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diff --git a/31525-h/31525-h.htm b/31525-h/31525-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7d90df1 --- /dev/null +++ b/31525-h/31525-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,11381 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of James Gilmour Of Mongolia, by Richard Lovett</title> + +<style type="text/css"> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; +} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; +} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; +} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; +} /* page numbers */ + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.pto {text-align: right;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + +.u {text-decoration: underline;} + +.caption {font-weight: bold;} + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; +} + +/* Footnotes */ + +.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + +.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + +.fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: + none; +} + +.tranotes {border: solid 1px #8b4513; + font-size: smaller; + width: 65%; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + padding-left: 1em; + padding-right: 1em; + background: #fbf5e6;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + +<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of James Gilmour of Mongolia, by James Gilmour</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: James Gilmour of Mongolia<br /> + His diaries, letters, and reports</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: James Gilmour</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Editor: Richard Lovett</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 6, 2010 [eBook #31525]<br /> +[Most recently updated: October 24, 2021]</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Peter Vickers, the Bookworm and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JAMES GILMOUR OF MONGOLIA ***</div> + +<div class="tranotes"> +<span class="smcap">Transcriber's Note:</span><br /><br />Minor spelling and typographical errors have been +corrected without note. Some illustrations have been relocated for +better flow. The character 'u' with a breve appears in many Chinese or Mongolian +names and should display properly, even though it is transcribed as [)u] in +the text version.<br /><br /> + +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="frontispiece" id="frontispiece"> +<img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" alt="Sincerely yours - James Gilmour" title="" /></a> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h1>JAMES GILMOUR OF MONGOLIA</h1> + +<p class="center"><i>HIS DIARIES LETTERS AND REPORTS</i><br /><br /></p> +<p> </p> + + +<p class="center">EDITED AND ARRANGED BY</p> +<h2>RICHARD LOVETT, M.A.</h2> +<p class="center">AUTHOR OF 'NORWEGIAN PICTURES' ETC</p> +<p> </p> + + +<p class="center"><i>WITH A PORTRAIT, TWO MAPS AND<br /> +FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS</i><br /><br /></p> +<p> </p> + +<p class="center">THIRD AND CHEAPER EDITION</p> +<p> </p> + +<h4>LONDON<br /> +THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY</h4> +<p class="center">56 Paternoster Row, 65 St Paul's Churchyard<br /> +1895</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<table summary="Poem - O Christ, in thee my soul hath found"> +<tr> +<td> +<p> +O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And found in Thee alone,</span><br /> +The peace, the joy I sought so long,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The bliss till now unknown.</span><br /> +<br /> +I sighed for rest and happiness,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I yearned for them, not Thee;</span><br /> +But while I passed my Saviour by,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His love laid hold on me.</span><br /> +<br /> +Now none but Christ can satisfy,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">None other name for me;</span><br /> +There's love, and life, and lasting joy,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Jesus, found in Thee.</span> +</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2> + + +<p>This book in its more expensive forms has been before the +public for nearly two years. It has been very widely read, +and it has received extraordinary attention from many +sections of the press. The author has received from all +parts of the world most striking testimonies as to the way +in which this record of James Gilmour's heroic self-sacrifice +for the Lord Jesus and on behalf of his beloved Mongols +for the Master's sake has touched the hearts of Christian +workers. It has deepened their faith, strengthened their +zeal, nerved them for whole-hearted consecration to the +same Master, and cheered many a solitary and lonely +heart.</p> + +<p>Many requests have been received for an edition at a +price which will place the book within the reach of Sunday +School teachers, of those Christian workers who have but +little to spend upon books, and of the elder scholars in our +schools. The Committee of the Religious Tract Society have +gladly met this request at the earliest possible moment.</p> + +<p>In this new form their hope and prayer is that James +Gilmour, being dead, may yet speak to many hearts, arousing +them to diligent, and faithful, and self-denying service +for Jesus Christ.</p> + +<p>The book, in this its newest form, is identical in all +respects with the first and second editions, except that only +one portrait is given and the appendices are left out.</p> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + + +<h3>CONTENTS</h3> +<table width="75%" summary="Contents"> +<tr> +<td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">CHAPTER</span></td> +<td align="right"><span class="smcap">PAGE</span></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>I.</td> +<td><span class="smcap">Early Years and Education</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">15</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>II.</td> +<td><span class="smcap">Beginning Work</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">46</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>III.</td> +<td><span class="smcap">Mongolian Apprenticeship</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">55</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>IV.</td> +<td><span class="smcap">The First Campaign in Mongolia</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">88</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>V.</td> +<td><span class="smcap">Marriage</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">98</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>VI.</td> +<td>'<span class="smcap">In Journeyings often, in Perils of Rivers</span>'</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">105</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>VII.</td> +<td><span class="smcap">The Visit to England in 1882</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">134</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>VIII.</td> +<td><span class="smcap">Sunshine and Shadow</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">154</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>IX.</td> +<td><span class="smcap">A Change of Field</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">176</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td valign="top">X.</td> +<td><span class="smcap">Personal Characteristics as Illustrated by<br /> Letters to Relatives and Friends</span></td> +<td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">228</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>XI.</td> +<td><span class="smcap">Closing Labours</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">256</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>XII.</td> +<td><span class="smcap">The Last Days</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">298</a></td> +</tr> +</table> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h3> +<table width="75%" summary="Illustrations"> +<tr> +<td><span class="smcap">Portrait of James Gilmour from a Photograph taken + at Tientsin on April 1891</span></td> +<td valign="top" align="right"><a href="#frontispiece"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><span class="smcap">A Mongol Encampment</span> </td> +<td align="right"><a href="#p109">109</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><span class="smcap">A Mongol Camel Cart</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#p139">139</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><span class="smcap">A Chinese Mule Litter</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#p156">156</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><span class="smcap">James Gilmour Equipped for his Walking Expedition + in Mongolia in February 1884</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#p159">159</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><span class="smcap">James Gilmour's Tent</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#p245">245</a></td> +</tr> +</table> + + +<h3>MAPS</h3> +<table width="75%" summary="Maps"> +<tr> +<td>1. <span class="smcap">Map Illustrating James Gilmour's Journeys on the + Great Plain of Mongolia</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>2. <span class="smcap">Map Illustrating James Gilmour's Labours in Eastern + Mongolia</span></td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_178">178</a></td> +</tr> +</table> + + +<blockquote><p>For readers of <i>James Gilmour of Mongolia</i> not familiar with <i>Among the +Mongols</i>, a new Edition of that Work has been prepared and published, +price Two Shillings and Sixpence.</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="James_Gilmour_of_Mongolia" id="James_Gilmour_of_Mongolia"></a><span class="smcap">James Gilmour of Mongolia</span></h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>EARLY YEARS AND EDUCATION</h3> + + +<p>James Gilmour, of Mongolia, the son of James Gilmour +and Elizabeth Pettigrew his wife, was born at Cathkin on +Monday, June 12, 1843. He was the third in a family +of six sons, all but one of whom grew up to manhood. +His father was in very comfortable circumstances, and +consequently James Gilmour never had the struggle with +poverty through which so many of his great countrymen +have had to pass. Cathkin, an estate of half a dozen +farms in the parish of Carmunnock, is only five miles from +Glasgow, and was owned by Humphrey Ewing Maclae, +a retired India merchant, who resided in the substantial +mansion-house on the estate. There were also the houses +of a few residents, and a smithy and wright's workshops, +for the convenience of the surrounding district. James +Gilmour's father was the occupant of the wright's shop, as +his father had been before him.</p> + +<p>His brother John, one of three who have survived him, +has furnished the following interesting sketch of the family +life in which James Gilmour was trained, and to which he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> +owed so much of the charm and power which he manifested +in later years:—</p> + +<p>'Our grandfather, Matthew Gilmour, combined the +trades of mason and wright, working himself at both as +occasion required; and our father, James Gilmour, continued +the combination in his time in a modified degree, +gradually discarding the mason trade and developing the +wright's. Grandmother (father's mother) was a woman +of authority, skill, and practical usefulness among the little +community in which she resided. In cases requiring +medical treatment, she was always in request; and in +order to obtain the lymph pure for the vaccination of +children she would take it herself direct from the cow. +She was also a neat and skilful needlewoman.</p> + +<p>'Matthew Gilmour and his wife were people of strict +integrity and Christian living. They walked regularly +every Sunday the five miles to the Congregational Church +in Glasgow, though there were several places of worship +within two miles of their residence. I have often heard +the old residents of the steep and rough country road they +used to take for a short cut when nearing home tell how +impressed they have been by the sight of the worthy couple +and their family wending their way along in the dark +winter Sabbath evenings by the light of a hand-lantern. +Our parents continued the connection with the same body +of worshippers in Glasgow as long as they resided in Cathkin, +being members of Dr. Ralph Wardlaw's church. It +was under his earnest eloquence, and by his wise pastoral +care, we were trained.</p> + +<p>'The distance of our home from the place of worship +did not admit of our attending as children any other than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> +the regular Sabbath services; but we were not neglected +in this respect at home, so far as it lay in our parents' ability +to help us. We regularly gathered around our mother's +knee, reading the impressive little stories found in such +illustrated booklets as the <i>Teacher's Offering</i>, the <i>Child's +Companion</i>, the <i>Children's Missionary Record</i> (Church of +Scotland), the <i>Tract Magazine</i>, and Watts' <i>Divine Songs +for Children</i>. These readings were always accompanied +with touching serious comments on them by mother, +which tended very considerably to impress the lessons +contained in them on our young hearts. I remember how +she used to add: "Wouldn't it be fine if some of you, when +you grow up, should be able to write such nice little stories +as these for children, and do some good in the world in +that way!" I have always had an idea that James' love of +contributing short articles from China and Mongolia to the +children's missionary magazines at home was due to these +early impressions instilled into his mind by his mother. +Father, too, on Sabbath evenings, generally placed the +"big" Bible (Scott and Henry's) on the table, and read +aloud the comments therein upon some portion of Scripture +for our edification and entertainment. During the winter +week-nights some part of the evening was often spent in +reading aloud popular books then current, such as <i>Uncle +Tom's Cabin</i>.</p> + +<p>'Family worship, morning and evening, was also a most +regular and sacred observance in our house, and consisted +of first, asking a blessing; second, singing twelve lines +of a psalm or paraphrase, or a hymn from Wardlaw's +Hymn-book; third, reading a chapter from the Old Testament +in the mornings, and from the New in the evenings;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> +and fourth, prayer. The chapters read were taken day by +day in succession, and at the evening worship we read two +verses each all round. This proved rather a trying ordeal +for some of the apprentices, one or more of whom we +usually had boarding with us, or to a new servant-girl, as +their education in many cases had not been of too liberal +a description. But they soon got more proficient, and if it +led them to nothing higher, it was a good educational help. +These devotional exercises were not common in the district +in the mornings, and were apt to be broken in upon +by callers at the wright's shop; but that was never entertained +as an excuse for curtailing them. I suppose people +in the district got to know of the custom, and avoided +making their calls at a time when they would have to +wait some little while for attention. Our parents, however, +never allowed this practice or their religious inclinations to +obtrude on their neighbours; all was done most unassumingly +and humbly, as a matter of everyday course.</p> + +<p>'Our maternal grandfather, John Pettigrew by name, +was a farmer and meal-miller on the estate of Cathkin, +and was considered a man of sterling worth and integrity. +Having had occasion to send his minister, the parson of +Carmunnock parish, some bags of oatmeal from his mill, +the minister suspected from some cause or other that he had +got short weight or measure. The worthy miller was rather +nettled at being thus impeached by his spiritual overseer, +and that same night proceeded to the manse with the +necessary articles required for determining the accuracy of +the minister's suspicions. When this was done, it was found +there remained something to the good, instead of a deficiency; +this the miller swung over his shoulder in a bag<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> +and took back with him to the mill, as a lesson to the +crestfallen divine to be more careful in future about challenging +the integrity of his humble parishioner's transactions.</p> + +<p>'While James was quite a child the family removed +to Glasgow, where our father entered into partnership +with his brother Alexander as timber merchants. During +this stay in Glasgow mother's health proved very unsatisfactory, +and latterly both she and father having been +prostrated and brought to death's door by a malignant +fever, it was decided to relinquish the partnership and +return to their former place in the country. James was +five years old at that time. When he was between seven +and eight he was sent with his older brothers to the new +Subscription School in Bushyhill, Cambuslang, a distance +of two miles. Here he remained till he was about twelve, +when he and I were sent to Gorbals Youths' School in +Greenside Street, Glasgow. We had thus five miles to go +morning and evening, but we had season-tickets for the +railway part of the distance, viz. between Rutherglen and +Glasgow. Thomas Neil was master of this school. We +were in the private room, rather a privileged place, compared +with the rest of the school, seeing we received the +personal attentions of Mr. Neil, and were almost free from +corporal punishment, which was not by any means the +case in the public rooms of the school—Mr. Neil being, I +was going to say, a <i>terror to evildoers</i>, but he was in fact a +terror to all kinds of doers, from the excitability of his +temper and general sternness.</p> + +<p>'Here James usually kept the first or second place in +the class, which was a large one; and if he happened to be +turned to the bottom (an event which occurred pretty often<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> +to all the members of the class with Mr. Neil), he would +determinedly endeavour to stifle a tearful little "cry," thus +demonstrating the state of his feelings at being so abased. +But he never remained long at the bottom; like a cork +sunk in water, he would rise at the first opportunity to his +natural level at the top of the class. It was because of his +diligence and success in his classes while at this school, I +suppose, more than from any definite idea of what career +he might follow in the future, that after leaving he was +allowed to prosecute his studies at the Glasgow High +School, where he gained many prizes, and fully justified +his parents' decision of allowing him to go on with his +studies instead of taking him away to a trade. At home +he prosecuted his studies very untiringly both during session +and vacation.</p> + +<p>'After entering the classes of the Glasgow University +he studied in an attic room, the window of which overlooked +an extensive and beautiful stretch of the Vale of Clyde. I +remember feeling compassion for him sometimes as he sat +at this window, knowing what an act of self-denial it must +have been to one so boisterous and full of fun as he was to +see us, after our work was over of an evening, having a +jolly game at rounders, or something of that sort, while he +had to sit poring over his books.</p> + +<p>'James was not a serious, melancholy student; he was +indeed the very opposite of that when his little intervals of +recreation occurred. During the day he would be out about +the workshop and saw-mill, giving each in turn a poking +and joking at times very tormenting to the recipients. +If we had any little infirmity or weakness, he was sure to +enlarge upon it and make us try to amend it, assuming<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> +the <i>rôle</i> and aspect of a drill-sergeant for the time being. +He used to have the mid-finger of the right hand extended +in such a way that he could nip and slap you with it +very painfully. He used this finger constantly to pound +and drill his comrades, all being done of course in the height +of glee, frolic, and good-humour. This finger, no doubt by +the unlawful use to which he put it, at one time developed +a painful tumour, to the delight of those who were in the +habit of receiving punishment from it. James pulled a +long face, and acknowledged that it was a punishment +sent him for using the finger in so mischievous a manner.</p> + +<p>'There was a pond or dam in connection with the sawmill. +In this James was wont to practise the art of +swimming. I remember he devised a plan of increasing +his power of stroke in the water. He made four oval pieces +of wood rather larger than his hands and feet, tacking straps +on one side, so that his hands and feet would slip tightly +into them. But my recollection is that they were soon discarded +as an unsuitable addition to his natural resources. +He was fond of hunting after geological specimens, getting +the local blacksmith to make him a pocket hammer to take +with him on his rambles for that purpose. He seldom cared +for company in these wanderings among the mountains, +glens, and woods of his native place and country. He +would start early in the morning, and accomplish feats of +walking and climbing during the course of a day. Indeed, +none of his brothers ever thought of asking James to go +with them in their little holiday trips, knowing that anything +not the conception of his own fancy was but very +rarely acceptable to him; and he was never one who would +pander to your gratification merely to please you.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p> + +<p>'James was fond of boating. Once he hired a small +skiff near the suspension-bridge at Glasgow Green, and proceeded +with it up the river. Having gone a good way up, +the idea appears to have taken him to endeavour to get the +whole way to Hamilton, where, father having retired from +business in 1866, our parents were now residing. This +proved to be a very arduous task, as in a great many +places on that part of the Clyde there is not depth of +water to carry a boat. He managed, however, to accomplish +the task by divesting himself of jacket, stockings, +and shoes, and pulling the boat over all such shallow +and rocky places (including the weir at Blantyre Mills, +where the renowned African missionary and explorer, Dr. +Livingstone, worked in his boyhood), until he reached the +bridge on the river between Hamilton and Motherwell, a +distance of eleven miles or more from Glasgow in a straight +line, and much more following the numerous bends of the +river. Here he made the boat secure and proceeded home, +a distance of a mile, very tired and ravenously hungry. The +great drawback to his satisfaction in this feat was his fear +of the displeasure the boat-owner might feel at his not +having returned the same night, and the rough usage to +which he had subjected the boat in hauling it over the +rocky places. He was much delighted, when he arrived +with the boat down the river during the day, to find that +the man was rather pleased than otherwise at his plucky +exploit, telling him that he only remembered it being +attempted once before.</p> + +<p>'During part of the time James attended college at +Glasgow University, the classes were at so early an hour +that he could not take advantage of the railway, and so had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> +to walk in the whole way. This was an anxious time for +his mother, who was ever most particular in seeing to the +household duties herself, and always careful that her children +should have a substantial breakfast when they went from +home. I remember some of those winter mornings. Amidst +the bustle of making and partaking of an early breakfast so +as to be on the road in time, mother would press him to +partake more liberally of something she had thoughtfully +prepared for him; he would ejaculate: "Can't take it—no +time!" and if she still insisted he would add in a solemn +manner: "<i>Mother</i>, what if the door should be shut when I +get there?" which, being understood by her as a scriptural +quotation, was sufficient to quench her solicitations.</p> + +<p>'To avoid the worry of getting up so early, it was decided +after a time that he should take advantage of an unlet +three or four apartment house in a tenement which belonged +to father in Cumberland Street, Glasgow. So a couple +of chairs, table, bed, and some cooking-utensils were got +together, and James entered into possession, cooking his +own breakfast, and getting his other meals there or outside +as his fancy or inclination prompted. Here I think he +enjoyed himself very much. He had plenty of quiet time for +study, and he could roam about the city and suburbs for +experience, recreation, and instruction, visiting mills and +other large manufacturing industries as he was inclined.</p> + +<p>'After our parents had removed to Hamilton, James took +lodgings in George Street, a regular students' resort when +the old college was in the High Street. It is now removed +to the magnificent pile of buildings at Gilmorehill, in the +western district of the city. The site of the old one in the +High Street which James attended is now occupied by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> +North British and Glasgow and South-Western Railway +Companies.'</p> + +<p>James Gilmour left England to begin his Mongolian life-work +in February 1870, and then commenced keeping a +diary, from which we shall often quote, and which he carefully +continued amid, oftentimes, circumstances of the +greatest difficulty until his death. He gives the following +reasons for this practice at the time when he was living in +a Mongol tent learning the language, hundreds of miles +away from his nearest fellow-worker:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I think it a special duty to my friends, specially my +mother, to keep this diary, and to be particular in adding +my state of mind in addition to my mere outward circumstances. +In my present isolated position, which may be +more isolated soon, any accident might happen at any +moment, after which I could not send home a letter, and I +think that by keeping my diary punctually and fully my +friends might have the melancholy satisfaction of following +me to the grave, as it were, through my writing.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In the record of his first outward voyage he included +a sketch of his early life, which we briefly reproduce here, +as the correlative and complement of the picture outlined +by his brother:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'The earliest that I can remember of my life is the +portion that was spent in Glasgow, before I came with my +parents out to the country. Of this time I have only a +vague recollection. Then followed a number of years not +very eventful beyond the general lot of the years of childhood. +One circumstance of these years often comes up +to my mind. One Sabbath all were at church except the +servant, Aggie Leitch, and myself. She took down an old +copy of Bunyan's <i>Pilgrim's Progress</i>, with rude plates, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> +by the help of the pictures was explaining the whole book +to me. I had not heard any of it before, and was deeply +interested. We had just got as far as the terrible doings +of Giant Despair and the horrors of Doubting Castle, when +all at once, without warning, there came a terrible knock +at our front door. I really thought the giant was upon +us. It was some wayfaring man asking the way or something, +but the terror I felt has made an indelible impression +on me.</p> + +<p>'When of the approved age I went to school, wondering +whether I should ever be able to learn and do as others +did. I was very nervous and much afraid, and wrought so +hard and was so ably superintended by my mother that I +made rapid progress, and was put from one class to another +with delightful rapidity. I was dreadfully jealous of any +one who was a good scholar like myself, and to have any +one above me in class annoyed me to such a degree that I +could not play cheerfully with him.</p> + +<p>'The date of my going to college was, I think, the +November of the year 1862, so that my first session at +Glasgow University was 1862-63. The classes I took +were junior Latin and junior Greek. In Latin I got about +the twelfth prize, and in Greek I think the third. The +summer I spent partly in study, partly in helping my father +in his trade of a wright and joiner.</p> + +<p>'During 1863 and 1864 I lived in Glasgow, and worked +very hard, taking the first prize in middle Greek and a +prize in senior Latin, as well as a prize for private work +in Greek, and another for the same kind of work in Latin. +This last I was specially proud of, as in it I beat the two +best fellows in the Latin class. Next session (1864-65) I +took a prize in senior Greek. I got nothing in the logic, +but in moral philosophy in 1865 I was one of those who +took an active part in the rebellion against Dr. Fleming, +who, though he was entitled to the full retiring pension,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> +preferred to remain on as professor, taking the fees and +appointing a student to do the work. We made a stand +against this, and were able to bring him out to his work; +but it was too much for him, and he died in harness, as he +had wished.</p> + +<p>'In English literature I made no appearance in the +pieces noted by the students, but came out second in the +competitive examination, which of course astonished a +good deal some of the noisy men who had answered so +much in the class and yet knew so little. I was really +proud of this prize, as I was sure it was honestly won, and +as I also felt that from my position in class I failed to get +credit for anything like what I knew. This session I went +in for the classical and philosophy parts of the degree, and +got them. I enjoyed a happy week after it was known +that I had passed; and the next thing I had to look forward +to was going to the Theological Hall of the Congregational +Church of Scotland, which met in Edinburgh +in the beginning of May. The session at Edinburgh I +enjoyed very much. I had not too much work, and used +at odd times to take long walks and go long excursions. +I was often on the heights, and about Leith and Portobello.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The Rev. John Paterson of Airdrie, N.B., Gilmour's +most intimate college friend at Glasgow, thus records his +recollections of what he was in those days:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I first made James Gilmour's acquaintance in the +winter session of 1864-5 at Glasgow University. He came +to college with the reputation of being a good linguist. +This reputation was soon confirmed by distinction in his +classes, especially in Latin and Greek. Though his advantages +had been superior to most of us, and his mental +calibre was of a high order, he was always humble, utterly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> +devoid of pride or vanity. No doubt he was firm as a rock +on any question of conviction, but he was tender in the +extreme, and full of sympathy with the struggling. He +was such a strong man all round that he could afford to +give every one justice, and such a gentleman that he could +not but be considerate. One day a country student through +sheer nervousness missed a class question in the Junior +Humanity, though the answer was on his tongue: the +answering of such a question would have brought any man +to the front, and with a sad heart he told his experience to +Gilmour, whose look of sympathy is remembered to this +day. He always seemed anxious to be useful, and he succeeded. +During our second session, a brother of mine +married a cousin of his, and this union led to a closer +intimacy between us, and in future sessions we lodged +together.</p> + +<p>'Throughout his college career Gilmour was a very +hard-working student; his patience, perseverance, and +powers of application were marvellous; and yet, as a rule, +he was bright and cheerful, able in a twinkling to throw off +the cares of work, and enter with zest into the topics of the +day. He had a keen appreciation of the humorous side of +things, and his merry laugh did one good. Altogether he +was a delightful companion, and was held in universal +esteem. One of Gilmour's leading thoughts was unquestionably +the unspeakable value of time, and this intensified +with years. There was not a shred of indolence in his +nature; it may be truthfully said that he never wilfully +lost an hour. Even when the college work was uncongenial, +he never scamped it, but mastered the subject. +He could not brook the idea of skimming a subject merely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> +to pass an examination, and there were few men of his +time with such wide and accurate knowledge.</p> + +<p>'Unlike many of his fellows, he did not relax his +energies in summer. During the recess he might have +been seen wending his way from the old home at Cathkin +to the college library, and returning laden with books. +His superior scholarship secured for him excellent certificates +and many prizes, both for summer and winter work, +and it was noticeable that he shone most in written examinations. +On one occasion, in the Moral Philosophy class, +which then suffered from the failing health of the professor, +the teacher <i>pro tem.</i> appended, as a criticism of an +essay of Gilmour's on Utilitarianism, the words, "Wants +thoroughness." This was a problem to the diligent student, +who tackled his critic at the end of the hour, and apparently +had the best of the argument; for he told me afterwards +that he had puzzled the judge to explain his own verdict. +There was a strong vein of combativeness in him; he liked +to try his strength, both mentally and physically, with +others; and it was no child's play to wrestle with him in +either sense, though he never harboured ill-feeling. He had +the advantage of being in easy circumstances, but was +severely economical, wasting nothing. He had quite a horror +of intoxicating drinks. On one occasion, perhaps for reasons +of hospitality, some beer had found its way into our room: +he quietly lifted the window and poured the dangerous +liquid on the street, saying, "Better on God's earth than in +His image."</p> + +<p>'As the close of his career in Glasgow drew near, some +of us could see that all through he had been preparing for +some great work on which the whole ambition of his life<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> +was set. He always shrank from speaking about himself, +and in those days was not in the habit of obtruding sacred +things on his fellow-students. His views on personal dealing +then were changing, and became very decided in after +years. Earnest, honest, faithful to his convictions, as a +student he endeavoured to influence others for good more +by the silent eloquence of a holy life than by definite +exhortations, and I feel sure his power over some of us was +all the greater on that account. When it became known +that Gilmour intended to be a foreign missionary, there +was not a little surprise expressed, especially among rival +fellow-students—men who had competed with him to +their cost. The moral effect of such a distinguished scholar +giving his life for Christ among the heathen was very +great indeed. To me his resolve to go abroad, though it +induced a painful separation, proved an unspeakable blessing. +The reserve which had so long prevailed between +us on sacred things began to give way, and much of our +correspondence during his residence at Cheshunt College +was of a religious turn, though still more theological than +practical.</p> + +<p>'The last evening we spent together before he left for +China can never be forgotten. We parted on Bothwell +Bridge. We had walked from the village without speaking a +word, burdened with the sorrow of separation. As we shook +hands, he said with intense earnestness, "Paterson, let us +keep close to Christ." He knew Him and loved Him much +better than I did then; but about nine years ago, after +hearing good news from me, he wrote to say that for +twelve years he had prayed for me every day, and now +praised God for the answer.'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p> + +<p>In the diary from which we have already quoted Gilmour +thus concludes the sketch of his education:—</p> + + +<blockquote><p>'Near the close of the session of 1867 I opened negotiations +with the London Missionary Society, the consequence +of which was that I was removed to Cheshunt College in +September of that same year. Here (1867-1868) a new +experience awaited me—resident college life. At Glasgow +we dined out, presented ourselves at classes only, and did +with ourselves whatever we liked in the interval. At +Cheshunt it was different. All the students live in the +buildings of the college, which can accommodate forty. +Of course I felt a little strange at first, and even long after +had serious doubts as to the settlement of the question, +Which is better, life in or out of college? The lectures, as +a rule, were all in the forenoon.</p> + +<p>'The summer vacation I spent in studying for the Soper +scholarship, value twenty pounds, which was to be bestowed +after examination.</p> + +<p>'I commenced the 1868 and 1869 session at Cheshunt, +very busily, and in addition to the class work and the Soper +work, read some books which gave almost a new turn to my +mind and my ideas of pastoral or missionary life. These +books were James's <i>Earnest Ministry</i>, Baxter's <i>Reformed +Pastor</i>, and some of Bunyan's works, which, through God's +blessing, affected me very much for good.</p> + +<p>'The Soper examination should have come off before +Christmas, but it did not, so that I remained over Christmas +at Cheshunt, grinding away as hard as I could. I was +longing eagerly for the time when the examination would +be over, that I might the more earnestly devote myself to +the work of preaching and evangelising. Well, the +examination came and passed off satisfactorily, and I got +the twenty pounds.</p> + +<p>'Now was the decisive point. Now had I come to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> +another period, when there was an opportunity of going on +a new tack; but I found myself tempted to seek after +another honour, the first prize in Cheshunt College. In my +first session I had got the second only, and now I had an +opportunity of trying for the first. It was a temptation +indeed, but God triumphed. I looked back on my life, +and saw how often I had been tempted on from one thing +to another, after I had resolved that I would leave my time +more free and at my disposal for God, but always was I +tempted on. So now I made a stand, threw ambition to +the winds, and set to reading my Bible in good earnest. +I made it my chief study during the last three months of +my residence at Cheshunt, and I look back upon that +period of my stay there as the most profitable I had.</p> + +<p>'In September, 1869, I entered the missionary seminary +at Highgate, and also studied Chinese in London with +Professor Summers. I went home again at Christmas, and +on returning to London learned that I could go to China as +soon as I liked. I said I would go as soon as the necessary +arrangements could be made, and February 22, 1870, +was fixed upon as the date of my departure.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In this brief and rapid manner James Gilmour sketched, +with not a few most characteristic touches, the first twenty-six +years of his life. He enables us to see the quick, merry, +receptive lad, developing, after a brilliant collegiate course +and a careful training in theology and in practical Christian +life, into the strong, resolute missionary. No one who +knew him during this time failed to perceive the force of +his character and the charm of his personality. The +writer first came under his influence during his second +session at Cheshunt. He was then in the prime of his early +manhood, in the full possession of physical and intellectual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> +vigour, and his soul was aflame with love to the Saviour +and to the perishing heathen.</p> + +<p>He retained, moreover, the love of fun, the high spirits, +the keen enjoyment of a good joke, and the constant readiness +for an argument upon any subject under the sun, +which had endeared him to his comrades in Glasgow. +Every Cheshunt man of that day readily recalls, and rejoices +as he does so, the memory of his good-natured practical +joking, of his racy and pointed speeches upon all +momentous 'house questions,' of his power as a reciter, and +of his glowing personal piety. To know him even slightly +was to respect him; and to enter at all into sympathy +with him was to love him as long as life lasted.</p> + +<p>There are many reminiscences of those Cheshunt days, +from which we can cull only a sufficient number to enable +the reader to understand what manner of man he then was. +These are drawn from the letters of his fellow-students, +and from their recollections of his sayings and doings. +'How well,' writes one, 'I remember his coming to Cheshunt! +I was acting-senior at the opening of that session, +and, according to custom with the new men, went to his +room to shake hands with him. He said, "Who are you?" +I told him. "What do you want?" I told him I had +come according to custom to welcome him, and held out +my hand, whereupon he put his hands behind him and +said, "Time eno' to shake hands when we've quarrelled. +But where do you live?" "Immediately over your head." +"Then look here," said he, "don't make a row;" and so we +parted. Dear old fellow! his memory makes life richer.'</p> + +<p>Another writes: 'He was a good elocutionist. He was +also a keen debater, and so fond of argument that he would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> +not hesitate to take opposite ground to his own cherished +convictions and beliefs, simply for the sake of provoking +discussion. So earnestly and logically (for he was a good +dialectician) would he carry on the discussion that it was +difficult to believe that he did not really hold the opinions +for which he so pertinaciously contended. Sometimes +this habit of mind reacted very amusingly upon himself, as +the following will show. The subject fixed one Friday +evening for debate in the discussion class was, "Have +animals souls?" Though fully accepting the common +belief that they have not, Gilmour, purely for the sake of +argument, took the affirmative, and with such enthusiasm +pleaded his cause that he brought himself to believe, as he +told me afterwards, that animals have souls.'</p> + +<p>'At no time during his residence at Cheshunt could +there have been any doubt as to Gilmour's piety or consecration +to the great work of his future life; but during the +second year it must have been manifest to all who knew +him intimately that there was a deepening and broadening +of his spiritual life. As I look back over the interval of +years I can see that it was then he began to reach the +high-water mark in Christian life and devotion which was +so steadily maintained throughout his career in China and +Mongolia. An apostolic passion for the salvation of his +fellow-men took hold upon him. He would go out in the +evening, mostly alone, and conduct short open-air services +at Flamstead End, among the cottagers near Cheshunt +railway station; seize opportunities of speaking to labourers +working by the roadside or in the field through which +he might be passing. He became very solicitous for the +conversion of friends in Scotland, and would come to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> +my study and ask me to kneel and pray with him that +God's grace might be manifested to them, and that His +blessing might rest upon letters which he had written and +was sending to them. The ordinary style of preaching +towards which students usually aspire lost its attractions +for him, and his sermons assumed more and more the +character of earnest exhortations, and addresses to the +unconverted. When he knew what was to be his field of +labour after his college course was over, how solicitous he +was to go out fully prepared and fitted in spiritual equipment! +The needs of the perishing heathen were very real +and weighed heavily upon his heart, and he was very +anxious to win volunteers among his college friends for this +all-important work. How he longed and prayed for China's +perishing millions only his most intimate friends know.'</p> + +<p>The Rev. H. R. Reynolds, D.D., for the past thirty years +the honoured President of Cheshunt College, has recalled +some of his early recollections of James Gilmour.</p> + +<p>'Though brusque and outspoken in manner, he was in +many respects reserved and shy, and very slow to show or +accept confidence. We all felt, however, that underneath +a canny demeanour there was burning a very intense +enthusiasm, and that a character of marked features was +already formed, and would only develop along certain +lines, settled, but not as yet fully disclosed to others.</p> + +<p>There was not a particle of make-believe in his composition. +He shrank from praise, and was obviously +anxious not to appear more reverential or wise or devoted +than he knew himself to be. He even used, because it was +natural to him, a rugged style of expression when speaking +of things or persons or institutions which for the most part<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> +uplift our diction and generally induce us to adorn or make +careful selection of our vocabulary. He rapped out expressions +which might have suggested carelessness or irreverence +or suppressed doubt, but I soon found that there was +an intense fire of evangelistic zeal and an almost stormy +enthusiasm for the conversion of souls to Christ.</p> + +<p>'Some special services were held at Cheshunt Street +Chapel, in which Gilmour took part, and the part was at +least as demonstrative, perhaps more so, except the music, +as that of the modern Salvation Army ensign or commissioner. +He started from the chapel entrance, on the +Sunday evening, when considerable numbers were as usual +parading the country street, and bare-headed approached +every passer-by with some piquant, vigorous inquiry, or +message or warning. In the main, his bold summons was, +"Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?" The entire +population in the thoroughfare was stirred, and uncomplimentary +jeers mingled with some awe-struck impressions +that were then produced.</p> + +<p>'During the year 1869 he had those interviews with the +late Mrs. Swan, of Edinburgh, which led to his choice by +the London Missionary Society, at her instance, to reopen +the long-suspended mission in Mongolia. For a while he +remained in Peking preparing himself by familiarity with +the people, their ideas, their language, and religion, for +those almost historic bursts into the great desert and across +the caravan routes to the huge fairs, and the renowned +temples, to the living lamas and famous shrines of the +nomadic Mongols, incessantly acting the part of travelling +Hakim, itinerant book vendor, and fiery preacher of the +Gospel of Christ.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p> + +<p>In the year 1869 the policy of the London Missionary +Society in the education of its students was very different +from that which now obtains. After a course at a theological +college of two, three, or four years, according to the +literary attainments of the man at the time of his acceptance +by the Directors, he was sent to the institution at Highgate +designed to give training suitable for the special requirements +of the embryo missionaries. In theory this institution +was admirable; in practice Gilmour and others, much +as they esteemed the principal, the Rev. J. Wardlaw, found +it—or thought they found it—very largely a waste of time. +The year 1869 saw the beginning of an investigation +which ended in closing the missionary college at Highgate, +and in the steps that led to the enquiry Gilmour took a +leading part. One of his contemporaries at Highgate has +thus described his influence upon both his fellow-students +and the institution to which they belonged.</p> + +<p>'I first met Gilmour at Farquhar House, Highgate, the +London Missionary Society's Institution, where in those +days missionary students spent their last six months before +going to the field. Some spent the time in studying the +elements of the language of the land to which they were +going; others attended University College Hospital, for the +purpose of getting a little medical knowledge; while all tried +to make themselves acquainted with the history of the people +among whom they were to labour. Courses of special +missionary lectures, which were highly valued by the men, +were delivered by the Rev. J., afterwards Dr., Wardlaw.</p> + +<p>'Some of us were at Highgate a day or two before +Gilmour came up from Scotland; and as his fame, or +rather reports about him, had reached us from Cheshunt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> +College, we were all very anxious to meet with him. +When he did arrive we were, I think, all more or less disappointed, +and yet I doubt if any of us could have told why, +except that he was not the man we had pictured from the +reports we had heard. When he walked quietly into the +library I, for one, could hardly believe that the almost boyish-looking, +open-faced, bright-eyed young man was really +Gilmour. His dress made him appear even more youthful +than he was, while there was an aspect of good humour about +his face and a glance of his eye revealing any amount of fun +and frolic. A great writer has said: "Nature has written a +letter of credit on some men's faces, which is honoured almost +wherever presented." James Gilmour's was a face on which +Nature had written no ordinary letter of credit; for there +was a sense in which one might very truly have said that +his "face was his fortune." Honesty, good nature, and true +manliness were so stamped upon every feature and line of +it, that you had only to see him to feel that he was one of +God's noblest works, and to be drawn to the man as by a +magnetic influence.</p> + +<p>'Gilmour was a puzzle to most of our fellow-students, +and they could not quite make him out. By some he was: +regarded as very eccentric, which is another way of saying +that he preserved a very marked individuality, and always +had the courage of his convictions. They did not seem +to understand how so much playfulness and piety, fervour +and frolicsomeness could dwell in the same person. Long +before we parted, however, in January, 1870, I feel certain +that all had come to have not only a profound respect, but +also a real heart-love for "dear old Gillie"!</p> + +<p>'The night before Gilmour left Highgate for the Christmas<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> +vacation we were all in his study, when someone, remarking +on the risk he was running in going home to Scotland +by sea, instead of by train, said in a jocular way: "Suppose +the steamer is wrecked and you get drowned, to whom do +you leave your books, Gilmour?" "Yes," he said at once, +"that is well thought of. Come along, you fellows, and +pick out the books you would like to keep in memory of +me, if I never return." Of course we only laughed and +said it was all a joke; but he said, "It is no joke with me, +I mean what I say;" and so he did. He was in dead earnest, +and nothing would satisfy him but that each should pick +out the book or books he would like to have if he never +returned. He then turned to me and said: "Now, I +leave the rest to your care, and if I never return I want +all on this shelf sent to my father and mother, and you +can do anything you like with the rest." Had anyone else +acted in that way, we should have certainly suspected that +he had gone "<i>queer</i>"; but it was Gilmour, and we all +understood the straight, matter-of-fact way in which he +went about everything he did.</p> + +<p>'Through a misunderstanding, as we afterwards discovered, +the students at Highgate came into collision with +the Directors of the Society over the studies to be prosecuted. +Additional classes were arranged, and these some +of us declined to attend. This act of rebellion, as it was +regarded at the Mission House, had to be put down with +a firm hand, and a special meeting of the Board of +Directors was called to deal with us.</p> + +<p>'The night before we were to meet the Board we met +in Gilmour's study, to settle what we were to say to the +Directors when we met them. One only of our number,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> +when he saw that there was likely to be a rather serious +interchange of ideas between us and the Directors, caved +in completely, and would have nothing further to do with +our resistance.</p> + +<p>'When we met the Board Gilmour made his defence in +his frank, straightforward way, and, I am afraid, upset some +of the Directors very much by his plain speaking. They +did not know the man, and regarded him as one of the +ringleaders in rebellion, and, of course, were not in the +humour to do him justice. But when we met the subcommittee +appointed to deal with us the misunderstanding +came to an end, and they admitted that we had been in the +right in objecting to the extra classes thus imposed.'</p> + +<p>During these last months in England James Gilmour +paid much earnest heed to the culture of his soul. Just +before he sailed for China, he set forth his inner experience +and his keen sense of the difficulties of the course upon +which he was embarking in the following letter to a Cheshunt +friend:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Companions I can scarcely hope to meet, and the feeling +of being <i>alone</i> comes over me till I think of Christ and +His blessed promise, "Lo, I am with you alway, even to the +end of the world." No one who does not go away, leaving all +and going alone, can feel the force of this promise; and +when I begin to feel my heart threatening to go down, I +betake myself to this companionship, and, thank God, I +have felt the blessedness of this promise rushing over me +repeatedly when I knelt down and spoke to Jesus as a +present companion, from whom I am sure to find sympathy. +I have felt a tingle of delight thrilling over me as I felt His +presence, and thought that wherever I may go He is still +with me. I have once or twice lately felt a melting sweetness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> +in the name of Jesus as I spoke to Him and told Him +my trouble. Yes, and the trouble went away, and I arose +all right. Is it not blessed of Christ to care so much for us +poor feeble men, so sinful and so careless about honouring +Him? the moment we come to Him He is ready with His +consolations for us!</p> + +<p>'I have been thinking lately over some of the inducements +we have to live for Christ, and to confess Him +and preach Him before men, not conferring with flesh and +blood. Why should we be trammelled by the opinions +and customs of men? Why should we care what men say +of us? Salvation and damnation are <i>realities</i>, Christ is a +reality, <i>Eternity</i> is a reality, and we shall soon be there in +reality, and time shall soon be finished; and from our stand +in eternity we shall look back on what we did in time, and +what shall we think of it? Shall we be able to understand +why we were afraid to speak to this man or that woman +about salvation? Shall we be able to understand how we +were ashamed to do what we knew was a Christian duty +before one whom we knew to be a mocker at religion? +Our cowardice shall seem small to us then. Let us now +measure our actions by the standard of that scene, let us +now look upon the things of time in the light of eternity, +and we shall see them better as they are, and live more as +we shall wish then we had done. It is not too late. We +can secure yet what remains of our life. The present still +is ours. Let us use it. It may be that we can't be great, +let us be good; if we can't shine as great lights, let us +make our light shine as God has made it to shine. Let us +live lives as in the presence of Christ, anxious for His +approval, and glad to take the condemnation of the world, +and of Christ's professed servants even, if we get the commendation +of angels and our Master. The "well done!" is +to the faithful servant—to the <i>faithful</i>, not the great. Let<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> +us watch and pray that we may be faithful. It is a little +hard to be this, and to care little for man.</p> + +<p>'Yesterday afternoon I preached here at home, and took +the most earnest sermon I had, "<i>Behold, I stand at the door +and knock</i>." Well, in doing so, I thought I was acting quite +independently of man; and even after I had preached it, +thought I would not care for man. But one man praised it, +and I felt pleased, and, as might then be expected, felt a little +hurt when a friend called this morning and told me that +what I gave them yesterday was <i>no sermon at all</i>. Now, if +I had been regarding Christ alone, I would not have been +moved by either the one or the other of these criticisms; +and I wish that I could get above this sort of thing, and +get beyond the attempt at pleasing men at all. Why +should we confer with men?'</p></blockquote> + +<p>James Gilmour was ordained as a missionary to Mongolia +in Augustine Chapel, Edinburgh, on February 10, +1870, and, in accordance with Nonconformist custom, he +made a statement about the development of his religious +life from which we take the following extract:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'My conversion took place after I had begun to attend +the Arts course in the University of Glasgow. I had gone +to college with no definite aim as to preparing for a profession; +an opportunity was offered me of attending classes, +and I embraced it gladly, confident that whatever training +or knowledge I might there acquire would prove serviceable +to me afterwards in some way or other.</p> + +<p>'After I became satisfied that I had found the "way of +life," I decided to tell others of that way, and felt that I lay +under responsibility to do what I could to extend Christ's +kingdom. Among other plans of usefulness that suggested +themselves to me was that of entering the ministry. But, +in my opinion, there were two things that everyone who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> +sought the office of the ministry should have, viz., an +experimental knowledge of the truth which it is the work +of the minister to preach, and a good education to help +him to do it; the former I believed I had, the latter I hoped +to obtain. So I quietly pursued the college course till I +entered on the last session, when, after prayerful consideration +and mature deliberation, I thought it my duty to offer +myself as a candidate for the ministry.</p> + +<p>'Having decided as to the capacity in which I should +labour in Christ's kingdom, the next thing which occupied +my serious attention was the <i>locality</i> where I should labour. +Occasionally before I had thought of the relative claims +of the home and foreign fields, but during the summer, +session in Edinburgh I thought the matter out, and decided +for the mission field; even on the low ground of common +sense I seemed to be called to be a missionary. Is the +kingdom a harvest field? Then I thought it reasonable +that I should seek to work where the work was most abundant +and the workers fewest. Labourers say they are overtaxed +at home; what then must be the case abroad, where +there are wide stretching plains already white to harvest, +with scarcely here and there a solitary reaper? To me the +soul of an Indian seemed as precious as the soul of an +Englishman, and the Gospel as much for the Chinese as +for the European; and as the band of missionaries was few +compared with the company of home ministers, it seemed +to me clearly to be my duty to go abroad.</p> + +<p>'But I go out as a missionary not that I may follow the +dictates of common sense, but that I may obey that command +of Christ, "<i>Go into all the world and preach</i>." He +who said "<i>preach</i>," said also, "Go ye into and <i>preach</i>," and +what Christ hath joined together let not man put asunder.</p> + +<p>'This command seems to me to be strictly a missionary +injunction, and, as far as I can see, those to whom it was first +delivered regarded it in that light, so that, apart altogether<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> +from choice and other lower reasons, my going forth is a +matter of obedience to a plain command; and in place of +seeking to assign a reason for going abroad, I would prefer +to say that I have failed to discover any reason why I +should stay at home.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>On February 22, 1870, James Gilmour embarked at +Liverpool upon the steamship Diomed, and thus fairly +started on the work of his life. Among his extant correspondence +is a long letter which describes the voyage +to China, and the way in which he utilised the opportunities +it afforded for trying to do his Master's will.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'We sailed from Liverpool, and my father saw me off. +The passengers were few—nine or ten. We had a cabin +each. There was a Wesleyan medical missionary named +Hardey going out to Hankow. We soon drew together. +The doctor of the ship was a young fellow from Greenock, +and had been at Glasgow College when I was there last. +Among the 1,200 we had not stumbled upon each other. +The married man was something or other in the Consular +service. A young lady passenger was the daughter of a +judge in China. A young man was going out to try his +fortune in China: his qualifications were some knowledge +of tea and a love of drink. Another decent young fellow +was going out to China as a tea-taster. Another young +fellow was going out to Australia <i>viâ</i> Singapore. Thus, +you see, I was the only parson on board; and as the ship's +company was High Church, and I a Dissenter, it may be +seen that we did not fit each other exactly. Some of the +passengers were so High Church that one of them told +me he thought we Dissenters were sunk more deeply in +error than the Papists.</p> + +<p>'The captain was a sensible kind of rough seaman, and +I at once volunteered my services as chaplain, and was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> +accepted, though with some caution. He evidently thought +me too young to be trusted with a sermon; the Church of +England prayers I might read, and he put into my hands +a book with a sermon for any Sunday and holy-day +in the year. I took the book and said I would look +through it. The Bay of Biscay was calm when we crossed +it, but on Sunday morning we were tumbling about off the +Rock of Lisbon. As I could hardly keep my legs, I did +not think we should have had service; but we crowded into +the smoking-saloon (we were afraid to venture below, for +sickness), and I read prayers. Next Sunday I read a +sermon from the book. All the Sundays after that I gave +them my own, and, as I was under the impression that +they had not heard much plain preaching, did my best to +let them hear the gospel pure and simple. I half suspected +they did not quite like it. It was hinted to me that they +complained of my preaching. The next Sunday came, +and, under the impression it might be the last time I would +have the opportunity, I made the most earnest and direct +appeal to them I possibly could. I was not a little +thankful and astonished when, soon after, in place of being +asked to shut up, I was thanked for it, and assured it was +the best I had given them, and told that it was a waste +of, &c., &c., for me to go out as a missionary—I should have +stopped at home. After that I had no trouble with the +passengers, and we got on well together.</p> + +<p>'As for the men, from captain to cabin-boy there were +about sixty. Among these was one earnest Christian +man, a German and a Baptist. He was a quarter-master. +He was a little peculiar in appearance, and spoke English +not quite smoothly. On one occasion, when some of the +passengers were laughing at something he had done and +said, the captain happened to pass, and, seeing what was +up, remarked that the man was a first-rate fellow—he never +caught him idle. If you except this man, the captain,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> +and the boy, the whole ship's company swore like troopers. +So universal was the vice that the men, I almost think, +were hardly aware that they did swear. I was puzzled. +Sometimes when I went out in the morning I would hear +a volley of oaths coming from the mouth of a man who +had been talking quite seriously with me over-night.</p> + +<p>Few of the men came to the service, and as they would +not come to us we went to them. Hardey and I, usually +in the evenings, conducted short little services in the forecastle +as often as we thought desirable. We were always +well received and listened to respectfully. I think I may +say safely that all on board had repeated opportunities of +hearing the gospel as plainly as I could put it, and a good +many had something more than mere opportunities. After +it was dark I used to go out and get the men one by one, +as they sat in corners during their watch in the night. All +they had to do was to be within call when wanted, and +many a good long talk I have had with a good many of +them. Of course, my object in accosting them was religious +conversation, and this I usually succeeded in having; +but on many occasions, that we might be quite on a footing +of equality, I had in return to listen to their yarns. The +man on the look-out was a frequent victim. I was always +sure to find a man there, generally alone, and never asleep. +The man, also, was changed at regular intervals, so that I +knew exactly when I would find a fresh man. When I +talked to the look-out man, I used to keep a sharp lookout +myself, lest by distracting his attention I should get +him into trouble. Many a good hour have I stood at the +prow as we passed through the warm Indian Ocean, till +my clothes were wet with the dew of night; and then I +would find my way down to my cabin about midnight, +with my head so full of the ghost-stories I had just heard +that I was really afraid I might meet a real ghost coming +out of my cabin.'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>BEGINNING WORK</h3> + + +<p>In 1817 two missionaries, the Rev. E. Stallybrass and the +Rev. W. Swan, left England to begin Christian work +among the Buriats, a Mongolian tribe living under Russian +authority. At Selenginsk and at Onagen Dome they +laboured for many years; but in 1841 the Russian Emperor +ordered them to leave the country. From the command +of the autocrat there was no appeal, and the mission came +to an end. But in the good providence of God the two +missionaries had translated the whole Bible into Buriat; +the Old Testament being printed in Siberia in 1840, the +New Testament in London in 1846. Notwithstanding the +suppression of the mission, the Word of God in the Mongol +tongue continued to circulate among the people.</p> + +<p>It was to the reopening and development of this missionary +work among the Mongol tribes that James Gilmour +consecrated his life. He was appointed, in the first instance, +to the London Mission at Peking, and that centre formed +his first base of operations. He continued also a member +of that mission until the close of his life. He reached the +Chinese capital on May 18, 1870. At once he settled +down to hard and continuous work at the Chinese language, +endeavouring also from the first to discover the best means<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> +of restarting the Mongol Mission. The very full diary +which he kept lies before us as we write, and enables us to +understand the varying progress and hindrance, encouragement +and despondency of this time.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'<i>June 11, 1870.</i>—Mr. Gulick advises me to pay little +attention to the Chinese and go in hot and strong for the +Mongolian. I am not quite sure that he is not right, after +all. However, I mean to stick into the Chinese yet for a +time to come with my teacher and to mix among the people +as much as I can. I went out to-night and with the gate-keeper +and two of his companions had a lot of talk, in +which I learned a good lot. I hope to benefit largely by +this pleasant mode of study. Perhaps by this means I +may be able to do them good. Lord grant it!'</p> + +<p>'<i>June 12, 1870.</i>—I am to-day twenty-seven years of +age, and what have I done? Let the time that is past +suffice to have wrought the will of the flesh. The prospect +I have before me now is the most inspiriting one any man +can have. Health, strength, as much conscious ability as +makes one hope to be able to get the language of the +people to whom I am sent, a new field of work among +men who are decidedly religious and simple-minded, left +pretty much to my own ideas as to what is best to be done +in the attempted evangelization of Mongolia, friends left +in Britain behind me praying for me, comfort and peace +here in the prosecution of my present studies, the idea that +what I do is for eternity, and that this life is but the short +prelude to an eternal state, the thought that after death +there shall break on my view a thousand truths that now I +long in vain to know—these thoughts and many others +make my present life happy, and in a manner careless as +to what should come. In time may I be able to do my +part as I ought, and may God have great mercy upon me!'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p> + +<p>On June 22, 1870, the news of the Tientsin massacre +reached Peking. A Roman Catholic convent had been +destroyed and thirteen French people killed. Very great +uncertainty prevailed as to whether this indicated a further +purpose of attacking all missions and all foreigners, and +for a while things looked very dark. It was a time in +which the nerve and courage and faith of men were severely +tried, and splendidly did Gilmour endure the test. While +unable to escape wholly from the fears common to all, his +reply to the counsels of worldly prudence and selfish dread +was advance in his work. When others were wondering +whether they might not have to retreat, he, alone, in +almost total ignorance of the language, entirely unfamiliar +with the country, went up to the great Mongolian plain, +and entered upon the service so close to his heart—personal +intercourse with and effort for the Mongols.</p> + +<p>How trying a season this was his diary reveals. Under +date of June 23, 1870, the day after the first tidings of the +outbreak had been received, he writes:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'The Roman Catholic missionaries have suffered severely, +and the Protestant missionaries are not in a very safe +condition. We are living on the slope of a volcano that +may put forth its slumbering rage at any moment. For +example, people ask why there is no rain, and blame the +foreigners for it; and should a famine ensue, we may fare +hard for it. Now is the time for trying what stuff a man's +religion is made of. We may be all dead men directly; +are we afraid to die? Our death might further the cause +of Christ more than our life could do. We must die +some time or other; now that we have a near view of its +possibility, how can we look forward to it? God! do +Thou make my faith firm and bright, so that death may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> +seem small and not to be feared. Help me to trust Thee +and Christ implicitly, so that with calm mind I may work +while Thou dost let me live, and when Thou dost call me +home, let me come gladly.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The further entries in his Diary at this time depict +his inner experience from day to day:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'<i>July 10.</i>—Rose 6.20. Dull morning, rained a little. +Felt uncomfortable at the idea of being killed; felt troubled +at the idea of leaving Peking. How am I to pack and +carry my goods? Felt troubled at remaining in the midst of a +troubled city, with a government weak and stupid. How is +my mission to get on beginning thus? O God, let me cast +all my care upon Thee, and commit my soul also to Thy +safe keeping. Keep me, O God, in perfect peace! Rain +made a thin meeting this morning, but all was quiet. In +afternoon went with Mr. Edkins to the west; things uncommonly +quiet and peaceful.</p> + +<p>'<i>July 12.</i>—While others are writing to papers and trying +to stir up the feelings of the people, so that they may +take action in the matter, perhaps I may be able to do +some good moving Heaven. My creed leads me to think +that prayer is efficacious, and surely a day's asking God +to overrule all these events for good is not lost. Still, +there is a great feeling that when a man is praying he is +doing nothing, and this feeling, I am sure, makes us give +undue importance to work, sometimes even to the hurrying +over or even to the neglect of prayer.</p> + +<p>'<i>July 22.</i>—A good deal troubled about the present state +of matters. I don't exactly know how to estimate rumours +and reports, and this may cause me more uneasiness than +there is any need for. Still, I don't know. At times I feel +a great revulsion from being killed, at other times I feel as +if I could be killed quietly, and not dislike the thing much. +Sometimes the tone of those about us is hopeful, and that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> +causes hope also. Sometimes the prospect of a speedy +removal, a half flight, comes upon me with great force, and +to see all its annoyance, not to speak of the danger, is not +pleasant at all. Oh for the simple, childlike faith that can +trust all things to God and leave all care upon Him! +Ought we not to have it? Is God not the same God now +that He was when He delivered His people from Egypt, +and His saints from the hands of their enemies, from +the mouth of the lions, and the fiery furnace? Cannot +God keep us yet—will He not do it? But then comes the +thought, perhaps God does not wish us to live, but to die. +Often has He allowed His saints to be slain. What then? +Well, as the men in the furnace said of God, "Will He care +to defend us? if not, be it known unto you we will not yield." +I might have died in childhood, in youth, before conversion, +and if then, alas! alas! I can remember the time when +the pains of hell got such a terrible hold upon me that I +would have gladly changed places in the world with anyone +who had the hope of salvation. Death, life, prospects, +honour, shame, seemed nothing compared with this hope +of salvation, which I was then without. "Could I ever be +saved?" was the question; "would I ever have the hope +that I knew others had?" Had I died in darkness—God +be thanked, the light has shined forth, and I have the hope of +eternal life. May God make me more Christlike, and give +me stronger hope! Well, then, this hope I have; from this +fearful pit I have been delivered; in the light I now walk. +God I call my Father, Christ my Saviour, heaven my home, +earth and the life here the entrance to real life. If there is +anything in our faith or in our belief, then heaven is as +much better than earth as it is higher than earth, and our +souls life is insured from all harm. If a man is insured +against all possible harm, why should he be afraid? Not +one hair of our head shall perish! O Lord, help me to live +this faith and to be in this frame of mind. In this city are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> +many foreigners, who came here to learn the language, &c., +and many of them have no great hope of heaven. They +seem calm enough, and are no doubt calm enough; shall +the courage of the world, shall the courage of scepticism, +shall the courage of carelessness be greater and produce +better fruit than the courage of the Christian? O Lord, +preserve me from the sin of dishonouring Thy name +through fear and cowardice! Let us be bold in the Lord!'</p></blockquote> + +<p>By the end of July 1870, Gilmour had reached a fixed +resolution to go to Mongolia as soon as the necessary +arrangements could be made. A severe test had been +applied to him, and the way in which he met it gives the key +to the whole of his after life. He used the trial as a help +onwards in the path of duty, and the chain of events which +would have led many men to postpone indefinitely the +beginning of a new and hard work only drove him the +more eagerly into new fields. The reasons that influenced +him are set forth in his official report written many months +later.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'After the massacre at Tientsin, very grave fears prevailed +at Peking; no one could tell how far the ramifications +of the plot might extend, and it was impossible to sift the +matter. The people openly talked of an extermination, +and claimed to have the tacit favour of the Government in +this; nay more, the Government itself issued ambiguous, if +not insinuating, proclamations, which fomented the excitement +of the populace to such an extent that the days were +fixed for the "Clearing of Peking." The mob was thoroughly +quieted on the first of the days fixed by a twenty +hours' pour of tremendous rain, which converted Peking +into a muddy, boatless Venice, and kept the people safely +at home in their helpless felt shoes, as securely as if their +feet had been put into the stocks. This was Friday.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> +Tuesday was the reserve day; Saturday and Sabbath one +felt the tide of excitement rising, and on Monday morning +the Peking Gazette came out with an Imperial edict that +at once allayed the excitement, and assured us that there +was no danger for the present.</p> + +<p>'We had then to draw breath and look about us calmly, +and the general conclusion that the "Old Pekingers" came +to was that the French would be compelled to resort to +force of arms to gain redress. The attitude of the Chinese +people and Government made them think so, and so they +determined to wait on quietly in Peking till things should +get thick, and then it would be time to go south. I think +I may safely say that everyone drew out an inventory of +his things, and not a few had their most necessary things +packed "on the sly," and were ready to start on short notice.</p> + +<p>'Up to this point I stood quietly aside; but now +was my time to reason, and on the data they supplied I +reasoned thus: "If I go south, no Mongol can be prevailed +on to go with me, and so I am shut out from my work, and +that for an indefinite time. If I can get away north, then +I can go on with the language, and perhaps come down +after the smoke clears away, knowing Mongolian, and +having lost no time." I felt a great aversion to travelling +so far alone, and with such imperfect knowledge of the +language, but as I thought it over from day to day I was +more and more convinced that to run the risk of having to +go south would be to prove unfaithful to duty, and so I +conferred no longer with likings or dislikings, resolved to +go should an opportunity offer, and in the meantime +worked away at Chinese.</p> + +<p>'By-and-by a Russian merchant turned up; he was +going to Kiachta, so I started with him. I could not go +sooner, as it was not safe to travel in the country before the +Imperial edict was issued; to wait longer was to run the +risk of not going at all.'</p></blockquote> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/54.jpg" width="500" height="758" alt="Map illustrating James Gilmour's journeys on the Great Plain of Mongolia" title="Map illustrating James Gilmour's journeys on the Great Plain of Mongolia" /> +</div> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>MONGOLIAN APPRENTICESHIP</h3> + + +<p>The name Mongolia denotes a vast and almost unknown +territory situated between China Proper and Siberia, constituting +the largest dependency of the Chinese Empire. +It stretches from the Sea of Japan on the east to Turkestan +on the west, a distance of nearly 3,000 miles; and +from the southern boundary of Asiatic Russia to the +Great Wall of China, a distance of about 900 miles. It +consists of high tablelands, lifted up considerably above +the level of Northern China, and is approached only +through rugged mountain passes. The central portion +of this enormous area is called the Desert of Gobi.</p> + +<p>A kind of highway for the considerable commercial +traffic between China and Russia runs through the eastern +central part of Mongolia, leaving China at the frontier town +of Kalgan, and touching Russia at the frontier town of +Kiachta. Along this route during all but the winter +months, caravans of camel-carts and ox-carts attended by +companies of Mongols and Chinese are constantly passing. +The staple export from China is tea; the chief imports are +salt, soda, hides, and timber.</p> + +<p>The west and the centre of Mongolia is occupied by +nomad Mongols. They have clusters of huts and tents in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> +fixed locations which form their winter dwellings. But in +summer they journey over the great plains in search of the +best pasturage for their flocks and herds. They are consequently +exceedingly difficult to reach by any other method +than that of sharing their roving tent life. In the southeastern +district of Mongolia there are large numbers of +agricultural Mongols who speak both Chinese and Mongolian. +The towns in this part are almost wholly inhabited +by Chinese.</p> + +<p>The winter in Mongolia is both long and severe; in the +summer the heat is often very oppressive, and the great +Plain is subject to severe storms of dust, rain and wind.</p> + +<p>Buddhism is all-powerful, and the larger half of the +male population are lamas or Buddhist priests. 'Meet a +Mongol on the road, and the probability is that he is +saying his prayers and counting his beads as he rides +along. Ask him where he is going, and on what errand, +as the custom is, and likely he will tell you he is going to +some shrine to worship. Follow him to the temple, and +there you will find him one of a company with dust-marked +forehead, moving lips, and the never absent beads, going +the rounds of the sacred place, prostrating himself at every +shrine, bowing before every idol, and striking pious attitudes +at every new object of reverence that meets his eye. +Go to Mongolia itself, and probably one of the first great +sights that meet your eye will be a temple of imposing +grandeur, resplendent from afar in colours and gold.'</p> + +<p>'The Mongol's religion marks out for him certain seemingly +indifferent actions as good or bad, meritorious or +sinful. There is scarcely one single step in life, however +insignificant, which he can take without first consulting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> +his religion through his priest. Not only does his religion +insist on moulding his soul, and colouring his whole +spiritual existence, but it determines for him the colour +and cut of his coat. It would be difficult to find another +instance in which any religion has grasped a country so +universally and completely as Buddhism has Mongolia.'<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> <i>Among the Mongols</i>, p. 211.</p></div> + +<p>It was to the herculean task of attempting single-handed +to evangelise a region and a people like this that +James Gilmour addressed himself. His early journeys are +fully set forth in <i>Among the Mongols</i>, and we do not propose +to repeat them here. Our object rather is to depict, +so far as possible, the inner life of James Gilmour, and +the real nature of the work he accomplished. He left +Peking on August 5, and reached Kalgan four days later. +On August 27 he started for his first trip across the great +plain of Mongolia to Kiachta. A Russian postmaster was +to be his companion, but, to avoid travelling on Sunday, +Gilmour started a day ahead, and then waited for the +Russian to come up. Here is his first view of scenes he +was so often in later life to visit.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'<i>Sabbath, August 28.</i>—Awoke about 5 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> just as it +was drawing towards light, and saw that we were right out +into the Plain.</p> + +<p>'I am writing up my diary, with a lot of people looking +into my cart. I have just given them a Mongol Catechism, +and I hope it may do them good. God, do Thou bless it to +them! Would I could speak to them, but I cannot. I am +glad to be saved the trouble of travelling to-day. My +mind feels at rest for the present. I am looking about me, +and having my first look at the life I am likely to lead.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> +There are several more Mongol dwellings within sight, +plenty of camels, horses, and oxen. The Mongols have +a tent of their own, and the "commandant's" tent has also +been put up. A Mongol has just come up and changed +his dress, his cloak serving him as a tent meantime. I +am hesitating whether to try to read in my cart or go off +a little way with my plaid and umbrella.</p> + +<p>'Had not a very intellectual or spiritual day after all. +Went in the afternoon away to the east. Had a good +view and a time of devotion at a cairn from which an eagle +rose as I approached. Returned to the camp and bought +milk and some cheese. Intended to make porridge, but +the fire was not good on account of the blowing, so I drank +off my milk, ate some bread, and went to sleep.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The journey across the desert, including a visit to Urga, +occupied a month. It was full of intense interest for the +traveller, and many of the most abiding impressions of his +life and work were then received. His diary reveals the deep +yearnings of his heart for the salvation of the Mongols. +Under the date September 11, 1870, he writes:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Astir by daybreak. Camels watering; made porridge +and tea. This is the Lord's day; help me, O Lord, to be +in the spirit, and to be glad and rejoice in the day which +Thou hast made! Several huts in sight. When shall I be +able to speak to the people? O Lord, suggest by the +Spirit how I should come among them, and guide me in +gaining the language, and in preparing myself to teach the +life and love of Christ Jesus! Oh, let me live for Christ, +and feel day by day the blessedness of a will given up to +God, and the happiness of a life which has its every circumstance +working for my good!'</p></blockquote> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p><p>His constant rule was to rest from all journeying, so far +as possible, on the Sabbath. After another week's experience, +on September 18 he thus records his impressions:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Encamped just over the plain we saw at sunset last +night. We are some distance from the real exit, but not far. +This is the Lord's day; God help me to be in the spirit +notwithstanding all distractions. Oh that God would give +me more of His Spirit, more of His felt Presence, more of +the spirit and power of prayer, that I may bring down +blessings on this poor people of Mongolia! As I look at +them and their huts I ask again and again how am I to go +among them; in comfort and in a waggon, with all my things +about me; or in poverty, reducing myself to their level? +If I go among them rich, they will be continually begging, +and perhaps regard me more as a source of gifts than anything +else. If I go with nothing but the Gospel, there +will be nothing to distract their attention from the unspeakable +gift.</p> + +<p>'8.15 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>-3.15 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> Good long walk. Met camels and +came upon a cart encampment, estimated at one hundred +and seventy. Know where I am on the map. There is a +camel encampment where we are. Two huts from which +comes fuel. Read to-day in II Chronicles xvi. God never +failed those who trusted in Him and appealed to Him. +God was displeased with the King of Judah because, after +the deliverance from the Lubims, Ethiopians, &c., he trusted +to the arm of flesh to deliver him from the Syrians. Do +we not in our day rest too much on the arm of flesh? +Cannot the same wonders be done now as of old? Do not +the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole +earth, still to show Himself strong on behalf of those who +put their trust in Him? Oh that God would give me more +practical faith in Him! Where is now the Lord God of +Elijah? He is waiting for Elijah to call on Him. God<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> +give me some of Elijah's spirit, and let my power be of God, +and my hope from Him for the conversion of this people.</p> + +<p>'It is nothing to the Lord to save by many or by them +that have no power. Help me, O God, for I rest on Thee, +and in Thy name I go against this multitude!'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Kiachta, on the southern frontier of Siberia, was +reached September 28, 1870, and there Gilmour was at +once plunged into a series of troubles. The Russian and +Chinese authorities would not recognise his passport, and +he had to wait months before another could be obtained from +Peking. He found absolutely no sympathy in his work. +He knew next to nothing of the Mongol language. Yet +with robust faith, with whole-hearted courage, with a resolution +that nothing could daunt, he set to work. A +Scotch trader, named Grant, was kind to him, and found +accommodation for him at his house. At first he tried the +orthodox plan of getting a Mongol teacher to visit and +instruct him. Before he secured one he used to visit such +Mongols as he found in the neighbourhood, trying to acquire +a vocabulary from them, asking the names of the articles +they were using, their actions, and all such other matters as +he could make them understand. But his loneliness, his +ignorance of the language, the inaction to which he was +condemned, partly by his difficulty in getting a suitable +teacher, and partly by the uncertainty as to whether the +authorities would allow him to remain, told upon his eager +spirit as week after week passed by, and he became subject +to fits of severe depression. Here is a picture of one of +these early days. He had been trying to talk with a +Buriat carpenter, in a place called Kudara, not far from +Kiachta:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'After getting my quota of words I walked through the +town. The main object in it is the church, a large whitewashed +structure built by Mr. Grant's father-in-law when +he was a rich man. He was made poor, comparatively speaking, +in one night by a great fire which burnt up all before +it. In addition to the church are some streets of Cossack +houses, desolate enough looking, the streets desolate +enough at best, but rendered much more so this morning +by the snow melting in the sun, which is still high, and +manages to thaw away all the snow that falls in places +where it shines, though it was frost all day in the shade. +Passing the town I made for the river, which rolled on +quiet and cold. Passed through large orchards of apple(?) +trees; doubled about, went to the extreme west, got on a +hill, and came round home again in time for dinner at +4 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> I felt very lonely, and not having a teacher I am +thrown idle, as it were, a great part of the day after I get +my words. It is true I am taking notice of all I see, but +it always occurs to me that this is not furthering the +Mongolian Mission in any direct way. I often think of +what Dr. Alexander said in his charge at my ordination: +"<i>You do not go to discover new countries.</i>" Would I had a +teacher, that the language might go on full swing! To-day +I felt a good deal like Elijah in the wilderness, when the +reaction came on after his slaughter of the priests of Baal. +He prayed that he might die. I wonder if I am telling +the truth when I say that I felt drawn towards suicide. I +take this opportunity of declaring strongly that on all +occasions two missionaries should go together. I was not +of this opinion a few weeks ago, but I had no idea how +weak an individual I am. My eyes have filled with tears +frequently these last few days in spite of myself, and I do +not wonder in the least that Grant's brother shot himself. +<i>Oh! the intense loneliness of Christ's life</i>, not a single one +understood Him! He bore it. O Jesus, let me follow in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> +Thy steps, and have in me the same Spirit that Thou +hadst!</p> + +<p>'Read papers in the evening (Oct 5). So Jones of +Singrauli is dead! I heard him in Exeter Hall, May, a +year or two ago, and heard a good deal of him through +Dr. Evans, of Chestnut College. I am persuaded he was +a missionary among a thousand. When he returned to his +station he found that during his absence matters had got +out of order a good deal, and he set about putting them +right. Now he is dead! How prodigal God seems of His +workers—Hartley, Jones, both A 1, both gone. God's ways +are not ours. We would have preserved these two at all +risk and expense, but God <i>takes</i> them away, and it seems to +us as if He were hurting His own cause. God knows best, +but to <i>us</i> it is a great mystery.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Two days later he received a letter telling him of the +death of a brilliant young Glasgow student, and he enters +in his diary comments which received only too complete +an illustration in his own subsequent career:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Another splendid student going from college to the +grave. This is a thing of common occurrence with reference +to Glasgow College, and, if I am not mistaken, I have +seen it somewhere publicly commented on. Men, poor +it may be, strive through college with a mind and determination +beyond their circumstances and bodily strength, +fight a great battle with poverty and more clever students, +resolute to take the first place if possible, and just as the +college is finished with them, and sending them forth to the +field of life decorated with all the honours it can bestow, +the fond Alma Mater has to keep on mourning and drop +her tear over an early grave.</p> + +<p>'Are the young men to blame? Who can be restrained +by the cold-blooded calculation of preserving health?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> +"There is my opponent, I'll thrash him if I can; better to +toil out my life-blood drop by drop than let it mount to my +cheek as a mantle of shame when I find myself defeated +when I might have been victorious." Then they conscientiously +work themselves to death. If they did not work as +hard as they do, and refrain from recreation as they do, +they would have in their breasts the uneasy feeling that +they have not done as much as they might have done; +and what noble nature can be content to live under that +accusation written against them by the supreme court in +their own breasts?</p> + +<p>'Several times I have resolved to refrain for health's sake, +but in a short time found such an uneasy feeling about not +doing as much as I might, that I had to give it up and +go at it. I <i>never</i> feel that I have done as much as I might, +and when I am doing most I feel best.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Very dissatisfied with his progress, and stung one day +by a remark of Grant's to the effect that he did not seem to +speak Mongolian readily, Gilmour changed his plans. He +resolved to go out upon the Plain, and persuade some +Mongol to allow him to share his tent. On December 13, +1870, he left Kiachta and journeyed out into Mongolia to +the first cluster of tents, named Olau Bourgass. There he +found a friendly Mongol. 'Grant's contractor. Found +him at his prayers. He motioned me to sit down, and +when his devotions were finished he gave me a warm +welcome. He lives alone in his tent, having nothing to +care for but the horses for the courier service, and a couple +of lamas<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> to attend to his wants, one of whom goes with the +letters when they come. We talked, and I learned a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> +deal, when at last I broke my mind to him, and was glad +to find that he received it favourably. I settled to remain +there during the night. Nothing very remarkable happened +except that we were invaded by a great blustering +lama, intoxicated. He came ramping into the tent as +if he would have knocked everything down. After a time +he went away and lodged in the next hut. I went to bed +about ten and slept well, though my feet were cold towards +morning.'</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> A lama is a priest of the lama section of Buddists. More than half the +population of Mongolia are lamas.</p></div> + +<p>The next three months were passed mainly in this +tent. Gilmour used, whenever possible, to return to +Kiachta to spend the Sunday at Grant's house; but by +enduring the hardships and suffering all the inconveniences +of ordinary Mongol life he rapidly acquired the colloquial, +and he also made an indelible impression upon the minds +and hearts of the natives, who ever afterwards spoke of +him as 'Our Gilmour.' He saw Mongol life as it was, free +from all the illusion and romance sometimes thrown around +it. He became intimately acquainted with the various +Mongol types, and he began to enter into the native +habits of thought. His diary contains many a scene like +the following:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I gave the lama a book on Saturday, and when I +came back on Tuesday I found he had read it through +twice. He set upon me with questions, getting me to +admit premises, and then reasoned from them. Christ +being at the right hand of God was a great point with him. +If God has no form, how can anyone be at His right +hand? Then, again, if God is everywhere, Christ is everywhere +right and left of God, and how can that be?</p> + +<p>'The omnipresence was a staggerer. Was God in that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> +pot, in the tent, in his boot? Did he tread upon God? +Then was God inside the kettle? Did the hot tea not +scald Him? Again, if God was inside the kettle, the kettle +was living! And so he held it up to the laughing circle as +a new species of animal. I asked him if a fly were inside +the kettle, would the kettle be alive? "No," he said; "but +a fly does not fill the space as God must do." "Well, then," +said I, "is my coat alive because I fill it?" This settled +the question.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In March 1871 he visited Selenginsk and Onagen +Dome, the scene of the labours of Stallybrass and Swan +from 1817 to 1841, and then he took a run into Siberia, crossing +Lake Baikal and visiting Irkutsk. At the latter place +he reviews the past few months:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Another week has passed over my head with many +hopes and fears. This day, a week ago, I was nearing +Ana in doubt as to many things; now I am in Irkutsk, +having my path marked with mercies. In many points of +my journey I expected difficulties which might have stopped +me short in my path, but all these have disappeared, +and I am here, having succeeded beyond expectations. +One thing is not right: my readiness to forget the ways in +which God has helped me. Sometimes for weeks and +months I look forward to some crisis which is coming; it +comes off well, and in two days I am as if I had forgotten +that to which I had looked forward with so much apprehension. +In this manner I am not only guilty of ingratitude, +but lose much joy and strength of faith and hope. +What should make me more happy than the thought of +the helps and deliverances that God has vouchsafed me; +and in troubles present and to come, what can give me +more faith and courage than to remember that out of such +troubles I was delivered before?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p> + +<p>'One thing I sometimes think of. I left Britain with +no intention of travelling; I expected to settle down quietly +and confine myself to a circle I could impress. This plan +has been completely changed and overruled. Two months +have I been in Peking; two weeks have I been in Kalgan; +a month have I been in the desert; a month have I been in +Kudara, a small Russian frontier military post; a month +and a half have I been in Kiachta; two months have I been +in Mongolia; and now two weeks have I been travelling in +Russia. A year and a month have elapsed since I left +home, and during that time I have been walking to and +fro on the face of the earth, and going up and down in it. +In this way I have not found my life at all dull, but very +stirring. Indeed, many people would have left home to +travel as I have done. I sought it not; it came, and I +took it. So as yet I have no hardships to complain of. +To see the places and things I have seen—Liverpool, +Wales, Rock of Lisbon, Gibraltar, Malta, Egypt, Port +Said, Canal, Suez, Red Sea, Cape Gardafui, Indian Ocean, +Penang, Straits of Malacca, Singapore, Hong Kong, +Shanghai, Tientsin, Peking, Kalgan, Desert, Urga, Kiachta, +Russia, Baikal, Irkutsk—only even to see these, men will +make long journeys. I have seen them all without seeking +them, with the exception of Baikal and Irkutsk. These +are all by the way, and I dwell upon them as proofs that +God, in sending His servants from home and kindred, often +gives them pleasure and worldly enjoyment on the way, +which He does not promise, and which they have no right +to expect.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>After another but briefer sojourn at Olau Bourgass he +set out on his return journey, visited Urga, then crossed +the great plain on horseback in the course of fourteen days, +and reached Kalgan on June 11. After a rest there he +made two excursions into Mongolia, visiting Lama Miao,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> +one of the great Mongol religious centres, in the first; and +occupying some weeks with a further spell of Mongol tent +life during the second.</p> + +<p>His diary, under date of September 22, 1871, while he +was resting at Kalgan, thus sums up his experiences:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I desire to-day to look back on the way by which the +Lord has led me for the last year. In September 1870 I +was looking out eagerly, anxiously for someone who was +going to Russia, that I might go with him. I could find +no one. I made it a subject of prayer, and at last, when I +was on my knees, in came McCoy to tell me of a Russian +who was going up without delay. I saw the Russian, and +arranged to go, and started. "While they are speaking I +will answer them."</p> + +<p>'On the journey between Peking and Kalgan I was +alone, I may say, and could speak little Chinese, yet I got +on very well; and though my money was in a box on the +back of a donkey, yet it came in all safe, none lost. In +Kalgan I had difficulty at first about finding camels, but +at length the Russian postmaster turned out to be going +home. The time when was uncertain, quite; his departure +depended on the coming of his successor. I prayed about +this, and one day was informed that the successor had +arrived much sooner than was expected, and that we were +to start in a day or two. We did start, and after a prosperous +journey arrived safely at Kiachta.</p> + +<p>'There I found Grant and Hegemann, two Englishmen. +I went to live in Grant's country house at Kudara. A +difficulty arose about a teacher. I prayed about this, and +strolling along came upon a tent in which was a man who +was out of employment, and he being educated, I engaged +him to be my teacher. In Kiachta, after some delay, I got +a teacher, but not to my satisfaction. After I had been +with him a time Grant remarked one day that I did not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> +seem to be making much progress in the language. This +stung me to the quick, and made me go down into +Mongolia. Here I was directed to the tent of Grant's +contractor, and with him I made arrangements to live. I +thank God for not permitting me to get a good teacher in +Kiachta. Had I got a good teacher there, I would simply +have remained there, and I am sure would not have +learned half as much of the language as I did in the tent +at Mongolia, would have got none of the insight I gained +into the style of Mongolian life, and would not have got +the introduction I had there to numerous Mongols. At +the time I was immensely chagrined that I could not get a +proper teacher, but now, after the lapse of only a few +months, I can see good reason for thanking God for leading +me by that way. This should teach me to trust God +more than I do when things seem to thwart my +purpose.</p> + +<p>'Again, I was under a great disappointment about the +delay that occurred in the sending of my passport from +Peking. In consequence of its not coming I was unable +to go to Urga with Lobsung and Sherrub in February. I +felt it much at the time, but some months after (in June) I +learned that these men with whom I wanted to go suffered +excessively on the road; so much so that, had I gone with +them, I might have got my feet frozen and died with the +cold. Here again I have to praise God for not giving me +my own way.</p> + +<table summary="Poem - Thy way, not mine, O Lord"> +<tr> +<td> +<span>"Thy way, not mine, O Lord;<br /></span> +<span style="margin-left: 2em">However dark it be."<br /></span> +</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p>'Then, again, I had long desired to visit the scene of +the former Siberian Mission, and through the mercy of +Providence I was permitted to do this. My journey back +through the desert also was marked by mercies. Truly I +may stand and say,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p> + +<table summary="Poem - When all thy mercies"> +<tr> +<td> +<span>"When all Thy mercies, O my God,<br /></span> +<span style="margin-left: 2em">My rising soul surveys,<br /></span> +<span>Transported with the view, I'm lost<br /></span> +<span style="margin-left: 2em">In wonder, love, and praise."'<br /></span> +</td> +</tr> +</table> + +</blockquote> + +<p>After his wanderings even Kalgan was a haven of rest, +and he had secured there a base of operations. 'Now,' +he writes, 'that I have got my study window pasted up, +and a nice little stove set going, it seems so comfortable +that it would be snug to stay where I am. But comfort is +not the missionary's rule. My object in going into Mongolia +at this time is to have an opportunity of reviewing +and extending my knowledge of the colloquial, which has +become a little rusty consequent upon its disuse to a great +extent while here, trying to get up the written.'</p> + +<p>All who are even superficially acquainted with Chinese +matters know how difficult it is to acquire the colloquial, +and still more the written language. Mongolian is not +nearly so difficult, but it presents a task needing vigour of +intellect and strength of will. Both of these Gilmour possessed +in a measure far above the average.</p> + +<p>'In the written,' he states on October 7, 1871, 'I am +still far from at home. Most of the Bible I can read slowly +and at sight. Many words I can write. I think I could +write a bad letter myself alone. The other day I did so. +My teacher said it was well written, and said also he rejoiced +in the progress of his scholar; but I put this down to +mere politeness.'</p> + +<p>During this visit he stayed in the tent of a Mongol +named Mahabul, who lived there with his wife and an +only son, a lama. They were all much addicted to the +use of whisky.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p> + +<blockquote><p>'<i>October 14, '71.</i>—To-day rose before the sun, read +words, wrote at the account of my journey from Urga, went +to the mountain for devotion, revisited the silver worker, +who is making the bride's ornaments, dined, visited the +Norying's lama son, who fell from a horse and broke his +leg, had tea, and went to visit tents a mile or two to the +south. There found, as master of the tent, a blackman (a +layman) I had seen before, and as visitor a lama I had +left in Mahabul's tent when I went out. From one thing +to another we got to speak of God and His book. At last +they asked me to read them a portion. I read in English +a few verses, and then gave them the parable of the Prodigal +Son in Mongol colloquial. I also gave them a specimen +of a sermon, and explained shortly the nature of God, when +they all seemed pleased. The lama finished up the thing +by saying, "Your outward appearance differs from us, but +inwardly you agree with us." Coming home I felt amply +repaid for all the uncomfort and solitude, and leading a +Mongol life, by the comparative ease with which I can +converse with them, and the manner in which they wonder +at my proficiency in the colloquial.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In his official report he rapidly summarises the achievements +of the last nine months:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'By the middle of February I had a limited knowledge +of the colloquial, picked up from listening to and joining +in the conversation going on among the inmates of the +tent at Olau Bourgass, and those with the numerous visitors +who took occasion to call on my lama, who was rather a +famous man. At the end of February the lama returned +south to Urga, and I went back into Russia, and got a +Buriat teacher. This individual, however, turned out so +incredibly lazy, and I felt so dull alone in my large +comfortable rooms, after the friendly bustle and crowd of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> +the little tent, with its cheery fire, that I could not stand it. +So I got my teacher and myself into a tarantass, and went +off to visit the scenes of the former mission in Siberia. +My teacher proved very useful. He spoke Russian very +well, I spoke Mongolian to him, and thus we travelled, +the doubtful wonder of all Russians, who could not understand +how a man not born a Buriat could get acquainted +with that language, and yet know no Russian. After +visiting the converts, partly for the sake of diverting the +curious eyes of the Russians from the great aim of my +journey and partly in the traveller's spirit, I turned westward +and crossed the Baikal on the ice, and remained a +few days in the capital of Siberia, Irkutsk. On returning +to Kiachta I found another teacher, and went out for +another month into Mongolia and tent life. All the while +that I was in Mongolia I used to return to Kiachta once a +week, usually on Saturday, and abide in the land of habitations +till Monday.</p> + +<p>'Early in May I started for the south. I had intended +to remain over the summer in Urga, but unexpected difficulties +turned up, and led me to decide on going down to +Kalgan at once. From Urga to Kalgan (600 miles) +was done on horseback, accompanied by a single Mongol; +and as we carried no luggage, we had to depend on the +hospitality of the Mongols for lodging and cooking, or, as +they call the latter, "pot and ladle."</p> + +<p>'In this way I saw a very great deal of tent life +during the twelve or thirteen days the ride lasted. I got +into Kalgan just two days before the rainy season came +on (June 15), and having, after difficulty, secured a teacher, +passed the summer in Kalgan studying the book language +and practising writing. In October I went up again to +the grassland and spent some weeks revising my knowledge +of the colloquial and observing the difference between the +northern and southern manner of speaking. I finally left<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> +Mongolia in a furious storm on the morning of November 1, +and re-entered Peking November 9.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Gilmour on his return was naturally an object of great +interest to all the missionary and to some of the official +community. He soon settled down to the study of Chinese, +and to such mission work as he could usefully engage +in during the winter at Peking. A letter to the writer, +under date of January 21, 1872, enables us to realise +somewhat the life of this period:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'My dear Lovett,—Though I acknowledged receipt of +your last welcome epistle, I am aware I owe you a return, +and here it is ... I have thought that perhaps an account +of how a Sabbath goes in Peking might not be uninteresting, +and I'll just confine myself to to-day. Well, this +morning, on getting up, I found my stove was out. This is +a very unusual thing, but it just happens once, say, in three +weeks. The thermometer was about 5°. The first thing +after getting dressed was not to call my servant, as you +might suppose, but to go in quest of letters. A mail had +come in the night before, but I had returned home too +late last night to see it. So I went over to Dr. Dudgeon's +house before he was up, prowled about till I found the +mail, but there was nothing for me. I returned to my +cold room, and was there till the breakfast-bell rang. I +board with Edkins, and to go there is a pleasant break in +the monotony.</p> + +<p>'On coming back to my quarters I found the room full +of smoke, doors and windows open, my boy on his knees +fussing about the stove, and saying, <i>Moo too poo shing</i>—"the +wood won't do." I saw at once that that would not do for +me, so I buttoned up my coat and went out on to the great +street for a walk. The street on which we live, the Ha Ta +Mun (great street), runs north and south, and a cold wind was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> +blowing down the road, carrying clouds of dust with it. +Through the dust, however, were visible the paraphernalia +of two funerals, one going north, the other going south. +They met just opposite our place. That going south was +much the grander of the two, and had a long procession of +people carrying emblematical devices, honorific umbrellas, +drums, gongs, and musical instruments. Ever and anon +a man took quantities of paper discs with square holes cut +in the centre and scattered them to the north wind. The +papers are supposed to represent cash, and were scrambled +for eagerly by the urchins, though they could be valuable +only as waste paper. In the procession also was carried +the chair in which the deceased used to ride, his mule cart +also figured conspicuous, and then came the mourners.</p> + +<p>'As you know, mourning garb in China is <i>white</i>, and I +noticed that some of the mourners had adopted a neat +device. All Chinamen who can afford to be warm in winter +wear robes lined inside with fur. A rich robe is lined +with fine material, but the common thing is white lambskin. +Well, these fellows simply become turn-coats for the +time, and put on their fur robes inside out, and thus were +in the fashion. The coffin itself was laid in a magnificent +bier towering high, surmounted by a gilt top piece, hung +with silks, and borne by forty-eight bearers.</p> + +<p>'Of course everything has to make way for the funeral. +The Peking streets are very wide, and at the same time very +narrow. In the centre and high up is a cart road with an +up and a down line, along the sides of this are ditches and +holes, beyond these ditches and holes is another way more +or less passable, and beyond that again the shops. The +funeral procession took the crown of the road, crept along +at its snail's pace, while the traffic took to the side roads.</p> + +<p>'After a good long walk among stalls and wheelbarrows +I got back to my abode, found a good fire, and that it was +high time to go to the Chinese service. I don't understand all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> +I hear, but I understand some, and make a point of hearing +one and sometimes two Chinese sermons on the Sabbath. +An old Chinaman was preaching, and I could see from the +manner of the congregation that he was securing the fixed +attention of his hearers. Before the sermon was ended there +was a bustle at the door, and in came three Mongols with +my Chinese card. They were asked to wait till the service +was concluded, then I took them to my quarters and had +some conversation with them. One of them had come for +the doctor, and wished to get cured of so prosaic a disease +as the itch.</p> + +<p>'Before I was finished with them, my servant came to +say that another Mongol had called for me and was waiting +for me in Edkins's. When I went over I found an old +Mongol, a blackman, fifty-eight years of age. This layman +was named Amäsa, and has been in the habit of paying +Mr. Edkins visits every winter when he comes down to +Peking. Last year he did not come, and we were concluding +that he had died. Of course we were glad to see him. I +got him into my room and we had quite an afternoon of it. +The old man knew a good deal about Christianity, and I +gave him what additional instruction I could. Of all the +Mongols I have seen he is, perhaps, the most ready to receive +instruction.</p> + +<p>'It was quite late in the afternoon before he left, and I +had just time to take a walk at sunset and be back in time +for dinner. Immediately after that the people began to +assemble for evening service. This is held every Sabbath +evening in Mr. Edkins's parlour. Upwards of twenty usually +compose the congregation. The missionaries take the +service in turn. After service the mass of the congregation +separated, but one man came with me to my room, and +there we sat talking till midnight, when my visitor rose to +depart.</p> + +<p>'There, you see, I have given you the history of one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> +Sabbath in Peking. It is a pretty fair sample of what goes +on here very frequently. However, when I find myself free +on the afternoon I accompany Mr. Edkins to some one of +the two chapels, which are in distant parts of the city. I do +not go so much to hear him preach as to have his conversation +on the way there and back, and, as you may suppose, +we sometimes stumble upon an argument, and this makes it +quite lively.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The self-denying and arduous labours of his first sojourn +in Mongolia had given to James Gilmour a knowledge of +the language and an acquaintance with the nomadic Mongols +of the Plain far in excess of that possessed by any +other European. But even then, as also at a later date, the +question was raised whether more fruitful work might not +be done among the agricultural Mongols inhabiting the +country to the north-east of Peking. Hence, on April 16, +1872, he started on his first journey through the district in +which in later years the closing labours of his life were to +be accomplished. He spent thirty-seven days in this preliminary +tour, and travelled about 1,000 miles.</p> + +<p>Gilmour's first estimate of this region as a field of missionary +enterprise, expressed on April 25, 1872, remained +true to the end, even though in later years the exceptional +difficulties of work among the nomads induced him at last, +as we shall see, to settle among the agricultural Mongols:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Though I saw a good many Mongol houses, yet I +must say, I do not feel much drawn to them in preference +to the nomad Mongols. The only possible recommendation +I can think of is that, coming among them, I might go +and put up for some days at a time in a Chinese inn. This +would save me from great trouble in getting introductions,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> +and it might be less expensive. The great objection I +have to them is that, though a mission were established +among them, it would be more a mission in China than +anywhere else. The Mongols in these agricultural villages +speak Chinese to a man, and I cannot help feeling that, +since there are so many missionaries in Peking speaking +the Chinese language, these Mongols fall to them, and not +to me.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Soon after his return from this trip into Eastern Mongolia, +Mr. Gilmour sent home an elaborate report upon +the conditions and prospects of the Mongol Mission. He +deals with the whole question of the work, showing why, +in his opinion, the <i>agricultural</i> Mongols should be evangelised +by Chinese missionaries. Mr. Edkins and others +thought that Gilmour should undertake that labour, but +after having seen more than any missionary of both regions +and classes of Mongols, on the ground that he was the +man 'who had to go and begin,' he decided for the Plain.</p> + +<p>Even at this early date Mr. Gilmour urged repeatedly +and strenuously upon the Directors the pressing need he +felt for a colleague. And thus early began the long +series of seeming fatalities that prevented him from ever +receiving this joy and strength. Partly from the needs of +the Peking Mission, and partly from respect to a notion +which the American Board of Foreign Missions had that +their occupancy of Kalgan, on the extreme southern limit, +constituted <i>all</i> Mongolia into one of their fields of work, +the Rev. S. E. Meech, Mr. Gilmour's old college friend, who +had been designated as his first colleague, was stationed +at Peking. With reference to this, in closing the report +above referred to, Gilmour wrote:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Mr. Meech's perversion from Mongolia to China is +much to be deplored. I think it would be wrong in me not +to inform you of the true state of matters, and to remind you +that it is little short of nonsense to speak of reopening the +Mongolian Mission so long as there is only one man +in the field. I am fully aware of the difficulty of finding +suitable men, and most fully sympathise with you, but +don't let us delude ourselves with the idea of Mongol +Mission work progressing till another man or two come +and put their shoulder to the wheel. All that I can do I +am quite willing to do, but my own progress is most +seriously hampered because I am alone.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>His whole subsequent life is evidence of the splendid +way in which Gilmour justified these words, yet perhaps +no legitimate blame can be laid at the door of the Directors +of the London Missionary Society. Both the friends and +the critics of missions are sometimes more ready to tabulate +converts than to ponder and estimate aright the difficulties +and drawbacks of the work. But in any estimate of the +comparative success and failure of the Mongol Mission it +should be borne in mind that Gilmour never really had a +colleague. He never even had a companion for his work +on the Plain, except his heroic and devoted wife. And in +later years circumstances over which the Directors could +exercise little or no control successively deprived him of +the fellowship, after a very brief experience, of Dr. Roberts +and Dr. Smith.</p> + +<p>In the summer of this year, in the company of Mr. +Edkins, he visited the sacred city of Woo T'ai Shan, a +famous place of Mongol pilgrimage.</p> + +<p>An amusing illustration of his well-known love of argument +occurred on this trip. In Mr. Edkins he found a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> +foeman in all respects worthy of his dialectic steel. +Chinese mules will only travel in single file, even where +the roads are wide enough to allow of their travelling +abreast, and as Gilmour's went in front of that ridden by +Mr. Edkins, he used to ride with his face to the tail of his +beast, and thus the more readily and continuously conduct +the argument then engaging their attention.</p> + +<p>In November he tried the experiment of living at the +Yellow Temple in Peking during the winter, in order that +he might meet and converse with the numerous Mongols +who visit the capital every year. Here he not only made +new friends, but he also frequently renewed acquaintance +with those he had met on the Plain. These visited him +in his compound, and were occasionally a weariness and +vexation to him, inasmuch as they very frequently severely +tried his patience, without affording him the comfort of +knowing that the good tidings of the 'Jesus book' were +finding an entrance into their dark minds and hard hearts.</p> + +<p>In a letter to an intimate college friend, the Rev. T. T. +Matthews of Madagascar, which he wrote, November 21, +1872, he vividly describes this part of his work, giving some +of his typical experiences:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I am writing in the Yellow Temple, about a mile and +a half from Peking, and three or four miles from our mission +premises. I have rented a room, brought my Chinaman +servant, and live as a Chinaman, all but the clothes and the +paganism. The reason of all this is that near here, and in +this temple, numerous Mongols put up when they come +from Mongolia to Peking. Our premises being three or +four miles away, and in a busy part of the town, the +Mongols can't easily find our place; so if they can't come<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> +to me I just go to them. I came here yesterday, and +can't tell yet how I may get on. Mongols are shy in +Peking, and even out here a little difficult of access; but I +must do what I can, and have patience.</p> + +<p>'Just now a company of eight or ten have arrived and +put up, three or four of them in the same court with me, +the others in a place close by. These are likely enough +to come to see me; of course I'll go and see them. You in +Madagascar, I suppose, can't realise what it is to be a +missionary to a people whom you can't approach without +difficulty. Here the difficulty does not end; those I can +catch don't care one straw for Christianity. They have a +system which quite satisfies them, and what more do they +want? Such is their feeling, so you see I have got quite +plenty to do; a hard enough task, even the human part of +it. But don't mistake, I am not bewailing my lot, for that +I have neither time nor inclination; I am only telling you +about my state.</p> + +<p>'I don't believe much in people talking about what they +mean to do in the future, but perhaps you will permit me +to say that I would like to start for Mongolia again in +February or March. I have got a sheepskin coat, so need +not fear the cold. I perhaps may take with me a stock of +made-up medicines for specific diseases which are common, +and this may make an introduction in some cases at least. +Dr. Dudgeon has on our premises in Peking a hospital well +attended by Chinamen, and I go there sometimes and see +how he doses them.</p> + +<p>'Now let me tell you a little about the inner life of +Mongols. People travelling through Mongolia wake up in +the morning as their camel-cart passes some rural encampment; +they rub their eyes and say, "How pleasant it would +be to live in Mongolia like these Mongols, free from care +and the anxiety of busy life. They have only their sheep, +&c., to look after." This reflection is accompanied with a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> +sigh when they reflect on their own hard lot. Now the +fact of the matter is, these travellers know nothing about it. +They may print as much as they like about the pastoral +felicity of the simplicity of Mongol life; it is all humbug. +Last night, two Mongols whom I know well, a petty chief +named "Myriad Joy" and his scribe named "Mahabul" +(I can't translate this last), came into my room, and we +had a tea-spree there and then. The two have been for +fifteen days in Peking on Government duty, and last night +their business was finished, and they were to mount their +camels and head north this morning. The chief gets +from Peking about 30<i>l.</i> a year, the scribe about 4<i>l.</i>; and +when they come thus on duty their allowances, though +small, enable them to make a little over and above their +salaries. The chief can stand no small amount of Chinese +whisky. I suspect he is deep in debt, and am sure that he +could pay his debt two or three times over if he only had +the money it took to paint his nose. The scribe was one +of my teachers in Mongolia. I lived in his house some +time, and know only too well about his affairs. He is +hopelessly in debt. He had a large family once, but now +they are all dead except one married daughter and one +lama son about seventeen years of age, and good for nothing. +His "old woman," as the Mongol idiom has it, is still alive, +and fond of whisky, like her husband. If they had only been +teetotalers they might have now been comfortable; such, at +least, is my impression. I shall say nothing about what I +saw in his tent, and confine myself to last night and this +morning.</p> + +<p>'Drinking my tea last night, Mahabul (the scribe) says +to me: "My chief here won't lend me nine shillings to buy +a sheepskin coat for my old woman, therefore she must +be frozen to death in the winter; my chief won't lend <i>me</i> +anything, other people he lends." The chief said nothing +for a while; but the scribe went on harping on this string, till<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> +at last the chief launched out right and left on his scribe, +shouting loud enough for all the compound to hear. The +scribe took it coolly, and stopped him, saying: "Enough, +enough; it is past, it is past; my old woman can die, all die; +no matter." This did not soothe the irate chief at all, and +a minute or two later a furious quarrel broke out between +them about something else. The storm raged a long time, +and in my room too, while they were my guests! After +some time the scribe left the room to attend to the camels, +when the chief confided to me his opinion of his scribe. +Later the chief left the room, and the scribe confided to me +his opinion of his chief; and I must say that the two seemed +well matched, with very little to choose between. The +freedom with which they spoke of each other was partly to +be accounted for by the fact that both were more or less +drunk.</p> + +<p>'The chief squared up his accounts with the people +about here, and showed me in the scribe's absence a small +parcel of silver which he had reserved for use on the road. +He showed it me under strict injunctions not to tell the +scribe. The scribe had more difficulty in squaring up <i>his</i> +account. The last item that stuck in his throat was a little +bill his son had left. This son had started a day or two +before, and of course the father was responsible for the +debt. How he was to pay it he did not know, as he had +not a single cash about him. The Chinaman of the place +threatened to detain him, and the scribe laughed a bitter +laugh at the idea. After a great row they went off to +sleep.</p> + +<p>'This morning early the scribe was at me before I was +dressed. It was the small debt again. The Chinaman +knew better than to seize the man; that would not have +paid; he seized his coat, and actually was detaining that +as ransom for a sum equal to fourpence English! He +made a direct appeal to me to pay it, and of course I did it;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> +though I was a little disgusted with the man's meanness, as +I had given him a present of money amounting to about +1<i>l.</i> a few days before. This son of his is a great eyesore +to me. He is a young lama, about as wicked a boy as I +know. His brothers died of consumption, and this fact +enables him to do anything he likes with his parents. If +they refuse anything, he has only to feign sickness, and they +are in a huge state over him. He is a thoroughly bad lad. +Will not work, will not study, will do nothing but make +trouble and expense for his parents. Just fancy! His +father and mother are poor as church mice; and when his +father was coming to Peking the boy must beg to come too, +and the father like a fool must take him, and be at great +expense for travelling, &c. One thing made me furious. +Out of the money I gave him he spent about 4<i>s.</i> or more +buying his good-for-nothing son an elegant snuff-bottle. +In short, the man's folly makes it utterly useless to help +him. I once before relieved him from threatened detention +for debt for the amount of twopence-halfpenny, just +after I had made him a present, and I expect perhaps to +have to do so again. What astonishes me is that the +Mongols <i>can</i> get into debt so far. I don't believe my +Mongol can pass a single man he knows without being in +danger of being dunned for some hopeless debt or other. +And yet his debt does not seem to distress him. He is +most distressed because people will not lend him more +money.</p> + +<p>'The last of the chiefs was rather rich. He is (he says) +to have a profitable piece of Government work in hand +in spring, and on the strength of that wanted me to lend +him now a shoe of silver, about 15<i>l.</i>, to be repaid to me in +spring. Of course I did not. He then, though my guest, +kept on saying, "Heart small, heart small," which pretty +much amounts to saying, "Coward, coward." He finally +took revenge by offering to lend <i>me</i> a shoe of silver in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> +spring, but of course I declined. A pretty pair they are! +If what they say be true, in spring they may make a good +thing of it; but this has happened to the scribe before, and +in two months after he was as poor as ever. In short, they +are foolish and thriftless.</p> + +<p>'While I have been writing this letter I have overheard +my Chinese servant saying, in reply to a question from a +Chinaman, "There is such a thing as a preaching letter: you +can preach by a letter." So I am going now to preach. +Don't get weary; stick to it. Don't be lazy, but don't +be in a hurry. Slow but sure; stick to it. We have no +great effort to make, but rather to stick to it patiently. "<i>No +good work is lost</i>," Sir William Thomson used to say in +his philosophy class, and it is eminently true in our case. +(I wish these Chinamen would hold their tongue.) All +our good work will be found, there is no doubt about that. +All I am afraid of is that our good work will amount to +little when it is found. (These Chinamen are a bore.) +I sometimes think that if all we say be true, as it is, that +men at last shall stand before God—and we shall see them +after they know that all we say is true—and they will pitch +into us for not pitching into them more savagely; for not, +in fact, taking them by the "cuff" of the neck and dragging +them into the kingdom of God. I speak now of our +countrymen and foreigners. As regards heathen, they too +shall stand revealed; and their mud gods also, and rotten +superstitions, shall stand revealed: how then shall we feel +when they shall look at us and blame us for not waking them +up more vigorously? An infidel has said that if he could +believe that men's future state depended at all upon what +was done in this life, he would let nothing hinder him from +being up and at men. He would be content to be counted +a madman—anything, if only he could do anything to make +men's state better in the world to come. (I wish these +Chinamen would shut up; I came here to meet Mongols,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> +and I am like to be flooded out by Chinamen whose language +I only half understand.)</p> + +<p>'Now, <i>we believe</i>: how much do we do? Are there not +some men whom we might stir up who now escape? Could +we do more? Are not souls valuable enough for us to +face anything if only we can save some? Let us look to +the end, or rather let us look at the present. In the room +in which I now write (the Chinamen have gone) is Jesus, +where you read this is Jesus: He stands and looks to us. +He has given up the clean heaven, and walked here and +lived among dirt and poverty, in solitude, misunderstood, +without one intelligent friend; He has borne the scorn of +men, He has been put to the horrible and shameful death +of the cross, <i>all to save us</i> and others. We trust Him, He +saves us; and all He asks is that we should tell men about +what He has done; and is there one man we meet to whom +we shall not speak? shall Christ look to us in vain to declare +simply what He has done? Perish the thought! Whatever +may be between us and speaking to men, let us go through +it. If it be a foreign language, remember Christ lived thirty +years in preparation. If it be hardship, cold, poor food, +scorn, slight, deaf ears—never mind, go ahead. Christ looks +to us to go ahead, or <i>come</i> ahead, for He has gone through +it all. Trouble, hardship, trial, suffering,—all will soon pass +and be done. And is there a trouble or hardship we have +yet surmounted for Christ's sake that does not seem sweet +to look back on? Then, come what likes, let us face it; or, +if we be overwhelmed, let us be overwhelmed with undaunted +faces looking in the right direction. By the mercy of God +may we be saved; and if saved how splendid it will be—no +trouble, no trial, no indigestible beef and brick-tea: everything +<i>better than</i> we could wish it, and complete joy.</p> + +<p>'All this is not imagination or rhetoric, but <i>really before</i> +us; so, by the strength which Christ gives, let us go on to +it. Pray for me. I pray for you; and if we don't meet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> +on earth, you know the trysting-place, "<i>the right-hand +side</i>."'</p></blockquote> + +<p>It can readily be seen that, under conditions of the kind +sketched in this letter, time was not likely to hang heavily +on his hands. Interviews like the following were held from +time to time, and were not only encouraging and hopeful +but reacted strongly upon his own heart and brain:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'This afternoon (Sabbath, November 24), I met +Toobshing Baier in the dispensary of the London Mission +Hospital. At first I could not remember the man. The +face I knew. After a time his name came out without, I +flatter myself, his perceiving that I was fishing for it. +He was most anxious to see the doctor's medical instruments +and appliances. After he had seen quite a number +of these, he came to my room, and we sat down for a +talk which lasted nearly from 5 to 7 o'clock. He began +by reading a part of the rough draft of the new translation +of St. Matthew in Mongolian, which happened +to be lying on my table. He suggested that in place of +"prophet," a word which has been transferred bodily, we +should use <i>juoug beelikty</i>. He also remarked that our +translation of "the foal of an ass" was not the thing, and +gave the word he thought was right. He was accompanied +by a young lama, who agreed with him in this suggestion. +The lama seemed well up, read Mongolian as easily as +Toobshing himself, and when Toobshing gave the Thibetan +word for <i>juoug beelikty</i>, the lama looked over his shoulder, +spied a book on a shelf, took it, found the place at once, +and showed me the Thibetan and Mongolian side by +side.</p> + +<p>'Shortly after this Toobshing set himself up and proposed +questions and cases such as:</p> + +<p>'"Is hell eternal?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p> + +<p>'"Are all the heathen who have not heard the Gospel +damned?</p> + +<p>'"If a man lives without sin, is he damned?</p> + +<p>'"If a man disregards Christ, but worships a supreme +God in an indefinite way, is he saved or not?</p> + +<p>'"How can Christ save a man?</p> + +<p>'"If a man prays to Christ to save him morn and even, +but goes on sinning meantime, how about him?</p> + +<p>'"If a man prays for a thing, does he get it?</p> + +<p>'"Do your unbelieving countrymen in England all go to +hell?</p> + +<p>'"Are there prophets now?</p> + +<p>'"Is a new-born child a sinner?</p> + +<p>'"Is one man then punished for another's fault?</p> + +<p>'"Has anybody died, gone to heaven or hell, and come +back to report? [A Mongol has!]</p> + +<p>'"Did Buddha live?" and so forth.</p> + +<p>'[Answer, He lived, but did not do what is now said of +him.]</p> + +<p>'"If so, how do you know that the account of Christ is +not made up in the same way? Could not the disciples +conspire to make the Gospels?</p> + +<p>'To these and all other questions I endeavoured to give +proper answers; and this, our most delightful and profitable +talk, lasted till there was just time for me to snatch a +hasty meal before the usual service at 7.30 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Discussions of this nature were calculated to deepen +thought and to promote heart-searching on the part of the +Christian worker. They also illustrate some of the special +difficulties which missionaries in China and India have +to meet. With an elaborate religious ritual and literature, +both Buddhist and Hindu can often, and do often, object +against Christianity many of those, sometimes obvious,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> +sometimes subtle, difficulties which the Gospel of Jesus +Christ alone can remove, and which it removes by sanctifying +and dominating the heart.</p> + +<p>In February 1873 Gilmour visited Tientsin for the +first time since he passed through it on his arrival in China. +Here he took part in several readings, temperance meetings, +and religious services. At one of the readings:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'One joke happened. I was asked to give a recitation at +a penny reading for sailors. The piece was "The Execution +of Montrose." I got up in tragic style, said,</p> + +<p class="center"> +"Come hither, Evan Cameron," +</p> + +<p>with the appropriate beckoning action, when a sailor in +the middle of the audience responded to the call, pressed +his way out of the passage, and was making for the platform. +I could not stand this, so I uttered a yell, and rushed off +to hide myself, and it was some time before the audience +and speaker could compose themselves for a fresh start +Next day we were told that the unfortunate sailor was +beckoned to come hither from all parts of the ship.'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>THE FIRST CAMPAIGN IN MONGOLIA</h3> + + +<p>In 1873 Gilmour resumed his visits to the Plain and on +March 15 he was at Kalgan, writing, 'No appearance of +getting away to the north. I promenade daily the streets +and accost Mongols, but with no success as to getting +camels, or even a horse to hire as far as Mahabul's. A day +or two later Mahabul arrived in Kalgan on his way to +Peking, and by his aid Gilmour secured two camels, and +on March 24 he started north, reaching Mahabul's tent on +the 28th. He at once endeavoured to secure the services +of a Mongol named Lojing, and the usual series of delays +and vexations occurred.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'To-day (March 29) I got impatient and went for a +walk. Came back, and Lojing came and said he would +go. Felt relieved; he wants me to come back this way, +and I consent, though I would rather not. He came back +in the afternoon, saying that he could not get off his +engagement to read prayers with some other lama for +Gichik's soul,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> so that we cannot start before Thursday at +noon. Mahabul's wife gave him some whisky, and he went +to the officers and got drunk. He waited for a camel which +was offered for sale. The camel came when I was out.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> +He was drunk, did not watch it, so it drifted away before +the storm. A boy on horseback was sent after it. When +it came it was a perfect object, yet they asked twenty taels +for it. He is to go after a camel to-morrow. He was so +drunk that, remembering Gichik's fate, I am uneasy to +think of his riding my tall camel. O Lord, give me +patience!'</p></blockquote> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> The son of the chief referred to on <a href="#Page_80">page 80</a>, who had recently been +killed by a fall from his horse.</p></div> + +<p>This and the three subsequent journeys over the Plain, +made in the course of 1873, were full of incident illustrative +of the difficulties of the work, the peculiarities of the people, +and the restless energy and indomitable perseverance of the +missionary. But the limitations of space forbid us to +linger; we extract a few notes from the diary. It was on +the second of these journeys, while at Lama Miao, that he +witnessed the 'Mirth of Hell,' as he calls it, described in +<i>Among the Mongols</i>, Chapter XI.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'<i>April 19, 1873.</i>—To-day had more provocation from +my Mongol, and my earnest prayer is that I may be able +to stand it all, and not get soured in temper and feeling +against the Mongols. I must have patience. Some +knowledge of camel's flesh also would help me not a +little. As it stands, I feel an incompetent "duffer."'</p> + +<p>'<i>May 6.</i>—Travelled parallel to the road in a stupid +manner over hill and dale, because Lojing chose to consider +it a nearer way. The way was no nearer at all and much more +steep. At last got to a lot of tents down in a hollow, +called the "Great Water" (<i>Ihha Osso</i>). Had quite a lot +of people. One lama the most provoking child (25 years +old) I think I ever met. He was a perfect nuisance; even +the tone of his voice I could not abide. This individual +came to my tent even after I was down in bed. I was glad +he was done for once. Next morning he was in my tent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> +before I was up, remarking, "What a great sleeper you +are!' Last night he had remarked, "How early you go to +bed!" I am afraid he is the most empty, poor fellow I +have known.'</p> + +<p>'<i>May 13.</i>—To-day also occurred another of my lama's +conspicuous stupidities; after asking the road to a set of +tents where dwelt friends of his own, he suddenly left the +road and began the ascent of a steep hill. I asked where +he was going. He said to the tents. I followed some +distance, and then from the convergence of paths judged +that there was no pass where he was going, and accordingly +shouted to him to stop. Stop he did, and also looked +thunder. I asked him, "Have you travelled this way +before?" "No," said he. "Come this way, and follow +the road." "You go that road," said he, "I go this road." +"Nothing of the kind," said I. "You come here, and we'll +get to tents." He came; but then and there began one of +his intolerable tirades against me, saying how disobedient I +was, and that <i>this was his own native place</i>, he knew. What +a bad man I was! He had hardly finished his fury when +lo, behold, close before us, right in our path, the very tents +we were looking for! He is, to use a Mongol idiom, +"Stupider than stupid."'</p> + +<p>'<i>Sept. 12.</i>—We are now in a diphtheria district. I go +into it, and hope to remain some time, trusting myself to +the hands of God. I am safe enough in His hands. If He +can forward mission work more by my death than by my +life, His will be done.'</p> + +<p>'<i>Sept. 18.</i>—To-day let pass me, as all were starting +from the temple, about six men and three women without +telling them of Jesus.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>At the close of the year Mr. Gilmour sent home another +elaborate report, a large portion of which appeared in the +<i>Chronicle of the London Missionary Society</i> for December<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> +1874. We extract here a few paragraphs not then printed +for obvious reasons. There was still a difficulty with the +American Board, and there was still in London some +inability to grasp the exact bearing and the full needs of +the situation. The first extract is given here simply because +it illustrates the noble unselfishness of Gilmour's +character, and the way in which he persistently refused to +be stopped by hindrances that would have barred the +road against most men. He supplied a statement of +account showing that even with the most rigid economy +he had exceeded his allowance by 110 taels, equivalent to +from 25<i>l.</i> to 30<i>l.</i></p> + +<blockquote><p>'This leaves me with a deficit of 110 taels 63 cents, and +explains how it is that I ask next year's (1874) grant to +be raised to 150 taels at least. I had only two courses +open to me, either to use up the grants for 1872 and 1873, +and stop without accomplishing all I could, or to make +full proof of my ministry and exceed the grants. Considering +the cause more important than silver, I chose the +latter course, and, despite the most rigid economy, exceeded +to the above amount. Present circumstances enable me +to make up the deficit from my own private purse, and I +don't ask to be refunded, but I don't know that I shall be +flush of money next year, and <i>do</i> ask that the grant may +be not less than 150 taels, which is the lowest estimate I +can make.</p> + +<p>'As proof of the reasonableness of my request, and of +my anxiety to avoid drawing on the funds of the Society +beyond what is absolutely necessary, I may be allowed to +state that this year, in addition to making up the lacking +110-63 taels, I walked afoot behind my caravan in the +desert for <i>weeks</i>, to avoid the expense of purchasing another +camel.'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p> + +<p>On the question of Christian literature he placed on +record some wise words, as needful now almost as when +he penned them, in order to correct the notion that it +is enough simply to place into the hands of a heathen a +copy of the Word of God in his native tongue. The reply +of Candace's eunuch, 'How can I understand unless someone +shall guide me?' meets the missionary of to-day, as it +met Philip in the days of old. The practically unanimous +opinion of the Shanghai Conference held in 1890 shows +that the same need is still strongly felt by the missionaries +of all the societies.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'In addition to the Scriptures and the Catechism, I +think small simple books containing little portions of Scripture +history or little portions of Scripture teaching would be +very useful. The Bible is all very well for those who have +advanced a little, but there is very little of the narrative +portions even—the simplest parts of the whole book—which +you can read without encountering terrible names +of persons or places, or quotations from the prophet Isaiah +or Jeremiah. When a Mongol comes upon these he feels +inclined to give up in despair. Even in China my experience +has been that people are slow to buy a complete +gospel, even at less than the paper on which it is printed +costs, while they will buy with avidity very small books at +almost their full value.</p> + +<p>'Chinamen themselves notice this, and when surrounded +by a crowd I have heard them remark laughingly, +"Small books go quick." Remembering my instructions, +which among other things say, "Pause before you translate," +I have hitherto refrained, but now have a very small +illustrated narrative in the press, another also illustrated in +manuscript, and other two not illustrated in contemplation. +If I find funds—the Peking branch of the Tract Society is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> +bankrupt just now—and get them out, you shall have specimens. +Probably they won't look well, being first attempts, +but you need not be ashamed of the Mongol of them, as they +have been written under my direction by a "crack" native +scholar, and carefully revised by Schereschewsky, who is a +general linguist of good ability, and has paid so much +attention to Mongolian that he revised the Gospel by +Matthew in conjunction with Mr. Edkins, and is at present +at work on a Mongol dictionary.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Medical missions were only in their infancy in 1874, and +Gilmour in the same report describes what many another +has felt. He illustrates also one of his fixed principles, +viz., always do <i>something</i>; and never let the work stop +simply because you cannot do what is ideally the best.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I know very little about diseases and cures, but the +little I <i>do</i> know is extremely useful. Almost every Mongol, +man and woman and child, has something that wants putting +right. To have studied medicine at home would have +been a great help, but though I cannot hope now ever to +gain a scientific knowledge of the subject, I am glad that in +our hospital here I have a good opportunity of learning +much from Dr. Dudgeon, and all I can do now is to make +the best of this good opportunity. I am told that professional +men at home are suspicious of giving a little +medical knowledge to young men going out as missionaries. +I sided with them till I came here, but here the case is +different. At home it is all very well to stand before the +fire in your room, within sight of the brass plate on the +doctor's door on the opposite side of the street, and talk +about the danger of little knowledge; but when you are +two weeks' journey from any assistance, and see your +fellow-traveller sitting silent and swollen with violent toothache +for days together, you fervently wish you had a pair<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> +of forceps and the <i>dangerous</i> amount of knowledge. And +when in remote places you have the choice of burying +your servant or stopping his diarrhœa, would you prefer +to talk nonsense about professional skill rather than give +him a dose of chlorodyne, even though it should be at the +risk of administering one drop more or less than a man +who writes M.D. to his name would have done?</p> + +<p>'I speak earnestly and from experience. No one has +more detestation than I have for the quack that patters +in the presence of trained skill; but from what I have seen +and known of mission life, both in myself and others, since +coming to North China, I think it is a little less than +culpable homicide to deny a little hospital training to men +who may have to pass weeks and months of their lives in +places where they themselves, or those about them, may +sicken and die from curable diseases before the doctor could +be summoned, even supposing he could leave his post and +come.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>During the summer of 1874 James Gilmour continued +his itinerating work among the nomads of the Plain. He +met with much to discourage him, but he steadily enlarged +his knowledge of the people and his acquaintance with the +best methods of work among them. How difficult it was +to adapt ordinary methods of teaching to their habits may +be judged from the following sketch:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'My tent is not only my dwelling-house and dispensary, +but also my chapel. I always endeavour to instruct the +visitors and patients as far as I can. Preaching to Mongols +is a little different from preaching at home—a little different +from preaching in China even. You can get a congregation +of heathen Chinese to listen for, say, twenty minutes, or half +an hour, or even longer; but begin to preach to a lot of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> +Mongols, and they begin to talk to each other, or perhaps +to ask you questions about your dress and your country.</p> + +<p>'The nature of their own service is partly to blame for +this. When a Mongol sends for a lama or two to read +prayers in his tent, the inmates, though present, don't think +it necessary to attend much to what is going on. Though +they did attend, they would not be able to understand, so +talking goes on among them pretty much as usual. If I +were to stick myself up and begin, and start off sermonising +to them, I would be treated much as they treat their own +lamas; so I confine my preaching to conversations and +arguments—a style of teaching which I find secures their +attention'.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Many, too, are the sketches in his letters and diaries of +the men he met. They are all drawn with that remarkable +and largely unconscious power, which he possessed so +fully, of being able to see very vividly the striking points +and details of passing events, and of enabling those to +whom he wrote, by his aptly chosen words, also to see +exactly what passed before his eyes. One or two out of +many examples must suffice:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'This season (1874) I met a deaf and dumb man. He +was uneducated, but of great quickness and intelligence. He +could converse easily and readily with his fellow-Mongols +by signs, and I could ask many simple questions and +understand his answers without trouble. His perception +was remarkable. While sitting in the dusk outside my +tent, a messenger came from his father's tent to tell him +that some of the sheep were missing. A single turn of +the hand followed by a glance around, as if searching +for something, was all that was required. He had +been sitting quietly in the circle, looking at us talking; but +the moment the communication was made he uttered an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> +inarticulate sound betraying great excitement, knocked +the ashes out of his pipe, stuck it into his boot, threw himself +into the saddle, and rode off into the gathering darkness +to search for the lost sheep. All agreed that he had +an extra share of intelligence, and he was evidently regarded +as a capable and useful member of the community.</p> + +<p>'One of the sad sights seen was that of a sick Chinaman +near his end. He was one of a company of four, who went +about dressing skins of which the Mongols make garments. +He had been an opium taker, and an incurable diarrhœa +had seized him. At the time he was lodging with the +Mongol for whom the party had come to dress skins; but +the Mongol, seeing he would die, and fearing trouble and +expense over his death, ordered him off the premises. +Borrowing an ox cart, his companions had him conveyed +away some five or ten miles, jolted in the rude vehicle and +suffering from the blazing sun, to a place where some +Chinese acquaintances were digging a well. They had a +tent of their own, most likely a poor ragged white cloth +affair, open to the winds and pervious to the rain; and in +this the poor man hoped he might be permitted to die. It +was the dark side of the picture. The glorious summer, the +green and flowery plains, the fattening flocks, the herds exulting +in the deep pastures, the gay Mongols riding about, the +white tents bathed in the sunlight and gleaming from afar. +In the midst of all this, a feeble man, far from home and kin, +sick unto death, cast forth from his poor lodging, and seeking +for a place to lie down and die in. The Mongols are a +hospitable race, but pray ye that ye may not get sick on +their hands.</p> + +<p>'On the whole I have been very well received everywhere, +and have been treated with great confidence. I have +sometimes wondered at the readiness with which they take +medicine from the hand of an utter stranger. One reason +why they are ready to trust me, doubtless, is that going<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> +among them, they can go round my tent and see that +there is nothing secret and terrible behind it; they enter +it and see all that is in it. They know and see that I am +utterly in their power, and, perhaps, reason that I am there +with no intent to harm, because if I made trouble I could +not move another step without their consent.</p> + +<p>'In the shape of converts I have seen no result. I have +not, as far as I am aware, seen any one who even <i>wanted</i> +to be a Christian; but by healing their diseases I have had +opportunity to tell many of Jesus, the Great Physician.'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>MARRIAGE</h3> + + +<p>During the year 1873 James Gilmour devoted much +thought to the natural and all-important question of +marriage. Uncommon as he was, in so many ways, it +was, perhaps, to be expected that in this great undertaking +he would depart from ordinary methods. The Rev. S. E. +Meech had married, in 1872, Miss Prankard, of London. +After the return of Mr. Edkins to England, in May 1873, +Mr. Gilmour went to board with Mr. and Mrs. Meech. +There he saw the portrait of Mrs. Meech's sister, and often +heard her referred to in conversation. Towards the close +of 1873 he took Mrs. Meech into his confidence, and asked +permission to enter into correspondence with her sister. +The following most characteristic letters show the course of +subsequent events:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Peking, January 14, 1874. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Parents,—I have written and proposed to a +girl in England. It is true I have never seen her and I +know very little about her; but what I do know is good. +She is the sister of Mrs. Meech, and is with her mother in +London. Her mother supports herself and daughter by keeping +a school. One of the hindrances will be perhaps that +the mother will not be willing to part with her daughter, +as she is, no doubt, the life of the school. I don't know, +so I have written and made the offer, and leave them to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> +decide. If she cannot come, then there is no harm done. +If she can arrange to come, then my hope is fulfilled. If +the young lady says "Yes," she or her friends will no doubt +write you, as I have asked them to do.... You may think +I am rash in writing to a girl I have never seen. If you +say so, I may just say that I have something of the same +feeling; but what am I to do? In addition I am very easy-minded +over it all, because I have exercised the best of my +thoughts on the subject, and put the whole matter into the +hands of God, asking Him, if it be best to bring her, if it be +not best to keep her away, and He can manage the whole +thing well.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>By some mischance this letter was delayed, and Mr. +Gilmour's relatives were startled, one March day in 1874, +by receiving from an entirely unknown lady in London a +letter, containing the unlooked-for statement: 'Your son, Mr. +Gilmour, of Peking, has asked my daughter to write to you, +telling you of her decision to join him as his wife. She +has wished me to write to you for her, and will be pleased +to hear from you when you feel inclined to write.'</p> + +<p>The friendly intercourse that followed soon convinced +Mr. Gilmour's family, as any knowledge of Emily Prankard +herself soon convinced all who made her acquaintance, that, +however unusual it might appear, this was indeed one of the +marriages made in heaven. By both parties God's blessing +and guidance were invoked, upon both His benediction +rested, and, after a brief separation in this world, they are +now both enriched with the fuller knowledge and the +perfect joy of the life beyond.</p> + +<p>No time was lost in the arrangements for Miss Prankard's +departures to China. In a letter to his mother, dated +October 2, 1874, Mr. Gilmour writes:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'You have seen Miss Prankard, but you have not told +me what you think of her. She was delighted with her +visit to Scotland and with you all. You will be glad to +hear that I have had some delightful letters from her. I +wrote her, and she has written me in the most unrestrained +way concerning her spiritual hopes and condition, +and though we have never seen each other, yet we know +more of each other's inmost life and soul than, I am quite +certain, most lovers know of each other even after long +personal courtship. It is quite delightful to think that +even now we can talk by letter with perfect unreserve, and +I tell <i>you</i> this because I know you will be glad to hear it. +I knew she was a pious girl, else I would not have asked +her to come out to be a missionary's wife, but she turns +out better even than I thought, and I am not much afraid +as to how we shall get on together.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In the course of the autumn of 1874 Miss Prankard +sailed, and in a letter to the writer, December 13, 1874, +Gilmour thus refers to the close of his unusual but satisfactory +courtship:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I was married last week, Tuesday, December 8!</p> + +<p>'Mrs. Meech's sister is Mrs. Gilmour. We never saw +each other till a week before we were married, and my +friends here drew long faces and howled at me for being +rash and inconsiderate. What if you don't like each +other? How then? It is for life! As if I did not know +all this long ago. Well, the time came, the vessel was due +at Shanghai, but would not come. Mr. Meech and I went +down to Tientsin and waited there a fortnight, but no +tidings. At last on the evening of Sabbath, November +29, a steamer's whistle was heard miles away down the +river. It was Mr. Meech's turn to preach. After sermon +he and I walked away down the river side to see what we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> +could see. After a while a light hove round the last bend, +then a green light, then the red light, then came the three +lights of the steamer! We listened. It was the high-pressure +engine of the steam launch which is used to lighten +the deep-sea steamers before coming up the narrow river. +Fifteen minutes more and she was at the landing stage. +A friend went on board. Miss Prankard was on board the +Taku, which was still outside the bar, waiting for water to +bring her over and up to the settlement. The lighter was +going to unload and start down the river at five <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>, and +Meech and I went in her. About eight <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> we met the +steamer coming up, and when she came abreast we saw +Miss Prankard on board, but could not get from our +vessel to hers. The tide was favourable for running up, +and they were afraid to lose a minute, so would not stop +the steamer; we did not get on board till we reached the +bund at Tientsin about eleven <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> We started for Peking +next day, got there on Thursday, and were married following +Tuesday.</p> + +<p>'Our honeymoon is now almost over. I am to have +only a week of it. I hope to start with Meech on a +mission trip to the country on Tuesday next.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Miss Prankard's first view of her future husband was +hardly what she might have expected. Mr. Meech has +also sketched that scene on the river.</p> + +<p>'The morning was cold, and Gilmour was clad in an +old overcoat which had seen much service in Siberia, and +had a woollen comforter round his neck, having more +regard to warmth than to appearance. We had to follow +back to Tientsin, Gilmour being thought by those on board +the steamer to be the engineer!'</p> + +<p>Two letters may be quoted in this connection. The +first was to one of his most intimate Scotch friends.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'London Mission, Peking, <br /> +'January 31, 1875. +</p> + +<p>'My dear——, Your kind, long, and much-looked-for +letter dated May 12, 1873, and August 21, 1874, reached +me on January 9, 1875. Many thanks for it, but I think +it would be quite as well in future to send me half the +quantity in half the time, if you really find you cannot +write me oftener. As I was married on December 8, +1874, to Mrs. Meech's sister, that lady, Mrs. Gilmour, had +the great pleasure of reading your earnest, long, and +reiterated warning to me not to have her. Your warning +came too late. Had you posted your letter on May 12, +1873, it might have been in time, as the first letter that +opened our acquaintance was written in January 1874. +If nothing else will have effect with you, perhaps the +thought that you might have saved me from the fate of +having an English wife may have some effect in moving +you to post your letters early, even though they should +not be so long and full.</p> + +<p>'About my wife: as I want you to know her, I introduce +you to her. She is a jolly girl, as much, perhaps more, of +a Christian and a Christian missionary than I am. I don't +know whether I told you how it came about. I proposed +first to a Scotch girl, but found I was too late; I then put +myself and the direction of this affair—I mean the finding +of a wife—into God's hands, asking Him to look me out +one, a good one too, and very soon I found myself in a +position to propose to Miss Prankard with all reasonable +evidence that she was the right sort of girl, and with some +hope that she would not disdain the offer. We had never +seen each other, and had never corresponded, but she had +heard much about me from people in England who knew +me, and I had heard a good deal of her and seen her +letters written to her sister and to her sister's husband. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> +first letter I wrote her was to propose, and the first letter +she wrote me was to accept—romantic enough!</p> + +<p>'I proposed in January, went up to Mongolia in spring, +rode about on my camels till July, and came down to +Kalgan to find that I was an accepted man! I went to +Tientsin to meet her; we arrived here on Thursday, and +were married on Tuesday morning. We had a quiet week, +then I went to the country on a nine days' tour, and +came back two days before Christmas. We have been +at home ever since. Such is the romance of a matter-of-fact +man.</p> + +<p>'You will see that the whole thing was gone about +simply on the faith principle, and from its success I am +inclined to think more and more highly of the plan. +Without any gammon, I am much more happy than ever +even in my day-dreams I ventured to imagine I might be. +It is not only me that my wife pleases, but she has gained +golden opinions from most of the people who have met +her among my friends and acquaintances in Scotland and +China. My parents were scared one day last year by receiving +a letter from a lady in England, a lady whose +name even they had not known before, stating that her +daughter had decided to become <i>my wife</i>. Didn't it stir +up the old people! They had never heard a word about +it! My letter to them, posted at the same time with the +proposal, had been delayed in London. The young lady +went to Scotland, and was with them two weeks, and +came away having made such an impression on them +that they wrote me from home to say that "though I +had searched the country for a couple of years I could not +have made a better choice."</p> + +<p>'Perhaps I am tiring you, but I want to let you +know all about it, and to assure you that you need not +be the least shy of me or of my English wife. She is a +good lassie, any quantity better than me, and just as handy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> +as a Scotch lass would have been. It was great fun for +her to read your tirade about English wives and your +warning about her. She is a jolly kind of body, and +does not take offence, but I guess if she comes across +you she will wake you up a bit.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The other letter was to Miss Bremner, and referred to +the part Gilmour was to take in her marriage in 1883 +to his brother Alexander:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Now as to your affair, a much more serious matter. +Alex has said something about my part. I want to take +part, but only such a small part as will make it true to say, +"assisted by the brother of the bridegroom." It is for you +and Dr. Macfadyen to say what that <i>small</i> part shall be; +all I have to say about it, the smaller the better.</p> + +<p>'My experiences of the ceremonies of social Christianity +have been mixed a little. In England I baptised a child +by a wrong name, and had actually to do it again. In +China on a similar occasion I began by saying, "Friends, +God has given you this child," when the seeming father +stopped me, and explained that God had not given them +this child, but he himself had picked it up in a field where +it had been exposed.</p> + +<p>'I think I married only one Chinese couple, and to this +day I doubt if either the one or the other uttered a syllable +where they should have said, "I do." In my own case I +think I must have said "I will" in a feeble voice, for my +wife when her turn came sung out "I will" in a voice that +startled herself and me, and made it ominous how much +<i>will</i> she was going to have in the matter. Wishing you +all blessings,</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Believe me yours truly, <br /> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour</span>.' +</p></blockquote> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>'IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN, IN PERILS OF RIVERS'</h3> + + +<p>The year following the marriage, owing to the absence of +Dr. Dudgeon on furlough, was spent almost entirely in +Peking. In his absence Mr. Gilmour took charge of what +may be called the unprofessional work of the hospital, the +purely medical superintendence being in the hands of +Dr. Bushell of the British Legation. He varied this work +and the routine of ordinary mission duties by an occasional +trip to other centres where fairs were being held, in the +company of Mr. Murray, of the National Bible Society of +Scotland, for the purpose of selling Christian books. There +was often a very keen friendly rivalry as to which could sell +the most, and not unfrequently very large quantities of +tracts and booklets were thus put into circulation.</p> + +<p>Early in 1875, with the object of enabling his colleagues +and his friends among the other missions which have centres +in Peking the better to realise what life in Mongolia was +like, he set up his Mongol tent in the compound, and +invited them in companies of five or seven to partake of a +Mongol dinner, cooked in Mongol fashion, and served as +on the Plain. His diary records that five such entertainments +were necessary, the utmost limit of the tent accommodation +being reached on each occasion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p> + +<p>'The guests came,' we are told, 'at the appointed time, +and the fire of wood was lighted in the middle of the tent. +While the guests sat around on felt spread upon the +ground, Gilmour proceeded to cook the millet and the +mutton which furnished the feast. When all was ready a +blessing was asked and the meal was eaten. On one +occasion a reverend gentleman was called on to ask the +blessing, but declined, feeling apparently that what he was +expected to eat was not of such a quality that he could +ask a blessing on it. Gilmour used often to refer to this +with much amusement, though at the time he felt some +chagrin.'</p> + +<p>In 1876 the Mongolian trips were resumed. No colleague +had yet been secured for him, and, with a bravery +and consecration beyond all praise, Mrs. Gilmour accompanied +him. This she did not once simply. For the first +journey the novelty of the experience and the conviction +that she could at any rate help to preserve her husband +from the feeling of utter loneliness, which had been so +hard to bear in past years, were powerful reasons. But +she went a second and a third time. She went after the +novelty had worn off, after she had learned by very stern +experience how hard and rough the life was, after previous +exposure had told but too severely upon her physical +strength. And thus she deserves the eulogy passed upon +her by her husband: 'She is a better missionary than I.' +Comparisons of this kind are obviously out of the question. +But it would be hard to find a more beautiful illustration +of true wifely affection than the love for her husband that +made her willing to share his Mongol tent as readily as +the Peking compound. And if James Gilmour manifested<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> +a Christlike love for the ignorant and stolid Mongols, so +also did the delicately nurtured and refined lady who, in +order to do her part in winning them to the Saviour, +endured privations, faced perils, and bore a daily and +hourly series of trials so irksome and so repugnant that +no motive short of all-absorbing love to Jesus Christ is +strong enough to account for her endurance.</p> + +<p>Here are some pictures of what this life meant to Mrs. +Gilmour. The first journey which they took together +lasted from April 4 until September 23, 1876, one hundred +and thirty-six days being passed in Mongolia itself.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'On the evening of April 25 we came upon our +servants' tent, already pitched beside some Mongol tents +near a stream. Our things were unloaded from the +Chinese cart, which soon drove off and left us fairly +launched out on the Plain. We had two tents—one for +ourselves and one for our servants. They were both alike, +made of common blue Chinese cloth outside, and of +commoner white Chinese cloth inside. It was originally +intended that our tent should be private for our retirement +and for Mrs. Gilmour's use; but we soon found that +this idea could not be carried out. The Mongols are so +much in the habit of going freely into everybody's tent in +Mongolia that we found we could not retain our tent to +ourselves without running risk of offending them by our +seeming haughtiness. That they should think us uncongenial +and distant would have been an obstacle to our +success among them. So we made a virtue of necessity, +and kept open house in the literal sense of the word. At +our meals, our devotions, our ablutions, there they were—much +amused and interested, of course. It was sometimes +annoying to have them so much and so constantly about, +but there was no help for it, and soon we began to care<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> +little for them, and took their presence not only as a matter +of course, but without being disturbed by it.</p> + +<p>'One advantage of this sort of public life was that Mrs. +Gilmour, being almost constantly in the presence of the +spoken language, picked it up very accurately and very +rapidly. It is hardly possible to conceive a better plan of +becoming easily and well acquainted with any language +than that of thus living where it is impossible not to hear +it in almost constant use.</p> + +<p>'Another advantage of this sort of public life was that +one gained the friendship of the people. This perfect freedom +of intercourse pleased them much, and even conciliated +those not very friendly inclined. It was quite common to +hear visitors remark that, while other foreigners in Mongolia +are distant and harsh, these people were gentle and accessible, +and that such friendly people did a great deal to +remove the unfavourable impressions made by other less +considerate travellers.</p> + +<p>'Our sojourn extended to the end of August, giving us +a little over four months at a stretch of tent life. In that +time we had experience of many kinds of weather. At +first it was cold. Even in May ice was to be seen in the +mornings. Then came heat, premature and burning, and +all the more trying for ourselves and cattle on account of +the lack of rain. Then we had a furious tempest, which +raged for about thirty-six hours, overturning our covered +cart and threatening to sweep ourselves and our tents away. +We had to load down our tent ropes with bags of earth, +stones, sod, the bodies of our carts, wheels, boxes, and +anything we could find, and even then we had but a +precarious existence. Every now and then, by day and +by night, there would arise a shout from the one tent +or the other, and amid the roar of the wind we heard +cries for the hammer and the spare tent pins. We +managed to fix ourselves without being blown away, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> +when the storm was over we patched our riven tents, and +were thankful we had weathered it so well. Then came +the summer rains—late in season, it is true, but great in +strength—pouring and lashing and roaring, the great drops +bursting through our rent cloth, broken up into spray +and looking like pepper shaken from a box. We had +waterproof sheets, but it was next to impossible to keep +anything dry. While the rain lasted we sat huddled in +our rain cloaks, or, spade in hand, cut new channels for +suddenly extemporised streams and pools that grew larger +and continued to come closer to our bedding and boxes. +As soon as the sun returned, there was a general drying of +garments, mattresses, and sheepskin robes. The heat was +perhaps the most trying of our meteorological experiences; +but even that passed away at last, and before we had left +the plains night frost had reappeared, covering the pools +about well mouths with thin sheets of ice.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 493px;"> +<a name="p109" id="p109"> +<img src="images/109.jpg" width="493" height="298" alt="A MONGOL ENCAMPMENT" title="A MONGOL ENCAMPMENT" /> +<span class="caption">A MONGOL ENCAMPMENT</span></a> +</div> + +<blockquote><p>'Later in the season, one afternoon, the loungers in the +tent looked out and remarked, "The Mandarin has come," +and gave place to a richly dressed, corpulent Mongol, who +entered the tent, followed by one of his servants. Salutations +over, he soon showed his colours and unmasked his +batteries. He had come to fight, and we both went at it +tooth and nail. He had read a good deal, and had come +evidently prepared and primed, not in any spirit of unfriendliness, +but under the evident conviction that a better +case could be made out for Buddhism than for Christianity. +The tent was crammed with eager listeners, and we reasoned +together from the Creation to the finish, including all +manner of side issues and important questions. It was a +long time before he could be convinced that our Jesus was +not spoken of and made known in the Buddhist classics. +When he was at length satisfied (on that point), he wanted +to know about the Trinity; how men could get good; how +it was right that men should escape punishment due to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> +their misdeeds by praying to Jesus; why God allowed +animals, such as starving dogs, to lead a life of suffering; +why God did not keep sin from entering the world; how +could Jesus come, when it is said He is always with us; +and how about the souls who died before Jesus came.</p> + +<p>'At last the sun got low, and the Mandarin, with many +words of friendship, rode away, promising to come another +day. But he never came.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In a later journey they had a very narrow escape from +one of the frequent perils of this tent life:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'In Mongolia we had one rather serious adventure. +The south edge of the Plain is famed for storms, and the +night we camped there, just after dark, began one of the +fiercest thunderstorms I can remember having seen. The +wind roared, the rain dashed, the tent quivered; the thunder +rattled with a metallic ring, like shafts of iron dashing +against each other, as it darted along a sheet-iron sky; the +water rose in the tent till part of our bed was afloat. It +was hardly possible to hear each other speak; but amid +and above all the din of the tempest rose one sound not to +be mistaken, the roar of rushing water. There was a river +to right of us, but the sound came more from the left. +Venturing out, I found there was a great swift-flowing river +on both sides of us; that we could not move from the little +piece of elevated land plain on which we had our tent; and +that a few inches more water, or an obstacle getting into +the path of the upper river, would send the full force of the +current down on our tents. Flocks, herds, men are said to +be swept away now and again in Mongolia, and for an hour +our case seemed doubtful; but about 11 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> the storm +ceased and the danger was over, and, though we had hardly +anything left, we went to sleep, thanking God for His +preserving mercy.'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p> + +<p>Courageous, undoubtedly, Mrs. Gilmour was; her example +of self-sacrifice in the Master's cause was lofty in +itself, and is stimulating to every Christian mind. Yet it is +to be greatly feared that the first of these journeys aggravated, +if it did not actually develope, the disease from +which she ultimately died. She found the ceaseless round +of millet and mutton so unpalatable as at the last to be +able hardly to eat at all; and experience of tent life was +needful before she could realise how absolutely devoid +it was of almost everything that a European lady looks +upon as essential to daily existence, and thus make adequate +preparation for the life. Yet, in 1878, she not only accompanied +her husband again, better equipped by reason of +previous experience, but she also took with her their infant +boy.</p> + +<p>The winter of 1876 in Peking was devoted to work more +or less directly bearing upon the Christian conquest of the +nomad tribes.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Since returning from Mongolia I have had here a +teacher whom I had come from the plains. I read some +Buddhist classics with him, then had him write to my +dictation some of the more striking incidents narrated in +the Book of Daniel; then finally had him write for me +an explanation of the way of salvation through Jesus. +The extracts from Daniel were written mostly with the +idea of accustoming him to my dictation; but the explanation +of Christianity was a tract that I had long wanted +to write, in which I sought to make it as plain as possible, +not only that Jesus does save, but also that there is no +salvation through any other name. The Religious Tract +Society has consented to print for me both the extract +from Daniel and the explanation of Christianity.'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p> + +<p>During 1877 the ever-recurring question, inevitable, +perhaps, and yet very paralysing to any steady progress, +as to whether it was really worth while to continue labour +in such a sterile field, came up once more for discussion. +In an elaborate report, designed rather to elicit the views +of the home authorities than to express his own, dated +August 18, 1877, Mr. Gilmour depicts rapidly and clearly +his relations, on the one hand, to the workers in the station +of the American Board at Kalgan, and, on the other, to his +colleagues of the North China Committee of the London +Society. The American Board had sent out another +missionary, and Mr. Gilmour was at first inclined to the +view that, although working independently, they might yet +act practically as colleagues.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'In addition, the new man, Rev. W. P. Sprague, and I +one day undertook to climb a mountain together, and, by +the time we got half-way up, we discovered that our ideas +about working together quite agreed, and that there was +a fair and good prospect of our making good harmonious +colleagues in one work, though we belonged to different +societies and hailed from different nations. Here, then, the +thing seemed to be accomplished; here was a colleague +ready to my hand, or I to his.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>But Mrs. Gulick, a most energetic and enthusiastic +missionary to the Mongols, died, her husband was invalided +to Japan, and Mr. Sprague found himself with the whole +mission on his shoulders.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'If things are to remain as they are, it amounts pretty +much to this, that in the warmer months of the year I can +travel through parts of Mongolia teaching the Gospel and +dispensing medicines; the rest of the year I can turn my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> +attention to Chinese work in Peking. This is a pleasant +enough arrangement for me, but it is not a very vigorous +prosecution of the work of the Mongol mission. On the +other hand, such is the fewness of people to be reached in +Mongolia that it is only by alternating these periods of +deprivation with seasons of activity among the Chinese +that a man can keep his spirit alive.</p> + +<p>'As regards the opinion of other members of the Committee +here, I have never called for any formal expression +of it, nor have they (the members of Committee) ever +been invited to discuss the question of the Mongol mission +in committee, but I know their individual opinions in an informal +way. Messrs. Meech and Barradale don't say much; +Mr. Owen thinks we will never do much in Mongolia +working upon so distant a base as Peking; Mr. Lees +thinks it a pity to take up such a seemingly unproductive +field while so many more promising fields call for attention; +he moreover thinks that the only way to do much +for Mongolia is through China; Dr. Edkins thinks I spend +too much time and labour over the Mongols, his idea being +seemingly a combination of Mongol and Chinese work, +with a preponderating tendency towards Chinese; Dr. +Dudgeon has always regarded the Mongol mission as +hardly practicable.</p> + +<p>'On the principle, however, of <i>Sow beside all waters</i>, +and <i>Thou knowest not which shall prosper, this or that</i>, perhaps +it is well that the Gospel should be exhibited to the +Mongols also, and if anyone is to go to Mongolia, perhaps +many people would have more disqualifications than myself.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In 1877 there was what seemed to be a very hopeful +development of Christian work in Shantung, and Mr. +Gilmour and Mr. Owen visited that district and baptized a +large number of converts. Still later, Dr. Edkins and Mr. +Owen, on another visit, baptized some two hundred people.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> +With reference to this latter ingathering Mr. Gilmour wrote, +'I much regret that we have not some definite system of +putting men on a period of probation.... About these +two hundred I have nothing to say, but of the hundred odd +Mr. Owen and I baptized in November I have to admit +that, making all allowances, some of them cause me more +anxiety than satisfaction.' There was, unfortunately, only +too much ground for this fear. Ultimately the movement +dwindled almost as rapidly as it had developed, and with +little permanent benefit to the missionary cause. Shantung +had been devastated by famine, locusts, and cholera. +Missionaries brought relief to the stricken people, giving +both money and food. Large numbers were drawn towards +the new religion by this example of its deeds, and most +of the converts had professed Christianity in the hope of +getting something by its means. But this incident brought +to a head a divergence of view as to the whole conduct +of affairs in the Peking mission between the two older +missionaries, Dr. Edkins and Dr. Dudgeon, and their three +younger colleagues, Mr. Gilmour, Mr. Owen, and Mr. +Meech. Into this strenuous and protracted controversy +we do not propose to enter. Both parties were actuated +by high and honourable motives; both were able to express +their views pointedly, and with all appropriate force. In +the end the view advocated by Mr. Gilmour triumphed. +This was that, so far as possible, no pecuniary inducement +whatever, either by way of payment for services, or even +employment in connection with the mission, should be +allowed to influence a Chinaman's judgment in the acceptance +of Christianity. Gilmour could take an active part +in the discussions only during his winter residence in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> +Peking. But the reader who has followed its history so +far will be quite prepared to learn that he made up for +the infrequency of his participation in the controversy +by the energy which he displayed when he did so. And +in depicting Gilmour as he was, it is essential that he +should be seen when opposing no less than, as he much +preferred to be in all matters affecting the welfare of the +mission, in the heartiest concord with his colleagues. +And yet his keenest opponents would cordially assent to the +following statement by one who took an active part in all +the discussions. It is mainly for the purpose of emphasising +this testimony that the matter is referred to here.</p> + +<p>'When in Peking Gilmour took his full share in the +debates which were constantly arising. Although he could +and did argue to the extremest point, and very hot and sharp +words might be spoken during the discussion, he harboured +no bitterness of feeling against his opponents. After excited +argument he would get up and say, "Nevertheless I +love you." Nor were these empty words. He was kind, +and willing to help all, and was doing acts of service continually +for those who opposed him most.'</p> + +<p>Towards the close of 1878 the Rev. J. S. Barradale, of +the Tientsin Mission, died, leaving the Rev. J. Lees alone +without a Chinese-speaking helper. Mr. Gilmour sympathised +deeply with him in his loss, and wrote to say that, +so long as Mr. Lees was thus left alone, he would be glad +to make two trips annually to his country stations, either +<i>with</i> him or <i>for</i> him. Mr. Gilmour's journal of this work +is not only a record of the willingness with which he added +gladly to his own heavy labours in order to assist a +colleague; but it also gives some most realistic pictures of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> +what ordinary life in China is like, and under what conditions +evangelistic itineration there is carried on. Some of +the districts visited had just been devastated by a severe +famine.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'From Tientsin to Hsiao Chang is five days' journey. +Three hours out from Tientsin we came upon some dogs +feasting on a corpse lying at a cross-road. The dogs +belonged to cottagers near, but no attempt was made by +the owners to keep them away; no one took the trouble to +bury the body or cover it up even. Later on we passed +through one famine-devastated district. Half the houses +in the villages were unroofed; large tracts of land were +untilled; the landscape was almost entirely destitute of +animal life; travellers were nowhere to be seen; round the +villages the little stacks of straw and fuel were not to be +seen; the lanes were silent; no dogs, no cocks and hens, no +pigs; no groups of children playing or running after the +foreigner as he passed by; and the words of Scripture came +to my mind, "the land desolate without inhabitant." We +continued to pass these desolations for about sixty English +miles. We stopped a night in one of these ruined villages, +and Mr. Lees took me round the place to see the nature +and extent of the destruction. Closer inspection revealed +even more ruin than a mere traveller's passing look would +detect; for, evidently, some care had been taken to leave +house walls and boundary walls on the street standing, so as +to hide some part of the destruction, and thus make things +look better than they really were.</p> + +<p>'Natives of the place gave us numbers, which showed +the population was then estimated at not much, if any, +more than half the former population. It was expressly +stated, however, that the missing half were not regarded as +all dead; very many were dead, had died in the place, but +many had gone elsewhere—in most cases no one knew<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> +where. Of these some few would doubtless return; but it +is to be feared that the mortality in a hard year among +famine refugees is very large, and of those who left their +homes and native places, the few that may eventually +return will be very few, I fear.</p> + +<p>'Doesn't the Bible say that it is a harder fate to die of +famine than to die by the sword—to die stricken through for +want of the fruits of the earth? But of all those who died +in the famine in North China there is one class whose case +is perhaps more distressing than ordinary. A large number +of people seem to have died just as the harvest—a plentiful +one—ripened. Through all these hard dreary months, +when, day after day, month after month, they looked for +and longed for rain, those I now speak of struggled through, +kept up hope, fared hard, hoped eagerly, and at last saw +the rain come, saw the crops flourishing, saw them beginning +to ripen, congratulated themselves and others on the prospect +of abundant food and better days. But they were to +see it with their eyes, but not to eat thereof. As far as +could be gathered from the natives themselves, the case +would seem to be thus.</p> + +<p>'The great mass of the population was much reduced +in bodily strength by the long period of half-starvation +they went through; summer and early autumn came with +the rains and the attendant ague, which last—the ague—still +more reduced the strength of their already emaciated frames. +You can imagine them, with lean faces and hungry eyes, +tottering about the fields, and counting the days that must +yet elapse before the grain would ripen. The rage of +hunger was no longer to be borne; they anticipated by a +few days the ripening; took the grain, still a little green—perhaps +sometimes very green—and put it into the pot. But +here again was another difficulty. The fuel used is grain +stalks, and the famine deprived them at once of food and +fuel. Green grain they might cook, but green-grain stalks<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> +would not burn. Fuel was thus deficient; and was it +wonderful if, as they stood round the pot, and the fuel was +deficient, their patience should fail them and they should +fall upon the food half cooked? That was bad enough; +but that is not all. The Chinese have nearly as little self-control +as children; and is it to be wondered at if, when at +last, after long months of the slow torture of unappeased +hunger, they found a full meal before them, they should +have eaten to the full? When a man emaciated from +having gone through a famine, and further enfeebled after +repeated prostrations by ague, at length rises up and gorges +himself with farinaceous food, half ripe and half cooked, +the consequences are not difficult to divine. Diarrhœa and +dysentery set in, and became fearfully prevalent—not only +prevalent, but peculiarly fatal. To make matters worse, +medicines in that part of the country are dear; the people +were too poor to get medical help, and great numbers who +had lived to see the famine end and prosperity return lived +only to see the prosperity, and to die when it touched them. +The famine fever in summer seems to have been fearfully +prevalent. It is said that in a single courtyard two or +three people would be lying about the gate, two or three +under the shadow of some house, two or three more inside +the house—all stricken down with fever. The air of some +villages is said to have been loaded with the effluvia to +such an extent that one riding along the street perceptibly +discerned the taint in the atmosphere. The fever was +deadly too, but evidently not so deadly in proportion as +the autumn dysentery. Frequently, when talking to a boy, +we would hear he was an orphan, and, on inquiry, he told +that his father had died in autumn; frequently, in talking +to a woman, we would hear that she was a widow, and, on +asking when her husband died, the reply was, "Autumn."</p> + +<p>'We reached Hsiao Chang in a snowstorm on Saturday +afternoon. A few of the people, doubtless, heard of our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> +arrival; but those of the other villages probably did not +know we had come; so that our being there, perhaps, did not +materially increase the number of the congregation that +assembled next day (Sunday). Sunday was a dull, uncomfortable +day; the ground covered with snow; the sky still +covered with clouds; no sunshine; yet there was a congregation +of about one hundred and thirty, of whom eighty +(about) would be women, and fifty (about) be men. The +next Sabbath, January 26, was still dull; the congregation +numbered about two hundred and eighty—men, say, one +hundred and thirty; women, say, one hundred and fifty. +Mr. Lees took the women into the chapel. I took the men +outside in another court, and preached to them from a +terrace which gave me a commanding view of my congregation. +Mr. Lees had too little ventilation, I had too +much of it; but both of our congregations listened well, +though there was no sun, though the cold was intense, and +though stray flakes of snow wandered slowly down among +us as we worshipped. The next Sabbath, February 2, +was fine. All except adherents were excluded, and the +congregation numbered about eighty men, and one hundred +and twenty women. Twelve men and seven women were +baptized.</p> + +<p>'The most novel feature of the work I noticed was the +eagerness displayed to learn and sing hymns. Sometimes +poor old women, from whom we could not extract much +Catechism information about the unity in trinity and other +theological mysteries, brightened up their old wrinkled +faces when asked if they could sing, and when asked to +give us a specimen of their singing, would raise their +cracked and quavering voices and go through "There is a +happy land," or "The Great Physician," or "Safe in the +arms of Jesus," a good deal out of tune here and there, it is +true, but on the whole creditably as regards music, and +with an apparent earnestness and feeling that was hard to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> +witness with dry eyes. And if the old women sang thus, +what of the young people? They seemed to revel in +hymns. The old, big, orthodox hymn-book used in our +chapels got a good deal of patronage and attention; but +their great favourites were those in a small collection of +the Sankey revival hymns translated (with a few exceptions) +and published by Mr. Lees. These hymns contain +good gospel, seem to be easily learned, and are set to tunes +which the Chinese seem never to sing themselves tired of. +The preachers have mastered a goodly number of them, +and teach them to all comers; but, Mr. Lees being a singer, +of course, when he arrived, there were high singing festivals, +and the practice at evening prayers was sometimes so +vigorous and prolonged that the tympanum of one of my +ears began to show symptoms of defeat. These hymns I +regard as a most powerful auxiliary to the other Gospel +agencies at work, and I hope a great deal of good from +them.</p> + +<p>'Every Chinaman wants looking after. Even the best +and most trustworthy men are all the better for being well +and carefully superintended. In fact, the better a man is, +the better he pays for being well looked after. The present +state of country mission work in North China calls for +careful supervision in an especial degree. Unforeseen +circumstances arise that need prompt action where a wrong +course of action may be disastrous; something or other +happens that dismays the whole of the little Christian community; +something or other happens that lifts them up into +pride; the Christians are like little islands of Christianity +isolated in a vast ocean of heathenism, and the waves seem +to threaten to swallow them up. The missionary, simply +by going and putting in an appearance, or by giving a little +simple advice, or by speaking a few words of encouragement, +or by devising a few simple methods, or making a +few simple arrangements, can often keep the Church out of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> +moral danger, infuse new hope and courage to the members +and preachers, and, under God, put fresh life and vigour +into the whole concern. As iron sharpeneth iron, so doth +a man the face of his friend; and this is true in an especial +degree of a missionary and his preachers and converts.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In the course of a subsequent tour in the same district, +in 1880, he gives in his diary a sketch of a sermon preached +by Liu, his Chinese helper, one which may be taken as a +specimen of the best class of address given by a converted +Chinaman to his fellow-countrymen.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Liu's subject was from Revelation, "Whosoever will, +let him take of the water of life freely." He went into an +elaborate detail about the use of water, washing, laying +the dust in a room being swept out, (à la Bunyan) making +a sinking sand hard and good for a cart and man to travel +on. Finally, he got to a couple of good stories about a +man who got drunk and had his face blackened, so that +when he came home his own father did not know him and +would not let him in, and when he saw himself accidentally +in a mirror he did not know himself. His drunkenness +had completely changed his appearance and voice even.</p> + +<p>'So God made us in His own image, but sin has terribly +changed us. Purified by the Holy Ghost we may again +be like ourselves and God.</p> + +<p>'The service lasted about two hours and ten minutes. +The story parts of the sermon were very effective.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>A later entry in the diary runs: 'Had service. Preached +"Jesus saves," the sermon for the heathen of that name.' +One who often heard him preach in China gives the following +estimate of his power and method in delivering his +message:—</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p><blockquote><p>'As a preacher Gilmour was most unconventional. His +sermons were direct talks, without any attempt at rhetoric. +They were plentifully illustrated, largely from events in +his own experience. Laughable allusions or quaint ways +of putting things were frequently used. While there was +not much attractive in the manner of the preacher, the +directness of his remark and his evident earnestness always +made his sermons appreciated and enjoyed. The Chinese +were always glad to hear him, and words he used to speak +are often referred to.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Writing on one occasion to a friend in England being +educated for the Christian ministry, who had just taken one +of the higher degrees at the London University, he said:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I don't think our work is so much unlike, after all. +You witness for Christ, so do I; and though you are in a +Christian country and I in a heathen land, human nature is +human nature, and not so different as might be supposed. +You may, pray you may, see more fruit of your work than +I do, but your trials, and difficulties, and temptations will be, +no doubt are, pretty much the same as mine. May the +Lord help you and bless you now and for ever! I hope He +will help you to have ever a heart ready to preach simply the +simple Gospel to your hearers, half of whom, perhaps, know +almost nothing of salvation, though they have been listening +to sermons about it all their lives, and would not +know in the least to which hand to turn if they were +aroused and became anxious to be saved. I'll give you a +text, which I think peculiarly suitable for you, now a +graduate. Isaiah 1. 4—"The Lord God hath given me the +tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a +word in season to him that is weary." I like to dwell on +this text. Learning should not make deep sermons, hard +to be understood; on the contrary, it should be all employed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> +to make the road simple and clear. Forgive me for +exhorting you so, but I can't refrain from it when I think +of the many learned men I know at home and here who +employ their learning in giving learned sermons, <i>not</i> in +making the way simple and plain.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The sermon referred to in the extract quoted above from +the diary is based on Matt. i. 21. It was never written +out; but the notes of it lie before us, and we quote them +as an illustration of his way of addressing both Chinese +and English audiences. It may interest the reader to +endeavour to make out from it the line of thought, and any +who may have heard him preach or speak will find it easy +to recall <i>how</i> he preached it.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'Matt. i. 21. 'He shall save people from their sins.'</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'Talk to a man, he admits he is sinner; by-and-by he +will break off and become good.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'He does not really know what sin is. Egypt!</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'It is a <i>disease</i>; if you get it can you leave it off? +Your blood is tainted.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'It is a <i>fire</i>; once light it, you can't quench it, it +smoulders and breaks out afresh.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'It is an <i>evil root</i>, evil weed, can easy sow, not extirpate.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'Sin is like the current above Niagara.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'It becomes a <i>habit</i>. Indulgence makes habit grow.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'It is like a <i>spider</i>; one thread after another binds up a +fly.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'Such is sin—murder, robbery, theft, adultery, uncleanness, +lying, covetousness, hatred, anger, malice, want of +love to God or man.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'Many of these sins you not accused of, but you +have sin: sin is fatal, can you free yourself? <i>Jesus is to +do it.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'Disease, fire, root, current, habit, fly. <i>The man cannot +free himself: Jesus must set him free.</i></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'Not only from <i>Hell</i>, but from sin.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'Suppose you were freed only from Hell, and transported +to Heaven, could you be happy? Who would be your +companions?</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'Ignorant (wicked) man in company of learned (holy).</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'<i>A Tientsin vagrant</i> became chair-bearer; had clothes, +etc., but only for a day; he was soon naked again.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'Christ does not transport to Heaven only.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'<i>Disease.</i>—Not die from it; He cures it.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'<i>Fire.</i>—Not consumed by it; He quenches it.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'<i>Root</i> of evil; He clears from the ground.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'<i>Niagara.</i>—He lifts you out of the current on to an +island.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'<i>Habit.</i>—He sets you free from it.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'<i>Spider's fly.</i>—He not only takes from the spider; but He +sets it free from the toils.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'<i>Jesus gives</i> second nature; you are born again.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'But upon one <i>condition</i>, your consent. The <i>disease</i> is +severe: you must obey doctor; if you do not submit to +operation; not take bitter drugs; then he does not heal.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'<i>Lead</i> a man to Peking: not come, not follow: leave +him: lead to heaven, paths of holiness not follow, not reach.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'Has Christ saved you? If yes, visible to self and others. +He is not only an object of respect, admiration: He is the +doctor into whose hands you put your soul for treatment.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'<i>Two brothers</i>, Kite, Loe, Pet Dog.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'<i>John of Hankow's Liu</i>, see Chronicle; dead <i>v.</i> alive; +sick (of fever) <i>v.</i> whole. Is it last time? Mongols feel +queer.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'<i>Missionaries.</i> Mongol doctor who had not courage +to treat himself.</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'<i>S. S. Teacher</i>: Paul: be a castaway,</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'Christ Matt. i. 21-23.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em">'Any religion good enough. No: no religion breaks +bondage of sin: go down to death in sin's slavery. Only +Jesus can save from sin. <i>Ask, and He'll do it.</i>'</p> + +<p>During the winters in Peking he still used every effort +to get at the Mongols frequenting the capital.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'The Mongols who visit Peking connect themselves +with two great centres. "The Outside Lodging," which is +about a mile or more north of the north wall of Peking, +and is also called the "Halha Lodging," because it is the +great resort of the Northern Mongols, and the "Inside +Lodging," which is near the inside of the south wall of +the Manchu City of Peking, is situated close behind the +English Legation, and is also called the "Cold Lodging;" +this name being probably due to the fact that in the open +space in this "Inside Lodging" a good many Mongols +camp out in their tents, in place of hiring courts and rooms +from the Chinese. These are the two great <i>centres</i> for +Mongols in Peking. Many of them lodge in the immediate +neighbourhood, and even those who lodge in other parts +of the city frequent these two centres; so that, if any one +wants to know whether or not any individual Mongol has +come to Peking, he seeks him at one or other of these marts.</p> + +<p>'In the winter of 1879-80 I set up a book-stall, with a +Chinaman to care for it, at the Outside Lodging, going +myself, as a rule, every second day. This winter I followed +the example of the pedlars, and, hanging two bags of books +from my shoulders, hunted the Mongols out, going not +only to the trading places, but in and out among the lanes +where they lodged, visiting the Outside Lodging first and +the Inside Lodging later in the day. The number of +Mongols outside the city became latterly so small that it +was not visited very often; but during the Chinese eleventh +and the first part of the twelfth month, the number of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> +Mongols to be met with at the Inside Lodging was fair, and +the number of books disposed of altogether, both outside +and inside the city, amounted to seven hundred and fourteen.</p> + +<p>'In many cases the Mongols, before buying, and not +unfrequently after buying, would insist on having the book +read, supposing that they got more for their money when +they not only had the book, but had me let them hear its +contents. Of course I was only too glad to have the +opportunity of reading, which readily changed to opportunity +for talking; and in this way, from time to time, +little groups of Mongols would gather round and listen to +short addresses on the main doctrines of Christianity. +Several men whom I accosted seemed familiar with the +name of Jesus, and had some knowledge of Christianity. +Some bought the books eagerly; some not only did not +buy themselves, but exhorted others not to buy; some +openly spoke against Christianity; but a great many of +those who listened to an address or took part in a conversation +evinced interest in the subjects spoken of, and +remarked that salvation by another bearing our sin was a +reasonable doctrine. As the purchasers of these books +hailed from all parts of Mongolia, the tracts thus put into +their hands will reach to even remote localities in the west, +north, and east, and my prayer is that the reading of them +may be the beginning of what shall lead to a saving knowledge +of the truth in some minds. Hoping for some good +result, I had my address stamped on many of the books, +to enable such as might wish to learn more to know where +to come.</p> + +<p>'In some cases, Mongols wishing to buy books had no +money, but were willing to give goods instead; and thus it +happened that I sometimes made my way home at night +with a miscellaneous collection of cheese, sour-curd, butter +and millet cake and sheep's fat, representing the produce +of part of the day's sales.'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p> + +<p>A short time before he returned to England on his first +furlough he drew up a report, in which he places on record +some of the results of his ten years' experience of Mongol +life and habits.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'On one occasion I was living some weeks in a Mongol's +tent. It was late in the year. Lights were put out soon +after dark. The nights were long in reality, and, in such +unsatisfactory surroundings as the discomforts of a poor +tent and doubtful companions, the nights seemed longer +than they were. At sunrise I was only too glad to escape +from smoke and everything else to the retirement of the +crest of a low ridge of hills near the tent. This, perhaps +the most natural thing in the world for a foreigner, was +utterly inexplicable to the Mongols. The idea that any +man should get out of his bed at sunrise and climb a hill +for nothing! He must be up to mischief! He must be +secretly taking away the luck of the land! This went on +for some time, the Mongols all alive with suspicion, and +the unsuspecting foreigner retiring regularly morning after +morning, till at length a drunken man blurted out the +whole thing, and openly stated the conviction that the +inhabitants had arrived at, namely, that this extraordinary +morning walk of the foreigner on the hill crest boded no +good to the country. To remain among the people I had +to give up my morning retirement.</p> + +<p>'The Mongols are very suspicious of seeing a foreigner +writing. What <i>can</i> he be up to? they say among themselves. +Is he taking notes of the capabilities of the +country? Is he marking out a road map, so that he can +return guiding an army? Is he, as a wizard, carrying off +the good luck of the country in his note-book? These, +and a great many others, are the questions that they ask +among themselves and put to the foreigner when they see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> +him writing; and if he desires to conciliate the good-will +of the people, and to win their confidence, the missionary +must abstain from walking and writing while he is among +them.</p> + +<p>'On another point, too, a missionary must be careful. +He must not go about shooting. Killing beasts or birds +the Mongols regard as peculiarly sinful, and anyone who +wished to teach them religious truth would make the +attempt under great disadvantage if he carried and used a +gun. This, however, is a prejudice that it is not so difficult +to refrain from offending.</p> + +<p>'The diseases presented for treatment are legion, but +the most common cases are skin diseases and diseases of +the eye and teeth. Perhaps rheumatism is <i>the</i> disease of +Mongolia; but the manner of life and customs of the +Mongols are such that it is useless to attempt to cure it. +Cure it to-day, it is contracted again to-morrow. Skin +diseases present a fair field for a medical missionary. They +are so common, and the Mongolian treatment of them is so +far removed from common-sense, that anyone with a few +medicines and a little intelligence has ample opportunity +of benefiting many sufferers. The same may be said of the +eye. The glare of the sun on the Plain at all seasons, +except when the grass is fresh and green in summer, the +blinding sheen from the snowy expanse in winter, and the +continual smoke that hangs like a cloud two or three feet +above the floor of the tent, all combine to attack the eye. +Eye diseases are therefore very common. The lama +medicines seem to be able to do nothing for such cases, +and a few remedies in a foreigner's hands work cures that +seem wonderful to the Mongols.</p> + +<p>'In many cases, when a Mongol applies to his doctor, +he simply extends his hand, and expects that the doctor, +by simply feeling his pulse, will be able to tell, not only +the disease, but what will cure it. As soon as the doctor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> +has felt the pulse of one hand, the patient at once extends +the other hand that the pulse may be felt there also, and +great surprise is manifested when a foreigner begins his +diagnosis of a case by declining the proffered wrist and +asking questions.</p> + +<p>'The question of "How did you get this disease?" +often elicits some curiously superstitious replies. One man +lays the blame on the stars and constellations. Another +confesses that when he was a lad he was mischievous, and +dug holes in the ground or cut shrubs on the hill, and it is +not difficult to see how he regards disease as a punishment +for digging, since by digging worms are killed; but what +cutting wood on a hill can have to do with sin it is harder +to see, except it be regarded as stealing the possessions of +the spiritual lord of the locality. In consulting a doctor, +too, a Mongol seems to lay a deal of stress on the belief +that it is his <i>fate</i> to be cured by the medical man in question, +and, if he finds relief, often says that his meeting this +particular doctor and being cured is the result of prayers +made at some previous time.</p> + +<p>'One difficulty in curing Mongols is that they frequently, +when supplied with medicines, depart entirely from the +doctor's instructions when they apply them; and a not +unfrequent case is that of the patient who, after applying +to the foreigner for medicine and getting it, is frightened +by his success, or scared by some lying report of his neighbours, +or staggered at the fact that the foreigner would not +feel his pulse, or feel it at one wrist only, lays aside the +medicine carefully and does not use it at all.</p> + +<p>'In Mongolia, too, a foreigner is often asked to perform +absurd, laughable, or impossible cures. One man wants to +be made clever, another to be made fat, another to be +cured of insanity, another of tobacco, another of whisky, +another of hunger, another of tea; another wants to be +made strong, so as to conquer in gymnastic exercises; most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> +men want medicine to make their beards grow; while +almost every man, woman, and child wants to have his or +her skin made as white as that of the foreigner.</p> + +<p>'When a Mongol is convinced that his case is hopeless +he takes it very calmly, and bows to his fate, whether it be +death or chronic disease; and Mongol doctors, and Mongol +patients too, after a succession of failures, regard the affliction +as a thing fated, to be unable to overcome which +implies no lack of medical ability on the doctor's part.</p> + +<p>'Of all the healing appliances in the hands of a foreigner +none strikes the fancy of a Mongol so much as the galvanic +battery, and it is rather curious that almost every Mongol +who sees it and tries its effect exclaims what a capital +thing it would be for examining accused persons. It would +far surpass whipping, beating, or suspending. Under its +torture a guilty man could not but "confess." Some one +in England has advocated the use of the galvanic battery +in place of the cat in punishing criminals, and it is rather +curious to note the coincidence of the English and Mongol +mind.</p> + +<p>'The Mongol doctors are not, it would seem, quite unacquainted +with the properties of galvanism. It is said +that they are in the habit of prescribing the loadstone ore, +reduced to powder, as efficacious when applied to sores, and +one man hard of hearing had been recommended by a lama +to put a piece of loadstone into each ear and chew a piece +of iron in his mouth!</p> + +<p>'Divination is another point on which Mongols are +troublesome. It never for a moment enters their head that +a man so intelligent and well fitted out with appliances as +a foreigner seems to them to be cannot divine. Accordingly +they come to him to divine for them where they +should camp to be lucky and get rich, when a man who +has gone on a journey will return, why no news has been +received from a son or husband who is serving in the army,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> +where they should dig a well so as to get plenty of good +water near the surface, whether it would be fortunate for +them to venture on some trading speculation, whether they +should go on some projected journey, in what direction +they should search for lost cattle, or, more frequently than +any of the above, they come, men and women, old and +young, to have the general luck of their lives examined +into. Great is their amazement when the foreigner confesses +his ignorance of such art, and greater still is their +incredulity.</p> + +<p>'The great obstacles to success in doctoring the Mongols +are two:—First: most of the afflicted Mongols suffer +from chronic diseases for which almost nothing can be +done. Second: in many cases, where alleviation or cures +are effected, they are only of short duration, as no amount +of explanation or exhortation seems sufficient to make +them aware of the importance of guarding against causes +of disease. But, notwithstanding all this, many cures can +be effected on favourable subjects, and the fact that the +missionary carries medicines with him and attempts to +heal, and that without money and without price, aids the +missionary cause by bringing him into friendly communication +with many who would doubtless hold themselves +aloof from any one who approached them in no other +character but that of a teacher of Christianity.'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>THE VISIT TO ENGLAND IN 1882</h3> + + +<p>From 1880 onwards Mrs. Gilmour suffered severely from +illness, and medical advisers recommended at length the +rest and change of a visit to England. Mr. Gilmour's +furlough was also nearly due. Consequently, in the spring +of 1882, he and his family returned to England. This +visit was helpful and memorable in many ways. The rest +so thoroughly well earned was greatly enjoyed. The +return to civilisation, the society of loved relatives and +friends, the comforts of ordinary English life, and the +change of thought and occupation which these involved—all +reacted happily and refreshingly upon both Mr. Gilmour +and his wife.</p> + +<p>But a sojourn at home is not by any means a season of +entire rest for the jaded worker. The Churches constantly +need the stimulus and awakening that are best supplied by +the men who have been filling the hard places in the field. +Gilmour also was so full of enthusiasm for his work, and +so eager in his desire to benefit the Mongols, that he +would doubtless have found for himself many opportunities +of pleading their cause, had not the authorities of the +London Missionary Society, following their usual custom, +furnished him with a long list of deputation engagements,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> +Into these he threw himself with an energy that very +greatly enlarged the circle of his friendship, secured very +many new supporters for the missionary cause, and obtained +for himself, on the part of many, a devout, prayerful +sympathy for the remainder of his earthly service.</p> + +<p>He had brought with him a large quantity of manuscript +material dealing with his twelve years of Mongol +life and experience. From this he prepared the volume +which was published by the Religious Tract Society in +April 1883, under the title of <i>Among the Mongols</i>.</p> + +<p>The book was very cordially welcomed by the press, +and we single out for quotation a portion of one review +which stands out pre-eminent not only for its literary +quality, but also as placing on record the impression James +Gilmour was able to make upon men entirely ignorant +of him and his work by the simple narrative of his experiences. +It appeared in the <i>Spectator</i> for April 28, 1883.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'We have a difficulty in passing judgment on this +book. It is possible, even probable, that the impression it +has made on us is individual to this reviewer, and due to +an accident which, with other readers, will not repeat itself. +Having time, and an interest in nomads, he read a page or +two, and read on, and read on, for five hours, till he had +finished the book,—which is much too short,—fascinated, +lost, carried out of himself and England. He was in +Mongolia, sitting under a blue-cloth tent, with savage dogs +howling around, and gazing outside, through the doorless +doorway, on a vast panorama of poor tufted grass, stretching +away to huge black hills in the distance, and Tartars +on camels, Tartars on horses, Tartars on springless, +unbreakable ox-carts, hastening up to the encampment; +while inside he listened to a quiet Scotchman, resignedly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> +yet clearly explaining everything in a voice—— there was +the puzzle. Where in the world had the reviewer heard +that voice before, with its patient monotone, as well known +as his oldest friend's, its constant digressions and "reflections," +its sentences so familiar, yet so new, sentences +which, as each topic came up, he could write before they +were uttered. "James Gilmour, M.A." Never knew him, +or heard of him; yet here was he, talking exactly as some +one else had years ago talked a hundred times. So +oppressive at last became the will-o'-the-wisp reminiscence, +that the reviewer stopped, after an account of the Desert +of Gobi, and deliberately read it through again, in search +of a clue which might reawaken his memory. It was all +in vain, and it was not till another hundred pages had +been passed, always under the impression of that bewildering +reminiscence, that he exclaimed to himself, "That's it! +Robinson Crusoe has turned missionary, lived years in +Mongolia, and written a book about it." That is this +book. To any one who, perhaps from early neglect, does +not perceive this truth, our judgment will seem erroneous; +but to any one who does, we may quite fearlessly appeal. +The student of <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> never expected that +particular pleasure in this life, and he will never have it +again; but for this once he has it to the full. Mr. James +Gilmour, though a man of whom any country may be +proud, is not a deep thinker, and not a bright writer, and +not a man with the gift of topographical, or, indeed, any +other kind of description. He thinks nothing extraordinary, +and has nothing to say quotable. There is a +faint, far-off humour in him, humour sternly repressed; but +that, so far as we know, is the only quality in his writing +which makes him <i>littérateur</i> at all. But Heaven, which +has denied him many gifts, has given him one in full +measure,—the gift of Defoe, the power of so stating things +that the reader not only believes them, but sees them in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> +bodily presence, that he is there wherever the author +chooses to place him, under the blue tent, careering over the +black ice of Lake Baikal, or hobnobbing in tea with priests +as unlike Englishmen as it is possible for human beings to +be, yet, such is his art, in nowise unintelligible or strange. It +may be, as we have said, that it is an individual impression, +but we never read, save once, the kind of book in +our lives, did not deem it possible ever again to meet with +this special variety of unconscious literary skill. We are +aware of a dozen shortcomings, of a hundred points upon +which Mr. Gilmour ought to have given light, and has +not; but there has been, if our experience serves us at all, +no book quite like this book since <i>Robinson Crusoe</i>; and +<i>Robinson Crusoe</i> is not better, does not tell a story more +directly, or produce more instantaneous and final conviction. +Heaven help us all, if Mr. Gilmour tells us that he +has met any unknown race in Mongolia, say, people with +the power of making themselves invisible, for Tyndall will +believe him, and Huxley account for them, and the <i>Illustrated +London News</i> publish their portraits—in the stage of +invisibility. We do not say the book is admirable, or perfect, +or anything else superlative; but we do say, and this +with sure confidence, that no one who begins it will leave +it till the narrative ends, or doubt for an instant, whether +he knows Defoe or not, that he has been enchained by +something separate and distinct in literature, something +almost uncanny in the way it has gripped him, and made +him see for ever a scene he never expected to see.</p> + +<p>'We do not know that we have any more to say about +the book. Its merit is that, and no other; and we do not +suppose anybody ever proved <i>Robinson Crusoe's</i> value by +extracts. But we must say a word or two about the +author and his subject. Mr. Gilmour, though a Scotchman, +is apparently attached to the London Mission, and +seems to have quitted Peking for Mongolia on an impulse to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> +teach Christ to Tartars. He could not ride, he did not +know Mongolian, he had an objection to carry arms, and +he had no special fitness except his own character, which +he knew nothing about, for the work. Nevertheless, he +went, and stayed years, living on half-frozen prairies and +deserts under open tents, on fat mutton, sheep's tails particularly, +tea, and boiled millet, eating only once a day +because Mongols do, and in all things, except lying, stealing, +and prurient talk, making himself a lama. As he +could not ride, he rode for a month over six hundred miles +of dangerous desert, where the rats undermine the grass, +and at the end found that that difficulty has disappeared +for ever. As he could not talk, he "boarded out" with a +lama, listened and questioned, and questioned and listened, +till he knew Mongolian as Mongols know it, till his ears +became so open that he was painfully aware that Mongol +conversation, like that of most Asiatics, is choked with +<i>doubles entendres</i>. As for danger, he had made up his mind +not to carry arms, not to be angry with a heathen, happen +what might, and—though he does not mention this—not +to be afraid of anything whatever, neither dogs nor +thieves, nor hunger nor the climate; and he kept those +three resolutions. If ever on earth there lived a man who +kept the law of Christ, and could give proofs of it, and be +absolutely unconscious that he was giving them, it is this +man, whom the Mongols he lived among called "our +Gilmour." He wanted, naturally enough, sometimes to +meditate away from his hosts, and sometimes to take long +walks, and sometimes to geologise, but he found all these +things roused suspicion—for why should a stranger want +to be alone; might it not be "to steal away the luck of +the land"?—and as a suspected missionary is a useless +missionary, Mr. Gilmour gave them all up, and sat endlessly +in tents, among lamas. And he says incidentally that +his fault is impatience, a dislike to be kept waiting!'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 490px;"><a id="p139" name="p139"> +<img src="images/139.jpg" width="490" height="218" alt="A MONGOL CAMEL CART" title="" /> +<span class="caption">A MONGOL CAMEL CART<br />(<i>From a Native Sketch</i>)</span></a> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p> + +<p>The book met with a ready and wide acceptance. It +soon 'found its public.' It was only to be expected that +many of the friends and supporters of the London Missionary +Society would welcome it. And there are others, +like the reviewer, who 'have time and an interest in +nomads,' who were certain to consult it. But in addition +to these special classes the book did good service in some +cases, by deepening the impression already made by other +first-rate delineations of missionary enterprise and endurance, +and in others by creating respect for missions and +missionaries in minds hitherto strange to that feeling. In +various editions very many thousands of the book have +been sold during the nine years which have passed since +the publication of the first edition.</p> + +<p>The success of his book led to the suggestion that he +might easily find much useful employment for his pen. +He did contribute some papers to the <i>Sunday at Home</i>, +<i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>, and other publications. But in this, as +in all other enterprises, loyalty to the great work of his life +ruled him. He soon came to the conviction that he ought +not to take time from the work of winning souls, and +spend it in writing papers and books—and from the +moment of that decision he put mere literary work +resolutely aside.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I feel keenly,' he wrote in 1884, on his return to +Peking, 'that there is here more than I can do, and +writing must go to the wall.' And as late in his life as +1890 he added, 'I could have made, and could now make, +I believe, money by writing, but I do not write. I settle +down to teach illiterate Chinamen and Mongols, heal their +sores, and present Christ to them.'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p> + +<p>Towards the end of 1882 James Gilmour entered upon +a long series of meetings on behalf of the London Missionary +Society, consisting of sermons and addresses to +Sunday School children on the Sunday, and speeches at +public meetings during the week. A long series of his +letters written to his wife between November 1882 and +March 1883 is still extant, and they form an impressive +record of the work considered suitable for a wearied missionary +at home in search of rest and change. He visited +Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow, Liverpool, Kilsyth, Hamilton, +Paisley, Dundee, St Andrews, Arbroath, Lytham, Aberdeen, +Montrose, Manchester, Hingham, Cambridge, Norfolk, +and Southampton. And this list exhausts only a portion +of his excursions on the effort to stimulate and develope +the faith and the zeal of the churches at home. His wanderings +brought him into contact sometimes with relatives, +sometimes with old college friends, now grave pastors fast +hastening towards middle life. The meetings he attended +always added to the circle of his friends, for none could +hear his ringing voice, and feel the clasp of his hand, and +pass under the influence of his ardent enthusiasm on behalf +of the great enterprise of the modern Christian Church +without receiving an impression never likely to be effaced.</p> + +<p>He in turn experienced a strong and abiding spiritual +refreshment from this renewal, after twelve years' absence, +of touch and fellowship with the Christian life of Great +Britain. His earnestness deepened, he studied with intensest +interest movements like the Salvation Army, then +coming into great prominence, and other agencies for +improving the religious life of the nation, and he rejoiced +in all fellowship with other disciples of the Lord Jesus<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> +which had for its aim the strengthening of the life of +faith.</p> + +<p>He rejoiced greatly when at infrequent intervals a +Sunday came upon which he was entirely free from +engagements. Such rare occasions he utilised very fully +for spiritual edification. He was somewhat hampered in +his possibilities on these days by the fact that his temporary +home was at Bexley Heath, and his strong Sabbatarian +views never permitted him to travel by rail or omnibus on +the Lord's Day. The following letter shows how he passed +one of these days.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Yesterday being a fine day I left home at 7.15 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>, +walked to London (twelve miles), got to Spurgeon's at 10.30. +Had a permit from a seat-holder, was close to the platform, +heard a good earnest sermon, was introduced to Spurgeon +in the vestry after service, went home to one of his deacons +for dinner, there met an American who had under Mr. +Moody been converted from drunkenness to God, and +whose craving for drink was as instantaneously and as +thoroughly expelled as the devils by Christ of old. After +dinner visited Spurgeon's Stockwell Orphanages, then +walked to Camberwell and dropped in, in passing, at the +Catholic Apostolic Church and heard a sermon from a man +who would have described himself as an Apostle, I suppose, +and who ridiculed in a gentle and mild way the idea that +all men were to be partakers of the Gospel blessings which +he seemed to think were the special property of what he +called "The Church"; walked on to Lewisham, heard +Morlais Jones: and then walked home in the moonlight, +arriving here footsore and weary about 10.20 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> I +enjoyed the day very much, all but the last four or five miles +home at night. I am thankful to find myself so strong. I +had a warm bath and slept like a top.'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p> + +<p>Those who were privileged to entertain James Gilmour, +if congenial, and the old friends who were fortunate enough +to secure him for even a brief period, often experienced his +power of vivid and entrancing narration. His twelve years +of service had been very full of varied and uncommon +experience, and when in the vein he could make the hours +pass almost as minutes. 'During this furlough,' writes Dr. +Reynolds, 'I had several opportunities of intercourse with +him, and listened to several of his addresses on the progress +and need of missionary enterprise in the north of +China and Mongolia, and was profoundly impressed by his +earnestness, but I was more deeply moved when in quiet +<i>tête-à-tête</i> he unveiled some of his special experiences. I +should like to mention one. He once had great hope of +the conversion to God of a Mongol, who had given him his +entire confidence, and who was suffering from cataract in +both eyes. Gilmour felt that this was a case in which +surgical help might restore the sufferer to at least partial +sight, and he made arrangements that in the escort of a +Mongol the patient should find his way to the medical +institution at Peking. He started on the pilgrimage when +Gilmour, with his brave young wife, were encamped in a +great temporary settlement of Mongols, who were in a +state of considerable fanatical excitement against the new +faith and its foreign teacher. Gilmour said, "We prayed +night and day for the success of this experiment, and we +arranged to cover all expenses connected with the arrangement." +Alas! wind laden with dust, and blinding heat and +other apparent accidents conspired against the poor sufferer, +and when the necessary time had elapsed after the operation +and the bandages were removed, the patient was found<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> +to be <i>stone blind</i>. The Mongol companion stirred up the +poor fellow's suspicion by telling him that he knew why the +Missionary had sent him to Peking. "I saw," said he, "the +jewel of your eye in a bottle on the shelf. These Christians +can get hundreds of taels for these jewels which they take +out of our eyes."</p> + +<p>'When the blind man was brought back to Gilmour, his +companion spread his suspicions and exasperating story in +the entire district, and the fanatical hatred was augmented +into seething and murderous passion, and our dear friends +were in imminent peril for several weeks. If they had +ventured to escape, it would have been a confession of a +vile conspiracy with the Peking doctors, and a signal for +their massacre. They remained to live down the ominous +and odious charge, and in continuous effort to justify the +simplicity of their motives and the purity and beneficence +of their mission.</p> + +<p>'Deeply moved, as I was, by the story of this hairbreadth +escape, I asked Mrs. Gilmour more about those +fearful weeks of suspense, and she assured me that they +had been perfectly calm, and that they were entirely resigned +to God's will, whatever it might be.'</p> + +<p>'Many other trials of faith and patience were described +by Gilmour, without one touch of self-approval or self-admiration, +and the only trouble that haunted him was +that the results of his long journeys and of his various +missionary enterprises had been apparently so few.'</p> + +<p>It was certain that James Gilmour's power as a +speaker would be utilised for the great event of the London +Missionary Society's year, the annual meeting at Exeter +Hall. This fell, in 1883, on May 10, and he was the last<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> +speaker. This involved waiting about two hours and a +half for his speech, and corresponding exhaustion on the +part of the audience. But none who were present will +forget the rapid way in which he secured the attention of +his hearers, and the ease with which he held it to the close. +He chose to speak of work in China, rather than in +Mongolia; the recent publication of his book helping +among other reasons to determine this choice. Part of the +speech deserves reproduction here, because it outlines very +sharply the work that engaged much of his time while +resident in Peking, and because nowhere else can such a +realistic, sparkling, and lifelike picture of the preaching +work of the Peking mission, and consequently more or less +of all preaching in great Chinese cities, be found.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'In Peking we have three chapels. A chapel there is +merely a Chinese shop, put into decent repair, and a signboard +stuck over the top. The Chinese are very fond of +giving themselves very high names. You will come to a +man sitting in a little box scarcely big enough for himself +to turn round in, and if you read his sign, it is some flowing +name about a hall; it may be the "Hall of Continual +Virtue," or something of that kind, or the "Hall of the +Five Happinesses." So our title above our chapel just runs +in the native idiomatic style, and it is the "Gospel Hall.' +Inside there is not very much to see. The counter has +been cleared away and the shelves, and, in place of the +mud, a brick floor has been put down; and then there are +forms arranged for the sitters, and there is a low platform +for the speaker. I do not know how it happens, but it +does happen, that up in the left-hand corner of the chapel—and +it is always the left-hand corner—there is a table +and two chairs, and on that table there is a teapot and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> +set of cups, because in China everything is done with tea. +You must always begin in that way. These chapels are +open six days in the week in the afternoon.</p> + +<p>'Now, supposing you come in at the door, the natural +thing for the missionary seems to be just to walk up to this +table and sit down, and then the next thing is to get +a congregation. Sometimes there is no difficulty about +getting it, if it happens to be a fair day or there is a crowd +in the streets. They simply pour in: but the tide goes +different ways sometimes, and does not pour in always like +that. I want to give you just a fair, square, honest idea of +what the thing is. Sometimes the congregation will not +come in, and sometimes, after a little while, one man looks +in at the door and sees a foreigner, and he is off. He has +seen quite enough and does not want to see any more; +and if you were to ask him what he had seen, he would +not say he had seen a foreigner; no, he would say he had +seen "a foreign devil." And, friends, you would not be +very much astonished that some of those ignorant men +coming from the country are alarmed when they see a +foreigner, if you could only imagine the terrible lies that +they circulate about us there; about how we take out +people's hearts for the purposes of magic, and steal people's +eyes to make photographic chemicals, and administer medicines +to bewitch them generally. I say that, if the first man +who comes to a chapel on an afternoon is a man who has +heard these things, you cannot be astonished that all you +see of that man is his back and his pigtail as he goes away.</p> + +<p>'Another man sometimes comes—a bolder man, and +he comes in, and the most natural thing for him seems to +be to walk up to the table and sit down on the other +side, and there you and he are a pair. The proper thing +is to pour him out a cup of tea: that is etiquette, and +the etiquette seems to be that he should not drink it. +Sometimes, after the service begins, I see the native<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> +preacher come slyly up, as if he did not mean anything at +all; and he walks up to the teapot, and lifts the lid quite +quietly, and slips that tea back into the pot again, and +puts on the lid and warms it up, and it is ready for the next +man who comes.</p> + +<p>'If you get into conversation with one man, the congregation +is, for the most part, practically secured, because, +though a Chinaman is very much afraid of being spoken +to directly by a foreigner, most Chinamen are very curious +to overhear any conversation that may be carried on; so +if you are speaking to him, in comes another man to listen, +and if you can get other men to come in and listen over +each other's backs, very soon more come in than the +original speaker cares to overhear his private conversation; +and when that step is reached, it is time to go to the platform +and ask the hearers to sit down and begin the regular +service. Sometimes nobody comes in, and then you have +to try something else, and that is to go and sit down a +little nearer the door, and sometimes, in that way, gradually +a few people come in. But then in Peking sometimes +there is a great north-west wind blowing; and I think that +is about the hardest thing on a man's congregation before +he gets it, because, when the weather is unfavourable, there +are not many people about, and so we have to adopt +another plan. We do not go on to the streets, but inside +the chapel the native preacher and I do our best to sing a +hymn. I say do our best, because sometimes these native +preachers do not succeed in singing very well; however, +we succeed in making a noise, and that is the thing that +draws. The people look in, and see what they suppose to +be a foreigner and a native chanting Buddhist prayers. In +they come; they have not seen that before, and they sit +down, and, as soon as the hymn is through, we have the +opportunity of telling them the contents of the hymn; and +there you have your sermon ready to your hand.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p> + +<p>'But suppose you have got your congregation, it is not +all smooth-sailing water. Sometimes there are interruptions. +Sometimes, just when you have the ear of your +audience, all at once a tremendous row happens just outside +the door, and the congregation jump to their feet and +rush out to see what is going on. I could have told them +if they had only asked me. No doubt, some unwise Chinaman, +in place of coming straight in and sitting down, stood +on the outskirt of the crowd on tiptoe. A city thief coming +along says, "Ah, there is my man," and he walks quietly up +to him with a pair of sharp scissors, cuts off his tobacco pouch, +and goes off with it. Of course, as soon as the man misses +the pouch, his first impulse is to grab his next neighbour; +that neighbour remonstrates, and then a fight commences.</p> + +<p>'Sometimes a funeral passes, and that is almost as +serious an interruption as a fight; because, although a +Chinaman does not think much about his soul after he +dies, he thinks a vast deal about his dead body, and, in +order to be perfectly sure that he will not be cheated by +the undertaker, he buys his coffin before he is sick, and +sees that he has a good bargain. And so, having a good +coffin, he wants a good funeral; and it is said some men +spend nearly half of their fortune in having a grand procession +when they are carried to their grave. When one +of these enormous funerals, with a procession sometimes +a quarter of a mile long, comes by, it is a very bad job +for your congregation. Out they go to have a look at it.</p> + +<p>'Then the interruption is sometimes another thing, and +this last one is a more difficult case to settle. When one +of the upper ten thousand in China has a marriage, they +want to have a great exhibition; and after they have +bought the furniture, they get and hire a great many men, +and have them dressed to carry that furniture in procession +along the streets and show it to their neighbours. First +comes a great wardrobe, and then a little cupboard, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> +washstand, a square table, and all sorts of furniture. Now +when that comes, what are you to do? They have been at +the expense of paying for an exhibition for their neighbours +to see, and they feel that it would be unneighbourly if they +did not step to the door and look out and see the things +carried past, and there goes your congregation. Sometimes +unusual interruptions happen. I remember once a +woman put her head in at the door. Women do not come +to these chapels often—I am very glad they do not. That +woman put her head in at the door, and I saw danger. +She glared round the place, and then she spied one man, +and she shouted out something at him: "Come out of +that!" and, friends, he came out of that, in a big hurry, +too. He disturbed us very considerably. It was not the +woman so much as the man—we all pitied him as he went out.</p> + +<p>'Those audiences are very mixed, and they are very +curious to your eyes. Sometimes I see those audiences, +most of whom we do not know anything about, listening to +what I have to tell them, quite as still as you are now—their +pipes out, the smoke cleared away. They lean forward +and listen just as still as audiences in this country +sometimes listen when the preacher, in an interesting discourse, +is coming up to a division of his subject. And, +friends, let me tell you what it is that makes them listen +best of all—it is the central doctrine of the truth of Christianity. +When we come to tell them of how Christ left the +surroundings of heaven, and came to spend so many years +in such very poor, unsympathetic company on earth (and +that is a subject that a missionary sometimes can talk +feelingly upon when he has been in a foreign country for +some time), when we can tell them that, and then come to +the last and greatest part of all: how Christ allowed Himself, +for love of man, to be nailed to the cross, and not only +that, but kept in Him that gentle spirit that made Him +pray for those who were putting Him to death—oh, friends,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> +when we come to that and tell them of it—I know that a +Chinaman is degraded, corrupt, sensual, material, but he +has a human heart; and when you can get at the heart, it +responds to the story of the Cross. We want to do something +in drawing the net, and so, on this table in the corner, +there is a pile of books, and as it gets towards the time to +close, I say to the friends, "Now, you will soon be going +away to your evening meal; and as I am a foreigner, probably +you have not understood all that I have said;" and +then I say, "Now, before you go, there are a number of +books upon this table, where you will find the whole of this +subject put down in black and white; will you just come +up and have a look at the books before you go?" We want, +if possible, to establish a point of contact with them, and so +to get a little private conversation, as it were. If you ask +them to come up and look at a book, and they ask the +price of it, you have an opportunity of talking to them, and +some of these men not only buy the books, but they read +them and come back for others.</p> + +<p>'Now, how does the matter stand? These heathen have +been in our chapel, and we have taken the opportunity +of putting some of the truth into their hearts; but I know +a good part, much, it may be, of what the man has heard +when he goes out—well, it is stolen away, or it is trampled +under foot; but some part of it remains.</p> + +<p>'And now I can come to the practical part. I have +not been trying to entertain you, but I have been trying +to interest you, and what I want to impress upon you is +this: after those men have left the chapel you can do +as much for their conversion as we can do in China. I +want you to pray for the conversion of these men to +whom we in Peking, and others in other parts of the world, +are the means of communicating these truths of Christ. I +believe it is not only the earnestness of the missionary that +is going to produce results, but it is your earnestness here.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> +We are your agents, and I believe, fervently, we shall have +results there in direct proportion to the measure of your +earnestness here. I believe I am speaking to the right +people when I ask you to pray. Unprayed for, I feel very +much as if a diver were sent down to the bottom of a river +with no air to breathe, or as if a fireman were sent up to a +blazing building and held an empty hose; I feel very much +as a soldier who is firing blank cartridge at an enemy, and +so I ask you earnestly to pray that the Gospel may take +saving and working effect on the minds of those men to +whose notice it has been introduced by us. Not long ago, +at the close of a local anniversary, when we had been having +a meeting, as we were going home, three of us got off a +tram-car—two ministers of the locality and myself—and, as +we were walking along, one said: "Ah, Gilmour, it is all +the same over again; it is just the old thing; you missionaries +come, and you have an anniversary, and the people's +earnestness seems to be stirred up, and you ask their +prayers, and it looks as if you would get them, but," he +said, "you go away, and the thing passes by and is just +left where it was before." I do not think that was quite +correct. I think my brother was labouring under a temporary +fit of the blues, and I was very glad to find his companion +said it was not quite correct. What I want is this, +to go back to my work feeling that there are those behind +us who are praying earnestly that God's Spirit would work +effectually in the hearts of those to whom we have the +privilege of preaching. If you pray earnestly you can but +work earnestly, and then you will also give earnestly; and +I do not think we can be too earnest in the matter for +which Christ was so much in earnest that He laid down His +own life.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The month of June and part of July was spent at Millport, +a watering-place on the west coast of Scotland, near<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> +the lovely scenery of Arran. On July 4 he ascended Goatfell, +and in so doing had an adventure which might have +had very serious consequences. He started late, lost his +way, but finally reached the summit at 8.45 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>, and then, +as he notes in his diary: 'Fog came on nearly at once +with rain and thunder. Sat in the lee of a dripping rock +on a wet stone and looked at a couple of acres of fog and +granite boulders. Very dark and cold about midnight, the +time wore on very slowly, more rain dripping, and fog. +At 2 o'clock <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> I began the descent, and in a short while +it was light enough to see. Came on all right, and saw +where I had missed the way.... I have not caught cold. +I was wet all night, but kept wrapt up in my plaid and as +warm as I could manage. Next day the minister congratulated +me on being seen alive after my Goatfell adventure.'</p> + +<p>On September 1 the return voyage to China began, +and Peking was reached on November 14.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>SUNSHINE AND SHADOW</h3> + + +<p>In Peking the old familiar round of mission duties +recommenced. Gilmour after his absence of eighteen +months was the same man, and yet not the same. He +yearned for fruit in the conversion of souls, and he began +to devote himself with more eager self-denial than ever to +the winning of Chinamen's hearts for the Saviour. The +winter of 1883-1884 was spent in Peking, and his diary is +full of incidents illustrative of the time and effort he gave +to dealing with individuals.</p> + +<p>In February, 1884, he made one of the most remarkable +of his Mongolian journeys. He visited the Plain, +travelling on foot, and thus subjecting himself to risks and +hardships of a very serious order. But he had good reasons +for his method, and he sets them forth with his usual clearness. +Possibly no other journey of his life more strikingly +testifies to his strict sense of duty, the unsparing way in +which he spent himself in its discharge, and his eager desire +to win souls.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'On this occasion, partly owing to the shortness of the +time at my disposal, which made it hardly worth while to +set up an establishment, and partly owing to the peculiar +season of the year, which would have made it difficult to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> +find pasture for travelling cattle, I determined to go on +foot, without medicines, in a strictly spiritual capacity, and +not seeking so much to make fresh acquaintances or open +up new ground as to revisit familiar localities and see how +far former evangelistic attempts had produced any effect. +In addition there were some individual Mongols who have +been taught a good deal about Christianity, and on whom +I wished once more, while there was still opportunity, to +press the claims of Christ.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a id="p156" name="p156"> +<img src="images/156.jpg" width="500" height="240" alt="A CHINESE MULE LITTER" title="" /> +<span class="caption">A CHINESE MULE LITTER</span></a> +</div> + +<blockquote><p>'Five cold days in a mule litter brought me to Kalgan, +and another day in a cart took me up over the pass and +landed me in a Chinese inn on the Mongolian plain. This +inn has no separate rooms; the guests all share the ample +platform of the kitchen, and sleep on straw mats laid over +the brickwork, which is heated by flues leading from fires +on which their meals are cooked. The Chinese innkeeper +was an old friend of mine, and he permitted me to share +his room with him. From this, as a centre, I was able to +make expeditions to four Mongolian settlements.</p> + +<p>'My first visit was made to a lama whom I have known +for years, and who has been instructed in Christianity by +others, both before and since I made his acquaintance. He +is a man of influence, wealth, and leisure, and, though a +priest, has a wife and child. I spent almost a whole day +with him, and hardly know what to think about him. He +seems to admit that there must be a God of the universe, +and admits that Christ may be a revelation of Him, but in +the same sense in which Buddha was. From one part of +his conversation I was almost led to believe that he had +been praying to Jesus, but I could get him to make no such +admission. I fear that the inquiring spirit of former years +has given place to a spirit of indifference. He has everything +he wants, he has little or no care, seemingly; he is +content to let things drift, and keeps his mind easy. If he +were only waked up he might do much for his countrymen.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p> + +<p>'My second visit was to a temple and cluster of tents, +where I found some old acquaintances; was politely received, +but nothing more.</p> + +<p>'My third visit was to another cluster of tents, where I +was at once hailed as the doctor, and, <i>nolens volens</i>, compelled +to examine and prescribe for a number of diseases. +Some cures accomplished years before explained the enthusiasm +of the friends there, but for spiritual results I looked +in vain.</p> + +<p>'My next expedition was to a place some miles—say +eight—away. Some years ago, in stormy weather, Mrs. +Gilmour and I, soaked out of our tent, had found shelter in +the mud-house of a Mongol, who refused to take anything +for the use of his building, remarking that we would be +going and coming that way afterwards, and that then we +might give him a present of some foreign article or other. +I had sent him a few things, but had never since personally +visited him, and when I reached the settlement I was +grieved to find that the old man was dead. His son, a lad +of twenty-three, had succeeded to his estate, and his small +official dignity and emoluments, and received me in a most +remarkably friendly way. He was just starting from home, +but on seeing me gave up all idea of his going away, and, +insisting on my staying in his tent for the night, spent the +remainder of the day with me.</p> + +<p>'Next day, slinging on one side a postman's brown bag +containing my kit and provisions; on the other an angler's +waterproof bag, with books, &c.; and carrying from a stick +over my shoulder a Chinaman's sheepskin coat, I left my +landlord drinking the two ounces of hot Chinese whisky +which formed the invariable introduction to his breakfast +turned my face northwards, and started for a twenty-three +miles' walk to the settlement which, for some summers in +succession, has furnished me with men and oxen for my +annual journeys. Now the Mongols are familiar with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> +Russians, who, as tea-agents, reside in Kalgan; they have +seen many passing foreign travellers on horses, camels, and +in carts; they have seen missionary journeys performed +on donkeys and ox-carts; but I think that that morning +for the first time had they seen a foreigner, with all his +belongings hung about him, tramping the country after +the manner of their own begging lamas. There were few +people to meet on the road, but those I did meet asked the +customary questions in tones of great surprise, received my +answers with evident incredulity, and, for the most part +rode away muttering to themselves, <i>You eldib eem</i>, which +may be translated to mean, "Strange affair." My feet, +through want of practice, I suppose, soon showed symptoms +of thinking this style of travelling as strange as the Mongols +did, and were badly blistered long before the journey was +over.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"><a id="p159" name="p159"></a> +<img src="images/159.jpg" alt="JAMES GILMOUR EQUIPPED FOR HIS WALKING EXPEDITION IN +MONGOLIA IN FEBRUARY 1884" title="" /> +<span class="caption">JAMES GILMOUR EQUIPPED FOR HIS WALKING EXPEDITION IN +MONGOLIA IN FEBRUARY 1884</span> +</div> + +<blockquote><p>'An occasional rest and a bite of snow varied the +painful monotony of the few last long miles; the river was +reached at last, and, crossing it, I was soon in front of the +cluster of huts I had come to visit, and on looking up I +was agreeably astonished to find that the first man to come +out to meet me was the mandarin of the district. He was +soon joined by others, and, rescued from the dogs, I was +escorted to his tent, seated before the fire, and supplied with +a cup and full tea-pot. I had intended to drink tea in his +tent only for form's sake; but his tea was good, the snow +seemed only to have increased my thirst, the man himself +was sincerely friendly; under the circumstances my stoicism +broke down, and the mandarin's tea-pot was soon all but +empty. Meanwhile, his tent had been filling with friends +and neighbours, to whom the news of my arrival had spread, +and in a little while I had round me a representative from +nearly every family in the village. Among the others came +my two servants—the priest and the layman who had +driven my ox-carts for me. Escorted by these I went to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> +another tent, rested there awhile, and then moved into a +mud-built house. The priest I had come to visit was busy +lighting a fire which would do nothing but smoke, and the +room was soon full. Finding him alone, I told him that I +had come to speak to him and my other friends about the +salvation of their souls, and was pressing him to accept +Christ, when a layman I also knew entered. Without +waiting for me to say anything, the priest related the drift +of our conversation to the layman, who, tongs in hand, was +trying to make the fire blaze. Blaze it would not, but sent +forth an increasing volume of smoke, and the layman, invisible +to me in the dense cloud, though only about two +yards away, spoke up and said that for months he had been +a scholar of Jesus, and that if the priest would join him +they would become Christians together. Whether the +priest would join him or not, his mind was made up, he +would trust the Saviour. By this time the cloud had +settled down lower still. I was lying flat on the platform, +and the two men were crouching on the floor—I could just +see dimly the bottom of their skin coats—but the place was +beautiful to me as the gate of heaven, and the words of the +confession of Christ from out the cloud of smoke were +inspiriting to me as if they had been spoken by an angel +from out of a cloud of glory.</p> + +<p>'But neighbours came in, duty called the blackman +(layman) away, the evening meal had to be prepared and +eaten, and it was not till late at night that I had opportunity +for a private talk with him who had confessed Christ; +and even then it was not private, because we were within +earshot of a family of people in their beds.</p> + +<p>'Of all the countries I have visited Mongolia is the +most sparsely peopled, and yet it is, of all the places I have +seen, the most difficult to get private conversation with any +one. Everybody, even half-grown children, seems to think +he has a perfect right to intrude on any and all conversation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> +Bar the door and deny admittance, and you would +be suspected of hatching a plot. Take a man away for a +stroll that you may talk to him in quiet, and you would be +suspected of some dangerous enchantment. Remembering +that one must always have some definite message or business +to perform when he travels, and hoping to be able to +do something with this same blackman, I had purposely +left, in the Chinese inn, some presents which I could not +well carry with me, and after a day's rest the blackman +and I started to bring them. That gave us twenty-three +miles' private conversation, and a good answer to give to +all who demanded, "Where are you going?" "What to +do?" He gave me the history of the origin and growth +of his belief in Christ. I taught him much he did not +know, and at a lonely place we sat down and lifted our +voices to heaven in prayer. It was the pleasantest walk I +ever had in Mongolia, and at the same time the most +painful. My feet broke down altogether. It was evident +I could not walk back again the next day, so, acting on +my follower's advice, by a great effort I walked into the +inn as if my feet were all right; we bargained for a cart +and, the Chinaman not suspecting the state of my feet, we +got it at a reasonable rate. Mongols and Chinese joined +in explaining to me how much time and labour I would +have saved if I had hired a cart at first, taken everything +with me, and not returned to the inn at all. From their +point of view they were right; but the blackman and I +looked at the thing from a different standpoint. We had +accomplished our purpose, and felt that we could afford to +let our neighbours plume themselves on their supposed +superior wisdom.</p> + +<p>'Another day's rest at this place gave me what I much +wanted—an opportunity for a long quiet talk with the +mandarin of this small tribe. I was especially anxious to +explain to him the true nature of Christianity, because the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> +Mongol who professes Christianity lives under his jurisdiction, +and I felt sure that a right understanding of the case +might be of service in protecting the professor from troubles +that are likely to come to him through men misunderstanding +his case. The mandarin came. On my last visit +I had been the means of curing him of a troublesome +complaint over which he had spent much time and money; +in addition, I had brought him a present from England. +He was perfectly friendly and exceedingly attentive, and +at the close of the conversation asked some questions +which I thought evinced that he had somewhat entered +into the spirit of the conversation. He is a man of few +words, but from what he said I hope that he feels something +of the truth of Christianity.</p> + +<p>'My next expedition was to a mandarin of wealth and +rank, whose encampment occupies a commanding site on +a mountain-side overlooking a large lake. I found him +at home, and, as he knows well the main doctrines of +Christianity, my main mission to him at this time was to +try and rouse him to earnestness of thought and action in +regard to his personal relation to Christ. We spent great +part of the afternoon in earnest talking, and I was much +pleased with the manner in which he, from time to time, +explained to another mandarin, who was there as guest, +doctrines and facts which were alluded to in our conversation. +Next morning he started on a journey connected +with the business of his office, and I returned to my friendly +quarters where I had left my belongings.</p> + +<p>'I felt it laid upon me to visit two lamas at a temple +some seventy miles from where I was, and started next +day. I reached the temple in three days, and found that +both the lamas I had come to see were dead. So, as far +as they were concerned, I was too late. Both on the road, +however, and at the temple itself, I had good opportunities +for preaching and teaching. I met some interesting men,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> +and not only in tents where I was entertained as guest, but +sometimes out in the open desert, stray travellers would +meet me, dismount from their horses, and give me occasion +for Christian conversation. Five days completed this round, +and after another day's rest I started back for Kalgan, +escorted for ten miles by him who had professed Christ. +We walked slowly, as we had much to say. Arrived at the +parting place, we sat down and prayed together. I then +left, and the last I saw of the poor fellow, there he was, +sitting in the same place still. I reached Kalgan without +adventure, and returned to Peking on March 21, having +been away just over a month.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Possibly the most touching comment upon this extraordinary +journey is to give some of the brief entries which +refer to it in the diary.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'<i>February 19, 1884.</i>—Started in a litter for Mongolia. +Good talk in inn with innman.'</p> + +<p>'<i>February 23.</i>—Went to Mr. Williams. My letter had +not reached them. No one knew I was coming.'</p> + +<p>'<i>February 25.</i>—Over the Pass to Barosaij.'</p> + +<p>'<i>February 26.</i>—Spent the day with Tu Gishuae. Urged +on him the internal proof of Christianity—the change of +heart.'</p> + +<p>'<i>February 28.</i>—Shabberti. Boyinto Jauggé has desire +to become scholar of Jesus.'</p> + +<p>'<i>March 1.</i>—Walked here. Feet terribly bad. Snow +on the road. Great thirst. Badma Darag met me. Tea +in his tent. Boyinto's confession in the smoke of the +<i>baishin</i>.'<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Fire in the centre of the tent.</p></div> + +<p>'<i>March 2.</i>—Sabbath. Quiet day. Much talk with all. +The Lord opened my lips.'</p> + +<p>'<i>March 3.</i>—Walked to Barosaij with Boyinto to bring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> +my presents. Talk about Christianity. Prayer in the +desert. Feet terribly bad, oh, such pain in walking.'</p> + +<p>'<i>March 4.</i>—Carted back.'</p> + +<p>'<i>March 7.</i>—Hara Oss. Walked back here. Called on +Tu Lobsung. Talk. He knew the way to heaven, but +said, "Tell it to some of the younger ones." "You go first," +I replied. "You most need to know."'</p> + +<p>'<i>March 8.</i>—Terrible feet. Got to Chagan Hauran.'</p> + +<p>'<i>March 14.</i>—Boyinto accompanied me to Chagan +Balgas with his pony. Saw him sitting as long as I was +in sight. Feet bad.'</p> + +<p>'<i>March 21.</i>—Left Pei Kuan at 4 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> Dark and snow. +Terrible march over slippery stones. Nan Kou at 7 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> +No donkey on such a snowy day. Hired the next twenty-seven +li. Stiff march. Shatto at 11.35. Terrible march +to Ching Ho at 3 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> Terrible march to Tê Sheng Mên. +Home at 6.10. Prayer Meeting. Thanks be unto God for +all His mercies.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Early in 1885 Mr. Gilmour's heart was rejoiced by the +tidings of the baptism of Boyinto, the Mongol to whom +reference has been repeatedly made above. Although +Gilmour's was not the hand to administer the rite, undoubtedly +the conversion was the result of his work. On +January 26, 1885, he received a letter from the Rev. W. P. +Sprague, of the American Mission at Kalgan, part of which +we quote.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Kalgan: Jan. 14, 1885. +</p> + +<p>'Dear Brother Gilmour,—I hasten to tell you the very +good news. Boyinto of Shabberti was baptized by my +hand this day into the Church of Christ, here at Kalgan, +in the presence of our assembled church and congregation. +I'm sure you will rejoice and thank God more than any of +us. And I never saw our Christians so happy to receive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> +any one into the Church. The only thing I regret is that +it should not be your hand instead of mine to administer +the sacred rite.</p> + +<p>'I wrote you of his visit to us a month ago, and his +application to join the Church here, and our satisfaction with +his appearance. He turned up again yesterday morning, +and spent all day with us. In the afternoon we had, by +previous appointment, a union meeting of upper and lower +city congregations, as a continuation of week of prayer +meeting, because the interest was so great. Mr. Roberts +preached, and in the after part of meeting, when two or +three others had risen for prayers, I asked Boyinto if he +wanted to ask Christians to pray for him, and he arose and +expressed his desires, including wanting to be baptized very +plainly. We called church meeting at close of the service, +and proceeded to examine him for admission to Church. +He answered so well as to please every one, making some +happy hits, as when asked what sort of a place heaven +was, replied, "I haven't been there—how can I tell?" +Then said, "Would any one pray to go there if it were not +a good place?" But his straightforward, open simplicity +was refreshing. There seemed no reason for thinking he +was other than an honest believer—seeking to follow Jesus +in all things. The native church members first responded +with enthusiasm that he was a most fit candidate for +receiving to the Church, and expressed great delight at +finding a Mongol who loved and trusted our Saviour. So +we felt with Peter, "Can any man forbid water that these +should not be baptized?" The others then asked me to +baptize him on the morrow, when we were to have another +union meeting at our place. And could you have seen his +rising and answering my questions, give assent to creed +and covenant, and then see him remove his cap and bow +his head reverently and receive the water of baptism, your +heart would overflow with gratitude and praise to God for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> +this first fruit from Mongolia. After prayer we sang "From +Greenland's icy mountains," changed to "From Mongolia, +&c.," and we felt it as never before.</p> + +<p>'Though God has thus given us great pleasure in +gathering this first fruit, still I feel, and we all feel, that the +honour of the work belongs to God, and the reward to you +and others.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>During 1884 and 1885 the regular work of the Peking +mission occupied almost the whole of his time, the Rev. +S. E. Meech being in England on furlough, and most of his +duties therefore falling upon Mr. Gilmour. During his +stay in England he had attended many of the Salvation +Army meetings, and had caught much of their spirit. He +had also come to the conviction that men needed to be dealt +with individually rather than in the mass. Hence he gave +much time to conversation, to teaching single persons the +Christian catechism and the New Testament, and endeavouring, +by talking and praying with them, to lead them +to a knowledge of the truth. From six in the morning +until ten at night he was at the service of all comers. In +the afternoon he attended one or both of the Peking +chapels, preaching if there were the opportunity, but always +eagerly on the alert for any individuals showing signs of +interest in the Gospel. It had been the custom of the +missionaries to reserve the Sunday evening for an English +service, devoted to their own spiritual refreshment. This, +which was held in the mission compound, he ceased to +attend, even although his absence sometimes made it impossible +to hold the service, in order that he might find time +to read and talk and pray with his Chinese servants. Frequently +the meal-time would find him thus engaged, but the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> +meal had to wait until his visitor had left, or until the interview +came to its natural close. He ceased to read all newspapers +except those distinctively Christian. He found no +time for books, as he felt that direct work for the Chinese +should fill the hours he might otherwise devote to reading. +He became more wholly than ever the man of one book—the +Bible—and so absorbed did he grow in this close dealing +with souls that in the earlier stages of his wife's illness +he felt constrained to place it before even her wish that +he would remain by her at periods of severe suffering and +weakness.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'<i>December 9, 1883.</i>—At chapel met Wang from a place +300 li away down in the country. He had heard a sermon +there two or three years before which he remembered, and +could quote. I began the service, and brought him up here +to my study. We were talking when another man, Jui, +came in from 130 li north of Peking. He had to run away +from home on account of misconduct. These two kept me +till dark.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In a letter to the Rev. S. E. Meech, dated November 9, +1885, Mr. Gilmour refers to a number of these individual +cases in which he has been interesting himself, and the +way in which he has dealt with them. It illustrates his +method of close and careful dealing with each native.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Ch'ang attends Sunday and Friday services. My +opinion about Ch'ang is that he wants mission employ. +He has no expectation of that from me, and little from +Rees. I think, too, that he does not mean to break with +Christianity or with us, and I faintly hope that his experiences +with us will do us good, though they have been most +painful to us. I think you'll find him much more tractable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> +than he would have been had he not been through these +troubles with us.</p> + +<p>'Hsing has had the devil putting philosophic doubts +into him. I have pressed him to pelt the devil with +Scripture, as our Master did.</p> + +<p>'Li, shoemaker, I <i>do</i> like. He cannot stay to Sunday +service. I take him before service therefore.</p> + +<p>'Fu does well. Last Friday he remained after prayer-meeting, +and talked till 9.40 about all manner of things +secular and sacred. He has most pleasant remembrances +of Emily—Emily, too, liked him.</p> + +<p>'Jui Wu, the powder magazine man, is in a more hopeful +case. He may come all right yet.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Fu is now (1892) an evangelist, and Jui Wu a dispenser, in the Chi Chou +Mission.</p></div> + +<p>'Old Tai nearly went, but will now, I think, remain till +you come. He wants to tiffin with me on Sundays, and +enjoys much four, five, or six small cups of good strong +tea with milk and sugar. He is growing in grace.</p> + +<p>'Young Tai I am detaining after his father goes and +reading with him and teaching him. He gives up his +trade for the day, and I want to give him a good day.</p> + +<p>'Chao Erh attends well and is improved in circumstances.</p> + +<p>'Lu Ssŭ; is in his old trade, and doing well. He comes +on Sundays when he comes. He was the man I hoped +least of, and as yet he pleases me almost most.</p> + +<p>'Lama comes to-morrow to finish reconstructing Mongol +catechism. I may go on a two months' journey to +Mongolia, starting in December. I'll have to see the +children to Tientsin in February, and want to meet you.</p> + +<p>'Hsüs as they were.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Father and son; the only native preachers in the West City of Peking +at that time.</p></div> + +<p>'I am very much encouraged and thankful about the +little Church. I can honestly say that I have tried to do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> +my best for it during your absence, and God has encouraged +me a good deal in it. I have reaped some that you +have sown, and have endeavoured to sow something for +you to reap when you return.</p> + +<p>'I sometimes have deep fits of the blues when I think +of the children, but their mother was able to trust Jesus +with them, and why should not I?</p> + +<p>'The Mongol work, too, has entered on a new phase, +and that opens up a new future for me. It is a formidable +affair. I don't think I'll go to Kalgan or that region. I +fear no doctor would stay with me there. I may go away +North-east. I can hardly tell yet. Meantime, with God's +help, I hope to do another month's work in Peking, and +then hand the thing over to Rees once for all. Most of +my books I'll sell. What use are they to me? I never +have time to read them, and am not likely ever to have.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The letter just quoted was written after the sad event to +which we must now refer. Towards the close of the summer +of 1885 Mr. Gilmour awoke to the fact that one of the +heaviest sorrows of his life was coming upon him. For some +years past Mrs. Gilmour had been subject to severe attacks +of pain. The visit to England and the rest and change of +the old home life had in a measure restored her. But +hardly were they comfortably established in their old Peking +quarters ere some of her most trying symptoms reappeared. +With that brave heart and resolute spirit characteristic of +her whole missionary career, for a time she gave herself to +the duties of the mission and bore her full share of its +anxieties and toils. But gradually she was constrained to +recognise that her active work was over. From the first +she had thrown herself whole-heartedly into missionary +Service. She could converse fluently with the Mongols,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> +having acquired their language in the same way as her +husband, by enduring repeatedly all the privations of life +in a Mongol tent. She had impressed them by her fondness +for animals, by her gentleness of spirit, and by her +evident interest in all that bore upon their own welfare. +In Peking she had laboured hard among the women and +girls, both in the matter of education and also of direct +religious instruction. A very bitter element in her cup of +sorrow was the conviction gradually forced upon her that +her power to do this work was fast slipping away. In a +letter to her sister, Mrs. Meech, then in England, dated +May 2, 1885, she gives the first clear expression to this feeling: +'I would have written before, but I have been ill for +about six weeks; not actually ill, except one week, but not +able to do anything except the children's lessons and the +harmonium on Sundays sometimes. All the rest has had +to go. I am sorry, but it can't be helped. How long it +will last I don't know. I can't get stronger, so I must be +content to be tired. I am nothing more than weak, and a +great many people are that. There has been a grand +revival here. It seemed to pass like a mountain torrent, +while I had only to look on and see. My only wonder was +that people had lived so long without the happiness that +they might have had for the taking. I didn't want to go +to the meeting, I felt so weak and unable to bear the +tension of spiritual excitement. But as it was it didn't +tire me at all, but made me love a lot of the people. May +the Chinese feel the flood tide of new life that has come +into Peking! And they must, there can be nothing to +hinder it.'</p> + +<p>The reference in the last part of this letter is to a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> +deepening of spiritual life that took place among the +missionaries, and also among some of the European residents +in Peking.</p> + +<p>The first explicit reference by Mr. Gilmour to his +coming sorrow occurs in the Diary; but in his report, sent +home a month later, and dated August 4, 1885, he wrote: +'Mrs. Gilmour is very ill, and now very weak. I fear all +hope of her recovery is taken away. Her trouble is a run-down, +but the serious complication is her lungs. We are +at the hills in a temple with another family, the Childs. +Mrs. Child came out in the same ship with Mrs. Gilmour, +when, as Miss Prankard, she came first to China. Mrs. +Child renders invaluable service to the sick one.'</p> + +<p>In the Diary the following entries show the course of +sorrowful events:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'<i>July 4, 1885.</i>—It really dawns upon me to-day in such +a way that I can feel it that my wife is likely to die, and I +too feel something of how desolate it would be for me with +my motherless children sent away from me. Eh, man!'</p> + +<p>'<i>August 22.</i>—Emily spoke of being sometimes <i>so</i> happy. +She is quite aware now she cannot recover.'</p> + +<p>'<i>September 13</i>, Sunday, Peking.—Emily saw all the +women. She felt very weak to-day. Remarked at 7 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>: +"Well, Jamie, I am going, I suppose. I'll soon see you there. +It won't be long." I said she would not want me much +there. She said fondly she would. "I think I'll sit at the +gate and look for you coming." Said she has been out for +the last time. Asked me not to go to chapel, but went.'</p> + +<p>'<i>September 17.</i>—To-day, in the morning, I promised +Emily that I would remain home from the chapel and give +her a holiday. She was <i>so</i> pleased. We had a most enjoyable +afternoon. She was so happy. She sat up for an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> +hour or so, and we conversed about all things, the use of +the beautiful in creation, &c.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>All the next day Mrs. Gilmour slowly sank, and soon +after the midnight of September 18 passed peacefully +within 'the gate.' The story of the closing scene was thus +told by her husband:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Peking: Saturday, September 19, 1885. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Meech,—Emily crossed the river last night, +or this morning rather at 12.15.</p> + +<p>'I was called in from the Friday evening prayer meeting +just as it was concluding, and found her with laboured +breath and fixed eyes. For a time we thought it was all +to end at once. After a time she got over it.</p> + +<p>'10 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> was a repetition of 8 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>'s experience.</p> + +<p>'At 12 midnight she was labouring much in her breath, +coughed a very little cough, and all at once the rapidity of +her breath nearly doubled, suddenly her hand fell over +powerless, her eyes became fixed, there was some difficult +breathing, and with Mrs. Henderson on the one side of the +bed, which had been moved when we came from the hills +into the sitting-room, she departed.</p> + +<p>'During these four hours she spoke little; once or twice +she called for milk, but for the most part contented herself +with assenting or dissenting to and from my remarks +and suggestions by moving the head.</p> + +<p>'At 10.30, seeing me sleepy and desiring to sleep herself, +she asked me to go and lie down, but I said I would +not do so while she was so ill.</p> + +<p>'I asked her if she felt all safe in the hands of Jesus. +She nodded her assent.</p> + +<p>'Some month or six weeks ago we two had talked +about everything to be done in case of her death, the +children, etc., and not only then, but more than once we +had talked over spiritual things, because we feared that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> +when the end came she might not be able to speak. I am +glad we did so. During these four hours she was either +in such great distress, or, when free from distress, was so +tired and eager to sleep, that talking was hardly possible.</p> + +<p>'The "Rest" she so longed for she has now got.</p> + +<p>'I treasure what she said one day when she had been, +I think, reading her wall text, "T<i>o me to live is Christ, to +die is gain</i>," when I asked her if <i>she</i> felt it so. She said she +did, and often would remark that to go would be far better +for her, but she was so eager to get well for my sake and +that of the children. For herself, too, she was more and +more enchanted with the beauty God had put in the world. +On Friday I went in, she waved her hand and said, "What +beauty!" It was some flowers on the table. A bunch of +grapes, a beauty, filled her mouth with praise to God for +all His goodness to her. The post waits. Funeral Monday.</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Yours in sorrow, <br /> +'<span class="smcap">J. Gilmour.</span>' +</p></blockquote> + +<p>Mrs. Gilmour was buried on September 21. Her +faith was clear and strong. Uncommon as their courtship +had been, the subsequent married life was very happy. She +was the equal of her husband in missionary zeal and +enthusiasm, and he himself bears testimony to the unerring +skill which she possessed in gauging the moral qualities of +the Chinese. She gave much time and labour to Christian +work among the women and girls in Peking; and her +husband was greatly helped in his work during the nearly +eleven years of married life by her sound judgment, her +strong affection, her loving Christian character, and her +entire consecration to the Lord Jesus Christ.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>A CHANGE OF FIELD</h3> + + +<p>During 1885 James Gilmour gradually reached the conclusion +that a change of field was desirable. He was +aware that friends and colleagues more or less qualified to +form an opinion had urged upon him the advisability of +labouring in Eastern Mongolia among the agricultural +Mongols. No one knew so well as himself the advantages +and the disadvantages of this plan. The reasons that finally +led him to a decision were noble and characteristic. It was +a hard field, and no one else could or would go. The Mongols +of the Plain were to some extent benefited by the American +Mission at Kalgan; those dwelling in Eastern Mongolia +were without a helper. Considerations like these, as he +tells us, decided his new course of action.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'In these circumstances my mind has turned away +north-east from Peking, where people are not so scarce, +and where the Mongols live as farmers. I have been to +that region twice. I knew some people who came from +that region. As soon as Mr. Rees returns from Chi Chou +I hope to go again. A doctor might be induced to settle +somewhere there, and though it would be hard a bit, a +family might live there too, which I don't think would be +possible on the plain beyond Kalgan.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span></p> + +<p>'I am fully aware of the difficulties. They are:—</p> + +<p>'1. I have no proper Chinaman to take with me. More +than half the population is Chinese, and I could not do +well without a Chinaman.</p> + +<p>'2. It is a new district and will take time to work up.</p> + +<p>'3. It is not easily reached from Peking or anywhere +else, and will be a very isolated part.</p> + +<p>'4. It is rather a rough and unsafe district.</p> + +<p>'I know all these, but feel, in reliance on God, like facing +the thing as the best and proper thing to do. There are +inns all about, and though for some time a private location +may not be secured, we can still go about among the people. +My main hope, though, is in settling down somewhere as a +head centre, in close contact with the people, so that I +earnestly desire that the doctor should come. If he is +unmarried I would be glad to see him to-morrow. Could +you not get a doctor who would be willing to remain single +till a location could be secured? After a location has been +secured let him marry if he likes.</p> + +<p>'I think that the region I have in my mind would make +a good centre for a doctor, and that he would have plenty +of practice among Mongols and Chinese, especially if he +could start a hospital for in-patients.</p> + +<p>'I am very glad that the Mongolian region around +Kalgan has shown signs of bearing fruit. It has strengthened +my faith much. I am also glad that God has acknowledged +in some degree my work here in Peking, and I feel +more hopeful than ever I did. God, too, has cut me adrift +from all my fixings, so that I feel quite ready to go anywhere +if only He goes with me.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Mr. Gilmour entered upon this new departure on the +understanding that a medical colleague should be sent to +him at the earliest possible moment. This responsibility<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> +the London Board assumed and endeavoured to discharge. +The result was a severe trial to the faith, not only of the +solitary worker but to all interested—and they were many—in +the fate of the new mission. As we shall see later on, +when a congenial and competent medical colleague reached +him, and was entering with vigour and hope upon the +work, Dr. Mackenzie of Tientsin suddenly died, and before +the immediate and urgent claims of Tientsin the claims of +Mongolia had to give way. But in estimating the success +of both missions, that on the Plain, and that in Eastern +Mongolia, it must never be forgotten that what Gilmour +considered <i>essential</i>, the presence and help of a medical +colleague, was never in the Providence of God granted to +him for any length of time. In the account he gives of his +first visit to the region as its missionary—he had been +twice before on visits of inspection—he dwells upon this +necessity.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I left Peking December 14, 1885, and re-entered +Peking February 16, 1886, so that my absence from here +was just two months. The part of Mongolia I went to is +situated 800 li, or say 270 English miles, north-east by +east of Peking, and, at the usual rate of 90 li (or 30 miles) +a day, is nine days distant. This is not the part of +Mongolia near Kalgan. Kalgan is north-north-west of +Peking, five days' journey.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="p179" id="p179"> +<img src="images/179.jpg" width="500" height="744" alt="Map illustrating James Gilmour's labours in Eastern Mongolia" title="" /></a> +</div> + +<blockquote><p>'Whilst I was considering my plans a Mongol appeared +in Peking who was willing to take me to his home, and I +went with him, hoping thus to get introduced to a district +of country, an introduction being both necessary and helpful. +Ta Chêng Tzŭ is the name of the place where, +through his introduction, I was located from December 23, +1885 to February 9, 1886. I had a room in an inn. I spent +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>some days at the home of my Mongol friend and made two +journeys to other places, but Ta Chêng Tzŭ was my headquarters. +It is a small market town, with a daily fair. +The surrounding neighbourhood is peopled with Mongols +and Chinese in about equal proportions. The Mongols are +mostly lords of the soil, and style the Chinese slaves, that +is in the country. The real trade of the whole locality is +in the hands of the Chinese. The Mongols all speak +Chinese, and the town resident Mongols have, many of +them, forgotten Mongolian, and laugh at themselves as not +being able to speak their own language.</p> + +<p>'The country is like Wales in this respect, that, though +Mongolian is the native language, the coming language +and the language that is affected and sought after, is +Chinese. Well-to-do Mongols have Chinese teachers for +their children, and read Chinese well. During my stay +there I sold more Chinese than Mongolian books, and +talked more Chinese than Mongolian, though my intercourse +was largely with Mongols.</p> + +<p>'Opium is largely grown there, so is tobacco, and large +quantities of whisky are manufactured and consumed. It +was partly a famine year. At a little distance from Ta +Chêng Tzŭ the harvest had failed, and I think the line of +preaching that seemed to impress the hearers most was one +that reasoned with them about the growth, manufacture, +and use of these three, being so contrary to Heaven's +design in giving land and rain to grow food, that it was +not to be wondered at if, seeing how the land and rain +were perverted, God should send short rations. Evil +speaking, vile language, made a fourth subject which naturally +came in for notice, and on all these four subjects I +scarcely ever spoke without gaining the nearly universal +concurrence of my little audiences.</p> + +<p>'The great theme, however, was Christ, and I think +that most men in that little market town, and a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> +many of those who used to come to the fair, both heard +and understood the great gospel truth of salvation in +Jesus.</p> + +<p>'Eager to see some more of the country, and in the +hope that I might be able to talk to him on the way, I hired +a Mongol to carry my bedding and books, and made a +descent on a village thirty miles away. The general cold +of the winter was aggravated by a snowstorm which overtook +us at the little market town, and I have no words to +tell you how the cold felt that day as I paraded that one +street. I sold a fair number of books, though my hands +were too much benumbed almost to be able to hand the +books out. I made some attempts at preaching, but the +muscles were also benumbed—that day <i>was</i> a <i>cold</i> day.</p> + +<p>'I was turned out of two respectable inns at Bull Town +because I was a foot traveller, had no cart or animal, that +is, and had to put up in a tramps' tavern because I came +as a tramp!</p> + +<p>'Next journey I made I hired a man and a <i>donkey</i>. +The donkey was my passport to respectability, and I was +more comfortable too, being able to take more bedding +with me. I was warned against going to Ch'ao Yang, sixty +miles, the roads being represented as unsafe; but I went +and found no trouble, though there was a severe famine in +the district. I spent a day each at two market towns on +the way, and two days in Ch'ao Yang itself.</p> + +<p>'The journey home I made on foot, a donkey driven by +a Mongol carrying my bedding and books. I adopted this +plan mainly to bring myself into close contact with the +Mongol. He proved himself a capital fellow to travel +with, but as yet has shown no signs of belief in Christ. As +we did long marches my feet suffered badly.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In a private letter written at this time he enters a little +more fully into what he had to endure.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p> + +<blockquote><p>'I had a good time in Mongolia, but oh! so cold. +Some of the days I spent in the markets were so very cold +that my muscles seemed benumbed, and speech even was +difficult. I met with some spiritual response, though, and +with that I can stand cold. Eh! man, I have got thin. I +am feeding up at present. I left my medicines, books, &c., +there, and walked home here, a donkey carrying my baggage, +a distance of about three hundred miles, in seven and +a half days, or about forty miles a day, and my feet were +really very bad.</p> + +<p>'At night I used to draw a woollen thread through the +blisters. In the morning I "hirpled" a little, but it was +soon all right. I walked, not because I had not money to +ride, but to get at the Mongol who was with me.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>These graphic pictures enable us to realise how Mr. +Gilmour began the last great missionary enterprise of his +life. He returned to Peking, and then had to pass through +that severe trial which comes to almost all missionaries +in the foreign field, which is often one of their heaviest +crosses. His two eldest boys were sent home for education. +They sailed from Tientsin March 23, 1886, the diary for +that day containing the brief but significant reference: +'At 6.45 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> came all the friends once more, at 7.30 cast +off, and the vessel slowly fell out into the middle of the +river. Oh! the parting!' But at 8.30 on the same +morning the sorrowful father had started on his solitary +return journey to Peking. Bereft now of both wife, and +boys he was to pass the rest of his career in China, except +for the brief intervals of residence in Peking, in the cheerless, +noisy, uncongenial quarters of an ordinary Chinese +inn. The return of the Rev. S. E. Meech in April 1886 +set him entirely free from mission work in the capital.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> +He had already acquired the needful experience of his new +field of labour, and on April 22, 1886, he started anew for +Eastern Mongolia. It is neither necessary nor desirable to +enter into any very detailed description of the next three +years. In many respects day after day was occupied with +the round of ever recurring and similar duties, but it is +desirable to enter, if we can, with some minuteness into his +inner life, and to lay bare the spiritual sources and springs +of his outward actions. It is in these, in our judgment, +that the true beauty, the abiding lesson, and the great +success of his life consist. And this he has enabled us to +do. In a private, not an official, letter to the Rev. R. +Wardlaw Thompson, the Foreign Secretary of the London +Missionary Society, he indicates his actions and the motives +that were impelling him so to act, during the summer of +1886. Differences of opinion arose with his fellow missionaries +as to the wisdom of his methods and the soundness +of his judgment. Those who differed most strongly +from him knew little or nothing by personal observation +and experience of the conditions of work either on the +Plain or at Ch'ao Yang. But no question ever did or ever +could arise as to the absolute consecration of his heart and +life to the work of winning souls. The truth of the +words in one of his official reports was manifest to all: +'Man, the fire of God is upon me to go and preach.'</p> + +<blockquote><p>'The past four and a half months has been a time of no +small trial and spiritual tension. Since April 22 I have +had no tidings of the outer world. An agent of the Bible +Society, who was selling books in the district, was with me +for a month, but he had gone out before me, so that when +we met he had no news for me, but wanted news from me.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span></p> + +<p>'Some men, who gave promise of believing in Jesus, +have fallen away, and I have a haunting suspicion that it +was one such man who, on the morning of Sunday, June 6, +stole my beautiful copy of the revised Bible, leaving me till +now with only a New Testament in English. I had much +difficulty in procuring that Bible, and wasn't it heartless of +a Chinaman to steal it for the leather binding, for which +even he could have hardly any use? I said not a single +word to anyone in the town about it, as I feared that +making trouble over it would hinder me in future, by +making innkeepers afraid to receive me, lest they should +be held responsible for such losses. I can hardly say +though, that, at first at least, I took joyfully the spoiling of +my goods. Secret tears testified to my sense of the loss, +but falling back on the faith that all things work together +for my good, I was comforted, and gave the more earnest +heed to the New Testament.</p> + +<p>'Then the Chinese would ask, "How many people have +believed and entered the religion since you left Peking?" +and such questions kept before my mind painfully how +slowly things move, and drew out my soul in more +painful longing for God's blessing in the conversion of +men.</p> + +<p>'In the beginning of July I must have got a touch of +the sun. Nearly all that month I was ill, but just then was +the great annual fair at Ch'ao Yang, so, ill and all, I had +the tent put up daily and dispensed medicines. My assistant, +however, had to do most of the preaching; I had +not much strength for that. The first three weeks in +August I had diarrhœa and dysentery. I was at Ta Chêng +Tzŭ. There was no fair, and but poor market gatherings, +but, weather permitting, we put up our tent daily and did +good work. Paul says (Gal. iv. 19), "My little children, of +whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you," +and he is right. It is a carrying of men in prayer until the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> +image of Christ is formed in them; and how many of them +prove abortions.</p> + +<p>'One of the converts at Ta Chêng Tzŭ caused me no +little anxiety. I knew that he professed to be impressed +last winter. He said he wanted to call on me in my inn +and tell me his difficulties. I was eager to get home, but +as he said he would have no leisure before a certain date, +I waited till then, nearly a week, for almost no other +purpose than to see him. He never came, and I trudged +back to Peking downcast about him.</p> + +<p>'This year when we came to Ta Chêng Tzŭ on our way +to Ch'ao Yang, on going to his place for breakfast (he +is one of two brothers who own and manage a restaurant, +and both of them, and a third brother, are members of a +sect which forbids opium, whisky, and tobacco), we were +shown into the more private part, and he and his brother +and the cook set upon us to inquire more fully about +Christianity, how to enter it, etc, etc. This took me by +surprise, and made me so glad that my breakfast for the +most part remained uneaten, though we had travelled eight +hours that morning. In the evening I did not go for a +meal, and my assistant on going was met at the door by +the inquirers, and so engaged in conversation about Christianity +that darkness set in, the cooking range was closed, +and the establishment shut for the day before they were +finished. My man had no dinner. Next day we went on +towards Ch'ao Yang thankful and happy. These restaurant +people had a few days before been visited by the Bible +Society's agent, and had derived much Christian benefit +from his Chinese assistant.</p> + +<p>'Our interview with the restaurant men was on Monday. +In Ch'ao Yang next Sunday, just six days after being, so +to speak, on the mount of transfiguration with these Chinamen, +on dismissing the few hangers-on that remained at +the close of the afternoon preaching, and stepping down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> +from the little vantage-ground from which I had been +speaking, one of the audience said he would go home +with me to my inn, as he had come with a letter to me +from Ta Chêng Tzŭ from the Bible agent. I went to +the inn, read the letter, and found that he and his Chinese +helper had differed, and he had come to Ta Chêng +Tzŭ seeking me. He needed and asked my help, so next +day I started for Ta Chêng Tzŭ, and on arriving there +found that the little place was full of the news of the +quarrel between the Christian foreigner and the Christian +native. That was bad, but, worse still, on going to +the restaurant I found the earnestness of the inquirers +gone, and one of them said openly, "If this is the sort of +fruit that Christianity bears, what better is it than any +other religion?"</p> + +<p>'In a later visit paid in May they seemed colder still, +and the place where I had hoped to gather fruit seemed +barren and hopeless.</p> + +<p>'In August we again visited Ta Chêng Tzŭ. I was +blue. The fever of July, the defection of the Mongol +donkey man, who failed to come for us, the diarrhœa, +which on the journey changed to dysentery, being baffled +in attempting to find suitable quarters in Ta Chêng Tzŭ, +and the chilled hearts of the restaurant men, made our +entrance not cheerful. On the way my assistant and I +had talked over matters, and resolved by prayer and endeavour +to see what could be done for the restaurant men. +Just ten days after our arrival the eldest brother called on +me in my inn and said, "To-night I dismiss my gods, +henceforth I am a Christian. I am ready to be baptized +any day you may be pleased to name."</p> + +<p>'I cannot say what a relief these words brought me. +There still remained anxieties in his case, but in a day or +two things came out all right, and day by day in public in +the restaurant he might be seen studying his catechism<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> +when unemployed, and speaking for Christianity to all who +asked what book that was.</p> + +<p>'He is a leading spirit, though a poor scholar, and was +the deacon or head of the branch of the sect in Ta Chêng +Tzŭ, called Tsai li ti. There are some twelve or sixteen +members. Most of them joined the sect through his +endeavours, and he is eager to rear up Christianity in the +same way. You will partly understand now how anxious +I am about him. If he goes on all right, we may soon have +a little company of believers there. If he falls away—well, +all things work together for my good.</p> + +<p>'One thing that moved these restaurant men towards +Christianity was an incident which happened in their +establishment last winter. A half-drunk Chinaman reviled +me badly one evening at dinner. He laid to my charge +many bad and grievous things. Though they were utterly +false as regards me, they might be quite true of some other +foreigner whom he may have met. It was useless to reason +with a drunken man over a case of mistaken identity, so I +said nothing, ate my dinner, paid my bill, and went to my +inn. The restaurant men were very wroth with the man, +they told me afterwards, and felt like "going for" him +themselves, and never forgot what they were pleased to +call my patience. In God's providence this little incident +seems to have been an important factor in impressing them +with favourable ideas of Christianity.</p> + +<p>'Another thing which seems to have impressed them +was their seeing me this August, day by day at my post in +my tent, carrying on the work, when they knew I was ill, +and, according to their ideas, should have been in bed. I +was not really so ill as all that, but that was their idea. +I would be very glad to have another reviling and another +attack of dysentery if the same results would follow.</p> + +<p>'The profession of the other adherent at Ta Chêng Tzŭ, +and the moving of the hearts, seemingly at least, of other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> +two men who live at a distance, and had to leave for home +suddenly before receiving full instruction, but of whom I try +to have hope, have all moved my heart and seem answers to +a great longing I had been crying to God about, namely, +that He would give me power to move these heathen. Oh +that He would do it!</p> + +<p>'I have felt it my duty to become a vegetarian on trial. +I don't know whether I can carry it out. The Chinese +look up so much to this supposed asceticism that I am eager +to acquire the influence a successful vegetarianism would +give me, and I am trying it in true Chinese style, which +forbids eggs, leeks and carrots, &c. As far as I have gone +all is well. I am a little afraid that the great appetite it +gives may drive me to eat till I become fat. We'll see.</p> + +<p>'The mothers bringing their babies moves me much. +It reminds me of scenes in Peking when another and +more skilful hand ministered to their diseases; then the +picture of the family surroundings fills itself up, and I have +to seek a place where to weep.</p> + +<p>'Altogether it is a sowing in tears. The district is not +an easy one, the life which the work entails is a hard one. +There is no hardship or self-denial I am not ready to "go +in for," but I want you to understand me and let me have +your sympathy.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>This long extract, not too long we venture to think, as +enabling us to see into the heart of the man, raises several +points of great moment. Nothing could illustrate better +his eagerness to get into close touch and perfect sympathy +with the people. He had long before adopted the native +dress of an ordinary shopkeeper or respectable workman. +He now adapted himself, as far as possible, to the native +food. He lived on such as the poor eat. Often he would +take his bowl of porridge, native fashion, in the street,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> +sitting down upon a low stool by the boiler of the itinerant +restaurant keeper. The vegetarianism referred to was, as +he indicates, very thoroughgoing and in accord with Chinese +ideas.</p> + +<p>The great poverty of the people also pressed upon his +attention the enormous waste induced by whisky drinking, +and by the smoking of tobacco and opium. The sect Tsai +li ti referred to was a small organisation among the Chinese +for endeavouring to secure entire abstinence from all three. +It did not seem tolerable to him that the level of Christian +morality and practice with regard to these things should be +lower than that of the heathen. Famine often visited those +parts, and he came to hold the view that men could hardly +pray, 'Give us this day our daily bread,' with any hope of +a favourable answer, or even reasonably expect God's +blessing upon their tillage of the soil, while they continued +to use a large part of the grain produced in the +manufacture of strong drink, and while they continued to +set apart large districts for the cultivation of tobacco and +opium. Hence, at first, he made entire abstinence from all +three an indispensable requisite for admission into the +Christian Church.</p> + +<p>It was hardly to be expected, perhaps, that his colleagues +in the North China Mission would be able to see eye to eye +with him on these points. With regard to opium the +opinion as to abstinence is unanimous. With regard +to the other two, the prevailing opinion was that, however +desirable entire abstinence may be, it is not authoritatively +commanded, and ought not to be made an indispensable +qualification for baptism.</p> + +<p>It seemed to some of them that there was danger of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> +the heathen confusing Christianity with their own Tsai li ti. +In reply to such a suggestion Gilmour wrote: 'My hearers +not know the difference between Tsai li ti and Christianity! +Thanks be to God, this whole town and neighbourhood has +rung with the truths of Christianity. Children, men, shop-boys, +and, of all people in the world, a lad gathering grain +stumps in the fields a long way off—it has been my lot to +hear them repeat sayings of mine, when they saw me, and +did not think I could hear them.'</p> + +<p>Into this controversy as a mere discussion we have no +desire to enter. But to enable the reader to know Mr. +Gilmour exactly as he was it deserves more than a passing +reference. The following may be taken as an example of +many letters that passed on this subject.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I start perhaps on Tuesday. Pardon me for expressing +myself on one matter—the Chinese teetotal business. You +and some of my colleagues seem to me as if I could not +move you on this question. It is a great grief to me. I +think you are not right in your ideas about this. I suppose +you can beat me in argument. I am still more than +ever convinced that teetotalism is <i>right</i> and <i>needful</i> for the +success of native Christian life in China. We have some +painful instances here of that among the natives—specially +two—one of the two hailing from Tientsin.</p> + +<p>'I don't know your Tientsin Church history, but if it is +anything like ours here you would find men standing +nowhere almost as to Christian character, who but for +drink and its concomitants might, humanly speaking, have +shone. And yet these are men to get whom out of sin +Christ died—brethren, for whom Christ died.</p> + +<p>'Pardon me again when I take a short cut to what I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> +want to say: "<i>I believe were Christ here now as a missionary +amongst us He would be an enthusiastic teetotaller and a +non-smoker.</i>"</p> + +<p>'Tobacco is comparatively a harmless matter, but it is +not so unimportant as it seems to us foreigners. Whisky +should go, and I feel that the Chinese would be quite +ready, if led, to turn both whisky and tobacco out together. +They are born brothers in China, <i>useless</i>, and <i>acknowledged</i> +to be such; harmful as far as they are anything, and comparatively +expensive.</p> + +<p>'I would like to see you start in your church an anti-tobacco +and whisky society; voluntary, of course, in a +church established as yours on the old lines. Though I +stand alone, I believe the flowing tide is with me.</p> + +<p>'Wishing you many souls in 1887, and eager that no +minor difference of opinion should hinder our prayers.</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Yours I-hardly-know-how-to-say-what, <br /> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour.</span>'<br /> +</p></blockquote> + +<p>In the <i>Chinese Recorder</i>, for which he had been in +the habit of writing for many years, he published a paper +in which he set forth with great clearness and fulness his +views on this important matter. It deserves a place in the +story of his life because in it he has sketched, as no one +else could, himself, and some of his later methods of evangelistic +address.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'In December, 1885, in a district of North China new +to me, I found myself preaching to a small crowd of +Chinese and Mongols in a small market town. I was in +a lane leading on to the main street. At my back was +a mud wall, in front and at both sides was the audience, +within hearing was the main street, above, a bright sun +made the place warm and cheerful. After listening a +while the audience wanted to know how good seasons<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> +could be secured. To the truths I had been preaching +they had listened with respect and fair attention, but at +the first opportunity for speaking they wanted to know +how to get a good harvest.</p> + +<p>'At first I paid little attention to this question, but +after a little while it was asked again, and that by several +men in succession, and I soon found that the people of the +place had little room for anything else in their thoughts. +There was good reason for it too. Their last harvest had +been a poor one. Three-tenths was about the yield. They +too with their three-tenths were comparatively well off. +Some distance from them the yield had not been more +than two-tenths, and a little beyond that again, there were +fields which had been sown, but never reaped. There had +been nothing to reap. Nothing had grown. I passed +some of these fields afterwards and saw them. Was it +wonderful then that the main thought in their minds should +be the harvest failure, and that they should be mainly +anxious to know how to secure a good season next year? +Looking at my audience I saw that nine-tenths of them +were poorly clad. Nearly one-half of them were quite +insufficiently clothed, and many were in garments suited +to summer weather only. I was in a sheepskin coat and +felt shoes, and even thus was not too warm, and could not +help thinking how cold they must be, in their torn clothes +and ordinary shoes. In addition to this they seemed +hungry. I dare say perhaps one-half of them were in actual +suffering from deficiency of food.</p> + +<p>'Taking these things into consideration, I did not +regard their great and often-repeated question, "How about +the harvest?" as impertinent, and set myself to answer it. +When the question was again asked I replied by asking +another, namely, "<i>Do you think you deserve good harvests?</i>" +This question usually made them stare and ask, "Why +should not we deserve good harvests?" and I would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> +reply, "In the first place, because of that <i>tobacco pipe in your +mouth</i>." A laugh of incredulity would usually pass round +the audience, but when done laughing, and asked to consider +the folly of spending money buying a pipe and +tobacco when the smoker was shivering in his rags, and +hungry, and especially when asked what was the good of +smoking, they laughed no more. When pressed to say +where the tobacco came from, they would admit that the +cultivation of tobacco took up no small proportion of their +better-class land, and when pressed to say how much land +was given up to tobacco cultivation, they would admit, +what did not seem to have occurred to them before, that +the amount of land given up to tobacco cultivation was +very large. How large it was I had no conception till +the following summer, when, walking round the suburbs, +I would look over the low mud walls of their gardens, +and be amazed at the expanse of land covered with the +great, broad green leaf of the flourishing tobacco plant.</p> + +<p>'Putting these things before my audience, they would +admit that the cultivation of tobacco was a misuse of a large +portion of their better land, that in cultivating and using +tobacco they were doing what was wrong, and hindering +heaven from feeding them. Heaven had given them good +land and good rains for the purpose of growing food. The +growth of tobacco was defeating heaven's purpose, and as +long as they did so, what face had they to ask for good +seasons? To take good land and plant it with tobacco, +with what face could they ask heaven to send rain, seeing +that if rain came, what grew would not be grain but +tobacco, a thing which they themselves to a man admitted +was no use at all? And so my audience would admit that +as preliminary to getting or even expecting a good harvest +was the discontinuance of the use and growth of tobacco.</p> + +<p>'In the course of a year and a half of outdoor preaching +in streets and at fairs, and private conversation with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> +individuals, I never met an audience that defended tobacco +as useful, and do not think I met more than three individuals +who had anything to say in its defence. Almost +everyone, smokers included, admitted its uselessness. Many +do not seem to have thought the cultivation and use of it +any harm, or having any bearing on the question of food +supply and good harvests; they usually regarded it as +simply a piece of extravagance on their own part, which +had no bearing on anything or anybody beyond themselves. +But when pointed out to them they readily admit that +tobacco cultivation lessens the production of grain, and as +readily admit that the wrongdoing in this misuse of land +is likely to further harm the harvest by offending heaven +into being unwilling to send rain. I myself never used to +look on smoking as any great evil, till led into this district, +and thus forced to study the subject. In England I had +never seen tobacco grown. A smoker there spends a few +coppers, and smokes; what harm does he do? Does not he +increase trade and help the revenue? His smoking seems +to harm no one but himself. Such were my thoughts. +But in this district I see the cultivation of tobacco limiting +the supply of grain, thus raising the price of food, and consequently +making men go hungry. In addition I see men, +women, and sometimes children, in rags and hungry even, +with pipes and tobacco, and when they complain of heaven +not supplying them with enough food to eat, it would be +less than honest not to point out to them that the fault +lies not with heaven, but with themselves, and that part at +least of the scarcity of grain they experience is due to the +cultivation and use of tobacco, which throughout that whole +region is very excessive.</p> + +<p>'I have dwelt thus at length on the tobacco question, +not because it is the most important of the three things +here spoken of, but because many good brethren have not +been able to see with me on this point. They feel, as I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> +used to do before I went to that region, that tobacco +smoking is a small affair, not worth raising into prominence +or the region of conscience or Christian duty at all. +These brethren have not <i>seen</i> how things work. I feel +sure that almost any missionary placed as I was would +have done exactly what I have done, taken a stand against +this excessive growth and more excessive use of tobacco, +for, not content with what they grow, they actually import +quantities of it. Tobacco is not the greatest cause of +poverty and hunger in the district, but it is a much greater +factor in poverty than would at first be supposed. But for +its use in that district a large number of men, women, and +children, who are deficiently clothed and fed, would be +warm and sleek. Christ taught men to pray, "Give us this +day our daily bread." It must be wrong to make hundreds +of men, women, and children go half clad and half fed, +simply that eighty or ninety per cent. of the adults of that +district may indulge in tobacco, a thing, according to their +own admission, utterly without use, and for the continuance +of which they can give no reason, further than that +they have acquired the habit and find it difficult to give it +up.</p> + +<p>'A more serious question, however, is the whisky. In +going into that region I was amazed at the quantity of +whisky used. I used to lodge in an inn and take my meals +in an eating-house. There, twice a day, I had an opportunity +of studying the drinking habits of the country. +Almost every man who entered the eating-house first +called for a whisky warmer. Supplied with that, he would +go out and buy his whisky, coming back he would set it in +the charcoal fire to warm, and then slowly drink it from +the tiny wine cups common in China, inviting me to join +him, and wondering at a man who could evidently afford +it, not treating himself to two ounces of whisky, and wondering +still more when he learned that I did not use tobacco.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> +It would be an exaggeration, but not a great exaggeration, +to say that every man who entered the eating-house +began his meal by drinking whisky. In replying to the +question put by my street audiences as to how they +were to get good harvests, I would ask them, after +finishing the tobacco question, "How about your whisky +drinking?" Frequently they would anticipate me in this, +and say, "If tobacco is wrong, how about whisky?" +To convince them of the wrong of whisky was never +difficult. To ask good harvests from heaven, then take +grain given by heaven for food, and turn it into whisky, +they did not need me to tell them this was wrong. And +there in that district it is a very crying wrong. The +quantity used is immense. Not only does it seem so to +me, but natives from other parts of China are struck by +the excessive use of it.</p> + +<p>'The first time I travelled in the district, I was struck +by the manner in which they described the size and amount +of trade of towns about which I made inquiries. Such +and such a place had or had not a distillery and pawnshop. +Such and such a town had so many distilleries, and +so many pawnshops. One travelling about the country +soon notes that nearly every imposing trading establishment +with grand premises seen from afar is either a distillery +or a pawnshop, or both combined. The bank notes +current among the people are issued, at but a small percentage, +by distilleries and pawnshops. The first crop to +ripen in the district is barley, and that, the natives will tell +you, all goes to the distillery. On the road you will meet +large carts drawn by six or seven mules. The load is +grain, and of these carts a large number are owned by +distilleries, and go round the country collecting grain, +from which to brew whisky. One of the first things to +be heard in the morning after daylight, in a quiet market +town, is a peculiar beating of a wooden drum. Ask what it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> +means, and you will be told it is such and such a distillery +calling its hands to breakfast. Ask how many hands they +have, and you may find that one establishment has some +sixty or seventy men who eat their food! The whisky trade +is simply enormous. It is out of all proportion to every +other trade. The women as a rule do not drink, the men +do all the drinking—the males I should say, for not a few +boys acquire the habit of taking whisky to their meals +long before they can be called men. A very few men do +not use whisky at all. The poorer agricultural labourers +drink it only when they can get it, and just as much or +as little as they can get. Many men take regularly two +ounces—Chinese ounces—to each meal. Many take more. +Many well-to-do people drink half a catty per day. Others +drink a whole catty.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> Some drink a catty and a half a day. +A small proportion of the male population find drinking a +greater necessity than eating. These are usually elderly +men, but as I write I can think of two men, both young, +and both Mongols, one a priest, the other a layman, who +have arrived at this advanced stage of whisky drinking.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> A Chinese weight equal to one pound and a third.</p></div> + +<p>'This excessive use of whisky has impoverished many +families, and has demoralised many men. It has caused +many quarrels, and given rise to many lawsuits. The evil +caused by whisky is apparent to all, but custom requires +that friends should be honoured by being offered whisky, +business should be transacted over whisky, and the general +saying is that without whisky nothing can be done. A +farmer, for example, adding a few rooms to his buildings +must supply his masons and joiners with whisky. Thus in +universal use, the quantity consumed is immense. The +quantity of grain used in the distilleries is almost beyond +computation, and I don't remember ever meeting a Chinaman +who did not admit that to distil whisky was to do evil. +They ask me how to get good harvests. I tell them;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> +"Give up abusing the grain you have got, before you ask +for more. If heaven sees you taking a large part of your +superior land for raising the useless tobacco, and taking a +very large proportion of the grain sent you as food, and +using it not to eat, nor to feed animals, but distilling it into +the hurtful whisky, do you think heaven, seeing all this +waste going on, is likely to hear your petitions and increase +the supply of what you now waste so large a proportion? +If you bought food for your child, and he ate only half +and threw the other half to the pig, would you be likely +to buy him more just then, even though he might say he +was hungry?" This reasoning seems quite satisfactory +and convincing to them, and never fails to secure their +expressed assent.</p> + +<p>'As to opium I never find it necessary to say much. +All admit it to be only and wholly bad. Yet the quantity +grown in the district is immense. In the early spring the +very first movement of cultivation is the irrigation and +working of the opium land, and at the season nearly all +the best land blazes with bloom of the poppy. It is a sight +to see the country people going to the markets with the +"<i>milk</i>" in bowls and basins, and the buyers and sellers of +it riding along, each with a weighing-balance stuck in his +belt. Government restriction there is none, the duty imposed +is not very heavy, and public opinion raises no voice +against it. It was originally grown, say the natives, so as +to keep money from going out of the district in buying +imported opium, but the more it was grown the more it +was used, and now the quantity raised and smoked is +immense. There is a small proportion of farmers who +have good land, suitable for growing opium, but who do +not grow it. But these men are few, and as a general rule +the very best pieces of land are set apart for the cultivation +of opium. The common conscience of the people tells +them this is a wrong thing. When therefore they ask how<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> +to get a good harvest, they themselves acknowledge that +the reply is just, which says, "First leave off the waste of +heaven's grace involved in the growth and manufacture of +opium, whisky, and tobacco, and then, and not till then, +will it be reasonable for you to ask heaven for more +bountiful harvests."</p> + +<p>'In connection with all this, there is another fact that +must not be forgotten. Drinkers of whisky, and smokers, +especially of opium, the better the year is, the more they +indulge. In a poor year they use less whisky and opium; +the better the year, and the cheaper tobacco, whisky, and +opium are, the more they use, so that in place of making a +proper return to heaven for a good year, they only take +the opportunity afforded them of running deeper into +waste and wrong-doing. Is this the way to get better +harvests? Considering the excessive growth and consumption +of tobacco and opium, and the excessive manufacture +and use of whisky, what could any honest, straightforward +man say to the people, when they earnestly asked how +they were to get good harvests, but "<i>Repent, and cease this +great waste</i>"? And thus from no deliberate plan of mine, +but from the plain leading of circumstances, it came to pass +that I felt compelled to call upon the inhabitants of the +district to lay aside the use of not only opium but also of +whisky and tobacco, as one of the first steps toward worshipping +the true God. Many friends have demurred to +my making teetotalism an essential of Christianity, and +many more have still more strongly demurred to my taking +such a pronounced stand against the use of tobacco. The +position of my friends is exactly the position I held myself +before going into that region, but after going to that +region and seeing just how things were, no other course +seemed open to me, but to demand in all who wanted +to do right the abandonment of the whole three; and +I am convinced that almost any other missionary placed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> +in the same circumstances would have taken the same +stand.</p> + +<p>'This position too commends itself to the native mind, +and the native mind, quite apart from me, and before my +going into the district, had already risen up in protest +against these abuses, and, in some parts of the country +there, the Tsai li ti sect boasts not a few members. The +main practical doctrine of this sect is, <i>Yen chiu pu tung</i>—abstinence +from tobacco, whisky, and opium. The very +existence of this sect, and its flourishing condition there, is +a plain indication of what serious-minded natives felt about +the excessive use of these three things. Friends say that I +am putting this self-righteousness in place of faith in Christ +and the practice of higher duties. I do nothing of the sort. +Beginning with the Chinaman where I find him, and +answering the questions which he insists on asking first, I +appeal to him to give up what he admits to be wrongdoing, +sin (<i>tsao nieh</i>), as the first step in ceasing to do evil +learning to do well, and coming into right relationship with +God through Christ. Some friends are much alarmed lest +this should lead to self-righteousness. There is no danger +of that. The danger lies all the other way. To leave +Christians drinking whisky and smoking tobacco in that +region, would be to preach forgiveness of sin through +Christ to men who were still going on in the practice of +what their conscience told them was sin, and all must +admit that this would never do. The condition of things +in that region is such that I have no hesitation in saying +that a man, to be honest in obeying God by refraining from +what is wrong, must throw up his connexion with these +three things, tobacco, whisky, opium.</p> + +<p>'In <i>that region</i>. It will be noticed that I have carefully +confined my remarks to the state of things in <i>that region</i>. +<i>That region</i> is peculiar in producing within its own bounds +almost all that is necessary for life and luxury even. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> +peculiar too in having just exactly as many inhabitants as +it can support, no more, no less. When the population increases +too much it overflows into Manchuria. When the +population is less than the full complement, it is instantly +replenished by fresh arrivals from the South. The production +of tobacco, whisky, and opium, not only reduces a +large proportion of the inhabitants from comfort to misery, +but also reduces sensibly the number of inhabitants. But +for these three things many more men could find a living +within the bounds of the district Is not that little district an +epitome of the world? Is what is true of that district not +true of the whole world? Opium is a bad thing anywhere +and everywhere. About that there need be no debate. +Whisky and tobacco reduce the comforts and the number of +the population there—is their effect not the same on the world +in general? Is it not true that but for tobacco and whisky +there would be food and clothes for a much larger population? +And if so, do not tobacco and whisky take the bread +out of men's mouths and the clothes off their backs? And +if so, has not every smoker and drinker a part in this sin? +Christians pray, "<i>Give us this day our daily bread.</i>" Does +not consistency require them to desist from defeating this +prayer by smoking and drinking, and thus reducing the +amount of the total production of the necessaries of life?</p> + +<p>'Tobacco seems harmless. It is less harmful than +opium and whisky by a long way. But its production +sensibly reduces the supply of grain and cotton, and thus +hinders the feeding of the hungry and the clothing the naked. +Good earnest Christian men smoke and drink. Evangelists +and pastors owned of God in the salvation of souls +smoke and see no harm in it. The reason is they have +never seen how the thing works, and don't know the +harm it does. I feel sure that if they could see with +their own eyes men, women, and children, hungry and in +rags, when but for tobacco and whisky they might be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> +well fed and well clothed, these same good brethren, +whose example is quoted against my position, would be +the first and most earnest to say, "I will neither smoke +tobacco nor drink whisky while the world stands."'</p></blockquote> + +<p>At a later date, not from any change in his views, +but in deference to the views of others, with whom he was +always anxious to work in harmony, he modified his plans +so far as not to make the use of whisky and tobacco +absolute bars to admission into the Christian Church.</p> + +<p>His brethren also were opposed to the ascetic mode of +life he adopted, and the extreme of hardship which he so +often and so willingly encountered in his work. But he +himself often said, and there are many references in his diary +to the same effect, that the kind of life he was living in the +interior was quite as healthy, and quite as conducive to +longevity, as the ordinary and certainly much more comfortable +life of a missionary at Peking. While it may be true +that the exposure and sufferings of twenty years had so +weakened him as to leave him powerless when seized by +the last illness, yet the labours of twenty such years spent +in the service of God and the service of man are surely +the seeds from which there shall yet spring a rich harvest +to the glory of God and to the blessing of the dark and +degraded Mongols and Chinese.</p> + +<p>By the close of 1886 three main centres of work had +been selected in the new district—Ta Chêng Tzŭ, Tá Ssŭ +Kou, and Ch'ao Yang—all three being towns of some importance. +Mr. Gilmour used to spend a month or so in +each town, visiting also the neighbourhood, especially those +places where fairs were held, and where consequently the +people came together in large numbers. He had a tent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> +which he used to put up in a main thoroughfare, and there +he stood from early morn until night healing the sick, +selling Christian books, talking with inquirers, preaching at +every opportunity the full and free Gospel of salvation. +His constant and consistent life of Christlike self-denial +in the effort to bless them told even more upon the beholders +than all these other things combined. His correspondence +is full of sharp and clear pictures of his daily +toil, and of his spiritual experiences.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'<i>Ch'ao Yang, May 14, 1886.</i>—The people are very poor +here. Last year the crops were not good. When the +leaves come out on the trees, the poor people break off +branches and eat the seeds of the elm-trees. I saw one +woman up a high tree, taking down the seeds. She took +off half the door, laid it up against the tree, went on the +cross-bars like a ladder, and so got up. She threw down +the little branches and twigs, and her three children below +gathered them up. The elm seeds are just ripe now. They +are the size of large fish-scales; when the wind blows they +come down like snow.</p> + +<p>'I met three lamas going to a far-off place to worship. +Every two or three steps they lay down flat on the ground, +then got up other two or three steps, then prostrated +themselves again. They did not know about Jesus saving +people, and thought they would save themselves in that +way. Poor people! yet they don't like to hear about Jesus +saving people. They want the credit of thus saving themselves.</p> + +<p>'<i>September 3.</i>—At Ta Chêng Tzŭ we had seven days +and seven nights' rain. It was a great flood. The river +rose and washed away about a hundred acres of land and +forty or fifty houses. For two days the river floated down +house-roof timbers, beams, &c. One poor man pulled down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> +his house to save his timbers, and the house fell on him and +killed him. It was pitiful to see the river washing away +good land, two square yards falling into the roaring flood +at a time. The Chinamen did nothing: only stood and +looked at it. Lots of walls and many houses fell down. +One house in the court next our own fell down one morning +after the rain was all over. The people had just time +to jump out at the window. No one was hurt. Our room +did not leak much, but the outside of the wall towards the +street fell down. The inside of the wall still stood, so our +room was whole. Chinese walls are all built in two skins. +The one may fall and the other stand.</p> + +<p>'<i>October 25.</i>—God has given the hunger and thirst for +souls: will He leave me unsatisfied? No, verily. I am +reading at night, before going to bed, the Psalms in a small-print +copy of the Revised Bible, holding it at arm's length +almost, close up to a Chinese candle, to suit my eyes; for +I cannot see small print well now, and I find much strength +and courage in the old warrior's words. Verily, the Psalms +are inspired. No doubt about that. None that wait on +Him will be put to shame. He is here with me.</p> + +<p>'<i>November 17.</i>—We start about the fifth watch (6 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>), +get to the fair early, spend the day on the street; it is late +before we get quiet, and I fear it is now well on towards +the third watch. I am in first-class health, though my +feet and socks are in a decidedly bad way. The country +is not at all safe, but we have as yet been preserved. Some +days ago, two men who slept on the same kang with us, +and started a little earlier than we did, were robbed. We +overtook the travellers arranging themselves after the +interview. I was annoyed at not getting away as soon as +they left. God so arranged it, you see.</p> + +<p>'I have got a step nearer to God lately. It is this: I +do not now strive to get near Him; I simply ask Christ to +<i>take me nearer Him</i>. Why shouldn't I? Does not Christ<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> +save men from distance from God and bring us near? <i>Peace, +Blessing, and Power</i>, by Haslam, sent me by an old college +mate in Scotland, was the means used. This chum tried +my soul much when I was at home last. I think I was of +use to him, and now he has been of much use to me. Let +us sow beside all waters.</p> + +<p>'My attitude now here is that of Psalm cxxiii. 2-4. I +feel that God can <i>perform</i> for, by, or rather use me as His +instrument in performing, if He has a mind to; so I am +looking for His hand, gazing about among the people that +come to my stand to see the ones God has sent. I feel as +helpless as a Chinese farmer in a drought; but when God +opens the heavens, down it will come. Amen.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Mr. Gilmour returned to Peking on December 13, +having been away nearly eight months. The tabulated +results of this missionary campaign were:</p> + +<table summary="Missionary campaign results" width="65%"> +<tr> +<td>Patients seen (about)</td> +<td align="right">5,717</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Hearers preached to</td> +<td align="right">23,755</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Books sold</td> +<td align="right">3,067</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Tracts distributed</td> +<td align="right">4,500</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Miles travelled</td> +<td align="right">1,860</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Money spent</td> +<td align="right">120.92 taels = (about) 30<i>l.</i> to 40<i>l.</i></td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p>He adds, 'And out of all this there are only two +men who have openly confessed Christ. In one sense it +is a small result; in another sense there is much to be +grateful for. I have to part with my assistant, and am +uncertain about whom to take in his place. My travelling +arrangements have broken down, and I am perplexed in +more ways than I have patience to write about; but</p> + +<table summary="Poem - Where He may lead"> +<tr> +<td> +Where He may lead I'll follow,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In Him my trust repose,</span><br /> +And every hour in perfect peace<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I'll sing, "He knows, He knows."</span><br /> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span></p> + +<p>After a visit to Tientsin and a brief rest in Peking, +largely occupied with preparations for his next sojourn in +Mongolia, he started on January 25, 1887. At Ta Chêng +Tzŭ he secured a kind of home, so as not to be exposed to +all the discomforts and drawbacks of inn life, hoping also +that a fixed centre might forward the preaching of the +Gospel. Two rooms were taken for a year. They were +situated at the inner end of a little trading court, around +which were a tin-shop, a rope-spinner's room, and a stable. +In one corner there was a pigsty. 'When first I saw it I +almost refused to occupy it; but really there is no help for +it, and finally we took it for a year.' It is always difficult +to secure premises in a Chinese town, and exceptionally so +under the limitation of money and of suspicion and dislike +to which Christian missionaries are always exposed. 'It is +only a lodging for me,' Mr. Gilmour continues, 'convenient +for seeing converts or inquirers. The court is much too +small, and the place not sanitary. But don't be in the least +uneasy. My health is quite as safe there as in the best +premises in Peking. I intend to occupy them for a month +at the beginning of the Chinese year, and ten or fifteen +days in the fourth, seventh, and tenth months. I hope also +to come to some arrangement for a lodging in Ch'ao Yang. +In Tá Ssŭ Kou I am simply in an inn, and pay at the +usual rate for the nights I am there.'</p> + +<p>A letter to his boys, dated March 24, 1887, depicts the +kind of scene he so often witnessed, and the routine of work +which would have proved so irksome but for the love and +peace with which the Saviour filled his soul.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Mai Li Ying Tzŭ is a very wicked place. There +were no less than fourteen large tents set up for gambling,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> +and, in addition, some thirty or forty mat-tents for gambling. +I was there three days. The first day people +were shy. The second day they were not much afraid. +The third day I had quite a lot of patients. We sold a +good few books, preached a good deal, and doctored a +number of patients. From there we went to Bo-or-Chih, +starting in the dark and travelling seventeen English +miles before breakfast. After we had travelled ten miles +we came to a little town just as people were opening +their doors. A seller of <i>chieh jao</i>, that sticky stuff, had +just set out his wheelbarrow with his pudding. We +each bought a great piece, wrapped it in a <i>chien ping</i> +(a thin scone), and travelled on, eating it. That was +our breakfast. Arrived at Bo-or-Chih, we set up our table +at once, and, after preaching for a short time, patients +came round us in crowds, and kept us busy till late in the +afternoon.</p> + +<p>'The inn in which I am staying now is owned by two +men, brothers, both of whom are opium smokers. The +inn has a good trade, but it is all no use: it all goes to +opium, and no good comes of it. There are two barbers +connected with the place, and they both drink and gamble, +so that they are in rags and poverty, though they have a +fairly good business. It is so painful to see men degraded +thus when, but for drink and gambling, they might be well +off.</p> + +<p>'<i>April 28, 1887</i>.—For the last week I have been very +busy at a great temple gathering, which lasted six days. +Such crowds of people came, though it was only a country +district. It was the great religious event of the year for the +neighbourhood, and how do you think they do? They hire +a theatrical company to come and act six days in a great +mat stage, put up for the occasion in front of the temple. +Theatrical exhibitions are the religion of China. These +shows are supposed to be in honour of the idols in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> +temple. The people think the gods will thus be pleased, +and give them good seasons, health, etc.</p> + +<p>'What a crowd of women came to worship at the +temple on the great day of the festival! Till noon that +day women only were allowed to enter: no men. How +the women were dressed—in all the colours of the rainbow, +red trousers being especially prominent! How they moved +along on their little feet! Walk you along on your heels—as +I have seen you do—and that is just how they move.</p> + +<p>'No end of gamblers came too. There were twenty-six, +or so, large tents put up to gamble in, and about as +many straw-mat booths, and they all had plenty of trade. +Eh, man, it is sad to see the utter worldliness of these Chinese. +They soon found me out. I had my tent put up in a +quiet place away from the bustle.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> In front is the great +flying sign, "The Jesus Religion Gospel Hall." At the one +end, "God the Heavenly Father;" at the other, "Jesus the +Saviour." They found me out, not because they wanted +to hear me preach, but to get medicine. Oh, the numbers +of suffering people I saw and attended to! I used to go +out early in the morning, and be there all day, most of the +time so busy that there was no time to eat. To get food I +had to steal away because everyone would want me just to +attend to him or her before I went. When I had attended +to that one there was another, and so on. I was able to +cure a number of them, and got preaching a good deal too. +I sold a number of books. It was the first time that a +missionary had ever been there, and it was difficult to +make them understand.'</p></blockquote> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> See the illustration on <a href="#Page_245">p. 245</a>.</p></div> + +<p>It is, as a rule, by direct dealing with individuals that +the best results of Christian work in China are obtained, +and to this Mr. Gilmour was always ready to make everything +give way. In season and out of season, at any hour<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> +of the day or night, he was at the service of inquirers. +The sight of a seeking face could banish his most exhausting +feeling of fatigue, and nothing so swiftly dispelled +the depression, from which he so often and so +severely suffered, as the sight of a heathen coming to be +more perfectly instructed about 'the doctrine.' Here are +one or two such scenes:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'In the eighth month we had great pleasure in finding +Mr. Sun much advanced in knowledge, and confessing his +Christianity with great boldness. Before we left he was +baptized, and one or two others were coming forward as +inquirers—notably one man, who is a member of a sect, +was making earnest inquiries. These men seem to be +following after righteousness in their own half-instructed +fashion. These sects are strong in numbers in some parts +of the district, and, if God should give us some of these +men as converts, we might hope for rapid progress among +their companions. The last that I heard of this man, he +was coming to Mr. Sun, asking many questions. He +lodged with us one night, and I invited him to breakfast +with me in the morning. He was declining on the plea +that he was a vegetarian. It was with much satisfaction that +I was able to say in reply, "So am I."</p> + +<p>'The Tsai li ti are strong in Ch'ao Yang. I have +been praying and working to gain them for a year and +more. One evening a deputation of two men called upon +me in my inn, and said they had come representing many +who wanted to know about Christianity. They, the Tsai li +ti, had been watching me ever since I had come to Ch'ao +Yang. They had listened much and often to our preaching, +and now they had come to make formal inquiries. I +gave them such information as I thought they needed, and +we got on well enough till they asked me to refute a slander.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> +The slander was to the effect that in a chapel +in Peking, the preacher would, when he finished preaching, +get down off the platform and have a smoke! I had to +admit that this was no slander, but a true statement. I +had a good deal to say in explanation of it; but, alas! the +men came no more.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>To form any just estimate of Mr. Gilmour's work in +Eastern Mongolia, it is needful constantly to bear in mind +that it was practically a new departure. So far as we know, +he is the only missionary in China connected with the +London Missionary Society who adopted <i>in toto</i> not only +the native dress, but practically the native food, and, so far +as a Christian man could, native habits of life. His average +expense for food during his residence in his district was +<i>threepence a day</i>. This rate of expenditure was, of course, +possible only because he adopted vegetarianism. His +practice acted and reacted upon his thought, and he came +at this time to hold the view, for and against which a great +deal may be said, that it was a mistake for Chinese +missionaries to live as foreigners—that is, to wear foreign +dress, arrange their houses and furniture as nearly as +possible in European style, and eat European food. Both +on its economical side and also as impressing the mind +and heart of the Chinese, he believed that his was the more +excellent way.</p> + +<p>Most of his co-workers at Peking and Tientsin did not +agree with him. As agreement would have involved, perhaps, +following his example, under conditions that differed +widely from those of Ta Chêng Tzŭ and Ch'ao Yang, this +difference of opinion was only what was to be expected. +It is referred to here only as a well-known fact, and no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> +story of Mr. Gilmour's life could be trustworthy which did +not represent the decided way in which, when he felt that +loyalty to his work and loyalty to his Master constrained +him, he could and did act in direct opposition to the +wishes and views of brethren whom he fervently loved.</p> + +<p>It became needful from time to time for him to justify +his actions to the home authorities. Not that this was +in any way needful from any doubt or lack of support on +their part. But with regard to methods upon which there +was marked divergence of view in the missionary committees +abroad it was needful that a man like Gilmour +should put his motives and reasons clearly before the +governing powers. It is doing him bare justice to say +that from this task he never shrank. The following +extracts are from letters to the home officials of the +London Missionary Society and they enable us to appreciate +accurately the standpoint of the man whose thought +they express. Writing in the light of the suggestion that +perhaps he was putting a more severe strain upon his +health than the efficient discharge of his difficult duty demanded, +he says:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I feel called to go through all this sort of thing, and +feel perfectly secure in God's hands. It is no choosing of +mine, but His; and, following His lead, I have as much +right to expect special provision to be made for me as +the Israelites of old had in the matters of the Red Sea, the +manna and water in the desert, the crossing Jordan, and +the fall of Jericho.</p> + +<p>'One thing I am sure of. The thousands here need +salvation; God is most anxious to give it to them: where, +then, is the hindrance? In them? I hardly think so. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> +God? No. In me, then! The thing I am praying away +at now is that He would remove that hindrance by whatever +process necessary. I shall not be astonished if He +puts me through some fires or severe operations, nor +shall I be sorry if they only end by leaving me a channel +through which His saving grace can flow unhindered to +these needy people. I dare not tell you how much I +pray for.</p> + +<p>'It is the foreign element in our lives that runs away +with the money. The foreign houses, foreign clothes, foreign +food, are ruinous. In selecting missionaries, physique able +to stand native houses, clothes, and food, should be as +much a <i>sine quâ non</i> as health to bear the native climate. +Native clothes are, I believe, more safe for health than +foreign clothes; they are more suited to the climate, more +comfortable than foreign clothes, and so dressed, a Chinese +house is quite comfortable. In past days I have suffered +extreme discomfort by attempting to live in foreign dress +in native houses.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>And yet James Gilmour had nothing of the fanatic +or bigot about him. At the period of his life with which +we are now dealing, his severest trial was the loneliness +due to his having no colleague. Whenever his brethren +ventured to address remonstrances to him, they were due +largely to the conviction that entire isolation, such as he +had to endure throughout his Mongolian career, must tell +adversely upon his temperament. But in judging the +character of the man it only heightens our love and respect +for him that he did not allow the utter and successive +failures of all efforts to secure him a colleague to hinder the +work. No man more readily and more constantly acted +upon the principle of doing the next best thing. His idea<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> +of satisfactory conditions for the work was never reached; +but this never led him for one day to relax his own efforts +or to loosen the strong hand of his self-discipline.</p> + +<p>To any reader who has carefully followed the previous +pages it must have become abundantly evident that Mr +Gilmour believed in God's present and immediate influence +in the passing events of daily life, and that the right attitude +of life is one of absolute dependence upon, and submission +to, the will of God. His diaries abound with proofs +of this. He is delayed one morning in starting from his +inn, and is annoyed. An hour or so later he overtakes the +travellers who started earlier, and finds them just recovering +from the assault of a band of robbers. The delay was +God's providential care protecting him from robbery. And +yet no man was ever less under the spell of religious +fatalism. All that active effort and promptitude of mind +and body could effect in the service of life he freely and +constantly expended in his work. And indeed there lies +before us a long letter written at Tá Ssŭ Kou on March 15, +1888, asking for an official proclamation from the Chinese +authorities at Peking affirming 'that Christian worship +is an allowed thing, and that native Christians are not +required to contribute, or are exempted from contributing, +to idol and heathen ceremonies, such as theatricals, or the +building and repair of temples.' The proper official document +was applied for at Peking, and in due time obtained.</p> + +<p>On March 24, 1888, James Gilmour was rejoiced by the +seeming fulfilment of his heart's most eager desire—the +arrival at Tá Ssŭ Kou of a fully qualified medical colleague, +Dr. Roberts. We have seen how repeated had been his +entreaties, how earnest his yearnings after this essential<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> +factor in the success of his mission. For a month he enjoyed +to the full the uplifting of congenial fellowship and +of skilled help. Then came a blow, harder almost to endure +than the previous solitude.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Two days ago,' he writes under date of April 21, +1888, 'a man pushed himself in among the crowd +round my table as I was dispensing medicines in the +market-place here, and announced himself as a courier +from Tientsin. When asked what his news was, he was +silent, so I led him away towards my inn. Oh the way I +again asked what his news was. He groaned. I began to +get alarmed, and noticed that he carried with him a sword, +covered merely with a cloth scabbard. This looked warlike, +and I wondered if there could have been another +massacre at Tientsin. Coming to a quiet place in the +street I <i>demanded</i> his news, when he replied, "<i>Dr. Mackenzie +is dead, after a week's illness.</i>" At the inn we got out +our letters from the bundle, and found the news true. In +a little Dr. Roberts looked up from a letter he was reading +and said he was appointed to the vacancy. <i>Then</i> the full +extent of my loss flashed upon me. Mackenzie dead—Roberts +to go to Tientsin! One of my closest friends +dead—my colleague removed!</p> + +<p>'Forty-eight hours have elapsed, and I am just coming +right again. I have been like a ship suddenly struck in +mid-ocean by a mountain sea breaking over it. You know +in that case a ship staggers a bit, and takes some time to +shake clear and right herself.</p> + +<p>'As to Mackenzie. His friendship I very keenly appreciated. +The week of prayer in January 1887 we spent +together in Peking. The week of prayer in January 1888 +we spent together in Tientsin. These were seasons of +great enjoyment. On parting we spoke of having a week<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> +together again in April 1889. That is not to be. The full +extent of the loss will take some time to realise.</p> + +<p>'The prospect of Dr. Roberts settling permanently here +in the autumn gave light and brightness to the outlook. +My faith is not gone, but it would be untrue to say that I +am not walking in the dark. I shall do my best to hold +on here single-handed; but I earnestly hope that I am not +to be alone much longer. Something must be done. +There is a limit to all human endurance.</p> + +<p>'Amid many storms we are holding on our way, and +making progress among the Chinese. Of the Mongols I +have nothing cheering to report. They come around and +daily hear the Gospel; but, as yet at least, there it ends. I +look into their faces to see whom the Lord is going to call, +but have not seen him yet apparently. Meantime, I am +getting deeper and deeper into Chinese work and connections, +and sometimes the thought crosses my mind that my +knowledge of Mongolian is not employed to its best +advantage here. On the other hand, I see more Mongols +here than I could see anywhere on the Plain.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>God's ways of dealing with His work and the workers +are often very dim and obscure to finite understanding. +Humanly speaking, no man in China could less easily be +spared than Dr. Mackenzie; no man in all that vast +empire more needed the joy of fellowship than he to whom +it had just been granted. But the indomitable spirit shines +clearly through the words of Gilmour: 'It would be +untrue to say that I am not walking in the dark. I shall do +my best to hold on here single-handed.' Seeing God's hand, +as he did, in these sorrowful events, and believing that Dr. +Roberts also was following the path of God's will, he turned +again to his lonely tasks. But it was at a heavy cost. His<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> +health was giving way faster than he realised. The views +of his brethren at Peking, that he would break down under +the strain of the isolation, were to some extent justified. +The home authorities did what they could, but nearly a +year elapsed before Dr. Smith, who was appointed to +succeed Dr. Roberts, reached Mongolia, and when he did +so his first duty he felt was to order Mr. Gilmour to visit +England for rest and change. But meanwhile he went +bravely on. Like his Master, 'he endured the contradiction +of sinners against himself,' and when 'he was reviled, he +reviled not again.'</p> + +<blockquote><p>'We left Ch'ao Yang,' he writes under date of September +3, 1888, 'August 10, attended markets, got much rained in, +and reached Ta Chêng Tzŭ August 20. There I found that +one of the Christians had possessed himself of my bank +book and drawn about fifteen taels of my money which I +had banked at the grocer's. The delinquent turned up +next day, walked in, and hung up his whip as if nothing +had happened. At the moment I was dining, and he sat +down beside me. I asked him quietly why he had treated +me so. He said I might be easy in mind; he had money +and cattle he would pay me. "Go, then, and bring me the +money; till you do so, don't come to me again." Off he +went. Days passed and nothing was done to repair the +mischief. Meantime, the scandal was the talk of the small +town, and the scornful things said were so keen that Liu, +my assistant, got quite wild. He was indignant that I did +not go to law with the man, who all the while was swelling +about on a donkey bought with the money he stole from +me, and using the most defiant and abusive language +towards me (not to my face, happily). The roughs of the +place began to be insolent, and a drunken man came and +made a scene in our quarters. Liu redoubled his attack<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> +on me, and even threatened to go home to Shantung if I +would do nothing but pray—a course of action on my part +which irritated him much. Li San, the head Christian there, +joined him in saying I ought to make a show of power. I +asked the two to read at their leisure Matt. v. 6, 7. Liu +warned me that I was in personal danger. The man was +panic-struck and highly nervous. I arranged an expedition +to a place some 90 li away, but got rained in and could not +go. Finally, the offender sent an embassy desiring peace, +and, the day before we left, a respectable deputation of +mutual friends, Christian and heathen, found its way one by +one to my room, coming thus not to attract attention, and last +of all came the thief. According to pre-arrangement I asked +him, as he entered, what he had come for. He walked up to +the wall, knelt down, and confessed his sin in prayer to God. +The end of the matter is, he gives me one donkey and the +promise of another, is suspended as to membership for twelve +months, and is forbidden the chapel for three months.</p> + +<p>'I am not bright about Ta Chêng Tzŭ, as you may suppose. +Worse than the stealing case is that of the head man, +Li San, who says that he was promised employment before +he became a Christian! The ten days we passed there we +were the song of the drunkard and the jest of the abjects; +but the peace of God <i>passes all understanding</i>, and that +kept my heart and mind. We put a calm front on; put +out our stand daily, and carried ourselves as if nothing had +happened.</p> + +<p>'The great thought in my mind these days, and the +great object of my life, is to be like Christ. As He was in +the world, so are we to be. He was in the world to manifest +God; we are in the world to manifest Christ. Is that not +so? Iniquities, I must confess, prevail against me; but +as contamination of sin flows to us from Adam, does +not regenerating power flow into us from Christ? Is it +not so?'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p> + +<p>Meanwhile work was going steadily forward and some +impression was being made. He made a flying visit to +Tientsin and Peking in the autumn, but was soon back at +his post. In his report of work for the year he is able to +point to progress.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'1888 has been a tumultuous year. In December, at +Ch'ao Yang, there was a sudden irruption of men and boys +to learn the doctrine. Evening after evening we had from +twenty to fifty people in our rooms to evening worship. +We hardly knew how to account for it, but did all we +could to teach as many as we could. The cold weather +finally did much to stop the overcrowding, but there was +good interest kept up among many till the end of the +year.</p> + +<p>'The baptisms for the year were, at Ta Chêng Tzŭ, +two; Tá Ssŭ Kou, two; Ch'ao Yang, eight; total, twelve +adults, all Chinese.</p> + +<p>'One man has been put out, so that the numbers stand +as follows: Ta Chêng Tzŭ, four; Tá Ssŭ Kou, three; +Ch'ao Yang, nine; total, sixteen, all Chinese.</p> + +<p>'Three adults, Chinese, were baptized ten days ago, +and I hope to baptize two children next Sunday; but we +have almost no promising adherents here at present. There +are three entire families Christian, with Christian emblems +on their door-posts; another family is Christian, but cannot +fly the colours on the door-posts because the grandfather +who has half the building is a heathen.</p> + +<p>'In still another family, where only the husband is +Christian, they have the Christian colours, but the family is +heathen.</p> + +<p>'My heart is set on reinforcements. Can they not be +had? I had hoped Dr. Smith would have spent the winter +with me, but he did not. All the grace needed has been +given me abundantly, but I don't think there should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> +be any more solitary work. I don't think it pays in any +sense.</p> + +<p>'In addition, it is almost time I had a change. My +eyes are bad. Doctors hesitate over my heart, say it is +weak, and that its condition would affect seriously an +application for life assurance. This winter I have gone in +for a cough, which is not a good thing at all, and it would +be well for the continuity of the work that there should be +a young man on the field.</p> + +<p>'Don't be alarmed, though, and don't alarm my friends. +The above is for your own private information and guidance. +I still regard myself as in first-rate health.</p> + +<p>'I am not satisfied that we seem drifting away from the +Mongols. At present, though lots of Mongols are around, +our work is all but entirely Chinese. I am still of opinion +that our best way to reach them is from a Chinese basis. +This may involve a matter of years ahead, and therefore it +is that I am eager to see the future of the work provided +for by being joined by a younger man or men.</p> + +<p>'Meantime I am trying to follow very fully and very +faithfully the leadings and indications of God. I have had +times of sore spiritual conflict and times of much spiritual +rest, and my prayer is that you and the Board may in all +your arrangements and plans for Mongolia be fully guided +by Him. Oh that His full blessing would descend richly +on this district!'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Dr. Smith reached Mongolia in March 1889, and for +the first time met his colleague. He has placed on record +for use in this biography his account of that first meeting. +On reaching Ch'ao Yang, Dr. Smith found that Mr. Gilmour +was not there. 'I followed the innkeeper,' he writes, 'to see +the spot where my devoted colleague had spent so many +lonely hours. We came to a little outhouse, with a kind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> +of little court in front of it, not many yards wide. The +outer door was locked by means of a padlock; but the +innkeeper soon found an entrance by simply lifting the +door off its wooden hinges, and then we were in the anteroom +or rather kitchen. In it was a built-in cooking-pan, +an earthenware bowl, and a wooden stick resembling +a Scotch porridge-stick; and some brushwood which had +been brought in to be in readiness when he next arrived +at that inn. One of the two rooms, which lay on each side +of this ante-room, was locked, and we could not open it, +but through the chinks of the door I could see abundant +traces of Gilmour. It was specially refreshing to see some +genuine English on one of the boxes; it was "Ferris, +Bourne, & Co., Bristol," the people from whom he used to +order his drugs. My servant and I decided to take up our +quarters in the next room, which was evidently the +servant's room. We soon managed to make ourselves very +comfortable, and there was an unspeakable relief in at last +being in a place which belonged to the London Mission, +rented of course. We had to spend the Sunday there. +Mr. Sun, the box-maker, soon came round, and seemed +genuinely glad to see me, and offered to make all arrangements +for the further stage of our journey. We then discharged +our carts, and I sent with them my letters for +home.</p> + +<p>'After spending the Sunday in company with the +Christians there, we set out on the Monday morning with +a local carter for Ta Chêng Tzŭ, a distance of about twenty-three +miles. We crossed a hilly and sparsely populated +district, reminding me of some of the bleaker scenery in +Scotland. On reaching the town we at once drove to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> +new private mission premises. It was a little house surrounded +by a straw fence. Quite a crowd of rough-looking +people followed us in. One of the doors had been stolen, +and altogether it looked so unprotected that I decided to +take up my quarters in a little Mongol inn, where Mr. +Gilmour formerly lived. Next day I expected to meet +Gilmour, and the two Christians there were fully expecting +him. In the evening we had quite a levee; Li San and +the other Christian, whom Gilmour used to call "Long +Legs," sat drinking tea in my room for some time, and were +very friendly; they were evidently trying to ingratiate +themselves with me; I did not then know how disgracefully +they had behaved to Gilmour, nor did I know the +anxious business which was bringing Gilmour there at that +time.</p> + +<p>'Next day or the following, I forget exactly which, I +was sitting in my room, when a young man arrived, my +servant being out at the time. I could not make him +out at first, not being able to understand what he said; +but he had such an evident air about him that he had some +kind of business with me that it at last dawned upon me +that he must be Mr. Gilmour's servant, and this was at once +confirmed on the arrival of Lin Seng, my servant. He had +been sent on ahead to announce Gilmour's arrival. It had +been blowing a dust-storm all day, and on that account I +hardly expected Gilmour, but now there was no doubt.</p> + +<p>'About four o'clock that afternoon Gilmour arrived, and +I shall never forget that first meeting. I had pictured +quite a different-looking man to myself. I saw a thin man +of medium height, with a clean shaven face, got up in +Chinese dress, much the same as the respectable shop-keepers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> +in that part of the country wear. On his head was +a cap lined with cat's fur. I was struck by the kindly but +determined look on his face. He greeted me most +cordially, and I remember he said, "I am glad to see +you." He looked worn out and ill. I at once gave him +his letters.</p> + +<p>'After arranging his things and seeing his men comfortably +settled and getting over his first interview with the +Christians there, he came up to my room in order to spend +the night with me. We sat to all hours of the morning, +chatting about things at home, and about his boys, whom I +had seen before leaving Scotland.</p> + +<p>'For the next day he arranged the dreaded interview +with Li San down at the mission premises. Gilmour +warned me that it would be a long-winded affair, and +wished me not to expect his return for a good number of +hours. After waiting a long time I went down to see how +the interview was progressing. Li San and Gilmour were +sitting on the kang, in tailor fashion on each side of a +low table, and Li San was singing hymns; but there was +a strange look upon his face, as if he did not altogether feel +like singing. Gilmour said to me in English that they had +not come to business yet, and Gilmour was determined +that Li San was to say the first word, so Gilmour invited +him to sing hymn after hymn, and then I left. The whole +idea seemed to be to get money out of Gilmour, and when +he found that impossible he threatened to come down to +Tientsin to accuse Gilmour to his missionary colleagues, +of having broken his promise to give him employment. +Gilmour had no recollection of having done so; he said +to me that possibly one of his previous assistants may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> +have on his own responsibility led Li San to form that +idea.</p> + +<p>'Long Legs was also dogging Gilmour for money, and +altogether they worried him; but he settled up everything. +The premises were resold, and as Gilmour put it, "it was +the funeral of that little church." They were threatening to +prevent our leaving the town, as there seemed some doubt in +Gilmour's mind as to whether we would be able to get a cart; +these fears were disappointed; Li San got a cart for us.'</p> + +<p>Before Dr. Smith had passed many days in the society +of Mr. Gilmour it became clear to the practised eye of the +medical man that his colleague had been overstraining his +health and strength. Notwithstanding his buoyancy and +occasional high spirits all through his long years of work, +James Gilmour had been subject to spells of severe depression. +There are a very large number of brief entries in his +diary to that effect. 'Felt blue to-day' is a frequent +phrase, followed soon in the great majority of instances by +words indicating a speedy recovery. Special events, that +from time to time had a direct adverse influence upon his +work, developed this state of mind rapidly and profoundly. +The inevitable recall of Dr. Roberts, already described, is a +case in point, and the diary at that season contains entries +like these:</p> + +<blockquote><p>'<i>April 26, 1888.</i>—These last days have been full of +blessing and peace in my own soul. I have been able to +leave things at Ta Chêng Tzŭ;, and my colleagues all in +God's hands.'</p> + +<p>'<i>May 7.</i>—Downcast day. No one to prayer.'</p> + +<p>'<i>May 9.</i>—In terrible darkness and tears for two days. +Light broke over me at my stand to-day in the thought<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> +that Jesus was tempted forty days of the devil after His +baptism, and that He felt forsaken on the cross.'</p> + +<p>'<i>May 27, Sunday.</i>—Service, Romans xii. Present, four +Christians. Great depression.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The most constant force acting in the direction of +mental depression was what appeared to him like the want +of immediate success. He longed with an eager and +almost painful intensity for signs that Gospel light had +broken in upon the mental darkness of the men with whom +he was in daily contact. He yearned for evidence that +the love of Christ was winning the love of Chinese and +Mongol hearts, as a mother yearns over her children. Hope +deferred as to his medical colleague, ever recurring difficulties +defeating all his efforts to secure suitable premises for +his work, failure on the part of natives whom he had begun +to trust, and all these things over and above the ceaseless +strain of his daily toil, are more than sufficient to account +for the state in which Dr. Smith found him.</p> + +<p>To those who knew him best, and who could appraise +at their true value the toils and trials and disappointments +of his daily lot, the wonder was not that he broke down; +it was rather that physical collapse had not overtaken him +sooner. There are many kinds of heroism, but it may be +doubted whether any touches a higher level than that exhibited +by this patient sower of the seed of life on the +sterile field of Mongolia, bravely continuing to do so until +imperatively urged to cease for a season, not by his consciousness +of failing power, but by the alarm and influence +of his medical co-worker.</p> + +<p>When the decision was once taken, it was acted upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> +promptly. March 26, 1889, was the day, and Peking the +place. On April 4 he left Peking, and on the 20th he +sailed from Shanghai. He arrived in London on May 25.</p> + +<p>This visit to England in 1889 was a great refreshment +bodily, mental, and spiritual, to the overwrought labourer. +The voyage itself, enforcing rest from all ordinary avocations, +by removing Mr. Gilmour from the depressing surroundings +amid which he had spent so much of the last +three years, began the restorative process. He was beginning +to feel in himself great benefit from the change even +by the time he reached London. But the six years which +had passed since he last walked the London streets had +left their mark upon him. He had drawn to the utmost +upon his physical and spiritual strength in the service of +those for whose conversion he lived and toiled. He had +been through the deep waters of personal affliction when +his wife passed into the sinless life. The many toils and +hardships of the passing years had drawn deep furrows +upon the cheery face, and the eyes showed evidence of the +mental and spiritual strain.</p> + +<p>So sudden was the resolution to return, and so prompt +his action upon it, that few knew even of the probability +until he was actually here. On May 27, 1889, the writer +was sitting in his room, overlooking the pleasant garden +that brightens up the north-eastern corner of St Paul's +Churchyard, in conversation with a gentleman, when a +knock came at the door and a head appeared. Not seeing +it very clearly, and at the same time asking for a minute's +delay while the business in hand was completed, the head +disappeared. As soon as the first visitor departed a man +entered and stood near the door. I looked at him with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> +the conviction that I knew him, and yet could not recall the +true mental association, when the old smile broke over his +face, and he burst into a laugh, saying, 'Why, man, you +don't know me' 'Yes, I do,' I replied, 'you're Gilmour; but +I thought that at this moment you were in Mongolia.' But +when I was able to scrutinise him closely I was shocked +to see how very evident were the signs of stress and strain. +It was not wholly inexcusable, even in an old friend, to +fail to instantly recognise in the worn and apparently +broken man, thought to be hard at work many thousands +of miles away, the strong and cheery Gilmour of 1883.</p> + +<p>Carrying him off home, we talked far into the night, not +because his host thought it a good thing for the invalid, +but because he was so full of his work and its difficulties +and its pressing needs, and what he hoped to do on behalf +of Mongolia by his visit home, that there seemed no possible +alternative but to let him talk himself weary. And +how splendidly he talked! He pictured his life at a +Mongol inn. He ranged over the whole opium and whisky +and tobacco controversy. He gave, with all the dramatic +effect of which he was so great a master, the story of how +he forced home upon the Chinese and Mongols, until even +<i>they</i> admitted the force of the reasoning, how natural it was +that famine should visit them when they gave up their land +to opium, and their grain to the manufacture of whisky. +He gave in rapid dialogue his own questions, the native rejoinders, +and he so vividly pictured the scene that his hearer +could fancy himself standing under the tent, surrounded by +Chinese and Mongols, and assenting, as they did, to the +earnest and far-reaching conclusions of the speaker.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AS ILLUSTRATED BY +LETTERS TO RELATIVES AND FRIENDS</h3> + + +<p>This break in active work affords a convenient occasion +for exhibiting in a still stronger light, by means of selections +from his correspondence, some important sides of James +Gilmour's character. He was a good correspondent and wrote +freely to his relatives and friends. We have quoted largely +hitherto from his official reports and from letters that refer +to the condition and progress of his life-work. But it is in +the letters addressed to the circle of relatives and most +intimate friends that he reveals more fully the deeper side +of his life, and the strong and tender affection of his nature.</p> + +<p>He corresponded regularly with his parents until the +earthly tie was broken by the death of his mother in 1884 +and of his father in 1888. His letters to the latter were +very beautiful, especially those designed to strengthen his +faith in the closing years when he had passed the eightieth +milestone. The tone of the correspondence may be judged +from the following examples:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Peking: Friday, January 23, 1885. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Father,—So this must in future be the heading +of my letters—no longer my dear parents. Mother +has gone. Yours of November 21 reached me this afternoon,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> +or evening rather. As I came home from the +chapel I found a beggar waiting at the gate. I thought +he was going to beg, but he did not. Inside I found the +gate-keeper waiting at our house door for a reply note, to +say that the letter had been delivered. I went to my study, +and was praying for a blessing on the chapel preaching +when Emily came. I let her in. She had your letter in +her hand. It had come by Russia, and the Russian post +sometimes sends over our mail by a Peking beggar, paying +him of course.</p> + +<p>'I have not had time to think yet. On my heels came +in men for the prayer-meeting we hold in our house on +Friday evening, and till now I have been almost continuously +engaged. It is now 10.20 P.M. It so happens that +this week I am much behind in my sermon preparation for +Sunday, and it also happens that I am going to preach on +<i>whole families</i> believing on Christ. What brought this +subject to my mind is one of our old Christians who is +dying, the only Christian in his whole family. His great +grief is that they (his family) remain heathens. In addition, +too, a Christian father admitted to a missionary the other +day that he had not taught Christ to his daughter who had +just died. Preaching on this subject I will have something +to say about my own dear, good, anxious mother, and of +how she used to say when I was a boy, "<i>What a terrible +thing it will be if I see you shut out of heaven!</i>" She did +not say terrible; "unco" was her word.</p> + +<p>'I have not yet had time to realise my loss, and cannot +think of the Hamilton house as being without her. Eh, +man! you know how good a mother she was to us, and I +have some idea of what a companion and help she was to +you. You two had nearly fifty years together. You must +feel lonely without her. Fathers and mothers are thought +much of by the Chinese, and you, at my suggestion, were +most heartily and feelingly prayed for by the Chinese at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> +our prayer-meeting to-night. You would have felt quite +touched could you have heard and understood them.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>There is a special interest attaching to the sentence +used frequently by his mother. On <a href="#Page_41">page 41</a> he refers to +his conversion, but no record appears to have been preserved, +giving any detail or fixing with any exactness the +date. But his brothers have a conviction that his constant +recollection of the oft-repeated and well-remembered words, +'What an unco thing it will be if I see you shut out of +heaven!' was one of the most potent influences in bringing +about his conversion. The letters immediately following +were written during the last two years of his father's +life.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Let us not be disturbed at all about our not having +more communication. I pray often for you and remember +you more frequently still, and feel more and more that +earth is a shifting scene, that here we have no permanent +place, that heaven is our home, that your wife—my dear +mother—has gone there, that my wife has gone there and +is now in the Golden City, and that, sooner or later, you +and I will be there, and that, when there, we'll have plenty +of time to sit about and talk all together in a company. +Lately I have come to see that we have but to put ourselves +into the hands of Jesus and let Him do with us as He +likes, and He'll save us <i>sure and certain</i>. He can make us +willing even to let Him change us and train us.</p> + +<p>'You are eighty years old. I am proud of you. I like +to think of your life. Mother told me, when I was a lad, of +some of your early struggles. God has been with you and +guided you on through all to a good old age of honour and +respect and love. Trust Him and He'll not leave you. +Depend upon it, God has something better for us in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> +world to come than He has ever given us here. And it is +not difficult to get it. God wants to give it to us all; offers +it to us, and is distressed if we don't take it. We have +only to go to Christ and ask Jesus to make it all right for +us, and He'll do it. I know you are in earnest. Jesus will +turn away no earnest man.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Mr. Gilmour senior acted as steward of the little store +which his son by rigid economy was amassing for the +benefit of his children. Scotch thrift was well exemplified +in them both. But in the course of 1887 James Gilmour +became troubled about this accumulation of even that +small sum which he could call his own. In his lonely +introspective Mongolian life the possession of money came +to wear in his view the aspect of distrusting God. At this +juncture the London Missionary Society was in a somewhat +serious state as regards funds. A special appeal had +been sent out indicating that if additional funds were not +forthcoming, some fields of work might have to be given +up. James Gilmour's response was an order to pay over +anonymously the sum of 100<i>l.</i> to the general funds of the +Society, and 50<i>l.</i> to that set apart for widows and orphans.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'March 16, 1887. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Father,—Some explanation is due to you of +the order to pay the London Missionary Society 100<i>l.</i> of my +money as a contribution to their funds.</p> + +<p>'The money that I have in the bank is the result of +long and, much of it, of self-denying savings on my part +and the part of my late wife—more on hers than mine, +perhaps. When she died, and I was going off to this +remote and isolated field, it was a comfort to me to think +that in the event of my death there was a little sum laid +past which would help my sons to get an education. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> +have added to that sum all I could from my house-furniture +sale, &c., and it has reached a good figure—the exact +sum I cannot yet tell—I have not yet had your account +for 1886.</p> + +<p>'Some time ago God seemed to say, "<i>Entrust that money +to My keeping!</i>" and, as days went on, the command +seemed to get more loud and be ever present, so much so +that finally I could not read my Bible for it or pray. I +had no resource left but to obey; I did not like to give it +up; but finally it has appeared to me that God is only +keeping the funds for the lads and that He will arrange for +them to have them all right when they are needed. How +He can do this I need not ask. He may, for instance, keep +me alive for the sake of the lads. In one sense it seems +an unwise thing not to be laying up something for the +children's education; but that is only one side of it. +God seems to ask me to trust Him with my children, and +I trust Him with them. They are far from my care and +control, and I know such painful cases of the children of +missionaries growing up unbelievers that I dare not do +anything that seems to me not to be putting them fully +into God's care and up-bringing.</p> + +<p>'In addition, I am exhorting people here to become +Christians, by doing which they throw themselves and their +children outside of the community. I tell them to do it, +and trust God's protecting them in troubles and helping +them in difficulties; and I can hardly do that if I have +not faith in God myself for me and mine.</p> + +<p>'Again, I need God's help and blessing much in my +work here, and I do not seem to myself to be able to +expect it if I do not trust Him. So please regard the +money removed as not lost, only put into a safer bank.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The following letter, also dealing with money matters +from the Christian point of view, is so striking in many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> +ways that it has been deemed advisable to quote it <i>in +extenso</i>:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Ch'ao Yang, Mongolia: May 6, 1888. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Father,—Enclosed please find some directions +about the disposal of my money. These arrangements +are so contrary to my previous arrangements that some +explanation is due to you and to my brothers. Here they +are.</p> + +<p>'In my mission work out here I am much thrown upon +God. The field is a very hard one. The superstitions are +like towns walled up to heaven. The power of man avails +nothing against them. As far as man is concerned I am +almost alone. I turn to God. I hear the words, "Not by +might nor by power, but by My Spirit," saith the Lord. I +trust Him. I call upon Him. I commune with Him. He +comes near me. I ask Him to convert men. There are +conversions, a few true, as far as I can judge. But there +seems some barrier between God and me to a certain +extent. Thinking round to see what it can be, I hear a +voice saying, "Can't you trust Me with the money you have +laid up for your children?" I think over it I pray over +it. I say, "I may die and the boys need the money." God +replies, "If you trust Me with it, don't you think I'd give +them it as they needed?" I say, "But my father and +brothers might not see it so, and might not like the idea of +destitute orphan children on their hands." God replies, +"With <i>Me</i> for their banker children are not destitute, and +if you prefer father and brothers before Me, you are not +worthy of Me." Then I say, "What will you have me do?" +God says, "Give Me the money; I'll see they have all that +is necessary." I dare not disobey. I don't want to disobey. +I am so much exercised over the spiritual well-being +of the boys, that I gladly do anything that will make them +in any sense more specially protégés of God. I am alarmed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> +at the fate of some missionaries' children who have not +turned out godly men. Preserve the boys from this!</p> + +<p>'This is no sudden resolution. I have thought and +prayed much over it. I can delay this step no longer without +feeling I would be refusing to follow God's guidance. I feel, +too, that God has so many ways in which He can bless the +lads and me, that in making this arrangement I am running +no risk. The only thing I am not quite clear about is the +detailed disposition of the money. Meantime, it seems to +me that I can best use it for God in this mission here. I +mean to bank it in Peking, in the first instance, and use it +for renting or buying premises.</p> + +<p>'As to the general principle of having money for ourselves +or children, I do not think God asks us all to put all +we may have or get thus in His keeping, or asks me even +to put <i>all</i> into His keeping in this especial manner. You +know the money was originally saved from the salary +given by the mission, and in this sense is peculiar. Money +that I had earned by trade, or otherwise come by, I do not +think God would ask me to dispose of it so. But His +voice seems very plain in this present case.</p> + +<p>'My salary I shall still have paid to me, and the children's +remittances shall come as usual. If I live I guess +this will be enough for the education of the lads. If I die, +the lads are not destitute. Even in a worldly sense, and +quite apart from this sum which I am banking with God, +and which I am sure He'll repay with compound interest +when needed, if left orphans they would be in some sense +provided for by the London Missionary Society, which, +though it gives no pensions to any one, yet yearly raises +funds and gives money to broken-down old missionaries, +widows, and orphans. I don't suppose it is much or +enough, but it is something. I say this that you may not +be troubled should your faith be weak or waver.</p> + +<p>'I hope that these arrangements may not seem unwise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> +to you, and will commend themselves to you far enough to +have your consent if not your warm approval. For myself +I am thankful that God has given me faith enough to trust +Him so. It has taken time to come to this. Myself is a +small matter—it takes more faith to trust for one's children. +Just fancy old Abraham offering his Isaac. Just fancy, +God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Let +us respond to God's love.</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Your loving son, <br /> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour. </span>'<br /> +</p></blockquote> + +<p>In compliance with his wish a sum amounting to several +hundred pounds was sent out to Peking and there banked +by him. Had not the many difficulties which Chinese +habits placed in the way prevented the completion of +negotiations, there is hardly any doubt that James Gilmour +would have himself spent this money on his own mission-field. +He died before any of the negotiations for premises +which he had commenced reached a successful +issue. As he had not specified in his will that this sum +was to be devoted to mission work, the trustees of his boys +have had no alternative, and have felt it their duty to consider +it a part of his estate, the income of which should be +devoted to the education of his sons. But the intention +of James Gilmour was clear and well known, and it +is to be hoped that the interest felt by many friends in his +life and work will prove strong enough to secure a permanent +home for the mission as a memorial of its founder, +and on the site of his glad and self-sacrificing toil.</p> + +<p>A year or two later, in a letter to his boys, he seeks +to enforce the duty of careful, systematic giving to +God.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span></p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Ch'ao Yang: August 19, 1890. +</p> + +<p>'I wonder if you are giving a tenth of all the money +you get to God. I think it is a right thing to do and a +good thing. Mamma did it: I do it: and God never let us +want for money. I would be glad if you would like to do it. +But don't do it merely to please me. Don't do it except +you can do it gladly. God likes people to do things +gladly. I am quite sure you would get blessing by it. +Money given to God is never lost. And it is easier to +begin the habit now than later.</p> + +<p>'When you give it to God you can put it into the +London Missionary Society box; it would only be fair to +give some little part of it at the collection at the church to +which you go. You could give some of it for destitute +children. It does not matter much where you give it. I +think the London Missionary Society has the best claim. +Think over it, boys. Jesus died to save us: surely we can +show our gratitude by giving Him some of our money?'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Later letters to his father outline for us his religious +experience, and enable us to realise something of the +spiritual experience of these years.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Ch'ao Yang: March 29, 1887. +</p> + +<p>'I am wondering how you all are. God has been drawing +me nearer to Him these last weeks, and I am living in +the hope that He will bless me and my work largely some +day. There is much ignorance to be removed, much suspicion, +much misunderstanding of me as a foreigner, and I +am hammering away as hard as I can. There are mountains +of difficulty to be removed, but I am trusting in God +to remove them, and these last days I have had much +peace and joy in my heart thinking of God's love to me +and the salvation of Jesus. I have no doubt at all about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> +my being His, and sometimes the great hope is almost too +much to realise. But I am often at the same time downcast +that I cannot see more people here converted, and I +think that, if God has a favour to me and delights in me, +He can well move the hearts of these people to believe in +His Son, and choose out people to come and help me in +my work. I am sometimes lonely here, and wish I had a +friend to talk to and tell all my troubles, and then I think +that Jesus is such a friend, and so I tell Him all my griefs; +but I would like to have a colleague.</p> + +<p>'I hope, my dear father, that your heart is contented and +happy in Jesus. Only let Him arrange all things for you +as regards your soul, and He'll do it all right. He can be +trusted. Heaven is not far away; we'll soon be there; +comfort your heart. Won't it be too blessed to be again +with our wives, freed from all that is earthly, and suffering, +and surrounded by nothing but what is nice! This is no +dream: it is real; it is true; it is kept for us; it will be +ours. We'll see it soon; you and I will be there together. +It may be some time before we are there together; but +years soon pass. Cheer up, my father!</p> + +<p>'We miss much by not living near to Jesus—taking +Him at His word and expecting that He'll do all we need +done for us both in saving us and in making our hearts +good. Jesus is real and heaven is real, and our share in +heaven, if we trust and follow Jesus, is real. You say you +are busy: so am I. You have cares: so have I. Go +ahead and look after your work and business; but you'll do +it all the better that your heart is at peace with God and +at rest in Jesus. I find that the closer I am to Jesus the +better I can meet and bear all troubles, trials, and difficulties, +and you will find the same true if you try.</p> + +<p>'I feel quite lifted up to-night. I have a room to +myself. This is the first time I have had a room to +myself since leaving Peking January 25. It is pleasant to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> +be private a little. This room is private to me alone only +after (say) 8 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>, when I am left in peace. I hope to have +this room for three weeks.</p> + +<p>'I am afraid, if you saw the room, you would not think +it much of a place. To-night, too, I have a pillow. For +over three weeks I have rested my head on some folded-up +bag or article of dress: to-night I have a pillow. Christ +had not where to lay His head. In all things I am still +better off than He was. If I could only see souls saved I +would not care for the roughing it.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In a letter later in the same year to a missionary +colleague in a distant field Mr. Gilmour unveils still further +his religious history:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Mongolia: October 7, 1887. +</p> + +<p>'Yours of May 31 to hand three or four days ago. +The China Inland Mission has a lot of good men in it. It +does a good work. It is warm-hearted devotion that wins +souls and gets God's approval. My experience has been +different from yours, happily. All along I have gone on +the "headlong for Christ" way of things here, even when +preaching to the most intellectual English and American +audiences, and they have received me royally. Man, +God has waked me up these last years to such an extent +that I feel a different man. I sometimes wonder now if I +was converted before. I suppose I was, but the life was a +cold, dull one. Just the other day Jesus, so to speak, put out +His hand and touched me as I was reading a hymn, something +about desiring spiritual things and passing by Jesus +Himself. I wanted His blessing more than I wanted Him. +That is not right. Lately, too, I have become calm. +Before I worked, oh so hard and so much, and asked God +to bless my work. Now I try to pray more and get more +blessing, and then work enough to let the blessing find its +way through me to men. And this is the better way.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> +It is the right way. And I work a lot even now. Perhaps +as much as before; but I don't worry at the things I cannot +overtake. I feel, too, more than I did, that God is +guiding me. Oh! sometimes the peace of God flows over +me like a river. Then it is so blessed, heaven is real. So +is God: so is Jesus. Our lot is a great one.</p> + +<p>'Try not to fly around so much: take more time with +God. Be more in private prayer with Him, and see if He +will not give you a greater spiritual blessing for your +people. After all, the great want, as I gather from your +letters, is the spiritual blessing on the people. Ask it, man, +and you'll get it. God's promises are sure. I am trying +to combine the China Inland Mission, the Salvation Army, +and the L.M.S. I have a great district, and a hard one, +all to myself. There is said to be a young doctor on his +way out to me. I am writing by this mail for three +young laymen. Non-smoking and teetotalism are conditions +of Church membership. I have seen no foreigner +since January 25, and am not likely to see one till +December 5. My mails take an enormous time to reach +me, and two sent in June and July from Peking (eight days +off) have never come to hand at all. I am baffled, battered +and bruised in soul in many ways, but, thank God, holding +on and believing that He is going to bless me.</p> + +<p>'Eh, man, never talk of not going back. Go back, though +you can only do half work; go back, and work less and pray +more. That is what you need. I have been a vegetarian +for over a year. I find fasting helpful to prayer. Two +books by Andrew Murray, Wellington, Cape Town—<i>Abide +in Christ, With Christ in the School of Prayer</i>—have +done me much good. May blessings be on your dear wife +and children! Yours, hoping to have a good long holiday +with you in heaven,</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour.</span>'<br /> +</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span></p> + +<p>Some years earlier in his career he had written a letter +of brotherly remonstrance to one who, in a moment of +depression and without any adequate cause, felt himself +slighted. The same spirit breathes through both, but is +richer and fuller in the later letter. God had been teaching +James Gilmour in a hard, but a fruitful school.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I know of your zeal in working at home as well as +abroad, and I am greatly grieved to find you think you are +badly treated. I think it is very unfortunate that any +agent should have that feeling about his Society, L.M.S. or +other. I am alarmed, too, my dear fellow, to find you +express yourself so strongly. It is hardly the thing. +Would Christ have said that? I do hope you will pardon +my speaking so, but you know sometimes a rash word +does more harm than a deed even. And I am anxious +that you should have a peaceful mind. <i>I</i> know your value, +and wish to see you nearly perfect. Let me remind you +of a thing we both believe, and a thought I have often +been comforted by. Jesus has suffered even more for us +than we can ever suffer for Him, and what you do in +raising funds and endeavouring is done, not for L.M.S., but +for Him, <i>for Him</i>, and He sees and knows and won't +forget, but sympathises and appreciates, and at the end +will speak up straight and open for His true men. I often +lug portmanteaus, walk afoot, and, as the Chinese say, +"eat bitterness," in China and in England. I am not +thanked for it, but He knows. No danger of being overlooked. +Now, don't be "huffed" at my lecturing you, and +don't think I must think a lot of myself to suppose that I +am running up a bill of merit, like a Buddhist, and think I +am Jesus's creditor. My dear fellow, you know better +than that. I point out to you and remind you of the only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> +way I know to be persistently useful, and at the same +time happy.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>But of all the relationships of life—son, brother, friend, +ambassador for Christ—that which most naturally, most +profoundly, and most beautifully reveals his very heart is +when he writes as the loving father to his distant motherless +boys. A large number of his letters to them have +been entrusted to the hands of his biographer. Many of +them touch upon subjects too sacred for publication. They +deal with those closest of earthly ties in which not even +intimate friends can legitimately claim a share. But +it was felt that they reveal a side of his nature and +character that ought not to be entirely hidden in any +picture of his life. For this reason a somewhat extensive +selection has been made from this tender and helpful +correspondence. When it first began the lads were too +young to read the letters themselves, but he wrote long +accounts of his work to be read to them, and it is pleasant +to see how keen his eye became in noting such things as +were likely to amuse them and to arrest their attention. +Some of the letters are written in big letters resembling +printed capitals. The brief, childlike letters that were +sent to him by them were bound up into a paper volume, +which he carried about with him during his Mongolian +wanderings, and in looking them over he found an unfailing +solace and refreshment. He often illustrated his own +letters to them by rough but effective sketches of persons +and things which he saw. The death of their mother had +brought the lads and their father very near to one another, +and although lost to sight, they always thought and spoke +of the dear one who had gone as still of the family, as in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> +perfect happiness, and waiting only God's time to reunite +them in the happy life of heaven.</p> + +<p>When it was decided to entrust them to the care of an +uncle in Scotland, Mr. Gilmour set out the desires he +cherished with regard to their training. It is only to be +regretted that similar plans are not formed and acted upon +in the training of all children.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'The laddies are here with me now, and I am both +father and mother to them. To-night I darned three +stockings for them when they went to bed. You see I +have been away two months, and in a week or two I may +have to part from them for ten years, so I am having a +little leisure time with them. I sometimes do feel real +bad at the idea of the two orphan lads going away so far; +but then the promise of Christ that no one leaves parents +or children for His sake, without being repaid manifold, +comforts me by making me believe that God will raise up +friends to comfort them wherever they may be.</p> + +<p>'Cheer up! The two worlds are one, and not far separate. +Mrs. Prankard, I hear, won't have Emily's name mentioned. +We here go on the other tack, and the children are all day +long talking about what mamma did and said, and adventures +we had together. And why not? The tears +come sometimes: let them, they do no harm, are a relief +more than anything, and the time is coming when God will +wipe away all tears from our eyes.</p> + +<p>'I wish them to be Christ's from their youth up. I +wish them to get a good thorough education, not too +expensive, to be able to read, write, and spell well. Should +either of them turn out likely, I might be able to let both, +or that one have a college education, but I don't want either +of them to go there if they don't show adaptation for it.</p> + +<p>'What I want of you is something money cannot buy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> +motherly and fatherly care in Christ for the desolate lads, +whose whole life in time and eternity too may largely +depend on how they are trained and treated during the +next few years. I am not rich, but I can support my boys. +This Christian care and love, however, is what is not to be +had for money, so I beg it.</p> + +<p>'I had five hours' conversation with one Chinaman at a +stretch the other day. I think he was not far from the +kingdom of God at first, and I believe he is nearer now. All +these things take time, and I am most anxious to be with +the children much these last days. Oh, it is hard to think +of them going off over the world in that motherless fashion! +We were at mamma's grave yesterday for the first time since +September 21. We sang "There is a land that is fairer +than day," in Chinese, and also a Chinese hymn we have +here with a chorus, which says, "We'll soon go and see +them in our heavenly home," and in English, "There is a +happy land." The children and I have no reluctance in +speaking of mamma, and we don't think of her as here or +buried, but as in a fine place, happy and well.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Here are a few short extracts from the earlier letters:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Cheer up, my dear sonnies! We shall see each other +some day yet. Tell all your troubles to Jesus, and let Him +be your friend. I, out here, think often of mamma and her +nice face, and how good she was to you and to me. You +will not forget her. She sees you every day, and is so +pleased when you are good lads. We'll all go some day +and be with her, won't that be good? Meantime, Jesus is +taking care of her, and will take care of us.</p> + +<p>'Sometimes, when I am writing a letter to you, and +come to the foot of a page, and want to turn over the leaf, +I don't take blotting paper and blot it, but kneel down and +pray while it is drying.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span></p> + +<p>'I am going away, too, in a few days; then I'll have no +one but Chinese to speak to. Never mind, I'll just tell +Jesus all my affairs; I cannot go away from Him. He is +never too busy to talk to me. Just you, too, tell Jesus all +your troubles. He sees both you and me.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>From the longer letters we select three or four, and +give them exactly as they were written. From them the +character of many others, from which only brief extracts +can be taken, may be judged.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Ch'ao Yang: April 10, 1887. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Sons,—I am well and thankful for it. I am +getting on well too, thank God. I have had terrible +weather lately though. Daily I have my tent—it is only a +cloth roof on six bamboo poles—put up in the market-place. +We have had three days' wind. Eh, man, the first day the +dust was terrible. But I had lots of patients and remained +out all day. At last we had to take down our tent. +It could not stand. The tent was carried to the inn, but +we remained with our table till evening. You would +hardly have known us for dust. But patients came all +the time. Next day the tent was blown down twice. +Once a man's head got such a smack with the bamboo +tent pole, but he said nothing and took it quite pleasantly. +A peep-show man near us got his show blown down and +scattered about. He gathered it up and went home to his +inn.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span></p></blockquote> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 491px;"><a name="p245" id="p245"> +<img src="images/245.jpg" width="491" height="328" alt="JAMES GILMOUR'S TENT" title="" /> +<span class="caption">JAMES GILMOUR'S TENT</span></a> +</div> + +<blockquote><p>'I am so glad that the people like us and trust us and +come about us for medicines. Women came too. Boys +came too. Just now the school boys have holiday for the +fair, and they stand for a long time together looking at me +doctoring the people. What the boys like to see is a +glass bottle of eye medicine which I bring out and set up. +Then I dip a glass tube in and press an india-rubber bulb. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>The air comes out in the water in bubbles and rises up to +the surface, and the boys are so delighted to see it bubbling. +They will wait a long time and like to see it ever so often. +They are sometimes troublesome, then I send them away. +When they are good I shove the glass tube deep down +into the bottle, and they are so delighted to see the air +bubbling up from the bottom.</p> + +<p>'When a man comes to have a tooth pulled even the +men are delighted, and advise him to have it out. They +want to see the fun. Mothers send their little boys for +medicine, and I am so pleased with some of the little lads. +They are so modest and so polite, making a deep bow as +they go away. Always be modest and polite, my sons, and +people will love you and treat you well.</p> + +<p>'The boys buy a lot of books too, and I preach to them +earnestly, because in ten years to come they will be men, +and if they know about Jesus now they may more easily +become Christians some day soon. You, Jimmie, know +Jesus; does Willie? Teach him. Mamma is not here to +teach him, and I am far away. You are his big brother. +Teach you him like a good laddie as you are.</p> + +<p>'The other day when I was preaching a man was +standing behind me with a little black pig under his arm. +He wanted to hear me preach, but the pig would not be +quiet. He held its mouth shut, but the little pig would +still manage to give a squeak now and again. At last it +would not be quiet at all, and he had to go away with it. +I could not help smiling at him. There is an old man +here in my inn. He is owner of the inn. His son manages +the inn. The old man is not very old. He is about sixty-five. +But he used to be a great opium smoker. A year or +more ago he had a very serious illness and gave up his +opium, but he had wrecked his health by his smoking. +He cannot now live many months. He can hardly speak +plainly now. He comes to see me in my room, and I try<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> +to tell him about Jesus, hoping that he may be saved. He +listens, but he is not very bright in his mind. I hope he +may pray to Jesus.</p> + +<p>'The other day I had to pull my own tooth. It was the +back tooth and had been painful for days. There was no +one who could do it for me, so I sat down with a little +Chinese looking-glass before a candle, got a good hold of +it with the forceps, and after a good deal of wrenching out +it came. He <i>was</i> a deep-pronged fellow, and he did bleed. +I was so thankful that God helped me to get it out. I can +sleep now all right.</p> + +<p>'Our Mongol donkeyman wants to be a Christian. I +hope he is sincere, but he is very slow and dull at learning. +There are three other men here who are learning about +Jesus too, but it is too early yet to say much about them. +A good many people learn some, then stop. But it is late +and I must go to bed, else I won't be able to preach and +doctor all day in the market-place at the fair to-morrow.</p> + +<p>'Praying that God may bless you, my sons, and sending +you much love,</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'I am your affectionate Father, <br /> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour.</span>'<br /> +</p></blockquote> + + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Ta Chêng Tzŭ: Sept. 3, 1887. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Sons,—I am well, and thankful for it. The +three Christians here come daily to evening worship. +There are here others who want to be Christians, but who +have not courage enough. One man's wife won't let him +be a Christian; she says she will kill herself if he does. +Another man is in the same case. He is a Chinaman, his +wife is a Mongol. Still another man has a Mongol wife, +and she kept him back. The other day he came and confessed +Christianity. His wife does not consent, only says: +"We'll see." Another man's father hinders his son from +Christianity. The lad is a very nice lad.</p> + +<p>'Yesterday was the day when people make offerings of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> +food and fruit at the graves. One of the Christians was +sent to do so. He brought the melon here, and we ate half +of it with him.</p> + +<p>'Still another man is forbidden by his father to be a +Christian. That is, in all, five men are Christians at heart, +and read our books and are learning Christianity, but do +not confess Christ in this one place. Do you know what +Jesus says about such people (Matt. x. 32-39)? Jesus +says that, if they obey others rather than Him, they are not +worthy to be His disciples. I am praying for all these +people. I ask you, too, to pray for these and all like them, +that they may be able to confess Christ. It is difficult for +men in China to be Christians. How different with you! +We all want you to be Christians. Your father and friends +all help you to be Christians, and if you are not Christians +we are all distressed.</p> + +<p>'Boys, do be true to Jesus. In your words and deeds +honour Him. Make <i>His</i> heart glad. Jesus wants your +love. He loves you and died for you. You cannot but +love Him if you think how He loves you. Good-bye. Meantime +I am just going to breakfast, and then for a day +on the street, trying to tell the people about Jesus. God +bless you, my dear lads!</p> + +<p>'It is now afternoon. I write a few lines. A lad in a +shop here has a tame dove. He has painted it all over +different colours. It looks absurd. I don't like to see it +sitting about the shop. Doves look so happy flying about. +Mamma, too, liked to see birds on the trees and houses wild, +not kept in cages.</p> + +<p>'I guess you are just about getting your breakfast. +Here it is about 4 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> With you it should be 8 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> +Saturday; I wish I could see you. My love to you, my dear +sons. May you always, both now and when grown, be +boys and men that know and love Jesus! I pray for you. +Your loving father,</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour.</span>'<br /> +</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span></p> + +<p>In August 1884 a third son was given to Mr. and Mrs. +Gilmour, whom they named Alexander. In 1887 spinal +trouble developed, and in December of that year he died. +'Though often ill,' wrote his father when announcing the +death to the uncle after whom he had been named, 'his life +was a happy one. It is now happier than ever. Thanks be +to God that there is, and that we know that there is, a +bright and happy life beyond. Let us make that the great +meeting-place for ourselves and our children and friends. +May it stand before us as a joy! As ever and anon one +and another goes there, may we feel that we have more +and more interest there! Let us live looking to the joy set +before us!' This baby-brother is the Alick referred to in +the following letter:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Ta Chêng Tzŭ, Mongolia: February 11, 1888. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Sons,—I am well, and thankful for it. I got +here two days ago. I had such a cold time of it on the +road! I never felt the cold so much before.</p> + +<p>'People here are very busy. This is the last day of the +Chinese year.</p> + +<p>'To-morrow is the first day of the Chinese year. Everybody +is buying all sorts of food, because the shops do not +open for some days after the new year. They are very +busy, too, scraping off the old papers at the sides of their +doors and pasting up new papers. They (the papers) are +red, and look fine at first with the great black Chinese +characters written on them. But the sun after a while +takes the colour out of them.</p> + +<p>'They are busy, too, pasting up the new gods in their +houses. They (the gods) are sheets of paper with pictures +of gods on them. Every house has a god of the kitchen. +They send him to heaven, as they think, by burning him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> +They burnt the old one last Saturday. They are putting +up the new one now. They think that when he is burnt +he goes to heaven and reports to a god what he has seen +in the house during the year. I ask them if I burnt them +would they think they were going to heaven? They buy +sticky sugar-cakes to give him so that he may be pleased, +and not tell on them for doing evil things. They think, +too, that the sugar sticks his lips together, so that when he +wants to tell on them he can't get his mouth open! Isn't +it all very silly and very sad? The shopkeepers, too, paste +up a "god of riches," thinking that thus they will become +rich!</p> + +<p>'To-morrow (Sunday) I hope to baptize a man. He is +a Chinaman. That will make four Christians here. They +all have faults and weaknesses, and I am not very easy in +my mind about them. Pray that God may make them +better and make them grow in grace. Pray, too, that God +may convert more of the people. Pray, too, that God may +give us a house of our own to live in. People here are +afraid to let us have a house. Now that Dr. Roberts is +coming, we will need a house. He is coming in six or +seven weeks. Then he stays two months, and goes back +to Tientsin for a while again. We saw the Christian at +Tá Ssŭ Kou as we passed. The Ch'ao Yang man we have +not seen yet.</p> + +<p>'I have made all your letters to me into a book, and +have them with me. Your letters are nice to read, and +show great improvement in the writing. I am going to +keep all your letters this year too and bind them. You +may like to see them when you grow big. The last letter +from you is dated October 27.</p> + +<p>'My dear sons, I think of you often and pray for you +much.</p> + +<p>'You have a photo of mamma's grave. Little Alick's little +mound is close to mamma's, on the side nearer little Edie's.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> +Mamma's and Alick's coffins touch down below. They lie +together. But mamma and Alick are not there. They are +in heaven, with its golden streets and its beautiful river, +and its trees of life, and its beautiful gates, and its good, +loving, kind people, and Jesus and God. They are having +such a nice time of it there!</p> + +<p>'My boys, don't be afraid of dying. Pray to Jesus, do +the things He likes, and if you die you will go to Him, to His +fine place, where you'll have everything that is nice and +good. I don't know whether you or I will go there first, +but I hope that by-and-by we'll all be there, mamma and +Alick and all. I like to think of this. Meantime let us +be doing for Jesus all we can, telling people about Him +and trying to persuade them to be His people. Are your +schoolfellows Jesus' boys? Do you ever tell them of +Him? Tell them, my dear sons.</p> + +<p>'I hope to get letters from you in about a month.</p> + +<p>'Good-bye, my dear boys.</p> + +<p>'May you be good and diligent, and then you'll be +happy. Jesus can make you glad.</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Your loving Father, <br /> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour.</span>'<br /> +</p></blockquote> + +<p>Mrs. Meech had shown much motherly kindness to her +little nephew Alexander, and only a few months after he +had died she herself lost a little son. Mr. Gilmour, on +hearing the sad tidings, wrote to her as follows:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Mongolia: March 25, 1888. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Mrs. Meech,—Many congratulations and +condolences with you. Your little son has gone to Emily. +She'll look after the little man as you looked after her +little man. Just fancy! we have family connections in +heaven not a few, and ever increasing. I hope you are +now getting better and going on all right.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span></p> + +<p>'I am much cheered by the good news of soul movements +in the West Mission. May they continue and increase!</p> + +<p>'With many prayers for you all, and kept in constant +remembrance of you all by the date block,</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Yours in loving sympathy, <br /> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour.</span>'<br /> +</p></blockquote> + + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'May 30, 1888. +</p> + +<p>'I am doctoring a little homeless lad's head here. I put +on ointment all over it to-day. He cried. I said I had +medicine that would stop the pain, and brought out six +cash—one farthing—and told him to go and have a bowl +of buckwheat meal strings. All laughed, he stopped crying, +and did not seem to feel the pain after that. Most of the +people in the town are much impressed with the improvement +in the boy's head. Before he came to me I saw a +Chinese medicine-man poking at the lad's head with a +straw. When he came I rubbed on ointment with my +finger. The bystanders were much pleased to see I was +not averse to touching the poor dirty lad's sore head. Jesus +touched a leper, and I like to do things like what Jesus +would do. That is the right way, boys. Always think +what Jesus would have done, and do like Him.'<br /><br /></p></blockquote> + + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Mongolia: Sept. 9, 1888. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Sons,—I am out on a journey. I knew letters +were being sent me, and hoped to meet them. A long +way off I saw a red umbrella, the sun shining through the +oilcloth. The thought passed through my mind, "Can that +be the messenger?" But I forgot all about it, reading a +book as I walked along. All at once I heard, "He's come," +and looking up, saw the red umbrella close at hand. It +<i>was</i> him. The messenger returns to-morrow. I had had +no letters for eighty days.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span></p> + +<p>'I wrote you last on August 2. Since then several men +have professed Christ, and one man has been baptized.</p> + +<p>'One of the Christians at Ta Chêng Tzŭ stole my bankbook +and drew money of mine, amounting to about 3<i>l.</i> +He says he is penitent, and we have put him on a year's +probation to see how he does. He is a lazy man. Long +ago I said, "If you are lazy, some day the devil will make +you a sinner," and so he did. Had he been a diligent man +he would not have been poor and would not have stolen. +Diligence is a good thing, laziness is a bad thing. A +good Christian cannot be lazy, because he knows Jesus +does not like lazy people. I may write you again in a few +days. Hoping next mail to get a letter from you (there +was none this mail), and asking God to bless you in +everything, and guide you in all your life,</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'I am your loving Father, <br /> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour</span>'<br /> +</p></blockquote> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Ch'ao Yang, Mongolia: Saturday, November 17, 1888. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Sons,—On the street to-day I saw a crowd +standing. I went up to see what they were looking at, +and found two Chinese gentlemen showing off a trained +bird. One of the men stood down on the street. The +other put three little flags so that they stuck on the wall. +The bird then flew away, caught up a flag, and came flying +back to its master in the street, carrying the flag in its bill. +It looked very clever. Every time the bird brought a flag +it was rewarded by being fed with some nice food which it +liked. It was very pretty to see it. But after all it was a +very trifling employment for two grown gentlemen to be +engaged in. Even the crowd of ordinary Chinese seemed +to think so.</p> + +<p>'I don't like to see birds in captivity. It is pretty to +see them wild flying about, and to hear them singing, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> +I pity them in cages, and tied by string as the Chinese are +fond of doing with them. When I see birds tied I often +think of mamma who used so much to like to see them +wild.</p> + +<p>'I remember one day in Mongolia mamma stopped me +from plucking a flower; she said it looked so pretty growing. +Another time a beetle flew and alighted somewhere; +mamma said, "It is so glad that it is alive, don't hurt it."</p> + +<p>'I am a good deal distressed to see the boys in the +market-place. They steal just as much as ever they can +from the sellers of straw and fuel, pluck out handfuls from +the bundles and run away not at all ashamed. If the +owner does not chase them they get off with it. If he +throws down his load and runs after them they drop the +plunder, the owner picks it up, and no more is said +about it.</p> + +<p>'In summer little naked boys follow people carrying +fruit in open baskets and steal it as they can: it all +seems so dishonest, and no one seems to care. On the +street lots of people will see a thief stealing a man's pipe +and never say a word, because it is not their business.'</p> + +<p>'I often think of you and pray for you. You do not +forget mamma, I am sure. She is with Jesus. Be you +His lads, and do your lessons well, and He'll guide you all +through life. Be diligent and careful lads, and you'll grow +up useful and honoured men. Constantly tell Jesus all +your affairs.</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Goodbye meantime, my boys. <br /> +'Much love from your affectionate Father, <br /> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour.</span>' +</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>CLOSING LABOURS</h3> + + +<p>James Gilmour remained in Great Britain less than eight +months. The society of his boys was a great delight to +him. He rejoiced in renewed intercourse with relatives and +old friends. His religious convictions and his own spiritual +life deepened still more. He went to a considerable +number of meetings to speak on missionary work and +needs, and he everywhere produced a great impression.</p> + +<p>Referring to this visit, and especially to his intercourse +with the boys, a near relative writes:—</p> + +<p>'It was a time full of interest and pleasure. What a +variety of moods, from the frolicsome to the pathetic, he +displayed! But evidently his wife's death had laid hold +upon his very soul, and there seemed so much more of +sadness and tenderness than on his former visit, when he +had enjoyed her bright companionship. On one occasion, +referring to a medical missionary who had brought his +wife home from China hopelessly ill, and who was expecting +the end, he said: "Eh, man, he little knows the +<i>terrible</i> dark valley he has to come through, and if Christ +is not with him he will be undone!" He spoke the words +as though he were again going through his own agony, and +then added: "But if Christ is with him he will come out of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> +it with victory, and Christ will be dearer. But he has <i>no</i> +idea what he has to face, though he thinks he has."</p> + +<p>'He had looked forward to spending part of his time +with his sons at Millport, where he had spent June and +July 1883 with his wife and boys on his former visit. So +we went there for a month, and they had a good time +boating, and walking, and reviving old memories of the +happy home circle. The thought of reunion was always +made prominent. The boys must ever remember his +earnest efforts to lead their thoughts heavenward, and +they do think of heaven as a very real place.</p> + +<p>'While at Millport he spent several nights in pasting up +texts on every place likely to catch the eye; on stones +and gateways and fences all round the island. He felt he +must work while time was granted to him. I had noticed +him making paste, but thought nothing of it. I had heard +the sound of a softly closing door at midnight, but thought +it must be fancy. It had gone to my heart to feel his icy +cold hand when he gave me his morning greeting. I +noticed the little texts pasted up, but never thought of +them as his work till the next day, when he began to make +more paste, and then the whole thing came to me like a +flash. I begged him with tears not to go out in the cold +night air, and said that I knew God would rather have him +stay in his warm comfortable bed and get well and strong. +He answered so kindly: "Sister, it pains me to grieve you." +But he finished his work nevertheless.</p> + +<p>'He was always wonderfully considerate, and grateful +for any attention. Sometimes, when he saw me unusually +tired, he would go and get an extra pillow and make me +rest on the sofa, or when we came to the table he would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> +place me in a comfortable chair and pour out the tea himself, +or he would say: "Sister, take a cup yourself first, then +you will be able to help us."</p> + +<p>'On the day before he left us to return to China he +really said his farewell. We had finished dinner, and when +he went out he stood and looked in through the window at +the happy faces still around the table. He threw a kiss, +and then his feelings overcame him, his lip quivered, the +tears came to his eyes, and he hastened away. Later in +the day, when I was speaking hopefully of seeing him +again, he answered: "I shall see your face no more."</p> + +<p>'I know he felt very much giving up the comforts of +civilised life, but he set his face to it. It touched me much +the last evening he was with us, when, after I had to +remind him two or three times of some business it was +needful for him to attend to before he would go, he said: +"I can hardly drag myself away from this bright cosy +scene."</p> + +<p>'His was a rarely sensitive soul. It pained him to hear +any one speaking evil of another. I have seen him turn +deadly pale when he has heard any one impute a wrong +motive. He longed for more of the spirit of Christ among +men. How he longed, too, for more workers in the Mission +field! Many a time he would say, after a walk through +Hamilton on a Saturday evening: "Just think! In a +little town like this there are men preaching at every other +street corner, and I am alone in all of those hundreds of +square miles in Mongolia! What you people are thinking +of I cannot imagine!"'</p> + +<p>In a correspondence which he conducted with the +daughter of one of his former professors there is very much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> +that reveals how deep and strong his religious life had +become, and how he had noted the current of renewed +spirituality which is evident now in all sections of the +Evangelical Church.</p> + +<p>From this correspondence we have been permitted to +cull some beautiful and helpful passages.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Glasgow: November 18, 1889. +</p> + +<p>'May He Himself lead you into closer and closer +communion with Him, and give you in very full measure +His joy and His peace! For myself and for you, I +pray that we may be more captivated with Him and His +friendship. You know, I suppose, No. 565, "In the Secret +of His Presence," in the 750 edition of Sankey. No. +328, "O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found," is one I +like too, as being the expression of partly experience and +partly aspiration. He is truly the true source of true +satisfaction. May we be led to trust Him more largely in +all the things of our lives! I am sure, too it will be the +things where we have trusted Him most and been most +consecrated in His service that we shall value most when +we look back on life from the end. May you be largely +satisfied with His blessing and Himself!'<br /><br /></p></blockquote> + + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'November 20, 1889. +</p> + +<p>'I wonder if your experience is anything like mine—that +I have often got less benefit than I had hoped from +special withdrawals from common surroundings to get +more into the presence of the Lord. One or two prominent +instances of this have happened to me. I am glad +He can be found anywhere, and that He is easy of access +always with favourable or unfavourable surroundings.</p> + +<p>'About feeling—never mind that at all. Things are so +whether we feel them or not. Let us take God at His<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> +word, and not consider our feelings. God refuses no one +who comes to Him in sincerity. Let us be sure of this. I +once heard Spurgeon say a good thing: "When doubts or +the devil comes and says, 'You are not saved; you are +not right with God,' I go to Him and say, 'If I never +came before, I come now; if I never trusted before, I trust +now.'" That cuts off all doubts about the present as standing +on the past, and gives a fresh start.</p> + +<p>'All over the kingdom there is a hunger and thirst +among many for a life of greater nearness to God; a feeling +not only of the need of God being more of a daily, hourly +reality and factor in our life, but that without Him more +real and present life is not a satisfactory thing. When +this feeling takes possession of one, we do not need to give +up things as denying ourselves for Christ, so much as that +we are changed in attitude towards many things. We +drift away from them. Things that were gain to us we +count loss for Christ. Our aims are different. May our +lives be more fully taken captive thus! To a life lived +thus, death is not a breaking off of anything; it is an enlargement +of sphere.'<br /><br /></p></blockquote> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Hamilton: December 5, 1889. +</p> + +<p>'All I know about the process is just going to God and +telling what I want, and asking to be allowed to have it. +"Seek, and ye shall find; ask, and ye shall receive." I know +no secret but this.... God understands His scholars, and +knows how to teach each one. Different scholars may +require different ways. We may trust ourselves in His +hands, only let us be earnest students. I have at different +times been quite surprised how a book, or a friend, or a +remark conveying just the teaching needed at the time has +been brought into my way. Yes, none teach like Him.'</p> + +<p>'<i>December 25, 1889.</i>—Oh that we may be more completely +given over and up to Him to be used at His pleasure<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> +and as He pleases! Oh for more faith in Him! My +lads are, I think, enjoying themselves; I commit them to +Him; but eh!'</p> + +<p>'<i>January 1, 1890.</i>—Just returned with my two lads +after a day spent in London seeing my ship, the "Peshawur". +The ship is full. My berth is not in a good place—but it +is not bad, after all, and it is not for long.... You'll have +lots of need of wisdom, and Jesus is made unto us wisdom +as well as other things.... He'll teach you all right. +Don't let us refrain for fear we make mistakes. The +greatest mistake we could make would be to do nothing....</p> + +<p>'Everyone is amazed to see me look so well. It is +remarked on all round. I feel remarkably well too....</p> + +<p>'May God be pleased to use me in His service!'</p></blockquote> + + +<p>His heart was in Mongolia. At the very earliest +moment which the medical authorities and the Directors of +the London Missionary Society would sanction he returned. +He sailed for China on January 9, 1890. As the +steamer was running down the English Channel he wrote a +letter to an old college friend just returning to England +whom he had not seen for twenty years, and whom he was +very sorry to miss:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'In answer to yours of November 19 I directed an +envelope to you long ago. It has lain in my writing-case +ever since, often seen but always taken precedence of by +the thing that stepped in before. Now's your turn. I'm +sorry you'll not see me in England. I sailed yesterday +My health has been restored, and I am off again.</p> + +<p>'You say you want reviving—Go direct to Jesus and +ask it straight out, and you'll get it straight away. This +revived state is not a thing you need to work yourself up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> +into, or need others to help you to rise into, or need to +come to England to have operated upon you—Jesus can +effect it anywhere, and does effect it everywhere whenever +a man or woman, or men and women ask it. Ask and ye +shall receive.</p> + +<p>'My dear brother, I have learned that the source of +much blessing is just to go to Jesus and tell Him what +you need. I am delighted to hear you say you need +blessing, because I know there is plenty and to spare with +Jesus. Oh for an outpouring on all parts of the L.M.S. +missions!</p> + +<p>'There is so much that I would like to say that it is +hardly worth while beginning to say anything; so I'll simply +commend you to Jesus in all His fulness.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>On January 21, 1890, when nearing Port Said, he +wrote:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'We have excellent company on board. Never had +such a very pleasant voyage. Some of the First Salooners +come to our Bible readings. Those who are unfriendly to +Christianity are careful to give no cause of offence and are +polite. So far our voyage has been an exquisite picnic. +Knowing well what is before us, we still rejoice in the +present Elim and calmly trust for the future. I went on +board with a "tremendous cold." So did two or three +others. Mine, as I expected, went with the exposure.... +No one teaches like Him who also was the first of preachers. +In daily, hourly, humble communication with Him you +will want for no wisdom and for no guidance and for no +shepherding. Rejoice in that you have Him to manage +everything for you.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>He reached Peking on March 14, 1890, and on +March 24 started again for Mongolia. He entered upon +his last spell of work with a good heart and with high<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> +hopes. Dr. Smith was to be his medical colleague. +While in England Mr. Gilmour had visited Cheshunt +College, and had there fired the heart of Mr. Parker with +the desire and purpose of being his colleague. He was +looking forward to his speedy arrival. During his absence +in England Dr. Smith had paid one brief visit to Mongolia +by himself, and another, still briefer, in the company of the +Rev. T. Bryson of Tientsin. Meanwhile the work had +been going on slowly and steadily under the care of the +native helper, Mr. Liu, and of some of the converts. We +now follow the story of this last year's work as it is told in +Mr. Gilmour's letters and reports. On May 9, 1890, he +wrote to the Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I have been all over the district, spending a month at +Ch'ao Yang. There we were privileged to baptize four +adults, one a woman, and one child, all Chinese. Two of +these were young men who have been under instruction +for eight or nine months, and are very pleasing cases +indeed. The other two were a man and his wife, who is +the first woman who has had courage to be baptized in +this district. These last are an outcome of the medical +work. They live in a small hamlet where the first +beginning of an interest in Christianity took its rise from a +man who came to me in the market-place with a bad sore in +his leg, which had been caused by a wound from his own +harvest sickle. The sore was cured, and friendly relations +sprung up with the whole hamlet, and I am thankful to +hear that, though only one family has put away its idols, all +the neighbours are friendly.</p> + +<p>'In Ch'ao Yang there are several inquirers. Some of +the Christians give great satisfaction, others are not so +satisfactory. One man, a Christian, tells me that his wife<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> +was possessed by an evil spirit, and to please her and cure +her he had to allow the re-establishment of the worship of +that spirit for her benefit. No sooner was this done than +the woman was cured! Such things are firmly believed in +by the Chinese.</p> + +<p>'A most pleasing incident in our experience at Ch'ao +Yang was a visit from a well-to-do farmer who lives some +twenty li from the town. He has been friendly and an +inquirer from the first. He has made no profession of +Christianity, but says he reads his New Testament regularly, +and prays. He has also taught two men in his +neighbourhood. The one is a carpenter. The other is a +farmer. They know the Catechism, observe the Sunday, +and meet with Mr. Fêng for worship. Both of these men +we saw, and their story seems true. Fêng came and spent +a day with us. I asked him why he did not make an open +profession of Christianity. His reply was that he lives +with his parents, as all Chinese do, and that he cannot +arrange his house disregarding them, who with his wife +and children are still heathen. He has been able only +partially to do away with idols in his own house. Outside +too of his own house heathen pressure is so great that, he +says, were he to join Christianity it would be no use for him +to live! He says he lacks the courage single-handed to +meet all the persecution that would descend on him were +he baptized. Meantime he is instructing those about him +in the hope, apparently, that were there several together +they could better stand the trouble. It is an interesting +case, but not at all satisfactory. My hope about him is +that, if he keeps conversant with the Word of God, the +Spirit may give him no rest till he has courage to take his +stand and make his confession.</p> + +<p>'We had a splendid month in the market-place. Chinese +and Mongols in plenty, both to preach to and to heal. One +Mongol betrayed a most intimate and full knowledge of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> +Christianity. The drought gave good opportunity of speaking +of many things, and in most cases we had respectful +attention. It was a <i>hard</i> month's work. Seven till noon +or a little after was our market time; the afternoon private +patients, the evening inquirers, makes a very long day, +which begins at daylight and does not end till after the +second watch of the night has been set. The Chinese +usually secure a rest just after noon, but frequently just +then some patient would turn up, and put an end to quiet. +In most cases the strain is relieved by holidays through +rain and storm; but even this was wanting this time, so we +had almost uninterrupted work.</p> + +<p>'I am more than ever eager to have the medical work +given over to a medical man. One day in Ch'ao Yang a +man came swaggering across the open space in the marketplace. +People pointed towards him and laughed. He was +laughable, the ridiculous part of him being a straw hat +which was an imitation, caricature rather, of a foreigner's +hat. I could not help laughing. It was no laughing +matter, though. He was a messenger from the cavalry +camp just outside the town. He had come to take me to +treat two soldiers who had received bullet-wounds in an +encounter with Mongolian brigands. I had never seen a +bullet-wound in my life, but I knew I could do more for +the wounded men than any Chinese doctor; so I went. The +wounds were then forty-eight hours old, and I dressed them +as best I could, paying a daily visit for about a fortnight. +Two wounds, though deep, were merely flesh; with these I +had no difficulty. The third was a bone complication. I +knew nothing of anatomy, had no books, absolutely nothing +to consult; what could I do but pray? And the answer was +startling. The third morning, when in the market-place +attending to the ordinary patients, but a good deal preoccupied +over the bone case, which I had determined should +be finally dealt with that day if possible at all, there tottered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> +up to me through the crowd a <i>live skeleton</i>, the outline of +nearly every bone quite distinct, covered only with yellow +skin, which hung about in loose folds. I think I see him +yet—the chin as distinctively that of a skeleton as if it +had bleached months on the plain. The man was about +seventy, wore a pair of trousers, and had a loose garment +thrown over his shoulders. He came for cough medicine, +I think; if so, he got it; but I was soon engaged fingering +and studying the bone I had to see to that afternoon. I +was deeply thankful, but amidst all my gratitude the thing +seemed so comical that I could not help smiling, and a +keen young Chinaman in the crowd remarked, in an under +tone, "That smile means something." So it did. It meant, +among other things, that I knew what to do with the +wounded soldier's damaged bone; and in a short time +his wound was in a fair way of healing. I was and am +very thankful; but, after all, I am more impressed than +ever with the fact that things are badly out of joint when +there are lots of Christian doctors at home, and abroad +too, and I, knowledgeless, am left to do the doctoring +in a large district like this quite beyond the reach of +medical help, not only for the natives but even for myself +should I need it.</p> + +<p>'A grim commentary on these wounds was the fact that in +leaving Ch'ao Yang I was to pass through a brigand-infested +district—so badly infested that travellers have abandoned +the road. As saith the Scripture, "The highways were unoccupied, +and the travellers walked through byways." I +had avoided this road twice, and was ashamed to avoid it +again, so we went straight through it. We saw no one to +harm us, but a week ago it was just as likely that I should +to-day have been lying on a Chinese kang, trying to dress +my own wounds, as that I should have been sitting here +writing to you.</p> + +<p>'I am at present waiting for Dr. Smith, whose last word<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> +to me, dated Tientsin, April 9, was that I should either see +him or hear from him here between June 6 and 12.</p> + +<p>'Yesterday, Sunday, June 8, had a pleasant day. The +three Christians here have grown. Two of them have been +through a good deal of trouble and stood it well. The +farmer, who has been very ill, guessing we would be here, +came in and spent the day with us. They seem very +earnest.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The beneficial result of the home visit of 1889 was very +evident at this time. It had arrested the 'running down,' +from which he had severely suffered. It had enabled him to +renew old friendships, and to form new ones. His wholehearted +devotion to the difficult work of his life and the +wonderful intensity and depth of his faith had touched the +hearts of many faithful men and women at home, who +gladly responded to his oft-repeated request, 'Pray for me +and for the conversion of the Chinese and the Mongols.' He +renewed his interest in the broad current of the world's +life. We have seen how some years previously he gave up +all reading but the Bible. Now, while he studied the +Bible with all his old eagerness, he had various newspapers +sent to him, he rejoiced in the receipt of books sent by +friends—especially those bearing upon the culture of the +soul—and he kept his eye upon the religious and social +movements of the day.</p> + +<p>The selections from his correspondence which follow +illustrate these changes in him. He modified his mode of +life in Mongolia. Having given up vegetarianism on his +homeward voyage he did not resume it upon his re-entrance +on Mongol life. He remained a total abstainer, and his +hatred of opium, whisky, and tobacco continued as strong<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> +as ever, although he did not now make abstinence from +the two latter a test of Church membership. He reserved +more of the Sunday as a day of rest, taking only the +religious services with the Christians and inquirers, and not, +as formerly, setting up his tent on the street. The old +careworn look disappeared, his form regained much of its +former life and spring, and his face filled out, his smile +resumed the brightness of old, and the voice came back to +a good deal of its early clearness. All these evidences of +a change for the better served to augur many years of +happy work. In a letter to a friend he playfully alludes +to the twenty or thirty years of labour yet remaining, and +he often—half in jest and half in earnest—asserted that life +in the interior was so healthy that he should probably outlive +his fellow-workers at Tientsin and Peking.</p> + +<p>By the mail that conveyed the letter quoted on <a href="#Page_263">page +263</a> he also wrote to an Edinburgh friend:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Do you know Adolphe Monod's <i>Farewell</i>? It was sent +to me lately by Rev. C. New, of Hastings, an old Cheshunt +fellow-student. I have enjoyed it all, but most, I think, +chapter xii., "Of Things not seen." A volume of sermons, +entitled <i>The Baptism of the Spirit, and other Sermons</i>, by +Mr. New, I have enjoyed intensely. To the meek child-like +spirit desiring the sincere nourishing of the Word +nothing, I think, could be more helpful.... If ever you +send a book to the boys, let it be one that will do their +souls good.</p> + +<p>'I may be filling my life too full, but between medical +work and spiritual work I have barely time to sleep, and I +find that, for any hope of continuance of work, I must have +time to sleep. For the last month I have been getting up +at 4.30 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>, and our evening worship and after conversation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> +was not over till, say, 9 or 9.15 or 9.30, or even, once +or twice, till 10 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> Then it would take us some time to +square up the day's affairs, and spread out my bedding. +In the daytime I used to bolt my door, determined on an +hour's quiet; but often this was in vain. I would hear +some poor cultivator come for medicine; he had a long +way to go home, and I could not but let him in and attend +to him.</p> + +<p>'Yesterday, as no one knew we were here, I escaped at +5.30 and made for the hot springs, twelve miles away. I +walked there and back, and in consequence to-day am lame +on my feet—badly blistered. I had a grand day—so quiet. +Going, I sat down behind a mud wall and read the four +first chapters of Hebrews. Arrived, I had my bath, then +got an empty room in an inn, had sleep, dinner, tea, and +read the rest of Hebrews. I never saw so much in Hebrews +before.... On the road I had a four-mile conversation +with a farmer, who finally said he believed Christianity was +true. We have baptized six in all since I returned, five +adults and one child—<i>all Chinese</i>. "Be not weary in well-doing. +In due time we shall reap, if we faint not." We +are on God's side. God has need of us. Oh let us be +such as God can take pleasure in! Faithfulness and love +to Him are what He wants. Surely we can let Him have +these two. Oh that it might be that everyone in every +contact with us might feel the spiritual touch! Would +not this be ideal Christian life? May He work it in us!</p> + +<p>'Have you been to any Salvation Army efforts? I always +felt better for going, but latterly did not go much—I could +not stand the "row." I am eager that you should identify +yourself with some soul-saving agency. If it really is a +soul-saving concern, I don't think it matters very much +what it is.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>On July 21, 1890, he wrote to the same friend:—</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span></p><blockquote><p>'Since July 3 we have had most extraordinary weather +for this part—rain and dull; there have been only four or +five days when I could go on to the street with my tent. +I am therefore not so busy. In addition, Dr. Smith has +joined me, and as he does all the indoor medical work, I am +still less busy, and so I can write you more at leisure than +usual.</p> + +<p>'The rain reached a climax on Saturday night, July 19. +Till then, roofs and walls held out well. There were leaks +in places, but nothing serious. We thought it had cleared +off. Not a bit of it. The wind changed, it is true, but then +rain came down in torrents, the ceilings—all reeds and +paper—began to give way. Ever and anon splash came +a bag of water, as the paper burst in different places, and +Dr. Smith and I had a lively time of it shifting our boxes +and bedding to dry spots. By dusk it was serious. I was +just about my wits' end when a Chinaman put his head +into my room, and said with a grin, half in jest, half in +earnest, "There is a tent standing idle out in that room, +why not put it up in your room?" The idea of putting up +a tent in your bedroom seemed so absurd that we had a +good laugh over it; but after thinking over it awhile, and +thinking out how the thing could be done, we actually did +it. It covered two-thirds of my kang, and a little space +on the floor where I put my boxes. The inner corner of +the tent I put up to cover my stock of books and medicines, +lit my lamp, brewed a pot of tea, and, squatting on +my feet, called in Dr. Smith. He said I looked "just like +an opium-smoker." Dr. Smith had a portable iron bedstead. +On the top he put floor mats and a waterproof, +and, without undressing, we went to bed. After a little a +great crash was heard. Some part of the buildings had +come down. In the rain and dark it was not easy to see +what it was, but we at last found there had been more +noise than real damage. We were thankful when day +dawned.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span></p> + +<p>'The Chinese suffered much more than we did. Such +a rain happens so seldom—once in three or four or five +years—that houses are not roofed to resist it; the Chinese +deeming it cheaper to take the wetting than to spend the +extra money it would take to make the house stand such +an extra rain.</p> + +<p>'In the wet weather I have been going into the +Chinese Psalms, and have been much struck with the +happy state of those who "fear the Lord," "trust in the +Lord," and who, under a variety of expressions, are described +as being on the Lord's side, and under His +protection.</p> + +<p>'And all these promises we can take for ourselves. +Did you see in <i>The Christian</i> some time ago a story from +Annan, of an old woman who was on the point of being +sold out for not paying her rent? She had no money. +Her son was in America. A neighbour, thinking it strange +that her son had not sent her money, asked to see her +letters. There was one with a Post-office Order for 7<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> +in it. She had had it for some time, but thought it was only +a picture. When cashed she was in funds. Wasn't she a +stupid old woman? To be bankrupt, with an uncashed +P.O. Order in her possession! How often we are much +more stupid than she! To be fearful, anxious, troubled, +cast down, when we have all the promises of God in our +possession, ready for our use.</p> + +<p>'Let us cash our cheques. Nay, we have not only +God's promises, but God Himself for our portion. Why +should we be spiritually bankrupt?</p> + +<p>'Another thing I notice is the difference subjective +states make in reading the Psalms. Sometimes I go over +a Psalm and see little in it. At another time I go over +the same Psalm and find it full of richness. How important +it is to have the light of the Holy Spirit in our +Scripture reading!'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span></p> + +<p>'<i>July 30.</i>—The little <i>Wordless Book</i> you sent soon fell +into the hands of a Chinese convert, who asked to be allowed +to carry it off. He wants to speak from it. He likes it +because it gives him <i>carte blanche</i>, and lets him say just +what he likes....</p> + +<p>'How full the Psalms are! These days I am going +through them in Chinese, as I said; I take one each +morning and commit some verses of it carefully. Then, +during the day, as time permits, I read a few more. How +one the soul of man is! When dull and cold and dead, +and feeling as if I could not pray, I turn to the Psalms. +When most in the spirit, the Psalms meet almost all the +needs of expression. And yet deluded men talk of the +Bible as the outcome of the Jewish mind! The greatest +proof of the Divine source of the book is that it fits the +soul as well as a Chubb's key fits the lock it was made +for.... Now I am off to the street with my tent.'<br /><br /></p></blockquote> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Mongolia: July 28, 1890. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Meech,—Dr. Smith came here July 2. The +rains set in immediately on his arrival, and we <i>have</i> had it +since. The spiritual rain has not come yet, nor are there +any signs of it. When it does come may it come like the +physical rain! Glad to see you have been having some. +May you have much more! Make the valley full of ditches, +brother, and then look out for the flood. Do you think +we'll be able to go up to Him at last and say, "We did our +part, but you did not do yours, Lord"? Eh, man! Elijah +called down fire with a short prayer, but his servant +made six vain journeys to the summit only to return with +the discouraging news—nothing. May the good Lord, who +knows our frame and remembers we are dust, give us a little +now and again, at any rate, if only to keep us going meantime! +Eh, man! there will be no lack on His part. He'll<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> +shine up all right, not only to perform, but to succour His +servants who trust in Him.'<br /><br /></p></blockquote> + + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'July 28, 1890. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Owen,—I know worry should be an unknown +element in a believer's experience. I am eager to have done +with it. I thank Him for much of its absence. But dissatisfaction +with the present state of things is not worry, but +legitimate soul-longing, and the death of that would be a +bad thing.</p> + +<p>'I can hardly tell how I am; Since Dr. Smith came I +have taken little note of inward things or outward either. +It is very pleasant to have him here, and as the best sign +of digestion is not to know one has a stomach or a digestion, +is the best sign of spiritual health not to know one has a +soul at all? I wonder is this so? His presence has made +a difference. Duty has kept me living quietly in good +lodgings, with only such work as I can easily do without +any over-rush, and the prospect of another month like it! +I fear I am not such company to him as he is to me.</p> + +<p>'We have had terrible rains; the rivers were not crossed +for five or six days, and, even after that, two men were +swept away on two separate days—four men, in all, from +this one town alone.</p> + +<p>'I know you pray for us here. Eh, man! if the thing +would move, if the rain would come! "<i>As the eyes of +servants</i>," etc. (Psalms cxxiii., cxxvi.). I often read these +Psalms together. And then I think what would please me +best as a master would be to see my servant going ahead, +energetically, and faithfully, and loyally with his work, not +moping about downcast. Then is not this what God wants +in us? So here goes cheerily and trustfully.'<br /><br /></p></blockquote> + + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'August 10, 1890. +</p> + +<p>'I cannot say God gives me all the victories I want, +but He keeps me in peace and faith, and that is not a little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> +thing. My devotional reading lately has taken the form +of the Chinese Psalms, and Schereschewsky's high Chinese +notwithstanding (for which may he be forgiven), they are +very refreshing and strong. How like are the heart-longings +and soul-breathings of the old Judean hunted +outlaw—brigand, if you like to call him so—to the heart +and soul feelings of the educated Occidental of the nineteenth +century! Poor old Moses, another outlaw, what +a battered old life he led, but what a grand soul, and how +wonderfully he outlived it all, and was quite hale when +called to die! How his people troubled him!—so like the +Chinese. Fancy Moses going up the mountain to die +alone. It is so nice to have a later glimpse of him in the +New Testament alongside of Elijah, who too was once +under a cloud. God does not keep up things. "As far as +the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our +transgressions from us." Love to all.</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour.</span>'<br /> +</p></blockquote> + + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Ch'ao Yang, August 19, 1890. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Sons,—I have just got here after a very hard +journey of four days. It is summer and the rains are on; +the roads are very bad.</p> + +<p>'Our first adventure was in a deep narrow gully going +up a mountain. We met a cart coming down. There +was no room to pass and no room to turn back. What were +we to do? One of the carts had to be pulled up the bank. +Neither would go up. Both carters sat and looked at +each other. Our cart was heavy, the other cart was light. +After looking at each other awhile the other cart was +pulled up and our carter helped him down again after we +had passed.</p> + +<p>'Our next adventure was in a river. The leading mule +sank in a quicksand. The carter, shoes and all, jumped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> +into the water; in a few seconds I had stripped all but a +cinglet and pants, and was in the river too. We got out +after a little while.</p> + +<p>'Next day we stuck in a quagmire. We hitched the +mules to the tail of the cart, pulled it out, then dug a new +road in the side of the ravine and got past.</p> + +<p>'The third day we upset our cart in a very muddy place +early in the morning, and got caught in a thunder-shower +in the afternoon. The fourth day we stuck in a mud-hole +half a mile from the end of our journey, and when we got +to our inn found our rooms in possession of a crowd of +people doing a wedding.</p> + +<p>'One thing made the journey very pleasant: it was this. +Just as we were starting, one of the Christians, a Chinese +farmer, but a man who is poor and dresses and eats very +poorly, came and gave me two tiao, about 3<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i>, to give +to God. I was so glad to see him do it, and no doubt God +was glad too. Then at the end of the journey, when we +were stuck in the mud-hole and could not get out, up came +one of the Christians, took off his stockings and shoes, +went into the mud and helped us out. The country was +very beautiful all the way—just at its best.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In a letter to another correspondent he depicts what is +involved in Chinese travelling during the wet season:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'The last thing we had to do was to make a journey of +eighty miles. You would soon do that in England. Here, +in August, it is no easy matter. It is just the time when, +on account of the rains, no one should travel, and no one +does travel who can help it. Carts would not go. I had +to find my way home from a cart inn the night before we +started along a newly rained-on muddy Chinese street in +the dark. Next day I had much brightness shed on the +journey by one of the Chinese Christians—a poor man with,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> +oh, so poor a coat—giving a donation to print Christian +books. It amounted to about $1.00 (one dollar) in all, but +it meant a lot of self-denial to him; and as I passed, a little +later, the drought-parched district where he lived, and looked +at the poor fields, I wondered where he got the money. I +suppose God gave him the heart to give it. Starting a +journey with such a bit of light made it cheery.</p> + +<p>'We travelled at those eighty miles four days, and +rested one Sabbath, five days in all. Within three-quarters +of a mile of the end of our journey our cart stuck in a mud-hole. +We had passed, shortly before, the cottage of a Christian, +and, after we had been some half-hour or more in that +hole, this Christian suddenly appeared on the scene. He is a +great fellow for being neat and clean. In a few moments he +was in the mud, ordering about the carter, shouting at the +mules, and lifting at the stern of the cart. Even the mules +felt there was some new factor added to the problem. They +made a new effort and out the cart came. Would you +credit it? A cart had been upset there some days before; +it was said they had lost some thirty shillings in silver. The +natives, hoping to find the money, literally dug up the highway +and left a pit there. We did not know this, thought it +was an ordinary pool, and drove straight into it. The Christian +touch at the beginning of the journey, and the little +Christian adventure at the end, made the journey and its +remembrance quite pleasant.</p> + +<p>'I am now reading Moule's <i>Veni Creator</i>, which came +a few days ago. What helps me most just at present is +the Psalms. I take a few verses every morning (almost), +and learn off the Chinese translations of them. I never +knew there was so much in the Psalms before. I believe +that even at the end of a long life, this (discovery of more +and more in God's Word) will hold true of all the Bible, and +then for the beyond there is the Inexhaustible Himself—satisfaction +for the present and plenty for the future.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span></p> + +<p>'The endless sorrows and sufferings of this people here +come home much to me. I see much of their bodily +suffering, and in some feeble measure bear their sorrows and +carry their griefs without being able to relieve them much. +How dead and dark they are to things spiritual!'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Dr. Smith, who spent some weeks with Mr. Gilmour +during this summer, has sent the following most interesting +sketch of his daily life at this period. They were together +for the most part at Tá Ssŭ Kou.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'He always got up at daylight, folded up bedding, and +then began reading. About six a man arrived, selling hot +millet and bean porridge. He bought two bowls of this +for early breakfast. He continued reading Chinese, generally +aloud; and when he came to a difficult word he repeated +it again and again, in order to impress it upon his +memory. About eight he had breakfast, consisting of +Chinese rolls and a cup of cocoa.</p> + +<p>'At nine he went to the street with his tent, Mr. Liu, +the native preacher, accompanying him. One of the inn-servants +assisted the latter in carrying tent and medicine +boxes and in erecting same. The tent was erected in +a broad street at the back of our inn, where a daily +market was held. The medicine boxes were placed on +a little table, in front of which stood a wooden form and +another at the side. The patients were seated on these. +Any difficult cases were sent to the inn to be treated +by me. On the table were also a number of copies of +various tracts and portions of Scripture. Mr. Gilmour +dispensed medicines, talked and preached as the opportunity +offered.</p> + +<p>'About one he returned to the inn, and had dinner, consisting +of meat, etc., which was bought at a Chinese cook-shop.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> +About three we generally took a walk to the country. +We used to go out to look at the various crops, and +Mr. Gilmour would chat away to one and another whom we +met on the road. He was generally recognised, and in the +most friendly way. I have a very pleasant recollection of +these times; often our conversation would turn to home, to +our boys and friends. Sometimes he would tell me about +his student friends, while at other times he used to tell me +of his deputation work at home, and about the various +people he had met there.</p> + +<p>'Often a gentleman would come up and ask, "Where are +you going?" to which Mr. Gilmour would reply, "We are +cooling ourselves; we are going nowhere." It was always +a mystery to people what we could possibly mean by taking +walks to the country. One day two lads followed us for +some miles across some low hills, anxious to know our business, +and getting well laughed at by their friends, poor +fellows, on their return to the town.</p> + +<p>'One thing about Mr. Gilmour always impressed me +deeply—his wonderful knowledge of the little touches of +Chinese politeness, and his wonderful power of observation. +He loved the Chinese—looked upon them and treated +them as brothers, and was a man who lived much in prayer; +and in this lay his great power as a missionary.</p> + +<p>'When he met a Mongol he would exchange a few +words of Mongol with him, and it was wonderful to see +the man's face light up as he heard his own tongue. All +the Mongols knew that he could speak their language, and +as one of the few who did.</p> + +<p>'As we returned to the town and were walking along +the street, many of the passers-by would bow; and here and +there a shopkeeper would give him a friendly bow. Sometimes +he would buy a few peaches or apples, and not unfrequently +he would give a sweetmeat vendor two cash +for two sweets, handing one to me.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span></p> + +<p>'About half-past four we returned to the inn, and then, +as a rule, some people would be there waiting to see him. +Mr. Sun, the box-maker, used often to come to read the +Scriptures with Mr. Gilmour, and then they would discuss +various points; Mr. Sun giving his opinion, and then Mr. +Gilmour putting him right. Sometimes an outsider would +drop in, and then, not unfrequently, Mr. Sun would talk to +him about the Gospel.</p> + +<p>'About six Mr. Gilmour had some cocoa and bread. +At the time of the lighting of the candles Mr. Gilmour had +made it a rule for the Christians to assemble for evening +prayers, and, accordingly, they all turned up then. A +Chinese table was placed in the centre of Mr. Gilmour's +room, and three wooden forms were placed round the table +for the accommodation of the preacher and the Christians. +Mr. Gilmour and I used to sit on chairs at the vacant side +of the table. On the table stood two Chinese candlesticks, +each surmounted by a Chinese candle. A Chinese +candle is made from the castor bean, and is fixed to the +candlestick by running the iron pin on the latter into a +hollow straw in the end of the candle. Then we also had +a Chinese oil lamp. The upper vessel is simply a little +earthenware saucer, containing a little oil, and in it lie some +threads of cotton (a cotton wick). This is made to project +over the edge of the saucer and is then lighted. The lower +part of the lamp is simply an earthenware receptacle, in +which the oil for replenishing the lamp is kept, and, while +in use, the little lamp is supported in it. This often used +to remind me of the parable of the virgins, and in reading +that parable by the light of such a lamp one is able to +make it very realistic to Chinamen.</p> + +<p>'Our evening worship consisted in first singing a hymn, +Mr. Gilmour leading. Then Mr. Gilmour offered up a +short prayer; after which we read a chapter either in the +Old or New Testament, reading verse about. Each man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> +had a copy of the Scriptures. Then Mr. Gilmour gave a +little address on the chapter; after which we had another +prayer—one of the Christians being asked this time. Then +another hymn and the benediction.</p> + +<p>'Usually one or more of the Christians would remain +chatting with Mr. Gilmour. As soon as they had gone we +had a cup of cocoa together. Then Mr. Gilmour and I +used to have evening prayers together. He used to read a +chapter from a little book by Mr. Moule, and then we both +prayed.</p> + +<p>'After this we used to sit chatting together until bedtime, +and so ended a day.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In August 1890 Dr. Smith lost his wife, who as Miss +Philip had become known and beloved by a large number +of friends of the London Missionary Society, both in Great +Britain and Australia. He had also become so ill that the +ensuing weakness, together with the great shock of his +wife's sudden loss, compelled him, early in 1891, to return +to England on a visit. Before doing so he was able to +take Mr. Parker, the young and active colleague appointed +to assist Mr. Gilmour, out to Mongolia, reaching Tá Ssŭ +Kou on December 5. Greatly encouraged by the arrival +of his young helper, Mr. Gilmour was grievously disappointed +by the enforced return of Dr. Smith, and the +indefinite postponement of the hospital scheme that was so +near to his heart, and upon which he always asserted, in +his judgment, the ultimate success of the mission depended. +But discipline of this kind only drove him back more +entirely upon God. In a letter to Mr. Owen, dated +December 29, 1890, he writes:—</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span></p><blockquote><p>About myself I have lots to be thankful for. I am +mostly in the light, sometimes very sweetly. Sometimes, +though, it is cold and dark; but I just hold on, and it is all +right. Romans viii. I find good reading in dull spiritual +weather, and the Psalms too are useful. When I feel I +cannot make headway in devotion, I open at the Psalms +and push out in my canoe, and let myself be carried along +in the stream of devotion which flows through the whole +book. The current always sets towards God, and in most +places is strong and deep. These old men—eh, man! they +beat us hollow, with all our New Testament and all our +devotional aids and manuals. And yet I don't know. In +the old time there were giants—one here and there. Now +there are many nameless but efficient men of only ordinary +stature.</p> + +<p>'Brother, let us be faithful. That is what God wants. +What He needs. What He can use. I was greatly struck +by one saying of Mrs. Booth's. It will not be so very +different there (in heaven) to what it is here. I guess she +is right. I guess there will be differences of occupation +there as here, and I guess that our life here is a training +for life and work there. Oh the mystery! How thin a +wall divides it from us! How well the secret has been +kept from of old till now! May the richest blessings be on +you and yours and your work!</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Yours affectionately ,<br /> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour</span>.' <br /> +</p></blockquote> + +<p>The year 1891 found Mr. Gilmour hard at work as +usual, in good health and spirits, and with the hope and +apparently the prospect of many years of service before +him. And yet, just as the summer was beginning, he +was called to the presence of the King, and to the perfect +work and fellowship of 'the Church of the firstborn.' +Had he been able to choose his fate he would hardly have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> +wished it other than it was. His work in Mongolia was +steadily growing; slowly, it is true, but yet gaining a +strength and impetus that will abide, and has well begun +the conquest of Mongolia for Christ. Though practically +without a medical colleague, and actually without the +hospital for which he had so toiled and prayed, he was +cheered and strengthened by the constant presence and +fellowship of Mr. Parker. His letters are all in a cheery +and buoyant strain, and, although referring not unfrequently +to the future life, without a hint or a suspicion +that he was in any degree conscious of the rapid way in +which the days of his earthly life were running out. In a +letter to Mr. Thompson, dated January 7, he says, 'You +will be glad to hear I am in good health and spirits.'</p> + + +<p>To Mr. Owen he wrote on March 2:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Does God not mean to have a medical man here? I +wonder! Wondering, I tell Him as I tell you, and try to +leave it with Him, and in very great part <i>do</i> leave it to +Him too. It is good to have His calm mercy and help. +How's your soul, brother? I'll tell you how mine is—eager +to experience more of the Almighty power inworking +inside. Eager to be more transformed. Less conformed +to the world. Eager to touch God more, and have Him +touch me more, so that I can feel His touch.</p> + +<p>'I am distressed at so few conversions here. But again +sometimes very fully satisfied in believing I am trying to +do His will. That makes me calm. I am scared at our +property venture, but again trust in God, and the fears +subside. The world to come, too, sometimes looms up +clear as not far distant, and the light that shines from +that makes things seem different a good deal.'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span></p> + +<p>From other letters that remain we catch glimpses of +the course of his action and thought during these last +weeks. During the year 1869 he met in Edinburgh Mrs. +Swan, the widow of one of the pioneers of the Mongol +Mission of 1817 to 1841, and that interview gave the chief +direction to the work of his life. In March 1891 he heard +of Mrs. Swan's death, and he wrote to Miss Cullen, her +niece, the following letter:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I sent you a post-card acknowledging receipt of your +kind letter of December 10, saying that Mrs. Swan had +passed away on November 22. I had not heard, and just +then I had not time to write. I am now at the east end +of my district, three days' journey from where the mail +reached me.</p> + +<p>'I am much moved to think that letter to me was her +last. And there is a fitness that it should be so. "Baptized +for the dead," as the phrase is. In some sense I am successor +to her work, and it was not out of keeping that her +last letter should have been to the field which all along +had such a large place and keen interest in her heart, +where so many more good works found a place. I often +think of all the kindness and friendship I have experienced +at her hands, both on my visits to Edinburgh and through +letters. Missionaries miss such lives much when they are +removed. I need not speak to you, who knew her so well, +of what a charming hostess she made, and of how, even in +her old age, all her great and abiding earnestness had running +through it all so much happy Scotch humour.</p> + +<p>'I had no idea Mrs. Swan was so old. Eighty-one, she +did not look old except about the last time I saw her, and +then I had no idea her age was so great. She has gone; but +for many years to come, if I am spared, I shall from time +to time revisit her in her house in Edinburgh, and see her at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> +the table with the quiet Jane moving noiselessly around, or +see her seated at her desk in the corner, writing letters. Remember +me very kindly to your father—fit brother for such +a sister. Their separation cannot be very long at the +longest. For that matter of it, those of us who are here +longest must soon be gone, and when the going comes, or +looms before us, let us look not at the going, but at the +being <i>there</i>.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Having paid considerable attention to the work and +methods of the Salvation Army, the publication of <i>In +Darkest England</i> interested him greatly, and on March 9 +he sent in a letter the following trenchant criticism, all the +more noteworthy because of his strong sympathy with much +in the Army that others find it hard to accept.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Got here Saturday. Had a good Sunday with the +Christians. To-day it snowed, and thus we have had time +to put our house in order. I have read Booth's scheme in +the <i>Review of Reviews</i>. I am greatly puzzled. It is <i>so</i> far +a departure from Booth's principle of doing spiritual work +only. It reads well, but Booth must know just as well as +I do that much of the theory will never work in practice. +What I dislike most in it is, it is in spiritual things doing +exactly what it attempts to do in secular things—namely, it +threatens to swallow up in a great holy syndicate no end +of smaller charities which have been and are working +efficiently. Again, the finally impenitent are to be cast off. +Yes, that is just the rub. It will leave the good-for-nothings, +many of them cast out as before. Nor will Booth's +despotism do in the long run. But I am for the scheme +and for old Booth too; but, nevertheless, there is both a +limit and an end to all despotism and despotisms. But I +am more favourable to the scheme than these words would +seem to indicate.'</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span></p> + +<p>Mr. Parker, who bids fair to be a successor after Gilmour's +own heart, in his first report of his experiences in +Mongolia gave a bright and hopeful view of his colleague.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'On arriving at Tá Ssŭ Kou we found Gilmour very +well indeed; looking better than he did when I saw him in +England. He was jubilant over our coming, and it has +been a great source of happiness to me to know that God's +sending me here has up till now given happiness and comfort +to one of His faithful servants. I have had a slight +taste of being left alone, and I must confess Gilmour has +had something to endure during the last few years.</p> + +<p>'We are living in hired rooms of an inn. Gilmour is +not in this courtyard. I have been alone here with my +Chinese boy for the last five weeks (Dr. Smith being in +Ch'ao Yang until a few days ago). I have been unable to +get a proper teacher at present. Gilmour's student has +been teaching me. He speaks distinctly. With him I +have made very fair progress. I hope in a few days to +secure a proper teacher.</p> + +<p>'Another thing which has taught me a good amount of +the Chinese I know is having to give orders to my Chinese +boy in house-keeping generally. I am thankful to God for +past experiences in my life, though they were rather rough; +for here I find they come in very usefully. I had to teach +my boy how to cook and do things generally. It was +rather an amusing piece of work, seeing that I knew nothing +of the language. Each order I gave him was a comedy in +two or three acts, all played out in dumb show. In telling +him what I wished purchased I was obliged to imitate +sounds which are peculiar to certain beasts and birds, +which when he understood, he announced that fact by +opening wide his eyes and emitting a loud "Ah!" which +was generally followed by the name of the thing indicated +bellowed forth at the top of his voice as if I were deaf.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> +Also he in turn, when he had anything to tell me, always +stood in the centre of the room and went through a whole +performance. On one occasion, when he wished to tell me +that a certain dog had stolen the day's meat, the performance +was so amusing that, when he had got through, I asked +him what he was trying to say, in order that I might once +more see the fun.</p> + +<p>'Forgive me for taking up your time with such frivolous +things. But I have picked up much of the language in +that way, although at the cost of being grimed with soot +and burning my fingers. All that is now past, and the boy +is very useful, and, although now a heathen, I am hoping that +by my influence he may be led to know the love of Jesus +Christ. I am very glad that I came straight out here. I am +sure I shall learn the language (of the <i>people</i>, perhaps <i>not</i> +of the <i>books</i>) better than in the frontier cities. I am constantly +forced to try and speak. Every day I have some +visitors here whom I must try and entertain. I feel stupid +at times with them, and perhaps they think I am; but, +nevertheless, each day's experience is adding to my vocabulary. +And when so learnt, I know that people will +understand me when I speak.</p> + +<p>'Gilmour is doing a valuable work. Every day he goes +to the street and sets out his table with his boxes of medicines +and books. He has three narrow benches, on one of +which he sits, the other two being for his patients. Of the +latter he has any amount, coming with all the ills to which +humanity is heir. It is a busy street, not of the best +repute, for it is where all the traders in second-hand clothes +and dealers in marine stores spread out their wares.</p> + +<p>'For some weeks I went out at a certain hour to take +care of Gilmour's stand while he went and got a "refresher" +in the shape of some indigestible pudding made +of millet-flour with beans for plums. He generally left me +with a patient or two requiring some lotion in the eye<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> +or some wound to dress. Then I, being a new-comer +and a typical "foreign devil" (being red of hair and in +complexion), always brought a large following down the +street with me, and attracted a great crowd round the +stand. At first it was not pleasant to sit there and be +stared at without being able to speak to them; but after a +while I got very interested in the different faces that came +round. On one occasion I noticed the crowd eagerly discussing +something among themselves, giving me a scrutinising +look now and then. Now and again one would turn +to his fellow and rub his finger across his upper lip as if he +was feeling for his moustache. I had only been here a +week or so then, and knew very little of the language; but I +listened attentively, and at last I heard them speaking the +Chinese numerals, and then it all dawned upon me that +they were inquiring about and discussing my age; so I up +with my fingers indicating the years of my pilgrimage. I +never saw a crowd so amused. "Ah, ah!" they said, and +opened their eyes, highly delighted that I was able to tell +them what they wanted to know. Then I had my turn, +and, pointing to a man here and there in the crowd, I used +what little of Chinese I had in guessing their ages.</p> + +<p>'But the sights of misery, suffering, and wretchedness +which gather round Gilmour's stand are simply appalling. +His work seems to me to come nearest to Christ's own way +of blessing men. Healing them of their wounds, giving +comfort in sickness, and at the same time telling them the +gospel of Eternal Salvation through Jesus Christ. One +day that I went I found Gilmour tying a bandage on a +poor beggar's knee. The beggar was a boy about sixteen +years of age, entirely naked, with the exception of a piece of +sacking for a loin cloth. He had been creeping about, +almost frozen with cold, and a dog (who, no doubt, thought +he was simply an animated bone) had attacked him.</p> + +<p>'The people here are desperately poor, and the misery<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> +and suffering one sees crawling through the streets every +day is heart-rending. I have not a doubt that I am in a +real mission field, and thank God that He has given me the +opportunity to do something towards alleviating some of +this misery. But what about the work as regards the +saving of souls and establishing of a Church? I can only +speak of the work in Tá Ssŭ Kou. It is in its initiatory +stage. All the Christians and adherents can sit round the +four sides of my table. But I am highly pleased with +them.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The letters of this period have a very tender and sacred +association for all who received them, since they reached +England after the telegraphic tidings of James Gilmour's +death had brought sorrow to his many friends. They +came, in a sense, like a message from one 'within the +veil.' Some of these refer to the books he was reading, +and from which he had derived benefit; some depict phases +of his experience; some bear directly upon his work and +its needs; all possess the solemn value and are read in the +clearer light imparted to them by Death.</p> + +<p>The first was written to one of his brothers.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Do you know <i>In the Volume of the Book</i>, by Dr. Pentecost? +It is A 1. I have just read it. It is not a dear +book. Read it, man, by all means. It gives zest to the +old Bible. I am reading through the New Testament at +about the rate of a gospel a day, or two epistles. Rapid +reading has advantages. Close study of minute portions +has other advantages. All sorts of reading are valuable. +Go for your Bible, brother. There is no end more in it +than ever you or I have yet seen. I am going for it both in +Chinese and English, and it pays as nothing else does. In +Jesus is all <i>fulness</i>. Supply yourself from Him. May the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> +richest blessings be on you from Him! Heaven's ahead, +brother. Hurrah!'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The next was to the Edinburgh correspondent from +whose letters we have previously taken extracts.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'This mail was sent off February 2. It came back +the same day. The man was scared by robbers. He +leaves to-morrow. We are well. We are <i>idle</i>. Would +you believe it? It is Chinese New Year time, and +I cannot go on the street with my stand. No people: +soon will be. We are thankful for the rest. It won't +last long.... Oh, it is good to have Jesus to tell +all to. May He be more of an intimate friend to you and +to me! The troubles of this earthly life are not few. How +many were Paul's! I am reading Farrar's <i>Life and Work +of Paul</i>. It puts much new light on the epistles. What a +time the man Paul had of it! Yet he called them "light +afflictions." How much lighter are ours! And the same +heaven he looked to is for us—the same crown—not to him +only, but to all who love the appearing of Christ. You +love Him. Rejoice and be glad. I <i>am</i> so glad that the +crown is not only for such as Paul, whom we cannot +hope to imitate, but for those (ii. Timothy iv. 8) who have +loved His appearing. We <i>do</i> that, don't we? May the +joy set before us enable us to endure, when endurance is +needed! May your heart rest in Him! May your soul +cling to Him! May His light always shine on your path! +May I always, even in dark days and dark times, have His +light in my heart and soul! Don't regard me as one +always on the sunny heights, but as one often cast down, +often in much feebleness, in much unworthiness, and falling +so far short of my own ideal. But it is good to think that, +in Christ, we are perfect, that He makes up all.</p> + +<p>'Parker and I read <i>Holy of Holies</i>, when together. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> +a good book. Meantime, he and I are three days' journey +separate, and may be so for a month to come yet. I hope +he likes it. It is a little hard on him, but I had to come +here on mission business, and, if needed, will return to him +at any time. Looking again at Heb. vi. 4-6.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>His correspondent had asked him about this passage.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'It is said—it is impossible to "renew them again to +repentance." Does it not seem clear that what is described +cannot be the case of one who has the repentant heart? I +think so decidedly, and that passage has no bearing on the +sinner who repents.... No one will come to harm who +commits himself to His keeping. And no one will lack +leading who has God for his guide. If I could only hear +of or from the friends I pray for, that they had given +themselves over to God's keeping, I would be at rest and +thankful. You are trusting in Him. You will not be +ashamed. He will take care to supply every needed +blessing at the right time and in the right way.</p> + +<p>'Some day, I believe we shall stand in Eternity and +look back on Time. How ashamed we then shall be of +any want of trust and of any unfaithfulness! May He +help us to look at things now in <i>that</i> light, and how to do +as we then shall wish we had done!...</p> + +<p>'I would be glad if you would send me half a dozen +copies of the <i>Wordless Book</i>. Two copies fell into the +hands of robbers and were thus lost....</p> + +<p>'I shall be glad to have the <i>Life of Faith</i>. You might +mark any passages that strike you.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In a letter to the Rev. J. Paterson, dated April 1, +he writes:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'It helps me much out here to get the best consecrated +literature, and to get it early. Men in the most difficult +and dangerous fields should be the best armed and equipped.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> +Some of these books open up new treasures to me in God's +Word. I do not use them in place of God's Word, but as +openers to the treasures.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In almost the last letter from him received by his +brother Alexander and dated April 24, 1891, the following +passage occurs:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'<i>The Practice of the Presence of God</i>, being conversations +and letters of Brother Lawrence. Please send a copy to +yourself, John, Matthew, Paterson, Miss Gowan, and ten +copies to me, charging all costs to me, of course. It is by +a Roman Catholic: don't imitate his Roman Catholicism, +but his practice of the presence of God.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In April Mr. Gilmour journeyed to Tientsin, and was +unanimously elected to preside over the annual meeting of +the North China District Committee of the London Missionary +Society as chairman. His last communication to +the home Society, with the exception of one brief note upon +a matter of committee business, was a post-card, dated +April 20, 1891, received in London some weeks after the +tidings of his death. It runs:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Arrived here yesterday. The world keeps shrinking. +Left Tá Ssŭ Kou Monday 8 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> Tuesday noon dined +in a border Mongol village, in a Mongol's inn, served by a +Mongol waiter, in presence of a number of Mongols. Got +to London Missionary Society's Compound, Tientsin, +Saturday, 5 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> Our headquarters are just five days +from the extended railway. Am in A 1 health, everybody +says so here, and that truly. Meantime am in clover, +physically and spiritually. With prayers for the home end +of the London Missionary Society's work.</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Yours truly, <br /> +'<span class="smcap">J. Gilmour.</span>'<br /> +</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span></p> + +<p>Just thirty-one days later he was lying dead in the +same compound. How the interval passed is told by those +who enjoyed those closing days of lofty spiritual fellowship. +Had it been foreseen that the end was so near, the +fervour and impressiveness and help of his presence could +hardly have been increased. Before, however, passing to +the details of this last month, the following letters are +given <i>in extenso</i> as they form the last lengthy sketches of +his work drawn by his own hand.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Tientsin, L.M.S.: April 20, 1891. +</p> + +<p>My dear Mrs. Lovett,—I guess you are at the bottom +of 10<i>l.</i> from Clapham Congregational Church Working +Society (Ladies). Ar'n't you? If so, thanks. If not—I +was going to say you ought to be—but my courage fails +me. Anyhow, you can read and please forward the enclosed +with my best thanks to the friends. I got here two +days ago, and am here for a short time. The railway has +gone out eastwards, is still going, and has now a station +near me in Mongolia—near me being five long days' +journey; but that is near, as near and far go here.</p> + +<p>'I have many grateful and many prayerful remembrances +of England and English friends, and a vivid +remembrance of your kindness when I was with you. My +regards to your parents. I hope you and your husband +and children are all well. I heard of Mr. Lovett being +in America—<i>American Pictures</i> on the stocks?</p> + +<p>'I had intended to write you a nice letter, but it won't +come, and the letter must go as it is. Please read into the +remaining blank sheet all the feelings and good wishes I +should express and do feel, and next time I write you, may +it not be in the ebb tide, at the end of a mail.</p> + +<p>'Your husband's a Director. I <i>do</i> hope they are sending<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> +me a doctor. If he can do anything in the matter, I wish +he would.</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Yours, dried up and feeling dumb, <br /> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour.</span>'<br /> +</p></blockquote> + +<p>Enclosed in the above was the following letter, dated +March 10, and addressed to 'The Clapham Congregational +Church Ladies' Working Society.'</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Dear Friends,—Many thanks for your handsome +donation (10<i>l.</i>), notice of which has reached me last night. +I am told you want to hear from me. All right. I am +just back from a month's raid into Ch'ao Yang. Had a fine +time. Good weather and plenty of work in the marketplace. +Baptized four adults, three being women—all +Chinese. It is the day of small things truly, but I am not +a little encouraged, over the women especially. That now +makes four Christian families in Ch'ao Yang or its immediate +neighbourhood. The two wives baptized this time +have Christian husbands. It has all along been our prayer +that the unsaved relatives of the saved might be saved.</p> + +<p>'Mrs. Chu's husband was baptized a couple of years +ago. She consented to his taking their two children to me +to be baptized, but she herself would have nothing to do +with Christianity or Christ. This time she got over her +difficulties. I was much pleased, especially as she had +annoyed her husband a good deal last year about his +having been beaten about his Christianity. She also had +her little child baptized. Pray that God may keep and +help them in all the many complications that will arise on +account of their Christianity, living as they do in a composite +family, the ruling powers of which are heathen.</p> + +<p>'Mrs. Ning is a model wife. They are poor. Her +husband cannot dress in good clothes, but is always as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> +neat as a virtuous wife, skilful with her needle, can make +him. She mends so neatly. I once discarded a vest +(Chinese) and gave it to her husband. He took it home, +and later on I saw him swelling about in it quite like a +neat old gentleman, though I was almost ashamed to give +it him.</p> + +<p>'They have had family worship in their home for a +year or two—they say. We went to baptize her. It was +such a small, poor house, but so very nice inside. Mother +and grown daughters and little girl, with father and grown +son, all sleep on a little brick platform, hardly big enough +for me—one man. She and the grown daughter support +the family by needlework—making horsehair women's +head fittings, which the father sells, when he has nothing +more to do.</p> + +<p>'The son is epileptic and can earn nothing, and is, in +addition, a great eater. He is a good man and a Christian. +As we entered, the son and daughter went out. The +mother and little daughter were baptized. The father did +not wish his big daughter baptized. When she is married +she will get a heathen mother-in-law, who will go for her +and make her worship idols. So said the father. In a +few days the father came back, saying that out of fear of +the coming mother-in-law he had not had his daughter +baptized, but that his daughter had pressed him so hard +that she was as formidable as the mother-in-law. The +daughter says she'll stick to her God and let them stick to +theirs, and so she was baptized. She has a hot time before +her. Chinese mothers-in-law are no joke. Pray for the +lassie that:—(<i>a</i>) she may be steadfast; (<i>b</i>) she may be +wise; (<i>c</i>) she may be gentle in her resistance; (<i>d</i>) enabled +by God to endure; and that the mother-in-law may be +restrained. God can do all things.</p> + +<p>'Here, in Tá Ssŭ Kou, two of the Christians have wives<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> +very much opposed to Christianity, and give their husbands +hot times. Remember the husbands, please, and all such +in their shoes, in prayer, and may the darkened women +themselves be enlightened. You have no notion how +deeply sunk in superstition the women are. Still another +Christian has a wife whom he has to allow to worship a +weasel, because the woman shows symptoms of being +possessed by the beast if she does not worship it!</p> + +<p>'The other day a woman came to my stand in the +market-place, saying that "Mr. Yellow" troubled her. +"Mr. Yellow" turned out to be the weasel, and she firmly +believed her sickness was due to the beast.</p> + +<p>'We are badly in want of a lady medical man in this +district. Don't you know of one who would do? Are +there none of you who could study medicine and go out +as doctors to some of the many needy places? Much was +hoped for this district from the late Mrs. Smith, but God +took her. Any one who comes here should have good +health, and not fear seclusion from foreign company. I +would suggest that a couple should come, a medical and +a non-medical. There is a house which could be got for such +a couple, only I don't see how they could get on without +knowing some Chinese. Perhaps some one of the Peking +or Tientsin ladies already speaking Chinese would volunteer +to be a medical lady's companion. Would that God +would stir some of you up! Meantime, thanks for the +money. Thanks also for the prayers which I take for +granted you let us have. You might also pray for a +woman who has a very good, quiet, Christian husband, but +herself has such a temper that she cannot in decency take +on a Christian profession. Eh, man! eh, man! it is curious +that I, a widower, should be left to look after women's +souls out here, when lots of women are competing for +men's situations and businesses at home. I guess things<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> +will come right some day, though I may or may not +see it.</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Very gratefully, <br /> +'Yours sincerely, <br /> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour.</span>'<br /> +</p></blockquote> + +<p>On May 8 he sent the following note to Mrs. Williams, +the wife of the Rev. Mark Williams of the American +Board. Their Society happened to be holding its annual +meeting at the same time in Tientsin as the London +Society. Mr. Gilmour was just entering his fatal illness +as he penned these lines, the last, we believe, that he +wrote. They are a beautiful testimony to the strength of +his affection for the Mongols to whom he and his wife had +ministered so well long before, and on whose behalf they +had suffered so much and so deeply. Standing as he was +on the borderland of the heavenly country, he recalls the +hard toil of his early days, and he leaves to those who +must carry on to a successful issue, not only his work, but +also the great enterprise of winning all China for Jesus +Christ, this as a last legacy—the fruit of his prayer, his +faith, his toil and his utter self-sacrifice—namely, the +conviction that the need of China is 'good, honest, quiet, +earnest, persistent work in old lines and ways.'</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Tientsin: May 8, Friday. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Mrs. Williams,—Thanks for returning the +photos. Not having delivered them to you personally, I +feared that in the present whirl of people and business +they might have been mislaid, or even not reached you.</p> + +<p>'It is a great pleasure to see you here at this time. +Many memories of past times and days come up. Though +never again likely to see Kalgan, I often in thought go<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> +along its narrow, hard streets, and its up and down sideways, +call in at your house, see all your faces, even that of +the youthful Stephen, and the studious Etta; and often go +up over the Pass into the grass land.</p> + +<p>'It is like a rest for a little while beside the palms and +wells of Elim to meet you all here.</p> + +<p>'Your peaceful, happy family fills me with gratitude to +God. May He bless them all (your children), and lead +them not only into paths of peace and pleasantness, but of +useful service for Him! You and your husband seem well. +May many useful years of ripely experienced labour be +yours!</p> + +<p>'Lately, I am being more and more impressed with the +idea that what is wanted in China is not new "lightning" +methods so much as good, honest, quiet, earnest, persistent +work in old lines and ways.</p> + +<p>'With many grateful memories of all old-time Kalgan +kindness, and hoping to see a note from you, or Mr. +Williams, say once a year or so, and with prayers for you +and all Kalgan-wards Mongols,</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Yours, cheered by the vision of you all, <br /> +'<span class="smcap">James Gilmour.</span>' +</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>THE LAST DAYS</h3> + + +<p>At Tientsin James Gilmour was the guest of Dr. +Roberts—for too brief a time his colleague in Mongolia—and +the doctor's sister, who kept house for him. The +story of the closing days cannot be better told than in +their words. To Miss Roberts fell the sorrowful task of +sending the news of their irreparable bereavement to the +two motherless lads in England.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p style="text-align: right"> +'Tientsin: June 6, 1891. +</p> + +<p>'My dear Willie and Jimmie,—You will wonder who I +am that call you by your names and yet have never known +you.</p> + +<p>'But I think, when you hear that your dear father spent +the last five weeks of his life with my brother, Dr. Roberts, +and myself, perhaps you will not be sorry to get a few lines +from an unknown friend. It is now many weeks since we +received a letter from Mr. Gilmour saying he hoped to be +able to attend the annual meetings in Tientsin, and who +would take him in? My brother replied at once, saying +what a real pleasure it would be if he would stay with us. +And so he came, and about a fortnight before the time, of +which we were all the more glad. He looked the very +picture of health on his arrival, and was in excellent spirits; +many remarked how very well and strong he looked.</p> + +<p>'I remember well the day he arrived, it was a Saturday<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> +afternoon. I suggested that he should have some dinner +at once, but, thoughtful-like, as your father always was, he +said, "No, thank you, I have already had all I want; I shall +not require anything more till your next ordinary meal."</p> + +<p>'By-and-by we showed him his room, "whose windows +opened to the sun-rising." We had made it as pretty and +comfortable as we could, and brightened it with freshly +cut flowers. The next day I noticed he had taken the +tablecloth off his writing-table, and in the evening he +handed it to me, saying, if I remember rightly, "Here, +mademoiselle, is your tablecloth. I am afraid of inking it. +You had better put it away." I was grieved, and begged +he would use, and ink it, too, for the matter of that; but +it was no use, not on any account would he spoil my cloth, +and therefore would not use it.</p> + +<p>'He seemed very happy with us, and I think thoroughly +appreciated the homelikeness of his surroundings after his +lonely life in Mongolia, and the dismal rooms of a Chinese +inn, and it was such a pleasure to minister to his comforts +in every possible way we could think of.</p> + +<p>'He used to spend his days, as a rule, in the following +way:—</p> + +<p>'After breakfast he would write letters. At 10.45, +after a cup of cocoa, he would go over to the hospital, +returning at 1 o'clock to dinner. This over, he would go +back with my brother to see the in-patients. At 4.30 we +would all have tea together, after which he would make +calls, or go for a walk, or talk over committee matters with +Mr. Lees or Mr. Bryson. Many evenings he would be +invited out, or would be at a meeting, or would spend it +quietly at home; and so the time went by till meetings +began. Then the whole day till 4 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> was spent in committee, +and at six Mr. Gilmour had a Bible-class for an +hour with the Chinese preachers who had come to attend +some of the meetings.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span></p> + +<p>'These were nearly over when your father began to +complain of feeling done up and of having fever. The +following Sunday he was in bed. This was only eleven +days before he died. On Monday, however, he was better. +and up, and was able to be with us all day, and took the +Communion with us all in the evening. Then we chatted +together for some time and sang hymns, amongst others, +"God be with you till we meet again!" No. 494 in Sankey's +<i>Songs and Solos</i>.</p> + +<p>'In this connection let me tell you some of Mr. +Gilmour's favourite hymns in the book just mentioned. +Amongst these were Nos. 494, 535, 150, 328. I dare say +you would like to learn them and sing them for his sake.</p> + +<p>'Your dear father was only in bed ten days before the +end came, and all this time he spoke but little. He was +too feverish and ill to want to talk or to listen: he just lay +quietly, bearing his sickness with remarkable patience. One +day, observing he was a little restless, I went to his bedside +and asked him if he wanted anything. "No, nothing," +was his reply, "only that the Lord would deliver me out of +this distress."</p> + +<p>'The last few days his mind was not clear, but all his +wanderings were about his work. It was the last day but +one of his life; he was more restless than usual, trying all +the time to rouse himself, as if for a journey, when he +looked up and said, "Where are we going?"</p> + +<p>'"To heaven," I answered, "to see the Lord."</p> + +<p>'"No," he replied, "that is not the address."</p> + +<p>'"Yes it is, Mr. Gilmour," I said again. "We are going +to heaven; would you not like to go and see the Lord +Jesus?"</p> + +<p>'Then he seemed to take in the meaning of my words, +and reverently bowed his head in assent, his lips quivered, +and his eyes filled with tears; and he was quieted, like a +weary child who has lost his way and finds on inquiry that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> +only a few more steps and he will be at rest and at +home.</p> + +<p>'The next day, his last, was still more restless. At +one time he seemed to be addressing an audience and +earnestly gesticulating with his hands; and, with as much +force as he could command, he said: "We are not spending +the time as we should; we ought to be waiting on God in +prayer for blessing on the work He has given us to do. +I would like to make a rattling speech—but I cannot—I +am very ill—and can only say these few words." And +then he nodded his head and waved his hand, as if in farewell +to his listeners.</p> + +<p>'It was seven o'clock in the evening when my brother +saw the end was not far off, and at once we sent for all the +other members of the Mission that all might watch with +him in this last solemn hour. He was unconscious the +whole time, and his breathing laboured.</p> + +<p>'The two doctors battled for an hour and a half to +keep off Death's fatal grasp, but to no purpose: the Lord +wanted His faithful worker, and we could not keep him, +though we wanted him much, and knew that Willie and +Jimmie in England needed him more.</p> + +<p>'Gradually the breathing became quieter and quieter, +till at last, about 9.30, he just closed his eyes and "fell +asleep," with the peace of Heaven resting on his face.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In a letter sent by Dr. Roberts to Dr. Smith, who was +then in England, a few further particulars are given.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'He preached one Sunday evening a very solemn +sermon on "Examine yourself," and no one can soon forget +the way he preached. During the annual meetings he was +extra busy. Everyone remarked what a good chairman +he made, and in the devotional meetings from 9 to +9.30 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> he was always ready to lead in prayer or speak a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> +few words. Freshness, to the point, and to the heart—characterised +all he did or said. In the evenings he conducted +services for the native preachers present at the annual +gathering, and to these meetings he took one foreigner each +night to assist in the speaking.</p> + +<p>'It was at the close of this busy week, when tired out, +that he got the fever which eventually carried him home. +The fever was very irregular in type, but after some days +I felt it was an exceptional type of typhus fever. Great +weakness of the heart was a characteristic feature all +through his case, and but for this sad complication I believe +he would have been alive to-day. Weak action of the +heart was an old enemy of his. For the first week of his +illness he did not feel very poorly, and we had many chats +together, and some prayer and reading of God's Word every +night nearly. But in the second week his temperature +went up to 106°, and, though it came down under anti-pyretics, +he seemed never to regain his former ground. +His mind became more and more clouded. Parker took +the night nursing, my sister the day, and I sat with him +when time allowed. On Thursday, May 21, the day on +which he died, he was very delirious all day, though he +knew us all. I did not give up hope till 7 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>, when his +heart failed him in spite of active stimulation. It was then +that we all gathered round his bed. I did my utmost with +the help of Frazer to avert the sad end; but ere long, +seeing our efforts were vain, we ceased, and sat in his room +and saw him gradually and very peacefully pass away, his +breath getting feebler and feebler till he closed his eyes +and fell asleep in Jesus.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The funeral took place towards evening on May 23,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> +1891. It was a lovely afternoon, and the sun shining +brightly lent additional force to the words of John Bunyan +which were printed upon the simple sheet containing the +hymn to be sung at the grave: 'The pilgrim they laid in +an upper chamber whose window opened towards the Sun-rising.' +The coffin was borne to the grave by two relays +of bearers; the first consisted of three European and three +native preachers; the second, on the one side, of the Rev. +S. E. Meech, his brother-in-law; the Rev. J. Parker, his colleague, +and Dr. Roberts; and on the other Liu, his faithful +Chinese preacher and helper, Chang, the tutor of the +theological class at Tientsin, and Hsi, his courier, a native +of Tá Ssŭ Kou. His last resting-place immediately adjoins +that of his dearly loved friend, Dr. Mackenzie, and the +service at the grave was conducted by the Rev. Jonathan +Lees and the Rev. J. Parker. Chang offered prayer, and a +farewell hymn was sung.</p> + +<table summary="Poem - Sleep on, beloved"> +<tr> +<td> +<p> +Sleep on, beloved, sleep, and take thy rest;<br /> +Lay down thy head upon thy Saviour's breast;<br /> +We love thee well; but Jesus loves thee best—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Good night! Good night! Good night!</span><br /> +<br /> +Until the shadows from this earth are cast;<br /> +Until He gathers in His sheaves at last;<br /> +Until the twilight gloom be overpast—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Good night! Good night! Good night!</span><br /> +<br /> +Until we meet again before His throne,<br /> +Clothed in the spotless robe He gives His own,<br /> +Until we know even as we are known—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Good night! Good night! Good night!</span> +</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p>Little Chinese boys who had known and loved Mr. +Gilmour came forward and threw handfuls of flowers into +his grave, loving hands laid upon the coffin a wreath of +white blossoms on behalf of the now orphaned boys far<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> +away, and the simple but beautiful service was closed by a +spontaneous act on the part of the Chinese converts present. +Pressing near the grave of him whose heart loved China +and the Chinese with a fervour and an enthusiasm that +may have been equalled, but certainly have never been +surpassed, they sang in their own tongue the hymn beginning, +'In the Christian's home in glory.'</p> + +<p>The labourer had entered into the rest he had so often +seen by the eye of faith. 'There remains,' he wrote, less +than a year before his death, 'a rest. Somewhere ahead. +Not very far at the longest. Perfect, quiet, full, without +solitude, isolation, or inability to accomplish; when the +days of our youth will be more than restored to us; where, +should mysteries remain, there will be no torment in them. +And the reunions there! Continuous too, with no feeling +that the rest of to-day is to-morrow to be ended by a plunge +again into a world seething with iniquity, and groaning +with suffering.'</p> + +<p>Many pages might be filled with loving eulogies of +James Gilmour. But the best of all is the simple story of +his life. Yet two or three references to his work and +influence must here find a place.</p> + +<p>From the pen of Dr. Reynolds comes this weighty +testimony:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'The end of his career came all too suddenly, and in +gathering together my impressions of it as a whole, I am +convinced that I have seldom seen a man so entirely +possessed by a grand idea, so utterly persuaded that we +had a debt to pay to the heathen world, so invincibly sure +that Christian faith and life was the one supreme need of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span> +these regions beyond our circle of light. Few men have +cast the bread upon greater waters, have sown the seed +over a wider area, or had to mourn more sadly over those +heart-breaking months which intervene between the seedtime +and the harvest. Impartial critics have recognised the +intense honesty, the shrewd wit, the faculty of vision, the +power to tell the story of his rare experiences with such +verisimilitude as to force upon the reader a ready acquiescence +in every detail of his narrative. But his Christian +brethren saw a deeper vein than this in Gilmour's achievements. +He was ablaze from first to last with a passionate +desire to set forth Christ in His majesty and mercy, in all +His power to heal and to command. I had unexpected +opportunities of finding how tender and affectionate his +nature was; how grateful and enthusiastic his love to his +Hamilton home, to his father, mother, and wife, and how +faithful and loyal he was to the society and the brotherhood +of his Alma Mater.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The Rev. G. Owen, at a memorial service held in Peking +very shortly after Mr. Gilmour's death, gave a sketch of his +character and work, and thus summed up his life:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'He spared himself in nothing, but gave himself wholly +to God. He kept nothing back. All was laid upon the +altar. I doubt if even St. Paul endured more for Christ +than did James Gilmour. I doubt, too, if Christ ever +received from human hands or human heart more loving, +devoted service.</p> + +<p>'If anyone asks, "Would it not have been better if Mr. +Gilmour had taken more care of himself and lived longer?" +I would answer: "I don't know. His life was beautiful, +and I would not alter it if I could. A few years of such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> +service as he gave Christ are worth a hundred years of +humdrum toil. We need the inspiration of such a life as +his. Heaven, too, is the richer for such a man and such a +life. The pearly gates opened wide, I have no doubt, to +receive him. Angels and men gave him glad welcome, +and what a smile would light up the Saviour's face as He +received His faithful servant home!"</p> + +<p>'And he being dead yet speaketh. He says, "Be +faithful, work hard, for the night cometh when no man can +work. Be earnest, for life is brief; be ready, for life is +uncertain." But why did God call him away in the midst +of life and work? I don't know. Possibly work here is not +of such importance as we think. Or there is more important +service elsewhere waiting for such men as Mr. +Gilmour. He has been faithful over a few things; he has +been made ruler over many things, and has entered into +the joy of his Lord.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>Mr. Parker wrote to the sons of his late colleague on +June 6, 1891:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'It is sad that my first letter to you should be to tell +you about your father's death, of which no doubt you have +heard long ago.... The last photographs of yourselves +which you sent out he always had where he could see them. +Whenever he travelled he took them with him. At +Tientsin during his last illness he had them on a low side +table, just on a level with his bed, so that as he lay there +he could see them.... He was very happy, and died +like a faithful soldier who had finished his work. It is +sad, dear boys, to lose a father such as he was, but it is a +great blessing to have had such a father, one so brave, so +courageous, one who for the sake of Christ suffered bodily +discomfort and pain, suffered terrible loneliness that he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> +might win some of God's sinning children back to their +Father's arms. He lived and suffered for the Mongols, +and though God denied him the honour of baptizing even +one of them, yet so faithful was he to his work that he +toiled on to the very last. "Faithful unto death" are +words fully exemplified in your father's life.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In his first letter from Mongolia after his prompt +return to carry on in a like spirit of faith and devotion the +work from which Mr. Gilmour had been summoned away +Mr. Parker depicts the grief of the native Christians on +learning their loss. 'The sorrow of the converts here (Ch'ao +Yang) at the news of Gilmour's death was very touching +Grown-up men burst into tears and sobbed like children +when they were told he was dead. All along the route where +Gilmour was such a familiar visitor, in the market-place, +and at their fairs, the first question they asked as soon as +they saw me was, "Has Mr. Gilmour come?" And at my +reply there was always great astonishment, accompanied +by expressions of sorrow. Every day at evening prayers I +can hear Gilmour's name mingled with their petitions. +The Christians here have sent a letter of sympathy to his +two boys.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'Here in Ch'ao Yang there are any amount of Mongols, +not nomadic, tent-loving, but settled here, and hence they +do not have to be sought. Right in the centre of the town +is an immense Mongol temple with two or three hundred +priests. Every day I have several of the priests in here, +and yet I have heard again and again that this mission is +misplaced. Some such words often pained the heart that +is now still in death. But this is, and shall be, essentially a +Mongol mission in this, that as the best efforts of dear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> +Gilmour were for making Christ known to the Mongols, my +best endeavours shall be to this end. But if some hungry +Chinaman, standing by as I hold out the bread of life to his +Mongol brother, seeks to eat of it, he shall have it, and be as +welcome as the other.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The letter to the children referred to in Mr. Parker's +report is a fitting description of James Gilmour's life, and +he himself would have desired no other panegyric. It +came from the hearts of men on whose behalf he had given +his very best, and it shows how strong a hold he had +obtained upon their affection.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'We respectfully enquire for the peace and happiness +of your excellencies, our brothers Gilmour, also for the +peace of your whole school. In the first place Pastor +Gilmour in his preaching and doctoring at Ch'ao Yang, +north of the Pass, truly loved others as himself, was considerate +and humble, and had the likeness of (our) Saviour +Jesus. Not only the Christians thank him without end, +but even those outside the Church (the heathen) bless him +without limit. We, who through Pastor Gilmour have +obtained the doctrine of the second birth, and received the +grace of Jesus, had hoped with Mr. Gilmour to have +assembled on the earth until our heads were white and in +the future life to have gone with him to heaven. Little +did we think we should have been so unhappy. He has +already gone to the Lord. We certainly know he is in the +presence of the Lord, not only praying for us, but also for +you our brothers.</p> + +<p>'We pray you, when you see this letter, not to grieve +beyond measure. We hope that you will study with increased +ardour, so as to obtain the heavenly wisdom, like +Solomon, and that afterwards you may come to China, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> +this Ch'ao Yang, to preach the Gospel widely. As the +father did, may the sons follow, is our earnest desire.</p> + +<p> +'Signed by the Ch'ao Yang Christians, +</p> + +<p> +'<span class="smcap">Liu mao lin</span> (preacher).<br /> +<span class="smcap">P'ang tien k'uei.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Wang sheng.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Ning fu tung.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Chang wan ch'uan.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Chang kuei.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Chiang sheng.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Wang hui hsien.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Liu i</span> (your father's servant).<br /> +<span class="smcap">Sung kang.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Ch'u wen yuan.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Chang chen.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Chang mao chi.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Ning kuang chen.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Liu cho.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">T'ien te ch'un.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Hu te.</span>' +</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Here, then, we leave him. If the story of his life fail to +touch the heart, to deepen faith, to exalt our estimate of +renewed human nature, and to revive enthusiasm in work +for Christ at home and abroad, the fault must be in him +who has tried to tell it, and to set in order the facts.</p> + +<p>God's ways are ofttimes dark. James Gilmour had often +felt this, and, to those who knew him, it seemed as though +he were taken just when God's work needed him most, +when the first-fruits of the coming harvest were being +gathered, when his knowledge of the Chinese and the +Mongols, and their knowledge of him and affection for him, +were beginning to tell. But God knows best, and nothing +can deprive the Church of Christ of the splendid self-sacrifice, +of the noble perseverance in the path of duty +of the bright example of courage, devotion, enthusiasm for +souls, and patient continuance in well doing shining so +clearly through all the long, years of toil. Love, self-crucifixion, +Jesus Christ closely followed in adversity, in +loneliness, in manifold perils, under almost every conceivable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> +form of trial and hindrance and resistance both active +and passive—these are the seeds James Gilmour has sown +so richly on the hard Mongolian Plain, and over its +Eastern mountains and valleys. 'In due time we shall +reap if we faint not.' His work goes on. He is now +doing the Master's bidding in the higher service. There, +we must fain believe, he is finding full scope for those altogether +exceptional spiritual affinities, and powers and capacities +which stand out so conspicuously all through the +story of his inner life. Upon us who yet remain rests the +responsibility of carrying forward the work he began, of +reinforcing the workers, of bearing Mongolia upon our +prayers until Buddhism shall fade away before the pure +truth and the perfect love of Jesus Christ, and even the +hard and unresponsive Mongols come to recognise the +truths James Gilmour so long and so faithfully tried to +teach them—that they need the Great Physician even more +than they need the earthly doctor, and that He is more +able and willing to heal the hurt of their souls than the +earthly physician is to remove the disease of their bodies.</p> + +<p>Is not the real lesson of James Gilmour's life twofold? If +it be looked at from the point of view of results, it should +give clear and vivid ideas of the unwisdom of being cast +down by the absence of results in face of the difficulties of +missionary work in China. It is to be feared that there +are still large numbers of good Christian people who believe +that for the conversion of Chinamen and Mongols all that +is requisite is to put into the hands of the heathen a copy +of God's Word in their native tongue, and then preach to +them the good tidings of salvation. No man in this, or in +past generation, has done this more faithfully than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> +James Gilmour. No man ever believed more firmly +in the truth that it is 'not by might nor by power,' +but by the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, that the +intellect and conscience and heart of the heathen are to +be subdued to the Saviour. No man ever wrestled more +eagerly and fervently in prayer on behalf of the ignorant +and sinful, and yet his avowed converts can be numbered +on the fingers. Does this prove that God is unfaithful? +Does this tend to show that the enterprise is hopeless? +Or has God been teaching us, by the life of one of His +ablest and truest servants, the lesson of patient continuance +in the path of His commands, whether He blesses or +whether He withholds? Is He not proclaiming to His +Church the need of a self-sacrifice <i>in all its members</i> commensurate +with that displayed by James Gilmour and others +who like him have not counted their lives dear unto themselves +in the struggle with heathenism? Some must go in +the 'forlorn hope.' Some must lay down their lives in preparing +the highway of our God. 'Herein is the saying true, +One soweth and another reapeth.' But succeeding toilers in +the Mongolian field, as the direct result of James Gilmour's +sowing, will be able in days to come to apply to themselves +our Lord's words, 'I sent you to reap that whereon ye +have not laboured:—others have laboured, and ye are +entered into their labour.'</p> + +<p>If the life of James Gilmour be looked at altogether +apart from the results that can be entered in tables of +statistics, how splendidly inspiring it is! Faithful to his +Master, faithful to his work, although the Master <i>seemed</i> +to delay the blessing, although the work wore down the +worker. 'I,' said St. Paul to the thankless Corinthian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> +Church, 'will most gladly spend and be spent for your +souls. If I love you more abundantly, am I loved the +less? But be it so.' And in the Epistle to the Romans he +applied to the Jews who were resisting the Gospel the +ancient words of Isaiah: 'But as to Israel He saith, All +the day long did I spread out my hands unto a disobedient +and gainsaying people. I say then, Did God cast off His +people? God forbid.' Nor will God cast off the Israel of +China, or the Mongols who gave to the faithful teacher respect, +attention, and in a way the love of their hearts, but +who as yet have not surrendered those hearts to their true +Lord. James Gilmour, in season and out of season, +in almost constant solitude, in superabounding physical +labours that often overburdened him, and once nearly +broke him down, in the long disappointment of the most +cherished hopes, and under the constant strain of what +would have crushed any but a giant in faith, lived a life +which, if it taught no other lesson, was yet well worth +living to teach this—that Jesus Christ can and does give +His servants the victory over apparent non-success, after +the most vehement and long-sustained effort to secure +success, and that this is the greatest victory possible to +renewed and sanctified human nature.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p class="center"> +PRINTED BY<br /> +SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW STREET SQUARE<br /> +LONDON<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span> +</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p class="center"> +CHEAP EDITION.<br /> +<span class="u">Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. cloth boards.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /></p> +<h2><span class="smcap">James Gilmour</span></h2> +<h3>OF MONGOLIA:</h3> +<h4><i>HIS DIARIES, LETTERS, AND REPORTS.</i></h4> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/sincerely.jpg" alt="Sincerely yours - James Gilmour" title="" /> +</div> + +<p class="center"> +EDITED AND ARRANGED BY</p> +<h3>RICHARD LOVETT, M.A.</h3> +<div class="center"><i>Author of 'Norwegian Pictures,' 'The Printed English Bible,'<br /> +'London Pictures,' &c.</i></div> + +<hr style="width: 35%;" /> + +<p class="center"> +<span class="smcap">Published by THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY</span>,<br /> +<span class="smcap">56 Paternoster Row, London</span>.</p> +<div class="pto">[P.T.O.</div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2>Press Notices</h2> +<p class="center">OF</p> +<h2>THE LIFE OF GILMOUR.</h2> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'The story of James Gilmour will, if we mistake not, take a place +of its own in modern missionary literature. To a world devoted so +much to mercenary interests, and a Church too given to take things +easily, the life is at once a rebuke and an appeal not easily to be +forgotten.'—<span class="smcap">Christian World.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'We are sure that this work will be read with the deepest interest +by Churchmen as well as Nonconformists.'—<span class="smcap">Record.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'A notable addition to the number of impressive and fascinating +missionary books—a volume fit to stand on the same shelf with the +biographies of Paton and Mackay.'—<span class="smcap">British Weekly.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'James Gilmour may appear to some as a hero, to others as a +deluded enthusiast, but no one who takes up this account of his life +and work can fail to be fascinated by it.'—<span class="smcap">Manchester Guardian.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'Out of sight the most interesting and valuable missionary biography +of recent years.'—<span class="smcap">Literary World.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'Not only deeply interesting as a record of missionary labour, but +teems with characteristic sketches of Chinese manners, customs, and +scenery.'—<span class="smcap">Times (Weekly).</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'Unlike many missionary records, his letters and journals can be +read. Indeed, it is difficult to stop reading, once you have begun.' +<span class="smcap">National Observer.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'For an age which, as the editor remarks, likes "large and quick +returns" for its investments, the history of a man who had for many +years to possess his soul in patience has a real and permanent value.' +<span class="smcap">Daily Telegraph.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'From every point of view the book deserves the highest praise.' +<span class="smcap">Glasgow Herald.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'Not the least interesting portion of the book will be its strange +pictures of life amid Mongol surroundings.'—<span class="smcap">Liverpool Courier.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p class="center"> +By JAMES GILMOUR. +</p> +<h2>AMONG THE MONGOLS.</h2> +<p class="center"> +BY THE LATE +</p> +<h2>REV. JAMES GILMOUR, M.A.</h2> +<p class="center"> +With Engravings. 2s. 6d. cloth, gilt. +</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'There has been, if our experience serves us at all, no book quite like this +since "Robinson Crusoe"; and "Robinson Crusoe" is not better, does not +tell a story more directly, or produce more instantaneous and final conviction. +No one who begins this book will leave it till the narrative ends, or doubt for +an instant, whether he knows Defoe or not, that he has been enchained by +something separate and distinct in literature, something almost uncanny in +the way it has gripped him, and made him see for ever a scene he never +expected to see.'—<span class="smcap">The Spectator.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'Mr. Gilmour tells a story well, and though he tells it quite simply and +straightforwardly, he never misses the point of it. He writes, moreover, +after having had exceptional chances of gaining a thorough acquaintance with +the Mongolian character.'—<span class="smcap">The Guardian.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'There is a charm in the quiet way in which the modest missionary tells +of his life in Tartar tents, of the long rides across the grassy plain, and of the +daily life of the nomads among whom he passed so many years.' +<span class="smcap">Fortnightly Review.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'Mr. Gilmour's volume is one of the most charming books about a strange +people that we have read for many a day.'—<span class="smcap">Nature.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'Mr. Gilmour has lived <i>tête-à-tête</i> with a Buddhist Lama under his own +movable roof; he has shared the hospitality of the desert caravan; he has +taken his turn in the night-watch against thieves; and he has dwelt as a +lodger in their more permanent abodes of trellis-work and felt. As a picture +of the raw material from which Chinese civilisation has been finally evolved—the +primitive stage of Tartar nomad communities—these sketches possess a +great sociological value; while from the point of view of the reader for +amusement alone they are full of liveliness and local colouring.' +<span class="smcap">Pall Mall Gazette.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'Although it appears in unpretentious form, this is a really remarkable +chronicle of travel and adventure.'—<span class="smcap">The Globe.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p class="center"> +By JAMES GILMOUR.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Crown 8vo. 5s. cloth. +</p> +<h2><span class="smcap">More About the Mongols.</span></h2> +<p class="center"> +Selected and Arranged from Mr. <span class="smcap">Gilmour's</span> Diaries and Papers</p> +<h3>By RICHARD LOVETT, M.A.,</h3> +<p class="center"><i>Author of 'James Gilmour of Mongolia' &c.</i> +</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'The style of the writer and the novelty of the theme, and the heart which +so longs for "Mongols" showing itself on many a page, combine to make the +work intensely interesting, instructive, and impressive.'—<span class="smcap">The Presbyterian.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'The experiences of a devoted missionary, whose gift of circumstantial +narrative has not inaptly been likened to Defoe's.'—<span class="smcap">The Times.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'It is indeed a delightful volume, which will be welcomed by all who +desire the extension of Christ's kingdom on earth.'—<span class="smcap">English Churchman.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'Extracts from the diaries of one of the most adventurous and self-denying +of missionaries.'—<span class="smcap">Saturday Review.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'Will be welcomed wherever the name of James Gilmour is known.' +<span class="smcap">The Record.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'A fascinating volume of travels, and a series of observations on men and +manners which show the stuff of which our British missionaries are made.' +<span class="smcap">Methodist Times.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'Will delight readers of all ages.'—<span class="smcap">Christian World.</span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p class="center"> +Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. cloth, gilt edges. +</p> +<h2><span class="smcap">James Gilmour and His Boys.</span></h2> +<h3>By RICHARD LOVETT, M.A.</h3> +<p class="center">With Facsimile Letters and many Illustrations. +</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'Ought to be in every Sunday School library.'—<span class="smcap">The Christian.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'It is full of curious passages of adventure; and has a strong religious +interest which will not fail to give young readers an intelligent appreciation +of the nature of foreign mission work.'—<span class="smcap">Scotsman.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'It has been skilfully put together and will make an admirable gift-book.' +<span class="smcap">British Weekly.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'It should find a place in all Christian homes.' +<span class="smcap">Western Morning News.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'It is one that all boys, and girls too, will delight to read.' +<span class="smcap">Scottish Leader.</span></p> + +<p style="text-indent: 2em;">'A fascinating volume from beginning to end.'—<span class="smcap">Baptist.</span></p> + +<hr style="width: 35%;" /> + +<p class="center"> +<span class="smcap">Published by THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY</span>,<br /> + +56 Paternoster Row, London; and Sold by all Booksellers.<br /> + +<br /> +<i>Spottiswoode & Co. Printers, New-street Square, London.</i> +</p> + +<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JAMES GILMOUR OF MONGOLIA ***</div> +<div style='text-align:left'> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part +of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project +Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ +concept and trademark. 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