides, this whole region is
+infested with pirates. It is only at great risk that any merchant junk can
+at present come to or depart from Amoy. We cannot yet form any definite
+opinion as to the final result of this movement. The forces of the
+insurgents are none of them drilled soldiers. Their appearance is that of
+an armed mob. Their weapons are mostly spears, and knives and matchlocks.
+
+"At the time the insurrection broke out in our neighborhood and while we
+were expecting an attack on our city by the insurgents, we felt some
+anxiety. We had no means of deciding how they would feel towards
+foreigners. We supposed they would feel it to be for their own interest
+not to meddle with foreigners. They knew that they would have enough to do
+to contend with their own government, without at the same time involving
+themselves with foreign powers. More than all this, we had the doctrines
+and promises of God's word on which to rely. These we feel at all times
+give us the only unfailing security. They are worth more than armies and
+navies. It is only when God uses armies and navies for the fulfillment of
+His own promises that they are worth anything to us."
+
+
+HOW THE CHINESE FIGHT.
+
+July 28, 1853. To his brother, Daniel.
+
+"I suppose you will feel more desirous to learn about the state of politics
+and war at Amoy. At present everything is quiet. Three weeks ago another
+attempt was made by the Mandarins to retake Amoy. They landed a body of
+troops on the opposite side of the island. These were to march across the
+island (about ten miles) and attack the city by land. Simultaneously an
+attack was to be made on the city from the water side by the Mandarin
+fleet. It is said that the land forces amounted to about 10,000. The
+fleet consisted of about forty sail. On Wednesday morning (July 6th),
+about daybreak, the troops were put in motion. They were met with about an
+equal number of rebel troops. They fought until the Mandarin soldiers
+became hungry (about eight or nine o'clock). Not being relieved at that
+time, as they expected, they withdrew to cook their rice. The Mandarin in
+command considering that his life was much more important than that of the
+soldiers, kept himself at a safe distance from the scene of action. At
+about breakfast-time he started to go down in his sedan chair nearer the
+scene of action. When he saw that his troops were retiring to cook their
+breakfast, he supposed that they were giving way before the enemy.
+Prudence being the better part of valor, he ordered his chair-bearers to
+face about and carry him in the other direction. The soldiers, finding
+that their chief officer had fled, thought there was no further need of
+risking their lives, so they all retired. I cannot vouch for the truth of
+the whole of the above statement. Such, however, is the story soberly
+related by some of the Chinese. We could see the smoke and hear the
+reports of the guns from the top of our house. The fighting commenced very
+early. We thought that the Mandarin troops were gradually approaching the
+city, until about Chinese breakfast-time (eight to nine o'clock), when the
+firing ceased. We know not how many lives were lost in the engagement.
+The rebels brought into the city some seventeen or eighteen heads which
+they had decapitated. I know not whether these were all killed in the
+fight or whether they were the heads of some villagers on whom the rebels
+took vengeance for assisting the Mandarins."
+
+"Now for the engagement on the water. The rebel forces on the water were
+much inferior to the Mandarin forces, but the Chinese say they fought more
+desperately. The engagement opened on Wednesday about noon and lasted
+until nearly evening. Towards evening the Mandarin fleet withdrew a few
+miles and came to anchor. On Thursday at high-tide (about noon) the
+engagement was renewed. Towards evening the Mandarin fleet again withdrew
+as before. On Friday the engagement was again renewed with similar
+results. On Saturday the Mandarin fleet withdrew entirely and left the
+harbor.
+
+"During the three days of the fight, as you would expect, there was much
+excitement in Amoy. The tops of the houses and the hills around about, at
+the time of the engagement, were thronged with people, and there was a
+continual discharge of cannon. But I have not given the number of the
+killed and wounded in the three days' naval action. Reports, you know, are
+often much exaggerated on such occasions. According to the most reliable
+statements (and I have not yet heard of any other statement), the list
+stands thus:
+
+  "Killed-None!
+  "Wounded-None!
+  "Prisoners-None!
+
+"It is said that one ball from a Mandarin junk did strike a rebel junk, but
+did not hurt any one. During the fighting the vessels kept so far apart
+that the balls almost always fell into the water between them. On the
+second day of the fight, a boat from the city in which were three men, who
+were not engaged in the fight, was captured by the Mandarin fleet, and the
+three men were beheaded. War is too serious a matter to be laughed at, but
+the kind of war we have thus far seen at Amoy is only like children's
+play."
+
+Nov. 1, 1853. To his brother, Daniel.
+
+"Our war still continues, fighting almost every day. The day I sent off my
+last package to you, two more balls struck our house. One came through the
+roof of an unoccupied part of the premises. I did not weigh it, but
+suppose it was about a six-pounder. The other struck against a pillar in
+the outside wall and fell down and was picked up by some one outside of the
+house, so that I do not know the size of it. It was a merciful Providence
+that it struck the pillar. If it had struck on either side of the pillar,
+it would have come into a room in which many Chinese were collected. On
+Sunday last there was much fighting again. A small ball came into our
+veranda. A small ball entered Mr. Doty's house, one entered Mr. Alexander
+Stronach's house, several entered Dr. Hirschberg's house; other houses also
+were struck. Dr. Hirschberg's house has been the most exposed. We have
+all been preserved from harm thus far. He, who has thus far preserved us,
+I trust will continue to preserve us. The fighting is more serious than at
+first. A little more courage is manifested and more execution is done.
+But I do not see any prospect of either party being victorious. The party
+whose funds are completely used up first, will doubtless have to yield to
+the other. I cannot tell which that will be. I shall be heartily glad
+when one of the armies withdraws from Amoy. The country around Amoy is
+becoming desolated. Houses and whole villages are plundered and burned. In
+Amoy suffering abounds, and I suppose is increasing. When I go out into
+the street I usually put a handful of cash into my pocket to distribute to
+the beggars."
+
+In November, 1853, Imperial authority asserted itself.
+
+"The Imperial forces having collected from the neighboring garrisons,
+appeared in such overwhelming strength that the insurgents hastily put off
+to sea. Many succeeded in escaping to Formosa and Singapore. The leader
+was accidentally shot off Macao. The restoration of Imperial authority was
+followed, however, by terrible scenes of official cruelty and
+bloodthirstiness. The guilty had escaped, but the Emperor Hienfung's
+officials wreaked their rage on the helpless and unoffending townspeople.
+Hundreds of both sexes were slain in cold blood, and on more than one
+occasion English officers and seamen interfered to protect the weak and to
+arrest the progress of an undiscriminating and insensate massacre."
+
+
+
+
+VII. THE BLOSSOMING DESERT.
+
+"In tropical lands, when the rain comes, what was barren baked earth, in a
+day or two is rich meadow, all ablaze with flowers, and the dry torrent
+beds, where the stones lay white and glistening ghastly in the hot
+sunshine, are foaming with rushing streams and fringed with budding
+oleanders." Such a spiritual transformation it was the glad privilege of
+our missionaries to witness in the region of Amoy during the years 1854 and
+1855. Until then, to the eye of man only an occasional seed had burst its
+way through the stone-crusted earth and given a shadow of harvest hope.
+The first four years of prayer and testimony from 1842-1846 were definitely
+and visibly rewarded with only two converts.
+
+When Mr. Talmage arrived at Amoy in 1847 the total church membership was
+three. By 1850 it had grown to five. By the end of 1851 the seed had
+brought forth nearly fourfold. There were nineteen converts. This was the
+harbinger of brighter days. Even during the troublous times of 1853 signs
+of awakening appeared. In the midst of war and rumors of war the native
+brethren had proposed to enter the "regions beyond" Chiangchiu and
+Chinchew. The faithful preaching of Doty and Talmage in the chapels and on
+the streets of Amoy city, among the towns and villages of Amoy Island and
+the mainland; the apostolic labors of William Burns, whose joy it was to
+sow beside all waters,-these had found acceptance with God and with the
+people. Inquirers multiplied at the chapels. They came from among the
+shopkeepers and boatmen of Amoy, from cities and towns along the arms of
+the sea and up the inland rivers, from remote country hamlets beyond the
+mountains.
+
+Mr. Talmage's letters during 1854 and 1855 tell of the great awakening.
+
+"This year (1854), thus far, has been one of unusual blessing, a year 'of
+the right hand of the Most High.' Early in January, knowing that there were
+a few individuals desirous of receiving Christian baptism, we appointed a
+meeting for the examination of such, and also for personal conversation
+with all others who might feel an especial interest in Christianity. We
+were agreeably surprised to find the number of inquirers and candidates for
+baptism much greater than we had supposed. We also found among the
+inquirers an unusual tenderness of conscience, and sense of sinfulness, and
+anxiety for the salvation of the soul. Seeing such evidence that the Holy
+Spirit was shedding abroad His quickening influences among this people, we
+appointed a similar interview for the week following.
+
+"These meetings for the examination and instruction of inquirers we have
+continued almost every week, and occasionally twice a week, till the
+present time. Sometimes the inquirers present have numbered thirty or
+forty, perhaps more. At times, moreover, the depth of feeling manifested
+has been such that the eyes of every one present have been suffused with
+tears. These meetings, we trust, have been very profitable, as well as
+interesting."
+
+"On Sabbath, March 26th, we were permitted to receive into the fellowship
+of the Christian Church ten individuals, eight men and two women, the
+eldest a widow woman aged sixty-eight, the youngest a young man aged
+twenty." "On the last Sabbath in May, we again received nine persons, six
+men and three women, the eldest an old man aged seventy-four, the youngest
+a young man aged twenty-three."
+
+"On the thirtieth of July (Sabbath), we again baptized nine others, four
+men and five women, the eldest a widow aged fifty-one, the youngest a girl
+aged sixteen. Thus the whole number of adults baptized by us at Amoy
+during the present year, thus far, is twenty-eight."
+
+He cites individual cases. Speaking of an aged widow he says:
+
+"She lives at a village some fifteen miles or more from Amoy. Boats coming
+from that place to this place land at a wharf near my house. On one
+occasion, when she arrived here a few months ago, she resolved to come to
+my house, and see how the foreigners lived. On entering, she was met by
+the Christian who has charge of the chapel. He asked her business. She
+said that she only came for amusement. He replied, 'This is not a place to
+visit for amusement, but to hear the doctrine.' 'Well,' says she, 'then I
+will hear the doctrine.' He explained to her something of the truths of
+Christianity. He told her also that after breakfast I should be in the
+chapel for morning worship. She went back to the neighbor's house whence
+she had come, to wait until after breakfast. But the new doctrine which
+she had heard, took so deep a hold on her mind, that she desired no
+breakfast for herself. Soon she again came to hear more. She was deeply
+impressed with the truth and importance of the things which she heard. She
+reasoned with herself thus: 'The myriads of people I meet with do not know
+what is in my heart, but these people tell me what is in my heart and in my
+bones. This doctrine cannot be of man. It must be the great power of
+God.' She was poor and lived at a distance from Amoy. She learned that
+the Christian who had charge of the chapel was of the same surname with
+herself. She inquired whether she might not come down next Saturday, and
+lodge with his family. She said she would bring with her some dried
+potatoes for her food. Of course her request was readily granted. From
+that time to the present, she has come the whole distance from her village
+to Amoy almost every week, in order to hear the Gospel. She has two sons
+and one daughter. She has brought both her sons with her, desiring that
+they also may become Christians. The eldest, aged seventeen, is among our
+inquirers. She has also brought some of her neighbors with her to hear the
+Word. She has met with much opposition and persecution; but so far as we
+can learn, she has borne all with the meekness of a true disciple of
+Christ. Since her baptism, she has rented a room in Amoy, that she may
+live within sound of the Gospel. When she told me of this, I asked her how
+she expected to maintain herself, and whether she thought she should be
+able to earn a living at Amoy. She replied that she trusted in God. If
+she could not get as good food as others, she would eat coarser food.
+
+"There is still a goodly number of inquirers at Amoy. In our meeting for
+conversation with them to-day; we met with two very affecting cases. They
+are lads, the elder being in his seventeenth year, and the younger in his
+thirteenth. Their parents and friends bitterly oppose them in their
+determination to follow Christ.
+
+"They have been severely beaten. The elder was severely scourged
+yesterday. This morning he was again tied up in a very painful manner, and
+beaten by his cruel father. He carried the marks of his sufferings on his
+arms, which we saw. We were told that he had scars also on other parts of
+his body. We trust that they are 'the marks of the Lord Jesus.' A
+brother, still younger than themselves, we are told, also worships Jesus.
+If they are, indeed, lambs of Christ's flock, the blessed Saviour will take
+care of them; but their severe afflictions should call forth much sympathy
+and prayer in their behalf.
+
+"The conduct of our church members continues to give us much comfort. They
+are not free from faults. They need much careful oversight and exhortation
+and instruction. In consequence of this, our cares, anxieties, and labors
+must necessarily increase as the converts increase. But if allowance be
+made for their limited knowledge, only a short time having elapsed since
+the most of them first heard the Gospel, there are probably but few
+churches, even in our own beloved country, compared with which the
+Christian character of this little flock would suffer. Were it not for the
+Christian activity of our members, so many of them abounding in good works,
+our operations here would necessarily be confined within much narrower
+limits. Almost every one seems to be impressed with the truth, that he or
+she is to improve every opportunity to speak a word for Christ. Many of
+them are quite effective speakers. The heathen are often astonished to
+hear men from the lower walks of life, who previously had not had the
+benefit of any education, and are yet perhaps unable to read, speak with
+such fluency, and reason with such power concerning the things of God, as
+to silence all their adversaries, even though they be men of education."
+
+Speaking of the awakening at Peh-chui-ia, a market-town once under our
+care, now under the care of the English Presbyterians, Mr. Talmage
+continues:
+
+"We have been specially interested in their lively faith, their praying
+spirit, their earnestness in the study of the Holy Scriptures, and, as a
+consequence of all this, their joy in the Holy Ghost.
+
+"The house first rented was found too small and uncomfortable for our work.
+The adjoining house, of about the same size, and the upper part of the next
+house, have since been rented, and doors opened through the walls. Thus we
+have several rooms for lodging and conversation, and also for holding more
+private meetings than we could in the chapel. The members and inquirers
+spend the greater part of the Sabbath at the mission premises studying the
+Scriptures, listening to the preaching of the Word, and in religious
+conversation and prayer. They go home only for their meals, and some not
+even for that. A part of them spend much of their time there in similar
+employments on other days of the week. When we have been with them, we
+have been much gratified by seeing their earnestness in the study of the
+Scriptures. They are continually coming to us for explanation of passages
+which they cannot understand. Often the voice of prayer will be heard from
+all parts of the house at once. They are but babes in Christ; yet their
+knowledge of the Scriptures is remarkable. We feel it good for our own
+souls to be among them."
+
+This market-town owed much to the earnest labors of Rev. W. C. Burns, whose
+words and manner of life are still a fragrant memory among the brethren
+there. He was the first English Presbyterian missionary to China. He
+arrived in 1847. For the first four years he carried on evangelistic work
+at Hongkong and Canton. He came to Amoy in 1851.
+
+Mr. Talmage alludes to a family at Peh-chui-ia who had endured much for
+Christ's sake.
+
+"This family have been twice plundered. Once their house was set on fire
+by a band of robbers, and everything was destroyed, themselves only
+escaping with their lives by a remarkable providence." (So intense is the
+hatred of some of the officials against Christianity that bold robberies
+will take place with their connivance, sometimes at their instigation.)
+"These afflictions seem to have been employed by the Spirit of God in
+preparing their hearts for the reception of the Gospel. On the first
+announcement of the Word, they were deeply impressed with its truth. The
+father, however, had a hard struggle; and the opposition from his neighbors
+was too much for him at the first. At one time, he resolved to run away
+from the place altogether. At another time he meditated drowning himself.
+While in this state of mind, he derived much benefit from the counsel and
+earnest entreaties of his wife. She exhorted and besought him to exhibit
+the meekness and endurance taught by the meek and suffering Saviour. He
+who never suffers His people to be tempted above that they are able to
+bear, at length raised him above the fear of man, and established his
+goings. On one occasion, when we were conversing with him, it was
+suggested that he might again be robbed. He replied that he did not
+believe he should be, for he now trusted in God. We suggested, 'Perhaps
+the very fact that you have turned from idols to the service of the true
+God, may lead the enemies of the Gospel to band together and plunder you.'
+He answered, 'I do not believe that they will. They will not, except it be
+the will of God. If it be His will, I also am willing.' On one occasion
+it was suggested that he might even be brought before magistrates because
+of the Gospel. He answered that he had no anxiety on that subject. When
+the time came the Holy Ghost would teach him what to speak. He has since
+had his faith put to the test, but his confidence was not disappointed.
+The enemies of the Gospel banded together to demand of him money as his
+share of the expenses of some idolatrous celebration, resolving, if he
+refused to pay the money, to plunder his establishment. A crowd collected
+at his door to carry the resolution into effect. They made their demand
+for the money. But he was enabled to speak to them with such power that
+they trembled in his presence, it is said, and were glad to leave him
+alone."
+
+Mr. Talmage writes of the great change in a man notoriously wicked, who at
+fifty-one years of age yielded to Christ.
+
+"For thirty-one years he was addicted to the smoking of opium. When the
+brethren first saw him, he seemed just ready to fall into the grave. He
+also had a bad reputation throughout the town, being accustomed to meddling
+with other people's business. He was a man of good natural abilities, and
+the people feared him. He has given up his opium and his other vile
+practices. His whole character seems to have undergone a change. He also
+has been called, as have all the others in that town, to experience
+persecution. His enemies are those of his own house. His opium-smoking,
+and all his other wickedness, they could endure; but they cannot endure his
+Christianity, his temperance, his meek and quiet spirit. One of my visits
+to Peh-chui-ia was on the day after his friends had been manifesting,
+especial opposition to him. I found him greatly rejoicing that he had been
+called to suffer persecution for Christ's sake, and that he had been
+enabled to bear it so meekly. He said the Holy Scriptures had been
+verified, referring to Matthew v.11, 12. He said that he had been enabled
+to preach the Gospel to those who had met to oppose him for two hours,
+until his voice failed him. He was still quite hoarse from his much
+speaking. He had told them of the change which he had experienced through
+the power of the Holy Spirit on his heart; but he also said he knew they
+could not understand his meaning, when he spoke of the work of the Holy
+Spirit in the heart. If they would worship Jesus, however, and pray to the
+Holy Spirit to change their hearts, as his had been changed, then they
+would understand him."
+
+
+SI-BOO'S ZEAL.
+
+An interesting case narrated in the life of W. C. Burns is that of Si-boo,
+who afterwards went as an evangelist among his own countrymen at Singapore.
+
+"On Mr. Burns' first visit to Pechuia, he found amongst the foremost and
+most interesting of his hearers, a youth of about eighteen or twenty,
+called Si-boo.
+
+"Of stature rather under the average of his countrymen, with an eye and
+countenance more open than usual, and a free and confiding manner, he soon
+attracted the attention of the missionary. His position in life was above
+the class of common mechanics, and his education rather good for his
+position. His occupation was to carve small idols in wood for the houses
+of his idolatrous countrymen, of every variety of style and workmanship,
+some plain and cheap, and some of the most elaborate and costly
+description. Had Si-boo been of the spirit of Demetrius, he would have
+opposed and persecuted Mr. Burns for bringing his craft into danger. But
+instead of that, he manifested a spirit of earnest, truthful inquiry,
+although that inquiry was one in which all the prepossessions, and
+prejudices, and passions of mind and heart were against the truth--an
+inquiry in which all the influence of friends, and all his prospects in
+life, were cast into the wrong balance. By the grace of God he made that
+solemn inquiry with such simplicity and sincerity, that it soon led to an
+entire conviction of the truth of our religion, and that to a decided
+profession of faith at all hazards; and these hazards, in such a place as
+Pechuia, were neither few nor small-far greater than at Amoy, where the
+presence of a large body of converts, and a considerable English community,
+and a British flag, might seem to hold out a prospect of both protection
+and support in time of need, though such protection and temporal aid have
+never been relied on by even our Amoy converts, still less encouraged.
+
+"One of the first sacrifices to which Si-boo was called was a great one.
+His trade of idol-carver must be given up, and with that his only means of
+support; and that means both respectable and lucrative to a skillful hand
+like his. But to his credit he did not hesitate. He at once threw it up
+and cast himself on the providence of God, and neither asked nor received
+any assistance from the missionary, but at once set himself to turn his
+skill as a carver in a new and legitimate direction. He became a carver of
+beads for bracelets and other ornaments, and was soon able to support
+himself and assist his mother in this way. One advantage of this new trade
+was, that it was portable. With a few small knives, and a handful of
+olive-stones, he could prosecute his work wherever he liked to take his
+seat, and he frequently took advantage of this to prosecute his Master's
+work, while he was diligent in his own. Sometimes he would take his seat
+on the 'Gospel Boat' when away on some evangelistic enterprise; and while
+we were slowly rowing up some river or creek, or scudding away before a
+favorable wind to some distant port, Si-boo would be busy at work on his
+beads; but as soon as we reached our destination, the beads and tools were
+thrust into his pouch, and with his Bible and a few tracts in his hand, he
+was off to read or talk to the people, and leave his silent messengers
+behind him."
+
+During the same year (1854), Mr. Doty wrote a letter to Mr. Burns while in
+Scotland, in regard to the awakening at Chioh-be, a large town of 30,000
+inhabitants, eight miles northwest of Peh-chui-ia. An extract reads as
+follows:
+
+"But what shall I tell you of the Lord's visitation of mercy at Chioh-be?
+Again, truly, are we as those that dream. The general features of the work
+are very similar to what you witnessed at Pechui-ia. The instrumentality
+has been native brethren almost entirely. Attention was first awakened in
+one or two by I-ju and Tick-jam, who went to Chioh-be together.
+
+"This was two or three months ago. This was followed up by repeated visits
+of other brethren from Pechui-ia and Amoy. Shortly the desire to hear the
+Word was so intense, that there would be scarcely any stop day or night;
+the brethren in turns going, and breaking down from much speaking in the
+course of three or four days, and coming back to us almost voiceless."
+
+
+AN APPEAL FOR A MISSIONARY.
+
+On the 30th of August, 1854, Mr. Talmage wrote, enclosing the subjoined
+appeal of the church at Peh-chui-ia for a missionary. It is addressed to
+the American Board, which these brethren call "the Public Society." A
+duplicate letter was sent at the same time to Mr. Burns to be presented to
+the Board of Foreign Missions of the English Presbyterian Church. "They
+tell us," says Mr. Talmage, "that every sentence has been prayed over.
+According to their own statement, they would write a sentence, and then
+pray, and then write another sentence, and then pray again."
+
+"By the mercy and grace of God, called to be little children of the Saviour
+Jesus, we send this letter to the Public Society, desiring that God our
+Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, may bestow grace and peace on all the
+saints connected with the Public Society. We desire you to know the
+boundless grace and favor of God towards us, and in behalf of us, little
+children, heartily to thank God because that the announcement of God's
+grace has been conveyed by your nation to our nation, and to our province,
+even to Amoy, and to our market-town Peh-chui-ia. We desire the Public
+Society to be thoroughly informed, so that they may very heartily thank God
+and the Lord Jesus Christ; for we at Peh-chui-ia originally dwelt in the
+region of death and gloomy darkness, a place under the curse of God, and
+were exposed to God's righteous punishment. But many thanks to God's
+compassion and mercy, the Holy Spirit influenced the pastors of your nation
+to send holy brethren (Amoy native Christians), in company with the English
+pastor, the teacher, William Burns, unto our market town, to unfold the
+holy announcement of grace, and preach the Gospel. Many thanks to God,
+whose grace called several brethren, by day and by night, to listen to the
+preaching of the Gospel, for the space of four months. Many thanks to the
+Holy Spirit, who opened our darkened hearts, and led us unto the Saviour
+Jesus, whose precious blood delivers from sin. By the grace of God five
+persons were received into the Church and baptized. Again, two months
+afterwards four persons were received into the Church and baptized. There
+are still some ten persons and more, from different quarters, not yet
+baptized, who have been operated on, so that they listen to the preaching
+with gladness of heart.
+
+"By the will of God, the English pastor has been called to return to his
+own nation. Our place is distant from Amoy by water, several tens of
+'lis,' [One li is about one-third of a mile] so that it is difficult to
+come and go. The two pastors of your nation at Amoy (Messrs. Doty and
+Talmage) have not a moment to spare from labor, for the holy brethren there
+are many; and it is difficult for them to leave home.
+
+"We, the brethren of the church at our market town, with united heart pray,
+earnestly beseeching God again graciously to compassionate us, and send a
+pastor from the Public Society of your nation, that he may quickly come,
+and instruct us plainly in the Gospel.
+
+"It is to be deplored-the brethren having heard the teacher William Burns
+preach the Word for a few months, their spiritual nature only just born
+again, not yet having obtained firmness in the faith, that just at this
+time, in the seventh month, the pastor should be separated from us.
+
+"Day and night our tears flow; and with united heart we pray, earnestly
+beseeching God graciously to grant that of the disciples of the Lord Jesus
+a pastor hastily come, and preach to us the Gospel, this food of grace with
+its savoriness of grace, in order to strengthen the faith of us, little
+children. Moreover, we pray God to influence the saints of your nation
+that they may always keep us little children in remembrance. Therefore, on
+the 28th day of the seventh month (August 21, 1854) the brethren with
+united heart have prayed earnestly beseeching God that this our general
+letter may be conveyed to the great Public Society, that you may certainly
+know these our affairs, and pray God, in behalf of us, that this our
+request may be granted. Please give our salutation to the brethren.
+
+   KONG-BIAU,
+   TEK-IAM,
+   TEK-EIAN,
+   U-JU,
+   SI_BU,
+   JIT-SOM,
+   KI-AN,
+   LAM-SAN,
+   KIM KOA,
+ "The disciples of Jesus at Peh-chui-ia.
+
+"Presented to the Public Society that all the disciples may read it."
+
+Mr. Talmage concludes a letter speaking of the "times of refreshing" in
+these words:
+
+"This remarkable work may well fill our hearts with gratitude and
+encouragement. Heretofore, we have always been obliged to wait a long time
+before we were permitted to see much fruit of our labor; and we were almost
+led to the conclusion that such must always be the case, in carrying the
+Gospel to a heathen people. Now we see that such need not be the course of
+events. We should preach the Gospel with larger expectations, and in the
+hope of more immediate fruit. He who commanded the light to shine out of
+darkness, can shine into the darkest minds, 'to give the light of the
+knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus' on the first
+announcement of the truth as it is in Jesus. When the proper time comes,
+and His Church is made ready for the great accession, it will be an easy
+thing for Him to accomplish the expectation that a nation shall be born at
+once."
+
+
+
+
+VIII. CHURCH UNION.
+
+Missionary work in its initial stage has only to do with first principles.
+
+Given shelter, food, power of utterance in a foreign tongue, a preaching
+spot, a company of hearers, and you have bounded the horizon for the
+present.
+
+No sooner, however, is a goodly company of believers gathered, but
+problems, numerous and weighty, confront the missionary.
+
+How shall the company of believers be organized and governed? Shall it be
+exactly on the model of the church which the missionary represents? If
+not, what modifications shall be made? Shall the seedling ten thousand
+miles away be roped to the mother tree or shall it be encouraged to stand
+alone? What advantages in independence? What perils? What shall be the
+status of the foreign missionary before the native church just organizing?
+What relation shall he sustain to the home church?
+
+The answers to these questions have been as various as the denominations
+represented in Oriental lands. The answers of missionaries representing
+the same denomination have not even tallied.
+
+After the gracious awakening and ingathering at Amoy and in the region
+about, had taken place, the question of church organization became
+foremost. The missionaries gave the subject earnest thought. Men like
+Elihu Doty and John Van Nest Talmage and Carstairs Douglas, were not likely
+to come to conclusions hastily.
+
+But they were born pioneers. Conservative enough never to lose their
+equilibrium, they had adaptability to new circumstances.
+
+Quite willing to follow the beaten path so long as there was promise of
+harvest returns, they were prepared nevertheless to blaze a new road into
+the trackless forest if they were sure some of God's treasure-trove could
+be brought back on it. There was no divergence of view as to what the
+foundation of the new church-structure must be. 'For other foundation can
+no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.' So long,
+however, as the general proportions were the same, there was no fear that
+the new edifice would topple over if it did not conform exactly in height
+and length and breadth, in column and pilaster and facade, to the venerated
+model in the mother countries. The brethren expressed their views to the
+churches in the home land. They did more. They plead their cause and
+hoped for endorsement. The following is part of a lengthy but very
+interesting communication written by Mr. Talmage and sent to the Synod of
+the Reformed Church in 1856:
+
+"Amoy, China, Sept. 17, 1856.
+
+"To the General Synod of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church.
+
+"Fathers and Brethren: We your missionaries at Amoy, China, have, by the
+blessing of the Head of the Church on our labors, arrived at a stage of
+progress in our work which imposes on us weighty responsibilities, and we
+feel the need of counsel and advice. It will be proper for us to give a
+brief account of our Mission, of our work, of the blessing of God on our
+labors, of our peculiar circumstances, and of the principles on which we
+have acted hitherto, and which we think should still guide us in our
+efforts to establish the Kingdom of Christ in this land, that you may
+praise God in our behalf and in behalf of this people, and assist us by
+your sympathies, prayers, and counsels. Our Mission was commenced at Amoy
+by the late Rev. David Abeel, D.D. Mr. Abeel arrived at Amoy in company
+with the Rev. (now Bishop) Boone, on the 24th of February, 1842. On the
+22d of June, 1844, Rev. E. Doty and Rev. Wm. J. Pohlman arrived at Amoy
+from Borneo. In Dec., 1844, Mr. Abeel in consequence of continued and
+increasing ill health left Amoy on his return to the United States. Mrs.
+Pohlman and Mrs. Doty having been removed by death, Mr. Doty left Amoy for
+the United States, Nov. 12, 1845, with his own and Mr. Pohlman's children.
+Rev. J. V. N. Talmage accompanied Mr. Doty on his return to Amoy, arriving
+Aug. 19, 1847. Mr. Pohlman was lost at sea Jan. 5, or 6, 1849. Mr.
+Talmage was away from Amoy from March 24, 1849 to July 16, 1850. Rev. J.
+Joralmon arrived at Amoy, April 21, 1856.
+
+"Mr. Boone, of the Episcopal Church of the United States, was at Amoy but a
+short time. After him there have been no missionaries of that church at
+Amoy. The mission of the American Presbyterian Board at Amoy was commenced
+by the arrival of Rev. T. L. McBryde, in June, 1842. He left Amoy in
+January, 1843. James C. Hepburn, M.D., arrived in 1843, and retired in
+1845. Rev. John Lloyd arrived in Dec., 1844. Rev. H. A. Brown arrived in
+1845 and left Amoy for the United States in Dec., 1847. Mr. Lloyd died in
+Dec., 1848. Since then that mission has not been continued at Amoy.
+
+"W. H. Cumming, M.D., a medical missionary, but not connected with any
+missionary society, arrived at Amoy, June, 1842, and left Amoy in the early
+part of 1847. The London Missionary Society's Mission at Amoy was
+commenced by the arrival of Rev. Messrs. J. Stronach and William Young, in
+July, 1844. Since then other agents of that society have arrived, some of
+whom have again left and some still remain. They now number three
+ministers of the Gospel and one physician.
+
+"The Mission of the English Presbyterian Church at Amoy was commenced by
+the arrival of James H. Young, M.D., in May, 1850. Rev. W. C. Burns
+arrived in July, 1851. Rev. James Johnston arrived in Dec., 1853. Dr.
+Young and Mr. Burns left Amoy in August, 1854. Mr. Johnston left Amoy in
+May, 1855. Rev. C. Douglas arrived at Amoy in July, 1855. He is now the
+only member of that Mission at Amoy. All the members of this Mission,
+although sent out by the English Presbyterian Church, were originally
+members of the Free Church of Scotland.
+
+"The present missionary force at Amoy are three ministers and one physician
+of the London Missionary Society (in their ecclesiastical relations they
+are Independents), one minister of the English Presbyterian Church, and
+ourselves, three ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church.
+
+"The first converts received into the Christian Church at Amoy were two old
+men, baptized by Mr. Pohlman in April, 1846. The next converts received
+were two men baptized by Mr. A. Stronach, of the London Missionary Society,
+in March, 1848. A few months later Mr. Stronach baptized one more. Since
+then every year has witnessed additions to the church. We received into
+our church by baptism in 1849 three persons; in 1850 five; in 1851 eight;
+in 1852 two; in 1853 six; in 1854 including those baptized at Peh-chui-ia,
+fifty-three; in 1855 including Peh-chui-ia and Chioh-be, seventy-two;
+during the present year thus far, also including Pehchui-ia and Chioh-be,
+fifty. The whole number now connected with our church at Amoy is one
+hundred and twenty-one. The number at Peh-chui-ia is forty-two. The
+number at Chioh-be is thirty-one. In all, the number is one hundred and
+ninety-four. The London Mission has also been greatly blessed. They now
+have in connection with their church at Amoy and in vicinity one hundred
+and fifty-one members. After acquiring the language of this people, we
+have felt that our great work is to preach the Gospel. Every other
+department of labor must be entirely secondary to this. The Scriptures are
+clearly in favor of these views, and our own experience has confirmed these
+views until they have become very decided. We have already mentioned the
+name of Mr. Burns as uniting in labors with our church members. The
+brethren of the English Presbyterian Church, in the providence of God, have
+been brought very near to us. We have rendered each other much assistance
+and often have labored together almost as one Mission.
+
+"When Mr. Burns arrived at Amoy, providentially he found and secured a room
+not far from our church edifice, and near to the residences of several of
+our church members. As soon as he was able to use the dialect of Amoy,
+many of our church members and inquirers were glad of the privilege of
+meeting with him daily for the study of the Scriptures and for prayer. Mr.
+Burns came to Amoy for the simple purpose of preaching the Gospel. He did
+not wish to take the responsibility of organizing a separate church. He
+was ready to co-operate with us or with the London brethren. He often
+rendered them assistance likewise. When he became able to use the language
+with freedom, he often preached in our church. When he went out for street
+preaching, or went out to visit the towns and villages around, he always
+took with him native Christians, usually the members of our church, having
+been providentially placed among them. Early in the year 1854, Mr. Burns
+with some of our church members visited the region of Peh-chui-ia. Much
+interest was awakened in that region in the subject of Christianity. A
+goodly number, we trust, were born of the Spirit. Mr. Burns did not wish
+to take the responsibility of a pastor, desiring to keep himself free for
+evangelistic labors wherever a door might be opened before him. He
+requested us to examine the candidates for baptism and receive those whom
+we deemed worthy, and take the pastoral care of them. We yielded to the
+desires of Mr. Burns and took charge of Pehchui-ia.
+
+"Mr. Burns continued to spend much of his time in that place and vicinity
+until he was called to leave Amoy. Shortly after the departure of Mr.
+Burns, learning that the English Presbyterians would have been glad to
+retain Peh-chui-ia, and Mr. Johnston (E. P.) being willing to take charge
+there as far as he was able, we very willingly relinquished it to them. He
+was still unable to use the language with freedom, so we continued to visit
+the place as often as we could. Before Mr. Johnston's knowledge was
+sufficient to relieve us of the pastoral care of that interesting church,
+his ill-health compelled him to return to his native land. His place was
+soon supplied by the arrival of Mr. Douglas. We have continued the same
+pastoral care of that church. Lately our visits to the place have become
+less frequent, as Mr. Douglas has become better acquainted with the
+language.
+
+"In the latter half of the year 1851, some of the Christians from
+Peh-chui-ia went to the large town of Chioh-be on business and preached the
+Gospel as they had opportunity. They found a few persons who listened to
+their message with interest and manifested a desire to hear more. When
+this fact, on their return, was reported to the churches of Peh-chui-ia and
+Amoy, other Christians went to Chioh-be. A great interest was awakened. A
+small house was rented for a chapel. This house was thronged every day
+throughout the day and evening. Soon as we had opportunity we visited the
+place to converse with inquirers and examine candidates for baptism. In
+January, 1855, the first converts at that place were baptized. The
+interest continued to increase. We found the premises we had rented
+entirely too small. As soon as a larger and more suitable place could be
+found it was secured. Soon after this a violent persecution broke out.
+The immediate effect was greatly to hinder the work. Only those who were
+sufficiently interested in the Gospel to raise them above the fear of man
+dared attend the place of worship. Still there has been constant progress.
+
+"If the churches gathered by us are to be organized simply with respect to
+the glory of God and their own welfare, there is a fact in our
+circumstances which should have great weight in forming this organization.
+This fact is the intimate relation and hitherto oneness of the churches
+under our care and under the care of the missionaries of the English
+Presbyterian Church. In the foregoing short history of our work it will be
+seen that we have been and are closely connected with the missionaries of
+that Church. From the first we have had the pastoral care of their church
+gathered at Peh-chui-ia and in the surrounding region. They have not
+attempted the organization of any church at Amoy. By far the greater
+proportion of their influence and labors at Amoy has been in the direction
+of assisting us in our work. They have acted as though they thought it was
+of no importance whatever whether converts were received into church
+fellowship by us or them. Doubtless the church members, although perfectly
+aware that we and our English Presbyterian brethren are of different
+Churches and different countries, suppose that they form but one Church.
+When the time had arrived for a regular organization of our church in Amoy,
+the question presented itself: Shall we invite Mr. Douglas, then and still
+the only English Presbyterian missionary at Amoy, to unite with us in our
+deliberations? By the providence of God our missions had been brought
+closely together. We had been laboring together in the work of the Lord,
+were one in sympathy, held the same views in theology, and did not differ
+in regard to church polity. But one answer could be given to this
+question. We cordially invited him. He as cordially accepted of our
+invitation, and heartily engaged with us in our church meetings, held in
+reference to the election of church officers. He voted with us and our
+church members. He united with us in setting apart the officers-elect to
+their respective offices, and since then has usually united with us in our
+deliberations in our consistorial meetings. Surely in this matter we have
+acted according to the leadings of Providence and the spirit and
+instructions of the Gospel of Christ; for in Christ Jesus there is no
+distinction of nationalities. Our labors having thus far been so
+intermingled and our churches so intimately related and united together, we
+can see no sufficient reason for separation. If there be any advantage in
+the association of churches by the organization of Classes or Presbyteries,
+why should we deprive these churches in their infancy and weakness of this
+advantage? We have always taught our people to study the Word of God and
+make it their rule. Can we give them a sufficient reason for such
+separation? Doubtless if we were to tell them, that the churches by which
+we are sent out and sustained desire separate organizations, and therefore
+should recommend such organizations to them, they would acquiesce. They
+know that they cannot stand alone. Gratitude, also, and ardent affection
+for those churches by whose liberality they have been made acquainted with
+the Gospel, would lead them to do all in their power to please those
+churches. We can hardly suppose, however, that such separation would
+accord with their judgment, or with those Christian feelings which they
+have always exercised towards each other as members of the same Church.
+But we do not suppose that either our Church or the English Presbyterian
+Church will recommend such a separation. The Dutch Church in North America
+has always manifested an enlarged Christian spirit, and therefore we cannot
+doubt but that she will approve of an organization by which the churches
+here, which are one in doctrine and one in spirit, may also be one in
+ecclesiastical matters. Neither do we doubt but that the English
+Presbyterian Church will also approve of the same course. We do not know
+as much of that Church as we hope to know in the future. Yet we know
+enough of her already to love her. But if separation must come, let not
+our Church bear the responsibility.
+
+"Another question of importance may arise. What shall be our relation as
+individuals to the Dutch Church in America? We see no reason and desire
+not to change the relation we have always sustained. We were set apart by
+that Church to do the work of evangelists. This is the work in which we
+still wish to be engaged. We must preach the Gospel. As God gives success
+to our labors we must organize churches, and take oversight of them as long
+as they need that oversight. When we find suitable men, we must 'ordain
+elders in every city.' Such is the commission we hold from our Church, and
+from the great Head of the Church. Theoretically, difficulties may be
+suggested. Practically, with the principles on which we have thus far
+acted, we see no serious difficulties in our way. We must seek for Divine
+guidance, take the Scriptures for our rule, and follow the leadings of
+Providence. We are all liable to err. But with these principles, assisted
+by your counsels, and especially by your prayers, we have reason to
+believe, and do believe, that the Spirit of truth will guide us in the way
+of truth."
+
+Dr. Talmage also sent a communication to Dr. Thomas De Witt, then
+Corresponding Secretary for the Reformed Church in co-operation with the
+American Board. It reads:
+
+"Oct. 1, 1856. There are some other facts arising out of the circumstances
+of this people, and of the nature of the Chinese language, which have a
+certain importance and perhaps should be laid before the Church. No part
+of the name of our Church, peculiar to our denomination, can be translated
+and applied to the church in Chinese without inconvenience or great
+detriment. The words, Protestant and Reformed, would be to the Chinese
+unintelligible, consequently inconvenient. The only translation we can
+give to the name Dutch Church, would be Church of Holland. This, besides
+conveying in part an incorrect idea, would be very detrimental to the
+interests of the Church among the Chinese. The Chinese know but little of
+foreign nations and have for ages looked upon them all as barbarians. Of
+course the views of the native Christians are entirely changed on this
+subject. But our great work is to gather converts from the heathen. We
+should be very careful not to use any terms by which they would be
+unnecessarily prejudiced against the Gospel. It is constantly charged upon
+the native Christians, both as a reproach and as an objection to
+Christianity, that they are following foreigners or have become foreigners.
+The reproach is not a light one, but the objection is easily answered. The
+answer would not be so easy if we were to fasten on the Christians a
+foreign name."
+
+At the meeting of the General Synod, held in the village of Ithaca, New
+York, June, 1857, the following resolutions recommended by the Committee on
+Foreign Missions, Talbot W. Chambers, D.D., Chairman, were adopted:
+
+THE MEMORIAL OF THE AMOY MISSION.
+
+"Among the papers submitted to the Synod is an elaborate document from the
+brethren at Amoy, giving the history of their work there, of its gradual
+progress, of their intimate connection with missionaries from other bodies,
+of the formation of the Church now existing there, and expressing their
+views as to the propriety and feasibility of forming a Classis at that
+station. In reply to so much of this paper as respects the establishment
+of individual churches, we must say that while we appreciate the peculiar
+circumstances of our brethren, and sympathize with their perplexities, yet
+it has always been considered a matter of course that ministers, receiving
+their commission through our Church, and sent forth under the auspices of
+our Board, would, when they formed converts from the heathen in an
+ecclesiastical body, mould the organization into a form approaching, as
+nearly as possible, that of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Churches in our
+own land. Seeing that the converted heathen, when associated together,
+must have some form of government, and seeing that our form is, in our
+view, entirely consistent with, if not required by the Scriptures, we
+expect that it will in all cases be adopted by our missionaries, subject,
+of course, to such modifications as their peculiar circumstances may for
+the time render necessary. The converts at Amoy, as at Arcot and
+elsewhere, are to be regarded as 'an integral part of our Church,' and as
+such are entitled to all the rights and privileges which we possess. And
+so in regard to the formation of a Classis. The Church at home will
+undoubtedly expect the brethren to associate themselves into a regular
+ecclesiastical organization, just as soon as enough materials are obtained
+to warrant such measure, with the hope that it will be permanent. We do
+not desire churches to be prematurely formed in order to get materials for
+a Classis, nor any other exercise of violent haste, but we equally
+deprecate unnecessary delay, believing that a regular organization will be
+alike useful to our brethren themselves and to those who, under them, are
+in training for the first office-bearers in the Christian Church on heathen
+ground. As to the difficulties suggested in the memorial, respecting the
+different Particular Synods to which the brethren belong, and the delays of
+carrying out a system of appellate jurisdiction covering America and China,
+it is enough to say:
+
+"1. That the Presbyterian Church (Old School) finds no insuperable
+difficulties in carrying into operation her system, which comprehends
+Presbyteries and Synods in India as well as here; and, 2. That whatever
+hindrances may at anytime arise, this body will, in humble reliance upon
+the Divine aid and blessing, undertake to meet and remove them as far as
+possible. The Church at home assumes the entire responsibility of this
+matter, and only ask the brethren abroad to carry out the policy held
+steadily in view from the first moment when our Missions began.
+
+"The following resolutions are recommended:
+
+"Resolved, 1. That the Synod view with great pleasure the formation of
+churches among the converts from heathenism, organized according to the
+established usages of our branch of Zion.
+
+"2. That the brethren at Amoy be directed to apply to the Particular Synod
+of Albany to organize them into a Classis, so soon as they shall have
+formed churches enough to render the permanency of such organization
+reasonably certain."
+
+
+
+
+IX. CHURCH UNION (CONTINUED).
+
+This utterance of the General Synod, while made with the best intentions,
+fell with exceedingly painful echo on the ears of the missionaries at Amoy.
+Was the flock they had gathered with so much prayer and effort, and reared
+with such sedulous care, to be thus summarily divided and perhaps in
+consequence scattered? The missionaries felt persuaded that their brethren
+in the United States could not fully appreciate the situation or there
+would be no such action.
+
+Mr. Talmage again took up his pen in behalf of his Chinese flock. If it
+had been dipped in his own blood his utterances could not have been more
+forceful-could not have palpitated with a heartier affection for his
+Chinese brethren's sake.
+
+On Dec. 23, 1857, he wrote to Dr. Isaac Ferris, who, since the separation
+from the A.B.C.F.M. at the last Synod, had become the Corresponding
+Secretary for the Board of Foreign Missions of tile Reformed Church.
+
+"So far as we can judge from the report of the proceedings of General Synod
+as given in the Christian Intelligencer, one of the most important
+considerations, perhaps altogether the most important mentioned, why the
+church gathered by us here should not be an integral part of the Church in
+America, was entirely overlooked. That consideration relates to the unity
+of Christ's Church. Will our Church require of us, will she desire that
+those here who are altogether one,-one in doctrine, one in their views of
+church order, and one in mutual love,-be violently separated into two
+denominations? We cannot believe it. Suppose the case of two churches
+originally distinct, by coming into contact and becoming better acquainted
+with each other, they find that they hold to the same doctrinal standards,
+and they explain them in the same manner; they have the same form of church
+government and their officers are chosen and set apart in the same way;
+they have the same order of worship and of administering the sacraments;
+all their customs, civil, social, and religious, are precisely alike, and
+they love each other dearly; should not such churches unite and form but
+one denomination? Yet such a supposition does not and cannot represent the
+circumstances of the churches gathered by us and by our Scotch brethren of
+the English Presbyterian Church. Our churches originally were one, and
+still are one, and the question is not whether those churches shall be
+united, but shall they be separated? Possibly the question will be asked,
+why were these churches allowed originally to become one? We answer, God
+made them so, and that without any plan or forethought on our part, and now
+we thank Him for His blessing that He has made them one, and that He has
+blessed them because they are one.
+
+"Our position is a somewhat painful one. We desire to give offense to no
+one, and we do not wish to appear before the Church as disputants. We have
+no controversy with any one. We have neither the time nor inclination for
+controversy. We are 'doing a great work,' and cannot 'come down.' Yet our
+duty to these churches here and to the Church at home and to our Master
+demands of us imperatively that we state fully and frankly our views. We
+have the utmost confidence in our church. We have proved this by
+endeavoring to get our views fully known."
+
+The subject did not come up again for discussion before the General Synod
+until 1863.
+
+Meanwhile the churches grew and multiplied. The Amoy church, which in 1856
+had been organized by "the setting apart of elders and deacons," was
+separated into two organizations in 1860, "preparatory to the calling of
+pastors."
+
+Two men were chosen by the churches in 1861. In 1862 an organization was
+formed called the "Tai-hoey," or "Great Elders' Meeting," consisting of the
+missionaries of both the English Presbyterian and Reformed Churches and the
+delegated elders from all the organized congregations under their united
+oversight. The two men chosen as pastors were examined, ordained, and
+installed by this body.
+
+During that year Mr. Talmage was called to stand by the "first gash life
+had cut in the churchyard turf" for him. His beloved wife, Mrs. Abby
+Woodruff Talmage, was called to her reward, leaving Mr. Talmage with four
+motherless little ones. He was compelled to go to the United States to
+secure proper care for his children. He came in time to attend the General
+Synod of 1863. There he advocated most earnestly the course which the
+brethren at Amoy had taken.
+
+Dr. Isaac Ferris brought the subject before the Synod in these words:
+
+"In 1857 the Synod met at Ithaca, and a most remarkable Synod it was.
+According to the testimony of all who were present the Spirit of God
+unusually manifested His gracious presence. A venerable minister on his
+return remarked, 'It was like heaven upon earth.' That Synod, under this
+extraordinary sense of the Divine presence and unction, judged that the
+time had arrived for the Church to take the responsibility of supporting
+its foreign missionary work upon itself, and, accordingly, in very proper
+resolutions, asked of the American Board to have the compact which had been
+in operation since 1832 revoked, and the Mission transferred to our Foreign
+Board.
+
+"It was at that meeting that a memorial of our brethren at Amoy on the
+subject of organization, very ably drawn, and presenting fully their views
+and reasonings, was read and deliberated on. Their work had been
+wonderfully blessed, and the whole Church was called to thanksgiving, and
+the time seemed at hand to realize the expectations of years. The brethren
+asked advice, and the Synod adopted the carefully-drawn report of a
+committee of which the President was chairman, advising the organization of
+a Classis at as early a day as was practicable. Our brethren at Amoy were
+not satisfied with this advice, and considered the subject as not having
+had a sufficient hearing.
+
+"In the progress of their work they have deemed it proper to form a
+different organization from what the Synod advised, and which was in
+harmony with the constant aim of our Church on the subject. The Board of
+Foreign Missions, when the matter came before them, could only kindly
+protest and urge upon the brethren the action of the Synod of 1857. Not
+having ecclesiastical power, they could only argue and advise. They would
+have it remembered that all has been done in the kindest spirit. They have
+differed in judgment from the Mission, but not a ripple of unkind feeling
+has arisen.
+
+"The question now before the Synod is, whether this body will recede from
+the whole policy of the Church and its action in 1857 or reaffirm the same.
+This Synod, in its action on this case, will decide for all its missions,
+and in all time, on what principles their missionaries shall act, and hence
+this becomes probably the most important question of this session. It is
+in the highest degree desirable that the Synod should give the subject the
+fullest the most patient and impartial examination, and that our brother,
+who represents the Amoy Mission, be fully heard."
+
+Mr. Talmage next addressed the Synod and offered the following resolution:
+
+"Resolved, That the Synod hear with gratitude to God of the great progress
+of the work of the Lord at Amoy, and in the region around, so that already
+we hear of six organized churches with their Consistories, and others
+growing up not yet organized, two native pastors who were to have been
+ordained on the 29th of March last, and the whole under the care of a
+Classis composed of the missionaries of our Church and of the English
+Presbyterian Church, the native pastors, and representative elders of the
+several churches. It calls for our hearty gratitude to the great Head of
+the Church that the missionaries of different Churches and different
+countries have been enabled, through Divine grace, to work together in such
+harmony. It is also gratifying to us that these churches and this Classis
+have been organized according to the polity of our Church, inasmuch as the
+Synod of the English Presbyterian Church has approved of the course of
+their missionaries in uniting for the organizing of a church after our
+order; therefore, this Synod would direct its Board of Foreign Missions to
+allow our missionaries to continue their present relations with the
+missionaries of the English Presbyterian Church, so long as the present
+harmony shall continue, and no departure shall be made from the doctrines
+and essential policy of our Church, or until the Synod shall otherwise
+direct."
+
+There were speeches for and against, by distinguished men in the Church.
+Dr. T. W. Chambers, President of the Synod, made the concluding address, as
+follows:
+
+"If there be any one here who has a deep and tender sympathy with our
+brother Talmage and his senior missionary colleague (Mr. Doty), I claim to
+be the man.
+
+"Mr. Doty was my first room-mate at college thirty-one years ago, and ever
+since we have been fast friends. As to the other, his parents-themselves
+among the most eminent and devoted Christians ever known-were long members
+of the church in New Jersey, of which I was formerly in charge. For
+several years I was his pastor. I signed the testimonials of character
+required by the American Board before they commissioned him. I pronounced
+the farewell address when he left this country in 1850. I have watched
+with intense interest his entire career since, and no one welcomed him more
+warmly when he returned last year, bearing in his face and form the scars
+which time and toil had wrought upon his constitution. It is needless to
+say, then, that I love him dearly for his own sake, for his parents' sake,
+for his numerous friends' sake, but, more than all, for that Master's sake
+whom he has so successfully served. Nor is there anything within reason
+which I would not have the Church do for him. He shall have our money, our
+sympathy, our prayers, our confidence-the largest liberty in shaping the
+operations of the Mission he belongs to.
+
+"But when we come to the matter now at issue, I pause. Much as I love our
+brother, I love Christ more. Nor can I surrender, out of deference to our
+missionaries, the constitution, the policy, the interests of our
+Church,--all of which are involved in this matter. Nay, even their own
+welfare, and that of the mission they are so tenderly attached to, demand
+that we should deny their request. What is this request? That we should
+allow our brethren at Amoy, together with the English Presbyterian
+missionaries there, to form with the native pastors and the delegates from
+the native churches, an independent Classis or Presbytery, over whose
+proceedings this body should have no control whatever, by way of appeal, or
+review, or in any other form. Now, the first objection to this is, that it
+is flatly in the face of our constitution and order. A 'self-regulating
+Classis' is a thing which has never been heard of in the Dutch Church since
+that Church had a beginning. It is against every law, principle, canon,
+example, and precedent in our books. Perhaps the most marked feature of
+our polity is the subordination of all parts of our body, large or small,
+to the review and control of the whole as expressed in the decisions of its
+highest ecclesiastical assembly. I submit that this Synod has no right to
+form or to authorize any such self regulating ecclesiastical body, or to
+consent that any ministers of our Church should hold seats in such a body.
+If we do it, we transcend the most liberal construction which has ever been
+known to be given to the powers of General Synod. How, then, can we do
+this thing? Whatever our sympathies, how can we violate our own order, our
+fundamental principles, the polity to which we are bound by our profession,
+by our subscription, by every tie which can bind religious and honorable
+men?
+
+"Moreover, the thing we are asked to do contravenes our missionary policy
+from the beginning. As far back as 1832, when we made a compact with the
+American Board, one essential feature of the plan was that we should have
+'an ecclesiastical organization' of our own. Without this feature that
+plan would never have been adopted; and the apprehension that there might
+be some interference with this cherished principle was at least one of the
+reasons why the plan, after working successfully for a quarter of a
+century, was at length abrogated. And so when, in 1857, we instituted a
+missionary board of our own, this view was distinctly announced.
+
+"It was my privilege to draw up the report on the subject which has been so
+often referred to. That report did not express merely my view, or that of
+the committee, but the view of the entire Synod. Nor from that day to this
+has there been heard anywhere within our bounds even a whisper of objection
+from minister, elder, or layman in regard to the positions then taken. It
+is our settled, irreversible policy. Deep down in the heart of the Church
+lies the conviction that our missionaries, who carry to the heathen the
+doctrine of Christ as we have received it, must also carry the order of
+Christ as we have received it. Certain unessential peculiarities may, from
+the force of circumstances, be left in abeyance for a time, or even
+permanently, but the dominant features must be retained. It is not enough
+to have genuine Consistories, we must have genuine Classes. And, under
+whatever modifications, the substantive elements of our polity must be
+reproduced in the mission churches established by the blessing of God upon
+the men and means furnished by our Zion.
+
+"Further, Mr. President, it is to be remembered that we are acting for all
+time. It is not this one case that is before us. We are settling a
+precedent which is to last for generations. Relax your constitutions and
+laws for this irregularity and you open a gap through which a coach and
+four may be driven. Every other mission, under the least pretext, will
+come and claim the same or a similar modification in their case, and you
+cannot consistently deny them. The result will be an ecclesiastical chaos
+throughout our entire missionary field. Let us begin as we mean to hold
+out. Let us settle this question now and settle it aright. We direct our
+missionaries what Gospel to preach, what sacraments to administer, what
+internal organization to give to single churches. Let us, in the same
+manner and for the same reasons, say what sort of bonds shall unite these
+churches to each other and govern their mutual relations and common
+interests.
+
+"I know we are told that the hybrid organization which now exists is every
+way sufficient and satisfactory; that it is the fruit of Christian love,
+and that to disturb it would be rending the body of Christ. Here one might
+ask how it came to exist at all, seeing that this Synod spoke so plainly
+and unambiguously in 1857. And I for one cordially concur in the remark of
+the Elder Schieffelin, that the brethren there 'deserve censure.' We do
+not censure them, nor do we propose to do so, but that they deserve it is
+undeniable. But the point is, how can our disapproval of the mongrel
+Classis mar the peace of the Amoy brethren? There is already a division
+among their churches. Some are supported by our funds, others by the funds
+of the English Presbyterians. Would it alter matters much to say, and to
+make it a fact, that some of those churches belong to a Classis and others
+to a Presbytery? Some have an American connection and others an English.
+But this would break Christian unity! Would it, indeed? You observed, Mr.
+President, the affectionate confidence, blended with reverence, with which
+I addressed from the chair the venerable Dr. Skinner. The reason was that
+we both belong to an association of ministers in New York which meets
+weekly for mutual fellowship, enjoyment, and edification in all things
+bearing on ministerial character and duties. Ecclesiastically we have no
+connection whatever. I never saw his Presbytery in session, and I doubt if
+he ever saw our Classis; yet our brotherly, Christian, and even ministerial
+communion is as tender, and sacred, and profitable as if we had been
+copresbyters for twenty years. Now, who dare say that this shall not exist
+at Amoy? Our brethren there can maintain precisely the same love, and
+confidence, and co-operation as they do now, in all respects save the one
+of regular, formal, ecclesiastical organization.
+
+"But I will not detain the Synod longer. I would not have left the chair
+to speak, but for the overwhelming importance of the subject. It is
+painful to deny the eager and earnest wishes of our missionary brethren,
+but I believe we are doing them a real kindness by this course. Union
+churches here have always in the end worked disunion, confusion, and every
+evil work. There is no reason to believe that the result would be at all
+different abroad. A division would necessarily come at some period, and
+the longer it was delayed, the more trying and sorrowful it would be. I am
+opposed, therefore, to the substitute offered by Brother Chapman, and also
+to that of Brother Talmage, and trust that the original resolutions, with
+the report, will be adopted. That report contains not a single harsh or
+unpleasant word. It treats the whole case with the greatest delicacy as
+well as thoroughness, but it reaffirms the action of 1857 in a way not to
+be mistaken. And that is the ground on which the Church will take its
+stand. Whatever time, indulgence, or forbearance can be allowed to our
+brethren, will cheerfully be granted. Only let them set their faces in the
+direction of a distinct organization, classical as well as consistorial,
+and we shall be satisfied. Only let them recognize the principle and the
+details shall be left to themselves, under the leadings of God's gracious
+providence."
+
+The report of the Committee on Foreign Missions, E. S. Porter, D.D.,
+chairman, was adopted. Part of it reads as follows:
+
+"The missionaries there have endeared their names to the whole Christian
+world, and especially to that household of faith of which they are loved
+and honored members."
+
+.... "No words at our command can tell what fond and flaming sympathies
+have overleaped broad oceans, and bound them and us together.
+
+  "'Words, like nature, half reveal,
+  And half conceal the soul within.'
+
+.... "Your committee are unable to see how it will be possible to carry the
+sympathies and the liberalities of the Church with an increasing tide of
+love and sacrifice in support of our missionary work, if it once be
+admitted as a precedent, or established as a rule, that our missionaries
+may be allowed to form abroad whatever combinations they may choose, and
+aid in creating ecclesiastical authorities, which supersede the authorities
+which commissioned them and now sustain them."
+
+"The committee are not prepared to recommend that any violent and coercive
+resolutions should be adopted for the purpose of constraining our brethren
+in Amoy to a course of procedure which would rudely sunder the brotherly
+ties that unite them with the missionaries of the English Presbyterian
+Church. But a Christian discretion will enable them, on the receipt of the
+decision of the present Synod, in this matter now under consideration, to
+take such initial steps as are necessary to the speedy formation of a
+Classis.
+
+"Much must be left to their discretion, prudence and judgment. But of the
+wish and expectation of this Synod to have their action conform as soon as
+may be to the resolutions of 1857, your committee think the brethren at
+Amoy should be distinctly informed. They therefore offer the following:
+
+"'I. Resolved, That the General Synod, having adopted and tested its plan
+of conducting foreign missions, can see no reason for abolishing it; but,
+on the contrary, believe it to be adapted to the promotion of the best
+interests of foreign missionary churches, and of the denomination
+supporting them.
+
+"'II. That the Board of Foreign Missions be, and hereby is, instructed to
+send to our missionaries at Amoy a copy or copies of this report, as
+containing the well-considered deliverance of the Synod respecting their
+present relations and future duty.
+
+"'III. That the Secretary of the Foreign Board be, and hereby is, directed
+to send to the Rev. Dr. Hamilton, of London, Convener of the Presbyterian
+Committee, a copy of this report, with a copy of the action of 1857, and
+that he inform him by letter of the wishes and expectations of the Synod
+respecting the ecclesiastical relations which this body desires its
+churches in Amoy to sustain to it.'"
+
+In the report of the Foreign Committee of the English Presbyterian Church
+for 1863, the following language is used in reference to the Union Chinese
+Church of Amoy:
+
+"We are hopeful, however, that on further consideration our brethren in
+America may allow their missionaries in China to continue the present
+arrangement, at least until such time as it is found that actual
+difficulties arise in the way of carrying it out. 'Behold, how good and
+pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unify,' and there are few
+brethren towards whom we feel closer affinity than the members of that
+Church, which was represented of old by Gomarus and Witsius, by Voet and
+Marck, and Bernard de Moore, and whose Synod of Dort preceded in time and
+pioneered in doctrine our own Westminster Assembly. Like them, we love
+that Presbyterianism and that Calvinism which we hold in common, and we
+wish to carry them wherever we go; but we fear that it would not be doing
+justice to either, and that it might compromise that name which is above
+every other, if, on the shores of China, we were to unfurl a separate
+standard. We would, therefore, not only respectfully recommend to the
+Synod to allow its missionaries to unite presbyterially as well as
+practically with the brethren of the Reformed Dutch Church; but we would
+express the earnest hope that the Synod of the sister Church in America may
+find itself at liberty to extend to its missionaries a similar freedom."
+
+These sentiments were unanimously adopted by the Synod of the English
+Presbyterian Church.
+
+The cause which Mr. Talmage was advocating was too near his heart, and his
+convictions were too strong to permit silence. He prepared a pamphlet,
+setting forth more clearly the position of the Mission at Amoy, as well as
+answering objections made to it. [The exact standing of missionaries in
+the Union Chinese Church of Amoy was also explained by Dr. Talmage in a
+later pamphlet, for the contents of which see Appendix.] A few quotations
+read:
+
+"In reference to it, i.e., the report of the Committee on Foreign Missions,
+we would make three remarks: (1) It (Resolution III.) seems rather a
+cavalier answer to the fraternal wish of the Synod of the English
+Presbyterian Church, as expressed in their action. (2) The action of Synod
+is made to rest (Res. I.) on the fact that Synod had 'tested' this 'plan of
+conducting foreign missions.' If this be so, and the plan had been found
+by experiment unobjectionable, the argument is not without force. But how
+and where has this test been applied and found so satisfactory? Our Church
+has three Missions among the heathen-one in India, one in China, and one in
+Japan. Has it been tested in Japan? No. They have not yet a single
+native church. Has it been tested in China? If so, the missionaries were
+not aware of it. The test applied there has been of an opposite character
+and has been wonderfully successful. The test has only been applied in
+India, and has only begun to be applied even there. There, as yet, there
+is but one native pastor. Their Classis is more American than Indian. We
+must wait until they have a native Classis before the test can be
+pronounced at all satisfactory. (3) No consideration is had for the
+feelings, wishes or opinions of the native churches. The inalienable
+rights of the native churches, their relation to each other, their absolute
+unity-things of the utmost consequence-are not at all regarded, are
+entirely ignored."
+
+In reply to the advantages claimed to flow from the plan advocated by
+General Synod, Mr. Talmage says:
+
+"1. The most important advantage is, or is supposed to be, that there will
+thus be higher courts of jurisdiction to which appeals may be made, and by
+which orthodoxy and good order may be the better secured to the Church at
+Amoy.
+
+"Such advantages, if they can be thus secured, we would by no means
+underrate. There sometimes are cases of appeal for which we need the
+highest court practicable-the collective wisdom of the Church, so far as it
+can be obtained; and the preservation of orthodoxy and good order is of the
+first importance. Now, let us see whether the plan proposed will secure
+these advantages. Let us suppose that one of the brethren feels himself
+aggrieved by the decision of the Classis of Amoy and appeals to the
+Particular Synod of Albany, and thence to General Synod. He will not be
+denied the right to such appeal. But, in order that the appeal may be
+properly prosecuted and disposed of, the appellant and the representative
+of Classis should be present in these higher courts. Can this be secured?
+Is the waste of time, of a year or more, nothing? And where shall the
+thousands of dollars of necessary expense come from? Now, suppose this
+appellant to be a Chinese brother. He, also, has rights; but how, on this
+plan, can he possibly obtain them? Suppose that the money be raised for
+him and he is permitted to stand on the floor of Synod. He cannot speak,
+read, or write a word of English. Not a member of Synod can speak, read,
+or write a word of his language, except it be the brother prosecuting him.
+I ask, is it possible for him thus to obtain justice? But, waiving all
+these disadvantages, the only point on which there is the least probability
+that an appeal of a Chinese brother would come up before the higher courts,
+are points on which these higher courts would not be qualified to decide.
+They would doubtless grow out of the peculiar customs and laws of the
+Chinese, points on which the missionary, after he has been on the ground a
+dozen years, often feels unwilling to decide, and takes the opinion of the
+native elders in preference to his own. Is it right to impose a yoke like
+this on that little Church which God is gathering, by your instrumentality,
+in that far-off land of China? But it is said that these cases of appeal
+will very rarely or never happen. Be it so; then this supposed advantage
+will seldom or never occur, and, if it should occur, it would prove a
+disadvantage."
+
+In regard to keeping the Church pure in doctrine:
+
+"Sure I am that the Church in China cannot be kept pure by legislation on
+this, the opposite side of the globe. But we expect Christ to reign over
+and the Holy Spirit to be given to the Churches, and the proper
+ecclesiastical bodies formed of them in China, as well as in this land. Why
+not? Such are the promises of God. The way to secure these things is by
+prayer and the preaching of the pure Gospel, not by legislation. Let the
+Church be careful in her selection of missionaries. Send only such as she
+has confidence in-men of God, sound in faith, apt to teach-and then trust
+them, or recall them. Don't attempt to control them contrary to their
+judgment. Strange if this, which is so much insisted on as the policy of
+our Church, be right, that she cannot get a single man, of all she sends
+out to China, to think so. Can it be that the missionary work is so
+subversive of right reason, or of correct judgment, or of
+conscientiousness, that all become perverted by engaging in it?
+
+"2. Another supposed advantage is the effect it will have in enlisting the
+sympathies of the Church in behalf of the Mission at Amoy. Our people do
+not first ask whether it be building ourselves up, before they sympathize
+with a benevolent object. We believe the contrary is the exact truth. It
+requires a liberal policy to call forth liberal views and actions. As
+regards the enlisting of men, look at the facts. Every man who has gone
+out from among you to engage in this missionary work begs of you not to
+adopt a narrow policy. So in regard to obtaining of funds. Usually the
+men who are most liberal in giving are most liberal in feeling.
+
+.... "However powerful the motive addressed to the desire to build up our
+own Church, there are motives infinitely more powerful. Such are the
+motives to be depended upon in endeavoring to elevate the standard of
+liberality among our people. If our people have not yet learned, they
+should be taught to engage in the work of evangelizing the world, not for
+the sake of our Church in America, but for the sake of Christ and His
+Church, and when the Church thus built up is like our own they should be
+fully satisfied. We believe they will be satisfied with this.
+
+"Now let us consider the real or supposed evils of carrying out the
+decision of Synod.
+
+"1. It will not be for the credit of our Church. She now has a name, with
+other Churches, for putting forth efforts to evangelize the world. Shall
+she mar this good name and acquire one for sectarianism, by putting forth
+efforts to extend herself, not her doctrines and order-they are not
+sectarian, and her missionaries esteem them as highly as do their brethren
+at home-but herself, even at the cost of dividing churches which the grace
+of God has made one? The decision of the last Synod may not be the result
+of sectarianism among the people of our Church. We do not think it is.
+But it will be difficult to convince our Presbyterian brethren and others
+that it is not so. By way of illustration I will suppose a case. A. is
+engaged in a very excellent work. B. comes to him, and the following
+dialogue ensues:
+
+"B. 'Friend A., I am glad to see you engaged in so excellent a work. I
+also have concluded to engage in it. I should be glad to work with you.
+You know the proverbs, 'Union is strength,' and 'Two are better than one.'
+
+"A. 'Yes, yes, friend B., I know these proverbs and believe them as
+thoroughly as you do. But I have a few peculiarities about my way of
+working. They are not many, and they are not essential, but I think they
+are very useful, and wish to work according to them. Therefore, I prefer
+working alone.'
+
+"B. 'Yes, friend A., we all have our peculiarities, and, if they be not
+carried too far, they may all be made useful. I have been making inquiries
+about yours, and I am glad to find they are not nearly so many, or so
+different from mine, as you suppose, and as I once supposed. The fact is,
+I rather like some of them, and though I may not esteem them all as highly
+as you do, still I am willing to conform to them; for I am fully persuaded
+that, in work of this kind, two working together can do vastly more than
+two working separately, and the work will be much better done. Besides
+this, the social intercourse will be delightful.'
+
+"A. 'I appreciate, friend B., your politeness, and am well aware that all
+you say about the greater efficiency and excellence of united work and the
+delights of social intercourse is perfectly true. But--but--well, I prefer
+to work alone.'
+
+"2. It will injure the efficiency of the Church at Amoy. Besides the
+objection furnished by the increase of denominations, which the heathen
+will thus, as readily as the irreligious in this country, be able to urge
+against Christianity, it will deprive the churches of the benefit of the
+united wisdom and strength of the whole of them for self-cultivation and
+for Christian enterprise, and will introduce a spirit of jealous rivalry
+among them. We know it is said that there need be no such result, and that
+the native churches may remain just as united in spirit after the
+organization of two denominations as before. Such a sentiment takes for
+granted, either that ecclesiastical organization has in fact no efficiency,
+or that the Chinese churches have arrived at a far higher state of
+sanctification than the churches have attained to in this land. Do not
+different denominations exhibit jealous rivalry in this land? Is Chinese
+human nature different from American?
+
+"In consequence of such division the native Churches will not be so able to
+support the Gospel among themselves. Look at the condition of our Western
+towns in this respect. Why strive to entail like evils on our missionary
+churches? ....
+
+"But may not the Church change or improve her decisions? Here is one of
+the good things we hope to see come out of this mistake of the Church.
+Jesus rules, and He is ordering all things for the welfare of His Church
+and the advancement of His cause. Sometimes, the better to accomplish this
+end, He permits the Church to make mistakes. When we failed in former days
+to get our views made public, it gave us no anxiety, for we believed the
+doctrine that Jesus reigns. So we now feel, notwithstanding this mistake.
+The Master will overrule it for good. We do not certainly know how, but we
+can imagine one way. By means of this mistake the matter may be brought
+before our Church, and before other Churches, more clearly than it would
+otherwise have been for many years to come, and in consequence of this we
+expect, in due time, that our Church, instead of coming up merely to the
+standard of liberality for which we have been contending, will rise far
+above anything we have asked for or even imagined, and other Churches will
+also raise their standard higher. Hereafter we expect to contend for still
+higher principles. This is the doctrine. Let all the branches of the
+great Presbyterian family in the same region in any heathen country, which
+are sound in the faith, organize themselves, if convenient, into one
+organic whole, allowing liberty to the different parts in things
+non-essential. Let those who adopt Dutch customs, as at Amoy, continue, if
+they see fit, their peculiarities, and those who adopt other Presbyterian
+customs, as at Ningpo and other places, continue their peculiarities, and
+yet all unite as one Church. This subject does not relate simply to the
+interests of the Church at Amoy. It relates to the interests of all the
+missionary work of all the churches of the Presbyterian order in all parts
+of the world. Oh, that our Church might take the lead in this catholicity
+of spirit, instead of falling back in the opposite direction-that no one
+may take her crown! But if she do not, then we trust some other of the
+sacramental hosts will take the lead and receive, too, the honor, for it is
+for the glory of the great Captain of our salvation and for the interests
+of His kingdom. We need the united strength of all these branches of Zion
+for the great work which the Master has set before us in calling on us to
+evangelize the world. In expecting to obtain this union, will it be said
+that we are looking for a chimera? It ought to be so, ought it not? Then
+it is no chimera. It may take time for the Churches to come up to this
+standard, but within a few years we have seen tendencies to union among
+different branches of the Presbyterian family in Australia. In Canada, in
+our own country, and in England and Scotland. In many places these
+tendencies are stronger now than they have ever before been since the days
+of the Reformation.
+
+"True, human nature is still compassed with infirmities even in the Church
+of Christ. But the day of the world's regeneration is approaching, and as
+it approaches nearer to us, doubtless the different branches of the
+Presbyterian family will approach still nearer to each other. God hasten
+the time, and keep us also from doing anything to retard, but everything to
+help it forward, and to His name be the praise forever. Amen."
+
+So strong was the feeling of the entire Amoy Mission, that in September,
+1863, the following communication was sent to the Board of Foreign
+Missions:
+
+"Dear Brethren: We received from you on the 22d ultimo the action taken by
+the General Synod at its recent session at Newburgh with regard to the
+proposed organization of a Classis at Amoy. Did we view this step in the
+light in which Synod appears to have regarded it, we should need in this
+communication to do no more than signify our intention to carry out
+promptly the requirements of Synod; but we regret to say that such is not
+the case, and that Synod, in requiring this of us, has asked us to do that
+which we cannot perform. We feel that Synod must have mistaken our
+position on this question. It is not that we regard the proposed action as
+merely inexpedient and unwise; if this were all, we would gladly carry out
+the commands of Synod, transferring to it the responsibility which it
+offers to assume. But the light in which we regard it admits of no
+transfer of responsibility. It is not a matter of judgment only, but also
+of conscience.
+
+"We conscientiously feel that in confirming such an organization we should
+be doing a positive injury and wrong to the churches of Christ established
+at Amoy, and that our duty to the Master and His people here forbids this.
+Therefore, our answer to the action of General Synod must be and is that we
+cannot be made the instruments of carrying out the wishes of Synod in this
+report; and further, if Synod is determined that such an organization must
+be effected, we can see no other way than to recall us and send hither men
+who see clearly their way to do that which to us seems wrong.
+
+"We regret the reasons which have led us to this conclusion. We have
+thought it best that each member of the Mission should forward to you his
+individual views on this subject, rather than embody them in the present
+communication.
+
+"We accordingly refer you to these separate statements which will be sent
+to you as soon as prepared.
+
+"Commending you, dear brethren, to our common Lord, whose servants we all
+are, and praying that He will guide us into all truth, we are as ever,
+
+  "Your brethren in Christ
+
+    E. DOTY,
+    A. OSTROM,
+    D. RAPALJE,
+    LEONARD W. KIP,
+    AUG. BLAUVELT.
+
+  "AMOY, Sept. 16, 1863."
+
+The last action taken by the General Synod was in June, 1864, and reads as
+follows:
+
+"Resolved, That while the General Synod does not deem it necessary or
+proper to change the missionary policy defined and adopted in 1857, yet, in
+consideration of the peculiar circumstances of the Mission of Amoy, the
+brethren there are allowed to defer the formation of a Classis of Amoy
+until, in their judgment, such a measure is required by the wants and
+desires of the Churches gathered by them from among the heathen."
+
+At the Centenary Conference on the Protestant Missions of the World, held
+in Exeter Hall, London, 1888, Rev. W. J. K. Taylor, D.D., for many years a
+most efficient member of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Reformed
+Church in America, read a paper on "Union and Cooperation in Foreign
+Missions," in which he said:
+
+"Actual union has been happily maintained at Amoy, China, for more than a
+quarter of a century between the missionaries of the Reformed (Dutch)
+Church in America and those of the Presbyterian Church of England. Having
+labored together in the faith of the Gospel, gathering converts into the
+fold of Christ, and founding native churches, these brethren could not and
+would not spoil the unity of those infant churches by making two
+denominations out of one company of believers nor would they sow in that
+virgin soil the seeds of sectarian divisions which have long sundered the
+Protestant Churches in Europe and America. The result was the organization
+of the Tai-Hoey, or Great Council of Elders, which is neither an English
+Presbytery nor a Reformed Church Classis, but is like them both. It is not
+an appendage of either of these foreign Churches, but is a genuine
+independent Chinese Christian Church holding the standards and governed by
+the polity of the twin-sister Churches that sent them the Gospel by their
+own messengers. The missionaries retain their relations with their own
+home Churches and act under commissions of their own Church Board of
+Missions. They are not settled pastors, but are more like the Apostolic
+Evangelists of New Testament times,--preachers, teachers, founders of
+Churches, educators of the native ministry, and superintendents of the
+general work of evangelization.
+
+"This Tai-Hoey is a child of God, which was 'born, not of blood, nor of the
+will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' It is believed to
+be the first ecclesiastical organization for actual union and co-operation
+in mission lands by the representatives of churches holding the Reformed
+faith and Presbyterial polity. Its history has already been long enough to
+give the greatest value to its experience."
+
+For seven years, by tongue and pen, Mr. Talmage advocated the establishment
+of an independent Chinese Union Church of the Presbyterian order. Even
+then the Reformed Church was not fully persuaded and did not give her
+hearty assent. The resolution of 1864 was only tentative. It was a plea
+for toleration. This was not strange. It was one of the earliest efforts,
+if not the earliest, for church union and separate autonomy on heathen
+soil. It was a new departure. But the battle was really won. The
+question was never broached again. The strongest opponents then are the
+warmest friends of union and autonomy now. Thirty years of happiest
+experience, of hearty endorsement by native pastors and foreign
+missionaries are sufficient testimony to the wisdom of the steps then
+taken.
+
+In November, 1864, Mr. Talmage married Miss Mary E. Van Deventer, and
+forthwith proceeded to China, where he arrived early in 1865.
+
+In 1867, Rutgers College, New Jersey, recognized Mr. Talmage's successful
+and scholarly labors in China for a period of full twenty years, by giving
+him the degree of Doctor of Divinity.
+
+
+
+
+X. THE ANTI-MISSIONARY AGITATION.
+
+Prince Kung, at Sir Rutherford Alcock's parting interview with him in 1869,
+said: "Yes, we have had a great many discussions, but we know that you have
+always endeavored to do justice, and if you could only relieve us of
+missionaries and opium, there need be no more trouble in China."
+
+He spoke the mind of the officials, literati, and the great masses of the
+people. Heathenism is incarnate selfishness. How can a Chinese understand
+that men will turn their backs on the ancestral home, travel ten thousand
+miles with no other object but to do his countrymen good? The natural
+Chinaman cannot receive it. He suspects us. And he has enough to pillow
+his suspicion on. Let him turn the points of the compass. He sees the
+great North-land in the hands of Russia. He sees the Spaniard tyrannizing
+over the Philippine Islanders. He sees Holland dominating the East Indies.
+He sees India's millions at the feet of the British lion. "What are these
+benevolent-looking barbarians tramping up and down the country for? Why
+are they establishing churches and schools and hospitals? They are trying
+to buy our hearts by their feigned kindness, and hand us over to some
+Western monarch ere long." So reasons our unsophisticated Chinese. He is
+heartily satisfied with his own religion or utterly indifferent to any
+religion. He has no ear for any new doctrine except as a curiosity, to
+give momentary amusement, and then to be thrown to the ground like a
+child's toy.
+
+The missionary appears on the scene in dead earnest. "Agitation is our
+profession." We are among those "who are trying to turn the world upside
+down."
+
+The Spirit of God touches and dissolves the apathy, melts the ice, breaks
+the stone, and we see men alive unto God; "old things are passed away,
+behold all things are become new." What a change in the recipient of God's
+grace.
+
+A change, too, takes place in him who resists. Icy apathy becomes burning,
+bitter hatred. The whole enginery of iniquity is set in motion to sweep
+off this strange foreign propaganda. Malicious placards are posted before
+every yamen and temple. Basest stories are retailed. "The barbarians dig
+out men's eyes and cut out men's hearts to make medicine of them." The
+thirst for revenge is engendered, until, like an unleashed tiger, the mob
+springs upon the missionary's home, and returns not till its thirst has
+been slaked with the blood of the righteous. That is the dark shadow
+hanging over missionary life in nearly every part of the Chinese Empire.
+
+We have had no name to add to the foreign missionary martyr list, from the
+region of Amoy.
+
+Chinese martyrs there may have been. Men who have endured the lifelong
+laceration of taunt and sneer and suffered the loss of well nigh all
+things, there have been not a few. Though the fires of persecution have
+burned with fiercer intensity in other parts of China, yet we have not
+escaped having our garments singed in some of their folds.
+
+Perhaps the most widespread anti-missionary uprising in China occurred
+during the years 1870 and 1871.
+
+It was during the summer of 1870 that Dr. Talmage was compelled to go to
+Chefoo, North China, for much-needed rest and change.
+
+On August 8th he wrote to Dr. J. M. Ferris:
+
+"The next day after my arrival at Chefoo the news was received of the
+terrible massacre at Tientsin on June 21st. (Tientsin is the port of
+Peking, and has a population of upwards of one million.) Nine Sisters of
+Charity, one foreign priest, the French consul and other French officials
+and subjects, and three Russians--in all, twenty-one Europeans--were
+massacred. Many of them were horribly mutilated. Especially is this true
+of all the Sisters. Their private residences and public establishments, as
+well as all the Protestant chapels within the city, were destroyed."
+
+Not long after, the American Presbyterian Mission at Tung chow, Shantung
+Province, North China, was broken up, for fear of an intended massacre.
+The missionaries were helped to Chefoo by two vessels sent by the British
+Admiral, Sir Henry Kellet.
+
+At Canton, vile stories about foreigners distributing poisonous pills were
+gotten up, and such was the seriousness of the crisis that two German
+missionaries had to flee for their lives, one having his mission premises
+utterly destroyed. A people whose credulity is most amazingly developed by
+feeding on fairy tales and demon adventures from their childhood, are
+prepared to believe anything about the "ocean barbarians" whose name is
+never spoken without mingled fear and hatred and suspicion.
+
+The ferment, started at Canton, spread along the coast. The people of Amoy
+were inoculated with the virus.
+
+On the 22d of September, 1871, Dr. Talmage addressed a letter to General Le
+Gendre, U. S. Consul at Amoy, informing him of the state of affairs in and
+about Amoy. The missionary knowing the language and having constant
+dealings with the people would be more likely to know the extent and
+gravity of any conspiracy against foreigners than the Consul. A part of
+the letter reads:
+
+"In July last inflammatory placards were extensively posted throughout the
+region about Canton, stating that foreigners had imported a large quantity
+of poison and had hired vagabond Chinese to distribute it among the people;
+that only foreigners had the antidote to this poison and that they refused
+to administer it, except for large sums of money or to such persons as
+embraced the foreigner's religion. In the latter part of July some of
+these placards and letters accompanying them were received by Chinese at
+Amoy from their Canton friends. They were copied, with changes to suit
+this region, and extensively circulated. The man who seems to have been
+most active in their circulation was the Cham-hu, the highest military
+official at Amoy under the Admiral. He united with the Hai-hong, a high
+civil official, in issuing a proclamation, warning the people to be on
+their guard against poison, which wicked people were circulating. This
+proclamation was not only circulated in the city of Amoy, but also in the
+country around.
+
+"It did not mention foreigners, but the people by some other means were
+made to understand that foreigners were meant. The district Magistrate of
+the city of Chiang-chiu issued a proclamation informing the people of the
+danger of poison, especially against poison in their wells. Two days later
+he issued another proclamation, reiterating his warnings, and informing the
+people that he had arrested and examined a man who confessed that he, with
+three others, had been employed by foreigners to engage in this work of
+poisoning the people.
+
+"Their especial business was to poison all the wells. This so-called
+criminal was speedily executed.
+
+"A few days afterwards a military official at Chiang-chiu also issued a
+proclamation to warn the people against poison, and giving the confession
+of the above-mentioned criminal with great particularity. The criminal is
+made to say that a few months ago he had been decoyed and sold to
+foreigners. In company with more than fifty others--he was conveyed by
+ship to Macao. There they were distributed among the foreign hongs, one to
+each hong. (Hong is pigeon English for business house.)
+
+"That afterwards he with three others was sent home, being furnished with
+poison for distribution, and with special direction to poison all the wells
+on their way. They were to refer all those on whom the poison took effect
+to a certain individual at Amoy, who would heal them gratuitously, only
+requiring of them their names. This, doubtless, is an allusion to the
+hospital for the Chinese at Amoy, where the names of the patients are of
+course recorded and they receive medicine and medical attendance
+gratuitously.
+
+"In this confession foreigners are designated by the opprobrious epithet of
+'little'--that is, contemptible--'demons.' This, by the way, is a phrase
+never used to designate foreigners in this region except by those in the
+mandarin offices. Besides the absurdity of charging foreigners with
+distributing poison, the whole confession bears the evidence not only of
+falsehood, but, if ever made, of having been put into the man's mouth by
+those inside the mandarin offices and forced from him by torture, for the
+express purpose of exciting the intensest hatred against foreigners.
+
+"In consequence, excitement and terror and hatred to foreigners, and
+consequently to native Christians, became most intense, and extended from
+the cities far into the country around. Wells were fenced in and put under
+lock and cover. People were called together by the beating of gongs to
+draw water. The buckets were covered in carrying water to guard against
+the throwing in of poison along the streets. At the entrances of some
+villages notices were posted warning strangers not to enter lest they be
+arrested as poisoners. In various places men were arrested and severely
+beaten on suspicion, merely because they were strangers. The native
+Christians everywhere were subjected to much obloquy and sometimes to
+imminent danger, charged with being under the influence of foreigners and
+employed by them to distribute poison.
+
+"Even at the Amoy hospital, which has been in existence nearly thirty
+years, the number of patients greatly decreased; some days there were
+almost none."
+
+In the large cities of Tong-an and Chinchew placards were posted in great
+numbers. They averred that black and red pills were being sold by the
+agents of foreigners under presence of curing disease and saving the world.
+
+Instead they were causes of terrible diseases which none but the foreign
+dogs or their agents could cure. And to get cured, one must join the
+foreign religion or else give great sums. It was asserted that all this
+poison emanated from the foreign chapels, was often thrown into wells, and
+secretly put into fish or other food in the markets.
+
+A preacher, sixty miles from Foochow, one hundred and fifty miles north of
+Amoy, barely escaped with his life. He was pounded with stones while the
+bystanders called out, "Kill the poisoner, the foreign devils' poisoner!"
+
+The whole object of this diabolical calumniating was to kindle the people
+into a frenzy against foreigners, especially missionaries, and to make
+foreign powers believe that the people are so anti-foreign that the
+authorities cannot secure a foreigner's safety outside of the treaty ports.
+
+Even when these reports were traveling like wildfire there were those among
+the Chinese who knew better, and it was often said, "It cannot be the
+missionaries and native Christians, for have they not been going in and out
+among us all these years and they never did us any harm?"
+
+Speaking of the "Political State of the Country," Dr. Talmage says:
+
+"With the atrocities committed at Tientsin the world is acquainted, though
+many seem still to be under the grievous error that these atrocities were
+designed only against Romanism and the French nation.
+
+"If this were the fact, it would be no justification. Others are under an
+error equally grievous, that the Chinese Government has given reasonable
+redress. It has given no proper redress at all. Instead of reprobating
+the massacre, it has almost, and doubtless to the ideas of the Chinese,
+fully sanctioned it. The leaders in the massacre have not been brought to
+justice. The Government has readily given life for life--a very easy
+matter in China--but it has so highly rewarded the families of the victims
+thus sacrificed to placate the barbarians, and put so much honor on the
+corpses of these martyrs to foreign demands, that it has encouraged similar
+atrocities whenever a suitable time shall arrive for their perpetration.
+The Imperial proclamation stating even this unsatisfactory redress, which
+the Government solemnly promised should be published throughout the land,
+has not been published except in a few instances where foreigners have
+compelled it. The massacre at Tientsin is known throughout the empire, but
+it is not known generally that any redress at all has been given.
+
+"Instead of the publication of this proclamation the vilest calumnies--too
+vile to be even mentioned in Christian ears--have been circulated secretly,
+but widely throughout the land. Throughout the coast provinces of this
+southern half of the empire the people have been warned of a grand
+poisoning scheme gotten up by foreigners for the destruction of the
+Chinese.
+
+"Because the foreign residents in China report the truth in regard to the
+feeling of hatred to foreigners, and warn the nations of the West of the
+coming war and designed extirpation of all foreigners, for which China is
+assuredly preparing with all its might, we are charged as being desirous of
+bringing on war. We know that the Church will not impute such motives to
+her missionaries. But the testimony of missionaries agrees in this respect
+with that of other foreign residents. We see the evidence, as we walk the
+streets, in the countenances and demeanor of the literati and officials,
+and somewhat in the countenances and demeanor of the masses.
+
+"We see it in the changed policy of the local magistrates toward the
+Christians; we learn it from rumors which are circulated from time to time
+among the people; we see it in the activity manifested in forming a proper
+navy and in preparing the army.
+
+"We learn it from the secret communications, some of which have reached the
+light, passing to and fro between the Imperial Government and the higher
+local authorities, and we fear that we have another proof in the barbarous
+treatment of a shipwrecked crew some two weeks ago along the coast a little
+to the north of Amoy.
+
+"A British mercantile steamer ran ashore in a fog. She was unarmed. The
+natives soon gathered in force and attacked the vessel. The people on
+board attempted to escape in their boats. These boats were afterwards
+attacked by a large fleet of fishing-boats and separated.
+
+"One boat's company were taken ashore, stripped naked, wounded, and robbed
+of everything. They finally made their way overland to Amoy. The other
+three boats, after the crew and passengers had been stripped and robbed,
+were let go to sea. They providentially fell in with a steamer which took
+them to Foochow. Such atrocities were once common here.
+
+"We do not believe that any large proportion of the foreign residents in
+China wish war. We do wish, however, the rights secured to us by treaty.
+These, with a proper policy, can be secured without war. We wish most
+heartily to avoid war. Besides all its other evils it would be a sad thing
+for our work and our churches. We still hope that God in His providence
+will ward it off. He will do it in answer to our prayers if so it be best
+for His cause. This is our only hope, and it is sufficient."
+
+The threatening war cloud did blow over, and a restraint, at least
+temporary, was laid upon the officials and the people in their treatment of
+foreigners.
+
+
+
+
+XI. THE LAST TWO DECADES.
+
+Dr. Talmage was a man of strong convictions, at the same time possessed of
+a spirit of genuine catholicity. The brethren connected with the London
+and English Presbyterian Missions recognized him as a true friend. In his
+later years he became the Nestor of the three Missions, the venerated
+patriarch, the trusted counselor.
+
+It will not be inappropriate to give two letters expressive of his
+good-will toward his fellow laborers. The one was written on the occasion
+of Rev. John Stronach's return to England:
+
+
+FORTY CONTINUOUS YEARS IN HEATHENISM.
+
+"March 16, 1876. Today we said farewell to the veteran missionary, Rev.
+John Stronach.
+
+"He has been laboring many years at this place in connection with the
+London Missionary Society. This morning he left us for his native land by
+a new route.
+
+"Each of the three Missions has one or more boats employed exclusively in
+carrying missionaries and native preachers on their trips to and from the
+various outstations accessible by water. These boats are called by the
+native Christians 'hok-im-chun,' which means 'Gospel boat.' Mr. Stronach
+embarked on one of these 'Gospel boats.' He expected to land at one of the
+Mission stations on the mainland northeast from Amoy, and then travel
+overland on foot or by sedan-chair to Foochow. He will spend the remaining
+nights of this week and the Sabbath at various stations under the care of
+the Missions at Amoy, and say some parting words to the native Christians.
+
+"He expects early next week to meet one of the Methodist missionaries of
+Foochow, and in company with him to pass on to that city, spending the
+nights at stations under the care of the Foochow Missions. We may now
+travel overland from Amoy to Foochow (a distance of one hundred and fifty
+miles) and spend every night, sometimes take our noonday meals, at a
+Christian chapel. Does this look as if missions were a failure in this
+region? At Foochow Mr. Stronach will take steamer for Shanghai, thence to
+Yokohama and San Francisco.
+
+"All the missionaries of Amoy and many Chinese Christians accompanied Mr.
+Stronach to the boat. It is very sad to say farewell to those with whom we
+have been long and pleasantly associated.
+
+"Mr. Stronach left England in 1837, thirty-nine years ago, to labor as a
+missionary in the East Indies.
+
+"He came to Amoy in 1844, shortly after this port was opened to foreign
+commerce and missionary labor. He was soon sent to Shanghai as one of the
+Committee of Delegates on the translation of the Scriptures into the
+Chinese language. If he had done nothing more for China than his share in
+this great work, the benefit would have been incalculable. After the
+completion of this work in 1853, he returned to Amoy, where he has labored
+continuously, with the exception of a short visit a few years ago to
+Hongkong and Canton, and a shorter one last year to Foochow. Very rarely
+has he been interrupted in his work by illness. In the history of modern
+missions few instances can be found of missionaries who have been permitted
+to labor uninterruptedly for nearly forty years, not even taking one
+furlough home.
+
+"In the case of Mr. Stronach the language concerning Moses may be literally
+applied, 'His eye is not dim, nor his natural force abated.' He does not
+yet have occasion to use spectacles, and the route he has taken proves him
+still full of mental and physical vigor. Think of the discoveries and
+inventions during the last forty years! Will Mr. Stronach recognize his
+native land? The good hand of the Lord be with him and make his remaining
+years as happy as his past ones have been useful."
+
+The other letter, to Rev. John M. Ferris, D.D., was written on the occasion
+of the death of the Rev. Carstairs Douglas, LL.D., one of the most
+accomplished and scholarly men ever sent to any mission field:
+
+
+"AUGUST 8, 1877.
+
+"By this mail we have sad news to send. It relates to the death of Rev.
+Carstairs Douglas, LL.D., of the English Presbyterian Mission at Amoy. He
+was the senior member of that Mission, having arrived at Amoy, July, 1855,
+twenty-two years ago.
+
+"Dr. Douglas, two weeks ago to-day, was in apparent good health. On that
+day he made calls on several members of the foreign community. To some of
+them he remarked, concerning his health, that he had never felt better.
+That evening he was in his usual place in our weekly prayer-meeting. The
+next morning at four o'clock he began to feel unwell, but did not wish to
+disturb others, so called no one until about half past six. Then some
+medicine was given him and he sat down at his study-table for the morning
+reading of his Hebrew Bible. About an hour after this he became much worse
+and the doctor was sent for. On his arrival the physician pronounced his
+disease to be cholera of the most virulent type, and the case to be almost
+without hope of recovery.
+
+"In consequence of our long and close intimacy word was soon sent to me. I
+hastened to see him. He was already very weak and could not converse
+without great effort. Everything was done for him that could be done. But
+he continued failing until about a quarter before six in the afternoon,
+July 26th, when he breathed his last. He knew what his disease was and
+what would probably be its termination, but evidently the King of Terrors
+had no terror for him. His end was peace. He retained his consciousness
+nearly to the last.
+
+"He was to have preached in our English chapel to the foreign community on
+the following Sabbath morning. He told us his text was Romans vi. 23, 'The
+wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
+Christ our Lord.' The text was so suitable to the occasion that I took it,
+and in his place on the next Sabbath morning preached his funeral sermon
+from his own text.
+
+"By overwork he had worn himself out, and made himself an old man while he
+was yet comparatively young in years. He came to China quite young and at
+the time of his death was only about forty-six years of age, and yet men
+who had recently become acquainted with him thought him over sixty. Is any
+one inclined to blame him too much for this, as though he wore himself out
+and sacrificed his life before the time? If so, he did it in a good cause
+and for a good Master. Besides this, he did more work during the
+twenty-two years of his missionary life than the most of men accomplish in
+twice that time. And then, he reminds us of One, who when only a little
+over thirty years of age, from similar causes, seems to have acquired the
+appearance of nearly fifty (John viii. 57).
+
+"Recently, especially during the last year, it was manifest, at least to
+others, that his physical strength was fast giving way. Yet he could not
+be prevailed upon to leave his field for a season for temporary rest, or
+even to lessen the amount of his work.
+
+"I never knew a more incessant worker. He was a man of most extensive
+general information. I think I have never met with his equal in this
+respect. He was acquainted with several modern European languages and was a
+thorough student of the original languages of Holy Scripture, as witness
+the fact of his study of the Hebrew Bible, even after his last sickness had
+commenced. As regards the Chinese language, he was already taking his
+place among the first sinologues of the land. We were indebted more to
+him, perhaps, than to any other one man for the success of the recent
+General Missionary Conference (at Shanghai).
+
+[At this first General Conference of the Protestant missionaries of China,
+held at Shanghai in May, 1877, Dr. Talmage preached the opening sermon and
+read a paper, the title of which was, "Should the native churches in China
+be united ecclesiastically and independent of foreign churches and
+societies?"]
+
+"As a member of the Committee of Arrangements he labored indefatigably by
+writing Ietters and in other ways to make it a success, and though
+comparatively so young, he well deserved the honor bestowed on him in
+making him one of the presidents of that body. 'Know ye not that there is
+a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?'
+
+"This is a great blow to the English Presbyterian Mission in this place.
+It is also, because of the intimate relations of the two missions and the
+oneness of the churches under our care, a great blow to us. It is a great
+blow to the whole mission work in China--greater, perhaps, than the loss
+of any other man. You will not wonder that I, from my long intimacy with
+him, feel the loss deeply, more and more deeply every day and week, as the
+days and weeks pass away without him."
+
+
+CHINESE GRANDILOQUENCE.
+
+An episode in connection with the visit to China in 1878 of Dr. Jacob
+Chamberlain, of the Arcot Mission, is described in a letter to Dr. Goyn
+Talmage, as follows:
+
+"Dear Goyn: I suppose I told you about the pleasant visit we had from Dr.
+Chamberlain and family. The Doctor went with me to Chiang-chiu. While
+there his carpet-bag was stolen out of the boat. We reported the case to a
+military officer, and told him that we wanted the bag very much, and if he
+could get it for us, we should make no trouble about having the thief
+punished. In a few days after our return to Amoy the bag was sent to us
+with all its contents complete. We bought an umbrella--a nice silk
+one--and sent it up to the officer as a present. Perhaps you would like to
+see a translation of the letter he sent in reply. It will illustrate
+Chinese politeness. The letter reads as follows:
+
+"'When the flocks of wild geese make their orderly flight,--the glorious
+autumnal season deserving of laudation,--my thoughts wander far away to
+you, Teacher Talmage, whose noble presence is worthy to be saluted with bow
+profound, and whose dignified manners invite to close intimacy. Alas, that
+our acquaintance should have been formed at this late day!--and that, too,
+when, by wafting and by the plying of oars, having arrived at 'the stream
+of the fragrant grain fields' (poetic name for the region of Chiang-chiu),
+you met with the mishap of doggish thieves taking advantage of your want of
+watchfulness! Truly, the blame of this rests on me. How, then, can I have
+the hardihood to receive from you a present of value! A reward of demerit,
+how can I endure it! During the three stages of life, (youth, middle age,
+and old age,) I shall not be able to repay. It is only by inheritance (not
+by my own merit) that I obtained the imperial favor of office. Thus, my
+deficiency in the knowledge of official laws and governmental regulations
+has subjected you to fear and anxiety. Shame on me in the extreme! shame
+in the extreme! Only by the greatest stretch could I hope to meet with
+forbearance, how then could you take trouble and manifest kindness by
+sending a present. Writing cannot exhaust my words, and words can not
+exhaust my meaning. It will be necessary to come and express my thanks in
+person. Such are my supplications and such is my sense of obligation. May
+there be golden peace to you, Teacher Talmage, and will your excellency
+please bestow your brilliant glance on what I have written!'
+
+"Is not that a specimen of humility? The stealing was because of his
+neglect of duty, and his neglect of duty was because of inability, having
+obtained his office through the merit of his father or grandfather. Of
+course he kept the umbrella."
+
+August 18, 1887, marked the fortieth anniversary of Dr. Talmage's arrival
+in China. He said so little about it, however, that it was not known by
+the friends of the other missions until the very day dawned.
+
+The members of the English Presbyterian Mission--ladies and
+gentlemen--immediately concluded to secure some suitable memento expressive
+of their regard for Dr. Talmage and his work. A set of Macaulay's History
+of England, bound in tree calf, and a finely bound copy of the latest
+edition of the Royal Atlas, were sent for. In connection with the
+presentation the following letter from Rev. W. McGregor was read:
+
+"Amoy, April 3, 1888.
+
+"Dear Dr. Talmage:
+
+"When on the 18th of last August we learned that that day was the fortieth
+anniversary of your arrival in China, the news came upon us unexpectedly.
+We wished we had had more forethought and kept better count of the years,
+so that we might have made more of the occasion. Each of us felt a desire
+to present you with some token of our regard, and it seemed to us for many
+reasons best that we should do so unitedly as members of the English
+Presbyterian Mission in Amoy. We had at the time nothing suitable to offer
+you, but we agreed on certain books to be sent for,--not as having any
+special relations to the work in which you have been engaged, but as being
+each a standard work of its kind. The books have now arrived, and I have
+much pleasure in sending them to you as something that may be kept in your
+family as a memorial of the day and a small token of our high esteem for
+yourself personally and of the great value we attach to the work you have
+done in the service of our common Lord.
+
+"I am, yours truly,
+
+"Wm. McGregor.
+
+"On behalf of the members of the English Presbyterian Mission, Amoy."
+
+Dr. Talmage was blessed with a most vigorous physical constitution, but
+years of struggle with one of the complaints peculiar to the tropics,
+finally compelled his retirement from the Mission field.
+
+In the summer of 1889, Dr. and Mrs. Talmage embarked on the steamship
+Arabia for the United States. Dr. Talmage turned his face to the old
+home-village, Bound Brook, New Jersey, all the time cherishing the hope of
+one more return to China and his laying down the shepherd's crook and robe
+among the flock he had gathered from among the heathen. That hope was not
+to be realized. Though he had left Amoy, yet he ceased not to do what he
+could for the work there. Though compelled to lie on his back much of the
+time, making writing difficult, he sent letters to the Chinese Monthly
+Magazine and to not a few of the pastors, encouraging them in their labors.
+Chiefly did he devote himself to the completion of a Character Colloquial
+Dictionary in the Amoy language, intended to be of special service to the
+Chinese Christian Church. It was intended to facilitate the study of the
+Chinese Character, especially those Characters used in the Chinese Bible.
+It was also calculated to promote the study of the Romanized Colloquial
+Version of the Scriptures as well as other Romanized Colloquial literature.
+
+In the midst of multiplied duties and many distractions he had wrought on
+it for upwards of a score of years. He was eager to make it thoroughly
+reliable. He spared no pains to that end. He always felt very much out of
+patience with any one who would give to the public an inaccurate book; and
+it was the desire to make his dictionary as accurate as possible that kept
+him from having it published some years since.
+
+He consulted Chinese literary men. He pored over Chinese dictionaries. He
+brought it home with him, requiring, as he thought, still further revision,
+and his last labors were the completion of it with the valued assistance of
+the Rev. Daniel Rapalje, of the Amoy Mission. It is now going through the
+press and will soon be at the service of missionaries and native brethren
+who have eagerly awaited its appearance for many years.
+
+His strength gradually failed and on August 19, 1892, in his seventy-third
+year, he quietly breathed his last at Bound Brook, New Jersey.
+
+The mortal tent loosened down and folded was laid away in the family plot
+near Somerville, New Jersey. Most of his living, working years he had
+spent far away from the ancestral home. It was God's will that his dust
+should find a place next to the kindred dust of father and mother, sister
+and brother, in the peaceful God's acre but a few miles from the old
+homestead.
+
+Dr. Talmage left a wife, two daughters and three sons, and a goodly circle
+of relatives and friends to mourn his departure. Mrs. Talmage has since
+returned to the Talmage Manse at Amoy and taken up afresh her chosen work
+in educating the ill-privileged and ignorant women of China. The two
+daughters, Miss Katharine and Miss Mary, are rendering most faithful and
+efficient service, too, among China's mothers and daughters. Rev. David M.
+Talmage fills a pastorate with the Reformed Church of Westwood, New Jersey.
+Mr. John Talmage is a rice merchant at New Orleans, Louisiana. Rev. George
+E. Talmage ministers to the Lord's people at Mott Haven, New York.
+
+When the sun of Dr. Talmage's life set, it was to the Chinese brethren at
+Amoy, like the setting of a great hope. The venerable teacher had left
+them two years before, but he had not spoken a final farewell. They and he
+looked for one more meeting on earth. He was known to the whole Chinese
+Church in and about Amoy for a circuit of a hundred miles. He sat at its
+cradle. He watched its growth until within two years of the day when it
+went forth two bands united in one Synod with twenty organized,
+self-supporting churches, nineteen native pastors, upwards of two thousand
+communicants and six thousand adherents.
+
+In the many breaks that occur in the missionary constituency, his life was
+the one chain of continuity. The Churches had come to feel that whoever
+failed them, they had Teacher Talmage still. His departure was like the
+falling down of a venerable cathedral, leaving the broken and bleeding ivy
+among the dust and debris. The Chinese Christians had leaned hard upon
+him. They loved and revered him as a father. Since he passed away his
+name has seldom been mentioned in any public assembly of the Church by any
+of the Chinese brethren without the broken and trembling utterance that has
+called forth from a listening congregation the silent, sympathetic tear.
+
+Great and good man, fervent preacher, inspiring teacher, wise and
+sympathetic counselor, generous friend, affectionate father,--farewell,
+till the morning breaks and we meet in the City of Light. "And behold these
+shall come from far, and lo, these from the north, and from the west, and
+these from the land of Sinim."
+
+  "Oh then what raptured greetings,
+  What knitting severed friendships up,
+  Where partings are no more."
+
+
+
+
+XII. IN MEMORIAM.
+
+
+DR. TALMAGE-THE MAN.
+
+BY REV. W. S. SWANSON, D.D.
+
+[Dr. Swanson was for twenty years a valued member of the English
+Presbyterian Mission at Amoy, and subsequently Secretary of the Board of
+Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church of England until his death,
+November 24, 1893]
+
+My first meeting with Dr. Talmage took place in the early days of July,
+1860, and from that day till the day of his death he was regarded as not
+only one of the best and most valued friends, but I looked up to him as a
+father beloved and respected.
+
+One cannot help recalling now the impressions of those early days. There
+was a marked individuality about this man that made you regard him whether
+you would or not. You felt that he was a man bound to lead and to take the
+foremost place amongst his brethren and all with whom he came in touch.
+There was a firmness of tread, and the brave courage of conviction, united
+with a womanly tenderness, that were unmistakable.
+
+You saw he had made up his mind before he spoke, and that when he did speak
+he spoke with a fullness of knowledge that few men possessed. He was every
+inch of him a man.
+
+And what touched us very much, who were young men, was the tender
+forbearance with which he always treated us. We saw this more clearly as
+the years passed on, and learned how much, perhaps, he had to bear from
+some of us whose assertiveness in some matters was in the inverse ratio of
+our knowledge. The reference here is to matters and methods regarding our
+work as missionaries to the Chinese. He bore with us, and knew well the
+day would come when, with increasing knowledge, there would come increasing
+hesitation in pronouncing too hastily on the problems we had to face; and
+he knew well that day would come if there was anything in us at all.
+
+In my own study of the Chinese language he and another who also has gone to
+the "better land"--the Rev. Dr. Douglas--assisted in every possible way;
+and to both in this line am I indebted for what was the most important
+furnishing in the first instance for every missionary to China. I can well
+remember the plane upon which Dr. Talmage placed this study of the
+language.
+
+It was our work for Christ, at this stage a far more important one than any
+other. He encouraged us to use whatever vocables we had got, no matter
+whether we were met with the wondering smile of the Chinaman in his vain
+endeavor to understand us, or to keep from misunderstanding us.
+
+"Use whatever you have got, be glad when you are corrected, but use your
+words." To some of us the advice was invaluable.
+
+And in other ways the same spirit was manifest. He did all he could to get
+us to attend every Christian gathering, to sit and listen to the business
+of the Sessions, and to show the Chinese as soon as possible that we were
+one with them, and he succeeded. There was an enthusiasm and warmth
+distinguishing these early days of the Amoy church that were formative in a
+very high degree, and that are now a precious memory.
+
+Then Dr. Talmage was a scholar, with a very wide range of scholarship. We
+looked up to him and we respected him, with an esteem few men have ever
+won. And in conjunction with his scholarly furnishing there was an
+absorbing, consuming zeal for Christ and His kingdom, and an intense love
+for the Chinese people. If he had not this latter, he could not have been
+the unmistakably influential and successful missionary he was. These,
+coupled with a Christian walk and devotion, formed the furnishing of this
+man of God.
+
+He was also a true gentleman, a Christian gentleman in every sense of the
+word. The best proof of this was that we loved him, and if the foreign
+ladies in Amoy who knew him were asked what they thought of him--many of
+them have gone to rest--they would hardly get words to tell out all their
+respect and love for him. His visits in our houses were most welcome, and
+when he spent an evening with us there was always sunshine where he was.
+He was essentially a happy man, and nothing pleased him more than to see
+all happy around him.
+
+There is still one point to which reference must here be made.
+Missionaries were not the only foreign residents in Amoy. There was also a
+considerable number of American and European merchants. Unfortunately the
+missionaries and the merchants did not always see eye to eye. Dr. Talmage
+was a favorite with every one of them. They esteemed him, they would have
+done anything to serve him; and at no cost of principle or testimony he won
+this place with them.
+
+And to those who know the conditions of life in China, it will be at once
+understood what a man he must have been to win such a position.
+
+It may not be generally known that in Amoy we have a "Union English
+Church," with regular Sabbath services in English. These services were
+conducted by the missionaries in turn. And we fear it may also not be
+known what Dr Talmage's powers as a preacher were. He was a very prince
+among English preachers; and if he had remained in America this would very
+soon have been acknowledged. There were no tricks or devices of manner or
+words employed by him for winning the popular ear. He never seemed to
+forget the solemnity and responsibility of his position in the pulpit. He
+hesitated not "to declare the whole counsel of God." He stands before me
+now as I listen with bated breath to the fire of his eloquence, denouncing
+where denunciation was needed, contending with a burning earnestness that
+never failed to carry us with him, for "the faith once delivered to the
+saints," and then with exquisite tenderness seeking to draw his hearers to
+Him who is Saviour and Brother. He never failed to think and speak as much
+about temptation as about sin. It was a real feast to attend the English
+service when it was conducted by him. And during all my time in Amoy,
+there was always a large congregation when Dr. Talmage was the preacher.
+
+He was not all tenderness. He would only have been a one-sided man if this
+were all. He was as strong as he was tender; a keen and powerful opponent
+in discussion. And we often had very warm and keen discussions; keener and
+warmer than I had ever seen before I went to Amoy, or have ever seen since.
+We had to discuss principles and methods of translation, hymnology, Church
+work, Church discipline, and many other subjects. And there was no mincing
+of matters at these discussions. Foremost amongst us was Dr. Talmage,
+tenaciously and persistently advocating the view he happened to have taken
+on any question. There were men of very strong individuality among us, and
+these gave as good as they got. I can recall these scenes, but I cannot
+recall a single word he said that involved a personal wound or left a barb.
+When it was all over he was the same loving brother, and not an atom of
+bitterness was left behind. By us, the brethren of the English
+Presbyterian Mission, he was looked up to as a revered father, just as much
+as he was by the brethren of his own Mission. This will be seen more fully
+further on, and a simple statement of the fact is all that is necessary
+here.
+
+There is another and most sacred relation--his position as the head of a
+family,--the veil of which it seems almost sacrilege to uplift. But it
+must be said, and it is only a well-known fact, that few happier homes
+exist than his home was. He was there what he was elsewhere, the man of
+God.
+
+Dr. Talmage was not perfect. He was essentially a humble man, and he would
+be the first to tell us that of every sinner saved by grace, he was the
+most unworthy. And when he said it, he felt it. And he had not the very
+most distant idea how great a man he was. Sometimes one fears that this
+very modesty pushed to an extreme prevented others who did not know his
+life and his work from accurately gauging his real work. Better perhaps,
+he would say, that it should be so; better to think of the work than of the
+workers. To hold up Christ and to be hidden behind Him is the highest
+privilege of those engaged in the service of this King. And this, his
+uniform bearing, made him all the greater.
+
+
+DR. TALMAGE-THE MISSIONARY.
+
+It would be useless speculation to lay down here what should be the special
+qualifications of a missionary to the Chinese. The better way is to find
+them in the concrete, so far as you can do so in an individual, and set Him
+forth as an example for others. The friend of whom we write would
+deprecate this, but it is the only way in which we can see him as he was
+and account for the singularly prominent place he occupied amongst us.
+
+I do not need to say here that he was a man of faith and prayer, earnest
+and zealous for the spread of Christ's Kingdom; in the face of difficulties
+and dangers, of disappointments and failures, maintaining an unwavering
+faith that the Kingdom must come and would yet rule over all.
+
+He had both an intense love for his work and enthusiasm in carrying it on.
+He came with a definite message to the people to whom the Master had sent
+him. There was no apologizing for it, no watering it down, no uncertain
+sound about it with him. Christ and Christ alone can meet the wants and
+woes of humanity,--Chinese or American or British. He had no doubt about
+it whatever; and hereby some of us learned that if we had not this message
+it would have been far better for us to have stayed at home. And this
+feature marked him all over his course. You felt as you listened to his
+pleadings that sin and salvation were terms brimful of meaning to him. He
+had traveled this road, and all his pleadings seemed to be summed up in the
+one yearning cry, "Come with us and we will do thee good." "This is a
+faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into
+the world to save sinners." And he would have gone to the end, "of whom I
+am chief."
+
+Then he had a great love for the people. He made himself acquainted with
+the family and social conditions of the people. He had not come to
+Americanize but to Christianize the Chinese. And for this he equipped
+himself. I never saw him so happy as when he was surrounded by them. He
+was then in his real element, answering their questions, solving their
+difficulties, opening up to them the Scriptures, and meeting them wherever
+he thought they needed to be met. And go to his study when you liked, you
+almost always found some Chinese Christians there. He was the great
+referee, to whom they carried home difficulties and family trials, assured
+that his sympathy and advice would never be denied them. This endeared him
+to them in an extraordinary manner. We never on such occasions found a
+trace of impatience with him. What would have annoyed others did not seem
+to annoy him, and the consequence was that the whole church loved him.
+There was an inexhaustible well of tenderness in the man's nature, and it
+was sweetened by the grace of God in his heart.
+
+We sometimes thought he erred by excess in this particular. He was
+unwilling to think anything but good of them, and was thus apt to be
+influenced too much by designing and astute Chinamen. Often we have heard
+it said, "Well, if you won't listen to us, Dr. Talmage will." But, looking
+back to-day over it all, if it was a fault, it was one that leant to
+virtue's side. He was wonderfully unsuspicious: and so far as his fellow
+men were concerned, Chinese or Westerns, the mental process which he almost
+invariably employed was to try to find out what good there was in a man.
+And now one loves him all the more for such a Christlike spirit.
+
+Dr. Talmage was thoroughly acquainted with the spoken language of Amoy.
+Few men, if any, had a more extensive knowledge of its vocables. He spoke
+idiomatically and beautifully as the Chinese themselves spoke, and not as
+he thought they should speak. There was no slipshod work with him in this
+particular. Here was the indispensable furnishing and he must get it. And
+he did get it in no average measure. This was the prime requisite, and
+through no other avenue could he get really and honestly to work. There is
+no royal road to the acquisition of the Chinese language. It is only by
+dint of hard, plodding, and persevering study one can acquire an adequate
+acquaintance with it.
+
+And till the last he never gave up his study of it. He was not satisfied,
+and no true missionary ever will be satisfied with such a smattering of
+knowledge as may enable him to proclaim a few Christian doctrines. Such
+superficiality was not his aim or end. And when he first acquired Chinese,
+it was more difficult to do so. There were no aids in the way of
+dictionaries or vocabularies.
+
+It may be his knowledge of the language was all the more accurate on this
+account. He got it from the fountain-head, and not through foreign
+sources. He was thus qualified to take a prominent place in all the
+varied work of a mission--in translation, in revision, and in
+hymnology--departments as important and as influential for attaining the
+end in view as any other possible department in the Mission.
+
+As a preacher to the Chinese he was unrivaled. The people hung on his lips
+and never seemed to lose a word. He was in this respect a model to every
+one of us younger men.
+
+The ideal of the church in China which he had set before him, the goal he
+desired to reach, was a native, self-governing, self-supporting, and
+self-propagating church. This is now axiomatic.
+
+It was not so in those early days. The men in Amoy then were men for whom
+we have to thank God--men ahead of their time, with generous and
+far-reaching ideas; not working only for their own present, but laying the
+foundation for a great future. Side by side with him were the brethren of
+the English Presbyterian Mission, with whom he had the fullest sympathy,
+and they had the fullest sympathy with him. It is difficult to say who
+were foremost in pressing the idea of an organized native church. All were
+equally convinced and strove together for the one great end. After many
+years of waiting the church grew. Congregations were formed and organized
+with their own elders and deacons, and in this he took the first steps. He
+was a born organizer. And then came the next great step, the creation of a
+Presbytery and the ordination in an orderly manner of native pastors. Some
+congregations were ready to call and support such pastors, and the men were
+there, for the careful training of native agents had always been a marked
+feature of the Amoy Mission. But how was it to be done? Common sense led
+to only one conclusion. This church must not be an exotic; it must be
+native, independent of the home churches. And there must be kept in view
+what was a fact already--the union between the Missions of the "Reformed
+Church" and of the "English Presbyterian Church." It must be done, and done
+in this way, and so it was done.
+
+The Presbytery was created with no native pastor in the first instance, but
+with native elders and the missionaries of both Missions. Then came a
+struggle that would have tried the stoutest hearts.
+
+The "Reformed Church" in America declined to recognize this newly-created
+Presbytery. Dr. Talmage went home and fought the battle and won the day.
+
+To its great honor be it said, the General Synod of the "Reformed Church"
+rescinded its resolution of the previous year, and allowed their honored
+brethren, the missionaries, to take their own way. So convinced were the
+missionaries of the wisdom, yea, the necessity, of the course they had
+taken, that they were prepared to resign rather than retrace their steps.
+
+But that painful step was not necessary. The Synod of the English
+Presbyterian Church gave their missionaries a free hand. There is this,
+however, to be said for the General Synod of the "Reformed Church." It was
+only love for their agents and deep interest in this Mission that prompted
+their original action. They feared that by the creation of this native and
+independent church court, the tie that bound them to the men and the work
+might be loosened; and when they saw there was no risk of that, they at
+once acquiesced. But it was Dr. Talmage's irresistible pleadings that won
+their hearts.
+
+The native church has grown. About twenty native pastors have been
+ordained, settled, and entirely supported by their own congregations. The
+Presbytery has grown so large that it has to be divided into two
+presbyteries; and these, with the Presbytery of Swatow, where brethren of
+the "English Presbyterian Church" are working, will form the Synod of the
+native Presbyterian Church in those regions of China.
+
+In connection with all this we must mention another name--the name of one
+very dear to Dr. Talmage, and of one to whom he was very dear. They were
+one in heart and soul about this. We refer to the Rev. Dr. Douglas, of the
+English Presbyterian Mission. They stood side by side during all their
+work in Amoy.
+
+Dr. Talmage was by a good many years the predecessor in the field. They
+were both great men, men of very different temperament, and yet united.
+Not on this point, but on many another, they failed to see eye to eye, but
+they were always united in heart and aim. True and lasting union can only
+exist where free play is given to distinct individualities.
+
+And so it has always been with this union, the first, I believe, between
+Presbyterian Churches in any mission field. And when the history of the
+Amoy Mission comes to be written, these two men will have a leading place
+in it; for to them more than to any others do we owe almost all that is
+distinctive there in union and in methods of work.
+
+And when our beloved father Talmage passed from earth to heaven, what
+thankfulness must have filled his heart. In the night of his first years
+in China there were labor and toil, but there was no fruit for him. The
+dawn came and the first converts of his own Mission were gathered in. When
+he went to rest, there was a native church; there were native pastors;
+orderly church courts; a well equipped theological college, the common
+property of the two Missions; successful medical missionary work, woman's
+work in all its branches, and a native church covering a more extensive
+region than he had in the early days dreamt of. And there was another
+honored Mission in Amoy--that of the London Missionary Society, whose
+operations have been followed by abundant and singular success. To this
+Mission he was warmly attached; and he never, so far as we can remember,
+ceased to show the deepest interest in its work, and the heartiest
+rejoicing at its success.
+
+And now he has gone, the last, we may say, of the men who began the work of
+the Presbyterian Mission of Christ in China; but ere he passed away, he
+knew that men of God were still there with the old enthusiasm and the old
+appetite for solid and substantial work.
+
+We cannot part with him now without one fond and lingering look behind.
+Burns, Sandeman, Doty, Douglas, and Talmage; what a galaxy these early
+pioneers in Amoy were. Few churches have had such gifts from God, few
+fields more devoted, whole-hearted missionaries. It was a privilege to
+know them, to work with them, to learn at their feet, unworthy though some
+of us may be as their successors.
+
+May the Lord of the Harvest rouse His own Church by their memories to
+greater energy and self denial in the spread of His Kingdom.
+
+Their memories will never die in China. Those who have lately visited Amoy
+tell us that they who knew them among the Chinese Christians speak lovingly
+and fondly of those early heroes. And they will tell their children what
+they were and what they did, and so generation after generation will hear
+the story, and find how true it is that workers die, but their work never
+dies. "Their works do follow them."
+
+
+VENERABLE TEACHER TALMAGE.
+
+TRIBUTE OF PASTOR IAP HAN CHIONG.
+
+[Pastor Iap was the first pastor of the Chinese Church]
+
+Teacher Talmage was very gentle. He wished ever to be at peace with men.
+If he saw a man in error he used words of meekness in convincing and
+converting the man from his error. Whether he exhorted, encouraged or
+instructed, his words were words of prudence, seasoned with salt, so that
+men were glad to receive and obey.
+
+Teacher Talmage was a lover of men. When he saw a man in distress and it
+was right for him to help, he helped. In peril, he exerted himself to
+deliver the man; in weakness, in danger of falling, he tried to uphold;
+suffering oppression, he arose to the defense, fearing no power, but
+contending earnestly for the right.
+
+Teacher Talmage was very gracious in receiving men, whether men of position
+or the common people. He treated all alike. If they wished to discuss any
+matter with him and get his advice, he would patiently listen to their
+tale. If he had any counsel to give, he gave it. If he felt he could not
+conscientiously have anything to do with the affair, he told the men
+forthwith.
+
+He could pierce through words, and see through men's countenances and judge
+what the man was, who was addressing him.
+
+Teacher Talmage had great eloquence and possessed great intelligence. His
+utterance was clear, his voice powerful, his exposition of doctrine very
+thorough. Men listened and the truth entered their ears and their hearts
+understood.
+
+Teacher Talmage was grave in manner. He commanded the respect and praise
+of men. His was a truly ministerial bearing. Men within and without the
+Church venerated him.
+
+Sometimes differences between brethren arose. Teacher Talmage earnestly
+exhorted to harmony. Even serious differences, which looked beyond
+healing, were removed, because men felt constrained to listen to his
+counsel.
+
+Teacher Talmage was exceedingly diligent. When not otherwise engaged,
+morning and afternoon found him in his study reading, writing, preparing
+sermons, translating books.
+
+He preached every Sabbath. He conducted classes of catechumens. He
+founded the Girls' School at the Church "Under the Bamboos." He founded
+the Theological Seminary. Others taught with him, but he was the master
+spirit. He was ten points careful that everything relating to the
+organization and administration of the Church should be in accordance with
+the Holy Book.
+
+Only at the urgent request of two physicians did he finally leave China.
+He was prepared to die and to be buried at Amoy. And this was not because
+he was not honored in his ancestral country, or could find no home. No, he
+had sons, he had a brother, he had nephews and nieces, he had many
+relatives and friends who greatly reverenced and loved him.
+
+But Teacher Talmage could not bear to be separated from the Church in
+China. Surely this was imitating the heart of Christ. Surely this was
+loving the people of China to the utmost.
+
+
+REV. JOHN VAN NEST TALMAGE, D.D.
+
+BY REV. S. L. BALDWIN, D.D.,
+
+[Recording Secretary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal
+Church.]
+
+My memory of Dr. Talmage dates back to the year 1846. I was then but
+eleven years old, but I remember distinctly the earnestness of his manner,
+as he preached early in that year in the Second Reformed Church of
+Somerville, New Jersey. His missionary zeal was of the most intense
+character.
+
+I was present at the Missionary Convention, at Millstone, New Jersey,
+August 26, 1846, and saw him ordained. The Rev. Gabriel Ludlow preached
+from 2 Timothy ii. I, and the charge to the candidate was given by the Rev.
+Elihu Doty, of Amoy. Mr. Doty, at a children's meeting in the afternoon,
+asked us whether we would come to help in the missionary work, and asked us
+to write down the question and think and pray about it, and when we had
+made up our minds to write an answer underneath the question. I did "think
+and pray about it," and some weeks afterward, under a sense of duty, wrote
+"Yes" under it. From that time on, it was not a strange thought to me, to
+go to China as a missionary; and when the call came in 1858, I was ready.
+In 1860, on my first visit to Amoy, I renewed old acquaintanceship, and
+during my twenty-two years in China was several times a guest in Dr.
+Talmage's family.
+
+He was in the very front rank of missionaries. For ability, for fidelity,
+for usefulness, he had few equals. As a preacher, he was clear, forceful,
+fearless. As a translator, his work was marked by carefulness and
+accuracy. In social life, old-fashioned hospitality made every one feel at
+home, and one would have to travel far to find a more animated and
+interesting conversationalist. He held his convictions with great
+tenacity, and was a powerful debater, but always courteous to his
+opponents.
+
+Many missionaries fell by his side, or were obliged to leave the field; and
+in the providence of God he remained until he was the oldest of all the
+American missionaries in China. His was a most pure and honorable record,
+and his death was universally lamented. From little beginnings, he was
+privileged to see one of the most flourishing of the native communions of
+China arise and attain large numbers and great influence among the
+Christian churches of the empire.
+
+Such a history and such a record are to be coveted. May the Head of the
+Church raise up many worthy successors to this true and noble man!
+
+
+THE REV. J. V. N. TALMAGE, D.D..
+
+BY REV. TALBOT W. CHAMBERS, D.D., LL.D.,
+
+[Pastor of the Collegiate Reformed Church, New York City.]
+
+My acquaintance with Dr. Talmage began at a very early period. During the
+years 1842-5 his father was Sheriff of Somerset Co., N. J., and resided at
+Somerville. While there he and his wife were members in communion of the
+Second Reformed Dutch Church, of which I was pastor; and from them I heard
+frequently of their son John, who was then a student in New Brunswick.
+
+He prosecuted his studies in the College and Theological Seminary with zeal
+and success, and was duly licensed, and then, while awaiting the arrival of
+the period when he would be sent to join the mission in China, he accepted
+the position of assistant to the Rev. Dr. Brodhead, who at that time was
+minister of the Central Church of Brooklyn. Here his services were very
+acceptable, and the training under such an experienced man of God was of
+great value to him. His course was what might have been expected of one
+reared in a peculiarly pious household. His father was a cheerful and
+exemplary Christian, and his mother was the godliest woman I ever knew.
+Her religion pervaded her whole being, and seemed to govern every thought,
+word, and deed, yet never was morbid or overstrained. The robust common
+sense which characterized her and her husband descended in full measure
+upon their son John. His consecration to the mission work was complete,
+and his interest in the cause was very deep, but it never manifested itself
+in unseemly or extravagant ways.
+
+So far as I can recall, there was nothing particularly brilliant or
+original in the early sermons or addresses of the young missionary--nothing
+of those wondrous displays of word-painting, imagination, and dramatic
+power which have made his brother, Dr. T. De Witt Talmage, famous. But
+there was a mental grasp, a force and a fire which often induced the remark
+that he was too good to be sent to the heathen, there being many at that
+time who labored under the mistake that a missionary did not require to be
+a man of unusual ability, that gifts and acquirements were thrown away on a
+life spent among idolaters. Still, while this was the case, none of his
+friends expected that he would develop such marked and varied power as was
+seen in his entire course at Amoy. I remember the surprise with which I
+heard the late Dr. Swanson, of London, say from his own observation during
+ten years of the closest intercourse at Amoy, that Dr. Talmage was equally
+distinguished and efficient in every part of the missionary's work, whether
+in preaching the Word, or translating the Scriptures, or creating a
+Christian literature, or training native workers. Nothing seemed to come
+amiss to him; everywhere he was facile princeps. I suppose that the
+explanation is found in his thorough and unreserved consecration. He was
+given heart and soul to the work. Whatever he did was done with his whole
+mind. There was no vacillation or indecision, but a deliberate
+concentration of all his faculties upon the task set before him. Nor did
+he work by spurts or through temporary enthusiasm, but with a steady,
+unyielding determination. So he went on through life without haste and
+without rest, doing his best at all times and in every species of service,
+and thus earning the brilliant reputation he acquired. The same qualities
+rendered him as wise in counsel as he was efficient in working. He was
+able to look on both sides of a given problem, was not inclined to snap
+judgments, but preferred to discriminate, to weigh, and, if need be, to
+wait. Yet, when the time came, the decision was ready.
+
+He perceived earlier than his brethren at home the true policy as to
+churches in heathen lands, that is, that they should not be mere
+continuations of the denomination whose missionaries had been the means of
+founding them, but should have an independent existence and grow upon the
+soil where they were planted, taking such form and order as Providence
+might suggest. When the proposal was made in accordance with these views
+to build up a native Chinese Church strictly autonomous, there was an
+immediate revulsion. The General Synod in 1863 emphatically declined to
+consent, not, however, from denominational bigotry, but on the ground that
+the new converts must have some standards of faith and order, and, if so,
+why not ours, which had been tested by centuries? And, moreover, if they
+were to be regarded as an integral part of the Church at home, that fact
+would prove to be a powerful incitement to prayer and liberality on the part
+of our people. But the rebuff did not dishearten Dr. Talmage. He renewed
+the appeal the next year, and had the satisfaction of seeing it succeed.
+Full consent was given to the aim to build up a strong, self-governing,
+and, as soon as might be, self-supporting body of native churches in China,
+who should leave behind the prejudices of the past, and form themselves
+under the teaching of God's Spirit and Providence in such way as would best
+meet the demands of the time and be most efficient in advancing the Kingdom
+of God upon the earth. The consequences have been most happy. The
+missionaries of the Presbyterian Church have cordially co-operated in
+renouncing all denominational interests and giving all diligence to the
+forming of what might be called a Chinese Christian Church, freed from any
+external bond and at liberty to shape its own character and course under
+the guidance of the Divine Spirit. The experiment has been entirely
+successful, and stands conspicuous as a testimony to the true policy of
+carrying on missionary work in countries where there is already an antique
+civilization and certain social habits which need to be taken account of.
+
+Dr. Talmage always kept himself in touch with the Church at home by
+correspondence or by personal intercourse. His visits to America were in
+every case utilized to the fullest extent, save when hindered by impaired
+health.
+
+It is matter of joyful congratulation that he was permitted to finish the
+usual term of man's years in the missionary field. Others of our eminent
+men, such as Abeel, Thompson, Doty, and Pohlman, were cut off in the midst
+of their days. But he spent a full lifetime, dying not by violence or
+accident, but only when the bodily frame had been worn out in the natural
+course of events. Our Church has been signally favored of God in the gifts
+and character and work of the men she has sent into the foreign field--and
+this not merely in the partial judgment of their denominational brethren,
+but in the deliberate opinion of such competent and experienced observers
+as the late Dr. Anderson, of the American Board, and the late S. Wells
+Williams, the famous Chinese scholar; [One remark of Dr. S. Wells Williams
+is worth reproducing: "I think, myself, after more than forty years'
+personal acquaintance with hundreds of missionaries in China, that David
+Abeel was facile princeps among them all."--Presb. Review, II. 49.] but I
+think that none of them, neither Abeel nor Thompson, surpassed Dr. Talmage
+in any of the qualities, natural or acquired, which go to make an
+accomplished missionary of the cross. I enjoyed the personal acquaintance
+of them all, having been familiar with the progress of the work from the
+time when (October, 1832) our Board of Foreign Missions was established,
+and therefore am able to form an intelligent opinion. Our departed brother
+can no more raise his voice, either at home or abroad, but his work
+remains, and his memory will never die. For long years to come his name
+will be fragrant in the hearts of our people; and his lifelong consecration
+to the enterprise of the world's conversion will prove an example and a
+stimulus to this and the coming generation. The equipoise of his mind, the
+solidity of his character, the strength of his faith, the brightness of his
+hope, the simple, steadfast fidelity of his devotion to the Master, will
+speak trumpet-tongued to multitudes who never saw his face in the flesh.
+The unadorned story of his life, what he was and what he did by the grace
+of God, will cheer the hearts of all the friends of foreign missions, and
+win others to a just esteem of the cause which could attract such a man to
+its service and animate him to such a conspicuous and blessed career.
+
+
+REV. JOHN VAN NEST TALMAGE, D.D.
+
+BY REV. JOHN M. FERRIS, D.D.,
+
+[Editor of the "Christian Intelligencer" and ex-Secretary of the Board of
+Foreign Missions of the American Reformed Church.]
+
+Circumstances which tested character, ability, and attainments brought me
+into intimate relations with Rev. Dr. John V. N. Talmage. The impressions
+I received are these: He was eminently of a sunny disposition. A smile was
+on his face and laughter in his eyes almost all day long. He was
+conspicuously cheerful and hopeful. The strength of his character was
+unusual and would bear victoriously very severe tests. Mental and moral
+ability of a very high order marked his participation in public exercises
+and his demeanor in social life. It seemed to me that in mind and heart
+there were in him the elements of greatness. Greatness he never sought,
+but avoided. Still, from the time succeeding the opening years of his
+ministry, he was a leader among men until seized with the long illness
+which terminated his useful life. Those who knew him appointed him one of
+their chief counselors and guides, and in any assembly where he was
+comparatively unknown he was accepted as a leading mind as soon as he had
+taken part in its discussions. A wide range of knowledge was his. It was
+surprising how he had maintained an acquaintance with the research and
+discovery of his day while secluded in China from the life of the Western
+nations. With all this his intercourse with men was marked by modesty and
+the absence of ostentatious display. The deference with which he treated
+the opinions of others and of his manner in presenting his knowledge and
+convictions to an audience was extraordinary. He was courteously
+inquisitive, seeking from others what they knew and thought, and this
+oftentimes, perhaps habitually, with men much his inferiors. Such a man
+would be expected to be tolerant of the opinions of others, and this he was
+eminently, although his own convictions were clear, strongly held,
+earnestly presented and advocated. How often we heard him say, "So I
+think," or "So it seems to me, but I may be wrong."
+
+Accuracy in statement was sought for by him constantly, sometimes to the
+detriment of his public addresses. When we who were familiar with him were
+humorous at his expense, it was almost invariably in relation to this
+constant endeavor to be accurate, which led now and then to qualifications
+of his words that were decidedly amusing. He was animated, earnest, and
+strong in public addresses. His mind was active; apt to take an
+independent, original view, and vigorous. His sermons were often very
+impressive and powerful. Few who heard in whole or in part his discourse
+on the words, "The world by wisdom knew not God"--an extemporaneous
+sermon--will forget the terse, vigorous sentences which came from his lips.
+It was, I believe, the last sermon he prepared in outline to be delivered
+to our churches in this country. It was full of power and life.
+
+Dr. Talmage was a Christian and a Christian gentleman everywhere and
+always. It seemed as natural to him to be a Christian as to breathe.
+Conscientious piety marked his daily life.
+
+He was a delightful companion through his gentleness, sympathy, wide range
+of knowledge, cheerfulness, animated and earnest speech, vigor of thought
+and expression, deference for the opinions and rights of others, and
+unselfishness. He asked nothing, demanded nothing for himself, but was
+alert to contribute to the enjoyment of those around him. The work of his
+life was of inestimable value. He was abundant in labors. Only the life
+to come will reveal how much he accomplished which in the highest sense was
+worthy of accomplishment. Those who knew him best, esteemed, loved, and
+trusted him the most.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+Ecclesiastical Relations of Presbyterian Missionaries, especially of the
+Presbyterian Missionaries at Amoy, China.
+
+BY REV. J. V. N. TALMAGE, D.D.
+
+We have recently received letters making inquiries concerning the Relations
+of the Missionaries of the English Presbyterian Church, and of the American
+Reformed Church to the Tai-hoey [Presbytery, or Classis,] of Amoy; stating
+views on certain points connected with the general subject of the
+organization of ecclesiastical Judicatories on Mission ground; and asking
+our views on the same. We have thought it best to state our answer so as
+to cover the whole subject of these several suggestions and inquiries, as
+(though they are from different sources) they form but one subject.
+
+Our views are not hasty. They are the result of much thought, experience
+and observation. But we are now compelled to throw them together in much
+more haste than we could wish, for which, we trust, allowance will be made.
+
+As preliminary we remark that we have actual and practical relations both
+to the home churches, and to the churches gathered here, and our
+Ecclesiastical relations should correspond thereto.
+
+1. Our Relation to the Home Churches. We are their agents, sent by them to
+do a certain work, and supported by them in the doing of that work.
+Therefore so long as this relation continues, in all matters affecting our
+qualifications for that work,--of course including "matters affecting
+ministerial character,"--we should remain subject to their jurisdiction.
+In accordance with this we retain our connection with our respective home
+Presbyteries or Classes.
+
+2. Our Relation to the Church here. We are the actual pastors of the
+churches growing up under our care, until they are far enough advanced to
+have native pastors set over them. The first native pastors here were
+ordained by the missionaries to the office of "Minister of the Word," the
+same office that we ourselves hold. In all subsequent ordinations, and
+other ecclesiastical matters, the native pastors have been associated with
+the missionaries. The Tai-hoey at Amoy, in this manner, gradually grew up
+with perfect parity between the native and foreign members.
+
+With these preliminary statements we proceed to notice the suggestions made
+and questions propounded. "To extend to the native churches on mission
+ground the lines of separation which exist among Presbyterian bodies" in
+home lands is acknowledged to be a great evil. To avoid this evil and to
+"bring all the native Presbyterians," in the same locality, "into one
+organization," two plans are suggested to us.
+
+The first plan suggested (perhaps we should say mentioned for it is not
+advocated), we take to be that the missionaries become not only members of
+the ecclesiastical judicatories formed on mission ground, but also amenable
+to those judicatories in the same way, and in every respect, as their
+native members, their ecclesiastical relation to their home churches being
+entirely severed. This plan ignores the actual relation of missionaries to
+their home churches, as spoken of above. Surely the home churches cannot
+afford this.
+
+Perhaps we should notice another plan sometimes acted on, but not mentioned
+in the letters we have now received. It is that the missionaries become
+members of the Mission Church Judicatories as above; but that these
+Judicatories be organized as parts of the home churches, so that the
+missionaries will still be under the jurisdiction of the home churches
+through the subjection of the Mission Judicatories to the higher at home.
+This plan can only work during the infancy of the mission churches, while
+the Mission Church Judicatories are still essentially foreign in their
+constituents. Soon the jurisdiction will be very imperfect. This
+imperfection will increase as fast as the mission churches increase.
+Moreover this plan will extend to the native churches the evil deprecated
+above.
+
+The second plan suggested we take to be that the missionaries, while they
+remain the agents of the home churches, should retain their relation
+respectively to their home churches, and have only an advisory relation to
+the Presbytery on mission ground. This is greatly to be preferred to the
+first plan suggested. It corresponds to the relation of missionaries to
+their respective home churches. It takes into consideration also, but does
+not fully correspond to the relation of the missionaries to the churches on
+mission ground, at least does not fully correspond to the relation of the
+missionaries to the native churches at Amoy. Our actual relation to these
+churches seems to us to demand that as yet we take part with the native
+pastors in their government.
+
+The peculiar relationship of the missionaries to Tai-hoey, viz., having
+full membership, without being subject to discipline by that body,--is
+temporary, arising from the circumstances of this infant church, and rests
+on the will of Tai-hoey. This relationship has never been discussed, or
+even suggested for discussion in that body, so that our view of what is, or
+would be, the opinion of Tai-hoey on the subject we gather from the whole
+character of the working of that body from its first formation, and from
+the whole spirit manifested by the native members. Never till last year
+has there been a case of discipline even of a native member of Tai-hoey.
+We do not know that the thought that occasion may also arise for the
+discipline of missionaries, has ever suggested itself to any of the native
+members. If it has, we have no doubt they have taken for granted that the
+discipline of missionaries belongs to the churches which have sent them
+here. But we also have no doubt that Tai-hoey would exercise the right of
+refusing membership to any missionary if necessary.
+
+It is suggested as an objection to the plan that has been adopted by the
+missionaries at Amoy, that "where two Presbyteries have jurisdiction over
+one man, it may not be always easy to define the line where the
+jurisdiction of the one ends and the other begins; and for the foreign
+Presbyter to have a control over the native Presbyter which the native
+cannot reciprocate, would be anomalous, and contrary to that view of the
+parity of Presbyters which the Scriptures present."
+
+From our last paragraph above it will be seen that the "line" of
+demarcation alluded to in the first half of the above objection has
+certainly never yet been defined by Tai-hoey, but it will be seen likewise
+that we have no apprehension of any practical difficulty in the matter.
+The last half of the objection looks more serious, for if our plan really
+involves a violation of the doctrine of the parity of the ministry, this is
+a very serious objection--fatal, indeed, unless perhaps the temporary
+character of the arrangement might give some sufferance to it in a
+developing church. It does not, however in our opinion, involve any such
+doctrine. It does not touch that doctrine at all.
+
+The reason why Tai-hoey does not claim the right of discipline over the
+missionaries is not because these are of a higher order than the other
+members, but because the missionaries have a most important relation to the
+home churches which the other members have not. The Tai-hoey respects the
+rights of those churches which have sent and are still sending the Gospel
+here, and has fullest confidence that they will exercise proper discipline
+over their missionaries. Whether they do this or not, the power of the
+Tai-hoey to cut off from its membership, or refuse to admit thereto, any
+missionary who might prove himself unworthy, gives ample security to that
+body and secures likewise the benefits of discipline. If time allowed us
+to give a full description of our Church work here it would be seen that
+the doctrine of the parity of all who hold the ministerial office so
+thoroughly permeates the whole, that it would seem impossible for mistake
+to arise on that point.
+
+In connection with this subject it is also remarked "that where two races
+are combined in a Presbytery, there is a tendency to divide on questions
+according to the line of race."
+
+With gratitude to God we are able to bear testimony that at Amoy we have
+not as yet seen the first sign of such tendency. We have heard of such
+tendency in some other mission fields. Possibly it may yet be manifested
+here. This, however, does not now seem probable. The native members of
+Tai-hoey, almost from the first, have outnumbered the foreign. The
+disproportion now is as three or four to one, and must continue to
+increase. It would seem, therefore, that there will now be no occasion for
+jealousy of the missionaries' influence to grow up on the part of the
+native members.
+
+But, it may be asked, if the native members so far outnumber the foreign,
+of what avail is it that missionaries be more than advisory members? We
+answer: If we are in Tai-hoey as a foreign party, in opposition to the
+native members, even advisory membership will be of no avail. But if we
+are there in our true character, as we always have been, viz., as
+Presbyters and acting pastors of churches, part and parcel of the church
+Judicatories, on perfect equality and in full sympathy with the native
+Presbyters, our membership may be of much benefit to Tai-hoey. It must be
+of benefit if our theory of Church Government be correct.
+
+Of the benefit of such membership we give one illustration, equally
+applicable also to other forms of government. It will be remembered that
+assemblies conducted on parliamentary principles were unknown in China. By
+our full and equal membership of Tai-hoey, being associated with the native
+members in the various offices, and in all kinds of committees, the native
+members have been more efficiently instructed in the manner of conducting
+business in such assemblies, than they could have been if we had only given
+them advice. At the first, almost the whole business was necessarily
+managed by the missionaries. Not so now. The missionaries still take an
+active part even in the routine of business, not so much to guard against
+error or mistake, as for the purpose of saving time and inculcating the
+importance of regularity and promptitude. Even the earnestness with which
+the missionaries differ from each other, so contrary to the duplicity
+supposed necessary by the rules of Chinese politeness, has not been without
+great benefit to the native members. Instead of there being any jealousy
+of the position occupied by the missionaries on the part of the native
+members, the missionaries withdraw themselves from prominent positions, and
+throw the responsibility on the native members, as fast as duty to Tai-hoey
+seems to allow, faster than the native members wish.
+
+We now proceed to give answers to the definite questions propounded to us,
+though answers to some of them have been implied in the preceding remarks.
+We combine the questions from different sources, and slightly change the
+wording of them to suit the form of this paper, and for convenience we
+number them.
+
+1. "Are the missionaries members of Tai-hoey in full and on a perfect
+equality with the native members?"
+
+Answer. Yes; with the exception (if it be an exception) implied in the
+answer to the next question.
+
+2. "Are missionaries subject to discipline by the Tai-hoey?"
+
+Answer. No; except that their relation to Tai-hoey may be severed by that
+body.
+
+3. "Is it not likely that the sooner the native churches become
+self-governing, the sooner they will be self-supporting and
+self-propagating?"
+
+Answer. Yes. It would be a great misfortune for the native churches to be
+governed by the missionaries, or by the home churches. We think also it
+would be a great misfortune for the missionary to refuse all connection
+with the government of the mission churches while they are in whole or in
+part dependent on him for instruction, administration of the ordinances,
+and pastoral oversight. Self-support, self-government, and
+self-propagation are intimately related, acting and reacting on each other,
+and the native Church should be framed in them from the beginning of its
+existence.
+
+4. "Is it the opinion of missionaries at Amoy that the native Presbyters
+are competent to manage the affairs of Presbytery, and could they safely be
+left to do so?"
+
+Answer. Yes; the native Presbyters seem to us to be fully competent to
+manage the affairs of Presbytery, and we suppose it would be safe to leave
+them to do this entirely by themselves, if the providence of God should so
+direct. We think it much better, however, unless the providence of God
+direct otherwise, that the missionaries continue their present relation to
+the Tai-hoey until the native Church is farther developed.
+
+5. "Is it likely that there can be but one Presbyterian Church in China?
+or are differences of dialect, etc., such as to make different
+organizations necessary and inevitable?"
+
+Answer. All Presbyterians in China, as far as circumstances will allow,
+should unite in one Church organization. By all means avoid a plurality of
+Presbyterian denominations in the same locality. But differences of
+dialect and distance of separation seem at present to forbid the formation
+of one Presbyterian organization for the whole of China. Even though in
+process of time these difficulties be greatly overcome, It would seem that
+the vast number of the people will continue to render such formation
+impracticable, except on some such principle as that on which is formed the
+Pan-Presbyterian Council. One Presbyterian Church for China would be very
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Forty Years in South China
+by Rev. John Gerardus Fagg
+
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